Eight

            At the end of the day, I went out to the side of the school and sat on the bench, waiting for Ray to come pick me up. It was the spot I normally waited for him when he was going to be driving me home.

            After about twenty minutes of waiting, and still no Ray, my phone started going off. I checked the caller ID, and answered with, “Ray, where are you?”

            “I’m really sorry, Heidi. A bunch of us decided to go out last minute, and I can’t bring you home today. Think you could get a ride with Angela? Or Dallas?” Ray said, sounding sheepish.

            I sighed deeply. “Yeah, I’ll figure it out. Bye.”

            I hung up my phone and stuck it back into my coat pocket. No, I couldn’t get a ride with Angela or Dallas. They had already left at least fifteen minutes before Ray had called. I didn’t want to tell him this, though�"I didn’t want to make him feel bad. I would just walk, even though it took almost an hour to walk to my house from school.

            I grabbed my mittens and pulled them on, preparing myself for the long walk home. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that long. But in the cold, time seemed to slow down, and I knew I would be frozen by the time I was home.

            As I stood up and began walking through the parking lot, headed for the main road, a sleek black car with tinted windows pulled up beside me and slowed down. Like any normal teenage girl, this made me over-the-top nervous, since I couldn’t see in the windows so I didn’t know who was driving the car. Plus, in movies, this certain type of car always belongs to a kidnapper or a pedophile or something.

            The passenger side window began to roll down slowly, and I started to pick up my pace. Then I heard a familiar voice call my name.

            “Ethan?” I said, leaning down a little to look into the window. “This is your car?”

            “You seem so surprised,” he replied, smiling.

            “Well, it’s just… it’s creepy,” I said honestly.

            He chuckled. “Need a ride?”

            I looked down the long road ahead, and knew that, if I said no, I would regret turning down his offer.

            “I guess,” I answered finally. I stepped off the curb and opened the passenger door, getting in. He rolled up the window as soon as I closed the door, and I could feel the toasty warmness of the heated car tingle on my skin. I looked out the window, not recognizing the street we were on. “You’re going the wrong way.”

            “I didn’t say I was taking you home,” he replied simply.

            I rolled my eyes at him. “Where are you taking me then?”

            A small smile was playing at his lips, as he said, “You’ll see.”

            Fifteen minutes later, we were driving down a dirt road, and Ethan pulled the car off to the side.

            “What are we doing?” I asked, starting to feel nervous.

            “We’re almost there,” he answered. “I want to blindfold you. Believe me, it will be a much better experience.”

            I hesitated. “I’m not sure…”

            “What, you don’t trust me?” he asked teasingly, with a playful smile. “Even after I saved your life?”

            I scoffed at him. “Saved my life. Right.” I paused. “Fine, I guess you can blindfold me. But I swear, if you let me run into anything, I will push you down a flight of stairs.”

            This made him laugh. “Okay, okay. I will guide you very carefully.”

            Ethan reached around to the backseat, and came up with a yellow bandana. He folded it in half and asked me to turn my head so he could tie it over my eyes. I obeyed wordlessly, and my vision soon became blocked by the bright material.

            I sat very still and very silently as we continued driving for a few more minutes. Then I heard the car engine turn off, and I listened as Ethan got out of the car. He came around to my side and opened the door for me, helping me out.

            Ethan walked behind me with his hands on my shoulders, guiding me slowly. Eventually, the tilt of the ground changed, and we seemed to be going uphill.

            “Step carefully,” he warned.

            I did as he said, and placed each foot with care. Soon enough, I was sweating under my heavy winter coat, and I took off my mittens, shoving them into my pockets.

            “We’re here,” Ethan said finally. He grabbed the tops of my arms and turned me to the side a little, then he took off my blindfold.

            I gasped at the sight before me. We were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out over miles and miles of forest, valleys and streams. The brightness of the November sun illuminated the different colors of green, brown, orange and red in the trees.

