The Thin Line

Chapter 4: Running

Chapter 4: Running

Three excruciating hours later, I had finally unpacked both of my suitcases and the several boxes of things we had shipped over from our old home in Arizona. I had transformed the pristine white room into a bedroom with pops of color. Colorful throw pillows were now nestled with the plain pillows. Patterned blankets were folded neatly at the foot of the bed, on top of the white bedspread. The white wooden desk was now covered in supplies, stationary, and picture frames. The closet and drawers were all filled with clothes. It now looked a lot more like my old room that I had loved so dearly.

Now that I had finished, my legs were itching to move. I paced around in my bedroom, not having anything to do. Brooke and Miles were not picking up on their phones, and after remembering that we were in different time zones, I realized that they were still at practice.

Despite the insanely hot weather, I decided to take a quick jog around the neighborhood. I changed into a sports bra and running shorts, threw on a tank top, and headed to the door. I grabbed my Nike's and opened the door, bracing myself for the heat wave.

I closed the door behind me, stepping out of the shade and into the sun. The temperature was suffocating. I found myself struggling to breathe. I had yet to even start running.

I tied my hair up into a sleek ponytail, tugged a baseball cap on, and plugged my earbuds in after playing a Spotify running playlist.

I started off with a light jog, gradually running faster and faster as I ran through the neighborhoods. Although it had only been a couple days, it had felt like weeks since I had last run.

The sun shone down mercilessly. The heat was a weight on my body, pulling me down to the earth, trying to make me fall.

But I pushed through it. There were hot days in Phoenix that had temperatures as high as today's. It was tough, but I knew I could do it.

A foreign, but upbeat EDM song played into my ears. My feet pounded on the ground to the beat. The song got faster. My pace increased. Even though most people hated running, I loved it. I felt free.

The world around me became a blur of colors as I dashed up and down streets. It was just me and the music. While others hated the burn, I embraced it. The pain only pushed me to go faster.

The wind suddenly picked up, and I was hit with a rare breeze. It ruffled the palm trees, and lifted some leaves on the ground. It felt amazing. I savored the touch of the cool air on my sweaty skin. I closed my eyes to feel the full effect just as I turned the corner.

Suddenly, it wasn't just the breeze that had hit me. I rammed right into a solid body. The collision was so hard and so unforeseen, that the impact caused me to fly backwards. I lost my footing and I landed hard on my butt on the cement.

I opened my eyes and saw... a hot guy.

Like ridiculously hot.

And muscular.

And tan. And did I mention hot?

Maybe I had died and gone to heaven.

He extended a hand towards me.

I looked at it dumbly for a moment before I reached out and grasped it. He pulled his arm back and pulled me onto my feet in on fluid motion.

"Sorry," I said, sheepishly.

"That's alright. You good?" His voice was deep and smooth, almost musical.

"Yeah, thanks. You?" I internally winced. My voice sounded like a child's next to his.

"I'm fine. You better watch where you're going next time." He smirked.

My cheeks warmed. He was making fun of me.

"Sorry," I squeaked again, meekly.

"Hey, I was just kidding. You go to Jefferson?"

Jefferson High School was the school that Katelyn attended, and it was the school that I would soon be going to, too. I was going to be the new girl.

I nodded.

"Cool. I'm Marcus, by the way."

"I'm Katherine. Or Kat. Or you can call me Katherine if you want but everyone calls me Kat except for mymomwhocallsmekatherineusuallybutevensometimesshecallsmekatbecausemynameistoolongand..."

Oops. I was blabbering. I tended to rant when I got nervous. And I got nervous in front of hot guys. And this guy Marcus was definitely good looking. He was lean and strong. I could tell he was a talented runner. He was probably popular with the girls, too.

He had messy, brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes, and, god, his jawline.

I had a thing for jawlines.

And I had a thing for his.

He laughed, a perfect laugh, no less. "Okay, Kat. If you like running, you should definitely join our school's cross country club. It's super fun, and I'm captain."

Of course he was. I wasn't surprised.

"Yeah I was planning on it."

"Great! Meet on the track after school on the first day of school for tryouts."

That was in a six days. "Yes. For sure. I'll be there."

"Cool. See you around."

"See you."

And with that, he was off. I waved to him lamely, but he had already rounded the corner. I pretended to run my fingers through my hair and pretend I wasn't waving to him, even though the fact that no one was there.

Well, that was embarrassing.

I turned around and continued my run.

I had a newfound energy from our interaction. There was a bounce in my step, and all of the sudden, I didn't feel tired even after running for so long. I didn't even notice the hot weather (the heat never bothered me anyway, am I right). I smiled, and I knew who had put it there. Marcus. The second of the two hot guys I met today. He was hot and nice, and we shared the same interests.

I ran back home with a smile on my face.

I couldn't wait for the first day of school.

A/N: What do you think about this chapter? Please vote and comment if you liked it! Thank you guys! <3