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Chapter 5-3

Natalie

  Natalie ran hard as long as she could. Every step she took, they were taking five more. Disbelief filled her mind that anyone could be that fast. Danielle and Jacob reached Carpenter Blvd and made a right past a gas station. Natalie kept pushing herself to reach them, even cutting through the gas station to keep up. By the time she got back to the side walk they were already 2 blocks away.
  "Fuck!" she exclaimed. She stopped in her tracks to catch her breath. Sweat dripped down her heated face. Not too far behind was Sam, who finally caught up to her, also red and sweaty.
  "What's the... big deal.. Natalie?!" Sam said, catching her breath.
  "Nothing.. I just need... to catch up."
  Sam wanted to calm Natalie down, but Natalie got her second wind and ran off. Her pace was as fast as before, but her breathing slowly grew unsteady. She kept on until she reached a crosswalk, where she waited for Sam.
Sam inched closer, her hand against the left side of her ribs.
  "Hold up Nat..." she said. Sam bent over, her right hand clasped over her mouth. She was trying to hold in the urge to vomit.
  "You okay Sam?" Natalie asked, she put her hand on her shoulder.
  "No... no i'm not.." Sam said. Every breath she took was followed by a couple of raspy coughs.

  "My ribs hurt, i can't keep... up with you." She coughed some more. She slowly walked over to a nearby brick wall, just tall enough to sit on.
  "Im so... sorry.." Natalie said. She sat down next to her.
  "I'm going.. To head back," Sam said.
  Natalie didn't know what to say. Guilt flooded her consciousness.
  "Okay.." she paused a moment, "Let's go down this street... it'll lead back to school."
Natalie grabbed Sam by the hand to help her up.
  "Besides, there's more trees down this way," Natalie said, "less sun that way."
  They walked along the sidewalk down to the school. Sam held her side the whole time, still breathing heavily. They both moved slowly, they're legs still shaking.
  "I've never ran that fast or hard in my life," Natalie said. She wanted to break the deafening silence received from Sam.
  "You could have fooled me.." Sam said in a bitter tone.
  "I'm sorry for leaving you behind Samantha."
  "Why'd you want to run so fast anyways? It was supposed to be a fun run with Audrey and Adrian."
  Natalie paused a moment. Her gaze pierced the floor. She started to think of Jacob and Danielle. Feelings of insecurities flooded her mind for a split second.
  "I just wanted to be the best, like Danielle and Jacob."
  "You know you can be honest with me Nat."
  "I was?"
  "It's not hard to see you like him, you and Emma are always flirting with him."
  "That's nothing..it's just friendly flirting,"
  "Oh please, I've seen how you act around all the other guys throwing themselves at you. Emma likes to flirt, no doubt. But you.."
  Natalie's face grew redder by the second.
  "Well so what if I think he's cute," she said.
  "HA!" Her bitter attitude disappeared almost immediately in favor for her cheery, bubbly personality. "I knew you liked him!"
  "CUTE I SAID!" Natalie was unamused at her shift in personality, but was relieved to not have her mad.
  "No need to be embarrassed by it Nat," she said. "I think he has the hots for someone, but I'm not obligated to tell." Samatha laughed and gave a cheeky grin to Natalie.
  The gentle cool breeze did nothing to stop the heat of embarrassment rush to her face. There was no point in hiding things from Sam who already knew so much. A plethora of thoughts and questions arose in her mind to ask Sam about this mysterious girl he liked. Based on past interactions, she was confident that it had to be herself that Sam was referring to.
  "He's been heads over heels like a goofball everytime we talked. But still..." Now was her time to find out.
  "Is it Audrey that he likes?"
Sam didn't say anything, her grin still the same.
  "I had a feeling it was, my gut feelings are usually right you know," Natalie said, trying to sneakily get an answer out of Sam.
  "I'm not telling, but you're in Antarctica."
  "DAMN IT , TELL ME!" Natalie said in an outburst, suspense murdering her.
Sam was amused, Natalie being flustered was a sight that was near impossible to see. They were getting closer to the side entrance of the school.
  "What if I said it was you?"
  Natalie smiled at the thought.
  "Is it?"
  "I mean it could be looz..."
  "JUST SAY YOU HATE ME!" 
  Natalie playfully slapped Sam's shoulder. Sam found so much enjoyment in teasing Natalie, her payback for being left behind.

Songs
Name: artist
Run: COIN

Editors
Elem

Thank you for reading! How are you enjoying the story?  What do you think of Natalie so far? hope the chapter gives insight into the characters.

Next chapter
Jacob gets to know Danielle after finishing the run. He challenges her to a race one more time.