In The Closet

16. I Haven't Climbed A Tree In Years

I open my eyes slowly. The first thing I notice is it feels like I'm on a very uncomfortable bed. Then I notice that it's cold. I sit up abruptly.

"You're awake," Jem murmurs.

"I know," I reply, looking around the area. We're in a muddy field, surrounded by a lot of abandoned furniture. The sky is faintly blue. I realize I'm not lying on a bed, but a mattress surrounded by fragments on a bed frame. Like the bed that collapsed the day that...

The furniture in the field is the exact same as the furniture in the field at home, where the whole mess began. Identically placed, in fact. The wardrobe door is ajar.

"We came from there," Jem says.

"Jem, I... I think this might be my home timeline," I tell her.

Jem looks taken aback. "Really? They... They aren't sending you back already, are they?"

"Surely they can't be," I mutter. "After all, you're here."

"But I'm..." Jem begins, and stops. "Never mind. Well, I can reactivate the portal, which is good because if we wait for the DTG to do it, we'll be here a few days, but we still have to wait three hours before I can. I set a timer on my phone to let us know when it's ready. Until then, we're gonna have to find something to do." She stands up. "Any ideas? I mean, you are from here. We're guessing."

"Not really," I say. "Whenever I hang out with friends, we usually pretend we're still about ten and do things that ten-year-olds do."

"Well, what do ten-year-olds do?"

"Like play football and build forts and climb trees."

"I haven't climbed a tree in years."

"Then we'll find some."

I stand up next to her, grinning. Then, I start walking away from the furniture and towards the next field.

"So, you do know where we are, right?" Jem asks, falling into stride next to me.

"Um, nope," I say, and laugh slightly. She rolls her eyes and grins. "Pass it on the way to school, but I'd never been here before when I got caught in the portal."

We enter the next field in silence, but it isn't awkward. A happy, comfortable in each other's company silence. We reach the trees at the end, and I jump over the wall. There's a little slope over the other side, but it doesn't affect balance in any way. I grab a strong-looking branch on the nearest tree, swing and catch my feet on another one nearby. I stand up on it, and start climbing.

"I was always that kid who never had any idea where to begin," Jem says, circling the base of the tree.

"Try starting on that one and moving over when the branches meet," I suggest, nodding at the one to the left. "They start lower down."

The branches go up and around like a set of stairs. Jem goes up to where they meet with the tree I'm climbing, and switches over. She copies how I climb it, monkey style. I sit on a branch quite a bit higher up than her, and wait for her to get there.

"When I was in primary school, they always told us we shouldn't climb trees because it hurts them," I say, half-shout, to Jem, not looking down. "My argument was that a strong and powerful being like a tree would probably be happy helping a few people enjoy themselves. It's always a good feeling knowing you've made someone happy, and trees do that."

"They told us that too, and my argument was that trees don't have brains, therefore can't feel pain," Jem replies. Her voice is quite near. "Your argument is much more pleasant, I think."

"Yeah," I say, with a distant laugh. I watch out over the fields. Suddenly, Jem swings round in front of my face. I nearly fall off the back of the branch, but she grabs my arm to stop me.

"And you act like you're better at trees than me," she mutters, jokily.

"The word 'trees' is a noun, not a verb," I reply, regaining my balance.

"Whatever." Jem sits on the branch next to me, watching my gaze. Her hand brushes against mine, and it seems to send a fizz all the way up my arm.

"When me and Nikki climb trees, it's usually a slightly romantic thing," I say, absently. Jem snaps her head to face me.

"Who?" she asks.

"My..." I begin, and fade out. "I'm not sure. She was my girlfriend before all this dimension stuff."

"Did you break up?" Jem asks, a little softer now.

"No. How could I, if I couldn't talk to her? Might as well have, though, I guess."

"What do you mean? Just because you haven't seen her in a fortnight or so?"

"I'm developing feeling for someone else." I look back at Jem, smiling slightly. "But I doubt it'll happen."

Jem's face is unreadable. "Why?"

"Well, she's kind and she's beautiful and I'm... me."

"And what, are you some unlovable freak?"

"What do you think?"

There's a moment's silence.

"I think you're beautiful," she says. And she's kissing me. She's kissing me. It feels like I explode inside. But it's a good feeling; I grab her face with both hands and pull myself closer. Her lips are soft and sweet, beautiful. She kisses me harder, and I run my hands through her hair, hold her waist and-

"C... Cath?" a voice I recognize says from below.

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a/n: yes I know I said yesterday, shut up, family thing I forgot about. aannyywwaayy, hope you liked the chapter! please vote & comment :)