I pressed my back against the trunk of the large tree, peering past it as discreetly as I could. My eyes flitted from the back of his head, the setting sun making his red hair look like it was on fire, to the rocks he was throwing into the lake with such effort. He wore a red polo and khakis, and I tried my best not to snort at how it made him look like a supermarket employee. This made me frown, though, because this kind of attire meant he wasn't out here in the woods on some hike. Perhaps he was out here to get away from the crowd much like myself?

  Wait. Hold on. I shook my own head as I tried to reorganize my own thoughts. First of all, I was very sure Rory wasn't a mage. I would've noticed before... right? And even if he was, someone with a reputation like his would've become a family name within the Greywood supernatural mage community.

  That thought made me pause a moment. I was reminded of how adamant my mother was in hiding ourselves from...well... everyone. We've done everything in our power to make sure that mundane people don't take notice of our magical proclivities, but that also extended to the supernatural. In fact, many in the guild considered my mother's idea of hiding to be borderline paranoia. And while I wasn't going to admit or deny any of that, the truth is that my mother did play a huge role in the fact that I knew little to nothing about the supernatural community within this town.

  So even if Rory was a mage, then perhaps... I wouldn't have known anyway. This made my frown deepen. Maybe, should things have gone right, we could have been friends? Learning how to navigate the magical community together in our combined loneliness. My eyes watched as he picked up another rock. This time, when he chucked it into the water, he let out a frustrated cry.

  I wonder what's gotten him so worked up?

  There was a part of me that just wanted to turn around and leave him be. Yet, the other side was curious. Why was he here? What had got him so riled up? Was he a mage?

  I inhaled deeply, knowing full well that I couldn't just leave this as it was. Confidently, I stepped forward from my hiding spot. He hadn't noticed my approach yet and as I got closer, my eyes spotted a large rock on the ground. I picked it up, wound my arm back, and launched it into the water as well. It landed with a loud Sploosh. For a moment, Rory looked stunned at the additional wave and he turned quickly, gritting his teeth in alarm.

  "Hey," I said casually, picking up another rock. "Fancy meeting you here."

  His expression shifted and I could see he was bewildered. I tried to ignore his handsome face, but I couldn't help noticing that his nose twitched, like he was sniffing the air. His eyes then shifted from me, the woods, the cabins I came from that were visible across the lake, and finally back to me.

  I threw the extra rock in my hand and watched as it actually skipped three times before disappearing into the water. "I could never get these damn things to skip more than three times. Have you had any more luck?"

  I didn't know why he was hesitating. When I looked back at him I saw that he had schooled his expression, but there was still tension in his posture. "No. No such luck on my end," he finally said. "You're Benji's friend. What brings you here?"

  I shrugged. "Family reunion. And my birthday." My hands searched for another rock in the earth and I watched as it only skipped twice this time after I threw it. I bit my lip and then sat down in the damp grass, my eyes fixed onto the lakefront. "I'd rather be home and celebrating with my real friends than with family, but no such luck for me."

  There were a few beats of silence before I saw his arm swing and a rock skipped once before sinking into the depths. He grunted and sat down near me, though I noticed there was still a bit of distance between us. "Sounds like a rough birthday. How old are you now?"

  "Sixteen."

  He hummed in reply. "Big year."

  "You have no idea."

  We stayed silent for a few more minutes here. Neither of us had moved, both staring out into the water as if we were looking for some sort of answer to a question neither of us had even asked. And honestly, I found that I was comfortable like this. That was strange, right? Being comfortable next to someone who was a complete stranger. I mean, yeah, I had seen him once at school. I knew that he lived close to Benji. And that he was hot... But yeah, that was all I knew about him.

  I felt my curiosity growing again the longer I thought on it. "What brings you out here, then?" I finally asked. "You seem like you were frustrated."

  Rory took an audible breath. I saw him lean back and stare upward to the sky, his expression unreadable. "My father has a business meeting with some other business owners. We have them here yearly at the cabins before school starts."

  I raised a brow. "Business owners? Like all the small shops downtown?"

  When he looked at me and smirked, I felt it hit my heart immediately. "Yeah. My family owns a lot of property in the town. You know of the bookshop? Brewer's Diner? Greywood Bank and Trust?"

  "Your family owns all of those?"

  "Some of them, yes. Most are partners to my family. We try to keep good relations with the other businesses in town. Try to set up some partnerships here and there and even collaborative events. Sometimes they work. Sometimes not."

  "You must be loaded then."

  This got him to laugh. "You could say that."

  I looked back at him and grinned. "So you're both the star quarterback at school AND rich. What do you not have?"

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  He frowned at this remark and stared back at the water. For a moment I wondered if I had overstepped, but he sighed shortly after and answered, "Freedom."

  Now I was the one frowning. "What do you mean?"

  Again he hesitated. "Do you ever feel like... everyone has all these expectations of you and you have to meet those expectations or you let everyone down? It's kind of like that."

