Meeting Maia

Reunited

Cleo loomed over me. I couldn't react so I lay there starting into her eyes. Kyle stood to my right starting at Cleo who was propped up over me

"Maia?" He asked. His voice snapped the two of us into sanity.

"No, Kyle, this is-" I began before Cleo interrupted me.

"Jonas! Here, look!" I looked at my sister again, tears were welling up in her mascara covered eyes. It dribbled onto her white blouse. Jonas sprinted from the condiments of the trees. First he saw Kyle and then Cleo. All he could see of me was two mud covered bare legs. He reached down to hit me and then saw the familiar face beneath her.

"Raphael, if it isn't my favourite twin!" He said reaching down to help me up. The two engulfed me in a tight bear hug. Cleo was still crying onto our shoulders, smearing Jonas' suave leather jacket with the black goo.

"R-Raphie, we've l-looked everywhere for y-you!" Cleo blubbed, her voice muffled by our shirts.

"Who's this then?" Asked Jonas, nodding towards Kyle. He introduced himself and Jonas repeated his actions. I grinned at the sight.

"Did you see Maia?" I asked, my smile faltering slightly.

"Yeah," Jonas looked solemn, "She said you guys were a thing now but only since you'd run away together, don't worry though, bro, I forgive you. From what I could see, you guys were much more suited than us." He sounded slightly pained but that was the least of my worries because now it was okay for me to love Maia the way I'd only seen in Cleo's chick flicks.

"Thank you," I breathed in relief.

"She's waiting a mile from here, her and Klaus, but she's only going to wait for another hour so let's be quick, just in case." Cleo erupted the tears from her eyes and hitched up her skirt a little higher, wriggled her foot further into her high heel which was extremely inappropriate for the forest, and set off in the direction she'd materialised from. Kyle hesitated.

"C'mon, let's go!" I laughed, filled with this amazing euphoria.

"I-I can't," he stammered.

"Oh,"

"I said is help you find Maia but she's already been found by your family, I don't belong here."

"Come with us, please!"

"No!" He shouted, his face contorted in anger, "I can't, don't you see? I don't belong anywhere and you don't really want me to come, you pity me! I don't need your superior attitude putting me down! I don't need your pity! So just piss off okay!" He raced away, I went to chase him but Jonas grabbed my arm and shook his head and together we moved into the depths of the forest.

I heard a light almost inaudible gasp from above me and I glanced up. Brown ringlets tumbled from the branches, leafy green eyes gazed down at me. Soft lips formed a beautiful smile, my image of perfection.

"Maia," I whispered and saw her lips mouth my name. I laughed, it was harsh and jagged and wrong in this place of despair but I didn't care. Her eyes glittered and I had to go up the tree. See her, kiss her, it was all a rush of emotions. Then Klaus' rugged head appeared, blocking my view.

"Are they following?" He asked, leaning so far forwards, I honestly thought he was about to fall it the tree.

"No. But they won't be coming back for a while!"

"What'd you do?"

"Burnt a hole in their wall," I replied nonchalantly. Klaus cried out in laughter, but got serious quick.

"You-you didn't let Kyle out, right?" His eyes flashed a warning.

"Yeah, of course."

"Dammit! He's bad news. I shared a cell with that guy for ages and he's mentally insane, he wants everyone with powers dead. He talks to himself constantly, shouting and screaming in his sleep! He tried to strangle me once but I blew him to the wall. He pulled out his hair and then punched himself so hard, he was unconscious for two days, then he started crying and screaming again! It was goddamn awful and now he's going to kill all of us! He's merciless!" Klaus looked pretty shaken up, everyone was staying at him intently.

"We better start moving then, get somewhere safe." Started Jonas, sneakily glancing at Maia as if he wanted her to see his seriousness and maturity but she jumped from the top most branch of the tree and water droplets emerged from the ground and carried her safely to the floor.

"Your getting good," I grinned, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"I've had some practise, you know saving Jonas and Cleo's ass more than once!"

"I saved a psychopath, that's gotta count for something!" I laughed, joking about it made the reality of it seem fictional. Maia grabbed a backpack that she'd recently acquired while I'd been missing and the five of us headed further into this infinite amount of forest.