AM » hood au

2:14

after what feels like hours (although surely it can only be two) she finds herself at a large, snow covered park. she has never seen it before, so she knows that she's quite far away from home, but she doesn't mind. without thinking twice, she lets her feet sink into the snow as she begins to walk down the path, and even though the snow is cold her body is warm.

she wishes that animals could be out at this time to keep her lonely mind company, but they're all asleep in their animal homes and she wants to join them but knows she cannot. in the mean time, she continues to walk and enjoy the scenery, with her breath rising in clouds in front of her face that is illuminated by the flickering street lights.

after some time, she reaches the end of the park, which she realises she has walked all the way through. this surprises her as she crosses the road, because the park looked awfully long when she first entered it. but maybe things go faster at these early hours, especially when she's as tired as she is.

the streets are also long, she finds, and starts to wonder if she should be heading home. she's not quite sure if she's getting progressively further away from her home or looping around in a circle back towards it. she knows that if she gets lost, she can always wait the night out and ask someone in the morning, because there is definitely a bus that will take her back to a familiar area, but she doesn't really want to. she'd rather be able to make it home by herself.

without taking much notice of her surroundings, she doesn't realise that she's slowly but surely approaching a boy leaning against an abandoned building. he's watching her with a curious interest, and she still doesn't become aware of his presence until he scares her with his voice when she's just a few metres away.

"why are you out so late?" he says calmly, making her jump. she stops walking for the first time since she started, pausing next to him nervously, trying to catch a glimpse of his face. he, like her, is also lit up by lights, so she studies his attractive features with caution, taking in his dark hair and kind chocolate eyes, wondering why he would stop her in the middle of the street.

"you wouldn't understand," she whispers, voice hoarse from disuse, as she shuffles on her feet and plays with her fingers, itching to be back on her way.

with a small twitch of his lips, he smiles.