We'll Meet Again

Theo - 2 💙

I was holding the sides of my locker when I heard the door to the meeting room open and expected to see Sawyer or Kade but instead Dakota walked out. I looked down and started taking my turnout gear off, “Are you okay?” I looked up towards her, I had no clue on why she even asked, “Yeah, why?” “Nothing, you just, I mean you looked. Nothing, nevermind.” I put my gear back in my closet as I shrugged my hoodie back on and stood up looking down at her, only being a tiny bit taller, and she was turned away facing the truck. I leaned forward, interlocking my arms with hers so I was hugging her from behind, “No c’mon, I know you. Why’d you ask?” She turned her head only slightly but I could still make out that she was tearing up, “Hey no, no don’t cry you’re okay, what’s wrong?” I spun her around so we were face to face and just looked at her, and I mean for the first time in a long time, really looked at her, wiping her tears off her face with my sleeve, she was beautiful. None of my friends understood when I talked about her but when I look at her it’s like the whole world stops spinning for just a second and it’s like we’re the only two there, “Me just being stupid, I promise it’s nothing.” She gave me one of her half smiles, you know the smile that somebody you love would give you to reassure you they’re okay when you know they’re not, and even though I knew I shouldn’t have I kept pressing her to tell me what’s wrong. “Dakota, tell me, now.” She looked at me not scared but intimidated, we never normally used each others first names and if we did it either because we had bad news or something worse, “Um, I, I just thought you were angry with me because it felt like you were purposefully avoiding me all of today and yesterday, and it’s stupid I know but, I don’t know, I just thought. And that’s honestly, that’s the problem, I’m always thinking about you being angry with me or that you have somebody else with absolutely no evidence to back up any of it. But it’s fine, I’m spending time with you now and that’s honestly all that matters.” She flashed me another smile before starting to walk away when we heard the door to the meeting room open and Kade walked out, “Please tell me you two aren’t making out back here.” We all laughed for a second then D piped up, “No we leave that for you and Logan,” “Oh shut up. Hey, do you guys wanna play hide n’ seek?” I watched as both Logan and Sawyer walked out of the meeting room with their phones in their hands laughing about something, “I’m up for it as long as they are.” I pointed over to Logan and Sawyer while still looking at Kade, D was already scanning the room for a place to hide like she always does, “What are we doing?” Logan walked over towards the trucks as he shoved his phone in his jeans, “Hide n’ seek. No lights, seekers can’t use them either. No lights period, got it?” We all nodded and as Sawyer, who was obligated first seeker every time, walked into the back room giving us exactly sixty seconds to shut the lights off and hide. I immediately ran up the stairs with Dakota hot on my trail, “What are you doing?” “What does it look like I’m doing?” I quizzically looked at her, “Um, following me? Or let me guess hiding ‘with me’?” You could hear Kades low but gruff voice whisper shout, “Can you two assholes shut up and hide? You’re gonna get us caught!” Dakota shook her head and shoved past me jokingly but also aggressively, she always won and was determined to keep up that streak, one time we even found her on the roof. My train of thought was interrupted by Sawyer opening the door and luckily I ducked down just before he saw me, and slowly crawled my way up the rest of the stairs. Once I got up the stairs, not only did I almost fall flat on my face, but I also saw D walking into the bunk room, “Now you’re the one following me!” I put my finger up to my mouth as a signal to shut up as I walked over to her, and even though it was almost pitch black, with the room only being lit up by the street light outside, I could see the deep green in her eyes staring daggers right through me. “Shut up and keep walking, if we find a spot before Kade and Logan are found we might be able to win this.” “I’m determined to win either way.” I followed her only half paying attention so I could listen for Sawyer's footsteps, he’s pretty bulky and the stairs creak under even my weight and I’m not all that heavy, and when I came back to reality I smacked into her back and we both fell forwards onto the couch. “Well when I think of us together on a couch this isn’t the first thing that comes to mind,” I laughed to myself while smiling, even though she can’t see it and she pushed me off of her getting up to find her spot. I finally pushed myself off the couch and started looking around while almost crapping myself listening to Kade and Logan get found. I looked around and not only couldn’t find a spot but couldn’t find D either, but eventually settled on sitting behind the couch hoping Sawyer wouldn’t see me when he came upstairs. We sat there for about five minutes when I heard Sawyers footsteps followed by Kade and Logan’s. They walked past me three times until Kade got smart and kneeled down on the couch leaning over the back. “Found you” I pushed myself off the ground as we all looked for D for about a minute until we all gave up. “You guys walked around me four times” I heard her but I was still confused, being that the only thing for her to hide in or under would be the coffee table and even her little brothers can’t fit under there and they’re six. We all looked at each other and around the room again until she finally climbed out from under the couch, which not even a cat would be able to get under, and as she slowly but expertly climbed up through the springs and boards holding the couch together, we just watched in awe. “Still the fucking champ at this game and none of you have ever been able to find me without giving up!” We all walked downstairs and I gently grabbed the back of her sleeve and she hesitated, but kept walking and once we got to the bottom of the stairs we all looked at Kade to go to the back room and start counting, and as soon as he opened the door you could hear the loud beeping sound of our pagers.