"I've never sneaked out before! It's… exciting."
Elise giggled as she ran through the trees as Felix stared at her back. As Elise ran through the trees, her laughter rang out, light and unrestrained, a sound she hadn't heard from herself in what felt like forever.
The wind rushed past her open hair, combing them and making her cheeks flush, but she didn't care. For a few moments, she could forget the weight of the secrets and relationships that suffocated her.
It was just her in the forest.
Felix kept pace a few steps behind her, his usual bored expression replaced by a lost expression.
He watched her, his eyes slightly narrowing in what could almost be mistaken for the gaze of a lost lover, but there was something else there, too.
Curiosity, maybe.
"Hey, careful," Felix called, his voice cutting through the rustle of leaves. "Don't trip over a root and break your neck."
