"Yeah, see you later!" you say with so much enthusiasm the logical side of your brain wants to vomit. The reply is the usual mock salute and the disappearance of the letterman jacket into the shrubs.

No one came out here, right? This was fine. He doesn't want his friends mocking him for having a partner who wasn't a cheerleader. They wouldn't understand. So the options were keeping this romance a secret, or it ends. At least that's what he told you. I mean, romance was a bit of a leap. It mainly was fooling around in secluded places.

You adjust your lose fitting t-shirt back to where it should be and slump to the base of the tree you'd used as a modesty screen. Who were you kidding? This wasn't normal, but it was something, right? Something was better than nothing. Feeling something was better than feeling numb and empty.

Pulling your knees up to your chin, you rest your head on them, letting the tears come if they wanted to, your long dark hair shielding you from the prying eyes of a passing squirrel.You feel the annoyance rise in you. You made these choices. You have no one to blame but yourself. The silence of the woods was interrupted by a weird crumpling sound as you punched the ground next to you. Investigating a bit further under some leaf litter, a mostly empty pack of Camels cigarettes with a lighter tucked neatly inside. They must have fallen out of his pocket during forest fun time. You've earned one, at least.

Taking the cigarette between your lips, you light it and inhale deeply. On the exhale, you close your eyes and sigh, "Thanks, universe."

"I personally think you'll find you should be thanking something much less vast but equally as awesome for those smokes," a voice chirps to start with but falls into a mischievous "You little thief!"

You jolt at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, jumping to your feet, heart pounding, dropping the lit cigarette in the process, which catches your arm enough for you to instinctively pull your arm upwards and accidentally clock yourself under the chin.

"Fuck!" You exclaim, reeling from your own accidental strength; as you touch your jaw and look up, all you see is a person doubled up, howling with laughter at you. Occasionally they try to catch their breath, but when they meet your gaze, they just erupt with laughter once more. The noise of their rings against the wood of the table, as they slap it between fits of giggles, echos through the once peaceful area.

With tears of laughter and in-between laughing, the wolfish grin says, "Do...do it again...Jesus Christ, that was funny... I haven't laughed this much in years."

"You're Welcome, Munson," you manage, as the heat from your embarrassment feels as though you could become the epicenter of a bonfire right now.

Embarrassed but not angry, you breathe and attempt to hold a conversation. Running away might have been your first instinct, but you hadn't waited long enough to emerge from here. At least 10 minutes he'd said.

"What are you doing out here anyway? No one comes out here. So what's a person gotta do for some peace and quiet around here?"

"Firstly, that's my line." He smiles as he wags his finger at you. He smiles broadly, slapping his hands on his knees as he gets up from the bench. He looks you up and down. "Secondly, I doubt any peace was had out here, maybe a battle of appendages" You cringe inwardly, trying desperately not to avert your gaze to confirm shame. He gets closer and searches your eyes with his own "hmmm...but who with?". He hops a step towards you, inches from your face. He looks down at your hands and, in a soft low rasp, says, "Thirdly, my dear, these are mine," as he takes the lighter and cigarettes from your pocket.

The smell of car oil, incense, and a sweet, smoky aroma hit you all at once. It's almost intoxicating.

He struts back to his seat, spins around to face you and lights a cigarette in one fluid motion, takes a drag, and says,

"And last but not least, you're flying low," he chuckles as the mortification once again sweeps over you.

You fix your jean zipper, instinctively wanting to run back into the safety of school ridicule now, but you resist, take a breath, and check your watch. 6 minutes left. You fold your arms, and all you can do is kick at the ground you are boring your line of sight into.

"You won't tell anyone about this, will you?" You mutter and peek out from under your hair at Munson.

His expression shifts from delight to confusion and maybe pity for you. You bite your lip and look at the ground again. The shame is overwhelming, and meeting his gaze is just amplifying it.

"Look, if we are both gonna be out here, you may as well join me. This is currently awkward as fuck. I'll even throw in a smoke" as you look up, Eddie playfully waves a cigarette at you.

You look at the gap in the bushes, then look back to the picnic table, making your way over. He claps his hands together with glee, "We have an accord." Seating yourself opposite him, you take the cigarette offered, but he tuts and snatches the lighter away when you reach for it. He leans over and lights it for you. You smile awkwardly, still holding the cigarette in your mouth.

He leans back confidently, "So is this an elaborate game of Hide and Seek, or some shit like that?"

"Erm, I'm um totally waiting for someone, yeah, they are sooo late," you fake laugh. A small projectile hits your cheek. It's a piece of cereal. You look up at him, "What the-"

"Ok, look. I'm not gonna force it out of you, alright? But don't lie to me like I'm an idiot. I just...I wanted to make sure something bad hadn't happened." He speaks calmly, with a half disappointed, half empathetic look. Finally, he straightens up and smirks, "I mean, unless you often wait around in the woods for people with leaves in your hair and in a state of undress."

"Yeah, everything is fine, man. Nothing bad happened here. It's just, you know....early days....keeping things quiet kinda thing." You give a forced smile back at Eddie but can't help thinking who exactly are you trying to convince with that, him or yourself.

You remember the leaves, start trying to feel around your hair for them, and pick them out with your free hand. Eddie watches as if entertained for a few moments, puts out his cigarette, and sighs, "Jesus Christ, let me, ok? Move over"

You move over on the bench as he straddles it next to you, his left knee at your lower back, the right gently touching the side of your own.

He begins gently running his hands through your hair and flicking bits of found foliage away at random intervals. Is it almost....nice? Is it the smoke? You aren't sure, but it feels so relaxing, so you just enjoy the moment, at very least as an oasis of respite from embarrassing yourself."You know, it doesn't have to be like that," he rasps gently

Lost in a zen-like place, you reply sleepily, "What doesn't have to be what now?"

"I'm not entirely sure what playbook lines they've fed you but rest assured it's complete rubbish. No one is hiding you because their friends won't understand. They are being prize-winning assholes and using you." Still busying away at your hair, he adds, "Take it from someone who knows."

This feels way more exposing than any amount of undress or dishevelment. The worst part is, you know he's right. You've known this for the past year.

"And also, I'm not sure how time works for you personally, but for me, a year or so is not early days" he gets up and moves to your left side and continues his task, "Understand I don't want to upset you, I just...I just want you to know that you are so much better than this. Anybody is. No one deserves to be treated like a guilty secret." He runs his hand over your hair and pats your head. "There! All done"

You look up at him, "Thanks, man. I know what you are saying is right. I just...well..erm..""Well...erm.." he teases.

You abruptly stop stumbling over words, "Hey...how did you know it had been a year?""Well..erm..you know I usually use this place for business purposes, and a few times, I've had to relocate the transaction"... wait, did he just gulp? Was he nervous??

You back away from him, "You saw us? Did you see me? You spied on me?" Your voice is getting more agitated, and your skin is crawling.

He puts his hands up in a surrender-type pose. He's panicking. "Hey, it's not like it sounds ok. It's just what I said. I wasn't spying. I'm just observant of who comes and goes from here. That is all!"

Fear creeps over your skin, and you feel a knot in your stomach. Was his kindness another page out of a liar's playbook? You check your watch. Thank fuck for that. Without taking your eyes away from him, you grab at your things frantically and bundle them into your arms. He seems frozen in place, it must be seconds for you to get everything together, but it feels so much longer, and you walk back up to the school at a fairly brisk pace.

Just as you get to the doors, you hear a loud bang, a flock of birds fly away from a tree and on the breeze, a "God damnit!!"