A Firefly's Glow

Chapter Eight: Part Five

I felt a firm hand clap over my mouth as I ducked into darkness.

“Be quiet!” a voice hissed into my ear. “If you make any noise, I’ll slap you silly.”

Smacking me silly would make even more noise, but I abruptly obeyed.

“Hey!” the cop’s voice snapped. The glow from his flashlight whipped across the asphalt. “I know you’re here! Come out!”

I wanted to shout “Just because you demand us to come out doesn’t mean we’re actually going to come out!” but Hinata’s clamped fingers against my jaw prevented anything to emanate from my voice.

An anxious feeling swam through my throat. Hinata’s urge to grab me made me nervous. Even though I didn’t understand why he wasn’t over his ex, I do understand that he’s reluctant of touching me because I remind him of his ex.

The rapid footsteps hurried back across the path. Hinata released his grip and I coughed a rough exhale out of my mouth.

“I thought I told you not to wander off!” Hinata snapped. I felt his piercing glare peer towards mine through the darkness. “We were almost caught! You dummy!”

I recoiled in guilt.

Hinata gripped onto my wrist. “Don’t wander off again! If you do, I won’t save you!”

He tugged my arm as we hopped over the railings and back onto the asphalt.

“Why did you wander off?” Hinata asked, dragging me through the dark path with his vice-like grip.

“I saw a firefly.”

“Typical.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

We exchanged sharp glares.

Hinata rapidly whipped his gaze away before I could continue to yell.

“There’s light up ahead,” he blankly informed, aiming a finger further down the path. As I focused my gaze back down the darkness, I found that Hinata was correct.

A bright orb of light glimmered up ahead. As we walked further down the path, more orbs slowly began to appear, one by one, until there was a brand new path of lights lined before us.

I felt relief fill my breath as I stepped out of the shadows.

“Alright, I saved your butt,” Hinata grumbled, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. “You owe me.”

I let out a hissed sigh. “Fine, but don’t ask for money. I’m broke.”

“I don’t want money. Just answer my question.”

“If you’re going to ask why my name is “Firefly”—“

“No, I’m not! Listen to me, will ya?”

My voice halted into silence. After a few wordless seconds, Hinata spoke.

“What are you running away from?”

I ducked my head towards the asphalted ground. “A debt.”

“You don’t wanna pay your debt?”

“No, I’m being owed a debt.”

Thoughts reentered my mind. Hinata gave me the same furrowed brow that I would have given myself if I was an outsider in this situation. Being owed a debt was a good thing, wasn’t it?

Though as foolish as it seemed to run away from a debt, I did have one good reason.

I didn’t want change.