Our Place
Chapter One
“Dammit, Hotshot!’ I yell after my dog, who is running off towards the woods. I know where he’s going. It’s the one place he and I have our buddy time. Hotshot is my only real friend, besides Callie. I tie my hair up and sprint after him, towards our spot, decently far into the woods.
“Hotshot! Hotshot!” I yell, wondering where my dog is. Where the hell is he?
I step over the familiar roots hidden in the ground, and over the crunchy leaves looking around in search of my dog.
Suddenly, I hear laughing and happy barking coming from not far away.
From my place.
As I near my place, I see blonde hair coming into view. And the person is holding my Hotshot.
“Hey!” I yell, picking up a dead branch and running towards him. As I charge at him, he turns, he eyes startled. I continue to run towards him and he steps away so that I keep running forward and crash into a tree trunk.
Ouch.
“You alright there?” the blonde boy asks, still holding my dog.
“Get your hands off my dog, you prick.” I spit, pulling myself up and grabbing Hotshot out of his hands. He stands, shocked, and puts his hair up in the air.
“I surrender, captain,” he smirks. Often, boys have very stupid smirks. But this smirk is especially stupid.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” I snap, stroking Hotshot’s fur. Blonde boy just leans against the tree trunk I ran into and stares at me.
“I could be asking you the same thing, miss.”
“Miss? What are you from? The fifty’s?”
“Feisty,” he snorts, picking up a pebble and tossing it in the stream.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re here?” I ask, staring at his cautiously. He shrugs.
“Just had to get away from my place for a while,” he says, eyeing me. “Seems I might’ve wandered out a bit too far. I mean, now I’m running into monsters,” he glances at me with a stupid, stupid smirk.
“Who you calling a monster?” I snarl, kicking leaves at him. He rolls his eyes and picks up another pebble, tossing it into the river.
“Who do you think?” he laughs. Oh, he has a nice laugh.
I set Hotshot down and he runs back to Blonde boy, who is currently driving me mad.
“What’s your name?” he asks, nodding my way.
“Why do you want to know?” I shoot back, crossing my arms over my chest. He is annoying me.
“Suit yourself,” he shrugs, “but for the record, I’m Niall.”
He holds out his hand, and I’m guessing he wants me to shake it. I sigh and give in, but only because Hotshot seems to approve of the bastard.
“The names Luke,” I mumble, looking up at him. His eyes are an ice blue, staring back at mine. He stares into my eyes for a second, still holding a firm grip on my hand.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” he asks suddenly.
Creep.
“Hell no you don’t.” I back away, wiping my hand on my shirt to signal my apparent disgust for him.
“Luke, is it?” he asks. Isn’t that what I just said?
“Yep.”
“Sounds like a boy’s name, if you ask me.” He grins, smirking again.
“Well I didn’t ask you.”
“Rawr.” He hisses. Hotshot barks at Niall, jumping up and down in front of him. I watch as Niall picks up my dog and pets his fur.
“Hey there, buddy.” Niall coos, tightening one fist at putting it towards Hotshot’s nose so Hotshot can lick it. I am very jealous. Hotshot has never liked anyone but me. I have always been perfectly fine with that.
“So, what are you doing out here?” Niall asks, looking up at me. His eyes are bright. Annoyingly bright.
I shrug, approaching him as distinctively as possible. “Been coming out here for as long as I can remember.”
“I can see why,” he nods, staring out at the endless amount of trees. “It’s nice out here.”
“Always,” I agree. He sits down in the grass and pulls off his shoes, placing his feet in the shallow stream. Hotshot runs towards the stream and splashes around in it. Hesitantly, I sit down beside Niall.
“You always come out here alone?” he asks. Damn. He’s filled with questions.
“I’ve got Hotshot,” I smile, gesturing to my dog. “He’s always there for me.”
“Got any real friends?” Niall asks, smiling genuinely.
“Yeah, but they’d rather be friends with their other friends than with me.”
“Probably cause’ you’re so difficult.” Niall laughs again. I think that’s the only good thing about him. His laugh. He stares at me for a second, blue eyes and all. He’s cute, I guess. Pink cheeks and lips, bright smile. I call tell now that the blonde isn’t natural, but it looks alright on him.
“It’s rude to stare, Luke.” He shoots me a sly grin, making me want to punch him. So I do. It’s a small punch to his shoulder to which he jumps up and yells, “Assault!”
I just roll my eyes.
Niall laughs a long time. He thinks he’s funny. I guess he kind of is. Just a little. More cute, though. No one ever comes out to the woods though, let alone to my place. It’s cause there’s a wooden sign back towards my house that says “Keep Out of Woods.”
Bullshit.
Nothing’s dangerous about trees and beautiful birds.
“Ello?”
Niall is waving his hand in front of me, trying to get my attention.
“Hmm?” I nod, looking at him.
“What’s your real name?” he asks.
“Why’ve you got so many questions?” I ask. “Don’t you ever shut up?”
“Nope,” he chuckles, picking up more rocks. He stands up and aims the pebble towards the stream, then let it go. He’s a killer rock skipper.
