Whispers Of The Dark

The Sky Above, The Earth Below, The Fire Within

It was a beautiful day outside but I wouldn't get to enjoy it. Hunter wouldn't either. Instead, we would be pulling weeds in what they called a greenhouse. Apparently, there wasn't some sort of spell that does it for you. Yet again, maybe there is and they just want to see us suffer. Whatever the reason, I just knew that the rest of today wouldn't be fun.

Who was I kidding?

I actually couldn't wait for detention to begin. 2 hours with just you and your crush alone. The possibilities were endless.

Hunter came up behind me suddenly and I felt myself go red, as if he could somehow know that I had been thinking about him.

"Hey." He gave me a small smirk and I scowled.

"Why are you so happy? It's detention. We won't be playing Ring-Around-The-Rosie in a flower patch."

He let out a bark of laughter and I tried not to blush at the fact he laughed at my joke.

"Put your arms out front!" Mr. Bates barked.

Great, he's the one monitoring our detention.

"Hart! Put your arms out front! Listen when I say things."

Put your arms out front, lean side to side, they gonna be on you when they see you hit that dougie right? Stop. Pay attention.

He snapped a thick silver bracelet on each of my hands and proceeded to do the same to Hunter. "What are these?" I asked.

"Vinculas. They prevent you from performing any kind of magic."

"They're cute. I might consider making them a fashion statement. What do you think Hunter?"

Mr. Bate's mouth was set in a stern line as he ushered us inside, closing the door behind us.

"You, me, and a room full of plants. What could possibly happen?"

"If you're thinking about kissing, the walls are glass." I rolled my eyes, hoping he couldn't hear my beating heart.

"Are you scared of being seen with me?" He took a step closer, my face was practically touching his chest as I stared up at him, refusing to look away.

"I just don't wanna be the laughingstock of the school."

"How would kissing me possibly make that happen?"

"I've met many guys of your type, Hunter."

"Sexy and charming?" The corner of his mouth twitched up into that annoying yet undeniably sexy smirk.

"Players." It didn't come out harsh but my voice sounded strangely... flirtatious.

"We'll see about that."

Mr. Bates knocked on the glass, telling us to get to work. Hunter showed him his middle finger in response but we got to work anyways.

"So... which ones are the weeds?" I asked, inching away from a flower that looked particularly dangerous with inch long thorns and what looked like vines out to grab me and pull me in.

"Mangiare."

"What?"

"That's the name of the flower. It's it's Italian for eat."

"Creative. But which ones are the weeds because if you ask me, everything here looks like it can harm other plants."

Hunter let an easy smile slide into his lips and it was the first time I had seen him smile and not actually smirk. "These." I gestured toward a... it didn't even look like a plant. It was short and stubby and a rich red color, almost like blood. It didn't have leaves or even a stem. It looked like the top of a Venus flytrap actually except it didn't have the teeth thingies.

"It doesn't look that bad..."

Hunter scoffed and picked up a small rock from the ground. He tossed it into the weird looking plant and I watched in horror and it closed with such force that the rock broke into small pieces. "Now imagine, what were to happen if your finger got stuck in there."

I shuddered at the thought of my finger getting turned into a gruesome version of applesauce because of the monster weed.

"No gloves or anything? How are we supposed to get rid of it without magic?" I questioned, frustrated that they would make us do something like this.

"The plant has a lot of strength when it closes but not a lot for it to open up again. We have to throw something inside so that it will close and you can hold it shut and I'll help pull it out because these plants have very strong roots."

I glanced at the menacing plant warily. "Let's do this."

Hunter threw another rock into its... mouth and I winced as little chunks flew in all sorts of directions. Hunter urged me to hold it shut and I ran towards it and gripped it tightly in my hands. I felt a soft push against my palms as it tried to open up again and I could see what he meant.

He placed his hands over mine and I tried my best not to blush as my fingers tingled from his touch. "Pull!" I jerked upward with all my might but I knew Hunter was doing most of the work.

"Almost..." he grunted through gritted teeth.

The weed finally gave up and it now lay dead on the floor. Curiously, I knelt down and opened it up, examining the bizarre plant.

Grossed out, I backed away from it and turned back to Hunter.