The Scion and The Squire - {solangelo au}

6. Child of the Prophecy

My eyes fly open. Instead of a cozy, soft bed of grass, hard rocks jab into my side. I sit up, taking in my surroundings. Will snores peacefully next to me, lost in a dream. Meanwhile, I was staring down an incline.

We landed on a mountain side on a rock about 9 feet wide. My feet dangled off the edge, as did Will's. Thankfully, it wasn't steep; however, rocks jagged out like pimples on the face of a fresh thirteen year-old. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to traverse it. Infinite, rolling grassy hills filled the view until they met the orange horizon. They spiraled in no particular direction or pattern.

"Will," I firmly say. His eyes flutter slightly, before licking his lips and turning over. I groan, trying to shake the boy awake. He groans even louder than I did, and tries to swat my hand away. "Wake up, idiot! I am not carrying your deadweight down this mountain!"

It's quiet for a moment. Then, Will asks, "Mountain?"

"Yes! We are stuck on a rock on a mountain, and if you roll over again, you're going right off the edge! So get up!"

Will raises, eyes puffy from sleep. His hair was messy with curls squashed like a pie against the back of his head. The sun was setting over the horizon causing a warm glow to wash over his dark skin.

I smirk. "Geez, you look like shit."

Will's eyes widened defensively. "Well, how am I supposed to do my routine when I am forcibly knocked out by the functions of this realm? Speaking of, how long have we been out? Where the Hell is Blackjack?"

"There's no telling. Did you dream again?"

"I did. You?"

"Yeah, I did," I stand, looking over the cliff. "We can assume that we'll be put to sleep by every portal. There's one thing I don't understand, though."

"Hm?"

I stand, peering over the edge of the mountain. "In the Meadow, souls that didn't wake up were trapped and turned into those flowers. So, what happens if we don't wake up here?"

Will examines the top of the mountain before pointing. "There seems to be a grass platform up there. It would be good to make it up there before nightfall. Visibility is everything. If we try to head down the mountain, especially with the sun setting, we risk injury and getting lost. Plus, I really need to sleep. Real sleep."

I stared at the jagged rocks once more, an eery feeling falling over me. Will was right—there was no way I was going down there.

I think back to what I told Will moments before. "We are stuck on a rock on a mountain, and if you roll over again, you're going right off the edge."

Will suddenly latches onto a large, jagged rock platform above us. He hoists himself up, his biceps flexing and shirt revealing a sliver of his sculpted stomach. He grunts as he disappears onto the surface. My brain, admittedly, short circuits as his manly, deep groan repeats in my head, as well as the image of his pumping muscles put into action.

A hand juts out above me. My eyes follow the arm until I see Will's smirking face. I presume a part of him knew what he was doing. I clear my throat, try to breathe away the sparking rosacea breaking out across my face, and accept his hand in mine. I push off right as he begins to pull me up.

Surprisingly, he's much stronger than I had previously believed. In one swift motion, I join him on the small platform. He helps me to my feet; however, I was not expecting to be so squished that our noses almost touch. I instinctively take a step back, the pebbles beneath my extended foot giving way and almost hurdling me towards the abyss below. Will grabs me just in time by wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me even closer. His freckles are much more visible. He smiles, and I notice his front teeth aren't as straight as they appear to be from a distance. Hah! Not so perfect now, huh?