"Ryan! Drew! Slow down," I called, bending over to catch my breath. Have I ever mentioned that I hated gym? The two boys kept a fast and steady pace in front of me. I absolutely hated my gym teacher for making us run laps outside in the freezing cold. My lungs burned from the cold air, and my nose felt like it had frostbite. So maybe that's an overstatement, but that's how it felt at the time.
"How about you speed up?" Ryan looked over his shoulder, and cast me a teasing smile. Drew chuckles at his side. It was weird seeing them together. I'd been practically forcing Ryan to let Drew hang out with us the past few days. That day was one of the first days he had actually spoken to Drew. The first day Drew came with us to an afternoon Starbucks run, Ryan wouldn't even look in his general direction. I was glad that he was warming up to the idea of Drew being around more, because I definitley was.
I rolled my eyes and pushed myself to jog faster until I finally caught up with them. Drew gave me an enthusiastic high five, and I shot Ryan an in-your-face type look. He laughed and shoved me playfully.
"Looks like we've got a new member of the track team," Drew joked as I desperatley tried to keep up with them. I pumped my arms so hard I swore they were going to fall off, and get trampled on by the other kids who were straggling behind.
"Never going to happen," I replied, shaking my head vigorously. They would have laughed in my face if I even stepped foot in a try-out for the track team.
The boys started chatting about something, but I wasn't really paying attention. My chest had started feeling really tight, and I reached my hand up and rubbed at my neck a little. I started racking my brain to try and figure out what might have been wrong with me. That's when the coughing started.
Both of the boys turned their heads to look at me. "Kelsey, are you okay?" Ryan asked me with a worried expression. I stopped running and the coughing started to get worse, and then I felt like I couldn't breathe.
I shook my head to let him know that I wasn't. I tried to take a deep breath in, and that's when the wheezing started. All of a sudden it hit me that I was having an asthma attack. I hadn't had one in almost two years, and I had almost forgot that I even had asthma.
Drew's eyes widened in terror and they both helped me over to the middle of the track so I wasn't in the way of the other people who were running. They helped me sit down, and Drew leaned down beside me. He layed his hand on my shoulder, and I tried my best to focus on catching every little breath I could. "What's wrong with her? What do we do?" Drew asked, frantically looking back and forth from me to Ryan. I tried to answer but all that came out was a strangled wheeze.
Then something clicked in Ryan's eyes. "She's having an asthma attack! I almost forgot she had asthma. I think they keep her inhaler in the office." He looked to me to make sure he was right and I nodded my head up and down. The terror in my eyes must have freaked both of them out because suddenly they just froze as if they couldn't move. At this point a few of my classmates had gathered around me.
"You go get the inhaler, and I'll stay here with her," Drew instructed, gesturing at the school building as he rubbed my back lightly.
"No, I'll stay here with Kelsey, and you go get the inhaler."
"No-"
A girl I recognized as Elissa from my English class stepped forward. "Stop fighting and just go get the freaking inhaler before she passes out or something!" She shrieked.
I guess that set some fire under Ryan's butt because he took off running for the school. I layed down on my back in the dewy grass. It felt cold against my skin that had suddenly gotten really hot. I tried to keep my mind focused on other things so I didn't start panicking. I remembered that my doctor said it was always very important to stay calm during an asthma attack.
Drew leaned over me and smoothed my hair out of my eyes. A forced smile spread across his face, but I could see the terror and panic in his eyes. "It's going to be okay. We'll get your inhaler and then it will be okay," he soothed, talking to me like you would talk to a little kid.
The seconds felt like hours as I layed there in the middle of a circle of people trying to breathe. My vision started going blurry when blonde headed girl in the front of the circle stepped a little closer. "You shouldn't even help her. You should just leave her to die like she left her little friend to die." Her arms were folded over her chest, and she narrowed her eyes at me menacingly. How could she say something like that? I didn't even know this girl.
I watched helplessly as the terror in Drew's eyes turned to anger. He turned his head to look at her.
"How could you say something like that? A girl is lying on the ground trying to breathe, and that's what you have to say? You're a really horrible person, you know that?"
The girl scoffed and stepped back into the crowd of people who shot her disgusted looks. I would've cheered if I could have. Then I hear the loud padding of footsteps. Ryan and the nurse were suddenly by my side, and all three of them helped me to sit up. The nurse handed me the inhaler, and I desperatley ripped it from her hands.