“You know how to skip rocks?” he asks. There he goes with the questions again.
“No,” I shake my head. I’m embarrassed that I don’t know how. It seems like everyone can skip rocks but me.
“Come on,” he gestures to come stand by him. “Grab a pebble or two.”
I pick up a few pebbles and tell Hotshot to stay, then walk to Niall.
“Hold the rock like this.” He says. He holds the pebble between his thumb and pointer finger, his wrist bent slightly. I copy him.
“Now just aim,” he continues, “and let it go.” He pebble skips the water five, maybe six times. When I try, the pebble splashes straight down into the water.
“I give up,” I groan, dropping the other pebbles in my hand.
“Come on now,” Niall smiles. “You’re not going to get anywhere in life if you give up that quick.”
So I get up and try again.
And again, and again, and again.
And finally, my pebble skips four times across the water.
“That’s more like it!” Niall grins, and I high five him.
My wrist hurts from trying to skip rocks so much, so I collapse in the leaves and stare up at the sky. Niall comes and sits down beside me, pulling his knees to his chest.
“Do your parents know you’re here?” he asks, yet another question. I almost laugh.
“Nope,” I shake my head. “No one knows about this place. Well, ‘cept you.”
“Why not?”
“Cause, it’s a secret. I come here when I want to get away from the world.”
“But you’re still in the world, you know.” He smirks.
“Shut up, Niall.”
“I was joking, Luke.” He grins playfully, but his eyes are soft and caring. I like it when he says my name. Sounds good on his tongue.
“I swear we’ve met before.” Niall says after a while. He’s looking at me, his eyes focused. I’m not sure what to say. I haven’t seen him before in my life. Never seen a guy as nice and cute as him. I haven’t got a clue where he’s seen me before.
“Sorry,” I say. “I don’t remember you from anywhere.”
He frowns but shrugs it off.
Off and on, Niall makes a series of lame jokes until I tell him to shut up. He doesn’t ask any more questions, at least. Thank the lord.
When I look up at the sky again, the sun is beginning to set. Hotshot is curled up on my lap, falling asleep. But I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here with Hotshot.
And Niall.
But of course, Niall has his life, and starts to get up five minutes later. “I better get going.” He says, holding out a hand. I look at it. I’m not sure what to do with it, so I shake it. He laughs. “Take my hand. Let me help you up.”
Oh.
I blush and grab his hand. He pulls me up, and we’re standing inches away from each other. Hotshot is in my left arm.
“See you around, Luke.” Niall speaks first, putting on a lopsided grin.
“See ya,” I smile back. He turns away and starts to walk in the opposite direction, away from me. He turns for a split second and waves. I wave back.
And then he’s gone.
“Hotshot! Hotshot!” I yell, wondering where my dog is. Where the hell is he?
I step over the familiar roots hidden in the ground, and over the crunchy leaves looking around in search of my dog.
Suddenly, I hear laughing and happy barking coming from not far away.
From my place.
As I near my place, I see blonde hair coming into view. And the person is holding my Hotshot.
“Hey!” I yell, picking up a dead branch and running towards him. As I charge at him, he turns, he eyes startled. I continue to run towards him and he steps away so that I keep running forward and crash into a tree trunk.
Ouch.
“You alright there?” the blonde boy asks, still holding my dog.
“Get your hands off my dog, you prick.” I spit, pulling myself up and grabbing Hotshot out of his hands. He stands, shocked, and puts his hair up in the air.
“I surrender, captain,” he smirks. Often, boys have very stupid smirks. But this smirk is especially stupid.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” I snap, stroking Hotshot’s fur. Blonde boy just leans against the tree trunk I ran into and stares at me.
“I could be asking you the same thing, miss.”
“Miss? What are you from? The fifty’s?”
“Feisty,” he snorts, picking up a pebble and tossing it in the stream.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re here?” I ask, staring at his cautiously. He shrugs.
“Just had to get away from my place for a while,” he says, eyeing me. “Seems I might’ve wandered out a bit too far. I mean, now I’m running into monsters,” he glances at me with a stupid, stupid smirk.
“Who you calling a monster?” I snarl, kicking leaves at him. He rolls his eyes and picks up another pebble, tossing it into the river.
“Who do you think?” he laughs. Oh, he has a nice laugh.
I set Hotshot down and he runs back to Blonde boy, who is currently driving me mad.
“What’s your name?” he asks, nodding my way.
“Why do you want to know?” I shoot back, crossing my arms over my chest. He is annoying me.
“Suit yourself,” he shrugs, “but for the record, I’m Niall.”
He holds out his hand, and I’m guessing he wants me to shake it. I sigh and give in, but only because Hotshot seems to approve of the bastard.
“The names Luke,” I mumble, looking up at him. His eyes are an ice blue, staring back at mine. He stares into my eyes for a second, still holding a firm grip on my hand.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” he asks suddenly.
Creep.
“Hell no you don’t.” I back away, wiping my hand on my shirt to signal my apparent disgust for him.
“Luke, is it?” he asks. Isn’t that what I just said?
“Yep.”
“Sounds like a boy’s name, if you ask me.” He grins, smirking again.
