Red Mist

The Kiss

As she ran, the heave in her chest hurt more and more. She stopped, and clutched at a tree for support. A twig snapped and she spun around. The boy was standing, there, grinning at her.
"Have you been following me?" she asked cautiously, her heart pounding.
"You expected me just to leave you alone in the woods?" His smile faded, replaced by a frown.
"You didn't seem to like me that much."
"Just because I followed you, it doesn't mean I like you."
Liesel raised her eyebrows and converted her look away from him, into the trees. He scuffed his shoe into the dirt and spoke up again.
"Do you live anywhere?"
"No."
"Do you want to come back with me?"
"No."
"Well that's sad. I just followed you all through here, feel down that ruddy hill for you and you're saying you don't even want to come back with me?"
"Just go away. I don't want to hear you. I don't want to see you. And if you don't go away right now, then I'll - I'll kick you. And my senses can tell me if you are still following me."
"I want to be your friend."
"Quane is my only friend."
"It's not against the law to have two friends."
"It's not?"
"No!" Just come with me."
"I don't know. I could get you into trouble-"
"How?"
"Someone wants to get me, I've already said too much. Just go away."
"Who wants to get you? Why?" His curious face looked inquisitive.
"I can't tell you!"
"You can. I swear I won't tell anyone. You're my friend."
"I haven't decided that yet."
"Please."
"I can't tell you!"
"Fine." His face was filled with sulkiness."Just asking."
"What's your name?"
"Huh?" His head perked up.
"I said, what's your name?"
"Leo."
"Right."
"What's yours?"
"Liesel. Now get out of my way, I'm going."
"No. Let's race. I bet you I can win."
Liesel desperately tried to fight back to competitiveness in her but failed. "I bet you I can."
"You don't have anything to bet do you?" he sneered.
"I can bet that if I win, you leave me alone."
"Anything else?"
"You give me your pocketknife."
"No way."
"I won't race."
"Fine. Geez."
Liesel smirked.
"I bet that if I win, you come back with me."
"Anything else?"
Leo grinned his crooked grin. "You have to kiss me."
"No!"
"That's the deal."
"Fine."
They started the race by throwing a rock in the air. When it landed they started running and the race began. Liesel felt herself ahead and grinned looking back, but she made a mistake by doing that and tripped over, sending herself and Leo flying into a pile of mud.
"Gross!" Leo shrieked. "I'm covered in dung!"
"It's not dung it's mud."
"Shucks fire!"
They stood up, brushing the mud off their clothes.
"It was a draw," Liesel declared.
"Do I still get to kiss you?"
"Never in a million years."
"Best of three?"
"No."
"You know this means you don't get the knife."
"Stick your blunt little toy."
"Hey! This is sharp! Look-" he tested it out on a tree. It slipped and cut his finger. "Ouch!"
"Your fault."
"You made me test it out," he protested but Liesel was already walking off. "Hey! Come back!" He ran after her.
"Go away!"
"But it was a draw!"
"I don't care! Leave me alone!"
"No. Since it was a draw and I don't get my part of the bargain, you don't get yours."
"Shucks fire," Liesel muttered.
"Don't swear!"
Liesel didn't bother to point out the two main points.
1. It wasn't swearing, it was just a way of expressing anger
2. He had said it just thirty seconds ago
She continued briskly on, Leo jumping up and down by her side, not shutting up. She tried to block out her surroundings but every time she did, she was back home again with her mother staring at her from the bed. Her senses were making no sense and she was getting frustrated.
"Shut up!" she turned on Leo with anger.
"Come on," he continued and Liesel groaned. "I should at least get some reward for not being beaten by a girl?"
"I'll come back with you, that's the best you'll get!" Liesel called over her shoulder as she skipped off in the direction she thought was right.
"You're going the wrong way," Leo called after her. Liesel abruptly stopped. Smiling innocently she glared at him using her eyes and spun around to go the right way.
“One day Liesel Doucher, you will want to kiss me!” Leo said annoyingly and ran to catch up with her. Liesel rolled her eyes and vowed that while she and Leo both lived, she would never, ever kiss him.