The Woods (Original)

Rain Falls Angry On The Tin Roof

It was hard to hold on to all the clothes we had bought while riding a motorcycle, but I managed to do so without losing anything. When we finally arrived in our small town, Petra stopped by each of our houses so we could put our clothes up. While at my house, just as I finished putting up my clothes, it began to rain. The soft pitter patter soon turned into a continuous roar, and Petra looked concerned.
   "We can't go out in this weather," she said.
   "We could just hunker down here and find some things to do if you want?" I ventured.
   "Alright, so what do you wanna do?"
   "Hmm..." I began to think. I usually just watched T.V. or played video games... I guess we could watch a movie. "Be right back," I said as I went to retrieve my movie collection. I had a lot of old Pixar movies, a few scary movies, some old movies and etc. I scooped them up and brought them into the living room, scattering them on the hard wood floor so we could pick one. Every now and then our hands would graze, causing us to look at each other and I would give an awkward smile and blush, she just chuckled.
She uncovered a movie that she seemed interested in, "Whoa... You have Krampus?" She asked as she held up the case.
"Oh, yeah. I went and saw it in theater with Axel and Olivia, I liked it. When I finally heard it was out on DVD I knew I had to get it," I said.
   "I never got to go see it... Let's watch it!" She said excitedly and she fiddled with the case. Yes, I liked the movie but it still had jump scares. They were mostly those cheapskate quiet scenes with a sudden loud noise. A few of the scenes are just out-right nasty. I wasn't necessarily excited to watch the movie. Not with Petra. I would look like a total wimp!
   She put the movie in and as it started I tried to tell myself to be cool- try and make this fun. I knew Petra wouldn't judge me. I plopped myself onto the couch as she inserted the disc into the DVR. She soon strutted over to the couch and sat comfortably next to me, her arm rubbing against mine. The sensation sent a wave of heat coursing through my veins.
"I can go make us some snacks?" I offered.
"Uh... Yeah, sure. That'd be cool," she said as she smiled brightly at me.
I strode into the kitchen and began to gather some snacks and sodas, then I remembered I could cook us a pizza. I got out the make-a-pizza kit and followed the instructions exactly. I heard the heavy soles of combat boots hitting the hard wood floor "sneak" up behind me. I pretended not to hear it as a crooked smile formed on my face. My vision was obstructed as her callused hands covered my eyes.
"Oh no, did someone break in to steal from me?" I said feigning fear.
"You better believe it. I've come for your pizza!" She joked back.
"It's not done yet," I whined playfully as her hands slid off of my eyes. I turned around and met her Milky Way gaze, her face mere inches from mine. If I was a courageous man I would have kissed her right then and there... But I was scared of rejection. I stood there gazing into her eyes and I slowly put my hand on her face.
"You are so beautiful..." The words were on the tip of my tongue, they played there as I tried to bring myself to spit them out. Maybe in a different timeline I did. Our foreheads were touching now, making my heart jump out of my chest and fill me with an electric sensation.
Beeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeep. Beeeeeeeeep.
The oven went off. I didn't want to move from the spot I was in. "I- I should get that," I said reluctantly. My hand slid from her face but it felt as if it were tore off.
"You better not have burned my pizza Jones," she teased.
"Don't worry, I'm a professional," I said as I grabbed the piping hot pizza. After we gathered all the snacks and pizza, we finally went into the living room and started the movie. I sat leaned back with the arch of my foot resting sideways on my other leg so I could be comfortable. With nowhere else to put my arms, I draped them on the back of the couch. I wasn't trying to put my arm around Petra, she'd probably put me in the hospital if I made a move like that, but it almost seemed like I was. I can't say I didn't want to, but that's something boyfriends and girlfriends do, not just friends... Right?
   The movie finally started. It was pretty funny at first, causing me to nearly spit out my drink on one occasion, but eventually it got to the scary parts. There were some really creepy and intense parts and I flinched on the first jump scare. I felt my face flush scarlet as Petra turned and looked at me.
   "What's the matter Jones?" She said as she poked my side, causing me to jump and laugh. She raised a single eyebrow at this, "Oh, what's this? Is Jones ticklish?" She said with a devilish smirk.
   "What? N-no that's crazy talk!" I said as I crossed my arms over my stomach in protection.
   "Oh reallyyyyyyy...?" She drug out.
   "Yeah," I said futilely as she tackled me with the inevitable laughter escaping my mouth. My face turned purple as I struggled to breathe, laying there defenseless. "S-stop!" I tried to say, only to be cut off by my own laughter. Soon no more noise left my mouth as all the air escaped my lungs and no more words could be formed, the laughter now silent.
   Finally it ceased.
   My abdomen sore from the bout of laughter and torture I endured and my heartbeat returning to normal, I finally took the whole scene in. Petra still had the smirk of evilness on her face as her hair dangled in my face. She had me completely pinned underneath her.
   "Finally catch your breath?" She teased.
   "Almost," I said panting. She chuckled while flashing a pearl-white smile at me. "Can I get up now?"
   "I'll think about it," she said, and after hesitating a few moments she finally eased off of me, and we resumed the movie.
   "Don't go in there! Don't do it!"
   "Yes, let's all go outside because that's safe!"
   We shouted at the television jokingly. When the movie was finally over, and the very last jump scare almost made me yelp, we began talking about if we were in that situation.
   "I mean, we're smart enough to not fall for any of its tricks," I said.
   "Yeah, I could kick Krampus's ass one-on-one any day," she challenged.
   I checked my clock, it was getting pretty late. "I- I need to watch something funny."
   "Why? You scared Krampus will get ya?" She joked.
   "No! ... He doesn't come until Christmas," I whined sarcastically, and we both laughed.
"I should text my dad," she said as I chose a new movie. "I'll let him know I'm staying here for the night so he doesn't think I wrecked, and he doesn't like me driving in the rain anyways."
"Alright, that's cool," I said.
   I put Monsters Inc. in the DVR so I could get the scary movie off my mind. By the time it was over Petra had fallen asleep. My mother never came home, she probably found some guy at the bar to stay the night with.
   I went into my room and got a spare pillow and blanket for Petra, and after I was done covering her I gave her a small and gentle kiss on the forehead.
   "I love you," I heard the muttered words, causing me to freeze in my tracks. I turned around and walked back to Petra, but her eyes were closed. She was asleep.