Old Friends (Wirt x Reader)

Chapter 15

  You and Wirt walked until the sun went down, and then you walked a little more. You looked up at the trees as they grew closer and tightened around you two. There was something ominous about these woods. You wondered what lurked out there among the trees.

"We should probably stop for the night," Wirt spoke up at last. You were ready to keep walking for hours, but as soon as he mentioned stopping, you realized how tired you were.

"Seems the best idea," you replied.

Wirt nodded, and the two of you stopped at a big tree. Maybe it wasn't that big, but it was the biggest in your immediate vicinity. You sat next to each other against the tree. You were tired, but not enough so to fall asleep yet. As you were thinking under that tree, you noticed that you still clutched the notepad in your hand.

You smiled a little, remembering what you had written. You would have written more at that moment, but the moon didn't provide enough light. Instead, you began thinking again.

Did you and Wirt really have a good chance of getting out of this place? He and Greg got out before, but he didn't specify how.

"Hey, Wirt," you whispered.

"Yeah, (y/n)," he responded quietly.

"How did you and Greg get home last time?"

Wirt sighed and didn't answer for a long time. "I don't think it's the same for everyone."

You almost asked your question again until the answer hit you. It didn't matter how Greg and Wirt got home last time. What mattered was finding out how you and Wirt would be getting home this time. They didn't relate, because the same people weren't involved.

You let silence remain for a while. "Wirt," you began. "Do you know what's happening back home?"

"I don't think anything is happening," he said. "Only a short amount of time, if any, passed before."

You sat, thinking, the thought occurred that you could always stay. What did home offer? School, homework, judgmental kids, boredom. Even though the truth of the matter was nagging at the back of your mind, you couldn't shake the feeling. Wirt had admitted that he had thought the same thing when he was first here.

You looked over to where you knew Wirt sat. You could make out an outline of him with the light seeping between the trees' branches. His hair glinted slightly; it was slightly messy, but you smiled at that fact. You thought about Greg; when he was here, silence must never have fallen like this. From Greg your thoughts drifted to (b/n).

As much as he annoyed you, as much as he angered with you, and as much as you two fought, the image of him smiling stuck with you. With this memory, you began rethinking staying. You knew that staying wasn't realistic, but you just couldn't discount it.

"Things will be okay," you said aloud, assuring yourself more than Wirt.

"You sound like Greg," Wirt said wistfully.

As much as you were thinking about your family, Wirt must have been thinking just as much, if not more about his.

You leaned your head back and looked at the outline of the trees above. The scene hanging above you resembled an old, black and white photo. The moon peeked behind the thick tree cover, only slight rays of pale light reaching the ground. You tried to focus on little details. Because if you didn't distract yourself, you would probably think about home to the point of wanting to cry. And that was not about to happen, not in front of Wirt at least.

You examined the outlines of the leaves and watched as the last few drops of the previous rain glittered in the moonlight. You felt your eyes growing heavy.

"Goodnight, Wirt," you whispered.

"Goodnight, (y/n)," he replied softly.

Your eyes fell closed. The next day you would be off again, into the Unknown with the hopes of ending up at home.