BETTER SAFE THAN ZOMBIE

8| Mr. Lollipop

The headlights of the car was the only light in the darkness of the night, revealing a cobbled road, a row of trees and red eyes peeping from the forest now and then, the animals making their presence known.

Or were they really animals? They could be...

Shut up, brain! I commanded it. I don't need any more of your paranoia.

I looked at my comrades, several of them already sleeping. The only ones left awake were Simon, who was driving, Ethan, who looked distant and far away, and of course, yours truly.

I looked across to him. "Ethan?"

"Out of my mind," he replied. "Please leave a message."

I hid a grin. Not so distant, after all.

"Why were you nice to me earlier?" I asked him, when his green eyes--turning emerald in the dark--turned to look at me. His dark hair was heavily mussed by the wind coming from the half-opened window behind him, and I shivered in its cool caress.

He smirked. If he keeps doing that, I'll start believing that if I look up the word 'smirk' in the dictionary, I'll see Ethan's face plastered on it. I'm just saying.

"Glad you even know the meaning of the word."

I scowled at him. I wouldn't say it out loud, but nice-Ethan-Blake kind of unsettles me. Like when a particularly poisonous hairy spider turns into a harmless, beautiful butterfly. Know what I mean? It's like you can't help but think that maybe a UFO with the green-eyed aliens brainwashed him.

"Fine," I said. "Act dumb and stupid about it, like you don't know. But we both know that I know that you know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah," he said dryly. "Keep insulting me because you're very smart. You have a brain you never used."

I growled. "If Moses has seen your face," I shot back, "There would have been another commandment."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Thou shall not be envious of the handsome-looking people."

Since insulting his physical appearance didn't seem to work, I tried another tactic. Insulting his intelligence. I'm pretty sure he's dumb anyway.

"If you ever had a bright idea," I said, "It would be beginner's luck!"

"And calling you an idiot," he retorted, "Would be an insult to all the stupid people."

"You're the one to talk," I hissed. "I know for a fact that Mother Nature really hates you because you remind her so much of all her mistakes!"

"I think of you when I'm lonely, Hazel," he said to me confidentially. Before I could rear back in shock, he added, "Then I'm content to be alone."

My cheeks flushed. "We all sprang from apes," I said furiously, "but you didn't spring far enough!"

"You must have a low opinion of people," he drawled, "If you think they're your equals. Really, Hazel, you're more ape-like than I am."

"Hah!" I scoffed. "I researched your entire family tree, and it seems you were the sap!"

My sarcastic remarks were getting lamer and lamer, but as long as I could insult him, I suppose anything's fine. Most of it came from memes anyway.

"'Research'? I'm surprised you even know the word. After all, your birth was a failed experiment," he fired back.

I snarled. "Kiss my ass!"

"Children!" Simon scolded, and we both looked at him, breathing hard. The air throbbed between me and Ethan, crackling with intensity. We were so fired up we didn't realize we weren't the only people in the room. Or in the car, for that matter. Well, that is, until Simon intervened.