Dear Austin...

Mirkwood was an area near my house that I loved to walk in. There were many winding trails that led to other houses in the area. It was a pretty large area covered by woods and rolling plains. It reminded me of the mythical place in Middle Earth, but then again, I was just a big nerd. Crossing the parkway, we started down one of my favorite trails.

Not only did it lead through some very shaded, mysterious parts of the woods, but it wasn't an area that the he used to walk on. After he started being a jerk, I noticed he walked in the woods a lot, but I wasn't going to give up my beautiful little piece of serenity to him without a fight. Now I walked in a different path, but I loved it even more than the old one.

The late morning sun tumbled through the trees that shaded us over head. We sat in an easy silence as our footsteps attempted to fill the gap of emptiness between us two. Looking down at my arms, the red welts seemed to have disappeared. The pain was erased, just like a bad memory.

"So you'll be off on Warped again on Thursday." I stated openly to no one in particular. Austin sighed heavily.

"Yep. We only have a few more shows that had to be rescheduled after that, and then Tour will be done." He responded. Our conversation halted for the moment as we stopped. There was faint noises from far away. It probably came from other joggers.

"You should come back to visit. It might help since LP will miss Alan." I joked to him. He blushed slightly and looked away into the shadows.

"Yeah. I'll miss you as well." Austin smiled to me. I couldn't help but grin back at him. He was always so sweet, kind, and funny. The brown eyes made my heart pool at the bottom of my socks, again. Nobody ever made my feel like this special. Oh no, was I....? I don't think I can even finish the sentence.

The noise from the people ahead of us became louder and louder. I finally realized that the people were actually a small herd of boys coming our direction. Among them, my ex-friend, Jack.

The though made my hands tighten into fists once again. As they passed by us, I could hear the snickers and side comments over their talk of sports and the up-coming end of summer vacation. I could hear Jack's voice rise about the other. Even my brain couldn't block out the hurtful comments.

As they rounded the bend and disappeared out in the distance, Austin and I continued our walk. My arms wrapped around each other and I felt the anxiety rise in me. The memories all came rushing back, and the pain followed it like an aftershock. Thinking back to Austin outside that one day, I managed my courage.

"Austin, A-Austin..." I stuttered a few times. He looked over to me. With barely a glance, he saw my panic rising. The thoughts of James kept going back on replay.

He stopped me in my tracks and without saying a word, just wrapped his long arms around me. I managed to loop my own around his body. I was to short to reach over to his neck. His hands rubbed up and down my back. Closing my eyes, I buried my face into his jacket.

We stood like that for a few minutes until I could focus on the present, not the past. When I let go, he hand his hands on my shoulder, staring down to me with worry and concern.

"Who was it?" He asked me. Suddenly, I couldn't hold it in any more and I broke. The story about James leaked out, from the beginning to the each pained day. From when he called told me he never wanted to see me again, to the time he even kicked me in the ribs, leaving me in the hall and trying to make it to class with a set of bruised ribs.

Austin Carlile barely let me finished before he leaned over and engulfed me in another hug. I was crushed in his safe embrace. When Austin finally stopped compacting me into a tiny form, he leaned over and kissed my forehead again. Taking the back of my hand, I wiped the tears off my face and tried to clear up from my sadness.

"No one should ever treat you like that. You're beautiful, sweet, and intelligent. Don't listen to him." He told me. I could only nod. His hands gently grasped my face, bringing it up closer to him. A buzz was in the air, like electricity all around us. The world really did seem to slow to a halt.

When his lips gingerly touched mine, I felt a flood of warmth and pure energy run through my lips to my mind, slowly numbing my body to my toes. I stretched on my toes, and he bent down so we could meet half way. When we finally pulled away, everything suddenly melted away, all the worries and pain in the world. All I could see was a pair of soft brown eyes looking at me like there was nothing else in the world.

Notes

Meet James, our new character! You can see him on the summary page for the story! Sorry to leave you in suspense for so long on Rae's old friend!

Oh, and I leave you with more Rae/Austin (Austlyn) How'd you guys like it? Do you want more Austlyn??? PLEASE TELL ME!

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