Conquer Thy Fear... Or Not

“Riley!”
I marched down the hallway, flinging his bedroom door open. He didn’t even stir, burrowed under his blankets snoring softly.
“Riley!” I yelled again, flinging the muffin I was holding at his duvet covered head. He grunted in response, pulling the covers more tightly around him. I ground my teeth in frustration.
“I let the dog out while I was checking the mail,” I said, changing tactic. “It got hit by a truck.”
That did it. He sprang out of bed like he’d been shocked, eyes wide open, half the hair on his head standing straight up.
“What!?” he gasped, tripping over the bedcovers in his disorientated state.
“Just kidding. But I was tempted to let it go after it chewed my homework up.” Homework that was due this coming Monday, I might add. I had been ready and willing to wring its neck for that alone.
Riley groaned and climbed back into bed. “I’m sorry. I’ll lock it in the kitchen tonight.”
If he thought he was getting off that easy, he had another thing coming.
“You said I wouldn’t even know it was here,” I fumed. “It’s been less than twenty four hours and besides eating part of my homework, it’s left nice little surprises in the hallway, on one of the rugs and on one of my sweaters.”
The sweater in question was now in the neighbours bin. There was no way in hell I’d be wearing it again with the knowledge that an animal had done it’s doggie business in the hood.
“Really?” he asked in surprise. “But it’s so little.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Clearly he was nowhere near prepared to deal with a living creature that apparently wasn’t potty trained and was hell-bent on chewing everything in its path to pieces. And everything not in its path. My homework had been minding its own business in my schoolbag. The bag may have been left undone, but that didn’t give the little critter an open invitation to help itself.
Rolling over, he grabbed the digital alarm clock from his bedside table.
“Noah!” he cried. “It’s barely six thirty.”
I shrugged. “If I have to be up, I don’t see why you get to sleep in.”
He groaned again and dropped the clock onto the floor.
“You sleep with your door closed,” he mumbled, trying to get comfortable. “I doubt the dog woke you up.”
Well no, actually, it didn’t. Courtney was responsible for that. I’d come awake at the ungodly hour of five thirty to her phone screaming out the lyrics to ‘In the End’ by Linkin Park. After throwing it at her, I had snuggled down and drifted back to sleep - only to be reawakened an hour later with orders to get up and get dressed.
“Whatever,” I grumbled. “Just remember, if I see that thing again I’m going to drop kick it over the neighbour’s fence. With luck, their cat will eat it.”
He grunted, his eyes already closed as he flailed his arm around trying to locate his blanket. I stalked from the room to begin my search for the second person on my s**t list. If Courtney thought I was going to tag along on her pre dawn date with her boyfriend she also had another thing coming.

“So why am I coming along?” I asked Courtney half an hour later as I drove us west out of town.
“Because Drew is bringing one of his friends,” she said, checking her makeup in her compact mirror. “And because I don’t have a car. Are you sure you don‘t want some of my makeup?”
I glanced at my reflection in the rear view mirror. My eyes were a tad bloodshot with dark circles underneath them, my wavy honey brown hair a wild mess of tangles.
“No. I’m not going to pretty myself up for one of Drew’s random friends. I don’t even know the guy. And you could have just borrowed my truck,” I grumbled. Seven in the morning. We were on the road at seven freaking o’clock in the morning on a Saturday.
“Then I’m back to saying you’re tagging along because Drew is bringing a friend and it wouldn’t be nice to leave him as the third wheel. This is going to be great. Trust me.”
I sighed, resigning myself to my fate.
“And we’re going hiking,” I confirmed, just to be sure. Given the way Courtney was dressed, there was a definite possibility I had misheard. Who in their right mind went hiking in low rise jeans and a clingy, crimson red halter? Maybe she’d said “biking” when she’d woken me up at half past six with the news. Luckily I was dressed for either activity in my comfy black hoodie and a pair of denim shorts.
“Yes, hiking,” she said, rearranging some of her curls around her face. “It’s something he likes doing and he said he wants to share the experience with me.”
