❛ ↺ forest

@x. minghao the crackling of the flames in front of them, and the mirrored vision of flames in his eyes was undeniably alluring to the young woman, with the illicit activities spurring a gentle ache that would no doubt spread like wildfire through her bones, her tense muscles that only he could soothe. this ache could only be characterized by an intense need for whatever he had to offer, whatever they could give each other in the moment. "maybe a building? something big.....something beautiful. coming down to ashes. I can see it, ashes falling like snow. a beautiful sight for us to enjoy doing.....yes, whatever we want." her eyes fluttered to a gentle shut as she murmured out those words wantonly, chest just beginning to heave a bit erratically as she leaned back once he came upon her.

much like the fire, only a spark was needed to kindle the fire between the two. naturally her body came to lay atop the jacket he so graciously spread out for her, hands smoothing up over his abs and to his chest, feeling the familiar sinewy muscles beneath her fingertips before her arms came to wrap around his neck. they went at it, back and forth with the kiss in varying levels of fervor, and soon all that was heard in the forest was the crackling of the wood and the soft smacks of two young adults getting a tad frisky. to delve deeper she turned her head and let her tongue slip through to his, plush lips meeting his with renewed vigor upon the introduction of tongues.

@a. lucy now starting to sway from side to side rather impatiently, the hand by her chest now shifts to slide underneath the thin layer of fabric. "next time it'll be gigantic. probably not here, though. we'll find a good place, and who knows, maybe we'll go down with it as i go down on you, but we couldn't care less if we did. we don't need anyone but us. and a little trouble, and the occasional fire here and there. do we now?", he asks, taking in a deep breath to catch a whiff of her as his fingertips drum along her stomach and up to her chest. he now shows his teeth upon releasing a playful groan, canines tugging at the ear briefly, and he quickly shakes his sweat jacket off to place it right behind her. it was a sign. a sign for her that he wants her.

minghao would never dare to mistreat lucy. never. he wouldn't dare to give her any less than she deserved, and so, her consent's important to him. of course he knows she's just as crazy for him as he is for her, however, he'd find it to be rather hot for him to actually try and get her in the mood. after a little bit, he had shifted to straddle her lap before sinking down on her, lips now locked with hers rather messily as his hands shift to roam over her body, seemingly crafted by the gods.

@x. minghao minghao always had a tad bit more fascination with the fine whipping of the flames, so it was often him who crouched down by the dry brush to light the damn thing, while she was often admiring him amusedly while he did so. she listened to his words attentively, to the lull of his voice that was relaxing despite their rather upbeat shenanigans. it lured her to him admittedly until she was right at his side, warm brown eyes soaking in the spark as it morphed into a beautiful array of flickering flames. though, the warmth felt from the fire was no match for the warmth felt when his fingers danced across her skin, making her hum out pleasantly even when he dipped down to lay a cheeky little nibble to her ear, causing goosebumps to spread like wildfire along her nape. the girl supposed something that always attracted her to him was that his affections gave her the same satisfaction as fire. warm, bright with dangerous implications, and a mischievous little bite that was icing on the cake.

"it's beautiful." feeling rather at peace she succumbs quite easily to his lips, her head turning to the side to grant him more access to the area, eyes fluttering shut once he makes contact again. "we should try something bigger next time." muses with a mellifluous laugh, though it was saturated in a sort of haze that was caused by this onslaught of affection that had her head swirling deliciously, a feeling she could only reciprocate with touch. so her hand reached out to clutch the fabric of his shirt, a gentle tug bringing him in closer as she turned her head to lay her lips against his cheekbone while he worked his magic.

@a. lucy his eyes sparkle darkly as he arranges the few twigs he had collected neatly, building a tower of twigs, however, he makes sure to leave enough space inbetween so the fire wouldn't die down due to a lack of oxygen. minghao lets out a contented sigh, and his gaze sways over to lucy. they'd usually sit beside each other, shoulders touching, or minghao would let her sit on his lap so her pants wouldn't get dirty - he's come to learn that the material of hers was, indeed, not as thick as the ones he would wear - and he also knows how easily they would rip, how easily thorns of the bushes in the area would dig into them.
"we're lucky it's been rather dry the last few days", he mutters, his gaze shifting towards the well-arranged pile of twigs, "it won't take long until it actually burns. at the same time... it might die down quickly."

