Crash

It’s strange. That feeling you get when you’re running for absolutely no reason. Each breath you take gets more shallow, and for some reason you just can’t stop yawning even though you’re not even close to being tired. I used to watch joggers when I was young. I’d be in my parent’s car and we’d be driving to God knows where, and I’d see older girls jogging. I never really understood why, but I’d just stare at them. It’s funny because I’m pretty sure the first thing one of those girls’ thinks of when she steps out of her house for her morning jog is ‘Everyone is going to be looking at me.’ And then she’d nervously step out, and begin her jog, thinking every person in every car was staring at her while they passed by.

Me, on the other hand, didn’t really give a crap as I was basically climbing up the winding road that led deeper into the forests. Cars were zooming past me but I didn’t take a look at them. I had jogged past my small town through the western slopes of Sierra Nevada in Northern California and was running up a winding hill. My breathing was becoming louder and my obnoxious windbreaker sweatpants were making stupid noises every time my legs moved.

I stopped for a second on the side of the road and looked to see if anyone was coming, and then I crossed it slowly, with my hands resting on the sides of my torso. But before I could even take a small breath, I heard a loud beeping sound of a horn, and I turned to see a car coming right at me after turning a sharp corner. I quickly jumped out of the way and into a small ditch located at the side of the road and heard the car halt to a stop.

“Holy shit!” I heard someone yell. I heard a car door slam, heard feet rushing towards me, and then felt hands lifting me up. I immediately pushed the hands off of me and got up myself.

“What the hell, you almost hit me!” I exclaimed while brushing the dirt and leaves off of my body.

“Woah, it’s you.”

I looked up to see none other than the Micah boy I saw the other day at my school, staring at me. His hazel eyes looked at me attentively, as if he wasn't sure how I was going to react.

“Well you don’t seem too happy to see me,” I muttered while brushing myself off a little more. “You really should be a tad bit more polite after almost killing me, douchebag.”

I then turned away from him and started walking back down the hill.

“No, wait- ” Micah said while grabbing my arm from behind to turn me around. I quickly yanked it from his grasp.

“Don’t touch me.” I said angrily. Micah stepped back a little as I quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out a cigarette out of a pack and then pulled out a lighter. I placed the cigarette in my mouth with my shaky hands, and then lit it.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Micah began.

“What? You didn’t mean to what? Almost run me over? Or you didn’t mean to physically assault me just now?” I asked. I blew a puff of smoke out of the side of my mouth, and watched it as it disintegrated into the air.

“All of the above?” Micah replied. I just scoffed and continued to walk down. Micah followed me. I stopped and turned around to face him and he stuffed his hands into his jean pockets. His leg was fidgeting again.

“So, is that like a nervous habit or what?” I asked while inhaling on my cigarette and blowing the cloud of smoke into the air again. Micah shot me a confused look and I just lifted one of my eyebrows. “Your leg. It always twitches.”

“Oh,” Micah said while looking down at his leg. “I don’t know, I guess it just happens when I’m feeling nervous.”

“So, you’re nervous right now?” I asked and stepped towards him. Micah just rolled his eyes and I laughed bitterly. “Don’t roll your eyes, you look like a teenage girl.” I muttered.

I turned around and kept walking down the hill and back towards my house but Micah still continued to follow.

“You are the weirdest girl I’ve ever met,” He said bluntly.

“Aw, thanks,” I replied over my shoulder.

“Please let me just take you home or something,” Micah said. “I almost just ran you over, the least I can do is take you home.” I stopped again and turned around to look at him and Micah just shrugged.

“I think that’s a bad idea,” I replied shortly and began walking again.

“Why?” Micah asked, his steps getting louder behind me as the downward hill got steeper.

“I’m not the type of person you want to get to know,” I said while putting my cigarette out on the road. I stepped on it and continued walking. “I’m really not." I continued walking for a little while, until I heard Micah's voice again.

“Did you know that that is a Giant Sequoia right over there?” Micah asked. I stopped walking, with my back towards Micah, but then sighed and turned around. He pointed to a literally gigantic tree that seemed to go up for miles. It was a little ways away and seemed to be deeper in the forest, but no other trees seemed to be surrounding it. It was thick and round and I was surprised I didn’t see it as I was jogging. I’ve seen Giant Sequoias before, but they’re usually further deep into the Sierra Nevada at national parks. So I was surprised to see one here, remotely close to my town. “They’re actually really named Sequoiadendron giganteum, but I guess that doesn’t sound cool enough for us to call them that or whatever. Did you know that one tree can hold 11,000 pinecones?”

I raised my eyebrow at the peculiar boy in front of me.

“So are you a closeted nerd or something?” I asked and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

Micah laughed. “Kind of like that,” He replied and smiled that same lopsided smile he did when I had first seen him. His curly tousled hair, and my straight brown hair were blowing in the cold wind and I instinctively held my arms closer to my body. “See you’re cold, just let me take you home.”

“No,” I replied and continued to walk.

“Why won’t you let me take you home?” He asked while walking towards me.

“Why are you so fucking persistent on it?” I asked back. “Go back to your car before another car hits it like you almost hit me.”

“I’m not going back without you.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” I said sharply. “What is your problem?”

Micah shrugged and lifted his hands from both sides of his body and slowly walked backwards.

“I have no problem, “ He stated. “You, on the other hand, I can’t vouch much for.”

“You’re a dick,” I muttered.

“What’s your name?” He asked. I narrowed my eyes at him and stared at him for a few seconds while he stopped and leaned himself against a tree.

“Peyton Oleander,” I muttered.

“As in Kingston Oleander’s little sister?” Micah asked. I rolled my eyes and nodded. Micah didn’t say anything for a second, and all that could be heard was the wind blowing between the trees. “I’ve heard about you,” He said softly.

“Oh," I said. "Hm, let me guess. You heard that I’m crazy?” I asked. Micah didn't say anything and I just shook my head and pulled out another cigarette and lit it. I inhaled and starting walking towards Micah. “Or no wait wait, you’ve heard that I’ve stolen television sets from people’s homes only to pawn them off for money for drugs. Or that I've been to a psych ward. Or that I live in a tent in my backyard because I refuse to sleep in my own house." I stepped closer and closer to him, to the point where I was literally pinning him against the tree he was leaning on. My body was pressed against his tightly and his breathing was getting heavy. I stood on my toes and placed my lips near his ear to whipser: “Or have you heard that I fuck that one man who hangs outside of Ralph’s every afternoon asking everyone for beer, just for fun?” I leaned closer to him and Micah adverted his eyes to anywhere but mine. “Come on Micah, tell me what you have heard.”

Micah pushed me off of him and started walking back to his car and I just laughed and dropped my cigarette on the ground again, and then crushed it with my foot.

“So what? You’re afraid of me now?” I almost yelled. Micah stopped, stepped forward and backwards slightly, but then turned around and began walking back quickly towards me, making it my turn to be backed up against the tree. He didn’t pin me against it though, as I had done him, instead he just stood there and looked at me.

“I’m not afraid of you,” He muttered. The wind was now making sharp noises, that resembled the noise a tea kettle would make once the water was boiling. It became louder, and louder, and then it stopped right as Micah opened his mouth. “But I know that everyone else is," He said quietly. "And I can tell that you like it."

He shot me one last look before walking back to his car, getting in, and driving back down the hill towards town, leaving me leaning against a tree, staring at the spot where he had once been.