I snorted at that, a very unfeminine sound that Courtney raised an eyebrow at.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But it just brings back memories.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, though I saw her lips twitching in an effort not to smile.
“Well let me enlighten you. There was Will, who insisted that you play basketball with him and his friends. His nose is still crooked from you hitting him in the face with the ball.”
“That was an accident,” Courtney countered.
“You still broke his nose. Something a vain person like him saw as unforgivable. Then there was Zach, who tried to teach you how to skateboard. And while you managed to stay upright for all of three seconds, I think the tears he shed weren’t those of joy at you accomplishing the impossible but more out of grief from what you did to his board when you fell off. Shall I continue?”
“That was his fault,” Courtney said, eyes narrowed. “What kind of moron teaches his girlfriend how to balance on a slab of wood attached to wheels, going downhill towards an intersection? He’s lucky I didn’t sue his a*s for the stitches I needed because of it.”
“It was a paper stitch. One being the keyword, and given the fact that you totalled his board, I’d say it made you even.”
She smiled sheepishly at that. The poor guy had lost his pride and joy because my best friend had only been half listening when he’d explained in great detail how to stop.
“The point is, all of your ‘bonding’ attempts tend to end in disaster. Are you sure you want to do this?” We turned into the Wilder Valley National Park car park.
“Of course.”
I sighed in exasperation. Once she made up her mind, Courtney Keller was unstoppable. God help anyone who got in her way.
At half past seven on a Saturday morning the car park was almost empty. I spotted Drew’s red Toyota parked near the entrance and swung in beside it. Naturally my outstanding parking skills meant I was halfway between two spaces. I cursed and hopped out so Courtney could slide across and straighten it out. The fact that we were comfortable in this routine spoke volumes about the progress I’d made over the last year.
“How did you say you got your license?“ Drew asked, leaning against his drivers side door as I came around to stand next to him. He was decked out in a pair of cargo shorts and a light blue polo shirt, a pair of sunglasses perched on his head.
“Ha, ha,” I said, still a bit peeved at being dragged out so early in the morning. “I happen to be an excellent driver, parking ability notwithstanding.”
“Sure you are.” Amusement glittered in his green eyes.
Before I could defend myself any further, the passenger door to his car opened and his friend got out to join us.
I did a double take. Make that a triple take. Good God, it couldn’t be. I gaped, momentarily speechless. Tyson stretched lazily and shut the car door.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” I sputtered, suddenly rethinking the no makeup choice and my bed head.
“I invited him,” Drew said, smiling broadly. He caught Courtney’s eye over my head and winked. Oh, I see. Suddenly it all made sense. Courtney’s insistence that I tag along, her vagueness about Drew’s friend. Even Courtney’s pestering at the mall last night. They’d set this up. I’d been set up, and so easily too. How could I not have seen this coming? Most likely because I had no idea Drew and Tyson were such close buddies.
I looked over at Tyson, who was lighting a cigarette. By the look of annoyance on his face I’d say forced him here was more like it. He took a long drag before scrubbing his free hand over his eyes.
“Kidnapping is a felony, you know,” I said to Drew.
“It’s not kidnapping if he’s over eighteen,” he said in a sing song tone, pulling the door of my truck open to haul Courtney out and into his arms.
“No, it’s abducting, which is still a felony,” Tyson mumbled. He came round the front of the car. Clearly he didn’t have much hiking experience if his jeans and boots were anything to go by. Either that or Drew really had coerced him into tagging along without revealing the final destination. We both averted our eyes as the mushy couple shared a passionate kiss. When they failed to separate after an appropriate amount of time, I cleared my throat meaningfully. To no effect.
“Alright people!” I clapped my hands together, startling them. “Sex is frowned upon in public places so wrap it up.”
Courtney laughed and pulled Drew in for one more kiss before they headed to the main entrance of the park.
“Not a morning person, I see,” Tyson commented, putting his smoke out with the toe of his boot. We followed the happy couple through the wooden archway with the park’s name on it.
“Says the guy who looks dead on his feet,” I retorted. Though I had to admit, he did the just-been-dragged-out-of-bed look a whole lot better than I did.
