Soccer Meet Cheer

Tree Hugger

~Kristen~

"Where are we... even... going?" I panted as I followed Alex through the wooded area behind the school. We had been going uphill for what felt like a mile, and I was ready to give up.

"Trust me, only 2 more minutes." she chuckled as she stormed ahead.

I rolled my eyes, "You said that... 10 minutes ago. What happened to being... a little late?"

"Oh yeah, I lied. We're gonna be out here for the rest of lunch." she snickered.

I rolled my eyes even harder, "I should've guessed."

She stopped to face me, her dark eyebrow raised, "You callin' me a liar?"

I crossed my arms, secretly grateful for the break, "I don't know, are you?"

She pursed her lips, "Depends."

"On what?"

She shrugged, turning back around, "What I want I guess."

I blushed slightly at the insinuation before letting her lead me deeper into the woods.

As I followed closely behind in silence, my mind couldn't help but wander, causing the soccer prodigy in front of me to subtly transform into my tormentor. All I could see were Olivia's hips swinging side to side and Olivia's hair emitting its hidden brown undertone in the sun. Although they were nothing alike in personality, every time I saw Alex, I couldn't help but think of her. Her tan long legs, her elegantly wavy hair, her piercing stare. In a way, it made talking to Alex easier, like talking to an old friend, but it also made moments like these hard; moments like these made my hands clammy and my heart race, creating questions in my head asking if I should have even come at all. She's pushed me off a ledge in my dreams and publically humiliated me in real life; what's to stop her Minnesotan doppelganger from doing the same?

"Aaand... Voila!" Alex announced, suddenly on the other side of the trees.

Once I broke through the trees, I saw a small opening filled with old picnic benches, a little gazebo, and a huge tree in the middle.

"Woah..." I mumbled as I craned my neck up to see the gorgeous green canopy of leaves above.

"Yeah... you should see it in the fall." Alex mumbled next to me, looking up with the same amount of awe.

"What is this place?"

She shrugged, walking ahead, "No clue. I just know no one comes here."

"How often do you come here?"

"Every once and a while when I need to relax." she answered simply.

"How long have you known about it?"

"Since middle school." she responded simply, stopping by the tree in the middle.

"How'd you even find it?" I continued, looking straight up the tree's neverending trunk.

"That's enough questions." She shut down before jumping onto the tree.

"And what do you think you're doing?" I raised an eyebrow as I watched her climb.

"I said that's enough questions!" She yelled down to me once she found a spot on a branch. "Come on up, the view's nice." she patted the spot next to her on the branch.

"You're crazy if you think I'm following you!" I yelled up at her.

"Come onnnn... you gotta get over that fear of heights somehow!"

I rolled my eyes aggressively, "I should've never told you that!"

"Trust me, it's not as high up as it looks. Just don't look down!"