Somewhere In The Woods

Chapter Two - Red Vines

"This is where loud, opinionated people come to be loud and opinionated, without anyone to judge them." Boris pushed open the front door to the large, abandoned building on the dark side of town. "This was supposed to be what brought this side of town into better economic standings, but it just dragged us further down. It was going to be a huge shopping mall that would supply so many jobs. Now it sits abandoned. It's being slowly reclaimed by mother nature," he led me inside and ran his hand along the moss-covered wall. "This is the place where rejects aren't rejected."

I looked up and found myself staring straight at a large mural of what looked like Jesus. "I see a few more people have reclaimed it," I turned in a slow circle, taking in the spray paint and the greenery that decorated this new world. "Is this a place you frequent?"

Boris shook his hair out of his face and thought for a moment. "I used to. It got too popular for a while, but it's calmed down recently." He explained, finding a pack of half-used cigarettes on the floor. "So, I understand that Annie is your twin, right?" I nodded. "And if it's her birthday today, that means it's yours as well." From inside his jacket, he produced a cranberry muffin. "Tituba's didn't have any cake to go," he explained. Boris lit one of the cigarettes and stuck it in the top like a make-shift candle. "Happy birthday, Maggie."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I couldn't help but ask.

Boris narrowed his eyes at me. "Is it really that hard to believe I like you? I'm extremely into you, Maggie, and I hope you are into me too, or else this evening has been very confusing." He held out the muffin to me. "Blow out your candle before we get lung cancer."

I did as he said, and I wished that Boris wouldn't change his mind about liking me once he knew me. "I like you too, Boris," I admitted. He grinned, making me hope my wish was coming true already. "My sister won't like it, but that makes it even better."

Boris took my hand in his and pulled me further into the building. "The one thing I like best about this place is the roof, it has a view you wouldn't believe!"

He led me up a few flights of stairs to a trap door in the ceiling that seemed like a fire hazard. We climbed the little ladder that accompanied the trap door and emerged onto the balcony-style roof, suddenly surrounded by stars. "Wow," my jaw dropped. This high above the lights, I could see more stars than I could have dreamed of on the ground. "Spectacular."

"Not a bad place to spend a birthday, eh?" Boris dragged a brown fluffy armchair from the corner to the center of the roof and patted for me to come to sit with him. He sat down and turned his chin up to the cosmos.

How was I supposed to sit with him? I didn't want to just sit in his lap, but I doubted my balance to perch on the side. Maybe, if I put my legs across...I ended up sitting sideways on the arm, leaning against the back with my legs stretched across to the other arm. Thankfully my legs were long enough, and it didn't look as awkward as I had imagined it. Boris looked back down and smiled at our closeness. "Not a bad place at all." I agreed.

We both could feel my phone going off in my pocket, but I chose to ignore it, knowing it was Annie having arrived home and wondering why I wasn't there. She most likely was only asking to make sure I wasn't wandering around with the likes of Boris. There was no reason to worry, however. I wasn't wandering, we'd found a spot to stay awhile.

"Can I ask why you and your sister aren't close?" Boris asked once my phone stopped. "I'm no twin, but I've heard stories about twins who have a special bond, I've never seen twins at each other's throats."

I shrugged. "We used to have a special bond when we were little. But then middle school hit, and everything changed. She decided popularity was more important, and I decided it wasn't." I turned up to the stars and away from Boris's curious eyes. "But that will all be over in a year. As soon as I turn eighteen, I'm out of here, to wherever I can go. Maybe I'll go to the other side of the continent, or maybe to a completely new one. I've always wanted to go to Wales."