Kingdom Keepers: Once Upon a Dream

Chapter 19

A/N: Winds in the east, there's a mist coming in, like something is brewing and bound to begin, and I can't put my finger on what lies in store, but I feel what's to happen all's happened before...

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It was late Monday evening, and Charlie was finishing up the cheerleading class that she coached at the local elementary school during the summer. The kids had just finished running their current routine one last time, and their parents were standing behind her, waiting to pick them up. Smiling, she clapped her hands to bring them all to attention.

"Alright!" she shouted. "Great work today! Practice that, and I'll see you on Wednesday!"

The kids gave a little cheer and ran past her grabbing their bags, and thanking her as they greeted their parents. She watched them all go, smiling and waving as they got into their cars. She really did love this job. Once they were all gone, she turned around, stared at the empty soccer field, and let out a content sigh, a huge smile coming onto her face. She may have loved coaching, but this was her time now-the ten minutes in between when she finished, and when she had to leave to let the soccer team start their practice.

Taking a deep breath, she took off at a run, and practiced one of her aerials. Her heart soared as she took off into the air, and she felt the wind smacking at her face as she flipped around in the air. Nothing was more freeing than this. If there was anything defined her, any one thing that she loved more than anything else: it was this.

She landed in perfect position, bending her knees, then throwing her hands into the air as she stood up straight, still repeating the instincts she'd had from old gymnastics competitions. She smiled and brushed stray hairs out of her eyes. She was getting into position to go again, when she heard clapping behind her.

Startling, she turned around to see Terry, smiling and clapping slowly. She put her hand on her hip and chuckled.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked excitedly, wiping sweat from her brow.

"Well, ever since your little stunt the other night, my Aunt's been insisting that I get out of the house more," he said.

Charlene let out a little giggle, and a slight blush came to her cheeks.

"And when we were talking last night, you told me when you were going to be at practice," Terry continued. "So I thought I'd come by when you were done and see if you wanted to like..catch an early dinner...or something."

Terry shoved his hands into his pockets and quickly looked at the floor, rocking back and forth on his feet. Charlene laughed and bit her lip in response. He was cute when he was nervous.

"So this dinner," she teased, with Terry still not looking at her. "Is this like a date?"

With that, Terry's gaze shot up, and his face froze into practical stone, his eyes wide and his jaw slightly dropped. He was silent for a moment, and then he started stuttering, fumbling for the right answer. He had no idea what to say. Was she implying that she wanted it to be a date? Was she implying that she didn't want it to be a date? Had he even meant for it to be a date?

"I...I uh..." he started, until he saw that Charlene was smirking at him and holding back hysterical laughter.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm uh....kinda new to this stuff."

Charlene's laughter died down as she looked Terry up and down. He seemed suddenly vulnerable, and a warmth came over her that she couldn't quite place. It seemed to come up every time she was around him now, and it only grew stronger each time. Now, feeling strangely humbled, her stomach seemed to be ten pounds heavier, and weighing down on her gut. Her face was hot, and it took her a moment to be able to speak again.