Be My Eyes

3: Into The Woods

"We'll meet you by the bins at the front of the school" that's what Parker had said after Iona had nodded in bewilderment at their invitation and now she was leaving her last class of the day to that exact spot.

She was walking down the steps at the front doors, lost her footing and stumbled slightly down the rest of them, grabbing the railing to stop a second fall.

She straightened herself up and told herself no one saw that. Her doubts about meeting Parker were now imminent in her mind, she could hardly walk down stairs let alone treck through a forest!

It was too late now though as she approached the bins and Parker called her name, his two friends following him as he walked up to Iona.

"I thought you werent coming! This here is Derek but we call him Razor because of that Razor sharp jaw line!" Parker cried gesturing to the taller, broader boy from History earlier, a large smile on his face and Iona guessed by the look on Derek's face, it was an old nickname that had stuck just to make fun of him...although Iona could see what they meant, he had a very defined jaw.

"That is Rachel, or Tatty because of the hair, need i say more" Parker stated and Rachel stuck her tongue out playfully at him before smiling gently at Iona but Iona was looking at her crazy hair which was a layered mess of dyed hair. Some streaks showed her natural brown but others were dyed bright red and blue, one strand was even bleached and it stood out in her fringe amongst the other colours. Iona smiled at her, she looked too young to be in their year, she didnt appear much older than 14.

"And finally we have Me, Parker, also known by these two as Phoenix so lets get going shall we!" Parker finished quickly and Derek and Rachel turned around and started walking down the road.

Parker walked beside Iona, nattering on about his french teacher who wouldnt stop yelling at him in french and he couldnt understand a thing, he didnt stop talking until they reached the woods.

"After you Tatty m'lady" Derek said formally, swinging his arm out to usher her past him like a servant to a queen. Tatty responded by giving him a hard shove, which due to his size had little effect.

Derek laughed an walked in amongst the trees, Tatty bounded after him suddenly looking very small beside him.

"Come one" Parker said when Iona didnt make any move towards the trees. When she looked ahead all she saw was a mass of wood and leaves, it was unfamiliar and she didnt feel comfortable.

"Do you guys do this kind of thing all the time?" Iona asked, her gaze shifting to Parker's well worn boots.

"Yeah it's awesome! You should see what kinds of stuff gets left lieing around in here, and today we're looking for caves!" He said excitedly, his entire body fidgety as if electrical currents were whizzing through him at high speed.

"Caves?" Iona said, a hint of disbelief in her voice, she couldnt imagine there being any caves in these woods but Parker seemed hell bent on looking.

"Oh come on Tatty and Razor have a head start" Parker whimpered like a small boy, his voice pleading. When Iona said nothing he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the trees.

Iona let the boy drag her because she figured with her hand in his she was less likely to fall face first on the uneaven woodland floor. She had not been into these woods that lined one side of the small village since she moved here and if her dad knew what she were doing right now he'd probably have a heart attack.

Once Razor and Tatty were in sight, Parker slowed down and Iona's tired legs were glad for it. Parker let her hand drop and she felt slightly colder than before.