CHAPTER 6

"Are you scared of anything Ruby?" Tori asks me, her voice echoing through the dark trees around us. I pause for a moment, thinking hard about her question.
"I'm scared of being lonely."
I nibble nervously on my bottom lip and frown at myself in the dark. I don't like to show people my weaknesses, even my best friend.
"Lonely?"
"Yeah, I'm scared of losing my family and friends. I think the worst feeling in the world is to feel lonely." I say quietly, keeping my back turned to her. I can hear her breathing behind me and the occasional rustle as she continues to collect wood from the forest floor.
"You're always surrounded by people, girls like you and guys like you too. You won't ever be lonely..." she drifts off, her voice also becoming quiet. It's rare that me and Tori ever have deep conversations with each other. We usually play fight, call each other bitches and gossip.
"Let me re-phrase my answer," I turn, smiling slightly.
"I'm scared of losing people who I can be myself around, not crazy Ruby. I like crazy Ruby too but it's exhausted to do that all the time. People in school like crazy Ruby, they don't know the real me." I reveal, running my free hand through my dark hair. Tori watches me intently, her head slightly tilted to the side.
"Where do I belong?" She asks me quietly. Even though we're surrounded by darkness, I can see the glimmer in her eyes.
"Do you even have to ask?" I respond, shaking my head. When she remains silent, I answer her question.
"You're someone I'm afraid of losing, you're someone I can be myself around Tor."
A beaming smile spreads across her face. She walks up to me, one hand clutching a pile of sticks. I watch as she stands inches away from me, looking directly into my eyes. I'm about to ask if we can cut the soppy behaviour when she does something that takes me by complete surprise . . .
She leans forward and presses her lips against mine.
My eyes widen in shock and I quickly spring backwards, stumbling on a piece of wood.
"Shit!" I curse as I land painfully on my ankle, squeezing my eyes shut tightly. I ignore the flare of pain and look at Tori instead who's standing over me, her hand slapped over her mouth.
"Oh god, Ruby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, I am so sorry." She apologises, hesitant whether to help me up or not. I grimace as I push myself up off the floor, my ankle throbbing painfully.
"Tori, its fine, honestly."
"No, it's really not. I don't know why I did that, can we take it back? Oh god, this is so awkward," Tori babbles, her cheeks blushing dark red. I've never seen her blush before.
"Tori!" I yell at her, snapping her out of her babbling state. She immediately silences and turn towards me, her eyes wide. I hold her stare for a few seconds, my face expressionless.
"It's fine, I promise."
She's my best friend. I don't want her to feel awkward around me because of one silly kiss. Tori exhales deeply, her shoulders slumping in relief. I let out a small chuckle, hobbling on one leg due to my sprained ankle.
"I guess you couldn't stay away from my leechy tongue, right?" I joke, sticking my tongue out at her. The awkward air between us completely dissolves as she chuckles loudly, her laughter ringing through the air and trees.
I smile because I'm good at what I do.
Making people laugh to forget about their worries.