With Love, Étienne | ✓

Part II: Chapter Six

I COULD FEEL the salty  droplets of sweat trickling down my face, sticking my hair to my cheeks  like a damp cloth. The blazing sun was raining down on us, scorching the  grass beneath our feet. The instructor's voice pierced the air like a  whistle, ordering us to line up, and my nausea was growing with each  passing moment.

"Why did I volunteer to do this with you?" I panted, trying to catch my breath.

"Because you love me?" Kai replied with a smirk, his face red and sweaty.

I  rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile at his playful response. We  had joined a new club, promising fun and the opportunity to make  friends, but all we had done so far was run, and I was regretting my  decision. Kai slowed his pace and rested the palm of his hands on his  thighs. His entire face was red and he looked worse than me. His words  were barely audible as he tried to gasp any bit of air into his lungs.

In  the haze of the morning, I could feel my loose shirt start to cling to  my back, and there was a slight sting to my eyes from the outside air. 
Heat  rained down on all of us like the breath of hell. The scorched grass  shimmered in the intense white rays of the sun; flowers petals curling  at the edges from the warmth.

"Come on! Line up guys! We don't have all day!"

The  instructor's voice bordered on a scream and both Kai and I winced.  Looking over at her in the shade, water bottle in hand and not a single   ounce of sweat dripping from her, made my jaw clench. Her nose was  curved and beaky, and she had eyes of the palest blue; the kind that   fixed you in ice should you dare disagree or talk out of turn. Her hair  wasn't so much blonde as a washed out brown, like it just couldn't be   bothered to be any colour at all.

"We're going," I panted under my breath. "Just give us a minute to breathe first maybe?"

"Come on Lou." Kai heaved. "We need to get in shape."

"Are you calling me unfit?"

He paused. "No."

"Sure  you're not. You okay there?" I teased, elbowing him in the side when he  noticed my staring. With the little energy he seemed to have left, he  swatted my fluttering hand away and squinted up at me.

"Just wait until I get my energy back." He threatened weakly. "I'll squash you."

"With those puny muscles?" I asked with a growing grin.

He glared at me. "These puny muscles will break yours in a minute."

I   choked back a laugh when the heat from the sun radiated outwards,  settling deep into our bones. My throat was dry and scratchy and there   was nothing more I longed for than to guzzle down cold water. As I   tossed my head back and raised my eyes to the sky, a smile spread from   freckled cheek to cheek. My eyes trailed around everyone, their aura   glowing brightly from them. Kai suggested we join a new club in town,   promising me it would be fun and we would make friends. However, so  far,  I had a stitch in my side and hadn't said hi to anyone. What he  failed  to mention was that we would be spending the next hour running.  Suffice  to say, my morning hadn't started off to a great start.

As   I took a short break, I thought I noticed a familiar face in the  shade.  Curious, I pushed myself upright and tilted my head to an angle  and  that was when my gaze locked with his downwards one. There, resting  in  the shade was Étienne. I watched him from afar - a book rested on  his  knees, eyes following the text. His long fingers ran through his  short and wavy brown hair which shifted back into place once his hand  had gone  past. The sunlight peeking through the leaves made it shine to  a shade  of melting milk chocolate, and his pale skin glowed, making  his stubble  covered chin seem darker. Before I even knew what I was  doing, my feet  started to move in his direction, towards the tree in  which he sat  under.