My Best Friend

Chapter 10

I walked into Chemistry class, dreading the talk I'm gonna have to have with Jake. I groan internally. I'm the worst friend ever.
I look up and see Jake looking directly at me, like he was waiting for me to walk through the door. A smile lights up his face. My heart sinks. I can't believe I never believed Olivia when she told me how Jake felt for me. It was so obvious. I guess I just didn't want to believe it.
"Hey." He smiles as I take my seat to his right, which seems to have moved closer to his.
I smile tightly at him. "Hi." I start to take my books out of my bag for class. I'll take him aside and talk to him after.
"So...about yesterday..." Jake starts.
I cringe internally. Guess he wants to talk about it now. I clear my throat and look him in the eye. "Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you about it."
He slides his chair closer to mine until our legs are touching. "Me too." He says, excitement evident in his voice.
I take a deep breath and look him directly in the eye. "I think it's best if we just stay friends." I say.
The smile drops from his face and his eyes lose hope. "What?"
"I am so sorry for leading you on the way I did, and I wish I could take it back, but I guess it's too late for that." I apologize. "But I have to tell you that I don't feel that way for you, and I would like us to stay friends...if you'll still have me as one..."
His whole demeanor deflates. He looks down at his hands in his lap for what feels like an eternity, then looks back up at me with a look of understanding. "Of course we can still be friends." He smiles sadly.
I let out a breath of relief. "Thank god." I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close. He hugs me back tightly. We stay like that for a few moments until we hear the teacher make his presence known in the classroom.
Before we let go of each other, Jake puts his mouth beside my ear and whispers "I won't give up so easily."
He winks at me with a smirk before turning to the front as the teacher starts his lesson.
Shit.

•••

"Hello." Grey leans against the locker beside mine with a wide smile.
       I smile back. "What's got you in such a good mood?" I place the books I don't need at home in my locker and shut the door.
       He shrugs. "Could be the fact that we have approximately 10 minutes before we're out of this school disguised hell."
       I laugh. "Very good reason."
      He leans closer, his face only a few inches from mine. My breath hitches, and I could feel my face start to heat up. "You know what we should do?" He grins.
I try to command my heart from beating so fast but it doesn't seem to work. I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "What?"
"Go to the tracks." He says excitedly.
I gasp. "We haven't been there in forever."
He nods. "I know. How dare we not visit the place we first met?" He shakes his head in disbelief.
I chuckle. "Let's go then." I agree.
         His smile grows.

•••

He parks his car in front of the park at the edge of town. Kids and their parents were running around with smiles on their faces. My heart swells. I missed it here.
       Luke sighs happily, then he looks over at me and smirks. "Last one there has to walk back home!" And with that he jumps out of the car.
        I gasp. "No fair!" I jump out of the car with a smile on my face and chase after him.
         We weave through the kids and the playground equipment until we make it to the empty soccer field on the other side. We keep running until we make it to the path in the woods. He makes it just a few seconds before me.
          I bend over, hands on my knees, out of breath. "Cheater." I breathe out.
          He laughs. "Don't worry, you only lost to me in front of a bunch of kids, it's not that bad."
          I laugh. "You're right, I just gotta worry about their parents talking about me behind my back."
        He chuckles. "Just like the old days."
        I straighten up, catching my breath and take a look into the woods, the path nearly overtaken by thorns and tall grass. 
         Luke grabs my hand and starts to walk down the path, trying to find the best places for us to step. It takes us almost ten minutes to make it to the clearing with the abandoned train tracks stretching miles from the left to the right. He lets go of my hand as we step up onto the tracks. I already miss the warmth of his hand holding mine.
"Wow." He exclaims, looking from the left to the right. "More beautiful than I remember."
I look around me, taking in the green canopy surrounding us, endless trees going on for miles and miles, avoiding the path these old tracks made a long time ago. Tiny flowers and weeds grew in between each track. The whole scene looks like it came out of painting. "I know."
This was the place me and Luke met. My mom brought me to the park when we both were in the 3rd grade at the time. We never crossed paths in school before then. My mom was distracted by a phone call that she had to take at the time, so I wondered off. I remember following a butterfly down a path which led me to these tracks. Then there was Luke who kicked his soccer ball too far and found it next to me.
We were amazed at the trail we found. We followed the tracks until it ended at a pond that must've formed over the years. It wasn't until we finally found our way back to the park at sunset that we realized us exploring worried our parents so much that they called the cops and reported us missing. After being scolded but also smothered in hugs and kisses, me and Luke knew that we wanted to play together again.
So we did. And here we are.
We walk down the tracks aimlessly, enjoying the silence and charm of the woods.
It's not until we make it to the pond at the end of the tracks almost 20 minutes later that Luke turns to me. "Amelia."
I look away from the pond and look at him. "Yeah?" We make eye contact.
He takes a step closer to me until we're only a couple inches apart. My heart starts to beat harder behind my chest. His close proximity makes my face heat up. This enchanting walk almost made me forget what happened between us last night.
"You don't have to say yes and I totally understand if you don't want to, but..." He looks down at my lips and back up into my eyes again. "Can I kiss you again?"