Ghost and the Writer

Apartment

Mandy fell down in the moss like a dramatic heroine hit by an arrow. His words echoed in her mind. The reasons why cursed forests were called such resurfaced - it was a place that had made someone like August possible, to begin with.

Throughout it all, she had been under the impression that August would use a teenage girl like excuse and get away, like 'I need a shower' or something. There had been a time when she too got away exactly like that. Ha ha hah, why was she the careless jock in the relationship when she was the one risking something?

There was no denying that it was both fresh and exciting to be on the chasing end, and August certainly fit the role of being chased, surprisingly enough. Mandy wouldn't have guessed at all considering his usual teasing streak. Those honest expressions he showed might be what made her go as wild as she had; reality was far better than any of her imagined scenarios of August x Handsome hunk, just remembering made her feel like having another taste, but...

Children.

She was too young to have any! No, wait... actually - if Mandy summed up her age at death with the seventeen years after it, then she would be a lady in her forties! She wasn't too young, this was actually the right time! August was the one who was too young.

Mandy gasped... did this make her into a cougar? Appearance wise she and August were of a similar age, but in reality that wasn't the case at all. Mandy felt depressed at the idea, but her behavior just before was also along the lines of an elder sister having her way with the more innocent someone. If she didn't know that he had dated others before she might feel like dying (again).

But... actually... had he ever done 'it'? It had been just common sense back in her time to date for at least a month before taking the next step. But in their case... ha ha hah ha ha ha ha, minutes after finding out it was a mutual like.

"This was not your first time, was it?" Mandy asked, although, thinking back it felt more and more like it might be the case.

August pursed his lips, his ears turning red. "I regret not letting you anguish for a year, thinking you had a one-sided crush."

So it was! Haaaaaaaah! What the heck had she done? Mandy really wanted to die. And to think she was that into it. He did learn quickly and kept up well, but, yep, that explained a lot of things. Men also seldom had a flowery language when describing those things in books (like many female romance writers), but if it was like that, then that was the only natural way he could describe it, without giving away his own lack of experience.

The words he had said just before confessing and his troubled expression as he did gained a new meaning - he had read her. Like an open book. He could tell she had realized her own feelings and he could also tell what her despaired expression implied and he had not wanted her to struggle with that anguish, so he had no choice but to tell her how he felt. August's ability to read people was frightening, it was no wonder he had realized about her attraction before she had herself.

Ah... but look at what she did with his good intentions. She couldn't really call his personality bad if she herself was like this. "Sorry," Mandy said.

"You should be," August said with his lips pursed. "I can't go out looking like this..."

That was something even Mandy had to agree to. She had made his clothes into a complete mess and... plainly speaking, he looked way too enticing. It was obvious what had recently transpired with just one look and the way his now longer hair fell on his shoulders, disheveled in just the right way, was making her hungry all over again. He was worse now than in that morning when even Ian became flustered. Mandy had casually stolen away that barrier which made August feel like someone you could look at, but not touch.