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The grass rustles and the dried leaves crunch with each footstep Jade takes. Their path only lit with their handy flashlight, they're awfully brave for all the times they'd bailed on haunted house trips with their friends.
Jade takes another step, and something moves in the dark, making them squeal in surprise and tighten their hold on Euclase's hand.
“Eek! Watch out!” Jade flails the flashlight around, “Wh-who's there?!”
Euclase giggles, “I think that's just a squirrel, Jayjay.”
“Oh... oh, okay.” Jade steadies and rubs the back of their neck in embarassment, and keeps on walking, but their hold on Euclase doesn't loosen.
The air is chilly and it's dark out. The two of them should be home by now, but their parents wouldn't worry, not today, not when Jade and Euclase already told their respective parents that they'd be over at Lapis' to discuss homework and school related stuff.
Who, speaking of which, is probably very, very confused when they see the two empty spots on the beanie bags in their living room where Euclase and Jade had previously been, but it wouldn't be a big deal if they'll just read the small note Jade left, which hopefully explains everything.
“So you wanted to show me something?” Euclase asks, and talk about someone who's just as ballsy, wandering in the woods behind their neighborhood when it's this dark out.
Jade hums, “Mm-hmm,” and stops walking when they reach a clearing. Euclase stops as well, and their eyes glimmer in awe when they see the bright dots in the scenery.
“Fireflies...!”
The shorter teen nods, “You've always liked seeing them... in movies and documentaries, I mean.” They look at the ground, not meeting Euclase's eyes, but quickly does so when they feel a peck on their cheek and an enthusiastic hug from the taller teen, followed by a Thank You, Jade.
They go beet red when they feel Euclase hold their hand this time, and starts dragging them towards the centre of the clearing--the taller teen just looks at the sight before them, taking in the way the fireflies light up the place and the big tree just near them.
One flies near Jade and Euclase, and the latter reaches out their hands and gently catches one in them. It feels funny, the way the firefly moves against their palm, and they almost released it when it tickled, but they carefully brought it down so that it's an arm length away from Jade's face.
Euclase slowly opens their hands, and the firefly starts flying out of there, glowing a beautiful yellow while it does. It's Jade's turn to look in awe at the beautiful creature, and Euclase smiles, “They're beautiful, right?”
Jade shakes their head. “Not as beautiful as you.”
Euclase giggles, and Jade makes sure to record the sound and treasure it forever, but not as much as the way Euclase wraps their arm around their shoulder and pulls them close to their side, muttering, “I'll never forget today even after the day I die.”
Jade sighs, and smiles. “...Yeah. Me too.”