  While I couldn't say that I fully related to that, I tried to compare my life to what he was saying. The closest I could get to was how the guild treated me and my mother. How they wanted us to conform to their specific rules and lifestyle. Each time my mother fought them back on it they just treated her badly and excluded our family from any event. And though, from my perspective anyway, we never really cared to go to any of these, I could tell some days that Mom wished that were not the case.

  "I guess I can kind of understand," I answered. "Do you mean that your family expects you to take over the business after high school?"

  Rory was quiet. His eyes focused downward and I watched as he picked up another rock at his feet. He got up and threw it into the water, the both of us watching as it skipped twice. "Something like that. Add in an arranged marriage and you could say that they've planned out my whole life for me."

  "What?!" I stood up in surprise. "Arranged marriage? Are you serious? Who even does that now a days? Isn't that some archaic custom that died off after, like, the civil war or something?"

  He was looking at me wide-eyed.

  "I think that's stupid. If that's what's really going on. I wouldn't let that happen to me. And besides... what are you, sixteen also?"

  "Yes. Seventeen in October."

  "Doesn't matter. You're still too young. And it's your life. Tell that to your family. Say, "Fuck you assholes. It's my life and I'll do what I want." And if they don't agree with that, then maybe they weren't really good family to you to begin with."

  His gaze hadn't shifted once and this time I knew for sure that I overstepped. Damn it. I let myself get too carried away trying to look cool next to the football hottie. There were times where I wished I could just keep my mouth shut and let things be.

  I thought about apologizing until Rory suddenly burst out laughing. He was kneeled over, holding his stomach, as if what I said was the most hilarious thing in the world to him. I tried not to feel too self conscious about it, but I soon found myself laughing with him. The sound of his voice, the timbre of it, I couldn't help but feel that infectious pull toward him.

  "You're funny, you know...uh...?"

  I smiled back at him. "Ky."

  He smiled back. "Ky. Yes. You're funny, you know, kiddo."

  "That's me. Barrel of jokes and laughter."

  God can I be any more lame?

  In the back of my mind, I also heard a strange rumbling. A kind of gentle laughter, done in that tone like how a friend is sharing in some sort of second hand embarrassment. It sounded close. Almost like it was behind me. My eyes looked back toward the woods, scanning the area, making sure nothing else was there.

  "Something wrong?" Rory asked, giving me a curious glance.

  "Ah, no. Nothing is wrong at all." I looked back at the ground, trying to mask my behavior. "Just trying to find another rock. Gotta beat my three skip record, right?"

  "Sure thing, kiddo."

  I rolled my eyes. "We're basically the same age now. Don't call me kiddo."

  Rory smirked. "But I'm still a year ahead of you. I get to call you whatever I want."

  "Barely! You're just saying that cuz you're taller and buff."

  "But I am taller. And buff."

  I shook my head. "You damn jock."

  He grinned wider. "Band geek."

  We stared at each other a bit longer here. I took stock of his light brushing of freckles on his face. The gentle way the light reflected some gold in his deep green eyes. At just how... god damn handsome he was.

  And...I was staring at him. Oh god I was staring at him and he was staring back. I felt a blush coming on and looked back down to the ground.

  Rock... rock... damn where is a rock when I need one.

  I found one a few feet away from Rory. A nice flat one with a smooth surface. It would do perfectly as a skipping stone. And as a way to save face. My legs moved forward a few steps before I felt a strange surge of energy around me. It was as if I had hit some invisible wall made of an amorphous substance. For a moment I struggled to go through it, my leg straining in the air as I pushed my way out of it.

  When I passed through the wall, I realized that it must be the barrier Mom mentioned the guild mages had set up to keep the nasties out. But the only thing here was Rory, and based on our talk, there was no way he was one of those nasties.

  I picked up the rock, bit my lip, and swung my arm toward the water. My eyes watched, focused, as I counted each skip. One. Two. Three.

  "Four!" I shouted out excited and turned around. "Did you see that, Rory? I managed to-"

  "Who are you?!"

  Rory had stepped back from me. His eyes looked dilated, and I saw his nostrils flaring as he breathed in deeply. Muscle in his neck flexed while he gritted his teeth. It almost looked like he was in pain.

  "Rory? What's wrong?" I tried to step forward once more but he recoiled further away. "Rory?"

  "You...? You!? This can't..."

  I was so confused. A moment ago things seemed to be going fine. And now? He looked like he was...

  Disgusted.

  My shoulders sagged upon the realization. The word echoed in my mind. Suddenly, everything was starting to make sense to me. He was the football captain. He was popular. AND he was rich. Again, I was dreaming about someone who was way out of my league. Someone who more than likely didn't like boys like I did. And now that I was close, he saw me clearly. That must be it.

  "I, uh, need to go," he said.

  "Yeah...I... figured," I replied lightly and looked sideways. Back toward the tree line I came from. Back to the cabins of my own world.

  "Sorry, I just..." He didn't finish. He just turned and ran away.

  I really didn't know what to make of the change in his behavior. Did I... smell? Was seeing me up close that bad? It...didn't matter in the end. I looked back at the water, glanced to the right at the cabins he must be staying at and then started back to where I needed to return to.

  Sighing, I repeated my mantra in my head one last time. "Biceps equals douchebag."