“Waarrrrr!” I could hear their drawn out cry before they charged over the breast of the hill. We looked up at them, and Kayla and I fell to the ground clutching our sides.

“Jordan!” she gasped, interrupted by a bout of laughter.

“Kayla, run,” I tried to pull her up, but as their yells continued I had soon fallen back over.

Ahren and Leo were very similar people. Energetic, kind, smart, athletic; they even looked similar. But right now they were pelting us with multi-colored water balloons. Granted, Kayla and I were the ones who encouraged the whole endeavor, but they still weren’t honoring our agreement. Ahren and I shook on the fact that we would all wear white clothes so we could see the color splotches to judge the winners. We also agreed that both teams had fifteen minutes to prepare, and it had been five. They had somehow filled up at least two dozen water balloons in that amount of time, as well as planning their early attack. As they came closer, I realized that their faces were covered in tribalesque face paint.

Still heaving for air, Kayla and I finally got up and started running up the other hill. In hindsight, our chosen battle location wasn’t the best. I suggested that we take the treehouse in the ravine, which was a poor choice. Leo and Ahren had the treehouse on the top of one of the hills, so we weren’t able to see what they were doing.

“Jordan,” panted Kayla “you are never, ever allowed to have a say in our base ever again!”

“That’s fair,” I responded, my breath hitching as we reached the top of the hill.

“Down there! Do you see the little ditch?” Kayla said, pointing.

“Yes, but--” Kayla grabbed my hand and ran towards it as the boys’ calls grew louder.

“Kayla, Jordan! Wait…!” Ahren yelled.

I made the mistake of looking back. Ahren grabbed my arm and tackled me, popping several water balloons in the process.

“Gotcha,” he smirked and kissed the tip of my nose. Then he pulled out a bright red balloon and popped it right over my face.

“Jordan, you idiot! Now they win!” Kayla yelled.

I rubbed the water out of my eyes and looked over at her, which was only to see her white clothes were spattered with just as much red as mine.

“Get off me,” I said to Arhen, hitting him in the arm.

He grinned and backed up. Leo strutted over to me and extended his hand. I took it, assuming he meant to help me up, only to have him push me back down again. Kayla ran over and shoved him into the grass, yelling insults at him.

“And you,” she snapped, turning to Ahren “are cheap. No moral values, playing with poor Jordan, lacking integrity…” Ahren smiled wider every time his sister scorned him.

“Oh yeah, like you never do any of that stuff.” Ahren taunted.

I noticed Leo had moved out of the frame. He was behind Kayla, a large purple balloon in his hand. I could tell from here it wasn’t water in it. He held it over her head, and when Kayla opened her mouth to respond, he popped it. Rainbow-colored confetti poured over her, and she looked positively outraged.

I covered my mouth, doing my best not to burst into laughter as Kayla whipped around and started chasing after Leo.

“Go, Kales! Catch him!” I yelled after her.

“Yeah, go, Kales,” Ahren echoed, taunting her further.

I shot a glare at him, warning him to shut up. He sidled up to me and wrapped me in a hug.

“Guess what,” he whispered in my ear.

“What?” I responded.

“BAM!” he yelled as he popped another water balloon on my head.

“I will kill you, Ahren!” I vowed, and tried to push him to the ground.

He smiled coyly. “Try me. If you catch me, Leo and I forfeit.”

I groaned. He was painfully fast. It took a lot of effort and a lot of me cutting him off when we raced each other. It didn’t seem to bother him, though, seeing as he would do it first.

“Ok, so see my dilemma here: I feel like I have something to prove, but there’s no way I can catch you. So I demand some sort of a head start,” I declared.

His eyes were gleaming as he spouted his new idea. “What if we race from here to that pine tree, and you get a ten pace head start. If I catch you before you can touch the tree, I win, AND I get permanent bragging rights. That seems fair, doesn’t it?” his voice sounded innocent as he said the last part.

I raised my eyebrows. There was a catch.

“Oh, also? You have to come to the beach with us after this.”

