Chase

After being freed from the vines of flowers and anything else that had happened upon me -and trust me, there were lots-, I stepped back to take a look at my savior.

Before I even thanked them, I gasped and started to stutter.
She-s-she was a g-girl!
A girl!
I was- she was standing right- and I was- we were so close!

“Thanks,” I mumbled, trying to think of something funny to say. All that came out was, “Did you know jelly-fish are 95% water? Isn’t that funny, because they swim in water, and they’re part of the water, so you’d think they’d fall apart or something… but they don’t...”
The girl watched me, her mouth tilting up slightly, forming a smile. She was laughing at me. As usual. Everyone laughs at me…

“I.. I’m Chase,” I stuttered, looking at the mess of flowers and ripped of vines at my feet.
“Ember,” she muttered, looking at me, clearly confused.
“How’d you get stuck in those flowers?” she asked, poking me in the side.

I shrugged.
“I don’t know. It was like a mutant swamp monster thing attacked me or something. Only, we’re in a forest. So a forest monster. Do you think it could have been one?” I nodded my head towards the flowers and vines, and she shook hers slowly.

I was scaring her away.
“What are you doing in this forest, anyway?” I asked, trying to find some common groud.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
She frowned at the sun that was shining through the tree tops and getting in her eyes.
I didn’t say anything more.
I was stupid, anyway.

I would just scare her away.
She was a girl!
Girls don’t talk to boys like me, unless they’re forced to.
There had to be a reason why she was here.

“No really, why are you here?” I pushed once more.
“I was just trying to find my dog,” she said uncertainly, as if she was making this up on the spot.
“Can I help?” I jumped, speaking a little too fast.
” I- I mean, to repay you. For helping me?”

She nodded, laughing a little bit to herself, but still uncertainly.