of course, they probably should have secured the area a little more. with stones, for example. so the fire wouldn't spread. but at that moment, the chemicals in his brain won't allow him to think rationally because of two reasons: first of all, whenever lucy was around, his body automatically went to the rage mode, considering the fact they had hooked up before, secondly, the sight of fire puts him into a trance-like state, watching the flames climb up and fade in the air gives him a feeling of comfort, fascination, and he'd even say he's obsessed with it. he shakes head briefly for his bangs to go back into their place, and he pulls out his lighter from his pocket, leaning in to light one of the twigs. it takes a few attempts for it to actually burn properly, but it works. his eyes sparkle with joy as he gazes at the fire - and of course, he pulls out his phone for a photo of the newly set fire. he turns his head to look at the other, and in an instant, he finds his hand creeping up her side, to rest just below her chest, and he lets out a contented sigh.

"it looks so good, doesn't it?", he whispers as he turns his head to let his lips brush over her ear, biting at the helix in a rather playful manner.

@e. taron Wheezing with every exhale, she held her precious flashlight in both of her hands, cradling it as if it was some sacred object that had lost it's purpose. "No----why?!" she muttered and gave somewhat of a lighthearted sob before looking over at the other who was now on his bottom, shaking like a chihuahua. That's when Maggie started to feel somewhat bad. She was still slightly irritated, but not as much as she was just moments before. The male's eyes were round like saucers and teary like he was going to cry. He's curled up, hands around his knees and was put in a fetal position to protect himself from her. He was looking at her like she was the monster here.

and rightfully so.

As she listened to him, she couldn't help but look away in shame. Her neat brows were furrowed and her lips were somewhat in a frown. Disappointment. Disappointed in herself for snapping at some dude who was simply trying to get back home. Perhaps she was a little harsh, a little dramatic -- but if someone was chased in the woods at the middle of the night by some strange, unknown person, anyone would understand with the way she reacted, right? Heaving a stressed sigh, she stood up and tossed her useless flashlight onto the ground before looking over at the male who clearly had enough of her dramatic and loud rant. She didn't know how to approach the guy, whether to kneel down and pat his shoulder and say, 'hey, i'm sorry, i didn't mean all that.' Maggie wasn't that type of person and she's certainly not the type of person to say, 'i'm sorry' so easily.

"So, you're lost, huh?"

Her words come off somewhat quieter and clearer for him to hear. Hands clutched her bag and her feet slightly kick at the ground before she looked around at the dark forest. "Next time," she starts as she looks down at the male, tilting her head to the side to get a good look at him. "--When you get lost, try not to chase after that person, because you'll give them one hell of a good ing scare if you do. A simple, 'hey, i need help', would've sufficed." Maggie leans down a bit and slowly holds out her hand for him to take. "I'll help you out." she said and waited for the other to take her hand, raising a brow and tilting her head the other way.

@l. maggie Taron pictured this scenario going way more differently. He honestly thought that this girl was going to be absolutely relieved that he wasn’t some mercenary out for her blood and just forgive him then and there. She would go like, “Oh, thank god! I’m really GLAD you aren’t going to kill me! I’m GLAD it’s YOU and not SOMEONE ELSE. Wow! I’m, like, so ing grateful!” Okay, maybe without Taron’s little speech habit of inserting the word “like” in between sentences, but her response would have been mostly that. Then after that, Taron would offer to help her up, then they will both head on home with the girl leading the way because she clearly knows what she’s doing compared to Taron himself, and then happily ever after! The end! THAT’S how Taron thought it was going to go. What he actually got was something less… preferable. I mean, she honestly has every reason to be this ing pissed at him, but not a single functioning brain cell in Taron’s head was able to decipher why. He’s really that dense and that stupid.

The scream is the first reaction he got and his legs immediately backpedal, proceeding to trip themselves in thin air and making Taron land on his rear end. He yelps in pain, glasses askew and his throbbing like hell. His eyes don’t leave the other’s and he really wished he had the balls to look away. Not like he had any to begin with. The way the crickets just shut the up over the suddenness of the sound made Taron wish he was one of them— a bug that could come off unnoticed as long as it stayed silent. Right now, Taron was dead silent, but the girl can very much still see him and she was literally glaring holes into his skull. It’s like he actually DID end up killing her and now her ghost was back to haunt him in rage. Fortunately, she’s very much still alive and wasn’t at all killed by Taron’s hands. Unfortunately, however, she was literally chased down by him and he was going to get an earful as to why he really shouldn’t have done that right about… now.