"Remove the cap and hold the inhaler upright," she instructed me and I did as she said.
I shook the inhaler and tilted my head back like I remembered doing. I put the end of it in my mouth and pressed down on the inhaler as I took a slow, deep breath in. My eyes stayed closed as I took each breath, but I could hear the muffled murmurs of everyone who were still standing around me.
After a few minutes of deep breaths I could finally breathe normally again. I slowly handed the inhaler back to the nurse, and took a few deep breaths to make sure I was okay again.
"I want you to come to the nurses' office for a little while so I can watch you, and make sure you don't have another one," she said as she placed my inhaler back into the little plastic baggie she brought it in, "They can come with you if they want." She gestures to Drew and Ryan who are huddled so close to me I'm surprised I could even breathe. They nodded in agreement and helped me to my feet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I giggled as Ryan made funny faces at me from across the room of the nurses office. Drew chuckled from where he was propped up on the counter. I clutched my stomach that was beginning to hurt from all the laughing.
"You look like a monkey," I said between uncontrollable giggles. Ryan's shoulders bobbed up and down as he laughed at his own self. "You're going to make me have another asthma attack."
Ding! Ryan sighed heavily and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "My mom keeps texting me to come home. How much longer do you have to stay here?" he asked, and shoved his cell back into his jacket pocket.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't really know. The nurse said she wanted me to stay for a couple hours ust to make sure I don't have another attack. Whenever I used to get them I'd have like three in one day," I explained. We had been in the nurses office for almost two hours, and everyone else had already went home. Ms. Langford came in and out every few minutes to make sure I was okay, and the rest of the time Drew and Ryan took turns trying to entertain me and make me laugh.
Drew hopped down off the counter and leaned on it instead. "If your mom really wants you to go home I can stay here with Kelsey until she gets to leave. My parents are gone tonight so as long as I'm home by ten I'm fine," Drew offered. It was fun having Ryan there, but I had to admit that I wouldn't mind it just being Drew and I.
Ryan twisted up his face as he thought about it. "Well, I guess so. I didn't really want to have to leave, but I guess I should." He stood up and crossed the room to give me a hug. "See you later, Kels. Bye, Drew," he called as he walked out the door. I bent my head to the side so I could watch him turn the corner.
"Bye, Curly!" I shouted, and he turned his head to wave at me. "Curly" was a nickname I gave him when we were in the fifth grade in reference to his hair, and I guess it sort of stuck.
Ms. Langford, the nurse, shuffled into the room. She was a heavyset lady and quite short. Her mousy brown hair flipped out at the ends, and she sort of waddled when she walked.
"I called your mom to come pick you up since I thought it would be best for you not to drive by yourself just in case. She said she was on the other side of town and that she would text you when she gets here. She said she didn't know where your inhaler is, so I'm going to send this one home with you today. You'll need to bring another one for us to keep here at school soon, though. Anyways, that's about it. I'll be across the hall if you need me." She handed me my inhaler in a plastic bag, and then shuffled back out of the room. I let out a sigh of relief. I was ready to get out of that room.
"Hey, Drew, could you put this in my bag," I asked, holding out the inhaler and pointing to my school bag that was sitting on the counter beside him. He grabbed it and placed it in the outside pouch.
"Thanks. Oh, and thanks for helping me out and standing up for me today when that girl said what she said about me. I'm glad you were there," I thanked him.
"No problem. She should be glad you were in such bad shape or else I would've punched her in the face," he replied.
I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right. You wouldn't have punched her. You're too nice."
He puffed out his chest and grinned. "I'm not that nice."
"Yes you are. For example, if I asked you how I told you right now that I looked horrible, you would insist that I looked beautiful." I really did look horrible. I had streaks of mud on my clothes from laying in the grass outside. My hair was frizzy and strands kept falling out of my ponytail. My eyeliner and mascara was smeared from crying when I had the asthma attack. It seemed like I looked like a hot mess every time I was around Drew.
Something in Drew's face changed. He went from joking around to a little more serious. "You're right. I would say that. But only because it's true," he told me.
My cheeks grew to a dark shade of red and my heart was beating so fast I thought you could see it through my shirt. Drew had just told me that I was beautiful, and he didn't sound like he was teasing. I never thought that I would get all fangirly over Drew, but I couldn't help it. I was hopelessly falling for him.