            I sucked in another breath of air, stunned by the beautiful sight. “Autumn is my favorite season,” I whispered.

            He smiled. “It’s the best time to come up here. The colors of the trees are magnificent. You should see it during sunset.”

            “Okay,” I replied, sitting down on a nearby boulder. It was right on the edge of the cliff, and I dangled my feet over the side, dangerously.

            “Okay?” he repeated, confused.

            “Yeah, it won’t be long now until the sun sets. Maybe an hour,” I replied, checking my watch. It was almost four.

            “Alright,” he agreed, chuckling. He sat down beside me and got comfortable.

            I picked up some pebbles from beside me and began tossing them over the cliff, one by one, watching them disappear into the abyss of trees.

            “You know, I still can’t figure you out, Heidi. You’re so… unpredictable,” Ethan said seriously, staring off into the distance.

            I looked at him in shock. “That’s exactly what I would say about you! You’re so mysterious,” I said, in a slightly mocking tone.

            “I don’t try to be.”

            “Well…” I trailed off, not really knowing how to reply to that.

            He looked at me from the corner of his eye, then focused back on the scenery.

            “You just seem so reserved. Like you don’t want anyone to know anything about you,” I said, leaning down to grab another handful of pebbles.

            “And you seem like you’re afraid of getting too close to people, like you’re scared that everyone is a selfish, shallow jerk like Brent and they’re all going to hurt you the way he did.”

            I didn’t say anything as I made a point of looking away from Ethan. I continued to throw the little stones over the edge.

            “I’m sorry,” he said after a long pause.

            “Don’t be. I’m obviously not that unpredictable since you just nailed me perfectly in, what, one sentence?” I replied quickly, a little harsher than I’d intended.

            We didn’t speak for a few minutes, and I could tell by the expression on his face that he felt bad. I sighed, deciding to let it go.

            We stayed in that spot for a few hours, just talking and watching the sun set slowly. Eventually, I couldn’t control the shivers that seemed to be shaking my entire body. The temperature had cooled down quite a bit since the afternoon.

            “You’re cold,” Ethan said, stating the obvious.

            I nodded my head as my teeth chattered.

            “Want my jacket?” he asked, unzipping it.

            “No, no,” I replied quickly, causing him to stop unzipping. “Then you’ll be cold.”

            He gave me an adorable crooked smile. “I don’t get cold very easily. Trust me, I won’t be.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he took off his coat and put it over my shoulders, on top of my own.

            “Oh, okay. Well thanks then.”

            “We should go now. It’s almost dark, and I didn’t bring a flashlight. Without one, I’m not sure we’ll be able to get down the cliff. Its pitch black up here at night.”

            “Okay,” I agreed, sliding down off the boulder. “Lead the way.”

            When we pulled into my driveway half an hour later, I slid off Ethan’s jacket and handed it back to him.

            “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, taking his coat from me.

            “Yep. And thanks for bringing me there. It was nice. Peaceful.” I got out of his car and walked up the path to my front door. He waited until I was inside before he drove away.

            I just stood there, leaning against the door, thinking the evening over in my mind. What had it meant? Were we just friends, spending the afternoon together and talking? Or could it have been more?

            Just then, Ray walked past, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth. He stopped when he saw me. “Where were you?” he asked through the mouthful of popcorn.

            “Out,” I said shortly, walking into the kitchen.

            He just shrugged and continued into the living room.

            It was already seven, and I hadn’t even eaten yet. I went into the fridge and grabbed some cold slices of pizza. I gobbled them down quickly, then went up to my room.

            I noticed that I smelled like Ethan�"probably from wearing his jacket. It was an entrancing smell. One of those colognes that you couldn’t describe what it smelled like, but it was amazing just as well.

            I began to inhale deeply, then stopped suddenly, feeling creepy. Besides, just because Ethan smelled good, that didn’t make my feelings towards him sway. If we were anything at all, we were friends. And that was that.