Alone

Sixteen

"Twist, Get up."
Twist cracked open her eyes to see Benny looking at her, crouched down so he was visible from outside the bottom of the boiler.
"Just a second." Twist mumbled. "I'm tired." Twist closed her eyes again, ready to doze off. A paw prodded her side.
"Ugh." Twist opened her eyes again. Benny continued to poke her.
"Get out here, sleepyhead. We have work to do." He said Twist frowned.
"What work?" She asked. Benny rolled his eyes.
"You're gonna climb some tires."

...

The horse fields were truly a wonderful place, especially when the sun was up. The last time Twist had been here, she hadn't taken time to notice how the grass swayed, or how the sun made the horse's coats shine.
"What?" Benny said. Twist turned to him.
"Huh?"
"What were you saying about horses?" He asked. Twist felt her face heat up.
"Um, sometimes I think out loud. It's kinda dumb." She muttered, looking down at the ground.
"No, no, no!" Benny said quickly. "It's fine, it's fine." Twist laughed a little.
"You get so panicked whenever someone is negative." She teased. Benny laughed.
"I guess so." He said. There was a pause, and the two looked at each other. Benny's eyes shone in the light, and Twist could find every single shade of amber in their depths.
Quite beautiful... She pushed away the thought and ripped her gaze away from Benny's.
"Should we begin?" She asked. Benny nodded slowly.
"Yeah."

"I can't do it." Twist whined, sliding down the tire stack once again. "I just can't." Benny walked over and thwacked her with his tail.
"Yes you can. Be positive." He said. His eyes lit up suddenly. "I have an idea." Twist frowned.
"What?" She asked. Benny flicked his tail towards a lone tire across the field.
"Help me drag that over here." He said. Twist nodded, and the two retrieved the tire. Benny placed it a little ways away from the tire stack, then turned to Twist.
"See, the problem is that you can't get your body up using one paw." He said. "If you can get your back legs onto the tire, I'm sure you could climb it." Twist nodded slowly.
"Okay, so how will we do that?" She asked. Benny smiled.
"You're gonna jump off the tire, then latch onto the stack." He said. Twist's eyes widened.
"Will that work?" She asked. Benny gestures towards the lone tire.
"Try it out." He offered. Twist padded up to the tire. She placed a paw on it, testing how firm it was. It was a little flat, but good enough. She took a deep breath and stepped onto it. Twist crouched down and pushed off the tire with all the strength she could muster. She landed square on the side of the stack, a little above the ground.
"Dig your claws in!" Benny yowled as Twist began to slip. She did so, and halted.
"It's working! I'm on it!" Twist yelled, excitement coursing through her.
"Keep going!" Benny yelled back. Twist nodded, and reached her front paw upwards. She latched onto the rubber surface of the tire, and slowly began her climb. Soon, she was closer to the top than she had ever been.
"I'm almost there!" She shouted. She heard Benny laugh behind her.
"Keep going!" He shouted back. After a few more moments, Twist could reach the top. She stretched her paw up and grabbed the top of the tire. Twist reached her back paw up, looking for a foothold. She found one, and put her paw on it, digging her claws in. As she moved her other paw however, the first one slipped. Twist found herself dangling by a single paw, and panic set in. She couldn't hold it for long.
"BENNY!" Twist yowled.
"Don't worry! Just hang on for one more second..." Benny called back. Twist wasn't sure if she could, her muscles were screaming. She tried to place her back paws on the tire, but they couldn't grapple on correctly.
"Okay, let go!" Benny called from below. Twist took a deep breath and did exactly that. For a split second she felt terrified, falling through the air with nothing to support her. Then it ended, and she hit the ground. It didn't feel like a massive, terrifying fall. It felt like a small one. Benny burst out laughing behind Twist, and she whipped around.
"You tricked me!" She accused. Benny shook his head, still laughing.
"No, you tricked yourself. I just didn't correct you." He responded. Twist stuck her tongue out at him.
"You can literally jump from the top and be fine." Benny said. Twist frowned.
"You didn't tell me that..." she muttered. She tried to give Benny her best deadly glare, but she ended up smiling at him instead.
"That's an odd expression." He said. Twist couldn't hold whatever was left of the glare together, and she started laughing.
"It's an intimidating glare!" Twist said. Benny gave her an unconvinced look.
"Not that intimidating." He said. Twist stuck her tongue out at him.
"It totally was." She muttered. Benny smiled silently.
"Do you want to try again?" He asked. Twist nodded, and repeated the steps she had taken before. This time, she found herself standing on top of the stack, looking down at Benny. He was beaming, pride shining in his eyes.
"You did it!" He squealed. Twist laughed.
"I guess I did, but it was only thanks to you." She said. Benny smiled wider.
"Am I a good teacher?" He asked. Twist nodded.
"The best." She reassured him. The two looked at each other in silence, and Twist found herself lost in Benny's eyes once again. She smiled suddenly, and leapt off the tire stack. Benny didn't have time to register what she was doing before it was too late, and they were tumbling on the ground in a heap.
"Hey!" Benny laughed as Twist pinned him. "That's unfair! I wasn't ready!" Twist giggled.
"The element of surprise is a powerful tool." She said. The two lapsed into silence once again. Benny's eyes were shining, and Twist was sure hers were too. She was suddenly overcome with a strange urge, something she had never felt before. She took a deep breath.
"Oh, what the heck." Twist said, and touched her nose to Benny's. Twist closed her eyes, blocking out everything but the feeling of being close to him. She pulled her head back after just a moment, but it felt like longer. At the same time, it didn't feel long enough. Benny's eyes were wide, and his cheeks were flushed. A sudden bolt of doubt hit Twist.
What if he thinks I'm weird? What if I just ruined our friendship? What if... her train of panicked thoughts were cut off as Benny quickly touched his nose to Twist's. It was her turn to be surprised. Twist's eyes widened, but it was the biggest relief she had ever felt. The two stared at each other in silence for a long time. It felt painfully awkward to Twist, and she was glad when Benny spoke up.
"So..." he started. "Does this mean we're more than friends, or is this a normal friend thing for you?" He asked. Twist couldn't help but laugh. She batted Benny's nose with her paw.
"No, it's not a friend thing. And..." she paused. "We could be more than friends, if you want." There was another long pause. Twist's heart sank.
"Right, of course you don't. I'll go." Twist rolled off Benny and stood up, preparing to walk away.
"Wait!" Benny called from behind her. Twist whipped around to face him.
"I really like you, Twist. I do want to be more than friends." He said. Twist took and a shaky breath and padded over to him. She licked Benny's cheek, and saw the surprise on his face at the sudden act of affection.
"I really like you too."