Beneath The Blackwood Sky | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Six: Shocking Revelations

"NO. NOPE. STOP GIVING ME THE PUPPY FACE, L. No! I'm not letting go of your leash so that you can chase the postman like you did last time. What did he do to you? You've been chasing him since the time we got you. Look at him, he's running away at the sight of us, throwing the letters into the air instead of the postbox because he's terrified of you," Shay said sternly while Leo looked mournful. He gave up giving her the cute puppy face that she simply couldn't resist. But she did. Ha!

Now, Will, she thought, would be able to immune to things like that. He was used to stopping them from doing stupid things, including the times when they would give him the puppy faces and pouts and shining eyes. Theo's shining eyes were the brightest, Kai's smile was blinding, Rose's pout would make you agree to things and Jade's expression would make you give her anything she wants. But Will was immune to it. Immune to everything except Shay's shining eyes and smile.

Shay tugged at Leo's leash, but Leo remained there. He was staring wistfully at the postman. Shay tugged at Leo's leash again, then looked at Will for help. I'm done, her eyes said to him. Okay, I'll try dealing with him, his smile said.

Will knelt beside Leo, "L. Buddy, c'mon, hey-" he said, cupping Leo's chin and tilting it up so that Leo was looking right into Will's eyes. Shay couldn't stop staring at Will. She remembered what happened every day when she would have to tear her eyes away from him with difficulty because Will could sense that she was looking at him. She would stare at him like she was right now when he was so into a task. Drawing, playing with Leo, babysitting her not so baby friends.

And every time she looked at him when he wasn't aware of it, the same sentence rang through her head. Will was the most handsome person she had ever set her eyes on.

She watched as Will gently tilted Leo's chin and looked him in the eye. "Look at me, good. No, wait! Don't look at the postman again!" Shay chuckled. "Me, look at me. Yep! Good boy. Now, you wanna run with me and Shay?" Will smiled as Leo barked loudly, forgetting about the postman.

This was something Will and Shay usually did, having a running race. After Will counted, Shay sprinted as fast as she could, loving the satisfactory burn of her muscles. Shay ran with Leo and Will, who maintained the pace with her. Shay increased her pace, her eyes fixed on a tree which was the decided finish line. Will suddenly caught up with her, and the three of them reached the tree at the same time.

Will gave her a triumphant smirk to which Shay responded with an eye roll. He gave out a whoop of delight, "I almost won a race with a girl who has a national medal in athletics!" He said, waving his hands with happiness and Shay grinned at him.

"Will!" She heard a voice say, and Ruby rushed towards them. She shared at high five with Will and patted Leo. "Where's Shay?" she asked, jumping up and down.

Shay looked around her and realized that she was standing in a shady part of the tree, she stepped forward, hugging the little girl. Shay spotted Hannah in the park who was looking around worriedly, "Hannah! We're here," she shouted. Hannah she looked at them with Ruby and the relief was evident on her face as she approached them. After managing to calm down a very excited Leo who was happy to see Hannah, she knelt down in front of Ruby and looked straight into her eyes, "Now, how many times do I have to tell you not to run away like that?" She asked sternly.

Ruby jumped up and down with excitement, "But I spotted Will and Leo, who were running away already. So, when they stopped running, I was afraid they would run again," She said and Hannah's stern expression was wiped away and now replaced by a smile. There was so much adoration in her eyes when she looked at Ruby that Shay couldn't help but smile. Hannah leaned forward and kissed Ruby's cheek then her forehead, "Never leave suddenly like that, alright?"