Wildest Dreams OCxAdam Banks

2. School

2 years later...
TW: panic attack

"Flora pass it over here!" Adam called. Flora shot the puck across the ice into Adam's hold. He skated as fast as he could to the goal. Adam stopped in front of the poles and sent the puck flying. The four 12-year-olds watched to see if the puck would go in. It was kind of a long shot.

"Yes!" Adam cried as the puck hit the back of the net. He skated over to Flora and gave her a triumphant high-five. Larson and McGill were not pleased. They were only down by three and really thought they could make a comeback. Deep down the two boys knew they would never beat Adam and Flora.

"Alright, whatever." Larson groaned. "Good game, now can we pack up and go home? It's freezing." It was late November but it already began to feel like January in Edina. The group sat down on a bench near the frozen pond and changed from their skates into winter boots. Flora and Adam started to head toward the right white Larson and McGill headed toward the left.

"We'll see you guys at school tomorrow!" Flora called from a distance. She could the two boys gives a thumbs up in return. Flora and Adam walked home in silence. It was a comfortable silence. Neither one of them ever felt like they needed to talk to feel safe with each other. They stopped once they had reached Flora's front porch.

"I'll see you in the morning?" Adam questioned the girl.

"Of course." She promised. "And I'll see you at the rink after school for our game against District 5. We're totally going to smoke them." This made Adam chuckle. He loved seeing the usually shy girl get fired up for their games. He put an arm around her for a side hug.

"Good night, Flora."

"Good night, Adam." Just like that Flora stepped into her house while Adam walked down the stairs of the porch and went to his own house. As soon as he closed the front door, he let out a breath. It felt like he had been holding that breath since he and Flora left for the pond a few hours prior. It was the same feeling every time he saw her. Flora came into view and instantly, he couldn't breathe.

The next morning Flora woke up to her alarm at 6:30 sharp. She had 45 minutes before she and Adam had to leave for school. She put on a flannel hoodie and a pair of ripped mom jeans. Flora didn't dress for anyone else, however Adam liked to believe that she got ready in the morning just for him.

After a quick bowl of cereal, Flora grabbed her coat and ran over to Adam's house. They agreed at the beginning of the school year to be outside by 7:15. Unfortunately, Adam had never quite been on time. At 7:22 Flora started banging on the front door.

"Adam let's go! We're going to be late!" She called. A moment later a slightly disheveled Adam came running outside.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear my alarm this morning." He apologized.

"Mhmm. Sure." Flora wasn't buying it. She knew he was watching tv and didn't realize what time it was.

The walk to school was only ten minutes but the chilly, November air made it feel like years. Flora's teeth chattered but she tried not to make it known. She knew if Adam saw that she was freezing he would offer up his jacket which would leave him freezing. Flora absolutely hated worrying others. Each time Adam looked over at her, she closed her lips.

"I know you're cold. We're almost there and we can warm up, ok?" Flora nodded her head in response. She hated that he was worried but secretly loved it at the same time.

Once they reached school, the green eyed girl went to her locker to put her coat away. On the way she found Larson who would not stop talking about how he almost kissed Holly Kimball.

"I mean our faces were so close. I would've gone in further if stupid McGill hadn't opened the closet door. How was I supposed to know the seven minutes were up?"

Flora rolled her eyes. She really did not care about the parties Larson and McGill went to each weekend. Adam was always invited too, but declined each time because Flora had never been invited. He would always choose hockey with Flora over seven minutes in heaven with girls he barely knew.

Flora and Larson found Adam and McGill on the way to first period. The four split off after a minute and went their separate ways. Flora started her day with Algebra which was definitely her least favorite subject.

Mr. Donohue had only been explaining the lesson for a few minutes when Flora felt that tightness in her chest. She wasn't expecting it this early in the day. It was something that had started happening more often, but not usually until third period.

The tightness started to increase. Flora knew what was coming. Her throat began to close and her mouth completely dried up. Tears started welling in her eyes. She wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't sure if she could speak.

The only choice Flora was left with was to flee. She picked up her backpack and dashed towards the door.

"Flora? Where are you going?" She heard Mr. Donohue say. Flora didn't look back. She kept running until she made it to the bathroom. Flora dropped on her bag on the linoleum floor and leaned her back against the wall. She slowly slid down onto the floor with her head in her hands. That was the seventh one this month.