A long day of Walking (open)

Chase had seen the girl long before she had gotten there. From his little spot under the tree he had an amazing vantage point. He had decided to leave her alone because she had looked preoccupied. Almost like she had been searching for something. In other Districts that may have been normal, but in District 6 almost no one was in the woods looking for things. Ninety percent of the people he saw were up to no good, and the fact that she was looking for something made him a little nervous.

Oh well, he decided to go to sleep and let her go about her business. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts drift away. He was in the woods, but not these woods different ones. He was going on this great adventure. He started to walk around searching for something. Finally he saw it. As he walked toward it a large rock started talking. 'Hello' it said.

He jumped a little after waking up. He saw the girl from earlier right in front of me. Her name was Arizona, he thought, but it was kind of hard to tell since he'd been asleep. That was an odd name, and Chase had never heard anything like it before. He thought it sounded nice in a weird way. Maybe this girl wasn't as weird as she had appeared earlier.

Either way he couldn't let his guard down yet. He could tell she was uneasy about something. Her pretty green eyes were scanning him carefully, and then darting away elsewhere. He also noticed she was hiding something under one of her arms. Could it be a weapon. Chase was prepared to kill, but didn't really want to. Especially not a girl.

He decided he would trust her for now. He looked her in the eyes and said, "Hi Arizona, I'm Chase." He still felt the eyes studying him like he was some kind of threat, so next to gain her trust he took the knife out of his pocket and tossed it right to her feet. "There I'm unarmed and I'm not here to hurt you. Now, what are you hiding under your arm?"

He watched her anxiously after having thrown her his knife. If she was concealing a weapon he could be in trouble. He watched her muscles for any sudden contractions, her eyes for any sudden movements. He waited. He was sure the attack would come, and he was prepared to kill if the moment came. He saw her arm moving slowly. It was like time slowed down, and he noticed every detail. 'It's a knife' he thought, 'It's gotta be a knife no other weapon could be concealed there.' He could see more of the arm now it was...

It was a scar? Wow he felt really stupid now. He should have trusted this person more. After all, not everyone you meet in the woods is a psychopath. Some of them are normal people, but there are so many wackos that you have to be careful. She had earned his trust though. He knew that if a girl had a scar she would rarely show it. He didn't know why, but he assumed it was vanity.

He noticed her watching him now. Had she seen his discomfort. He assumed not because she continued to make conversation. After she mentioned it he remembered what a lovely day it was. The sun was shining, and the wind was blowing carrying the sweet aroma of some unknown flower from some far off place. The forest was alive with life. Birds were flying and chirping, and squirrels were scampering about completely carefree.

"Yeah," He replied, "It is a lovely day, and there's no better way to spend a lovely day than to spend it with lovely company." He knew it was corny , but he hoped maybe it would lighten the mood a little. Everything seemed kind of tense to him. Then he thought of one more thing that could help. He adjusted the hair on the side of his face and said, "Don't be embarrassed most everyone has a scar." He showed her his which was crescent shaped and ran down the side of his face.

Chase thought on her words for a moment. There was some truth to them. Some scars were bad. For example scars gotten from being stupid were scars to be ashamed of. He thought of the word coward. To be a coward there must have been something worth running from, and if you had run from it then you wouldn't have gotten the scar. So that means you had the bravery to stand and fight. It also took courage to find whatever it was that gave you the scar, but in a way was that not stupidity too?

Ugggg! Chase hated circular arguments. You could never win, and they kept popping back into his mind and making him try to figure them out. He hated that. He'd be trying to do something normal and then be forced to stop in the middle of it to try to solve a problem without a clear answer. It also killed him because he was so smart, yet he couldn't figure out something so simple.

He got the sense that she wanted to change the subject. He felt that she was ashamed of hers. Did it really matter anyways. She already had it so why be ashamed of it. You can't let something like that dictate your life. He was positive that she wanted to change the subject when she asked what he thought about squirrels.

