Fairytale Green

Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana blared through the speakers of his car. With the windows rolled down, people on the sidewalk were shooting all sorts of different types of dirty looks.

When we first got in the car, it was silent. It was like something hung in the air between us. I did not address it and neither did he.

He stole glances my way a few times every minute as we drove closer to the beachfront.

I kept my attention on the outside of the car and tried not to feel the heat rise on my face from his penetrating gaze.

The tension broke when Stone turned on the radio and pressed the CD button, so Kurt Cobain’s voice and guitar filled the confined space.

I ended up humming to myself as I let the wind blow my hair. My eyes remained on the passing water, but I could feel his smirk as he watched me tap a beat on the door.

‘Where is your bike?’ I asked, missing the thrill that came along with the ride.

‘It’s at Mike’s.’ Stone replied before his deep voice filled with smugness ‘Why? Are you missing your arms around me?’

Not answering back, I rolled my eyes and faced the other again. I let my hand wander out of the window so I could feel the air between my fingertips.

His gravelly voice spoke again ‘What are you so deep in thought about, Drizella?’

I hated that he knew my name. It was like fourteenth-century witchcraft when people believed that if you knew a witches’ name, you could manipulate her. Him using my name only manipulated my temper.  Not that I was a witch but if I was then I would have turned him into my very own pet snake by now.

I quickly replied, ‘I was just wondering if you always look like someone from Sons of Anarchy.’

He chuckled while he shifted the gearstick. He kept his eyes on the road, but I could tell he was watching me in his peripheral vision.

‘I just can’t wait to tell everyone that you have Disney pyjamas.’ He said, sending me an irritatingly sexy smirk.

‘Don’t you dare!’ I squealed but then I realised, ‘You don’t talk to anyone else.’

Stone glanced again at me before looking back at the road.

‘Why is that?’ I questioned, remembering that I had never seen him converse with anyone else but myself and sometimes Brennan.

His lip twitched “I don’t like people.’

I rested my head back on the seat so and tilted my head to the side to see him ‘Is that why you scare them away?’

‘Scare them away?’ He repeated, amused

‘Everyone is scared of you.’ I stated before explaining ‘I don’t know if it is the height or your build or your tattoos or your terrifying scowl. Maybe it is all of them combined but they are.’

‘Good.’ He spoke gruffly ‘I don’t want them to talk to me.’

A small laugh escaped me, and I shook my head ‘You want to know what I think?’

‘What do you think, Medusa?’

‘I don’t think you are as heartless as you make out.’ I said aloud, straight from the core of my thoughts.

The side of his lip quirked up ‘You are the only one to think that about me.’

‘I consider myself special.’ I joked before asking ‘You say you don’t talk to anyone, but you talk to me.’

‘You are an exception. The only exception.’

It was my turn for my lip to twitch but I covered up my smile by sticking my tongue out at him ‘That is fine then because I think you are stuck with me.’

The sound that escaped his throat was rough and husky ‘You are definitely stuck with me.’

‘What have I done to deserve this fate?’ I asked dramatically while looking up at the roof like I was pretending to ask a divine force.

He shot me a glare which I ended up laughing at. His narrowed eyes then turned soft as he listened to the sound of my light laughs.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I turned away from the amused giant and looked down at my phone.

Brennan was calling me.

I brought the phone to my ear and spoke up ‘Hello?’

‘Lana told me you were feeling sick.’ The silky sounding voice belonging to Brennan sounded amused as he spoke the words ‘I hope you are okay.’

The words did not sound like something Brennan would say. I was expecting a punchline or some other form of a joke.

‘Thank you, Loverboy.’ I replied.

‘Hope you feel better soon.’ He chuckled before adding ‘Say hi to Stone for me.’

‘Okay.’ I answered absentmindedly before I turned to Stone and told him ‘Brennan says hello.’

Then it clicked. I had a moment of enlightenment and noticed my moment of stupidity.

Stone also looked baffled by the omniscient Brennan that knew I was with him.

