WHAT IF! cole walter

CHAPTER THREE, first day back

When the morning came, Cole was the first one to wake up. The sun was starting to rise and he could see the rays of light shining through the window. He glanced down, smiling when he saw Hollyn was still asleep in his arms. She looked peaceful and content, and he didn't have the heart to wake her. She looked adorable, and he was content to stay here with her and hold her close. He gently ran his fingers through her hair, his touch gentle and soft. Her hair had gotten a bit tangled during the night, and he was trying to fix it. He slowly started to untangle the knots in her hair, running his fingers through the dark brown locks.

As he ran his fingers through her hair, his eyes wandered, landing on the different polaroid pictures that were hanging on the wall. Some were of the two of them and some were of other people or things. One in particular caught his eye. It was of the two of them and their horses. Well, the back of them. Alex had taken the picture. They were side by side and Cole had leaned over to whisper something to her and she had laughed about it, he knew she did by her reaction in the photo. His hand was on the back of her saddle as he leaned over to her. He remembered that day. It had been a good day.

It wasn't long until his eyes wandered and landed on the painting that was next to the polaroid picture. It was one that Hollyn had done a few months ago. She had done the painting of the view from the tree house and it looked amazing. He had to admit, Hollyn had talent. She was very good at what she did. He could sit there and watch her paint for hours. It was interesting to him. To see her put the paint onto the canvas and use different techniques to create such beautiful art. She could easily create something amazing out of nothing and he was impressed by her.

"How long have you been awake?" A sleepy voice spoke up, drawing his attention back to her. Cole saw she had opened her eyes and was looking up at him. Her eyes were tired and full of sleep. Her hair was messy and was everywhere. She looked adorable.

"Not too long. I didn't have the heart to wake you." Cole admitted, running his fingers through her hair, gently tucking it behind her ear.

"You should've." Hollyn mumbles, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "But it's okay, I'm happy you didn't. I didn't realize how tired I was."

"I could tell. You were out like a light." Cole teased.

"It was comfortable." Hollyn pouts, a small yawn escaping her. "Wait, what time is it? We have school today!" She suddenly shot up, panic written all over her face. He reluctanctly let her go, letting her scramble out of the hammock. He tried not to laugh at her as she stumbled around and got tangled up with the blanket.

"Stupid blanket." She grumbles when she fell on the floor, the blanket wrapped around her legs. Cole couldn't help it and laughs, smiling at her with amusement. She glares at him despite the small smile on her lips. "Shut up, it's not funny."

"Sorry, but it kind of is." Cole chuckled.

"Whatever." Hollyn mumbles, leaning over to grab her phone. She's relieved to see it was only 6:00 in the morning. "Thank goodness, it's still early."

"You know, we could always ditch school today and just stay here." Cole suggested, getting up from the hammock.

"Don't tempt me. That sounds amazing right now." Hollyn sighed, looking up at him. The thought of ditching school sounded nice, but she knew she couldn't do it. "But, as tempting as that sounds, we can't. I can't ditch school on my first day back."

"You're no fun." Cole pouts, walking over to help her up. "Fine, if we can't ditch, then I guess we should get going."

"Agreed." Hollyn nodded, taking his hand and letting him help her up. Then she and Cole cleaned up everything and packed things up before they head out. Hollyn had trouble going down the ladder because of her fear of heights. Cole stayed with her and helped her down which she was grateful for. He always did, and she was glad he was there for her.