Finding Freedom

III

But he, that dares not grasp the thorn                                                                                                               Should never crave the rose

- Anne Brontë

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I cough awkwardly and look up into Roman's violet eyes.

"Um... thanks. You can let go now." I mumble, weakly attempting to extract myself from his arms.

He smirks. "Now why would I do that? You never know, knowing you, you might lose your balance again and who would be there to save you."

I growl indignantly and wiggle out of his grasp. "I'm not some helpless damsel, I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"I beg to differ." He answers smugly.

"Oh, piss off!" I stand up from my uncomfortable seat on the floor and brush off my shorts and legs with one hand, the other holding onto Roman with an iron grip. I've learnt my lesson and I prefer my two feet stable on the ground.

By now, everyone is off the bus save for us. Gina pops her head in through the door and taps her watch, looking at me pointedly.

"Chop, chop! No time for cannoodling! Time is of the essence!"

I grumble about how I didn't even agree to coming on this trip but still reluctantly get up, ignoring Roman's protestants.

Outside, the humid air seems to have set into a thick cloud of mist above our heads, weaving through the trees in soft, white whisps. I gasp as I take in the scene before me, the lush green trees that had whizzed past us just minutes ago, now still, seem to stretch, reaching for the sky. Winding vines wrap their leaves around the climbing chocolate trunks, water rolls off vivid and colourful flowers and twinkles when it catches the light. In the distance i can hear the faint sound of the calm lagoon and it mixes harmoniously with the melodious singing of the birds around me. For a second I feel completely at peace.

Then Roman shoves me into a tree.

"Grughsndf!"

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the mouthful of tree you where chomping on." He says.

"I hate you so much." I manage to growl after spitting everything out. I dust myself off and scowl at him, then stomp off after Gina.

I stop beside her, in the group of tourists from the hotel, a guide in front of us. He seems to be talking about the history of the lagoon itself but I can't hear over the obnoxious sound of Roman's voice.

"Would you please shutup?" I whisper-yell at him.

"Make me." He counters.

"You infuriate me!" I try to keep my voice down but it's very hard when he's being this annoying.

"I infuriate you, in your pants." He winks at me.

"Ok, what is that even supposed to mean? And if your hinting at what I think you're hinting at, then I will beat you with a tree."

"Alright, I might have overstepped the boundaries. Sorry." I scrunch my nose up, still not satisfied. "Aaaaand, I'm also sorry for pushing you into that tree. And all the other stuff I've done."

I grin. "Good, now you can leave me alone."

"Come on! Seriously? I literally just apologised! Can't we be friends?"