Siena
I cracked my eyes open, sunlight pouring in through the window. Before I could even remember my own name, Dylan stuck his head through the door, grinning like a madman.
"Siena, come on, get up! You'll never believe who's here!" He shouted.
I groaned, stuffing my head under the pillow again.
"Dylan, it's way too early in the morning for your early bird crap. Let me go back to sleep." I moaned.
Dylan stepped in the room, a confused look on his face. "What are you talking about? It's 12:30 in the afternoon."
"Oh my god." I moaned. "I thought I was going to get to sleep in!" I said. I had been up late the night before, working for school.
Dylan just smiled. "Well, get your ass off the bed and move it! Someone's here to see us!"
I stuck my head out from under the covers, my hair looking like a rat's rest.
"Fine." I said, throwing the covers back and shuffling into the bathroom sleepily. I ran a brush through my hair and quickly showered, dressing in jeans and a t-shirt. When I walked into the kitchen, I was greeted with friendly faces and the best smiles.
"Layla," I shouted, throwing my arms around the girl who was like my sister.
"What am I, chopped liver?" my real sister, Alessia muttered.
I smiled. "It's good to see you too, sis." I said, giving her a bear hug.
Layla was Dylan's older sister, and the same age as Alessia, 23. I had grown up with Layla so much she was practically my sister too.
"Hey Alessia." Dylan greeted her, giving her a hug. "It's great to see you guys. What brings you back here?" He asked.
Layla and Alessia just smiled at each other. "Well, we both found jobs near the city as interior designers, signed to the same company, so we decided to move back and live in an apartment here." Alessia said, slipping her hand into Layla's.
Yeah, I forgot to mention, they're a couple. They have been since they were in high school. Dylan and I were so happy when we found out.
"That's great!" I said, and Layla smiled at me.
"Don't worry guys. We have A LOT of work in this new job, so we won't be hanging around here and bothering you two." She said, leaning over and ruffling Dylan's hair.
He batted her hands away. "Hey, not the hair!" He said. "I'm not your kid brother anymore." He said, trying and failing to fix it.
Layla snorted. "What, you trying to fix it for the ladies?" She teased.
"Hey, leave me alone!" He said, but he was still smiling.
"Oh, does our little Dylan like someone?" Alessia teased, Layla joining in her laughter.
Dylan's face flushed red, looking like a tomato. I laughed, until I realized that he only did this when he did like someone.
"Shut up!" I said, slapping his arm. "Who's the girl?" I asked. "You never told me about this!"
Dylan flushed an even brighter red, if that was possible, and muttered, "I didn't want anyone to know."
I smiled. "What's her name?" I asked.
"Never mind that!" He said hurriedly. "Layla, you want to go out with Siena, and Alessia, do you want to so the new piece of music I've been working on?"
"Come on, S. Let's leave the two music buffs to their own world." Layla joked, looping her arm through mine and dragging me through the front door.
Layla and I are both adrenaline junkies. We love doing crazy things, while Alessia and Dylan are both passionate about music, with Dylan playing the guitar since we were little, and Alessia teaching little kids piano forever.
Sometimes, I think our siblings got messed up.
"So, you wanna head to the rock climbing center today?" Layla asked. "Or something more dangerous," she says, with a devilish grin on her face.
I smiled back, stepping into her car. "What did you have in mind?"
She only smiled, a hint of mystery behind it, and pulled out.
................................................................................................................................
"Here?" I asked.
"Oh yeah." Layla replied.
My jaw is scraping the floor, my eyes wide staring up at the large rock structure that greets me.
"You want me," I said, pointing to myself, "To climb this?" I sighed in defeat.
I strapped myself into the harness and start climbing the wall, over 200 feet high. If I can make it to the top in under 3 minutes, 42.5 seconds, I break the top score.
I quickly scaled the wall, putting my legs on certain footholds and finding the best spots to put my hands so they can support my weight. The further higher I went up, the harder it was to find grips.
I swung around, quickly avoiding the large chasm underneath me. Oh, I forgot to mention that. Yeah, this structure is over a large valley.
While scaling it, the sheer height of me off the ground gives me an incredible adrenaline rush. It's hard to explain if you haven't experienced it, but it feels like your blood is rushing at a thousand miles per hour, your heart is pounding, and your breath speeds up.
It's the best feeling in the world. Nothing else can compare to it, or even come close.
"Come on Siena, move faster!" Layla yelled, cheering me on.
I gritted my teeth and used the last bit of my strength to pull myself up and over the edge, just beating the clock with a time of 3 minutes, 37 seconds. What, I didn't say I had super strength. Plus, I'm still human.
Layla climbed up next to me and gives me a high-five. "I go away for 6 months and you beat me?" She joked. "I need to step up my game."
