“Tokki-ah, you’re going to have to trust me.” Zelo calls below you, his arms outstretched before him. You shake your head and cling to the top of the fence with all your strength.

            “That’s not happening, I don’t even know why I came up here.” you reply making a mental note to punish yourself later. Although this seems like a pretty apt punishment for trying to fulfill your need for adventure or “color” in your gray life.

            “You trusted me enough to climb up. This will be easier, just hop down and I’ll catch you, promise.” he says seriously. He does have a point. Still, you’re not about to fling yourself down to a definite trip to the E.R.

“I can’t…” you confess, scared out of your wits. It’s not that you don’t trust him (you don’t really have a choice right now) you’re just not comfortable with the idea of freefalling ten feet. When thinking about it ten feet doesn’t seem too high, let alone frightening. However, sitting on a rickety fence that’s more rust than actual fence you reconsider just what ten feet can actually be.

“Just push off the fence and jump off the side. Close your eyes and jump on the count of three.” he instructs calmly, still as serious as before.

“Are you sure..?” you mumble staring down the air between you and him again.

“I’m always sure. One.”

You gulp uneasily and carefully swing your other leg over the edge of the fence.

“Two.”

You’re going to regret this; you can feel it in your soon to be broken bones.

“Three.”

With your eyes firmly shut you let yourself fall into the unforgiving space between you and earth.

“See, that wasn’t that bad.” Zelo says, closer to your ear than you find comfortable. Aware of this you struggle out of his arms and stumble to your feet.

“Enough of that, did you just bring me here to see me flail over that fence?” you snap heat rising to your face.

“No, but I would’ve if I knew you’d be like this I probably would’ve.” he states smirk back.

Well, looks like his minute of sincerity is up for the day.

With his hands in his pockets he starts making his usual arrogant strides as he leads you down the narrowing in between. The silence is a little uncomfortable, for you at least, but it allows the color to recede from your cheeks. Why are you even getting flustered in the first place? There’s nothing between you and nothing ever will be.

That doesn’t mean he’s not attractive. Even you have to admit that for the jerk he is he’s still pretty good looking (and strong). He manages to pull off the bold pink of his curls and confident strides all while retaining that aggravatingly perfect smirk. It’s not fair.

He comes to a stop and you nearly run into him, half distracted by your thoughts.

“Well, here we are.” he announces sweeping his arm out at the display before you. It’s an old (ancient seems more accurate) playground. The structures are overgrown with offending green that snakes its way up the forms of slides and swings. Benches are more or less rotting away, gaping holes obscuring the lengths of wood keeping it together. It’s a dying playground of forgotten memories and childhoods.

Yet, there’s an almost fantasy like quality about it. The playground makes you feel as if you’ve stepped into the past. Each structure isn’t made to today’s uniform standards of colorful plastic but traditional metals and sturdy woods. Ivy curls around each post and surface to create the illusion of age and whimsical feel to the hidden wonder. Stuck behind tree topped buildings long forgotten the playground is in the cover of shade, shards of light occasionally dancing at random intervals in the array of green coated forms.

“What is this place?” you ask studying the closed off land abandoned to time.

“Mine.” he replies without missing a beat.

You give him an incredulous look but drop it the moment you see his face. It’s empty. There’s no emotion whatsoever to be found on the usual cocky curves of his lips and eyes.

“The why did you bring me here..?” you ask, unsure of what else to say.

He immediately livens up again, smile working its way up his lips. Without replying he bounds into the leafy history and ducks behind a piece of ancient equipment.

“You’re it!” he calls from a different direction. How did he move so fast without you noticing? And when did he decide you’re playing tag?

This guy is just all kinds of weird…

“Come on! You’re never going to get me if you just stand there!” his voice calls again from another location.

“I’m not about to chase you around like a five year old. Don’t you ever act your age?” you shout back crossing your arms indignantly.

“Age is just a number, all I’m doing is having a little fun!” he retorts, now somewhere behind you.

“Really, this is what you call ‘fun’?” you admonish trying to find him with narrowed eyes. It’s really starting to bother you that he’s seriously trying to play tag with you. Really? Tag? You’re both high school students attending the most prestigious school in a four city radius.

Really?

“Yeah, really.” he says into your ear. Startled you jump to your left and whip around bewildered. There’s an amused smirk that plays at the corner of his lips, his eyes far too bright for their dark hue. The two of you stare each other down, waiting for something to happen. Either you’re going to give in and go after him or he’s going to drop it.

“When’s the last time you let yourself be an idiot?” he questions suddenly. Taken aback by the question you furrow your brows, somewhat offended.

“I’m not an idiot and never act like one. It’s ridiculous you even asked.” you snap irritably. How dare he even assume you’re an idiot? You most certainly are not an idiot and make a point of having top grades in all your classes.

Let yourself be an idiot. Please, not everyone functions like a child as he does.

“You keep telling yourself that little idiot Tokki.” he teases ruffling your head. God you hate this jerk when he does that. Setting your jaw you swat him away and fix your disheveled hair. He just does it again, this time really messing up your hair. Frustrated and horribly annoyed you try to hit him. Evading your swings he flits away sticking his tongue out over his shoulder.

That’s it. You’re going to punch him until his hair reverts to its natural color.

And so you try, chasing him relentlessly in and out and up and down ivy wrapped structure after structure. It’s only when you run out of stamina you stop leaning against a ladder gasping for breath. Seeing your chase is over Zelo settles himself on the ground in front of you, legs crossed with a highly entertained smile.

“You’re really bad a tag, you know that?” he comments tilting his head thoughtfully to the side.

You don’t reply, well can’t, still catching your breath.

This idiot actually managed to get you to chase him, in what he thinks to be a game of tag. You actually chased him around for who knows how long after being goaded.

Why does he keep getting his way?