Chance Encounters ((Ren + Charlotte- PM to Join))

Ren ran through the woods after his encounter with Sienna and Duncan, and knew that he would have to go home and apologize to his mother for leaving the coop open again. She would be furious, but he knew he had to do it. Either that, or he'd be putting himself in danger of being caught by a Peacekeeper by camping in the woods.
Ren’s feet plod softly against the soil as he tried to find his way home again. He had left landmarks for himself to find his way back, but he didn’t see any of them. He felt his heart catch in his throat as panic set in. He couldn’t get lost, not in broad daylight. He remembered his father’s long-running advice: “if you get lost, stay put.”
Ren scaled a tree and tried to see which direction he had to go in. He recognized a pillar of smoke coming from a northwest direction, and decided to head that way when he heard a twig snap near him. He felt blood rush to his head as his heart rate picked up and thoughts of Peacekeepers rushed through his mind.
Don’t. move.

“Dad, I’m off to the woods to look for herbs!” I called to my dad. He was in the living room, getting ready to head to the bakery.
“Huh? Oh, okay.” He said. Ever since my mom died eight years ago, he’s been distant to the world. I’m glad he’s been baking for as long as he has been, otherwise he’d probably screw it all up. Baking bread and other things like that has become second nature to him, which will help him avoid error as he tries to provide for me, Simon and Parker. My brothers are off at work, earning two more incomes, but the bakery is our prime breadwinner.
I grab the small pack I use to carry herbs in, and slip my boots on as I head out the door. Dad will use the herbs in bread, and he can sell herb bread for a slightly higher price.
I walk past the neighbor’s houses on my way to the woods, taking caution that no Peacekeepers are following me as I head for the fence. When I judge that the coast is clear, I head southeast; I know for a fact there is a patch of mint plants in that direction, and it would give me a good starting point for my rounds. My feet move carefully over the terrain as I walk, making as little sound as I possibly can.
I was far into the woods when I hear someone grunt, and feet scraping against bark. Someone’s climbing a tree.
I begin thinking of the implications of being caught, and stop walking immediately, looking for the source of the noise. I moved my feet ever so slightly to take in a 360 degree view. Just as I was about to be facing the way I began, I step on a twig. The snap seems to echo off of every surface around me, and I stop dead in my tracks.
Well, come and get me, then. I think to myself. Please let my death be swift.

After the woods returned to complete silence, save for the sound of Ren's own heartbeat that resonated in his ear drums, he surveyed the land to look for who was trespassing on his peace of mind.
He turned his head 90 degrees to the left and saw someone standing about 30 feet away from him. A girl. She stood absolutely still, seemingly afraid to move.
She's not dressed like a Peacekeeper. Ren thought, his mind slowly calming down. Not to mention that if she was, she wouldn't look so terrified.
He squinted at her to try to see her better; she had dirty blonde hair, not unlike the head of hair Ren sported. She was wearing jeans, boots that reached the middle of her calves, and a black jacket that looked like it had a wool lining. She had a small backpack strung over her shoulders, and her ponytail blew in the slight breeze. Ren couldn't see her face, but he had a feeling she was beautiful.
Ren decided there’s no use in continuing to torture the girl, and slowly climbed out of the tree.
“It’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you. Please don’t be frightened.” He said as he climbed down, hoping she would believe him.

I stayed frozen in my spot, hoping that the person in the tree wasn't a Peacekeeper. I looked up and saw someone slowly climbing down, and my stomach flipped.
"It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you. Please don't be frightened." I heard him call out. I surveyed what I could see of his clothing, and it didn't scream "Peacekeeper" at me. In fact, he was dressed a lot like me. I calmed my muscles, and willed myself to take a slightly less defensive stance. I stood straight up, and my arms crossed over my chest, even though I knew he wasn’t a Peacekeeper. I still continue to distrust him, however; he has to prove to me he’s worth trusting. He finally gets out of the tree, and approaches me. His dirty blonde hair has become slightly messy due to the tree, but that pales in comparison to his blue eyes, which remind me of the sapphires I’ve seen adorn Capitol citizens on TV before. His facial structure is strong, and his impressive jaw line makes him very handsome in my eyes. Beneath his clothing, I can tell he’s muscular, something I’m clearly not. I feel slightly intimidated. I wouldn’t want to meet him in the Games; someone as strong-looking as him would snap me in half with his bare hands.
I continue to stand my ground, but figure pleasantries are to be exchanged.
“Hello.” I say, in a foreign, formal voice that I only use with the Peacekeepers that sometimes come into the bakery.

Ren approached the girl, and her face looked familiar to him. Her prominent eyebrows drew attention from her dirty blonde hair to her face. Her piercing brown eyes and full lips made her look positively beautiful. He wondered why her name wasn't coming up for him. A flash of intimidation shows on her face, but no look of recognition shows; she obviously doesn't recognize him.
"Hello." She says, in an overly formal voice. Her voice sounded gentle, despite the tone in her greeting. Upon hearing her voice, Ren recognized the girl, but only at face value. She was the baker's daughter, Charlotte. Same age as him, same class in school. He could count on one hand the amount of times he ever engaged in conversation with her. Even so, the only time he ever heard her voice was in class, and when Ren was sent to the bakery to buy bread for dinner, or to ask for old loaves to break up and feed to the chickens.
“You’re Charlotte, the baker’s daughter, right? I’m Ren Lockwood; I’m in your class.”

