High School: The Torture Zone

Chapter 9: A 'New' Experience

Nate had been having an amazing day so far. First, he had found out that he was at the same bus stop as Holly, then he had been able to sit next to her on the bus, and then she had complimented him on his singing! How much better could a day get? As it turned out, it could get a lot better. The day passed quickly, and it seemed that in no time at all, it was time to go home. 

He sat next to Holly on the bus again. She bought out her iPod, and offered him one of her headphones. When ‘Selfie’ by the Chainsmokers, came on, they started singing the lyrics loudly and dancing. Then ‘Shot me Down’ by David Guetta came on, which lead to more singing, and more dancing. They actually got the whole bus up on their feet, dancing and singing, when ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams came on. It was only once they got off the bus, that Nate realised that his stage-fright hadn’t bothered him once the whole time.

Holly snapped her fingers in front of his face, jerking him back to the present. He stared at her, dumbfounded. She was staring at him expectantly, and he realised that she must have asked him a question while he’d been in Fairy Land. “Sorry, what was that?” he asked sheepishly. Holly sighed,

“I said, do you want to come for a walk?” she repeated, sounding exasperated. Nate grinned at her,

“Sure, why not?”

OoOoOoOoOoOo

They walked along, Holly taking the lead. She looked like she knew exactly where she was going, which Nate was thankful for. If he had of been leading, they would have gotten lost about five minutes ago.

They forged ahead, until they reached a fence. Holly slipped underneath it. Nate looked at her worriedly. “Isn’t this trespassing?” He asked. Holly chuckled,

“Not if the trespasser owns the land!” Nate looked around, realising what she meant.

“So, this is your property? All of it?” He asked in disbelief. Pride gleamed in Holly’s eyes,

“Yup!” Just then, a sound like thunder rumbled through the paddock. Holly’s eyes lit up, and she pulled the…. What did she call it? A halter, that’s it. She pulled her halter from her bag.

Suddenly, Nate saw something approaching them. A blur of brown and black, streaming towards them. As it got closer, Nate realised it was a horse.

Holly called out, “CHERRI!” Making Nate jump, and suddenly the horse was next to him.

He was a beautiful, rich brown, almost the colour of Holly’s eyes. His mane and tail were a deep black, and he had warm, gentle eyes. He regarded Nate, before turning his attention to Holly. Holly smiled, pure love shining in her eyes as she looked at the horse. Nate cleared his throat,

“Who is this exactly?” Holly laughed,

“This is my pony, Cherri.” Nate watched Holly as Cherri nuzzled her hair. She seemed so carefree out here, and he had never seen Holly’s eyes light up like this before. She almost seemed to shine. Her hair was coming out of her ponytail, a few stray strands hanging down onto her face. Almost without thinking, Nate stepped forwards and pushed them behind her ears. Holly froze, her eyes widening as she looked at Nate. He quickly pulled his hand back, and felt his face go red as he realised what he had just done. Holly stepped back, and almost fell over, but managed to recover her composure.

Nate wanted to slam his head into a wall, or punch something. How could he be so stupid?! Why had he done it anyway?! Just cause his eyes followed Holly everywhere, and whenever she smiled, his heart played hopscotch in his chest, or the fact that when he hears any guys trash-talking her while she couldn’t hear, he felt like punching them all in the face, and that he likes watching the sunlight on her hair, because it turns all different colours, a soft, golden blonde, a bright bronze, and chocolaty brown. Doesn’t have to mean that he…. Likes her, does it? Nate shook his head. Holly was his friend. That’s it. No words after it, no words before it. Just. Plain. Friend. Nate wasn’t entirely convinced, however.

Holly seemed to have recovered her composure, because she was slipping the halter over Cherri’s soft brown nose, and doing up the buckle around his neck. She then unclipped the… lead rope, that’s it, and clipped it onto another part of the halter. She then threw the rope over Cherri’s neck, and tied it up onto another part of the halter, so that they almost looked like reins. Then, she hoisted herself up onto his back.

Nate stared at her, open-mouthed. “Hello, Ms Daredevil? You might trust this horse, but aren’t you meant to wear a helmet when riding a horse!?” Holly laughed, looking supremely confident, before holding out her hand. Nate stared at it, confused for a second, before realisation dawned. “No, no way, nuh-uh, not happening!” Holly smile evilly,

“Come on, I won’t let you fall.” Nate still wasn’t convinced, and Holly seemed to be able to sense it. “I will only walk, I promise!” She looked at him, her brown eyes big and pleading. A part of him melted, and so he took her hand. “You’re going to have to help me out here, I can’t pull you up all by myself!” Holly laughed. Nate place his hands on Cherri’s rump, before jumping up. He managed to swing his leg over, but Holly still had to hold him steady as he sat up.

“What are you going to do with your school bag?” Nate asked, as they plodded along. “What are you going to do with my school bag?” Holly smiled at him,

“We’re just going for a ride, we can pick them up later.” Nate stared dubiously behind him. His bag had fallen halfway into a bush, so it was partially concealed, but he still had his doubts. Holly suddenly spoke,

“Wrap your arms around my waist.” Nate stared at her as if she was insane. Holly rolled her eyes, “Just do it.” Nate awkwardly wrapped his arms around Holly’s waist, and then gripped tightly as she urged Cherri into a trot.

“What are you doing!?” He shouted at her. Holly laughed,

“It’s a lot easier to sit in the canter, so just hold on.” Nate held on tight to Holly, trying his hardest not to bounce right off Cherri. Holly was somehow managing to move with the horses movements, and even seemed to be rising. She suddenly urged Cherri on even more, and he moved into a canter.

Nate had ridden a horse one or twice, but that had been at a walk, with lots of people around, and with someone leading him. This, could be called a, ‘New Experience.’ He was quite glad to be in the canter, however, because as Holly had said, it was a lot easier to sit, and he felt a lot less likely to bounce up and not come back down. He actually found himself enjoying it. He had the sun on his back, the wind in his hair, a beautiful girl in front of him….. Wait, what!? He shook his head, ok, maybe concentrate more on the other aspects. Sun on your back, and wind in your hair. Nate might be a bit confused at the moment, but he knew one thing was for certain. He could definitely tell why Holly did this, and why she loved it so much.

Holly pulled on the makeshift reins, bringing Cherri back to a trot, and before Nate could achieve lift-off, they were walking again. Holly turned around to look at him, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes bright with happiness. Nate realised with a start that they had done a complete lap of the paddock, and were now back at their bags. Holly seemed to be waiting for something though. He realised pretty quickly that it was him. Holly helpfully pushed him off, causing him to land in a heap on the ground. The grass was soft, but the ground underneath was firm and rocky. He was pretty sure he managed to land on the biggest rock in the paddock. Holly laughed, a bright, clear sound that rang through the grass blades. He scowled at her, before standing up and brushing himself off. He managed to feel even more miffed, when Holly swung her leg over Cherri’s back, and gracefully landed on her feet. He punched her on the arm, before giving her a hug. “Thanks for that, it was really good.” Holly grinned at him,

“Anytime.” Nate grabbed his bag and waved goodbye, before setting off towards his house.

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I'm pretty sure I have already told you guys who Cherri is. Anyway, he is the horsey love of my life and I just HAD to put him in the story. Hope you guys are enjoying this!

MolHargo 😉👊