Fans || Chessa

13 - Falling For Him

'I've missed them. So glad they are good now' - multichessa

"I bet you can't climb that tree!" Chance laughed, nudging Tessa lightly.

"Oh? I bet I can!" she laughed, giving him a playful shrug back, "You know I never turn down a dare OR a bet."

"Really? Do it then. I'm watching." he replied, fishing the iPhone out from his pocket before pressing the little yellow and white icon for Snapchat.

She had run off before he had done so, not noticing, just simply trying not to trip over a root or fallen branch.

After finishing their food, neither had wanted to go home. Therefore, they sat inside of Tessa's car, her hands gripping the smooth leather of the steering wheel, his hand resting comfortably on her thigh. He let her take him anywhere, giving her full control. Tessa hadn't a clue as to where they'd go (but she would never tell Chance that), she just let the music from the radio and Chance's quiet hums fill her ears, hands guiding the wheel. They zoomed past the highway, windows down, Tessa's hair making looping shapes as it blew behind her. They drove over hills and winding roads, through into the countryside with the sun reflecting off of their sunglasses until they'd come across a forest. She made it out as if it had been planned all along, but in reality she had no idea that this place had even existed. Hell, she didn't even know why she had driven for almost an hour without any reasoning.

As they had come to a stop within the car, she looked over the area that was visible to them. The largest trees extended high and almost weaved between the clouds they were so tall. The branches were surrounded by leaves, and vines ran up the rough bark she had traced her fingers along as she wandered in. Sunlight peeked in through the gaps between the oaks and birches and pines and all the other types too. It lit up small patches in the bumpy ground, grass and roots of trees growing above the dirt on either side of the thin but long and winding path.

The rain from earlier stained the grass and seeped into their sneakers, but neither minded. The rain seemed to have cleared up almost as quickly as it had arrived. There was almost no sign that it had been there in the first place, other than the dampness in their socks.

Tessa gripped branches and found footholds as she easily ascended the tree. She ended up settling on a thicker branch with her back resting comfortably against the trunk. Cautiously bringing her phone out of her pocket, she took a picture of the ground beneath her, spotting Chance in the distance, taking a picture of the opposite. Tessa had climbed fairly high, high enough that if she had fallen she'd have injured herself. The two caught each others eye and grinned before Tessa beckoned Chance to join her. She could just make out his expression of surprise before he shrugged, put the phone in his back pocket, and casually strode towards the tree.

Her deep brown eyes watched Chance climb up, occasionally catching his own, blue ones. He quickly reached her, and she got up to move further back and held on to a nearby branch for stability. He had then joined her, and sat in the place she'd been just moments before.

"You took my space." she fake pouted, making her way over to Chance before sitting down, still managing to find a branch to hold on to.

"Did I? My bad." he laughed in return, taking her free hand.

"This is really not safe."

"Yeah."

And they'd both laughed. They looked each other directly in the eye, content with sitting in silence, at least for a little while.

***

For what appeared to be hours, they had been lost in conversation, time flying past them but all the same appearing to have stopped. It was just them in the world, or so it seemed - as cheesy and cliché as that is. Tessa felt like she had smiled more in this time frame than she ever had in her 18 years of life. She felt foolish for shying away from this for so long, running away, hiding. Tessa Brooks never hid away, but something about the idea of love scared her.