Old Friends (Wirt x Reader)

Chapter 22

You glanced at Wirt occasionally as you walked, but you couldn't read his expressions. He didn't seem excited or nervous; he seemed void of any emotions. Boys.. you thought. You, on the other hand, were flooded with thousands of emotions. Excitement, anxiety, euphoria, apprehension, concern. What had brought you to the Unknown? It had been raining pretty hard, there had been a few trees around, you and Wirt had been standing close, trying to ward off the rain somehow, and it was late afternoon. No rivers or lakes were nearby, none of the trees were very big, and it was light out enough that you couldn't have tripped. You racked your brain, but nothing. No memories, no ideas. You'd be finding out soon anyway.

"This," the Woodsman declared after a long time. "Is where Anna and I must stop. The rest of the path lies with you two."

"What?" Wirt's eyes grew large. "How are we supposed to know which way to go?"

"You've done it once before," he replied simply.

You looked at Wirt then back to the Woodsman and his daughter.

"Thank you," you smiled. "For everything."

After the farewells were exchanged, you headed with Wirt away from Anna and her father.

"He knows what's up," you thought aloud. "We'll be home in no time."

Wirt didn't reply, but you two continued on walking. Neither of you quite knew where to go, but with every turn, it just felt right.

Now, you don't quite remember much of what happened, but you remember a great flash of light then the world materializing around you. You blinked at the foreign light and began to see your surroundings.

The first thing you noticed was the headache. You had a pounding headache. You next looked all around you; you were sprawled across the ground, roughly a meter (three feet) away from the path. You sat up slowly, hesitant to move much in case something was broken- you quickly decided nothing was. You tried to blink away the headache as you kept examining your surroundings. You were wearing only one shoe, goodness knows where the other went. Rain was still falling. Wirt was nowhere to be seen.

You felt too dizzy to stand, so you crawled to the path, searching for Wirt. You found him against a tree near the trail. His eyes were opening, as well. You noted that the ends of his sleeves were blackened. You looked down at your own clothes and saw that they were singed at the edges.

Between the dizziness and the headache, you couldn't reach a conclusion of what had happened. You simply drew near to Wirt, hoping he would understand. He raised his twitching hand and pointed to the trail. You turned your head, but it took you a minute to spot the blackened spot in the earth.

You inched towards it and felt the dirt. It was warm despite the cold rain. You looked up and saw some blackened leaves and branches. It slowly began dawning on you what may have happened. Wirt had made his way to the black spot, as well, and had probably reached the same conclusion.

You wanted to say it out loud, but your mouth seemed to have forgotten the sounds. The more you thought about it, the more the word blurred and swirled in your mind. The words were swept away with your dizziness and swallowed by your headache.

"Lightning," Wirt spoke instead. You clung onto the word, trying not to lose it again.

You looked at Wirt, wondering what you were to do. Neither of you seemed deathly hurt. The only noticeable changes were your headache and dizzy spell- which would pass -Wirt's twitchy hands, and some singed clothing and hair- also your missing shoe, but that's replaceable.

Wirt attempted to stand, using a tree as balance. He stumbled twice, but managed to prop himself against the tree. You struggled in doing the same. Soon, both of you stood against trees. You looked at him once more. Getting back to town was the main priority, but the question was how, when you could barely stand, let alone walk.

A loud crack came from above. As the thunder rumbled, you unknowingly clutched the tree harder than before. Your heart beat faster, but you paid it no mind.

Your dizziness was fading, but your headache held fast. You followed Wirt's lead in going from tree to tree until they were too sparse to use. From there, the two of you braced yourselves on each other, stumbling to the end of the path and to the entrance of the park.

Once there, you both stopped to rest. The distance wasn't great, but the effort it took to cross it was terribly taxing. Your dizziness was slowly returning, and your headache was intensifying.

"My house is c-c-closer," Wirt stuttered.

You wished to say something, but the words you reached for jumbled in your head until they weren't letters or even shapes, just blobs. You nodded instead.

You and Wirt leaned on fences and trees and each other until reaching Wirt's house. What a wonderful sight! You'd never thought their porch, their yard, even just their rain gutter could make you so happy. The thought of those inside increased your emotions. His mom would know what to do.

Wirt let you sit on the bottom step of his porch as he fumbled up the steps and to the door. He knocked too softly to be heard then tried again, this time, louder. He stepped back and braced himself on the wooden railing. You positioned yourself to see the door; you saw the door handle move, then the door opened, talking came right along with it.

"Wirt, did you forget to bring a key again? I can't tell you how ma-" his mother stopped stopped short. "What's the matter?"

~Time skip brought to you by the legit headache I have right now~

You were lying prostrate on the floor in Wirt's living room. His mom had called you parents, and they were on their way. Wirt's step-dad was keeping Greg busy so he wouldn't worry about anything. Wirt sat on the sofa next to his mother. She would not stop asking questions; questions you couldn't nor wanted to answer. Wirt remained silent, as well. Before long, she stopped talking and simply watched the two of you.

Your parents were knocking on the door within fifteen minutes of being called. Wirt's mother let them in, and they rushed to your side. They began asking similar questions as Wirt's mother had.

"They don't want to answer," Wirt's mother informed you parents.

Your mother felt your forehead and held you hand while your father smiled. You appreciated their intentions, but you really just wanted space. They were crowding you out, and it was rather irritating.

"(Y/n)," they said reassuringly. "It will be alright. You're doing fine."

You looked over at Wirt who had his gaze fixed on nothing in particular. You turned your eyes back to your parents. All you wanted at that moment was to sleep. And sleep you did.