The Challenge

"That's the understatement of the century."

Every person has those moments. Those moments when their thoughts get clouded and the line between right and wrong gets way to blurry to see.

Those moments when you do something even when you know you'll regret it later. To most people, moments like these happen while they are extremely intoxicated or high.

Then there are the very few unlucky idiots, like me, who have these moments while they are very much awake and aware. It is possibly the most annoying feeling in the world, when you know things aren't going to end well, and yet you continue to do these excessively stupid things.
Seriously, would someone slap some sense into me?

Almost every part on me was screaming to turn around; telling me it's not too late to go home and forget about tonight. But then another part of me, the annoying and stubborn part, was pulling up in front of her house and pressing my palm against the horn with a stupid goofy grin on my face.

I saw the door open and she stepped out. She grinned and waved at me and I immediately forgot about those other parts, telling me that this was a bad idea.

I forgot that I should have been hanging out with Brad today. I forgot that I was about to show the only place in the world that was completely mine to a girl I've only known for a few days. I forgot that I was breaking so many of my dating rules by just sitting in front of her house. I forgot about all my practical thoughts and only focused on the cheerful girl bounding down the steps in her bright yellow skirt.

She pulled open the door to the passenger side and slipped in, eagerly slamming the door. I smirked at her overly happy attitude. "Ready?" I asked, already putting the car into drive.

She smiled, wiping my mind of any sensible thoughts. "Ready!" she chirped, bouncing slightly in her seat.

"This is ridiculous," she deadpanned, although I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Would you just come on," I groaned as I dragged her by the hand once again. My foot snapped small twigs as we walked through the less populated area of the beach.

"I don't understand why we couldn't go through the entrance like normal people," she groaned, pushing a branch out of her way for it to only snap back moments later.

"Now where's the fun in being normal?" I teased, earning another groan and a slap on the back from Lilly.

"You're not about to drag me into doing something illegal again, are you?"

I stopped, turning around to face her. "I'm not doing anything illegal," I promised as I resumed walking. "I think," I added quietly under my breath.

"What was that?" Lilly shouted, gripping onto my hand even tighter.

"Would you look at that! We're here," I chuckled uneasily, slowly wrenching my hand from her death grip. She glared at me before turning to the structure in front of us. Her eyes turned curious as she looked back over at me.

"A treehouse?" she asked unimpressed. I looked up at the old, most likely unstable structure, tucked between two large branches of a tree.

"Ladies first," I grinned, guiding her over to the ladder. She sent me and apprehensive look before slowly stepping up onto the ladder.

I followed her up the ladder, taking the steps that was once so familiar to me. When I reached the inside, I saw her, sitting on the ledge with her legs swinging off the side, staring straight ahead. The treehouse was small, not much to be proud of, but the view was different. It was like stepping into another world. My treehouse, unlike normal ones, had three walls. One side held the door and two other walls stretched out from that. The fourth side was gone, revealing the horizon like a giant window. I walked up to Lilly, softly sitting beside her. Her mouth was wide open and her eyes were transfixed on the view. I don't even think she noticed me sit down.