“At least I don’t look like I shoved my hand in a power socket before I came here,” he said, smirking as he gave me a once over. I resisted the urge to reach up and pat down my wild hair.
“I can fix that for you,” I mumbled, my hand already itching to muss his neat ponytail.
Fully expecting Drew’s friend to be some random guy I’d never see again, I’d only bothered with the basics like brushing my teeth and donning fresh clothes. Not that I would’ve gone all out had I known who was coming. I couldn’t care less what Tyson thought of me. That’s how low he registered on my radar.
“Which trail should we do?” Drew asked, stopping at the map on display of the entire park. I took advantage of Tyson’s distracted state to run my hands through my hair and twist it into a knot on top of my head. Yep, he registered real low, I thought sarcastically.
I joined them in studying the map. I’d never been to the National Park before, even though it was only a half hours drive from my house. By the size and scale of the map, it had to be thousands of acres. Coloured lines indicated different trails, ranging in length from half hour treks to four hour treks.
Personally if I had to do one of these nature hikes, it would be the shortest one possible. But I would never say it, lest I ruin Courtney’s good time. And she was definitely making the most of her Drew time, snuggled into his side with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“That one,” Courtney said, pointing to the yellow trail on the map which looked to be the longest bloody one there.
“Are you sure?” Drew asked uncertainly. “It’s two and a half hours long. Maybe we should start with something a little easier. A lot of that’s uphill.”
Courtney waved his concern away with a flick of her hand. The girl was oozing a confidence I didn’t think she had. Not in this area anyway. She wasn’t the most willing participant when it came to acts of physical activity. Mainly because she lacked a couple of important things like hand eye coordination and endurance.
“Piece a cake,” she assured him.
A bark of laughter escaped me before I could turn it into a hacking cough. The three of them gave me odd looks. When the urge to laugh receded, I straightened and cleared my throat.
“Sorry. Think I just swallowed a bug.”
Courtney’s eyes almost bugged out of her head as they darted around looking for potential flying snacks.
“Well, lets get moving then. We’re burning daylight.” I pushed past them to take the lead, starting our dreaded two and a half hour journey. I figured the faster we got moving, the faster it would be over and I could strangle my best friend for her unwanted meddling.

Half an hour into our hike I was ready to forego throttling my best friend in privacy and just start in on her now. What in her right mind possessed her to pair me up with the King of Awkward Silences?
The meddlesome two were taking the lead some thirty feet ahead, leaving me and Tyson to bring up the rear. Alone. And as far as awkward silences went, this one had me wanting to throw myself off the side of the mountain we were trekking up. Take into consideration my serious aversion to heights and that was saying something. Even now, I was pressed as far against the foliage to my right as possible in an attempt to avoid seeing over the edge. Granted there was a waist high rail between me and impending death, but try telling that to my legs or my churning stomach which seemed to have taken on minds of their own. I heard an “oops” as Courtney stumbled yet again, falling into Drew’s outstretched arms. Drew righted her, asking if she was okay before they continued to move forward. This had been going on for some time now. Courtney’s lack of hand eye coordination had nothing to do with it. Not unless she’d found the key to falling over nothing. Seriously, the ground was so flat and even, you’d have to be blind not to notice she was doing it on purpose. Not that Drew minded. On the contrary, his hand lingered longer than necessary on her body each time. I smiled and rolled my eyes. Courtney sure had some nifty little tricks up her sleeve. Not that I’d try any myself. I was above acting like a damsel in distress to get a guys attention.
No sooner had the words brushed through my mind than a tree root appeared out of nowhere, clipping my foot. I tripped, staggering forward. Tyson’s hand shot out to grab me, his fingers wrapping around my upper arm. Mortified, I regained my balance and cursed silently.
“That wasn’t on purpose,” I blurted, not wanting him to think I’d taken a leaf out of Courtney’s book.
Tyson raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t say anything,” he said, letting go.
