Hours

14- Wednesday, May 16th

3:34 PM

Third and fourth period pass quickly, with me and Micheal receiving a few glances of annoyance from our teachers, but for the most part, they mostly seem pleased that Micheal is at least talking to someone, pleased enough to let us continue talking as long as we stay quiet enough to not distract the entire class.

We pack up together as the final bell rings, and head out of class together at the same time, never once breaking our conversation. As we head down the hallway, I mentally check whether or not I would need to pass by my locker. I guess I should, but considering I missed both of the lectures we got this afternoon, I'm not sure how well I'd do on the homework, so I decide there's no point. We pass by my locker, and I'm startled by how much it hurts to not see Lindsay and Ashley waiting for me. Micheal seems to sense that something about my attitude has changed, because he nudges me, asking quietly,

"Are you sure you don't need anything from your locker?" I take one final look at the empty locker and turn back to him, a strained smile on my face.

"No, I'm all good, do you need anything?" I ask him. We stop in the hall, and he turns back to his locker, thinking.

"Yeah, actually." He says after a moment, and we turn back to his locker. I wait patiently, leaning against the locker beside his' while he spins his combination. He grabs a few things from inside, then turns to me hesitantly. "Do you mind if we stop by a bathroom? I, uh, I brought a change of clothes."

"Not at all," I say, and we head towards the boy's bathroom at the front of the school. While he changes, I check my phone.

No messages.

I push away the sudden feeling of loneliness that envelops me, clouding my vision and making my limbs heavy. Like a dark-winged bird, it rests on my shoulders, pushing them down, down, as tears prick to my eyes. I stare at my reflection in my locked phone screen, face blurring as my hands shake and my eyes cloud. For the second time in my life, I see how completely alone I am, how dependent on other people I am, how social I am despite how much I push people away.

And for the second time in my life, I'm all alone and it's all my fault.

"Ready to go?" Micheal's voice causes my head to snap up, and I hastily wipe at my eyes, regardless of whether or not any tears have fallen. His face falls, and I see concern fill his eyes. "Hey-" He starts quietly, but I jump up from where I'm leaning against the wall and practically run in the other direction, face red, throwing a hasty, "Yeah, let's go get our cars." behind me, followed with a, "You'll follow me, yeah?"

I briskly walk to my car in the parking lot, only half aware of my surroundings. It is only when I pause to unlock my car do I look around for Micheal. I flinch as I see that he's standing in the parking space beside me, next to his own car, which he...

He parked beside me.

At this point, I know I'm thinking like an irrational freshman who believes she's madly in love with the quarterback, but given the fact that he wouldn't talk to me two days ago- and that I didn't know who he was a week ago- him parking beside me makes me feel so happy, so proud, so... So wanted.

"You're... good to follow me?" I say again after a pause, hiding my smile at my own girlishness.

"Just don't go too fast." He jokes. He gets in his car after I do and lets me pull out of my parking space first, leading the way. We must've taken longer than I thought to get out of the school because most of the early buses and many of the student vehicles are already gone. After we pull out of the parking lot, I check to make sure Micheal is still behind me. The headlights of his blue Chevrolet wink at me, and I smile to myself.

I think back to earlier, to the dark cloud that descended upon me when I realized once again just how lonely I was. Remembering freshman year, how scared and alone I felt, going into high school all alone, makes me think of Ashley and Lindsay again. They had known each other from elementary school and were so close that I- along with everyone else in my year- had thought they were sisters. They took me in, inviting me to sleepovers and raving parties that were thrown when parents were away, making me feel like one of them. I had always thought they'd tire of me one day, but it turns out to be me who tired of them.

My mind flips to Micheal. I imagine his face, the way his hair falls over his eyes, the pair of white earbuds he seems to have constantly in his phone, the way his blue eyes- so clear and bright- shine when he laughs, or darken with his frown. How they so clearly convey his emotions, even though he tries so hard to keep them hidden. His seemingly never-ending supply of black hoodies, all of them either blank or with some name or saying I don't recognize or one that I can barely recall. His hoodie today had only a small, white, equilateral triangle over his heart, which I'm sure symbolizes something, but I can't be sure of what. My mind goes back to Ashley and Lindsay. Sure, I've known them longer, but is it wrong of me to say that Micheal is the person I'd rather go to with my problems? They were always so judgemental, where Micheal has the air of being someone I can just talk to.

It's not like I ever invited them to come hiking.

It's not like they would have accepted anyways.

I snap back to the present as I feel the vibration of gravel under my tires. Newly blooming trees form a canopy over the road, turning the air a golden green. A battered wooden sign hangs off of one of the trees, the words are written out in navy script saying, 'Link's Hill Lookout'. I feel my shoulders relax as I pass it.

I've always felt at home here. I pull into the gravel parking lot, and Micheal pulls in beside me. I can't stop grinning as he walks over to me.

"What?" He asks, a small smile pulling at his lips. I only now notice what he's changed into. Casual gray pants, running shoes, and- of course- a black t-shirt with a black and white picture of the sun rising over a mountain range. His bare arms are pale, but he doesn't look the least bit cold.

"I... I just love it here. In the woods... Hiking..." I trail off, staring at my woods where I've hiked every week for the past year, regardless of weather. That's what I think of them as. My woods. I belong here. This should feel like sharing something intimate, like a secret, but it doesn't. Seeing Micheal here, in my woods, the trees casting a gold light upon his arms feels right.

"I get it," Micheal says after I fail to continue my sentence. "It's your place."

"Yeah," I respond after a moment, surprised by how well he sums it up.

"I'm glad you decided to share it with me." He says quietly.

"I am too."

A silence falls over our conversation, as we both stand there, by our cars, staring out at the beauty of my woods.

"It really is beautiful," Micheal says after a minute of silence.

"I'd like to show you more of it," I reply with a smile. I begin walking backwards in the direction of my trail. "If you like."

"I'd love to see more of it." He answers, jogging lightly to catch up with me.

"Off we go then."