"Hell yeah you do!" I smiled. We rappelled down and took off our harnesses, going to sit in the corner to grab some water and catch up.
"So how's school going?" Layla asked, taking a swig of her water.
"Pretty good." I replied. "I'm still working hard. I really want that law degree." I said.
"Well, I know you, Siena, and once you set your mind on a goal, you don;t stop until you reach that goal."
I smiled. "You know, your brother says the exact same thing." I took a gulp of water and feeling it rehydrating and reinvigorating me, rushing through my blood.
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Layla said. "You guys have been friends for 13 years. Got any feeling under that hard surface?" She asked, nudging me playfully with her shoulder and winking.
I flushed a bright red, but whether it's from exhaustion or embarrassment, I can't tell.
"There's nothing going on between Dylan and I," I said. "Just friends."
"Yeah, how many times have I heard that same song again?" She said, rolling her eyes in a way that leads me to believe that she didn't believe me at all.
I hit her on the arm gently. "Stop it. You know that it's not true."
I ducked my head, pushing the strands of hair that fell into my face back behind my ears.
When I looked up, Layla had a smirk on her face. "I know that look, Siena. You like someone."
I shook my head and mutter, "Shut up."
She bumped my shoulder with hers. "So, what's his name? Is he a freshman?"
I sighed, accepting defeat. I nodded. "He's a freshman, and his name is Nick." I tried not to smile. "I've seen him around, and I thought I'd ask him out soon enough, when the time is right."
Layla smiled. "You go girl. Go get him."
I laughed. "I'm just really busy right now." I say. "I have to focus on school too."
She nodded. "Always put yourself first and be your own person, Siena."
She pointed over at a man standing by the wall we had just scaled. "Look at him, would ya? Pretty cute, even though I don't feel that way towards him. Or other guys."
I glanced over at who she's talking about, and my eyes widened slightly in small surprise. "That's him. That's Nick, the guy I was telling you about. I knew he came here sometimes from the times that we've talked in class but I didn't expect to see him here."
Layla smiled. "What are you waiting for, girl? Got get him."
I smiled, and put on all the confidence that I had built up inside me. Walking up behind him, a tapped his shoulder, and he turned around to face me.
His face broke out into a breathtaking smile. "Siena, I didn't expect to see you here! Hey, did you see?" He asked, pointing to the time board. "There's a new person who broke my record!"
I smirked. "I didn't see it. I did it."
His eyes widened in appreciation.
"Wow! That's amazing." Nick smiled, and rubs the back of his neck nervously.
I grinned. Time to rip the band-aid off.
"Hey, do you want to grab dinner this Saturday night?" I asked. "You're pretty cute, and smart." I winked.
Nick grinned rakishly. "Sure."
"Great." I smiled. I turn around then turn back. "I'll text you the address and time."
I walked off to Layla, leaving him in stunned silence and his jaw hanging open.
"Good going! You got yourself a date." Layla cheered.
I smiled. "It wasn't that hard. All it takes is a little bit of confidence."
Layla and I headed back to the front counter, dropping our stuff on it and walking out the front of the space.
"Well, I know you, Siena, and if there's anything you have a lot of, it's confidence."
"Thanks," I said, without too much feeling. I only get attached to a few people, two of which do not include my parents.
"Nick's nice, but I don't really see it going anywhere with him, you understand?"
"Yeah, I do, Siena." Layla said. "If the feelings aren't there, don't get too involved. But it's still perfectly ok to have some fun and meet new people."
I smiled. "Yeah. "That's the great thing about having confidence, even if it attracts people you don't like.
Layla laughed, and we get in her car to go home. She turned on the radio to my favorite station, and the song washes over me.
I rolled the window down and feel the breeze blowing against my face. Unfortunately, before I can enjoy it, it whipped my hair back into my face and I quickly roll the window up.
I scowled at Layla, who's trying her hardest not to laugh, and closed my eyes, listening to the music, losing myself in my thoughts.
■ □ ■ □ ■ □
Hey my blue cookies! What's up? Sorry this chapter's a bit late, as I'm sure most of you know, I won Sarahsnothere's contest! Yay! So I was spending a ton of time writing my entry for that, trying to get it done. I introduced some new characters in this chapter too. They'll be very important later on, so get excited for them to play a major role in Siena and Dylan's relationship. By the way, if you are not ok with LGBTQ+ people, please do not voice your opinions in the comments. They are not appreciated and will not be tolerated. But if there's any of you out there who are ok with it, give me a thumbs up! I love the entire community!
Tell me, who do you think should portray Alessia, Layla, and Nick? I'm clueless. Comment and vote, and please tell me if there's anything wrong, editing-wise.
Thanks!
~Vi