The Love Stone

Chapter Two

   Jedediah and Gemma trampled through the same leaves that Gemma had gone through earlier. Her arm was starting to ache. 

   "Where are we going?" Gemma asked, trying to loosen her forearm from his hand.

   "Just somewhere private. where we can talk." His pace was much faster than hers.

   "About what, why couldn't we stay at the house and talk? No one's home."

   "Just come with me." His teeth were clenched as he walked faster.

   They stopped walking at a large tree. Jedediah sat down under the tree, dragging Gemma down with him. He pulled her close to him, and kissed her on the cheek.

   "See, isn't this a better place to talk?" Jed seemed more at peace than he had before. His eyes were closed, his head leaned back, and his arm loosely hung from Gemma's shoulder. Gemma, however, didn't mimic his nature. She felt as though she were sitting on eggshells. Of course, she almost always felt this way around him. The wind began to blow, as a mass of grey began to float towards them.

   "Tornado season." Gemma thought to herself. "Better be careful." The clouds were getting ominous. Gemma stuck her hand in her jacket pocket and pulled out something. It was the heart shaped stone. She had forgotten she even had it! It was still warm, oddly enough. Next thing she knew, it had been ripped from her hands.

   "What's this?" Jedediah inquired, examining the rock. 

   "It's my stone...I found it by the creek. Over there." She pointed towards the area of the water.

   "So it's your good luck charm now or something? I thought that was me." He teased.

   "I don't know what it is to me, it just looks cool." She shrugged. Just then, a small flash illuminated the sky in the distance. "We should probably head back...It's gonna storm."

   "Oh, what; Are you afraid of a little rain?" Jed nudged her. "Wouldn't want to get your hair wet would you princess?"

   "Stop it Jed, you know me better than that." Gemma playfully punched his shoulder, though maybe a little harder than she could claim to have intended. "I just don't want to be caught out here if it gets bad."

   "Oh cry cry sob sob. Let's go for a walk." He stood up, wiping the dirt off his butt and his knees.

   "But..." She trailed off as a crack of thunder rolled above her head.

   "Just come on, it'll be fun!" Jedediah grabbed her once again and dragged her along.

--------------------------------------------------

   They walked through the rocks and the trees for what seemed like decades. By then it had began to rain. Vibrant flashes filled the evening sky as stomps of thunder pounded above. It was as if someone was having a very noisy photo shoot upstairs with an obnoxiously large camera, and you were the poor soul stuck in the basement having to listen to it. Plus the pictures didn't even turn out well. 

   Finally, they found a spot of uttermost interest. Before them sat a pile of huge boulders covered in the brightest green moss they had ever seen. The moss resembled a fuzzy lime.

   "Whoa." That was all either of them could muster out of their mouths. The rocks had to stand at least ten feet into the air.

   "Let's climb them." Jedediah proposed with a sly smirk. He was always the daredevil.

   "I don't think it's safe..." Gemma stared up in awe.

   "Oh come on Gem. You can't go your whole life sitting indoors worrying about everything. How can you know what could happen if you never try? You're missing out on life." Jedediah gestured towards the mountain. "Here's your fresh start, now let's go." Jedediah had always been the philosophical type, but when confronted he'd deny it. He preferred to have people think of him as the best hockey player in the state. 

   "I guess...I'll trust you." Gemma slowly set her foot on the ledge of the bottom boulder, testing to make sure it was sturdy.

   "Good. Now hurry up!" Jedediah was already a foot above her. 

   "Hey, wait up!" 

-----