The writer's story (bxb)

Chapter 8

  I try taking a deep breath. Only a couple of inches are between his face and mine. I could just lean in and our lips will touch.

Before I do anything I'll end up regretting, I lean back, breaking the tension between us by filling up our bowls with hot soup. "Time to eat," I say, handing him one of the steaming bowls before already starting to eat, not looking at him anymore.

We spend the rest of the meal in silence, though I can feel Nathan's eyes on me every so often, which is slowly starting to make me nervous. "Is anything the matter?" I finally ask, feeling like I'm going to burst if he watches me any longer. Maybe it's the long day or a stray magic shroom in the soup, but I can't seem to stop myself from making a remark. "If you keep looking, you'll watch all the handsomeness off of me."

Instead of laughing with me at this pathetic excuse for a joke, Nathan looks at me like I just told him a riddle he can't figure out. "I don't think that's possible," he says after a moment, looking completely serious.

"E-excuse me?" I say dumbfounded, my full spoon hovering in the air halfway to my mouth as all I can do is gawk at him. Did I hear that correctly? Did Nathan actually say that he finds me handsome? Please, let this be a dream.

Now he does chuckle, moving closer while I move back some more. "Is this the moment where I mention that I've noticed you paying quite a bit of attention to me too?" he asks. I can see a certain twinkle in his eye, though I'm not sure if I even want to know what it means.

"I'm sorry about that," I just mumble, quickly finishing my last few bites and getting up from my seat. I just about tear his empty bowl out of his hands before moving back to the river to rinse them.

What is going on here? Why is my heart hammering in my chest like I've been running a marathon? Why is Nathan suddenly acting like this? Like he's into me or something. Is he just making fun of me, or is there more to it? He's been quite attentive these past couple of days. Could he actually like me?

I chuckle miserably at that thought, sitting down at the river's edge while dipping the bowls and spoons into the water. Now I'm sure that I'm going crazy. Of course, he doesn't have feelings for me. Why would he anyway? If he liked me, why would he go on and on about me finding myself a good wife when all this is over? No, all there is between me and Nathan is a simple partnership. Nothing more, nothing less. He's just giving me a hard time because I've been checking him out so much lately.

"You're doing it again," I suddenly hear a voice whispering in my ear.

Letting out a very manly scream, I move away from the voice, holding up the bowls as a last line of defense, only to find Nathan laughing at me. "Haha, very funny," I huff, throwing a spoon at him, which he catches with ease. All very annoying. "What are you talking about anyway?"

"You were zoned out again," Nathan says, still chuckling slightly as he sits down next to me to wash the cutlery. "You tend to do that whenever you're thinking about something. So tell me. What is it you were thinking about?"

"I was... ehm... I was thinking about..." For some reason, all usual excuses die on my tongue before I even have the chance to fully form them. "It was nothing important, really," I finally mumble lamely, drying the now somewhat clean dinnerware. "Just figuring out a game plan for when Ardelian comes back to the village and debating whether I should go hunting again soon."

I shake my head as I get up again, my whole body feeling restless at how close I am to Nathan right now. What the hell is wrong with me? I know I can act weird around him, but it's never been this bad before. I can't even properly look at him without my whole body heating up. "We should go to bed early tonight. It's going to be busy again tomorrow."

Before I can walk away, Nathan catches my arm as he gets up as well. "You're avoiding me. Why?"

I quickly shake my head, pulling my arm free without turning back to him. "I'm not. We're spending every day together. We sleep in the same tent which is just big enough for the two of us. How can I even begin to avoid you?"

"Then you've been pulling away from me. Whatever it is, you've been working really hard to stay as far away from me as possible." I can basically feel him roll his eyes at me. Those amazing, beautifully vibrant- No! Bad Alex, focus.

I mentally shake my head before reluctantly turning back to Nathan, looking anywhere but at his face as I just know that it would only mess me up more if I fully look at him. "I'm telling you. You're imagining things. I'm not doing anything like that. I could never."

Nathan shakes his head and before I know it he's holding my face tightly in his hand, staring into my eyes with his signature intense gaze. "Oh really? Then why is it that you're not even able to look me in the eye properly? Do you think I don't notice? I would like to think that I know you by now. Probably better than you think I do. You've always acted a bit strange but lately, it's been getting worse. I've had enough so now you're finally going to tell me what's going on."

"Nothing's going on," I snap, pushing Nathan away. He's really starting to make me feel claustrophobic. This is getting out of hand. I can't very well tell him the truth. He'll never want to talk to me again. If he does that, I'll be stuck in this world forever. No, I'll just have to figure out a way for him to stop bothering me. "Stop trying to find problems where there aren't any. You've got enough of them as it is."

"I'm responsible for you," Nathan sneers, stepping closer once more, forcing me back until a tree blocks my path and I'm stuck. "You're putting us both in jeopardy with this kind of behavior. So whether you like it or not, you're going to tell me why you're acting so strange. What aren't you telling me?"

I grind my teeth as he steps even closer. I can feel the heat from his body on mine. Closing my eyes, I sigh. "Fine," I mutter, admitting defeat. "But don't blame me if you don't like what you find out."

"Wha-" he starts to say just as I grab a fistful of his shirt and pull him closer, pressing my lips onto his like it's the last thing I do.