What he thought was going to be a scolding turned out to be an entire rant of lectures and questions. Every time she raised her voice, Taron swears he’s THIS close to pissing himself. If she thought he was shaking like a toy chihuahua earlier, he was now an actual chihuahua that was dipped in the coldest ocean. He never liked it when people yelled at him like this. Reminded him of his dad. He did it to his mom and did it to him as well. His teeth clench behind his lips, his hands clutch tightly onto his shoulders as he hugs himself, and tears begin to form at the corners of his eyes once again. He really shouldn’t have done what he did. He was a ing idiot and this girl had every right to be this goddamn angry. If it was the other way around, he might have been close to being as pissed as she was. She ends up mentioning a name at the near end of her rant and he can’t help but let out response instantly to defend whoever that was. “N-No Yuta—” he squeaks, hoping he got the name right or that she even heard him despite her planning revenge on this Yuta guy.

Once it looked like she was finished, he swallows and murmurs in a shaky voice, “I-It’s really, like, all m’fault. Not… Not Yuta.” whilst his eyes tried their best to keep focus on her own. He was failing obviously and it made him give up all together, eyes now casting down to the ground as he bit down at his bottom lip. He should have added an apology in there as well but he knew that he needed to calm himself down before doing so lest he wants a half-assed one with lots of stutters in it. And just when he thought he could bring himself to finally do it, the girl finds out her flashlight is broken and it causes her to make a pterodactyl-like screech that practically makes a bunch of birds fly off the branches they were nesting in for the night. Taron flinches a hell lot at it, eyes going wide, glasses jostling a bit more, and hands and feet backpedaling on the ground.

He really, really, really messed things up.

And he has to ing fix it. Like, now.

“Y-You’re right. Everything you, like, just said… about guys being… being jerks and s-scaring girls half to death. All that. Right. It’s… It’s orrect.” He gulps down whatever lump has formed in his throat and his eyes remain casted down, too ing terrified to face her right now. “I… I ran after you because you’re, like, my only…my only chance at getting back home. I was too scared to, like, speak up ‘n stuff. Was really stupid of me. I really shouldn’t have done any of that and I’m really sorry. Y-You don’t gotta forgive me. Hell, you can just, like, leave me here to rot. I sorta deserve it anyways.” Pause. “N-NOT THAT I’M TRYING TO MAKE YOU PITY ME! I, LIKE, REALLY WANT YOU TO LEAVE ME HERE TO ROT! W-Wait. NO. I MEAN… W-WHAT I MEANT TO REALLY SAY IS—” Thumps his forehead against his knees and just curls up in a fatal position on the ground. “I’m the ing worst person ever.”

@e. taron Tears were threatening to fall. Maggie's throat began to close up and it was getting harder to breathe; it was as if time -- had slowed down by a million. Her palms hugged her head and her freshly painted fingernails dug into her scalp as she tried to 'save herself' for whatever might come next. "No hurting!" she heard over the intense, loud pounding in her ears. There was no movement yet, she was frozen like a statue in her position, completely curled up against the boulders that so 'graciously' blocked her path to survival. It took a moment to take in and comprehend what she heard. What she realized next was that she was still -- alive?

Hesitatingly, she opened her eyes and caught sight of the ground beneath her. Slowly, she turned her head a bit and looked over to see shoes. Then up, up, up her gaze went until it fell on the face of an unknown stranger who had beads of sweat falling down his face. What really made Maggie feel more at ease was the fact that this unknown man was just as scared as she was -- maybe even more. She wasn't going to let her guard down completely, though. Her hands were still on her head and she was peeking through her arms. The male's hands was the first thing her gaze went to in order to make sure he didn't have any kind of weapons. Thankfully, there wasn't any in his possession, other than a phone.

The moment he began to talk was the moment Maggie furrowed her brows. For some reason, irritation and annoyance began to boil within herself. This guy's voice had literal fear and cowardice in his voice. He was trembling like a toy chihuahua. Her eyes watered a bit more due to the fact that moments ago she thought she was being chased after by some ing murderer who was on the midnight prowl. Once the male was done speaking, Maggie's breathing became heavy and loud. Balling her fists, she suddenly stood up straight and let out the most dramatic, "AGGH!" that reverberated through the forest, and if anything -- she was probably the scariest thing out there because the crickets had stopped chirping right after.

