Insanity

You're Such a Tease

"Van?" I hear Danny call as he tries to jog through the trees to get to me, hands full of food and a guitar. I keep my eyes closed, hearing him drop the items and sit beside me, playing with my hair the same way the wind tossed it with the leaves only a few moments ago. I smile a wide grin, eyes closed tight, and a tear rolling gently down my cheek.

"What's your biggest fear?" I ask.

"What?" He asks, caught off guard.

"Your biggest fear, what is it?" I repeat with laughter resting comfortably in my voice.

"Like what is my worst way of death?" He asks. I slowly shake my head.

"No," I begin, "just your worst overall fear." I say again. He sits quietly there for a minute then responds,

"Clowns." I hear him laugh and I smile again, eyes still closed.

"Seriously," I urge.

"Falling in love with you. Because Vanessa, that's something that'd probably get me killed." He answers.

"Clearly you're not going to take this seriously," I say.

"Why?" He asks. "What's your biggest fear?" He says. We sit quietly for a moment, only the wind and rustling leaves around us. Then I slowly open my eyes,

"Being alone." I say.

"Being alone?" Danny clarifies. I nod.

"I can't be in this world alone," I say, "and I can't die alone in this world either." I say, turning my head to look at Danny.

"You won't be," he says to me, "you'll never be." He continues to graze his hands along my hair in the leaves and I see him searching into my deep brown eyes, filled to the brim with secrets and memories that not even I acknowledge are there.

"You know you can't promise me that, Danny." I say, the wind chilling my cheeks and giving me chills.

"I'm never going to leave you-" he begins.

"What if you don't have a choice?" I ask, sitting up. We both sit across from each other and stare at one another's faces, waiting for the other to do something.

Danny is the first to break the tension, along with the space between us. He leans in suddenly, like a lion pouncing upon its prey he's been hunting all night, and kisses me roughly and gently at the same time. I close my eyes and he grabs my face and we both lean in. He pulls away and keeps his hand around my jaw and neck,

"Sorry," he says, "but I can't look into those eyes and not do anything about it." He states. I speak as soon as he finishes his sentence; almost cutting him off.

"Just kiss me you idiot." I say as I lean in to try for another kiss. I put my hands around the back of his head and along his neck as I scoot close to him.

We sit there, quietly and gracefully, accepting what was always going to happen and what was now clearly inevitable.

That's called love.

****

I pull away and look at him for only an instance before spinning around quickly and laying on the dirty ground. I face away from him but I hear him sigh with a chuckle.

"What the hell are you doing, Van?" He asks, still chuckling.

"I'm tired," I say, "so I'm going to sleep."

"You're such a tease." He says as he gets up, causing me to laugh a little and then close my eyes.

"Where are you going?" I ask, still laying away from him and keeping my eyes closed.

"Now that we don't have any safety, someone really has to keep watch. Since you're tired, and I'm a gentleman, you'll sleep first." I sit up and cross my legs, turning to face him as I look upward toward his face.

"No," I state as he stands there in front of me, now putting his hands on his hips. I sit there quietly and try not to laugh.

"No?" He questions.

"No," I state again. He sighs and I smile. Then he walks over toward me and bends down to pick me up.

"You're like a five year old, I swear." He laughs as he pulls me into his arms and carries me through the trees as we both laugh along the winding path.

"I'll stay up with you." I say once he sets me down on a little hill, tall enough to see a little more than where we were before.

"But you need to sleep," he says. I forcefully shake my head.

"Not tonight," I say, "tonight I have enough energy to charge all the lights in the world." I say, looking at him while he sits beside me.

"You'll fall asleep eventually." He says. I narrow my eyebrows and squint my eyes at him.

"No, I won't." I persist. He takes my head and lays it on his chest and we're so close to each other, it's feels so right and so normal.

"But Van, I know you, you always say you're tired whenever I sleep over and you're always out by 11:00." He says with laughter in his voice. I feel his chest move with the laughter and I smile.

"But were those nights nights where I would kiss you?" I ask with my head on his chest and his shoulder.

"No," he says, "but I just know you."

"You don't know me, Danny." I say confidently.

"Please," he says, "I know you better than anyone; including yourself. Hell, your name rolling off my tongue feels better than mine, even."

"I love your name." I say.

"Just go to sleep, ya goof." He says as I stop resisting the urge to close my eyes and drift into the darkness.

"Love ya," I say casually as I fall asleep.

"Love you too." He says as I succumb to the blackness and fall asleep in Danny's arms.