We Leave At Midnight

28 days before the trip

Melanie threw herself on her mattress as soon as she came back. She'd ended up hanging out with Chase for 2 whole hours. That was the longest Melanie had ever spoken to a boy or to anyone for that matter. She never was able to keep the conversation going or keep the subject interesting. So this, this boy, was an exception. Sometimes, there was an awkward silence but Chase didn't seem to notice. She didn't tell him about her personal life. Nothing about her family or her home situation. Well nothing in too much detail, that is.

Melanie mostly listened, she always did. It was one of her good qualities, listening. She listened as he told her about his personal live and family. He opened up quicker then she'd thought he would, even though it felt like he still left something out. Something he didn't want to tell her. A secret maybe. Something about his parents. Well, secrets are meant to be kept secret. She didn't want to find out anyway. Sure, it made her curious but not that curious. This is what he told her;

-

She sighed as he, once again, leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. She thought he did it to get a better look at her. It made her feel strange and insecure, something she'd never felt before. It made her feel like she wanted to hide behind her hair.

"Well, now we know each other's names." He smiled,"Now you tell me why you didn't want those cigarettes." She looked up from picking on the hem of her iron maiden shirt. "I, I just didn't want them. How did you know I smoke in the first place? Are you my stalker?" He let out a cheerful laugh, "no, um why don't you take a look yourself?" He gestured to their surroundings, well, mostly the ground. Cigarette butts were spread all over the ground, making her think of a cigarette graveyard. "Oh," she flushed, "that explains it." She felt stupid. So stupid, for showing him her embarrassing self and the blushing made her feel weak. She was everything but weak. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all...

Damn, she needed a cigarette. All those stupid thoughts wandering through her mind, driving her crazy. She was turning into a pussy. No way in hell that that's gonna happen, she thought. Pulling out two packages of cigarettes, she handed one to Chase and opened the other one, putting a cigarette to her mouth. Melanie put away her package. He watched her silently and shocked. "That's the reason I didn't need your cigarettes." She said, casually. She lit her cigarette and inhaled the toxic. She didn't want him to know she just bought 5 packages 'cause for all she knew he could be a thief and steal her whole stock. A rapist even. Maybe he was a rapist. Then again he didn't look like one and even if he tried something, she would have him on the ground in seconds. But he did look muscular. What was he hiding under those clothes? She tried not to think of it.

For multiple reasons...

"Cause you've just bought two packages?" He went on. "Yeah, sort of," She half lied, flicking off the ashes, "you can have that one." She pointed to the package of Marlboro cigarettes in his hands. He looked up, surprised. "Wow thanks, and it isn't even my birthday." He said enthusiastic, putting it in the pocket of his jacket. She smiled at him.

"You wanna know why I'm really here?" Without answering he went on, "it's the only place where no one can find me. Especially my parents.." The exact same reason she's always here. Melanie immediately felt a sting of sadness and worry hit her chest. She hoped he didn't have the same sort of parents she did. She wouldn't wish her worst enemy the parents she has. "What are they like?" She asked. Making no eye contact. She wasn't capable of making eye contact since the last time they did. It was too intense and it gave her strange feelings and an unfamiliar shyness.

"I don't wanna talk about them. They're assholes anyway. They don't deserve to be talked about." He said, frustrated kicking the tracks. She nodded, understanding. He grabbed a cigarette himself and she watched as he lit it with a lighter that had weed leaves on it. "Mine are too." She almost whispered. "Yeah?" He asked. "Yeah." She looked at the floor. A huge amount of sadness took over her body once she said that simple word. She realised that her parents would never change. They would always be the way they are now. Mean, ignorant and not caring. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Hey," Chase said, noticing her sudden quietness, "it's okay, you know?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He is touching me (!), went through her head. She shook her head and continued smoking. Pushing his arm off of her shoulder, "fuck off." She muttered and pushed him further away from her, "I don't need your pity." He held his hands up in surrender, one hand still holding the cigarette. "Okay, okay. Easy. I just wanted to say, it's alright to cry..." Even my dad does sometimes, she finished in her head, a lyric from an Ed Sheeran song. "Cause your a girl." He finished, "and girls cry all the time. Especially when they're on their periods... Are you on your period, dear Melanie?" He mocked her, poking her sides. She let out a shriek. "I said, fuck off!" She screamed, laughing loudly, pushing him off the chopped off tree. He tried to find his balance but, it was too late, he was already on the cold hard ground. She was still laughing and he joined her. Melanie chucked her finished cigarette at Chase, hitting his arm. "Ouch! It's still hot!" She chuckled, "That's what you get bitch!" He stood up brushing off the dust and dirt. His eyebrows raised, "hey, that brings back memories." He said, referring to their first interaction. Melanie just smiled.