Then, he started coming closer to me. I stayed frozen in my chair trying to figure out what he was going to do next. It didn't register in my mind until he was right in front of me. He put one hand under my chin and titled my head up. My eyes were so wide I'm surprised he didn't think I was crazy. He leaned his head down and in those few seconds before his lips met mine everything in me was screaming for me to tell him to stop, but I couldn't. I didn't want him to stop.
He pressed his lips gently to mine, and I swear my heart skipped a beat. The butterflies in my stomach were fluttering around far more than they ever had. It was the moment I had been dreaming of since I was fourteen years old. My first kiss. Of course, I had always pictured sharing it with Ryan, and my school's nurses office wasn't exactly my first choice of venue. Either way, it was perfect. Well, other than the fact that I felt so guilty. The whole time all I could think about was how heartbroken Ryan would be if he knew, and how upset Lauren would be if she knew I was kissing her ex-boyfriend. I tried to push the thoughts out of my mind, though.
I slowly wrapped my arms around Drew's neck like I had seen in the movies, but almost as if on cue my phone started ringing. Seriously, mom? was all I could think.
I pulled away quickly and answered the phone. I looked up at Drew who had his hands shoved in his pockets. He smiled at me and I smiled back. He was so cute.
"I'm outside, Kelsey. I'm parked in the front," my mom told me through the phone.
"Okay. Just let me get my things out of my locker and I'll be there," I replied, and quickly hung up.
Drew handed me my bag and I placed my phone inside of it.
"I can walk you to your locker," he offered to which I readily agreed. Like I was going to pass up that offer.
"Lead the way," he said, and I scurried out of the room.
The walk to my locker was very quiet. I was too nervous to say anything to him, and he didn't look like the brave and cocky football player that everyone thought he was. He obviously had a shy and quiet side to him, or maybe he was just as nervous as I was.
I almost passed my locker because I was too busy thinking about the kiss. Drew stopped me, though, and pointed to my locker. "That's your locker, right?" he asked.
I blushed and he smiled at me again. His smile was to die for and I just about melted on the spot. "Oh yeah. Sorry, my mind is a little sidetracked."
"That's okay. I tend to have that effect on people," he teased. He definitley had that effect on me.
"Yeah right," I replied, and shoved him lightly. I guess there was some sort of instinct built in to me to always make like I didn't like someone even when I did.
"Oh, whatever. Don't make like you don't like me."
I shoved my face into my locker, making like I was looking for something, to hide my guilty smile. "I don't like you," I insisted.
I watched from the corner of my eye as he leaned against the locker beside me with that same amazing smile spread across his face. "Well that sucks because I really like you."
I stopped rummaging through my locker and just stood there. My face was still stuck inside of it, but I wasn't moving. For him to kiss me was one thing, but for him to actually say he liked me was something else altogether. It was like the most amazing feeling I had ever felt. Plenty of guys had hit on me before, but it was a completely different feeling when someone actually told you that they liked you.
I slowly closed my locker and hoisted my bag up on my shoulder. "Okay, so maybe I like you a little bit." I held up my hand with my index finger and thumb barely an inch apart to demonstrate.
Drew laughed and grabbed by hand, interlocking his fingers with mine. He held up his free hand and imitated what I had done. "Yeah, you just like me a little bit. You didn't act like you just liked me a little bit when I kissed you back there."
I giggled and rolled my eyes. "C'mon, Drew. My mom is waiting for me."
He brought his face closer to mine and smiled. "I'm not letting you leave until you admit that you like me."
"Fine, Drew, I like you. Are you happy now?" I stood on my tiptoes and brought my face closer to his so our noses were almost touching.
He grinned. "Almost." He pressed his lips to mine again, but it was just a quick kiss that time. "Now I'm happy."
I shook my head and pulled away from him. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you later."
I turned to walk towards the doors at the end of the hallway, but I turned around once I was about half way there to wave at him one more time. He waved back from where he was still standing by my locker. Hs hands hung loose in his pockets, and the sun shone in on him from the window across from my locker. It shined on his hair making some strands look golden. I reluctantly peeled my eyes from him and turned back around. I wanted to jump around and squeal like a little fangirl, but I could feel his eyes on me so I kept my composure.
It all felt so right, and at the same time it seemed so wrong. But I think that's what made it all the more appealing. I had always been a little goody two shoes, but being with Drew made me feel like a rebel. Because I knew that no one would approve.
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