Bruises- Shane Madej

13. Wildflowers

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The next day passed fairly quickly for Maddie.

They hiked up to a waterfall in the morning. Then, the group went back to the cabin and had lunch.

During her free time, Maddie played Monopoly with Devlon and a few of the other people at the camp. It was fun.

That evening, Maddie approached Shane by the fire pit.

"Hey, Shane, Ryan tells me that you run."

Maddie didn't usually go running alone; usually Hanna went with her. She'd asked Ryan if he could go on a run with her the next morning, but he had blatantly refused and sent Maddie to Shane.

"Yeah, I do," he nodded, roasting a marshmallow.

"Do you wanna come for a run with me tomorrow morning before we leave? I was thinking we could just go down the canyon road."

Shane only went on runs at night, but he didn't tell Maddie that. "Sure! That sounds fun!"

Maddie smiled, excited. "Ok! I'll meet you in the kitchen at 6:30?"

"Yep!"

"Mkay! I'm gonna head to bed, but i'll see you tomorrow morning!"

"Yeah, see you."

—-

Approximately 10 hours later, Maddie sat at the kitchen table, eating a granola bar while Shane tied his shoelaces.

After finishing her meager breakfast, Maddie got up and looked at Shane.

"Okay, are you ready to go?"

He tucked his laces into his shoe before standing up. "Yeah, lets head out."

They walked out the door and down the driveway to a dirt road.

"Left or Right?" Shane asked.

"Right," Maddie said, choosing the route that would take them further into the canyon instead of towards the city.

They started jogging, occasionally talking but, for the most part, staying silent. Maddie looked around as they went, remarking on how great of a place this was to run; it was so pretty.

About a mile down the road, the pair stopped to take a rest.

As Maddie uncapped her water bottle, Shane crouched down at the side of the road. He picked a wildflower.

She accepted the gift. "What's this?"

"A pretty flower for a pretty girl."

Maddie felt her face get red and hoped Shane wouldn't notice. "Thanks," she smiled.

What was that?

Did he just call me pretty?

I'm not pretty right now. I'm gross and sweaty, what is he playing at?

Was he flirting with me? Is that what that was?

No, it can't be.

Shane wouldn't flirt with me. Right?

She shook her head and looked up to see Shane already starting to jog down the road. Maddie rushed to catch up with him, her thoughts a chaotic mess.

He was definitely flirting with you.

No he wasn't.

He gave you a flower and called you pretty.

He's just being friendly, he probably does that to all his female friends.

The rest of the jog seemed to pass by in a whirlwhind. Before she knew it, she was back at the cabin.

Maddie watched Shane go into the bathroom to shower and flung open Ryan's bedroom door.

Ryan sat on the bed, looking groggy. "What do you want?" He grumbled, picking up his phone to check the time.

"I have to talk to you. We gotta hurry; Shane's in the shower now but he won't take that long."

"What's going on?" Ryan asked, looking more concerned.

Maddie explained what had just happened on the jog.

"He was definitely flirting with you, Maddie."

"What if he wasn't?" She asked, skeptical.

Ryan gave her a look.

"Okay. If he was flirting with me (which he wasn't), what would I do next?"

He shrugged. "Flirt back, compliment him, joke around with him."

"I already joke around with him!"

"See, you're halfway there!"

Maddie sighed, tapping her fingers on her elbows. "I still don't think he was flirting."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "God, open your eyes, Maddie, he's been flirting with you for months now."

"No he hasn't!"

"Yes he has! You're just so damn oblivious that you never-"

"Hey guys, what's up?" Shane walked into the room in fresh clothes and damp hair.

"Nothing, we're doing nothing, just talking. About stuff. Friend stuff," Maddie said, internally smacking herself on the forehead. 'Friend stuff?' Who says that?

Ryan stepped in to save her from blundering on too much. "Yeah, Maddie was just telling me about your run."

"Ah, yeah, it was fun," Shane said.

"Yep, lots of fun," Maddie added, standing up. "Well, I'm going to leave now." As she walked into her room, she sighed, wondering why she had to be so awkward.

---

The rest of the morning was rather uneventful; they just had a few closing activities before they were loaded onto the bus that would take them right back into the city.

The next few weeks passed by. Buzzfeed Unsolved gained some new crew members. They would now be traveling with Devlin and TJ while filming. Devlin was a producer and TJ was the sound guy.

One day while at work, Ryan got Maddie's attention by throwing a paperclip at her.

"Maddie, guess what!"

She looked up. "What?"

"Emily's getting married!"

Maddie smiled. "That's great!"

Ryan laughed. "Yeah, I think Jacob is going to be a good brother-in-law."

"I'll watch for an invite in the mail," she said. Then, she was back to work.

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