“You’re Charlotte, the baker’s daughter, right?” Charlotte was taken aback at the fact that he knew who she was. She could not remember the boy’s name for the life of her, and it was bothering her.
“I’m Ren Lockwood; I’m in your class.”
Ren Lockwood. Of course.
Irresponsible, careless, not the brightest light bulb in the hallway, but would be a “decent member of society if he could get his head on straight”. At least that’s what she gathered from the numerous times Mrs. Lockwood had come into the bakery fresh off of a scolding of Ren, and she vented to Charlotte as she bought bread.
Charlotte had never noticed before, but Ren was rather attractive. His piercing blue eyes complemented his blonde locks nicely, and Charlotte felt her palms sweat a bit.
"Hi Ren." Charlotte said, taking her guard down a bit. "I've heard many a complaint about you. Your mother stops in quite often."

"Hi, Ren. I've heard many a complaint about you. Your mother stops in quite often."
Well, at least her expectations of him weren't too high; that leaves little room for disappointment on her part. Charlotte’s beautiful face bore a look that said “go ahead, try and get yourself out of that one.”
He knew his mother was right, and he certainly wasn’t going to deny that.
Still, if potential employers heard his mother complain about him, he would be hard-pressed to find a job after school. He didn’t want to work on the farm his whole life. He saw how difficult it was to run a farm, and if he didn’t settle down with someone, he’d be doing it all by himself.
A fate worse than death.
“Yeah, she does. I didn’t know she was spreading word about my irresponsibility throughout town, though.” He said with a slight chuckle. Maybe humor would win Charlotte over.

"Yeah, she does. I didn't know she was spreading word about my irresponsibility throughout town, though." Ren said, laughing a little to himself.
Charlotte knew a little bit about Ren from school. She knew he didn't get the best grades, or have the most friends. She knew he danced through life like it was nothing, a thought that repulsed, yet interested, Charlotte. She spent her days at school sitting by herself, watching the world go by her at lightning speed, and she felt lost.
Cloud never paid much attention to Ren; he always brushed Ren off as a “go-nowhere-guy”, and someone with no aspirations for the future was hardly the kind of guy you wanted to spend a lot of time with. Still, having a bit of fun every so often wouldn’t be so bad.
She knew he was irresponsible, reckless, and careless. Something about this boy intrigued her, though.
Charlotte. A familiar voice said. It was Cloud’s voice, echoing in her brain. It was stern, a tone he rarely ever used with her. Even if she didn't hear it often, she knew that when it was used, he meant business.
Cloud was right. She shouldn’t be giving Ren the time of day.
"I'm sorry, Ren. I have to go." She said, turning on her heels to face the way she came from.

Charlotte didn't laugh at his comment, and he was concerned. She looked lost in thought, and he was worried. He knew he wasn’t the kind of guy you brought home to your parents. He was irresponsible, reckless, and careless. He danced through life like it was nothing, and didn’t take anything seriously. He was a serial flirt, and didn’t have any plans for his future. The only thing he knew for certain is that he wanted to get to know the baker’s daughter. Ren got the distinct feeling that she was about to run away from him and never speak to him again. That thought scared him.
Ren opened his mouth to say her name, but she spoke first.
"I'm sorry, Ren. I have to go." She said. Ren opened his mouth to speak, but she turned on her heels and started to walk away.
"Wait! Wait- where are you going?"

((Sorry I'm slacking. ))

He’s persistent, all right. Even Charlotte could admit that.
However, Charlotte was persistent, too. If she wanted to avoid him, she would. She remembered why she had come to the forest in the first place: picking herbs for her father. If she didn’t start collecting soon, she would have to go home with less product than she wanted to collect. The longer she stood here talking to Ren, the more sunlight that was being wasted.
"If you simply MUST know, I'm going to collect herbs for my father so he can make herb bread in the bakery. I'm the only one that knows where the good ones are.” She said. She figured he might volunteer to come along, so she covered her tracks, just to be sure:
“And no, I do not need company. So, unless you have something of extreme urgency to say, then we need to go our separate ways so I can get my errand done.”

The tensioned silence hung in the air, and not a sound was heard except for the wind in the trees. Ren was taken aback by the harshness in Charlotte’s tone, and he felt a little attacked. All he wanted to do was spend time with someone his age, especially a pretty girl, but it was obvious that she didn't want him here, and he felt a little hurt.
However, she did mention herb bread, which was one of his favorite foods in the world. His mother bought it at the bakery every so often.
The thought of herb bread didn’t really make him feel better, and he took a hot-headed, defensive approach to the way she talked to him.
"I just thought you'd want some company. Being alone in the woods isn't exactly the best idea, but if you want to be left alone, fine. You never know if there's a Peacekeeper somewhere out there."