Melanie stood transfixed on the hill. "Who was that boy???" The thought wouldn't leave her head as she strolled slowly to the edge of the lake. It didn't make sense. She'd never seen him before, though he looked to be about her age. He definitely didn't go to Growl High and that was the only high school in the area. It was pretty rural terrain they lived in and the school only boasted about 900 students so it's not like he could have avoided her radar for this long. He was after all, pretty attractive despite his gaunt features and Mel had evaluated all the attractive guys at Growl thoroughly. None were quite to her liking, but this one had potential.

Still, that wasn't the main thought that plagued her mind, as a matter of fact it hardly bothered her at all. What truly mattered was why he had been there, what he had been doing, and why none of it seemed to bother her. It was an outright invasion of her privacy and yet she was neither upset nor insulted. As a matter of fact, she wanted nothing more than to sit down and talk with him.

She had just plopped down on an old log when it hit her. Maybe she could still catch him! The woods were large after all and she was fast. It had only been a couple minutes since he disappeared so maybe he wasn't too far off! She bolted upright and sprinted around the lake before climbing up the hill he had gone over. She could see him still, a shadowy figure maneuvering around the trees and shrubs. She tried to call out to him, but the words got caught in . Instead, she ran ahead; ducking past branches, just barely avoided huge thorn bushes.

"H-hey you!" she choked, trying to propel the words so he could hear them. It didn't appear to work so she tried again, "S-stop!!! Please!" He abruptly paused and cocked his head, listening. She shouted again at him and he turned around, scanning the forest with his dark, yet somehow cheerful eyes. When he finally spotted Melanie pushing through the forest, his intense expression turned to one of confusion... and curiosity.

When she finally caught up to him, she let herself fall backward to the ground, trying desperately to catch her breath. Over short sprints, she was a pro, but longer runs left her tuckered out in no time.

The boy reached out to her, trying to keep her from falling, but just missed her arm. She didn't mind anyway, the earth was nice and cool, but the boy seemed worried.

"Miss! A-are you alright?!" He knelt beside her, unsure exactly of what to do or where to put his hands.

Mel smiled back and waved his concern away. "I'll live, don't worry. I just need a minute." Her heavy breathing began to slow and the boy sat back on his heels, trying not to be impolite and stare, but hardly being able to resist. Mel could tell he thought she was pretty. Most guys did. Though a lot of them didn't have the decency to hide it. He was alright, at least so far.

She sat up suddenly and it startled the boy so he fell back onto his behind. "Sorry," she said sincerely, smiling sheepishly before stretching out her hand. I'm Melanie, but you can call me Mel." She grinned as brightly as she could manage, but she knew it couldn't even come close to his magnificent smile.

He hesitated momentarily before taking her hand and smiling back. The smile was so warm Melanie thought it looked like he had just become the happiest man alive, though meeting her seemed a bit menial to bring about such a momentus feeling. "The name's Chanyeol. It's a pleasure to meet you." he replied, never letting the smile leave his eyes. "Are you okay? Did something happen? You came down that hill like the devil was on your tail." He chuckled lightly at the thought and Mel realized how silly she must have looked, running at full speed through the forest at a random stranger.

Oh, um, about that..." Mel rubbed the back of her neck, trying to think of a decent excuse. Saying "I just wanted to know who you were" seemed like a pretty poor excuse for her behavior, so she concocted a better one. "I just found this on the ground and I was wondering if you dropped it." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was a Samsung Galaxy like all the coolest kids in town had, but strangely Chanyeol looked almost disgusted by it.

"No. It's not mine." The smile had gone from his eyes. She wondered if it was something she had said.

"Oh, well then I guess I'll keep it and try and find it's owner." She hoped she hadn't accidentally upset him. "Anyway, I haven't seen you around before, did you just move recently? Are you gonna be a student at Growl High?"

Chanyeol snapped out of his ill mood and returned Mel's smile. "Yeah actually, I will. My family just moved here a couple days ago. I finally got the opportunity to explore today so the woods seemed like a good place to start."

"Oh! So you like the woods?" Mel only realized how dumb the question was, considering they were sitting on the forest floor, after it had already left her lips. Mercifully, Chanyeol didn't notice. At least, he pretended not to notice.

"I do! Honestly, I think I prefer to being here than at our new house." He laughed a little and it sounded like starlight. A little dorky, but dreamy nonetheless.

Melanie found herself daydreaming and quickly shook it out of her head. Her heart was racing, from the run she assumed, and the hot air had finally gotten to her sweat glands. This was definitely not the first impression she would've liked to have on any guy.

"I know how you feel, I don't particularly enjoy staying home either." She contemplated for a moment before executing her escape plan. "But unfortunately we've all got to go back some time, no? And for me that time is now. My mom will be furious if she comes home and I'm not there. Maybe we could continue this conversation tomorrow? At 3 by the lake?" Melanie trembled on the inside and her inner-diva screamed at her for being too foreword. It wasn't a date, but he might take it like that...

She let out a deep breath when he didn't seem appalled. "That sounds great!" he replied with a grin.

Mel nodded, trying not to show quite how excited she was. "Alright, tomorrow."

With that, she stood up and skipped back toward her house. He sat and watched her a minute before getting up and continuing his walk. "This should be an interesting school year," he smiled to himself. "Very interesting."