We came to the bottom of a steep incline, the trail winding itself in a zigzagging pattern up the side of yet another hill. Hadn’t we just come down a freaking mountain? A glance behind us said yes, we had. I was getting tired of this pointless up down up down cycle of climbing. Not to mention the overwhelming smell of pine and the damp, earthy aroma always associated with the great outdoors.
Though on the upside, our trek came with entertainment in the form of Courtney whining at us all. She’d decided two and a half hours of walking uphill went beyond her capabilities. Between gasping for air and sweating up a storm , she’d made it abundantly clear that she was ready to quit when we were.
Drew had been all to willing to oblige, devoted boyfriend that he was. Tyson had shrugged in indifference, but I had adamantly refused to turn back. I’d decided this was going to be her punishment for dragging me out here.
The steady incline had my legs burning and sweat trickling down my back. A glance sideways showed me Tyson was coping just fine, his breathing slow and even, the only evidence of exertion a fine layer of sweat coating his forehead. Poor Drew on the other hand was half dragging Courtney up while she complained incessantly. For someone claiming to be so tired she could hardly stand, I was amazed she had enough breath to moan about it.
The brush of Tyson’s arm against mine startled me. He still hadn’t said a word since we‘d begun this ridiculous journey. A point I was all too aware of. Never one to appreciate silence, it was all I could do not to demand that he say something, anything to relieve the uncomfortable air that was suffocating me.
“So, why are you here?” I blurted, unable to stand it anymore.
He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead before looking at me a curiously. “I was invited, remember?”
I gave him a droll stare. “Ever hear of saying no?”
“Why would I do that?”
“You don’t exactly look thrilled to be here.” I took a few gulps of much needed air. A stitch was beginning in my side.
He shrugged. “Neither do you.”
“Yeah, well. Climbing Mt. Everest at the crack of dawn wasn’t really on my to do list. Heck I didn’t even know the sun rose this early on the weekend.”
He grunted in agreement. “That makes two of us.”
“So if you didn’t want to come, why did you? I find it hard to believe Drew forced you along.” Considering Tyson was a couple of inches taller and packing a bit more muscle than our lean, preppy blonde.
He shrugged again. “Had nothing better to do.”
I scoffed, not believing him for a second. There were hundreds of better things to do than bond with nature. Like sleeping in. And having a late breakfast - after you’ve slept in.
Tyson sighed heavily. “Courtney was bringing a friend and Drew said it would be mean to leave her as a third wheel.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. It was very similar to the line Courtney had fed me in the car on the way over. Jeez, they’d definitely put some thought into this little setup. “You got that speech too, huh?”
He nodded. The path ahead of us was evening out, thank goodness. The burn in my legs was becoming more insistent, my breathing coming in fast pants. Not only that, but I didn’t think Drew could handle half-carrying Courtney much longer.
“And since when did you become the caring type?” I prodded.
“About the same time you did.” He pulled the sleeves of his long tee up to his elbows.
“That’s different. Courtney’s my best friend. I’m obligated.”
He gave me a penetrating stare. “What about Serena? Is she your best friend too? Is that why you let her walk all over you?”
I came to a halt abruptly, shocked by what he’d just said. Did I hear that right?
“What are you talking about?” I asked, jogging to catch up with him.
“I’m not blind. And I’m not deaf. Those lockers make a hell of a noise when someone is shoved into them.”
My cheeks burned. Of all people, he had to witness that.
“I can’t help it if the halls get crowded and people start pushing,” I replied, instinctively going on the defensive.
“And your locker getting broken into?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “How did you -”
“What about the drink that got dumped on you?”
“That was an accident,” I said through clenched teeth. How the heck did he know about all of that? I thought I’d been doing an excellent job of keeping everything on the down low. Not even Courtney knew about the slushy or Serena’s minions pushing me around.
“Oh, so a girl coming up to you, calling you a b***h, before she throws her drink at you is considered an accident these days? Glad you told me. I may need to brush up on my definitions.”
My jaw went slack. “Wait a minute, you were there?”
“I just happened to be around. You get bullied so much it’s hard to miss.” We ducked under a low hanging branch, my mind reeling from what he‘d just said.
