The Nerd and The Jock - LT Fanfic

12: HVD

Happy Valentine's Day, guys.

Made this chapter originally to clear my head, and it turned out pretty okay. I wanted to share it with you guys. Don't even know if I should make this an actual chapter... I don't know. Hope you guys are well, happy, feeling loved.

12: Valentine's Day

Saturday brought a peaceful morning. I woke up early, at around eight, even before Mom got up to water her plants. I first did all the everyday things: doing my bathroom business and eating breakfast, which was just a microwaved poptart and a hasty gulp of milk. Then I cleaned up a bit, took my time wiping the counters. Afterwards I checked my phone for messages but got none and so I got bored.

So I found myself wanting to do the unexpected: exercising. Exercising wasn't the coolest way to pass time, it was an idea. I donned on a decent workout suit, some tights and a pale yellow tank top. I put on running shoes, which I had to walk around in to break in. Putting my hair in a ponytail was the final flourish, and I looked at myself in the mirror before heading out.

As I walked down the stairs I smelled eggs. Mom was up.

"I'm going out," I said.

"Hey, whoa," said mom. She looked back at me, the picture of a stern, yet domestic mom in her little blue apron. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going running," I told her.

Mom seemed curious. "Okay," she said. "Be safe."

Whatever curiosity that assailed her was apparently too minor for her to ask, and I was grateful. I watched her flip some eggs over before I left the house.

I opened the front door and set off with a jog.

The morning was pleasant. The weather was just right with sunny rays and a light breeze. The sky was cloudless but if you looked at the right place, you could still see the moon.

I jogged and jogged. Considering that I hadn't done this in awhile, I was proud of my stamina. Lactic acid burned feverishly in my calves and my chested heaved and my breathing labored, but I enjoyed its return. It had been long since I exercised, and to feel these familiars was nothing short of bliss. I was down by the street sign when I decided to stop.

I slowed to a walk, felt my heart slow. Then, when I thought I could take it some more, I took up another jog, this time heading to Ferguson.

Ferguson was an old park, but you couldn't tell by just looking at it. It's been improved and repaired. The dusty swing from my heyday was replaced, the broken benches were fixed and brand new. I knew that younger generations would not be able to know how simple it once was. We didn't have the extra smooth sidewalks, the shiny monkey bars or the colorfully slippery slides. We had the fundamentals, but not the shine that came with it.

Truth was, I did enjoy it. I really liked the park, broken or repaired. Only thing was, was that I missed the old times. I missed the things as they were, because although they were humble they were what made up my childhood, what I remembered. The fact that they were gone now meant the loss of something. I didn't really know what. I knew that my memories at this park, the same park, was still there. But it just wasn't the same.

I surveyed the park, then went to sit at a hard bench near the trees. I let my breathing slow as I gazed up through the leafy canopy, at the dappled light filtering through. It was when my breathing regulated that I heard... my name?

"Temara!"

Definitely my name. I sat up and looked around, and I stopped when I saw Blaze.

He smiled, seeing that I recognized him. "Didn't know you came here."