"Just when I in' thought I was g'nna die by some huge burly man who was on the midnight prowl to murder a ing young girl like me. Why did you ing sneak up on me?! No. Scratch that. WHY DID YOU RUN AFTER ME AND NOT ING SAY ANYTHING?! I swear, boys are always trying to scare girls half to death. THAT'S HOW HORROR MOVIES START. HAVE YOU NEVER SEEN THE MOVIE 'SCREAM'? No! I guess ing not! Look at you! You are more scared that I am and you were the one chasing me in these ing woods. Why are you even out here to ing begin with? DID YUTA SEND YOU? I knew it. That little sent you out here to ing scare me didn't he. That . I'm going to get that ING STUPID HEAD."

After her entire rant, she stood there, chest puffed and hands balled at her sides as she huffed and puffed to catch her breath. Not a moment after, she looks down at her flashlight and gasps. There laid her beloved flashlight, cracked and no longer flickering like it had done before. Leaning down, she picked it up and examined it. Then the anger and irritation ignited again. She stood up and stomped her foot once and let out the loudest annoyed shriek ever right before yelling, "THIS IS THE WORST ING DAY EVEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" as her words echoed throughout the entire forest.

@l. maggie Taron was an idiot, and nothing has ever gotten him to fully accept that till this very moment. He was literally standing in the middle of a forest with darkness practically engulfing him and creepy, undetermined noises filling him with nothing but absolute fear and regret. What he thought was a newfound shortcut leading home ended up being a newfound way to get unbelievably lost and become the perfect target for murder. Yikes. Murder. He really hadn't thought of that possibility before entering this dark as forest, didn’t he? Great; juuuuust great. He’s going to get killed and not a single person is going to know it happened because he somehow successfully managed to even up how he dies! Would anyone miss him if they notice him gone? Would anyone notice his sudden disappearance to begin with? Would his mom and step-dad notice? Would his friends notice? Would—

The balls at the ends of his palms thump against his forehead as he lowers himself to the forest ground in a squat. He lowers his head onto his knees and let’s out a groan of varying negative emotions; “upset” being the one on the top of the long list. He already felt like he was on the brink of tears and he knew that if he didn’t stop to calm himself, he would be a few thoughts away from a panic attack. Panic attacks in a scary place like this? No way. Panic attacks are already a scary place to begin with. “C’mon, Taron! This isn’t the in’ time to be thinkin’ ‘bout that stuff!” He yells to himself, his phone’s flashlight illuminating his worn out sneakers as well as the dead leaves beneath them. Just when he thought he had softened his pulse, he hears a nearby crunching sound. It causes him to in his breath way too quickly, making his throat choke on it as silently as possible as his eyes panicked to find who or what the hell just made that noise. He thought his heartbeat was crazy earlier? It’s quadrupled now. The tears that didn’t come earlier? Well, they’re trailing down his face now and he wanted to sob so goddamn badly. But he had to stay quiet if he wanted to live— there was no way he was going to get killed just because he cried like a baby. The light that was coming from his phone has disappeared due to dropping it face down on the forest floor and it really wasn’t making this situation any easier for him.

God, this may really be the end of Taron Egerton, huh? Just when he started college. Amazing. How could he have ed up this badly?

And then… he hears a voice.

The figure in the dark curses under their breath and he can’t help but notice how young it sounded. They seem to be smacking at something with their hand too. The moonlight wasn’t really the best source of light due to all the leaves of the trees covering its way, but Taron is able to form the shape of a flashlight in the hand of the stranger. It was a far reach, yes, but he has a feeling in his gut that’s telling him that maybe this person was just as lost as he was, and that they weren’t actually a… serial killer.

He may possibly be wrong, but once the stranger began walking away— Taron got up on his feet, grabbed his already dead phone, and started following behind said person as quietly as possible. Confidence boiled up inside of him as soon as he realized that he has the upperhand here. The other hasn’t noticed Taron so if ever this person turned out to be some sort of murderer after all, he can know beforehand without being caught. that is... if he manages to stay quiet. He swallows down every ounce of fear he had left and keeps his low profile as much as possible up until he decides to reach out and let a finger touch the back of their neck to maybe get their attention in a very non-threatening way. Despite this attempt, the moment the person slaps a hand to their neck, Taron chickens out just as fast. He quickly hides behind a nearby tree trunk without much sound and proceeds to then hold his breath as though it wasn’t just him who had caused that reaction in the first place. What an idiot!

