For a while, she just stared at him until she realized she was staring then stopped because it was impolite to stare. Piper kept her head down as he spoke. She couldn't look into his green eyes because she knew they were staring right at her and it made her feel nervous. Instead, she looked at Mr. Bunny who had the greatest interest in Ezra's shirt--particularly his armpit. His nose was twitching uncontrollably at his scent and, from previous observations, he only does that when he smells someone he likes. Mr. Bunny wasn't gay or anything, Piper hoped he wasn't so he isn't.Â
"He..." Piper kind of mumbled out, "...isn't really mine." Which, Mr. Bunny really wasn't. Piper only took great care of the creature, gave him food and gave him shelter. Loving him was involuntary. But that didn't really imply that Mr. Bunny was hers to begin with. Â
He chuckled and Piper wondered if he was chuckling at her. She felt insecure. "He was, um, running-- er hopping away. I didn't know where he came from, but I heard you, um..."
Crying. She finished his sentence mentally. He heard her crying. God, that was embarrassing. In seconds, she felt smaller and a lot more exposed. She wanted to slap herself, crying wasn't a good way to impress a guy. Then she wanted to slap herself again because she wanted to impress a guy. "So I caught him. I think he likes you better."
While reaching out to take Mr. Bunny, she risked a glance and saw him smiling. Was he smiling because he thought Mr. Bunny's name was too not creative? The corners of her lips frowned. Her logic was that since Mr. Bunny was too literal that no one would ever name their pet or an animal by that name, therefore, creating the most commonly thought but never named uncommon name. Was  he smiling because she had dirt on her face? Instantly, she blushed. She didn't want to look like a mess in front of a good-looking guy. She blushed even harder when she realized she thought that he was a good-looking guy.
Like the naive girl that she is, she spaced out the moment she spotted those green eyes. She barely even heard him speak, like it was suppressed by cloth. She did hear him say the words: stream, and wash, and clean. Walking deeper into the forest with a boy Piper hardly knew? Looking at the fact that both his parents died very recently with no evidence of who the murderer is and that maybe this boy may probably be the murderer and that she's left alone with the suspected murderer? Not dangerous at all.Â
Despite all those not exactly morbid thoughts and Mr. Bunny licking the nook of her arm, she nodded her head in agreement. And without thinking, her legs moved to follow the boy who might or might not kill her.Â
Every time Ezra would hold a a branch aside for her, she'd feel an inclining that he would jump at her, tackle her to the ground and stab her eyes out. She wondered why he never spoke to her. She would see him look out the window a few times she'd gone out to give a package or something to his mom. He was shy, she presumed, but Piper wouldn't bite, she literally wouldn't hurt a fly.Â
"Welcome to paradise." He said behind her and she smiled because she thought it was adorable and it actually was paradise. The stream was smooth flowing and the season was early autumn. The trees were a mixture of green and orange and red which greatly matched the intensity of the sky.
"Can I, um... ask you something?" Her smile faded and her eyes became wide. She was going to be murdered. Oh shit. Oh shit. She turned to face him.
"What were you doing out here with him?"Â Piper's sigh was loud and deep. It was obvious that her shoulders relaxed. "I was..." She tightened her hold around Mr. Bunny, but not too tight or else it would make him jump off and run again. "I was actually gonna set him free."Â
She started blushing again. It hadn't occurred to her how stupid it might seem to be planning to set Mr. Bunny free but burst out crying when he'd gone. "I wanted to say goodbye..." She explained in a rather fast manner. "But I tripped on a log and he got free and I mean, he didn't say goodbye, I mean, I couldn't-- didn't say goodbye and it isn't fair if someone you loved just suddenly left you without saying a final goodbye, y'know?" She dug her feet into the soft earth. "It isn't fair."