Dakini's Hope

Chapter 18

I'm the first to arrive at the park out of the two of us. Chase is nowhere to be seen as of yet. My heart is pumping faster than ever and I don't understand why; it's not like this is a date or anything. My cheeks flare up once more at that exact thought.

Casually, I look around the park to see who's about. There are a few students from Witherington High at one end of the park; can't tell who from where I'm walking right now but I'd rather not know in case it's Ryan and Jody's pack. I find a bench away from the suspected pack and watch the world go by with my earbuds in; listening to the song that I'm currently doing a cover of. It's called Demons, but I can never remember who the original artist is. In more ways than one, I can literally relate directly to the lyrics.

I don't hear or see anyone sneak up on me and I practically jump out of my skin as someone taps me on the shoulder from behind. I take out my earbuds and look over my shoulder to see who did it. All I see is a tree. Strange. I put my earbud back in and lean back into the wooden slats of the bench.

Again, someone taps me on the shoulder.

Again, I look over my shoulder to see nothing but a tree.

I don't tear my gaze from the tree as I pause my music, take out my earbuds and slip both my phone and earbuds into my pocket. Warily, I get up from the bench and walk around the tree once to make sure no one is hiding behind it. There's no one here. This time, someone taps me on the head and I look up almost instantly; mildly irritated. I immediately see Chase lounging lazily on an overhead branch with his hands behind his head and whistling a nameless tune; one of his legs swinging a few centimetres above my head. He turns his head and looks down at me from where he is lying; a giant lazy grin on his face.

"Hey down there." He calls, lifting a hand from behind his head and waving it at me cheerfully.

I roll my eyes behind the blindfold, my head following through the motion and I hear Chase give a soft chuckle from above me. "You having fun hanging out up there, monkey boy?" I ask sarcastically, folding my arms and leaning on my un-scarred leg.

"Sort of. Fun's over now that you've moved though.." He replies, sitting up and letting both his legs hang down in front of me. I take a few steps back to allow him to leap to the ground, which he does with as much grace as a house cat. "You should try tree-climbing, you know. The views are amazing."

I scoff in amusement. "Yeah, I think I've done enough tree-climbing for the entirety of my life. Don't you?" I ask, patting the place where my scar is hidden under my jeggings.

"That wasn't exactly tree-climbing..." He replies, putting a hand up to his chin and pretending to have a goatee beard; his gaze taking on a mocking thoughtful look. "That was more...stupidity and flirting with death."

I punch him in the arm playfully with a grin. "Shut it, smart-ass." I answer. "I know what it was, thank you very much. And, believe me, I regret making that decision."

"Sounds like you've grown more brain cells overnight. I'm impressed." He remarks as I lead the way towards the forest trail that leads to the stables from the park. I don't bother answering him; even though I want to give him another punch for it.

We walk in complete silence for a while; both of us avoiding looking at each other as much as possible. The weather is nice; the sun is shining, white clouds flying across the sky upon the wind and the birds are tweeting to some song that I can't understand. I steal a glance at Chase when I think his attention is diverted away from me. He's looking pretty good today; and I've got to admit his jawline is almost as sharp as my knife.

"Checking me out, huh?" He asks without looking at me, his gaze wandering off into the trees and, if his wolf ears were out, they'd be twitching to all the different sounds out here.