Everything after that was a blur honestly. First it was “.”, then it was jogging, then it was full-blown chasing that could normally be seen in horror movies. Yes, Taron. You’re the scary monster and this poor girl you’re running after is scared less of you. Way to go. Eventually the chase comes to a stop as soon as the other had reached a dead end. Boulders that shouldn’t be there are, well, there and it really couldn’t look more like a horror movie than it already did a few minutes ago. She whimpers for him to not hurt her and, god, Taron felt like the biggest jerk in the universe as soon as he heard those words. He really shouldn’t have chased her like that but he did anyway. ing jerk.

He makes sure to take real slow cautious steps towards her, open hands hovering before him to show that he had no weapons of any sort in them. Even with this sort of gesture, she still ends up sinking to the ground with her arms shielding her head and it makes Taron feel ten times worse. How do actors who act as bad people do it?!

Hand now falling onto her shoulder, she practically screams at him and he can’t help but fall back on his with a pathetic yelp of his own. “No hurting!” He finally manages to yell back, his body quivering from the sudden scream and his initial words not making sense and making sense at the same time. “I’m sorry—! I didn’t mean to chase ya ‘round like that. Like some… some slasher from a horror film.” His voice was coming off shaky and really cowardly-like but he really didn’t care at this point. He just wants to go home. “I swear I’m not a murderer though! I promise I’m not gonna hurt you! I’m literally just a freshman from Solace University who's, like, really, really, really lost. I honestly thought YOU were the murderer at first but then it ended up being me which is, hah, really funny and I just... just gotta stop talking now.”

@e. taron Whack! whack! whack! Maggie slams the nearly dead flashlight against her palm, trying to get the darn thing to turn back on and work. "Stupid, piece of !" she hissed quietly, the flashlight flickering sporadically among the dark path. Taking a deep breath, she rolls her shoulders back and wiggles her limbs to get rid of the weird vibe that was beginning to take full affect around her. The wind had began to move past the small nooks and crannies of the forest, shaking the leaves and swaying the twisted branches -- in which made an eerie, hair rising creak that one would only hear in horror movies. Forward, she went; the leaves and twigs crumbling and snapping beneath her combat boots she wore just in case there were spiders, snakes or scorpions. Maggie was more worried about being bit by a bug rather than being murdered by a serial killer that could potentially be stalking her right at this very moment.

The sensation of something touching her neck made her twitch as she turned around to scan the surrounding area. Raising her hand, she gently swiped the back of her neck, making sure it wasn't a bug that landed on her from above. Nothing was there and no one was around. "." she whispered softly, feeling her heart beginning to pound like a drum within the confines of her rib cage. Maggie's breathing became more heavier and quicker. The faster her heart began to pump, the faster she began to walk. The wind was beginning to pick up, and everything around her became louder and louder. She was panicking.

Instead of continuing at her normal pace, she began to jog; weaving around trees in order to get to her destination. While she jogged at a constant pace, she hard twigs snapping behind her, trailing her, coming up behind her. It was coming closer and closer which made Maggie become hyper aware and alert. The roundness of her eyes maximized. Her lips parted to take in more oxygen while the pounding of her heart raised in volume. She could hear her own heart thumping in her ears.

Maggie ditched the flashlight and began running at full speed, trying to avoid branches that stuck out of trees and large rocks. Huff, Huff, Huff was the sound of her panting with each step. Coming to an abrupt stop, she looked all around her but was arrived at a dead end. Large boulders blocker her way, and wall of trees hugging each other back to back. The footsteps she heard a minute ago were coming closer again, but slowed down as soon as it was in sight. The figure was tall and hefty; shoulders were rising and falling as if it was gasping or air. Maggie took a few steps back until her back touched one of the boulders. She didn't have the courage to shine her dimmed flashlight on the shadow figure in front of her. "P-please don't h-hurt me." she whispered in a small voice, swallowing thickly to hydrate .

The figure moved and began to take slow, cautious steps towards her. Maggie's eyes widened at first before closing them tightly as she collapsed on her knees and braced her head. She felt a large hand grab her shoulder firmly yet carefully, to which she gasped sharply and shouted. "Please, don't!"

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