The Problem Child

The Woods

Another week passed and Charlie was glad that he finally got his head back together. He had almost become his nerdy self in classes, his behaviour no more a despair to his teachers.

He could now sit down and study for hours, with no disturbing thoughts ragging his mind.
It was good to be back in track.

Charlie sat in his room, with his legs resting on the table, his hand stroking his jaw while he planned an entire essay he was working on, in his head.

He leaned back on the heels of his chair and thought further. He was so deep in thought that he jumped by the sudden ringing of his phone.

"Jesus!" He mumbled to himself as he put his feet down on the ground and stretched his neck to look at the phone's screen.

'Trev', it read. A smile grew on his face as he picked up the call.

"Hey" Charlie beamed as he propped his knees upto his jaw on his chair.

"Come to the window" Trevor spoke on the other side of the phone in an unnecessarily grumpy voice.

Charlie was confused. "Er.. What?"

"Walk your lazy ass to your window, you nerd" Trevor said again.

Charlie pursed his lips and got up from his comfy spot. He walked up to his window and flung the curtains open, to see Trevor standing on the other side of the road.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "What on Earth are you doing there out in the cold?"

"It's not that cold" Trevor shrugged as a slight frown creeped up his face.

Charlie sighed. "That doesn't answer my question"

"Achilles ran into the woods. Come, Help me find him"

It took Charlie a moment to realise what exactly it was Trevor was talking about.

Oh, yes, the cat...

"Uh.. Well, wait while I get my jacket"

Trevor gave him a curt nod and Charlie ended the call. He pulled back the curtains together and went downstairs, grabbing his jacket on his way out.

•••

The walk through the woods was scarier than what Charlie had imagined it to be. A torch light being their only source of light, it was hard to see the things around. The owl's hoot and the sound of the leaves crushing under their feet only added to the creepiness of the environment.

The place looked extremely damp, though Charlie couldn't remember it raining recently.

He was quiet amazed by the way Trevor guided him, walking infront.

It was like he knew the place like the back of his hand.

"Have you been here often?" Charlie voiced his doubt.

"Hm. Used to play in here a lot when I was a kid" Trevor shrugged as he made his way through.

"Oh" Charlue sounded impressed.

"I wonder where Achellis is" Trevor mumbled almost to himself.

"Y'know, cats love treetops" Charlie shrugged.

"Are you suggesting I climb up every tree and search for him? No thanks"

"Well, you could atleast raise your head and look up" Charlie vaguely wondered if Trevor left his logic at home. L

Due to some weird coincidence, they heard a meow over their heads.

The both of them looked up to see two yellow eyes glistening in the dark. Trevor flashed his torch light up and saw a gray furry cat sitting on a branch over them, wagging its tail in a slow pace.

"Ah, there you are" Trevor muttered and handed over the flashlight to Charlie. "Here, hold this"

He lifted his hands up and gestured for the cat to come down, cooing at it.

Charlie couldn't help, but chuckle at the sight.

"The heck you laughing for?" Trevor asked, annoyed.

Charlie snorted. "You're funny" he shook his head to himself. "Here, now, you hold this" Charlie took Trevor's hand and placed the flashlight in it, earning a confused glare from him.

He looked the tree up and down, then in a matter of seconds, he was climbing it.

He carefully held the slippery branch with one arm and reached out to the cat with the other.

"Gotchu" Charlie struggled as the cat tried to ease out of his grip. He climbed down halfway and leaped down from the tree, landing gracefully on his feet.

"Here" Charlie extended his hands as the cat  gladly jumped on to Trevor.

A light smile tugged at Trevor's lips as he tousled Achilles' furry head. He turned his eyes to Charlies jacket.

He clicked his tongue."Dirt" he said and  dusted Charlie's jacket with his hand.

Charlie smiled fondly and leaned in, planting a soft kiss on his forehead.

Trevor went back at petting his cat and kept his head low as he felt the heat rise to his face. When he felt Charlie's eyes not leaving him, he lifted his head up, sucking in the cold air through his teeth.

"Why don't we walk back? I can tell that you are scared if there's snakes and spiders in here" Trevor said, amusement dripping off of
his voice.

"No, I'm not" Charlie protested. He couldn't believe he was being so transparent that someone as dumb as Trevor could sense his fear.

Yes, Trevor was really the dumbest person when it comes to emotions...

Trevor scoffed and proceeded to walk back. "It's okay if you are scared" he said in a calm voice, as if he was teasing Charlie.

"I'm not scared of snakes and spiders!" Charlie threw his arms up in the air, though he wasn't sure of how true his words were.

Trevor's lips curled into a smirk.

Just the kind of reaction he expected.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of". He was for sure enjoying this.

Charlie gasped loudly. He stomped his way to Trevor. He was about to say something to hold up his side of the arguement, but he visibly startled when he heard a slithering sound somewhere in the woods.

Trevor looked at him amusedly with raised eyebrows and a growing smirk.

Charlie pursed his lips. "You know what? It doesn't matter. Let's get out of this creepy place" he said and walked towards the road, dragging a snickering Trevor behind him.