- Aria's POV -

"Look, man, I know you hate me and all, but dragging me to some forest I had no idea existed and killing me in cold blood is low even for you." I step away from the smirking boy.

He steps forward. "God, Shortcake. You're definitely one of a kind."

I smile at this, taking in the scenery. The forest is like any other: tall oak trees creating shadows with sunlight seeping through, creeks and mushrooms popping out of the ground, shrivelled up leaves fallen and decomposing into the soil, a delicate breeze and chirps of sparrows and blue jays. It's peaceful.

"So, you wanted to show me the forest?" I ask, turning back to Miles.

He shakes his head and gives me a half-smile, walking farther into the forest. After five minutes of stumbling over camouflaged logs and slipping on mud, we stop in front of an entrance to a cave.

Miles looks back at me and nods, then walks right into the dark cave. I follow closely behind, gasping as we come to a stop.

"Whoa," I say breathlessly, scanning my surroundings.

I'd never imagine a place this beautiful to actually exist. Vines decorate the walls, with little white flowers sprouting. From the ceiling, strings of purple bellflowers and orchids hung, along with blue and violet fairy lights that made the whole place pop out more. Leaned on the walls and around the circular cave are logs to sit on, and a fire pit in the centre of it all, the ground covered in dirt. But that isn't it; behind one of the logs is an opening in the ground, which is almost like a staircase that leads to the most breathtaking sight I have ever seen.

It isn't just a cave, it's a freaking cavern. With sparkling turquoise water that glows, you could even see a little bit of what was under. It doesn't look too deep, either. But the walls and ceiling glow a bright blue, like tiny stars. They are glow worms, beautiful and twinkling. It makes me smile and laugh in delight. Then I remember that I'm not alone.

Spinning around, I slam right into Miles with a goofy grin. I mutter a quick "sorry" and lock eyes with him, surprised to see that they held pure happiness.

"I thought glow worm caves only existed in New Zealand," I breathe, still in awe.

"Yeah, so did I. As far as I know, I'm the only one who knows about this place,—and now you—otherwise it would probably be flooded with people." He says, his voice echoing off the walls.

"How did you find it?" I ask, curious to know the answer of the question.

Miles sighs and sits on the edge, looking down into the water. I sit next to him cautiously, knowing my clumsiness could act upon me at any moment.

"Well, I used to live here," He starts, cracking his knuckles. "I moved away when I was seven, but before that when I was four, I threw a temper tantrum and got so mad with my parents that I left a sticky note on the fridge saying 'Dear Mom and Dad, I'm running away, okay? Bye.' in my very scribbly handwriting and terrible spelling. I took my school bag and packed a leftover PB&J sandwich, water, my favourite shirt, and an Iron Man action figure.

"So while my parents were sleeping, I snuck out of the house and found the forest, and I thought I'd make it my new home. That's when I stumbled across this place. It was exactly the same, except for the fairy lights hung up. Yeah, I stole those from my teen cousin and put them up there when I was five. Oh, and I did the logs and learned how to make a fire - Dad taught me before I 'ran off'. But I went back home two hours later after getting bit by an ant, pretty weak, huh? I got grounded, obviously. But I always went back there whenever I could sneak out, and I came back here day we moved back, too, and every day since." Miles finishes with a small smile.

I resist the urge to comment something like 'I asked how you just found it, not your life story' and instead press a smile.

"This place looks so magical," I grin at him, completely forgetting I hate the dude.

"Yeah, it does. Hey, this is just our place, okay? Don't go telling the entire world about it." He says it like it's a joke, but his face is completely serious.

I nod and reassure him, "I won't, I swear it."

He nods, about to say something else but I cut him off. "Wait, you said you hung up the fairy lights when you were five, right? How is that possible when the ceiling is so high up?"

He grins, as if remembering something. "Oh, damn. That was when I was an epic ninja kid and climbed the vines, then turned into Spider-Man and held onto the ones on the ceilings. Somehow I managed to loop the lights through and let them dangle. I'll admit, I fell a couple of times but I survived."

I snort, not really believing a word he just said. He glares, then jumps up and pulls me along with him.

"What? Don't believe me? Just watch, Shortcake." He laughs, going back up the cave. I trail behind him, only to find Miles taking off his shoes and socks, his fingers and toes hooking onto the vines as he climbs.

I stand there, astonished at what I'm witnessing. My god, this is hilarious. Yeah, I would definitely record this if I could. Miles stops climbs and looks down for a second, his eyes full of humour when he sees my expression. He continues to climb and once he's reached the top, Miles slowly climbs onto the ceiling, the vines he was clutching onto never snapping once.

Damn, those are some strong plants.

No shit.

