Smoke in the Woods

On New Year's eve I made a promise to myself that this year I would stop being such a people pleaser. Yet, here I was. In the passenger seat of Lacey Clark's brand new, red, 2019 Volkswagen Beetle; on my way to a party I didn't have the slightest interest in attending in the first place. But, Lacey has been my best friend since kindergarten. I couldn't bare the disappointed look on her face when I tried to tell her I had absolutely zero interest in attending some dumbass party because she was obsessed with catching the eyes of Tyler Wright, the most sought after boy in all of Silverwood High School. I was always such a sucker for puppy dog eyes.

I tucked an annoying strand of my long ashy brunette hair behind my ear and adjusted the spaghetti strap of my slightly ruffled Summer dress; internally scolding myself for not grabbing a light jacket to battle the everlasting chill I felt. The warm purple of my dress stood out boldly against my fair skin, and complemented my sheer black leggings just as well. I was never a fan of shorter cut dresses, but Lacey insisted. My feet were decorated with a pair of Lacey's favorite sparkly sandals, my toes shined with polish.

A quick rock of the car transitioning from asphalt to dirt was enough to break me from my thoughts. Only then did I notice that we were now outside of the city bounds, and had taken a turn down a private road into the woods. A slightly puzzled look crossed my face as I began to not recognize my surroundings; a nervous pit forming in my stomach as the sun began to set below the tree line.

"Hey Lace, where exactly is this party?" I asked; suddenly deciding to break the silence as I lazily turned my head towards her. The setting sun seemed to glisten off her strawberry blonde hair, the beautiful red hue shining through. I was always jealous of how beautiful she was. Lacey's emerald eyes made a quick glance towards my sapphire one's before quickly moving back to the road, a soft giggle escaping her lips.

"Of course you wouldn't know where Tyler lives. His family is loaded. His mom is a nature photographer so they opted to build their home in the woods so she could focus on her career. Speaking of, Wow! Look how beautiful it is!" I matched her line of vision to enlighten my eyes with one of the most beautiful homes I've ever seen. The floor to ceiling windows were filled with colored lights as the party went on inside. The mix of the modern stone walls against the wooden ones complimented the full forest of trees surrounding it.

My hands were coated in a layer of cold sweat as Lacey parked the car before we started making our way up to the front door. Before we rang the bell, Lacey straightened out her light blue, sleeveless dress that hugged her slim figure tightly. She smiled brightly and faced me. "Alright Cas," She grabbed my shoulders tightly and I mustered up my best half smile. "Are you ready?!"

"As I'll ever be." I muttered out. She laughed and rang the intricately designed door bell. A few seconds later, Tyler's right hand man Scott Case, whom we all accustomed to calling "Scooter" after he road through a live news broadcasting on a scooter screaming "Silverwood Wolves rule!" at the top of his lungs junior year. He was your typical football jock with pretty blonde hair and blue eyes; but he could make anyone laugh. Scooter's eyes lit up with delight.

"Well hello pretty ladies; who do we have here? Oh! Miss Lacey Clarke, looking beautiful as ever. Which means this must be the best friend, Cassie Rose. Glad you could make it." He said with a slight slur to his tone. I resisted the erg to roll my eyes and instead offered a fake smile. I noticed a strange shared look between Lacey and Scooter before he suddenly wrapped his muscly arm around her shoulder, dragging her into the deep unknown, leaving me to fend for myself. So much for safety in numbers.

I carefully weaved my way around the large groups of people between the different rooms of light and darkness; happening to catch the sight of the one couple that happened to be heavily all over each other on the fairly large sofa. I internally barfed. That expensive looking couch definitely deserved better. I rolled my eyes as I continued my quest onward through the unknown mansion trying to avoid the chaos happening all around me.

After I emerged myself from what I assumed to be the living room, I found myself in the kitchen. The brilliantly white marble counter tops were topped with an obscure amount of alcohol bottles, some I'd never even heard of. A fairly tall, glass pink bottle caught my attention and I carefully picked it up to examine it. It was a strawberry vodka; the pink bottle was very fitting. It was fairly full still, but I decided I'd take the bottle with me to add to my collections of glass items I would draw later in my free time. It was a habit I'd picked up from my kooky art teacher in the eighth grade, whom I came to adore and visit often.

I cracked open the lid of my newly found friend for the night and began to sip it randomly as I wandered around the very large kitchen. The brass handles and faucets stood out brilliantly against the navy blue wooden cabinets as the fairly small crystal chandelier sparkled above, casting neon lights to the tile floor as the colors passed through it.

I found myself gripping the edge of the porcelain sink as I stared out the large window above it; my body started to hum with warmth. I caught the sight of the moon's reflection on the small pond outside and couldn't help but let out an audible gasp. I sipped another taste of the candy flavored fire, watching the surreal scene before me. "It's beautiful isn't it?" An alluring deep voice spoke, startling me from my trance. I turned around quickly to meet black framed caramel eyes staring back down into my blue ones. His ashy brown hair was combed back nicely from his sun tanned skin; which was complimented well by a form fitting black t-shirt that was accented by a blue and yellow flannel. His long legs were decorated with worn out blue jeans and a pair of black slide on vans.

He cleared his throat to gain my attention as I finally realized I'd been staring for too long. Shit. My face flushed as a soft smirk grazed his lips. I quickly turned back around to hide my embarrassment, as he proceed to move to the right side of me, gazing out the window. "The view." He stated smoothly. "Oh, yeah." I said quietly as I turned to look out to the pond again. He gave a soft smile and turned to face me. "Both of them." He said quietly as his gaze softly moved up and down my body in a quick flash. I quickly shot my head towards him. "What?" I choked out. He laughed at my startled expression, but didn't answer my question.

