The Challenge

"Seriously, those things can cut steel."

I counted the seconds after I left the classroom. The seconds where the only sounds were my sneakers squeaking against the empty hallway floors.

At one second, my hands were clenched and the desire to turn around was still so strong. But I didn't let myself.

At five seconds, my gaze was still trained on the doors leading out of this God Forsaken place. My nails were digging into my palms and I was trying so hard not run back to her. But I was far too determined and I kept walking, telling myself that I couldn't keep running back to her and I wouldn't care if she comes running to me. And so what if my steps faltered when the memory of her watery eyes came to my mind.

At ten seconds, I was barely holding on. Each step got harder and each pounding heartbeat sounded louder and louder until it was all I could hear. My heart was pounding, beating in quick, unstable successions.

When I reached sixteen seconds, I started to count out loud. The words tangled and raspy under my breath.

I got to twenty and I would like nothing more than for her to chase after me.

It was twenty three seconds when I first heard footsteps running behind me.

I was two feet from the doors, but the second I heard those footsteps, I whirled around. I was expecting to see Lilly, all wide eyed and innocent with her brown curls flying in every direction, her lips parted as she took deep breaths. She would have to had stood there for a few moments to catch her breath, her short legs tired from having to make up the distance between us. She would be still trying to talk even though she could barely breath. She would look crazy and tired but still oh so beautiful.

But it wasn't Lilly that was running behind me; it was Brad.

He skidded to a stop in front of me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He looked at me in disbelief.

"I'm leaving," I stated, turning around.

He ran ahead of me, stopping me in my tracks. "You think you can just leave like that. You think you can just walk away after you're little outburst back there," he challenged but I knew there was no real warning in his tone.

"Yes, I do," I bit back. I pushed past him, making sure my shoulder knocked into his as I walked past.

"What do you think is going to happen when you walk away?" Brad nearly yelled. "Do you think she's going to forgive you? Do you think your declaration is going to get you anywhere? News flash, Dustin, I'm the only one who bothered to follow you. No one cares about you. She doesn't care about-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before I had grabbed him by his collar and slammed him against the lockers.

"I would choose your next words carefully if I were you," I growled.

I saw the contemplation in his eyes. He was debating his next move, whether he should fight back or walk away.

"Get off of me," he finally said, pushing me away.

I stepped back watching Brad scramble to pick up the remaining pieces of his dignity.

"I don't know what you're doing, man, but if this is some game it's not funny anymore," Brad said.

I shook my head. "This isn't a game."

Brad ran his fingers through his hair, ignoring me. "She was a target. She was another stage, another level you had to conquer."

"No," I argued. "she's a person."
Brad was looking at me but it didn't seem like he heard a word I said.
"She was just a bet. No, she was the bet, the ultimate bet. And you blew it. You blew everything I had planned for her. God, she fell in love with you in a week. You got the stone-cold girl to fall in love with you," he cried, like I had just achieved the impossible.