17 Stars

Chapter 6

Chloe's POV
The bell rings which signals the end of History and my only class with Josh. Before I can exit the classroom, Josh pulls me over. "What time should we meet after school?" He asks. "How about we go right after school," I say. "I have football tryouts, remember?" He says then smirks. "I have an idea. Why don't you watch me tryout then we'll go after," he suggests. "Fine, I'll be there." I say and try to walk out the door, but he pulls me back into the classroom. "Du macht mich verrückt!" I tell him but realize I said it in German instead of English. "Why do you just go all German on me there for a second, Bambi," he says puzzled, "And what the hell does that mean?" "It means that you drive me crazy!" I say and rush out of the room before he can stop me and towards my locker. I put my history text book and 1975 notebook back in my locker and replace them with a 5SOS themed notebook and my AP English textbook. Before the start of a school year, for each subject, I design a notebook with a collage with a bunch of printed out pictures of things I like. And I definitely like 5 seconds of summer.
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It's finally the end of the school day and I begin to walk over to the football field to watch the tryouts. Everyone already knows who's going to be the captain: Scott. He's been the captain since freshman year. It's well deserved though, he is really good. Really, really good. Scott already has an athletic scholarship to a great college. Everyone is already on the field as I scan the bleachers for Crystal and Lauren who said they would be here. I spot them on the other side of the field so I make my way over to them. "Hey Chloe," Crystal says patting the spot next to her. I sit down and begin to search the field for the boys. Josh, Jay, Scott, and David are chatting in a group, waiting for the coach to tell them what to do. "I don't even understand why they need to try out again. They're obviously going to make the team," I say to them, laughing. "True story," Lauren adds in. They begin warmups and Josh makes eye contact with me, with a wink. I give him two thumbs up for support and mouth 'Good Luck'. Crystal nudges me with her elbow with a smirk. "What! I don't like him!" I protest. "Okay, okay. Whatever you say," she says putting her hands up, surrendering. "What about you and Jay, huh," I say changing the subject. Her face turns an alarming shade of scarlet as she crosses her arms and mutters something under her breath. Lauren and I laugh as Crystal playfully shoves my shoulder. "Okay, enough about boys. I think I might throw up if we continue ," I say with a sigh. Crystals eyes nearly pop out of her head as she sits up suddenly. "Weren't you supposed to go for chemo today!" She exclaims. "I don't start that until next week," I reassure, my smile dropping from my face. There's a minute of silence before Lauren says something. "Let's change the subject again, shall we?" She suggests. "We shall," I say relieved.
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Football tryouts went well for the boys, they did great. They find out if they make the team tomorrow, but I doubt that one of them won't make it. Josh runs up to me, all sweaty and gross, still in his gear. "So, how did I do?" He says with a smirk. "Absolutely horrendous," I say crossing my arms. "You're just jealous that you don't have my astounding athletic abilities," he replies flexing. "In your dreams, Thumper," I say, proud of myself for finally thinking of something to call him. "Thumper?" He says with a smirk. "If you're calling me Bambi, then I'm calling you Thumper," I say laughing. "That's fair. I'm going to go change and stuff then I'll meet you in the front of the school. Cool?" He suggests walking backwards. "Cool."  He jogs to the locker room and I meet up with Crystal and Lauren in the front. "Chloe! Guess what just happened!" Crystals squeals. "What?" I ask cautiously. "Jay asked me out on a date!" She exclaims doing a happy dance. "No way! That's awesome," I say laughing, happy that Crystal and Jay are finally together. Josh runs up to us and says, "Ready, Bambi." They give a confused look. "Yep! Bye guys," I say walking away with Josh, leaving Crystal and Lauren thinking 'What just happened?'

Josh and I drive over to a coffee shop by my house to do the survey. We order a snack and some coffee then sit down at a table. "Okay, lets get started," I say taking a bite of my croissant. "You go first, I have to think," I tell him, giving him a sheet of paper and a pencil. "Okay, hmmm. What to ask, What to ask?" He says tapping his chin. "Okay, I have one," he writes down the question on the piece of paper, "What is something that you have tried, but will never do again?" He asks. I immediately know the answer. "Flying on a plane. Terrible experience," I say immediately, shaking my head . "Really? Why?" He asks surprised. "1. I'm claustrophobic and I had to sit in the middle seat. Not fun 2. The freaking plane almost crashed during the take off and the landing. 3. I was food poisoned and I puked. It was the worst." I say, recalling the terrible day. "That's sounds horrible," he replies, grimacing. "Your turn," This is hard. I've known him my whole life. "What is your ultimate goal in life?" He pauses and thinks for a second. "To be as successful as my dad was," he says smiling sadly. I put my hand on top of his. His dad passed away  in a car accident a few years ago. It was really hard on him, they were really close. "Okay, moving on," he says, "What's a bad habit that you have," "Cracking my knuckles when I'm nervous. Easy," I say, cracking my knuckles loudly. Josh gags and I laugh, taking a sip of my coffee.  "Okay, my turn," I say thinking of a good question. "What is one thing you want to experience before you die?" I ask. "That's a good one," he says pointing at me, "To fall in love," he says smiling softly. "You've never fell in love before? I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the amount of girlfriends you've had and you've never even been in love with one," I said, shocked. "I almost fell in love once, but then we didn't talk for a while and it kind just...." he pauses for a second, "went away. It's still kind of there, you know," I nod in agreement. "Stuff like that doesn't just disappear. It probably won't for a very long time," He nods his head. "Who's your celebrity crush," "Only one?" He laughs, showing his dimples. "Yes, only one," "Hmmm, Gregg Sulkin," I say nodding my head. "Honestly, I don't know what everyone sees in him," Josh says shrugging his shoulders. "Oh, stop," I say shoving him playfully while laughing. "Where's the one place in the world you feel the safest," I ask, really wanting to know the answer. "Remember that willow tree we used to go to every single day," he says sitting up. I nod slowly smiling at the memory. "That's the place, it was the best," he says smiling. "Do you want to go there?" He says mischievously. "Right now?" I say laughing. "Yeah, lets finish this tomorrow and take a break," he says excited. "Okay, lets go,"
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Walking up to our willow tree that we spent day and night together, the memories flood back to me all at once. We stand in front of the tree, hand in hand, and just stare. I don't realize that we are holding hands until he pulls me over to start climbing. We climb and climb until we get to the very branch where we spent all of our time together. "Oh my gosh! The sign is still here!" Josh exclaims. The same wooden sign that we made together in class is still hanging from a rusty nail inside of the tree Josh + Chloe Friends until the end. I read the words over and over again, with a wide grin on my face. "Those were the good old days," he says sighing , leaning up against the tree trunk. I pull my beanie down over my ears to keep them warm. "Shoot, you're only wearing a t shirt," he says pulling off his maroon hoodie to reveal a long sleeve black shirt under it. He tosses it to me and I put it on. "Thanks," I say pulling the sleeves over my hands and balling it up in my hands. We sit together in comfortable silence until my phone starts to ring. The caller ID says Dad and I realize that I'm forty minutes late. "Crap! I have to go!" Quickly climbing back down the tree with Josh following. He takes me home, the car ride consisting of one anxious dad and lighthearted conversations."Thanks for taking me there, I had a good time," I say rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet. "Any time, Bambi," he says softly looking into my eyes. "Bye, Thumper," I say walking into my house. I say hello to my dad and go into my room. I plop down on my bed with a smile. The effect Josh has on me makes me terrified because I know from past experiences that it's going to end badly. I mean if I am not going to be here soon, what's the point?

Right?
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