Ashes, Ashes

chapter 13

-aspen-

Suddenly, Ash stopped and looked around.

"Aspen," He spoke. "I think we're getting close to Camp. I can smell demigods."

"Yes!" I exclaimed. Without thinking, I threw my arms around Ash's neck and hugged him. He stumbled back in surprise. After a moment, his arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me to him. Mmmmm. He smells earthy. WAIT ASPEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING? RED ALERT. RED. ALERT. My logical side screamed SHUT UP LOGIC. My impulsive side retorted. I released him as though he were burning. Cheeks smoldering, I stepped back and let my messy hair fall over my face as i stared at the ground.

"Sorry," I mumbled, barely audible.

"Nice to know you're happy," Ash said, smirking. I rolled my eyes but the corners of my mouth pulled upward.

-ash-

When she smiled her whole face lit up and everything around her seemed brighter, more colorful and vibrant. It was contagious and so I grinned back. I found myself staring into her eyes, her beautiful clear blue eyes. She looked up and stared right back into my own eyes, and odd light in her eyes blazing bright as the sun above.

-aspen-

I smiled up at him, and his face changed. His eyes sparkled and he smiled. I looked up into his eyes, his beautiful forest-green eyes like the foliage around us. He stared back, a light in his eyes that I couldn't decipher. I looked away, trying not to get caught in it.

-ash-

Without thinking, I gently put my hand underneath her chin and turned her face to me. She was blushing furiously, yet was smiling. I smiled back. Her eye contact with me never wavered. My other hand closed around hers and held it. Stepping closer to each other, we leaned in and closed our eyes. We were just centimeters away-

ROARRRRRR

We jumped back. Did that just happen?

-aspen-

Were we just about to kiss? Does he like me!? No. Shut it, brain. We just heard a monster in the middle of the forest, focus on that. I thought. I seemed to recover faster than Ash, by the looks of he seemed kind of dazed. Not to mention, he was redder than I could have ever been. I grabbed his wrist and looked him in the eyes, warning him with my expression. He nodded and we hoisted our packs higher and started to run, side by side.

-ash-

We ran. Aspen pulled me on, me still running in a daze. I had almost kissed her. And I felt jumpy. Doubts started crossing my mind. What was I thinking? What if she doesn't like me? How is she going to react to this? Will we still be able to be friends? What about more than that? What if because of me she runs away and something bad happens to her? These thoughts slowed us down considerably.

"Ash, we have to get to camp!" Aspen cried, terror blooming in her voice.

We ran through the forest, the trees getting thicker and larger as we ran further. We stopped a couple times to catch our breaths, but kept moving whether it was walking or running. We finally stopped after a while- i had no idea after how long- to eat the leftover fruit from our packs. 

Breathing heavily, Aspen bent over to catch her breath. Meanwhile, I leaned my back against the tree and closed my eyes.

I realized we were still holding hands and quickly let go of hers. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and started looking down the hill for Chiron or any other campers.

"Hey, Aspen, are you okay?" I asked concerned.

"Y-yeah, yeah, I'm-I'm fine." She replied in a shaky voice.

I bit my lip and realized that it must be hard for her to take in all this. Monsters, myths, gods, evil beings as well. All the places too, I thought. I drew a little closer to her and grabbed her hand and squeezed it to show it was okay, I was here, with her. She startled at first, a red tinge appearing on her cheeks, but then visibly relaxed.

"Shall we get down to business?"

"Let's defeat those Huns." She finished. "Sorry, couldn't help myself." With that, we walked down the hill.