"Believe me now, Shortcake?" He laughs.

I groan and give him the finger, to which he only laughs more. Once he's calm, Miles climbs back down and picks up a tiny backpack I didn't notice was there before. He opens it up, throwing a black shirt and a pair of swimming trunks. I look at him in confusion.

"Want to go swimming?" Miles grins, taking out another shirt and pair of swim trunks.

"I didn't even notice you brought a bag with you," I admit. He shrugs and goes down into the cavern to change, while I keep guard just in case someone decides to find this place while Miles is naked.

We switch places when he's done, and after I'm changed we stuff our clothes into the bag, standing by the edge of the cavern again.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I ask, feeling nervous, even though it's not that far down. Seven feet, maybe?

He nods. "Yeah, I've done this multiple times before. It's deep enough so that we can cannonball—wait, you do know how to swim, right?"

"Yup," I answer.

"Good. And there's nothing in the water, either. So you'll be fine," Miles explains.

Before either of us could jump, I stop him. "Wait, I have a question."

"You just asked me one." He replies.

I sigh and ask anyways. "Why are you being like this?"

He turns to me, confused. "Like what?"

"You're being civil and . . . nice? Why?"

Miles shrugs, then a dangerously playful smirk rests upon his lips. "You know I haven't forgiven you for drenching me in paint on my first day, Shortcake."

I roll my eyes, about to come up with a witty comeback, but instead, his smirk grows wider and suddenly I'm falling off the ledge and hit the water. As soon as I resurface, I start yelling swear words at him until he jumps into the water himself, splashing me big time.

"You jerk! I'm going to fricking kill you and chop your body up into little pieces, then freaking feed you to a pack of wolves!" I screech, dunking him when his head pops back up.

While he's distracted and dazed, I sit on his shoulders and pull at his hair.

"Ow, ow, ow! Short—OW! LET GO OF MY HAIR, GODDAMMIT! Please, have mercy on my poor soul! Aria, ple—OUCHIE!" Miles shouts and I let out an evil laugh, loosening my grip on his hair.

He sighs with relief but instantly dives down, with me still on his shoulders. After about ten seconds of that, we resurface and separate, looking at each other a little too long for my liking. So, to break the silence, I poke his bare chest.

Holy hell, his abs are on full display. I could just reach out and—

"You're it!" I blurt, mentally slapping myself for my stupid thoughts. With a laugh, I swim as fast as I can towards the other end of the cavern.

I hear a growl and splashes getting closer and closer, and I know Miles is gaining on me.

Swim beach, swim!

Yes, this would be a good time to actually listen to my subconscious. Except I was five seconds too late, because as soon as I dart in the opposite direction, I feel something wrap around my ankle and pull me backwards.

I slam into Miles, once again. Groaning, I twirl around and shove him, but he just grins and grips onto my waist. My breath hitches when he pulls me closer, and I have no choice but to wrap my arms around his neck. We stare into each other's eyes, and I get lost in his, like a never-ending tunnel of mischief. His eyes flicker onto my lips and before I know it, he's leaning in.

He crashes his lips onto mine, and my eyes flew wide for a couple of seconds before I let them flutter close and kiss him back. His grip on my hips tighten, and my hands run through his wet hair. The kiss is slow and passionate, and I feel as if I've been waiting for this moment for a while now. After what feels like a few seconds, he breaks it.

Oh man, why didn't I kiss Miles sooner?

Wait. Crap. I just kissed Miles freaking Prescott.

I pull away from him, all the blood rushing to my face. "I-I, um, I have to go. They're probably looking for me and—"

"Yeah, sure. Let's go." He says calmly, climbing up on a stone and back up to the surface.

He lends me his hand to help me up, but I don't even spare him a second glance and climb up on my own, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach and going up to the cave, taking my own clothes and changing back in the cavern while Miles is guarding in the cave. We switch, and just as I'm about to walk out of the cave, he calls my name and I stop, turning around so fast that my wet hair whips me in the face.

Damn, that stings. I just got whipped by my own hair.

"Yeah?" I ask, noticing that I haven't stopped blushing since the kiss.

It really shouldn't have happened.

"You sure you don't want me to make a fire? We'll be dried up quicker and warmer." He offers, but I press my lips in a tight smile.

"No, I'm good. I've got to get home before I cause any more trouble." I say, a little bit apologetic.

"Alright. If you're okay with it, I'm going to stay here for a while longer." He tells me, already starting on the fire.

"Sure. Um, see you, I guess." I wave awkwardly and start walking in the same direction where we came from. I end up tripping over another log and I hear the faintest of chuckles coming from behind me.

I only blush harder and flip him off, then begin my little journey home.