When Love Became

when we went to the woods

Bash stopped the Jeep as we approached the mouth of the woods. The entrance was dotted with old, rotting, painted signs that read "Keep Out! Beehives Ahead!" and "Beware the Bears." I turned to look at him, thoughtfully studying his freckled cheeks and sparkling blue eyes. His chestnut brown hair was always playfully floppy, and his mischievous smile exposed his adventurous nature that went well with my own. We were the clichéd two peas in a pod. Bash and I both loved birthday cake ice cream, movie scores, and The Vampire Diaries. Although, he would never admit to anyone that he watched The Vampire Diaries, and I would obviously never tell anyone (I threatened to expose him from time to time, but just for kicks). He eventually caught me staring and raised his eyebrows, wondering what I was thinking.

"Do I have something on my face?" he questioned, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand.

"No, I was just noticing that you have nice eyes," I tell him unabashedly.

"Oh. Well, you have nice eyes, too."

"They're brown," I shrug.

"That doesn't mean they aren't nice."

I had always considered myself to be average looking. I had inky-black hair and probably the shortest legs of any sixteen year old girl ever. My mother was white, and my dad had been Chinese, so I was what was deemed "Whasian," a mixture of white and Asian. I resembled my mother in that we were both of a smaller build, but I had almond-shaped eyes and darker hair. I really only ever wore jean shorts, t-shirts, and white high-tops. Bash's mantra that surely fashion should be the least of anyone's worries when there was always so much to see and do had grown on me over the years. He always insisted that people who spent more time choosing what shoes to wear over choosing what journeys to embark on would eventually end up unhappy sooner or later. Suddenly, I hear Bash cough, which startled me from my thoughts.

"So are we going to sit here and daydream, or are we going to finished this damned map?" he asked.

"Just drive, Bash," I laughed.

"Where did we last stop? I think it was that tree with the red stripe,"

Looking at the map, the last symbol I marked was a tree with one red line. "The red stripe," I tell him.

"I still can't believe that we managed to make a map out of a canvas and a few markers," Bash remarks, swerving to narrowly avoid a tree stump.

"Neither can I. What a bunch of fifth-grade masterminds we were," I agree. To our credit, the map had progressed in style and skill, thanks to my art classes, over time. Upwards from the bottom, the map slowly advanced from clunky black lines, to graceful curves and strokes. I took pride in what our little project had become. It truly represented the growth of our friendship over the last six years. The harsh shapes at the beginning symbolized our awkwardness and uncertainty, the gradual progression to the fluid paths showed how comfortable we are now in our relationship, and how confident we allowed ourselves to be with one another.

"There, on the left! The tree!" I yelled excitedly. Bash stopped when we reached the tree, and continued at a slow pace along the road, which allowed me to draw the shape of the path on the canvas. I drew carefully, which was difficult considering the bumpy driving and Bash's animated shout every time he thought he saw a bear.

"We've been through these woods for six summers now, I don't think that we're going to see a bear anytime soon, Bash," I informed him.

"You never know, Lyss, one could be trailing right behind us," he insisted.

Shaking my head, I continued my cartographer duties, making sure to also draw distinct landmarks along the way. We usually chose brightly colored flowers, random statuesque rocks, or the occasional cautionary sign to indicate turns on the map. Bash occasionally glanced over at my work, and described the markings that he saw to help me while I worked. After driving at two miles per hour for at least forty-five minutes, I told Bash to stop for a break. I hopped out of the Jeep and laid down on the cool, forest ground, and was promptly joined by a water-toting Bash a few seconds later.