Serene’s POV

The air was crisp and chilly today, as I waded deeper into the forest the chill gave me goosebumps. I should have brought a shawl with me, as I trembled and tried to wrap my arms across my chest to keep warm. The white flannel shirt I had adorned with buttons in front was far too thin to keep me warm. Where was my brain when I was dressing up?

The forest seemed quiet today, just the occasional howling of some animal in a distance or buzzing of insects nearby. The sky was clear and I could see hundreds of stars adorning it like flickering fireflies frozen in time. I kept moving forward turning and twisting with every sound. My heart was beating faster now as I went deeper into the jungle. Silhouettes of plants and trees looked like grotesque people ready to pounce on you.

As I passed under a tree something suddenly jumped on me and I let out a blood-curdling scream and frantically tried to push it away, only to find it was a tree branch. I heaved a sigh of relief and placed my hand on my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. Suddenly, I heard a cackle behind me which made me turn in that direction.

Zeph was standing behind me with an amused expression on his face which was only half visible due to the darkness. "Seriously, you should look at your face right now." He pointed at me amidst genuine chortle which seemed to be rocking his strong frame of a body. As he stepped closer I could see those charcoal black eyes were full of sparkle today.

" Hahaha, are you amused enough?" I retorted with a scowl. "What are you doing here? Wasn’t I suppose to spend 15 minutes alone? And where is Ralph?"

"I knew you would be scared, so I followed you. Ralph had to go, he was supposed to meet Alvene." His expression looked like he was enjoying it far too much.

"I wasn’t scared." I placed my hands on my waist, I wasn’t going to admit that easily and give him the satisfaction.

"Really? That scream said otherwise though." He wasn’t going to let go. "I thought something had attacked me, it was just a branch though." That made him snicker again. "Come let’s take a walk with me." He offered me his hand, I wasn’t sure what to do. "Are you going to tell everyone and make fun of me again?" I asked reluctantly.

"Maybe," He tilted his head sideways as if to tease me again. "Then you should go back, I will complete the bet." I would never give up so easily.

"Ahh, yes you and your defiance. Bet is complete, I won’t say anything, I promise." As he zipped his lips with his other hand. I narrowed my eyes at him but he stepped forward: "Come on, I will show you something." And intertwined his hand with mine as he lead me forward, his hands were ever so warm against my cold ones. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind hit us and it sent a strong chill down my spine and I shivered unconsciously.

He felt it or maybe it was my cold hands. "Why are you not wearing warmer clothes?" he stopped to look at my flimsy shirt. "I wasn’t expecting it to get this cold, besides I enjoy the cold." I wasn’t lying, I loved the feel of a cool breeze brushing against my skin but it was colder than I could handle.

He was wearing a black leather jacket, he took it off and tried to wrap it around my shoulders. "No, I can’t take that. You will feel cold." I stared at him bewildered. "I won’t, my shirt is woollen as well." And he gently placed the jacket around my shoulders, I placed my arms inside and took in his warmth and ambrosial smell as I hugged it tightly around my body.

"Come," he tugged at my hand dispensing me from my trance. We walked silently for a while as he took me deeper into the forest when finally we reached a large boulder. He climbed it with such grace and efficiency with one clean stride and then helped me up, lifting me with his strong arms and making me sit beside him.

He then laid down crossing his arms under his head, with one leg tilted up and the other one laying vertical on the boulder. Dressed in all black with his hair tussling in the air he almost looked heavenly. I couldn’t peel my eyes off him, even if I tried. My heart was thudding loudly in my chest as I hugged my knees and leaned on them for support.

"I discovered these when I used to roam in the forest trying to hide from Lourden. I would lie down here and look at the cluster of stars above." He told me with a hint of sadness in his voice, that cheerful expression was gone and his face was blank and void of emotions again.

I reached out and softly touched his wrist because his hands were under his head: "She is gone now." He threw me a casual glance before speaking: "And took a piece of me with her and not in a good way." His gaze was so intense and solemn yet pained. I wanted to hug him and take away some of his torment.

I moved my hand to his face, lightly touching his cheek with the back of my fingers. He seemed to relax as he closed his eyes and let me caress his face. Suddenly, he took out his hand from behind his head and grabbed my outstretched arm and pulled. I wasn’t expecting this so my body jerked forward as I landed on top of him. "Ahhh," My whole face became flustered with embarrassment as my heart went berserk inside my chest. He didn’t open his eyes just hugged me tight with his muscular arm while he caressed my hair with the other.

"I love your hair," he whispered in my ear making me blush. That was the first time he had ever admired any of my physical attributes. "Ummm," was all I could muster as my mind was going haywire. He seemed to sense the tenseness of my body. "Relax, Serene I am not going to do anything. Just wanted some alone time with you, your presence comforts me." His words stirred so many emotions inside of me. I felt like something was stuck in my throat and I couldn’t even speak.

"Will you watch the stars with me?" He asked suddenly opening his eyes and looking at me to which I barely nodded. He stretched his arm and shifted me on it but kept me close as we shifted our gaze towards the sky looking at thousands of stars, millions of light years away.

"You have become very quiet." He stole a peek at me. "There are so many emotions building up inside of me, I don’t even know what to say," I replied in a very reluctant tone. "I hope only good ones and not the ones where you would want to strangle me."

That made me smile: "Of course not silly Zephy," I touched his nose. "Zephy? I like the sound of it. My own personal nickname." He seemed amused. "If you like come visit me during the exam break." He said out of nowhere. My eyes lit up like a child in a toy store. "I would love to, thank you for inviti...." he didn’t let me finish as he moved closer cupping my face with one hand he pressed his lips to mine, so softly like a symphony in the wind. I blushed as all the blood rushed to my face and a warm tingling feeling spread across my whole body.

He gently moved his hand to my hair caressing them as he broke the contact and kept looking at me with that fervent gaze of his making me blush even more. "Sorry, I startled you," He whispered. "I am glad you did." I couldn’t contain my elation and smiled and he smiled back at me his hand never leaving my hair.

We stayed there for a long time, and I was dead tired from an emotional and hectic day. The warmth and tenderness his body offered soon sent me into the deepest realms of sleep and I lost all consciousness.