The Gold and the Forest

XXXVI

Chapter 36: Pigtails

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"Community college, huh." She thought to herself, tying a tuft of his brown hair up with a small elastic band. Vivi was seated on the sofa and Carl on the floor, back to her. She was doing his hair like a mother tying the hair of her young toddler.

"It's what dad wanted."

She smiled. "Dad?" She touched his face. "When will you call him that to his face."

Carl frowned. She giggled.

After flourishing the two tufts with little bows, she took out her phone and took a selfie with him. She had pigtails too, but hers were longer. She gave a perfect smile and he had a look of genuine surprise.

She took it back, staring at it and laughing. He turned around, giving her a flat look.

"Do I look pretty?"

She burst out into harder laughing, doubling over and putting her hands on his shoulders. "What's with that—" She giggled. "You're always surprising me with comments like that!"

He smiled at her, touching one of her pigtails, the curls pulling through his fingers. Her laughing quieted and she looked down at him.

"Thank god your hand isn't permanently damaged. How would you work then?" Her hand touched his forearm and traveled up the sleeve of his t-shirt. Her hand grazed muscle.

He nodded, lost in thought. "I have to take care of myself."

"You just realize that?"

"You wouldn't want me to hurt myself." Carl noted, holding her gaze.

"You need hands to do something other than working." She sighed.

"Like what?"

She put his right hand on her waist, and watched his pupils darken in recognition.

"Like..." She moved closer. "Doing homework."

She tapped him on the forehead and then fell back into the sofa into peals of laughter. He frowned at her, letting his hand fall back to his side.

"It's not funny."

"You react so easily now." She continued. "It's so amusing. I wouldn't have expected it at the start of the summer, that the great big Wo—"

His hand enclosed her calf and slid up. She stopped talking instantly and her eyes shot to his hand. He moved his head closer to her thighs.

"F-Forrest..."

He paid her no mind, his hand traveling up her bare legs and up into the fabric of her shorts. She shivered at his touch.

Then he moved back, bracing his palms against the floor as he stretched his shoulders. He shot a look up at her. "You had an ant crawling up there."

She was about to believe him when she noticed the amusement in his eyes. She frowned at him.

"That was quite a reactio—"

"Forrest, I am going to knock you out."

"Hm?" He smirked lazily.

She jumped him the next second, and he fell to the floor, laughter escaping him. She was sitting atop of his torso and beating him with her fists. It didn't hurt all that much, and was quite endearing.

"Stupid Forrest!" She complained, her expression giving away her true emotions. She was quite turned on, really. Her cheeks were flushed and she bit at her bottom lip. "You're supposed to be the awkward one! The inexperienced one!"

He switched their positions and pinned her to the floor. She inhaled sharply.

"Teach me, then."

Her eyes met green, dancing in mischief. "Forrest, you—"

"Now I know where Declan got that player vibe from."

---

"Are you cheating on me!? You can't be serious!" Declan winced at the lines of the movie, looking over to his girlfriend sipping on a large coke.

"Riiiiz." He drawed out her name, pleadingly.

She sipped louder.

"Riz."

She shushed him with a finger. "I'm watching the darn movie."

He sighed, exasperated, and tried to get comfortable in the seat of his chair. The movie theater was dark, and the movie was boring. He eventually dozed off.

His dream was affected by the movie, and he was living the life of the female protagonist. He had been cheated on, in fact, he found them in the closet banging when he was trying to get his jacket.

He first worried about them getting his clothes dirty before realizing he was dating one of them.

"Excuse me?" He had exclaimed. "What are you doing with—with Steven!? In my closet!"

Steven was a classmate that had an undying thirst for Iris back in sophomore year. He probably still does. He had those hipster glasses and that korean boy haircut to attract unsuspecting girls. And Declan lost to that.

Iris gave him a glare, pulling Steven back into her and grossly making out with him.

Declan yanked the both of them out of his closet.

Steven started getting mad and he weirdly started morphing into a werewolf.

And she was still kissing him! Accompanied with moaning and tongue! The mad woman!

He made a move to yank her off the weird misshapen wolf when Steven stepped between them and said, "You will not touch my queen."

He gagged. This is horrendous, that's exactly the type of shit he'd say and think is romantic.

"Iris, I didn't cheat on you!" He pleaded to her. She folded her arms.

"That's not what this tells me." She held up his phone, to a text conversation. Then it started ringing.

"Pick it up, Declan." She snarled. "It's from Marie."

Clan started sweating. Marie!? This is a very bad time to call, you know! I get that you want me to edit your essay because you still want my dick but please!

Iris stepped closer and started counting down.

Declan bolted upright, heart rate spiked, and looked blearily around at the movie theater slowly turning on the lights in the stairs. Iris had gone missing. His phone was ringing. He picked it up.

"Hello?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. Wait. Where's Iris?

"Clan." Iris' voice came in a whisper. "Can you come out to where the snacks are?"

"Why are you whispering?" He asked.

"Ju—Just get over here."

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