"So, I was going to head outside for a walk to get some fresh air," He suddenly started. "Care to join me?" I considered my options carefully for a moment. Deciding I'd rather go on an adventure with a stranger then spend the night alone getting drunk in the kitchen, I decided to say yes.

"Okay. But you have to tell me your name first." I joked. He offered his right hand out to me. "I'm Eli Parker. I just moved here a few months ago. You're Cassie, right? I think we have Biology together." I internally kicked myself. I never said I was proud of my ability to remember people's names or faces. A light blush made its way on to my cheeks again. "Oh! That's right. Sorry, I'm really bad with names. Plus I don't usually drink like this; I guess the odds are really stacked against me tonight." I said sheepishly as I offered my hand to back to him in return. "No worries," He said as he gave a soft smile. I could help but offer one back. "Now, follow me." His eyes gave a mischievous glint before he tightened his grip on my hand and dragging me behind him through the crowd. Luckily for me, my other hand had a tight grip around my priceless pink bottle.

Before I even had time to process my surroundings, I was pelted by fresh pine air. No words were exchanged between Eli and I as he lead me deeper and deeper into the woods. His pace had slowed by now as we walked in comfortable silence, his hand still gripping mine. We finally emerged into a circular shaped clearing when he finally release my hand; the chill of the air clinging to it. I walked around slowly, taking it all in. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

Remembering Eli's presence I turned around to find him sitting in the grass, watching me intently. He softly patted the spot in the grass next to him, gesturing for me to join him. I rolled my eyes with a small laugh as I sat down. The grass was surprisingly soft. My gaze was distracted by the little blooms of flowers I began to twist with my figures that I hadn't even noticed Eli slip a small, rolled piece of paper out of his pocket. My attention was finally brought to him at the sound of a lighter sparking.

I watched him intensely as he took a fairly long drag of the glowing paper roll. As he held his breath letting the smoke fill up his lungs, his gaze swiftly shifted to mine; a sly smirk grazing his lips. He knew I was watching him; he wanted me to. As he finally exhaled the smoke from his lungs, he rested his back down into the grass. The familiar sent of marijuana filled my nose as he adjusted himself to lay on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. He held up the now confirmed joint to me as an offering.

"Do you smoke?" He questioned with a curious look on his face. I hesitantly took the joint from him. "Not often, but yeah, I guess I do." I answered blandly, taking in my own hit of the smoke. I adjusted myself to mirror him before I released my breath up into the night sky, a slight cough escaping my lungs. His smirk only intensified. "I think it's so sexy you smoke weed. I wasn't sure about you." He teased. I rolled my eyes playfully and he laughed. We both eventually ended up on our backs watching the stars, continuing to share the joint till it went out. Suddenly a flying creature flew over our heads.

"What do you think that was?" I questioned softly as I looked towards him. He met my gaze. "Probably a barn owl. They're pretty common in this area." I hummed in acknowledgement as I faced the sky once more, tucking my hands behind my head as I closed my eyes. He rolled onto his stomach, propping himself up on his elbow so that his face loomed over mine. "Hey Cassie," He spoke softly as I opened my eyes to meet his. "I'm really glad you came out here with me tonight." I couldn't hold back a soft smile from grazing my lips. "Me too."

We stayed in that position for a moment, staring into each others eyes intensely. Although Eli was looking at me, I'd catch his gaze going to my lips every so often. His expression changed, as he seemed to be pondering something. I was slightly worried until his gaze matched mine once again. His gaze was deeper and more intense then it had been before, causing butterflies to flurry in my stomach and my heart to race.

"Could I kiss you?" He finally whispered. I saw the fear and worry behind his eyes, afraid I might reject him. Little did he know, I'd never really kissed a boy before. Or even had a boyfriend for that matter. I never really cared to. Plus, It was always hard for me when Lacey was around. She was so beautiful no one really noticed me that way. She gave me the power to be invisible, but the curse of being lonely on the inside. I softly sighed, releasing a shaky breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "I'm a little afraid," I started honestly as I dropped my gaze down to his lips. His body became slightly tense. "But I wouldn't stop you if you did." I whispered as I met his beautiful brown eyes once again. That was enough for him.

His thumb began to softly graze my cheek as he cupped the side of my face softly with his hand as he slowly lowered his face to mine. The butterflies in my stomach twisted in a flurry of excitement. His lips were soft against mine as the heat began to rise between us. His free had began to explore its way down the side of my body eventually finding his way to my hip, to which he gave a gentle, yet firm squeeze. I found the strength to push Eli back down onto his back as I climbed on top of him, my body acting on its own. He sat up, grabbing my waist as I straddled myself over his lap. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as he squeezed the outside of my thighs, helping take the strain off of me as I adjusted my legs to wrap around his waist tightly. Eli began to slow the pace as started to kiss me in short, sweet bursts. Never making a move to take this further despite his own desires. He knew I had already been slightly buzzed before and had no intentions of taking advantage of me in this lesser state.

Our lips parted at the sound of soft cooing above us. We looked up to watch the two owls dance gracefully together above our heads before giving a soft coo goodbye, both flying deep into the woods together once again. I stared up into the starry sky as I loosely held my grip on Eli's neck as he began to plant soft kisses along my neck as I had a sudden, random thought. "Did you know that barn owls mate for life?" I uttered softly as the stars twinkled above me. He slowly brought his hand to my chin, gently pulling it down till our eyes met once more. "Fascinating." He whispered with a hint of sarcasm, brushing his nose softly against mine. I gave a slight giggle as he pulled me back into a deep, passionate kiss of smoke in the woods.