England to America

12-Climbing

I slowly backed up out of the classroom. Oh. My. Gosh. I jog away quickly. I didn't really know what to do, so in that moment, the universe decided to let me run straight into some rock hard abs. I blush deeply and stare up at none other than Jacob. I turned an even deeper red and he awkwardly chuckles and I take a step back.

"Did you, uh, find Alex?" He says

"Yeah?" I trail off

"And?" He says sensing my nervousness

"Well, you know que-no sorry Brooklyn, he was um...making out with her" I say shocked

"Oh. Wow. I'm not one to judge, but your brother doesn't exactly seem the type to just kiss someone" He says sensitively 

"He isn't. At least I didn't think so" I say confusedly looking down at the floor

He puts two fingers under my chin to make me look at him, I blush and he quickly removes them, sending a chill down my spine.

"Just ask him, yeah? Don't make presumptions, just ask him when he gets home" He says reassuringly

"Yeah" I say, agreeing "We should probably go home then" I say

He nods and we start walking "Hey! Wait up!" I hear Alex from behind us

I quickly turn around, then glance at Jacob, then back at Alex.

"What?" He says noticing me and Jacob sharing a glance

"Um, well, why were you kissing Brooklyn?" I say quietly, his eyes turn slightly cold

"Oh so I can't kiss who I want?" He says harshly

"Yes! Wait, no! Wait...what?" I say panicking, "Its just, well, I thought you hated her" I say a speck of hurt laced into my voice

"No, I just didn't know her. There's a difference Evie" He says condescendingly 

"Babe?" I hear a squeaky voice ask

"Yeah?" Alex replies

"I was wondering if-Oh, your with them" Brooklyn says, linking arms with Alex

Alex ignores her comment and I look at Jacob, he seems quite confused and uncomfortable. He notices me looking at him and gives me a small smile. I gesture my head towards the door and he nods his head. We both turn around and start walking, I over hear them talking:

"She is such a bitch" She giggles 

"I know" He says 

Jacob's hand finds mine and gives it a squeeze, his touch seems to ignite sparks inside me and I blush a little. We walk home, not saying a word, but my small hand still enveloped inside his. I get to my door. 

"Are you okay?" He asks

"Yeah" I reply quietly

I look down at our hands and blush, I take my hand away, maybe a bit too quickly. I look up into his eyes and see hurt flash across them, before he looks away and says "I'll see you tomorrow"

"Yeah, have a good evening" I say gently

I see my Mum cooking and I help her, we chat aimlessly and soon enough, I hear Alex come in. He comes into the kitchen.

"Hi Mum" He says

"Hello darling" She replies

"Evie, can I speak with you?" He says

"Ur, yeah, okay" I reply

We walk into the living room and he starts "Evie, I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me! She kissed me and I just kissed back. I didn't even like it. It was horrible! I saw you and Jacob talking and I listened in, I don't know why"

I thought about it and said "Why did you act so horrible after then?"

"I don't know, I just felt left out. I know it sounds silly, but I did. You made friends with people and I just sort of followed along, I felt like your little puppy. I wanted to show you that I don't have to follow you along." He says fiddling with his hands

"Alex. You weren't following me along, I just wanted to let you in, I didn't want to shove you away. I'm sorry as well."

He held his arms open and I hugged him. 

Then I remembered something, about him agreeing with Brooklyn that I was a bitch. I stiffened in his arms. He took a step back, and looked at me with his confused blue eyes. I glared.

"What?" He asked innocently

"You called me a bitch" I say in a cold voice

"No I didn't" He says

"Yes you did. When I was walking away, I heard you agree with Brooklyn that I was a bitch." I say, verging on shouting

"No I didn't" He says sternly

"Yes you did!" I shout "I heard you! Ask Jacob, he heard you as well"

"I didn't" He says in an icy voice, whispering

I glare at him, if looks could kill, he would be way beyond death right now. I walk upstairs,  change into my running gear, then slam the door on my way out. Tears threaten to leak out of my eyes. I shake my head, no. I don't jog, but sprint to the nearest park. Anger flooded my heart, little kids seemed to run away from me frightened. I didn't care though.

I found myself at a part of the park where the fence had been overgrown and pulled down by weeds. I looked up and saw an old abandoned apartment complex. I looked at it in awe and curiosity. I trudged through the weeds and started to climb to the top, I wasn't scared of heights, in fact, I loved them.

I reached the top and nimbly pulled my self onto the roof. The sun was just setting, I walked to the other edge and sat down. I stared at the beautiful view. 

I sighed. I felt calm, at peace with the world.

I felt like all my problems were just small compared to this huge world. 

I sat there and watched the sun sink. 

I got up and walked back to the side where I climbed up, now for the climb down, that's always harder. I took my time and eventually made it safely to the bottom. I looked at my hands, they were a little bit scraped and bloody. I got back into the park and started jogging back home. 

I got home and went straight up to my room. I wasn't hungry. I painfully washed my hands, making sure to get out all of the stones and dirt. I put my dusty and dirty running gear into the laundry. I changed into my pyjamas and collapsed onto my bed.

I was exhausted.