“Absolutely not. I don’t even swim, Ahren! I have never even stuck my toe into the ocean since what happened to Celine. Plus, it’s always so cold,” I whined.

“Well, then I guess if you won’t even try, Leo and I win. What a shame,” he sighed.

I thought about it. My reasoning for never wanting to swim was because of an incident that happened to my sister, Celine when she was very little. She was swimming in the water, and something very large had swam up to her. It had bitten her foot, and she had let out an earsplitting scream. I remember how long the gash bled, and how loud that sound was. I was scared that something like that would happen to me. But going with them would be an excuse to be with my friends longer.

“Ugh, you are so annoying. Fine,” I relented.

“Fantastic.” he smiled.

I rolled my eyes. Ahren grasped my hand and pulled me under a large maple tree, and drew an X in the ground with his foot. He walked me forward exactly ten paces, then went back to stand on the X.

“Ready? Set. Go!” he yelled.

I ran as fast as I could towards the enormous pine. I could hear the snapping branches and crushing leaves as we glided over them. Well, I glided. He barreled. Forcefully. I could tell he was very intent on beating me.

Then it happened. I could hear the bones snap, the sickening crack. I fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

“Jordan!” Ahren’s yell was blurred. He swept me up in his arms and yelled for Kayla and Leo.

I heard them screaming my name as they sprinted up the hill. Before they could reach us, Ahren yelled for them to start the car and I heard the engine roar to life. Ahren ran as quickly as he could without jostling my leg then gently set me in the backseat. He sat down next to me and strapped on his seatbelt, then mine.

“Drive slowly. We’re not in such a hurry that we need to risk damaging her more,” Ahren directed his words at Leo.

“What happened?” I heard Kayla demand.

“I challenged her to a race, and I was behind her. I was planning on pulling ahead at the last second, but I saw her trip over a huge root and fall down, screaming. I think she might’ve broken her ankle.” as he said this last part, he reached out and held my hand gingerly.

“Oh, no,” I heard Kayla murmur.

“Jordan, it’s ok. You’ll be fine. I promise. We promise.” Leo said confidently

I couldn’t speak. I already knew I had broken my ankle, I had heard the bones snap. But what I didn’t know is what would need to happen. It sounded as though multiple bones had broken, and the fire I felt burning in my foot made me want to scream more. How on earth I had gotten myself into this situation, I didn’t know. Especially considering my parents were out of town.

We went over a bump, and I squeezed Ahren’s hand tightly the rest of the drive.

 

***

 

My eyes fluttered open. I was sitting in an oddly colorful hospital room. The walls were covered in rainbows and unicorns. I bet it was Leo’s idea to put me in here. I looked at my sides, and I realized I was in a hospital bed, not just sitting in a room. Then I remembered my ankle. Swollen and bruised, it looked physically out of place. I couldn’t feel the fire I did before. Now I only felt a dull throb.

Just then, the door opened, and Ahren, Leo, and Kayla walked into the room, their footsteps falling lightly. They looked over at my face, and saw I was awake. Leo grabbed Ahren and pulled him from the room. I almost called for them to stay, but then I noticed a strained look on Kayla’s face.

“Kales,” my voice was hoarse “what is it?”

“What is it? What is it? My best friend is in the hospital with a broken ankle, that’s what! And let me tell you, those two idiots,” she said, gesturing to the door the boys had gone out of “are of no help at all. Well, Leo called your parents. They’re going to be here soon, by the way. They’re flying in now. Celine was also here earlier, and she’ll come back with your mom and dad. But that’s not important right now. How are you feeling?”

“Honestly?” I smiled ruefully “like I’ve been through hell and back. Are you sure I only hurt my ankle?”

“Well, when you fell down, you inhaled a lot of dirt. I’d be more worried for your lungs than your ankle.”

“Hold on, did you say my parents are flying in? What time is it?” I asked.

“It’s around noon. You’ve been out since around four yesterday. That’s what, 20 hours of sleep I think?”

“Wow. Great.” I groaned.

“You needed it. You’ll be getting even more soon, too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You-you need surgery, Jordy.” she said quietly.