Brennan was laughing as I remained stunned into silence.

The giant who was busy driving flicked between looking at me and the road.

‘You didn’t tell him you were with me?’ I asked Stone, already knowing the answer by the look on his face.

‘No. I didn’t.’ He replied, a softer expression taking over his face ‘I didn’t want to tell him about…’

I understood. He did not want to tell Brennan that I had a breakdown. He did not want to share something that was not his to share.

‘Thank you.’ I uttered quietly.

‘You never need to thank me for anything, Medusa.’

The question of how Brennan assumed we were together still played on my mind.

I brought the phone back to my ear and asked the man on the other end of the line ‘How did you know?’

‘Call it a feeling.’ Brennan hummed.

‘You are so annoying.’ I spoke into the phone ‘I want to give you a feeling in your face by punching you in the jaw.’

Brennan let out a laugh.

‘Enjoy English without me.’ I taunted ‘You won’t be able to copy my answers.’

‘I miss you too, Little Ella.’ Brennan chuckled again before he mentioned ‘I don’t always copy from you. There is Stone as well. He is just as much of a smartass as you. That is why you are perfect for each—’

‘Bye Brennan.’ I cut him off before ending the call.

Stone continued stealing glances my way.

‘Brennan is annoying.’ I huffed.

‘Try dealing with him for years.’ Stone grumbled.

‘Where did you two live before?’ I questioned, curious to know more about him ‘I don’t think you have ever said.’

‘San Andreas.’ He replied, almost begrudgingly.

‘That is quite far.’ I pointed out before asking ‘Why did you move?’

‘Better surfing spots.’

‘Just like that?’ I said in disbelief ‘You up and move your life to be closer to the coast because you enjoy surfing. There is no other reason?’

Stone did not meet my eye when he said ‘No.’

‘Do you like it here?’ I spoke when he went quiet.

His next reply was when he finally looked at me. His lip twitched again in a small smile as he offered ‘I didn’t when we first moved.’

‘You do now?’

He covered his mouth and rubbed his jawline ‘There is one reason worth sticking around.’

‘Your oven cleaning business?’ I deadpanned.

His deep chuckle filled the car before he but went back to focusing on the road.

I dropped the subject as I noticed that we were nearly there. As the lights turned red, his head went back on the headrest and to the side so he could see my hair.

‘Your hair is brighter in the sunlight.’ He affirmed.

‘I know.’ I said, twirling a strand of my now brighter green hair ‘It was a different dye I used but I like it.’

‘I do, too.’

‘I’m sure you do.’ I said in a sarcastic tone, remembering his comment about it being puke coloured ‘The green is a little out there but at least I don’t look as plain as I did.’

‘Plain?’ He repeated in his harsh voice like he could not believe what I was saying.

I did not know why he did not seize the opportunity to agree with me. To mock me or crack a joke.

‘Yeah. Dark brown hair. Dark brown eyes. Plain.’ I told him ‘Even my freckles are even. I have thirteen on each cheek.’

Stone shook his head, his sentence coming out as more of a grumble ‘You are everything but plain.’

The light turned to green, and he looked back ahead. That is when he chose to lighten the mood with an expected taunting comment.

‘I’m surprised you don’t describe your eyes with a made-up colour.’ He remarked ‘Like happily-ever-after brown or something’

He was never going to let the whole colour thing go. I doubt he would ever forget fairytale green.

I let out a breath and admitted ‘I should have kept my mouth shut that night and never have mentioned fairytale green.’

The annoying large man in the driver seat replied, “Then I wouldn’t have something to say to make you squirm.’

The waves crept closer, and the feeling of dread took over me. In all that fear, there was also a slight sensation of excitement. I took a deep inhale and told myself that I was strong enough to do this. I had to jump into the deep end but maybe it would be better to get a push.

Lurch spoke and his words were reassuring ‘I’ll be here every step. Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you.’

‘So, you are not going to let the fish eat my carcass after you have killed me?’

