Sacrifices

Free Fall

***

"Mmm." Oakley wriggled in the morning light as it peered through the blinds at her living room window.

Astrid had been awake for about an hour. It turns out, they had both fallen asleep in the mess of feathers they had created. Astrid was carefully combing her fingers through Oakley's long wavy hair as she watched her breathing in and out so delicately. Her head, resting against Astrid's chest, and her arm draped over the blonde. Astrid finally gave into her playful urges and started stroking Oakley's nose with a feather she had been toying with. She giggled as Oakley's nose twitched adorably.

Achoo!

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Astrid chuckled innocently. Oakley glared up at her with a playful frown.

"Not fair, Blondie."

The sudden sound of Astrid's phone made the pair shoot up. She answered Heather's video call, holding the phone incredibly close to her face in an attempt to hide the mess in the background.

"Hey, I was gonna take Windshear to the park, wanna come?" Heather asked.

"Uh, sure. I just have to, get ready." She fibbed.

"Ast, why is there a feather in your hair?" Heather wondered.

Astrid responded with a fit of giggles as Oakley tickled her side.

"Not fair, Oak!" She shrieked, between breaths as she gasped for air, falling back into the pile of feathers.

"Payback," Oakley smirked.

"Astrid, have you been with Oak all night?" Heather snickered.

"There was a storm, Mom didn't want me driving. So, yes." She admitted.

"Why didn't you say so?" Heather thought. "I'll pick up Stormfly and meet you in an hour."

"Uh... make it two," Astrid suggested.

"Whatever you say. Take as much time as you need." She smirked.

"Heather!" The girls shrieked.

***

"Stormfly!" Astrid cheered as she raced to her Corgi pup across the open field.

"So, the date went well?" Heather smirked at her friends as Stormfly and Windshear, her bull terrier, greeted the new girl.

"It wasn't a date." Oakley thought. She turned to Astrid. "Was that a date?"

"It wasn't a date," Astrid confirmed.

"So, care to explain the purple tongues?" Heather thought.

"Icee's"

"I thought you only liked the blue raspberry..." Heather glared suspiciously. "And I know for a fact that Oakley likes strawberry."

Oakley was desperately trying to hide the pounding pain in her head as she petted the dogs.

"So, we decided to try each other's flavors, what's the big deal?" Astrid however had no problem with lying, she would feel bad about it but she was a great actress. Heather bought it, for now.

Astrid started chasing the pups around the field.

"Okay, now the truth?" Heather smirked as she and Oakley sat under a tree.

"What?" Oakley thought.

"Look, Astrid's a terrific actress, but nobody knows her better than me," Heather explained. "I've come to learn when she's being a little less than honest." Oakley sighed. "So, how was the date?"

"It was amazing." Oakley blurted involuntarily, wincing immediately.

"What was the deal with that feather in Astrid's hair this morning?"

"Pillow fight." She told her. Heather fought back a smile.

"Did you really drink her icee?" Heather was catching onto Oakley's honesty and planned to take full advantage.

"No."

"So, how'd you get a purple tongue?" Heather interrogated, barely allowing Oakley to finish answering before asking the next question, making it harder for Oakley to process the question.

"Because red and blue make purple." She muttered. Her head flew up. "Hey, is that a tree?" She tried her best to divert the conversation, standing from the ground, to avoid the question she knew was coming.

"But if you didn't drink the blue icee, then how-"

"Astrid!" The brunette shrieked, grasping the blonde's attention. Astrid noticed Oakley applying pressure to her temple and glaring pleadingly in her direction. She motioned to the tree behind her. "Race you."

"You're on." She agreed, darting towards her. Both girls took their starting positions around the tall tree. "No cheating." Astrid glared knowingly. Heather just smirked.

"Not necessary."

Heather chuckled at the equally competitive teens.

"On your marks, get set, go!" Heather called.

Both girls appeared to defy gravity, leaping from branch to branch until they both reached the very top.

"Tie." They agreed. Oakley looked out over the park.

"Wow." She gasped.

"What?" Astrid chuckled.

"I just never realized how beautiful it was out here." She sighed contently.

"Yeah, it's pretty great." Astrid agreed. "You know, every summer, me and Mom go on a camping trip up the mountains and the view is... indescribable. Maybe one day we can go together?" Oakley just smiled at her. Her face soon dropped as she noticed Astrid's branch crackling.

"Astrid, take my hand," Oakley said as calmly as she could, reaching out her hand, though she had never been so scared inside. They were at least 30 feet from the ground. Oakley had made the mistake of looking down, usually unphased by heights but Heather seemed like an ant on the ground, and if Astrid were to fall-

No. Oakley shook the thought off immediately. It wasn't an option.

"What, why?" Astrid wondered. Suddenly the branch snapped, sending Astrid plummeting towards the ground, bashing into stray branches along the way. Oakley leaped from her tree branch without a second thought. All she could hear was Astrid's screams and Heather's panicked shrieks from below. She grasped Astrid's wrist and clung to the nearest branch.

"I've got you." She rasped out as Astrid clung to her hand. She attempted to pull her up to the branch she was now hanging from, but couldn't quite pull her up with only one hand. "Can you reach the branch below?"

"No, it's too far." Astrid sighed, panting heavily. Oakley let out a long breath, wincing as the tree bark started scratching at the palm of her hand. She wasn't gonna be able to hold on much longer and they were still at least 20 feet off the ground.

"Astrid, do you trust me?" Oakley questioned.

"Oak, what are you doing?" She worried.

"Something crazy." She admitted to herself. "Do you trust me?" Astrid hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. "Good." Oakley closed her eyes and let go of the tree. Astrid's screams continued. Oakley grasped Astrid's other arm and used her leg to flip them over and force Astrid on top of her. Her arms wrapped around the blonde protectively as she impacted the ground, with Astrid landing safely on top of her.

***