Step By Step

Chapter 1-"Friends?"

A picture of Scarlet above. Andrew's picture is in the next chapter :)

I stand in the mirror and stare back at the reflection. My long brown hair is off to my side, and my blue eyes pop out immediately. I run my fingers through my hair once more before standing up and walking out of my room. "Mom? I'm heading out for a while." I say looking around. As always, the house is so clean. "Alright, sweetie. Be back for dinner." I nod and go outside, closing the door behind me. Mom never asks where I go, because she already knows. When I was just a few years old, Mom took me to our favorite place, the woods. We would look at the tiny fish swimming in the pond, and the birds of different colors flying in the pale sky. 

Those were fun days, and I have memorized all our travels. I know where the woods are by heart. If I were to forget, it would be shameful. After a few minutes, I look at the trees. The wind blows my hair every which way, but I quickly tame it back in place. It's like the trees are calling me to join them. I smile and walk forward, not looking back. I'm away from reality- for now. And that's just the way I wish it to be. Not even in two seconds, trees and flowers are all around me.

I slowly keep on walking, stopping to take a few quick glances at new flowers grown on the soft grass. This time, there are tiny pink sprouts. They're-

"Lovely, aren't they?" I snap my head around, my heart racing fast. I stare at the person, before I realize that I've been staring for too long. "Sorry." I murmur looking down. The person in front of me just gives a small laugh. I look up again. "What's so funny?" I ask- not rudely, but curiously. "Nothing. It's just that you have nothing to be sorry for. You're actually very innocent." I can't help but grin. Everyone thinks I am innocent. And they aren't lying when they say that.

"Anyways," The boy continues. "I'm Andrew." He gives a warm smile. "Nice to meet you, Andrew. I'm Scarlet." I reply, the grin on my lips not wanting to leave. "Scarlet..." Andrew mumbles slowly as if tasting my name. "Pretty." He nods. I feel myself blush. No boy has ever complimented me like this before. What do I do? Andrew also probably feels the atmosphere getting awkward, so he says, "Follow me." As he walks forward, I walk with him.

"Where are we going exactly?" I ask stealing a glance at his eyes. He answers like he expected me to say that. "Nowhere and everywhere. My favorite place." I smile, but my lips are starting to get tired. Finally, we arrive. My jaw automatically drops. "Wow." I whisper. There's a small bench made of wood, and the sunlight is focused entirely on that. There are small flowers around. Andrew sits down, motioning for me to sit next to him. I do, and gush, "When did you find this?" He looks at me, trying to see if I will keep his secret. I give him a reassuring look. He has nothing to worry about. "A year ago. My parents got divorced, and I just walked around this place. I found a tree, and in a few weeks, this is what I made." Andrew states softly. 

I look at him with a bit of a sad expression. "I'm really sorry to hear about your parents." He shakes his head. "It's nothing. What's in the past should stay in the past, right?" I nod. "Right."

I see that Andrew moved a little closer to me. "I love these woods. They're..." I try to find the right word. "Comforting." I finish with a distant look. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Andrew nod. "Yeah. Whenever something happens, I like to come here. It cleanses my soul." I smile at him. "You're very poetic. Have you ever though about starting poetry?" I ask him. "Not really. I don't see myself as that kind of person. But who knows what I'll be when I grow up and have my own profession?" We both chuckle. 

"Scarlet?" I fix my attention on Andrew. "Hm?" He gives me a small side hug which makes my heart feel like it's about to explode. "Something happened today. I'm not going to talk about that. But I just wanted to say, you made me feel a lot better. Just by seeing you, I knew I could tell you and show you my secrets." I laugh a little. "You make me feel better too."  "And you really should think about poetry." I say teasingly. "Friends?" I nod at Andrew. "Definitely."

How is it so far? Share your comments below! Thank you~