‘No. I am not.’ He assured me.

Strangely enough, I believed him.

We left the car ditched at a grass hill near the beach promenade. Before we headed down to the sand, I removed my tank top and my jean shorts leaving me with just my black two-piece bikini.

Stone also removed his clothes until all that was on him was a pair of black shorts that exposed his muscular legs. His lack of shirt showed off his abs once again.

I doubted I would ever get used to the sight of him.

As we walked side by side down the path towards the shore, the giant peered down at me. His eyes flicked over every inch of my skin before he let out a string of rough deep sounding curses.

The beach was empty. I was glad for the void of people because it meant that if I ran away crying then I would not have an audience.

However, I promised myself that I would cry as it gave a certain annoying Goliath enough material to tease me for the rest of our lives.

My feet reached the part of the land where the blue met the sand. As the water engulfed my feet, I let out a deep breath. I did so every time a wave reached the shore.

To distract myself, I decided to try and push Stone into the sea.

I started by nudging him. When he did not move a single millimetre, I dug my feet into the sand before putting my back into it.

‘Medusa, what are you doing?’

After two minutes of using all my strength to move the boulder of a man, I gave up and finally looked up at his amused face.

‘I was trying to push you in the water.’ I mumbled.

‘Were you?’ He smirked ‘I didn’t notice. I though a fly had landed on me.’

His comment gave me more of a reason to push him in the water so I tried again.

My attempt did not last long because he effortlessly bent down, put one large arm around the back of my legs and hoisted me up until I was haunched over his shoulder.

‘Put me down!’ I demanded while trying to push away from him ‘I get it. You are really strong.’

This guy had to be close to seven foot and had to have weighed more than three hundred pounds in muscle.

When he did not put me down, I turned my head to look at the back of his head and I said ‘Are you enjoying the view?’

I felt him move against me. His head moved downwards towards the part of my body that was closest to his face.

He did not reply. He only let out a deep noise from the bottom of his throat that sounded like a hungry lion.

Stone put me down back on the ground when he was thigh-deep in the water. Which made it like waist-deep for me.

The turquoise ocean and had me thinking to myself if I should keep going and how much I would be able to take before the memories resurfaced.

‘You can do this.’ A voice said. A voice way too deep and scary sounding to be my conscious.

Stone’s hand grabbed mine and he squeezed reassuringly.

The water did not seem that terrifying anymore. Not compared to the feeling that came along with spending time with him. What sent shivers through my whole body was the thought that I had let this guy in. I had built up so many walls and secluded myself inside of them but now it had seemed like he had come crashing into my life with the strength of a bullet train.

I was quite a good swimmer when I was younger, but I found myself relying on him for support.

The sea only reached up to his chest when I had to start moving my arm to keep my head above water.  That was when he dropped my hand and held my hips in his embrace to keep me afloat.

A rush of the ocean hit my back and I was pushed further into his bare chest. There was nowhere else to do but wrap my arms around the back of his neck.

Our faces were so close that I could see mine clearly in the reflection of his eyes. I looked down to break the intensity.

I always wanted to know what every tattoo of his meant, but I was too scared to study the lines close enough in case he caught me staring. Our proximity meant there was nowhere else to hide. It was just us.

On the side of his torso was a tattoo of a tree. The large tree’s trunk stood tall but the top was slightly tilted and leaves were falling off. It was intricate and completely alluring.

The curiosity bubbled out of me as I continued to investigate his body art with my finger ‘Why a tree?’

His head tilted downwards, and he joined me in looking at the black drawing of the tree and he answered ‘My mother was obsessed with all things nature.’

‘What was she like?’ I asked softly.

I second-guessed my decision in asking him that. Perhaps it was too prying.

Rather than telling me off for being nosy, he replied with a hoarse voice ‘She was kind and compassionate. She was always outside strolling through a woodland or growing plants in the garden much to my dad’s disapproval. Our yard looked like a jungle.’

I matched the small smile he had while talking about her.