“Well I didn’t ask you.”
“Rawr.” He hisses. Hotshot barks at Niall, jumping up and down in front of him. I watch as Niall picks up my dog and pets his fur.
“Hey there, buddy.” Niall coos, tightening one fist at putting it towards Hotshot’s nose so Hotshot can lick it. I am very jealous. Hotshot has never liked anyone but me. I have always been perfectly fine with that.
“So, what are you doing out here?” Niall asks, looking up at me. His eyes are bright. Annoyingly bright.
I shrug, approaching him as distinctively as possible. “Been coming out here for as long as I can remember.”
“I can see why,” he nods, staring out at the endless amount of trees. “It’s nice out here.”
“Always,” I agree. He sits down in the grass and pulls off his shoes, placing his feet in the shallow stream. Hotshot runs towards the stream and splashes around in it. Hesitantly, I sit down beside Niall.
“You always come out here alone?” he asks. Damn. He’s filled with questions.
“I’ve got Hotshot,” I smile, gesturing to my dog. “He’s always there for me.”
“Got any real friends?” Niall asks, smiling genuinely.
“Yeah, but they’d rather be friends with their other friends than with me.”
“Probably cause’ you’re so difficult.” Niall laughs again. I think that’s the only good thing about him. His laugh. He stares at me for a second, blue eyes and all. He’s cute, I guess. Pink cheeks and lips, bright smile. I call tell now that the blonde isn’t natural, but it looks alright on him.
“It’s rude to stare, Luke.” He shoots me a sly grin, making me want to punch him. So I do. It’s a small punch to his shoulder to which he jumps up and yells, “Assault!”
I just roll my eyes.
Niall laughs a long time. He thinks he’s funny. I guess he kind of is. Just a little. More cute, though. No one ever comes out to the woods though, let alone to my place. It’s cause there’s a wooden sign back towards my house that says “Keep Out of Woods.”
Bullshit.
Nothing’s dangerous about trees and beautiful birds.
“Ello?”
Niall is waving his hand in front of me, trying to get my attention.
“Hmm?” I nod, looking at him.
“What’s your real name?” he asks.
“Why’ve you got so many questions?” I ask. “Don’t you ever shut up?”
“Nope,” he chuckles, picking up more rocks. He stands up and aims the pebble towards the stream, then let it go. He’s a killer rock skipper.
“You know how to skip rocks?” he asks. There he goes with the questions again.
“No,” I shake my head. I’m embarrassed that I don’t know how. It seems like everyone can skip rocks but me.
“Come on,” he gestures to come stand by him. “Grab a pebble or two.”
I pick up a few pebbles and tell Hotshot to stay, then walk to Niall.
“Hold the rock like this.” He says. He holds the pebble between his thumb and pointer finger, his wrist bent slightly. I copy him.
“Now just aim,” he continues, “and let it go.” He pebble skips the water five, maybe six times. When I try, the pebble splashes straight down into the water.
“I give up,” I groan, dropping the other pebbles in my hand.
“Come on now,” Niall smiles. “You’re not going to get anywhere in life if you give up that quick.”
So I get up and try again.
And again, and again, and again.
And finally, my pebble skips four times across the water.
“That’s more like it!” Niall grins, and I high five him.
My wrist hurts from trying to skip rocks so much, so I collapse in the leaves and stare up at the sky. Niall comes and sits down beside me, pulling his knees to his chest.
“Do your parents know you’re here?” he asks, yet another question. I almost laugh.
“Nope,” I shake my head. “No one knows about this place. Well, ‘cept you.”
“Why not?”
“Cause, it’s a secret. I come here when I want to get away from the world.”
“But you’re still in the world, you know.” He smirks.
“Shut up, Niall.”
“I was joking, Luke.” He grins playfully, but his eyes are soft and caring. I like it when he says my name. Sounds good on his tongue.
“I swear we’ve met before.” Niall says after a while. He’s looking at me, his eyes focused. I’m not sure what to say. I haven’t seen him before in my life. Never seen a guy as nice and cute as him. I haven’t got a clue where he’s seen me before.
“Sorry,” I say. “I don’t remember you from anywhere.”
He frowns but shrugs it off.
Off and on, Niall makes a series of lame jokes until I tell him to shut up. He doesn’t ask any more questions, at least. Thank the lord.
When I look up at the sky again, the sun is beginning to set. Hotshot is curled up on my lap, falling asleep. But I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here with Hotshot.
And Niall.
But of course, Niall has his life, and starts to get up five minutes later. “I better get going.” He says, holding out a hand. I look at it. I’m not sure what to do with it, so I shake it. He laughs. “Take my hand. Let me help you up.”
Oh.
I blush and grab his hand. He pulls me up, and we’re standing inches away from each other. Hotshot is in my left arm.
“See you around, Luke.” Niall speaks first, putting on a lopsided grin.
“See ya,” I smile back. He turns away and starts to walk in the opposite direction, away from me. He turns for a split second and waves. I wave back.
And then he’s gone.
Please update soon! I know you said that you have a project and well, good luck on it! But can you try to update Our Place? It's been a while :)
4/5/14