He sat down again. "Next to my horrible parents, I also got a little sister," He said proudly, "that girl is the sweetest little thing on earth, I'm telling ya." Her eyes brightened, he had a sister! Even though it was rare for her to get excited, she really was excited for him to talk bout his younger sibling. "What's her name?" She questioned interested, resting her head in the palm of her hand. She looked at him. He flicked off the ashes of his cigarette. His eyes were bright and a soft expression took over his face. He smiled sweetly, "Lily," he said, "here name is Lily and she is 5 years old." He smiled so sweet, with crinkles by his eyes, like a proud dad who taught his child how to ride a bicycle. She had to learn herself how to ride a bike..but that's an other story, let's not go there.

"You love her don't you?" She asked sweetly. "Yeah," he looked her in the eye, "I don't love many things in this messed up world but I do love that little one, a lot."

She stared back into his eyes. He had beautiful dark brown orbs. From the moment she saw them, she'd disappeared, into his eyes. Lost. Lost like a sailor, after a unfortunate accident, left alone, in the middle of the sea. Lost like a wolf who became an omega. Lost in his eyes.

As cliché as it sounded.

She didn't even know it was possible to get lost in someone's eyes in real life. Melanie had only read about it in good books. The ones with true love and happy places. Where everyone smiled (without being creepy) and had a good time. You would think Melanie wasn't the person to be into that kind of stuff, with the happy ending and the 'forever and always'. But she was. She just wanted to get lost in a different world or different dimension. That's why most people read books. And that's what she felt when she stared back into Chase' dark brown orbs.

That's why she loved Chase' eyes.

-

Chase blew his warm breath in his closed hands, rubbing them together. It was obvious that he was cold. "Shall we walk around the forest, obviously you're cold." Melanie suggested. She was getting cold too but Chase was, kind of, her personal wind shield. With his broad shoulders, coated in his thick denim jacket, protecting her from the icy wind. "Yeah, maybe that's a good idea." He agreed, shivering. He threw his finished cigarette right next to one of hers. They stood up and silently discussed where they would enter the bushy forest. Together, side by side, they walked in. Only thing between them was silence. Silence as comfortable as a lazy Sunday morning with hot coffee in bed.

As they stepped over branches and small puddles, the smell of wet trees and rotten leaves filled their nostrils. The deeper they went into the forest the more shelter they had from the wind. She inhaled deeply, it was the smell her grandma calls; the smell of freedom. Grandma always said, she felt free in the forest. The smell did her good and she always lost sense of time. What really was an hour felt like a lifetime, wandering through the forest, no worries on her mind. Grandma loved it and Melanie came to love it too, because of her. Enough about her already, it was making Melanie sad just by thinking of her.

Chase touched her hand, pulling her out of her thoughts, just in time before she got too far gone. She mentally thanked him. But the redness in her cold cheeks was soon drawn from her face as she saw what he was amazed about. She looked at the ground to see the big cross marked in the dirt. But of course she was the only one who knew,

it was the mark to her treehouse.

-

Melanie had lied to Chase, told him that it was a treehouse build by the kids from the neighbourhood. He wanted to explore and plunder the treehouse; "who cares, it will be fun," he'd said. Normally she would want to do it too. If it was someone else's. But this was her treehouse and she wasn't going to let him plunder her cd collection or stereo set. They'd gone separate ways when Melanie remembered she had to buy some food for her coolbox. They said bye but both knew they meant;

I hope I'll see you again.