His response was quick almost as if he'd rehearsed it over and over in his mind waiting for the perfect moment to say it. "I think they make great stews." He said and started to laugh. Who cared if she wanted to change the subject. He would find out how she got the scar in time. What can't be unlocked through gaining trust.

He watched the squirrel moving some and tried to relate it to life. He realized they were like people except they dealt with problems differently. When people disagree they kill each other, but when squirrels disagree they just chase each other around. How much better would the world be if all people did when they got angry was play a friendly game of tag. But then... Uggggg more circular arguments.

As Chase watched her he couldn't help but think she was slightly insane. By slightly of course he meant completely. She was still staring at that squirrel. Normal people don't do that, but what was normal really. This girl was interesting. She didn't seem to care that she was different where others would try to hide themselves and blend in. It takes a special kind of person to do that.

Chase decided he definitely wanted to get to know this girl better. After all, how often do you meet someone who isn't trying to kill you out here. He could definitely trust her...

His thoughts were cut short by her words. He started to scan the sky searching for the cloud. At first he thought he was looking at the wrong one, but then he realized it was the only one there. It looked nothing like a bird. There wasn't even a small resemblance. Maybe she was blind. At this thought he smiled in spite of himself and had to choke back a laugh.

He noticed her hit her head against a tree which kind of weirded him out a little, and by a little he meant a lot. She was so crazy it wasn't even funny. He decided it was time to leave this spot, but he had to find a way to say this that didn't sound weird. Even though he got the idea Arizona loved this spot. He didn't care since when did insane people rule the world.

Then he thought of the best way to express his idea. "How does that look like a bird?!" he said. Then he stood saying, "Come on. We should go to my house. I think you've been out in the sun for far too long." He laughed again at this, and started walking hoping she'd follow.

As they walked, or more appropriately, as he walked and she skipped Chase kept looking at the world around him trying to see things as she saw them. He tried to think of everything as exciting and fun, but that was more difficult than he expected. For example trying to make a pile of gray, lifeless rocks seem vibrant and exciting is a hard task for anyone, but somehow Arizona could do it to almost anything.

He was stunned when he was pulled from his thoughts and thrown to the ground. His first response was to fight, but then he realized it was Arizona. Then he realized the awkward position. He didn't even hear what she said. He was laughing too hard.

What she said next made him think again. did this mean she liked him? Did this mean he liked her? He couldn't let her know he was thinking this. He just kept walking.

OCC: Sorry it was rushed if you need more I can update it tomorrow just pm me.

At this point he thought she was acting weird even for her. The squirrels were creeping her out far too much. He was actually getting a little bit worried about her. He kept walking and listening to her talking. He could tell she was thinking about something, but he didn't know what. For now he didn't care he could see his house just over the hill. They were almost there. Surely they could make it before she had a nervous break down.

Then he noticed her get closer too him as a squirrel moved. She was talking about how they were everywhere. It was funny he only saw one. Was it possible that she was so scared that it was affecting her mind and the way she perceived things. 'There's no way she's that scared' he thought to himself, but then again she was freaking out over one squirrel. Oh well, they were almost inside now.

They were less than a hundred yards away while she clung to his arm panicking. He didn't know if she was going to be okay pr not. She seemed to be checking out a lot, and he was bearing a lot of her weight. Oh well only fifty more yards and...

He almost fell as she jumped on him and almost knocked him over. What was going on? Why was she so scared? He just wanted this to end. With an explosive burst of speed he ran forward covering the amount of space between him and the house in a matter of seconds. He reached for the door, but it was locked. He fumbled around in his pocket for what seemed like years, but in reality it was only a few seconds.

He threw open the door and slammed it shut. He gently layed her on the couch and caught his breath for a second. He hadn't run that fast in forever. Then he thought of her and was worried she might be in shock or something. He reached over and put his arm around and said softly and soothingly, "Everything's ok. We're inside now they can't get us. It's just you and me." He gave her a hug and whispered, "Is it all better now?"