Clay:
After I kicked him and slashed his face it seemed like the creepy boy finally understood what was happening. His face flushed and turned pale, even more pale than he was before. His eyes widened and he finally looked like a normal person whose life was in danger.
My heart was still pounding in my throat from being pinned to a wall. He looked so innocent that I never would have imagined him to fight back. My heart kept pounding, my head spinning, my vision being casted over in darkness.
I must have used up the last of my strength pushing him off of the wall and before I knew it everything became dark.
I don't know how long I was out for, but the sleep was deep, dark. My eyes felt like they had been glued shut. Eventually, I started to stir, trying to move my arms but they were bound. I could hear the clanging of chains in my ears, the creaking of wood and the smell of mold. I pulled harder, the feeling of metal digging into my wrists. My shoulders felt sore, my hands dangling above my head.
I heard footsteps getting louder and louder. My heart raced and I thrashed against the bindings, my desperation rising as I finally broke free. My eyes snapping open.
I sat up fast, a sudden pain shooting through my forehead and extending to the rest of my body like a bolt of lightning. I shook and wrapped my hands around my body until the pain subsided. Once the blood stopped pounding in my ears I heard whimpering beside me.
I turned to see the same blonde boy from earlier gripping his head. "Is there a reason for the dramatic awakening? And for almost smashing my head in...?" He grumbled, finally taking his hands away from the now red spot on his forehead.
I reached for my sword beside me but realized my hand was only touching hay. We were in a farm, stacks of the itchy yet cushioning substance in piles all around us. He was sitting on a tightly packed square of it. The barn was rundown, no animals present but barrels stacked on shelves around us. It must have been storage of some kind.
I narrowed my eyes at the blonde. "So what? You getting revenge on me for trying to take your stuff now?" I growled, but as I accused him the boy's expression remained soft.
"If that was the case, why would you be delicately lying in some hay right now?" He responded, a small smile pulling across his face.
When he said that, I glanced down and realized that my hands weren't bound. The marks on my wrists from pulling on the chains faded and scarred over still. "Alright. Then what's your angle?"
He smiled a little wider, I wasn't used to being looked at so delicately. "Maybe I'm just an idiot." He responded, and to that I was speechless. "I actually wanted to apologize." He started, which made me even more confused.
"I try to mug you and you're apologizing? You really are an idiot." I scoffed.
"Probably." He said with a slight snicker, but despite my tone he pressed on. "Pinning you against the wall like that, it was uncalled for. Nobody should be forced to kiss somebody if they don't want to."
My cheeks burned. I thought he was trying to attack me… but… he… was trying to KISS ME!? I felt my jaw unhinge, my mouth hanging open as my heart started to pound again. I tried to regain my composure, it would be embarrassing to stammer like an idiot.
"Who the hell tries to kiss somebody that's got a sword to their neck!?" I snapped, my mind racing with confusion.
"It's… a bit… ya know, embarrassing but…" I saw his cheeks light up and his eyes shift. I'm glad I didn't stammer, he looked really stupid. "I thought I was dreaming."
I snorted and began to laugh. The shaking caused my body to sting but I couldn't help myself. The laughter swept the air out from my lungs, the chuckling turning into a few coughs before abruptly coming to an end.
I realized then, that I couldn't remember the last time I laughed.
When I looked back over at the boy his cheeks had become red again, his eyes staring intently in my direction. "Wow. Just when I thought you couldn't get any hotter… You're so damn cute when you smile."
I felt the heat in my cheeks come back as I forced my smile back to an intimidating frown. "Y-You can't just go around- I mean. Quit it with that!" I snapped at him, but my aggressive tone didn't change the way he was looking at me.
"Sorry, but I already showed my interest so I figured I've got nothing to lose. No need to filter right?" He laughed. "Are you gay? Your reactions make me think you are, though if you're not then I obviously won't persist and force you into anything. I don't wanna make you uncomfortable."
My chest felt strange when he said that to me. He really cared about my opinion, cared about how I was feeling? He didn't just do what he pleased, wasn't going to just say whatever he wanted. I… was being treated like a person.
"I- I'm not-...!" I stammered. For some reason I couldn't connect any thoughts together. He just straight up asked me if I was gay, something that had never even been on my radar before now. "Look, I've got more important things to worry about! And so do you! Like actually surviving for the next week with no food and no money!"
He smirked. "So that's not a no."
My blood boiled. "Did you not hear anything I just said!?" I shouted at him, my head becoming dizzy. I calmed myself down. It didn't matter what he did or thought. He wasn't my problem. It was every man for himself, if this guy wanted to worry about nonsense and die, that was his problem.
"Then I'll do it!" He suddenly exclaimed, like he discovered a new meaning to his life...
"I'll make you want to kiss me."