Always

My track run

-Nat-

    "More time. Give me more time," I thought. The zipper on the back of the dress was killing me. Prom was in one week and this is what I get for last minute shopping with friends I know and don't know. The mall was closing in two hours, but my best friend's dad,who owns the mall, let us stay for her birthday.

         "Nat, come on. I wanna see the dress," Skylar, my best friend said. I usually wear dark, comfy clothes but Skylar forced me outside of my comfort zone for once. In the background, I hear Skylar's sister, Kinsley, talking to her.

       "Are you done," Kinsley asked with a annoyed tone in her voice. I glance at the empty hanger hanging on its hook before reaching for the handle of the dressing room door. I blow out a breath and step out into the store. To my surprise, my brother was standing next to Skylar, holding his phone up to me. A smug smile on his face with his other hand waving at me. I lunge at him and grab his shirt.

      "CAMRON," I scream. The dress tangled at my feet causing me to slip and fall. Cam's shirt slipped from my hands. I heard my brother laughing as I fell on top of him. A hand popped in front of me and helped me get up, when I got up I looked into my helper's eyes. Chestnut eyes, huh, I knew they were familiar.

        "Hey," the voice said. He gave me a light smile. A smile only I knew he had for me. I pulled him into a hug. His warmth spread across my body. "I guessed you really missed me, Nat." I pulled away, his hand skimming mine.

      "Come here," I said, looking at my brother getting up, still holding his phone.

     "Why," he responded.

    "Just come here." I demanded.

     "No, you're gonna hit me." I mean he wasn't wrong. "It's nice to see Noah is here." He nodded towards him, I rolled my eyes. Looking around, I see Skylar staring at us. She pointed at me and grabbed some of her shirt and smirked. That's when I realized I still had the dress on. I looked down at the hem of my dress.

I turned to look at Noah. "I'll be right back." As I walked away, I hit Cam's shoulder with mine.

      

        "So what are we supposed to do," Bryson, who's my brother's best friend, asked. I shrugged. How was I supposed to know what to do? It wasn't my birthday party. All I knew was, we were going to try on prom dresses, eat, hang out, and something..I could not make out.

       "I know, let's play "Find something to eat". Whoever comes back with the best food first wins," Bryson finally said.

      "Yeah sure do whatever Braden says," Kinsley whispered under her breath.

    "That's not my name," he whispered to himself. We began the game. Camron and Bryson partnered up and ran the opposite way from the food court. I ran around the mall frantically looking for the best food I could find. The food court was a foot away from me when I heard a loud WHOOP! Noah was practically at my heels, except he tripped over a slice of pizza.

I almost burst out laughing. Looking around I saw a Starbucks, a Charlie's, and an In & Out, but none had good food. So I just grabbed a random sandwich from the Starbucks fridge and ran back as fast as I could. If I hadn't taken Track in 8th grade, I wouldn't have made first because Camron, Bryson, and Skylar were right at my feet just as I stepped into the arcade.

      "Yes! I won! I won," I said in Camron's face. He just stuck his tongue out at me and checked his phone.

     "Brooke and Jordan are on their way," he said, I nodded. Noah trudges over to where I have my sleeping bag and sits down. I walk to Noah and sit right next to him, my ass touching the hard floor. He takes my hand and intertwines it with his hand.