I wanted to hear more so I pressed, ‘What else?’

‘She was always making up quotes. Whenever I got into trouble, which was a lot, she would always give me a half an hour pep-talk full of metaphors.’

I let out a small giggle at that ‘She sounds amazing. What did she used to say?’

His mouth lifted further at the memory ‘Whenever we were at the beach, she always said that love was like the bottom of the ocean. If you are that deep, you can’t see it, but you know it is there. You know that even if you cannot touch it, it is there because you can feel it.’

My smile grew. I loved that.

I wondered if he got his good looks and brains from his mom or his dad. I figure it was probably both.

Letting my finger trail to the tattoo sleeve on his arm, I questioned ‘What was your dad like?’

‘Everyone said that he was like me.’

‘Your mother must have had her hands full then.’ I commented with a giggle.

His laugh sent vibrations through me and because of our proximity his warm breath hit my neck, making me tilt my head back slightly exposing my neck to him further.

‘You always have to have a smart answer.’ He said, chuckling while nearing my face.

I lightly punched his chest as I softened my voice ‘You love that I give you shit, and you know it.’

Stone’s lip twitched twice as he looked down at me and shook his head.

The sun was beating down on both of us and my whole body went warm. With his touch around my waist, my lower body was kept uphold as I arched back and let my back and hair get wet.

I closed my eyes, so I did not have to see his facial expression as I did it. I tried to think about anything else but him. I thought about Lana at school and how she was getting on with Brennan. I thought about my dad and what he was doing.

Each time a new thought popped into my head; it only disappeared a second later. It seemed my brain was too preoccupied with thoughts of the hands on me.

I wondered what he was thinking about. I wondered if he was reminiscing about his parents or his old life in San Andreas. I wondered if maybe he was thinking about the same thing I was.

I never thought over my action to arch my back before I did it. I was more interested in cooling down that I did not think about how the position would look from his angle.

Especially with just a bikini on.

I slowly straightened my back until I was back in the position I was before. The only difference was that I did not wrap my arms around him.

Instead, I inspected him. From his pitch-black hair to his even darker eyes. From his ripped body to his mouth that always seemed to be up in a smirk. The mouth that challenged me more than anyone else had.

He gave me a run for my money every single day. It was constant and I was determined to win. He was my match but also my rival. He was the person to make me switch between the desire to strangle him and to wanting something else.

Something else that I wanted at that moment. Something that went against the rule I had just made that morning.

Stone moved a piece of hair out of my face as he chuckled ‘Your hair looks even more like seaweed.’

‘Shut up!’ I yelped while I have his chest a gentle swat with my hand.

He shook his head while he chuckled again ‘Such a violent little thing.’

The heat spread from the tip of my toes to my cheeks.

‘You are not exactly a calm and collected person either, Lurch.’ I made my point by adding ‘Mr I’ve-been-kicked-out-of-school-seventeen-times.’

His lip moved again as if he was about to smile but he stopped himself. Maybe it was because he was too busy preoccupied with stroking my hip.

‘You don’t get into any fights at our school though.’ I mentioned

Staring at me for a good few minutes, he eventually shook his head once.

‘Why not?’

‘I can’t get kicked out of school this time.’ He replied, determinedly.

I tilted my head.

He moved another stray hair from my face as he elaborated ‘I can’t leave you in English. You would miss me too much.’

My eyes rolled before I scolded ‘Well, keep it like that. No fighting. I will not visit you in prison.’

‘Why not, Medusa?’ He asked with an eyebrow rose.

‘I’ll send you a postcard.’ I joked before adding ‘If you are lucky enough.’

As his stare intensified so did his grip on my hips. He moved me closer until I was pressed up against him.

We kept our gazes matched.

His eyes were like two blackholes. I had been sucked in and I was not sure if I would be able to escape.

I was not sure if I wanted to.

One of his hands moved from my hip to my cheek until he caressed his thumb on the side of my face.