“I wonder whose fault that is?” I said sarcastically. After all, if he’d just said yes to Serena that first day in class, none of this would be happening. “Why do you care so much anyway?”
“I don’t.”
I huffed in aggravation. He really knew how to push my buttons. “Really? So this is your idea of small talk?”
“Yep.”
My hands itched to reach out and shove him. Anything to wipe that calm, collected look off his face. “You know, you can be such a -”
My words died on my lips as we crested a small rise in the landscape and my eyes settled on a bridge we’d have to cross to continue our trek. A bridge. Over running water. High up over running water. Maybe not high enough that if someone tumbled over they’d undoubtedly die. But certainly high enough that they’d at least break a few bones. The drop was at least fifty feet. Well okay, my slight fear of heights may have had me exaggerating, but to put it simply, it was more than freaking high enough to cause my heart to stutter and my stomach to churn violently at the mere thought of stepping foot on it. I looked up at the cloudless sky. What was this, karmic payback for refusing to turn back when Courtney had had enough?
Tyson gave me an odd look. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You’ve gone kind of pale.”
Well duh, that’s because there was a fifty foot drop and nothing but a plank of wood standing between me and death. Not that I was about to tell him that. He’d probably laugh at me. God knows Aidan had laughed so hard he’d cried when I told him we couldn’t even go on the kiddies roller coaster at a theme park once because I was afraid of heights. That kind of mocking laughter wasn’t something you forgot overnight. I didn’t need that kind of humiliation again.
It took all of my willpower to force a smile on my face. “I’m fine,” I croaked. “Some view, huh?” I waved my hand, gesturing at the small river and surrounding trees. Tyson followed the movement and nodded in answer.
Oh, dear God, I thought, scanning the area intently. There had to be an alternate route. When none presented itself, a fine sweat broke out over the back of my neck. The only way over was crossing the bridge. I took a deep breath for courage. I could do this. I was going to do it. I refused to be the big baby that ruined it for everyone.
“Noah.” Courtney sidled up beside me and tugged me away from the boys. “If you don’t want to go over the bridge, we don’t have to. I’ll make up some excuse and we can go back the way we came.”
Such a tempting offer. One I almost took. But even though she’d suggested it and would happily follow through, I knew she was having way too much fun with Drew to end it here. Above all else, I didn’t want to be the best friend that rained on her parade. So, I was going to do this if it killed me.
“What are you talking about?” I said to her, as if I hadn’t a care in the world. Christ, I think I deserved a medal for my acting skills. “It’s just a bridge. I mean, what are the odds of it collapsing while we’re on it?”
“About a million to one,” Drew supplied happily as he walked past us and started to cross it.
Did you hear that legs? A million to one, so start moving. Apparently a million to one odds wasn’t good enough because they refused to budge and my heart rate accelerated in protest of what I was about to do.
“Come on, slow pokes!” Drew cried, already a quarter of the way across. “Last one over is a rotten egg!” Putting aside the fact that nobody our age should use such a childish saying, my body had no qualms about being the rotten egg as opposed to the rotting corpse at the bottom of the valley should something go wrong. Wait, what was I thinking? I needed to think positive thoughts. I took a deep, shuddering breath. Which didn’t help at all.
“Lets go,” I said to Courtney before I changed my mind and went running in the opposite direction. I clambered down to the foot of the bridge. With each step, my heart threatened to explode out of my chest, my stomach churning so badly I could taste bile in my mouth. I had to clench my teeth together to stop them from chattering and lock my knees in an effort to stop them from knocking into each other. Despite my body’s reaction, my mind was surprisingly calm. But no matter how convinced I was mentally that the odds were slim to none of something actually happening, I couldn’t stop my shaking limbs or the urge to vomit and pass out.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” The sound of Tyson’s voice startled me and I let out a yelp.
I cleared my throat trying to recover. His gaze was scrutinising, no doubt trying to figure out the source of my distress.
