Page 7 of Already Falling

“I-I don’t-that really sucks,” I finally say, which makes Chloe laugh and lean into my shoulder. I don’t know why she’s laughing, but I start laughing too.

“It sucks a lot. I miss my dad.” She sniffles. I think she’s crying. “Can I sleep over at your house tonight?”

“Always,” I say as she pulls away, wiping her tears.

“Promise you won’t leave me,” she says to me with the saddest look on her face. As if she actually thinks I’ll ever leave her. She’s my best friend for life, I’ll never leave her, and she better not leave me.

“I promise. You promise you won’t leave me,” I say back.

“I promise.” She smiles and pulls me in for a hug, nearly choking me with the force of her love.

My mom pulls up a few minutes later, and I ask if Chloe can stay the night, which she easily agrees to as if she knew I would ask, anyway. I feel bad that Chloe’s parents aren’t like mine, but I’m happy they treat her like she’s part of the family.

FOUR

ANNIKA

Four months go by, and my courage to ask Reid out still has not been found. During gym class, the different classes rotate doing different sports so nothing is too crowded, but every Wednesday, all the classes run the mile together.

Chloe says I’m in denial about my love for Reid. I don’t like him like that, I swear. Yes, he is the cutest boy in the school, and he always makes my stomach flurry when I see him. But I’m not in love with him like Chloe always says. It’s just a little crush. Tiny, teeny, little crush.

Last week I tripped on a rock while running the mile, falling on my hands and knees. The gravel track dug into my knees and palms as I fell, making me wince in pain. I turned around to sit and brush off the gravel when I saw Reid running over to help me up.

“How come you are always around whenever I embarrass myself?” I said to him as he helped me up. I swear I saw his cheeks blush a little when our hands touched.

His eyes brightened as he said, “Just trying to help you out. It looked like that trip hurt a lot.”

I rolled my shoulders back, trying to brush it off. “Well, thanks, but you don’t have to help me.”

“It’s okay. I like helping you when you fall. Your cheeks turn pink whenever I do.”

Oh my god. If I wasn’t embarrassed before, I definitely was then. He totally knows I have a crush on him.

“Hey, what’s that?” I said, pointing behind him. When he turned, I ran down the track.

He turned back and saw me running, laughing, and tried to catch up to me. He nudged my side as he met up with me, and we finished running the mile together, side by side.

Our next gym unit is the dance unit. Our teacher tells us all the classes this period are doing the unit at the same time and that the girls have to pick partners, but we can ask anyone in any other class. I get so nervous at the thought of having to ask someone to dance. I wish Chloe was in this class with me or, at the very least, Isaac. Chloe and Isaac broke up in forth grade after dating for a month.

She said she liked him better as a friend rather than a boyfriend, whatever that means. But Isaac is my neighbor, and we give him a ride to school sometimes, so he’s really the only boy I’m closest friends with and would be an easy, safe choice to dance with. But neither of them are in this period of gym class, so I scan the room, looking around to see who I can partner up with. I look at the other boys in my class, and some look at me and then look away.

I’m going to have to dance with the teacher if no one wants to be my partner. I decide to walk over to the boy I sit next to in my math class because he seems nice until I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I turn around and see Reid standing across from me. My stomach starts flipping around in cartwheels.

“Hey Anni, do you have a dance partner yet?”

I breathe in a shaky breath. “No, not yet. I was trying to figure out who to ask.”

He looks down at his feet and then looks back up at me. “Well, you can ask me.”

“Ask you what?” I freeze, wondering what he’s talking about.

He giggles, and I can see his face turning red like a strawberry. “You can ask me to be your dance partner.”

My mouth forms an “O,” and I think I might faint in the middle of the gym.

“I mean, if you want to, no pressure.” He starts to fidget and look around.