Back Again

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

      “Chase,” I whined, “why are we here?”

      “Because I wanted to do something fun,” he said, walking ahead of me. What a real gentleman…

      “How is this fun?” I questioned, not comprehending how the word “fun” could be associated with the grueling action we were now doing.

      “Believe me Jules, when we get to the top, it’ll be worth it,” he assured me, as I stepped over a twig that looked more like a snake, causing me to squirm.

      “I don’t like hiking!” I proclaimed. Honestly, what teenager, regardless of gender, thinks that hiking up a freaking mountain equivalent to Mount Everest is “fun”? The answer to that question is clearly my dear boyfriend, Chase Ryan. Of course...

      “Do you want to take a break?” he asked, stopping, and allowing me to catch up to him. I nodded as he pulled out two water bottles from the black backpack he had been carrying on his back the entire time. He handed me one, and I gladly accepted, gulping down on the cool liquid, savoring every last drop as it flowed down my throat.

      “Thanks,” I said, giving him the now empty water bottle.

      “You ready to keep going?” he asked.

      “Yeah,” I said, though if it were safe I would have seriously considered rolling down the area on the big hill we had just covered. I hate hiking.

      He resumed to walk, and I followed behind, shivering at the sight of an ant, spider, and all creatures unknown to me. Bugs are gross. There were a lot of leaves on the ground, which surprised me a great deal, seeing as how it was spring, and not fall. The root of a tree got in my way, tripping me. Chase looked back, as I stood up, and brushed myself off as if nothing had happened.

      “You okay?” he asked.

      “Fine,” I mumbled, continuing on our journey to who knows where. My lungs could feel the change in elevation, as we ascended up the side of the mountain. Breathing was starting to become something that took thought, oppose to its normal effortlessness. It wasn’t too bad, but it was noticeable.

      On the way, we passed by other hikers that were more enthused about climbing the fucking hill than I. The people we passed were most likely insane or unstable mentally if they were actually enjoying climbing up a mountain. Chase had barely even broken a sweat, and was doing fine. I on the other hand, had droplets of moister dripping down my forehead and neck, drenching my shirt in grossness.

      Chase hadn’t told me where we were going, but he told me to wear shorts and a T-shirt. I didn’t object only because he told me anything else other than that simple ensemble would result in me looking like a moron. I had chosen a simple, purple V-neck and a pair of red shorts.

      My footwear was more the concern that Chase had held when arranging our little “date”. He told me to wear something comfortable and durable. Converse and Vans were both out of the question. I found a pair of old sneakers I had forgotten about in the back of my closet, and put them on, not overly pleased with the lack of style they possessed. To sum up: I looked like crap.

      We came to an extremely rocky part in the trail, not that the entire path didn’t have rocks, but this segment was particularly stony. I lifted my leg, setting it on one of the larger stones. Chase, still ahead of me, looked back, and held a hand out, offering to help me up. I accepted, and he pulled me up so we were level with each other.