“I, um,” what? Had a massive fear of heights that was currently stopping me from crossing a stupid bridge? Jeez, why was it so hard to spit that out? Did I really have that much pride? Was I really that stubborn? It seemed I was, since all I managed to say was, “I’m fine. I think the walk up the mountain kind of tired me out.”
He quirked his eyebrow, and I could tell he didn’t believe me. It’s not like I’d been gasping for air like Courtney earlier. To his credit, Tyson said nothing and swept past onto the bridge.
“Right,” Courtney said beside me, looping her arm through mine. “Shall we go?”
I nodded stiffly and let her drag me onto the wooden slats.
I can do this, I chanted to myself over and over again. One step at a time. Followed by one breath at a time. The key was in not looking down. Or closing my eyes, I learned after doing so and becoming extremely dizzy and disoriented.
“You’re doing good,” Courts said, patting the hand that had a death grip on her arm. Yes, I was, wasn’t I?
Unfortunately all good things came to an end, as I so adequately proved. We were about halfway across when I did something very stupid. I looked to my right. Over the railing at the water below. Far below. Far, far below. My legs locked, stopping me dead and drawing Courtney to a halt as well.
“No? Are you okay?” she asked, concern radiating from her. Inexplicably, I let go of her arm to clasp the wooden railing with both hands. Black dots swam in my vision, threatening to pull me under but I shook my head to get rid of them. Without meaning to, I slid down the railing until I was crouched, huddled against it.
“I just need a minute,” I muttered through clenched teeth, trying not to heave my breakfast over the edge. Cold sweat coated my clammy skin. “Keep going, I’ll be there in a sec.” Though I wasn’t sure I believed myself.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to leave you here,” she said, trying to tug me toward safety. My grip on the railing tightened further.
“What’s wrong?” Tyson’s voice sounded a million miles away as I screwed my eyes shut tight, trying to calm my scattered nerves.
“She’s afraid of heights,” came Courtney’s reply. “Like, deathly afraid.”
“S**t.” A creak in the wood right beside me had my stomach heaving violently and my heart jack hammering, and Tyson’s voice sounded again, a lot closer this time.
“Noah? You have to let go so we can get you off the bridge.”
I was vaguely aware of someone tugging at my hands but I refused to let go. Somehow I’d convinced myself that if I let go, I would fall. No matter what happened, I couldn’t fall.
“Hey, open your eyes. Look at me.”
I pried them open reluctantly and came face to face with a pair of startlingly blue ones, laced with concern. My breathing by this point was so rapid that it felt like I’d just run a marathon. Black edged my vision once more. His warm hand cupped my face, but I barely noticed.
“Please,” I whispered desperately. “Make it stop.”
Tyson leaned forward so he was all that I could see.
“I want to make it stop for you,” he said calmly. “But to do that I’m going to need you to let go of the railing.”
“I’ll fall,” I said on a ragged breath.
“No you won’t,” he said. “I’ve got you.”
He wrapped an arm around my back and used his free hand to break my grip on the railing. Terrified, I flung my arms around his neck and held on for dear life.
“That’s it. Just hold onto me and I’ll get you off the bridge.”
He picked me up and my stomach lurched. The fear in me intensified even more. My heartbeat crashed in my ears, drowning out the sound of Courtney’s reassuring voice until it was all I could hear. I buried my face in the hollow of his throat and prayed for it to end.

“Here.”
The word penetrated the fog that had clouded my mind in my panic. My hand was shoved up against something hard and dry. Irritating to my skin.
“It’s a tree. Trees don’t grow on bridges. You’re safe.”
A tree. I was sitting under a tree? The bridge was gone? As if finding truth in the words, my body relaxed slightly. The dizziness dissipated, followed by the violent storm raging in my stomach. I inhaled a shuddering breath and pulled my face away to look around me. I really was sitting under a tree. Drew and Courtney were hovering over me, worried looks on their faces, and Tyson was cradling me against his body. But the thing that registered most in my mind was the fact that I was on solid ground, a good distance from that f*****g bridge.
Tyson reached up to wipe my face with the sleeve of his long sleeved shirt and it was only then that I realised I’d been crying.