I had read a lot of books in my time. One of the techniques common among them was foreshadowing. An event that is hinted at throughout the book. A warning. My life was not any sort of book but this was my story and I had never predicted this.

Our faces were so close. So close that I could how dark his eyes had darkened.

His deep voice pulsated through my body as he growled ‘Fuck it.’

Then he kissed me.

His mouth crashed on to mine as he gently lifted my chin to accommodate the large height difference. He bent down from his neck and cradled my face as his lips brushed mine. His lips were so gentle yet wonderfully harsh as he kissed me with such a ferocity.

His tongue brushed over my lip lower, asking for more.

My body thrummed as I opened my lips to him and threw my arms around the back of his neck.

He kissed me slowly as if he was savouring every detail and every stroke of my tongue. I tilted my head to give him more access as he dominated my tastebuds.

I pulled back for a shaky breath ‘Do not stop.’

‘I wasn’t planning on it.’ He growled before bringing my lips back to his.

Stone went back to gripping my hips as he deepened the kiss. He threw my body up above the surface of the water until he caught me again and my legs were wrapped around his middle.

Our tongues danced in a silent battle. Desire ran through every cell of me as I let my hands roam up to his hair and clutched the strands as a dare for him to never stop.

I could kiss him forever. The sea could have swallowed me up for all I cared.

If this was some sort of trick he had planned to get one up on me, I could try and regret it later.

I was too busy embracing the warmth from his lips to care. I had never experienced something so passionate. He was dominating my whole body as he led the kiss in such a way that was sweet yet savage. It was a wordless war between us. A war that I was unsure what we were fighting for.

Our breaths were unsteady as we pulled apart. He rested his forehead on mine. I kept my eyes closed not wanting to face him yet. No doubt he was smug. I did not initiate the kiss, but I did not hold back.

The water submerged me as I shimmied out of his hold and ducked into the water. I did not dare face him. Before the splashing of water, the last thing I heard before my head was underwater was a husky laugh.

I looked down at the seabed where fish of multiple colours swam. The light from the sky lit up the water, reflecting colours of blue and even green. It was not that terrifying down there.

I wondered if she was scared that night. I wondered if she was too busy at the depths of despair to admire the depths of the ocean.

When I ran out of breath, I swam back up to the surface. My hair covered my face so I moved it so I could see Stone’s expression.

He did not look smug at all. Instead, he looked attentively at me as he said, ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah.’ I truthfully answered him ‘I am.’

He nodded and he started to take a step closer. With my newfound confidence in the water, I splashed him and swam away in the direction of the shore.

After he erupted with a deep noise that sounded like a half-laugh half-growl, he followed behind.

The surfer was faster at swimming than me and he caught up in no time. However, he did not pounce or splash back. Maybe he was worried that I would end up drowning.

As soon as the sand touched my feet, I started to walk up the beach.

He followed behind quietly. Too quietly. Like a predator before it kills its prey.

I turned around and he smirked at me evilly.

Flight or fight set in, and I chose flight. I was worried that he would still try and kill me, so I broke out into a sprint away from him.

As I reached our clothes that were randomly placed in a heap on the sand, I picked up the towel and wrapped it around me.

Stone did not run after me. He casually strolled up to me, chuckling at my ridiculous attempt to flee from him.

I let out a laugh as he neared and towered over me with a devilish smirk.

I thought he was going to kiss me again but just as he moved closer, his phone went off.

He let out a cuss as he rummaged through his jacket pocket until he picked up the phone and answered it.

After he hung up on the caller, he appeared furious as his attention drew to the other end of the beach.

‘Is everything okay?’ I asked.

His jaw ticked but when he looked down at me, his dark eyes lightened but only slightly.

‘I need to go.’ He grumbled.

My eyes widened before I offered him a single nod.

I tried not to show him how disheartened I was.

I stayed silent on our way back to the truck and I stayed silent the drive back to my apartment building.

The conclusion I drew from his disappearing act was that he could not wait to escape me.

He regretted the kiss.