Songs to Stories

Heather by Conan Gray

"It's finally Christmas break!" Oliver darts past everyone, making a beeline towards me. He runs up to me, and spins me around in a tight hug. I hate that my face starts burning up, so I push on his shoulder.

"Ollie, put me down," I groan, and he puts me back down on the ground. His smile falters, but I ignore it.

"Uh, you ready to go?" He asks me, his handsome smile now completely gone.

"Yeah," My voice comes out quiet, and I shut my locker.

We walk in silence to his car, and I can hear him humming the song we were listening to this morning. Oliver jogs a bit in front of me, going to open the passenger side door.

"Thank you," I mumble, getting into the truck with my backpack on my lap. He opens the door for me every time, but every time it has the same effect. I can feel butterflies in my stomach, and my hands start to shake a little. I wonder if he knows what kind of effect he has over me.

"Mhmm," He hums in acknowledgment, a small smile coming to his face as he closes the door. He goes to the drivers side, and gets into the car. I can feel my heart beat faster, and I pray to any and all gods that he doesn't hear it.

"Our special place?" He turns to me, looking like an excited puppy. His big green eyes and thick brown hair resembles one perfectly.

"Yes, our special place," I laugh at his excitement, and he pulls out of the parking lot in record time.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Oliver yells when we get to our destination. Before I can respond, he's pulling me out of the car. With our hands intertwined, we run up the empty bike trail. The wind whips around us, and I laugh as he drags me along.

About 3 years ago, Oliver and I went biking on this trail. It's a bike trail that's out in the woods by our school. About half a mile in, we found this beautiful clearing. There's a pond with these giant willow trees nearby. After that, we always started coming here. It's our special place.

Even though we are both running, he's still clutching my hand. I can feel little sparks on the tips of my fingers, and I hope he can feel them too. But I doubt he ever will.

We find the clearing, and start to walk off the bike trail. I pull my hand from his, averting my gaze. I can feel him looking at me, but I ignore his heated stare. Instead I go to sit down at our usual spot. It is a boulder-like type rock that is under one of the willow trees, and it's close to the pond. I feel him sit next to me, and all that is heard is the wind going through the leaves of the trees.

"Will you come to my swim meet on Sunday?" I hear him ask, and I look up at him. He's sitting really close, and I can see the hope in his eyes.

Oliver has always been really good at swimming, so he finally decided to join the school team this year. He got into varsity right away, and he's asked me to go to every meet. I know we are best friends, but it surely doesn't get rid of my feelings for him to see him in nothing but a tight swim suit. But, I suck it up, and go anyway.

"Yeah, I always go," I remind him, and his face floods with happiness. His smile is brighter than the sun, and I feel like I could just melt.

"I know, I'm just making sure my favorite fan will be there," He says playfully, but it makes my heart beat faster anyway.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there," I murmured back, and Oliver pushes my shoulder with his own strong shoulder.

"Good, because there's an after party for a newbie who's joining the team. I wanted to invite you to that too,"

"Am I even allowed to be there, Ollie?" I ask him, and he places his hand on his chest.

"I am co-captain for your information, so I can do what I want," He says matter of factly, but I just laugh.