“Wow. Even better.” my voice cracked, and I could feel tears welling in my eyes.

Kayla walked over and wrapped her arms around me. She was the only person besides my parents who knew how much I feared surgery. When I was little I had actual nightmares about having surgery, and my doctor suggested I talk to a therapist. It hadn’t ever really helped at all.

“Remember, Jordy. You need it to happen, and if they don’t do this soon, you're done with running. Period. You can kiss the dream of ever beating Ahren goodbye.” she chuckled as she said this.

I smiled weakly. “Well, we can’t have that. My parents - they’ll be here, right?”

“Of course they will, Jordy. They should be here soon. They want to put you under for surgery as soon as possible. Do you think you can?”

“I don’t exactly have an option, do I?” audible fear rose in my voice.

“No, not really. Your parents and Celine will be here when you wake up. Ahren, Leo and I will be here shortly after.” she bent down and kissed my forehead.

“What do I do, Kales?” I cried.

“You have to let them go through with it. It’s not an option for you not to have surgery, and the sooner it’s done, the easier it’ll be for you. I… explained to the doctors.” Kayla looked apologetic.

“It’s fine, Kales. Better you than I. I’d probably sound crazy,” I smiled thinly.

Kayla raised her eyebrows. Then, Celine burst through the doors, my parents on her heels. I saw Kayla back quietly out of the room.

“Jordan, my baby, are you ok?” my mother said, panicked

“Yes, mom.” I sighed. She was a mom, I guess. Expected to pepper me. My father, however, stood very serious in the corner.

“Dad--what’s wrong?” I asked, weary.

“Nothing, sweetheart. Nothing,” he said, perking up.

“So when do they want to do it?” I asked my mom.

“As soon as possible. All the papers are signed. Whenever you’re ready.”

I sighed. There was no real point in being scared anymore. I couldn’t change anything. I stretched out my hand, and Celine took it and sat down at the foot of my bed.

“Alright. I’m ready. Now.”

My dad left the room and came back a few minutes later, a nurse trailing behind him.

“Alright, sweetie. Hold your arm out. This’ll put you to sleep.”

I held my arm out, and she plunged the needle in.

“Honey, we’re going to go get you some food for when you wake up. I love you.” my mom kissed my cheek, and my dad hugged me. Celine squeezed my hand and left without a word, her eyes looking distraught.

As my parents left, Ahren slipped into the room. He pulled a chair up next to me and took my hand.

“I’ll be here. When you wake up. I promise.” his words were hazy as I drifted off.

 

Eight Weeks Later

   

I stepped into the soft, white sand, squishing it between my toes. My surgery went perfectly. They did have to put a small metal rod in my ankle and some screws to keep the bones stabilized, but it didn’t hurt too much. The first thing that I remember waking up to was Celine standing next to me, biting her lip in anticipation. When my eyes opened, she wrapped me in the biggest hug possible. Then Ahren walked into the room.

“You know, I went back and crossed the finish line. You owe me a trip to the beach,” he said.

I nodded my head, bewildered and amused.

That’s how I’d ended up sitting with him from sunrise to sunrise. We talked. That’s all we did. Talked about everything. We got to a point where we started talking about Leo and Kayla.

“They’re pretty cute together,” I commented, as we looked down on them splashing in the waves.

“They are.”

I sighed. Ahren took it to be of discontent.

“Jordan,” he said, raising his face to look me in the eye “you are the epitome of beauty. You care about people, and you take care of them. You're an athlete and one of the smartest people I know, and you're incredibly brave. But your kindness is—well, one of a kind I guess. You’re amazing. You have no reason to be jealous of Kales.”

“Thank you Ahren, but that was so cheesy!”

I laughed, but his seriousness didn’t waver. He raised a hand and put it against my cheek, pulling me towards him.

Ahren pressed his soft lips against mine. He smelled like the woods. Yes, that’s what I remember

“I love you Ahren,” I whispered, breathless.

“I love you, Jordan Hunter.” he leaned back in to kiss me, just as the moon rose above the horizon.