“S**t,” I breathed, unwinding my shaking hands from his neck. All three of them were staring at me intently.
Embarrassment slowly replaced stark terror. I resisted the urge to groan. Great, now they probably thought I was a huge wuss. Granted, Courtney already knew that, but I had been planning on keeping a secret from everybody else. I wondered when they’d start laughing at me.
“I‘m sorry,” I said, hicupping. “I’m really sorry. I uh,” my voice trailed off, as I really had nothing else to say. I was so embarrassed. My cheeks and ears were burning. I looked down at my still shaking hands. The heavy silence stretched until it became all consuming and I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.
“I’m afraid of rabbits,” Drew announced suddenly, startling us.
We all gaped at him.
“Seriously?” Courtney asked, clearly rethinking his manly status.
“Yup,” he said, nodding his head vigorously. “Terrified. They scare the crap outta me. Once, my uncle thought it would be funny to lock me in a room with one. I cried like a baby until he let me out.”
“How old were you?” Tyson asked, pulling a splinter from my hand. Wow, that must have been some grip I’d had on the railing. He removed two more before dropping it and checking the other one.
“Sixteen,” he said, smiling sheepishly.
Courtney blinked at him before bursting into hysterical laughter.
It wasn’t long before I was joining in, some of the tension leaving my body, and even Tyson cacked one of his miraculous half smiles.
“Shut up,” Drew said, smiling at Courtney. “Or I’ll let everyone know what you’re afraid of.”
“Fear of spiders happens to be common. So does fear of heights,” she said gesturing at me. “But whoever heard of someone being afraid of fluffy bunnies?” Another wave of laughter descended upon her, setting me off all over again. “How did you cope during Easter?” she asked.
Drew shifted uncomfortably.
“Don’t tell me your uncle dressed up like the Easter Bunny and chased you round the house or something,” Courtney said, still chortling.
The shocked look on Drew’s face was priceless.
“How did you know?” he asked, equal parts impressed and horrified.
“Oh em gee, you’re kidding me right?”
“Well, it was my brother, and it was around the living room, not the entire house.”
“Ha! I should be psychic,” Courtney mused.
I smiled as they began to bicker, eternally grateful for Drew taking the attention from me. Courtney had definitely found herself a keeper in my books.
I released a shaky breath and was suddenly tired as the adrenaline began to wither away.
“You okay?” Tyson asked, leaning away from me to get a better look.
My cheeks flamed all over again as I realised I was basically sitting in his lap. He still had his arms wrapped loosely around me, the warmth from his body wrapping me in comfort. My heart sputtered excitedly, obviously fully recovered from my near death experience.
“I’m fine,” I mumbled, pushing away from him and scrambling to my feet. “I’m uh, sorry for choking you back there.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, rising gracefully to stand next to me. He rolled his neck on his shoulders, and several clicks later let out a satisfied sigh.
Cripes, had my grip really been that strong? I took a few steps to the right, testing the stability in my legs. They shook slightly, but apart from that I seemed to be holding up quite well.
“Alright, bunny boy. Whatever you say,” Courtney teased Drew as she came over to me. Before I could react, she wrapped me into a tight hug.
“Alright, you little daredevil,” she said, releasing me. “How about we get the heck out of here?”
That sounded like the best idea I’d heard all day. I nodded in quick agreement.
“Who’s up for pancakes?” Drew said. “Tyson’s shout.”
“In you dreams,” Tyson shot back, his lips twitching in amusement. He brushed past Courtney and I to take the lead, bopping Drew on the head as he passed. Drew made a sound of mock indignation and chased after him.
“I think you need some ice cream,” Courtney said to me as we trudged after them.
I laughed, letting her wrap an arm around my shoulders.

Reviews

[life*of*equiluxe]

"Tyson's shout"? Not a familiar phrase, but I take it to mean he's paying? We would say "it's on Tyson." Other than that is was awesome! So curious about Tyson... why did he move there, etc. I would probably move into them starting on their school project next (though if you want to continue or build more on this chapter/event/day that is cool!).