windfall

twenty-four: "run, barry, run!"

Normal: Kat Torres

Bold: Easton Adley

Underlined: Phoebe Radisson
Italics: Corbin Hendricks

~

"Which one is he?"

    "There. Number twenty-four."

    "Damn, girl! He's even hotter in person, you lucky bitch. Oh, hello there."

    "Ladies. Nice seeing you again, Kat. This is Genevieve, my girlfriend. And you are?"

    "Corbin, this is Phoebe, my best friend."

    "Oh, I see. YOU'RE the best friend."

    "Shh."

    "What?"

    "Nothing. Look at your man. Jeez, he's fast! Is he the Flash or something? Run, Barry, Run!"

    "I apologize for her. She forgot to take her meds this morning."

Kat can't deny that Easton is a force to be reckoned with. He sprints like it's second nature to him, leaping over hurdles like they aren't even there and slapping his teammates' hands during the relay. From where she's standing, she can see every move he makes. She can see his eyes scanning the bleachers, his face contorted into a frown.

    "Come on, East. Turn that frown upside down."

    "I'm telling you, that boy has superhuman hearing! How the heck did he hear you from here?"

    "Corbin, was it? Lemme tell you a thing or two about our friends."

Kat ignores Phoebe as she talks to Corbin and Genevieve. Easton has two more sprints to run before she can tell him how great he is and how much she missed him. She claps and whistles along with the rest of the crowd when he joins the rest at the starting line, taking the proper stance. He locks eyes with her and flashes her a dimpled half-grin before the horn goes.

    And then he's off, running like she's never seen anyone run at all. Kat, briefly thinking back to all of her running adventures that often ended in her doubling over and gasping for air, decides  that Easton is a hero for doing this.

    He speeds up, passing two of his opponents and gaining on a third. He's in second place now and Kat can see the look of pure concentration on his face as he struggles to catch up to the first person. Kat cups her hands around her mouth and hollers for him at the top of her lungs. She cheers him on so loudly that she knows she'll need cough medicine for a sore throat tomorrow, but she doesn't care.

    He finishes first.

    "You were amazing! I've never seen anyone run that fast before. Well, except for me when there's only one slice of pizza left and everyone wants it. But you were awesome!"

    "Do I get a prize for winning?"

    "That depends. What do you want?"

    "Hmm. You know, I'm really sweaty right now. I'm dripping all over the ground. I stink too. I don't have flies buzzing around my head right now because I'm so stinky that they all died."

    "Is there a point to this?"

    "I want a hug."

    "Oh my God, no. You're crazy."

    "No, I'm Easton. I'm also a winner and this winner wants a nice, long hug."

    "I'm not hugging you! Get away from me, Adley! OHMYGOD, YOU'RE DISGUSTING."

    "This is nice."

    "Oh my God, Oh my God. Ew, ew, ewww. Your sweat is soaking through my shirt. Oh, this is so gross."

    "You're not a very good hugger, Kat. See, your arms go around me like this. Now you're getting the hang of it!"

    "I swear to God, this is the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

    "Kat. Babe. Listen. I don't think anything is worse than algebra camp."

    "Algebra camp was actually fun. Math is relaxing, especially when I'm thinking up new ways to murder sweaty boys who get their sweat all over my new and expensive shirt."

    "Hey, Kat?"

    "Yes, East?"

    "I like hugging you."

    "Thank you?"

    "I mean it. I like how we fit. Like we were supposed to."

    "That's sweet, Easton. It would be even sweeter if you stopped."

    "Gosh, you try to pay a girl a compliment. There you go, run away into the wild, little rabbit. I'm setting you free."

    "Oh my God."

    "No! Just forget about me! Easton? Who's he? I don't know any charming, witty, horribly attractive boys named Easton. I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me. I'm just a poor boy from a poor family."

    "Are you quoting Bohemian Rhapsody to me right now?"

    "Maybe. Galileo, Galileo."

    "You're such a dork."

    "If by dork, you mean I'm aDORKable, then yes. I am a dork."

    "East?"

    "Yes, my little rabbit?"

    "I like hugging you too."

    "..."

    "Is this the real life or is this just fantasy?"

    "I'm getting on a plane right now."

    "Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening!"

    "I can't believe I like you."

    "Spare me my life from this monstrosity - "

    "Well, now that's just RUDE."

"Okay, okay, that was the last one. I'm kidding, Kat! You're not a monstrosity. I can totally believe I like you cause you're awesome and funny and super duper smart. I love your brain. You put Albert Einstein to shame. Marie Curie? We don't know her. And don't even get me started on Archimedes - "

"You have no filter."

    "If I had a filter, you wouldn't be laughing right now. Point for Adley."

    "Go shower, Adley."

"You don't like the smell of victory?"

"The sooner you shower, the sooner we can start on our list of adventures. I'm so looking forward to a better-than-Costco croissant right now."

"You had me at croissant."

"That was the last thing I said!"