Hells Angel

Avery found herself unable to sleep the next morning. She spent an hour tossing and turning as the sun rose outside of her window. She had weird dreams all night—the reservation, Linley, Jacob and all of his friends. She was never into dream analyzing but she did find herself often curious as to what they meant. She threw her comforter off her legs and went into her bathroom, pulling on a pair of leggings, a sports bra and tank top before socks and her running shoes. She grabbed her armband and Zune, leaving her cellphone charging on her bed, and quietly walked down the stairs and out of her house. She sometimes wished she had the motivation to run every morning, instead of the once or twice a week she currently maintained, but sleep was more appealing some days.

Some days she felt like she could run for hours. Run away from the problems and basically her whole world. After her mother died, running seemed to be her only refuge. Running didn't solve anything, but it sure helped her sort her thoughts out. She turned her music up, Rise Against this time, and ran down the street. Their home wasn't exactly in a secluded area, more like right on the edge of the reservation She didn't particularly want to run through the reservation, but she was interested in seeing the view from the top. She turned left and headed up the dirt path that everyone drove on, losing herself in the music and the scenery.

She ran for at least thirty, forty minutes—a few miles, she never really kept track, until she found a cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. She smiled and walked over to the edge, slowly, turning her music down. She had a cramp in her side and her breathing was labored, but it didn't bother her. She took her headphones out, pausing the music, and sat down in the first, watching the waves crash against the sand. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around, seeing Jacob, and she didn't know if she felt annoyed or relieved.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” he asked, sitting beside her, three or four feet away.

She nodded. “I've never seen the ocean before now,” she admitted.

Jacob looked over at her, dark eyes wide. “Really?”

She nodded again. “We lived inland for years, mainly near the mountains. Lakes and rivers? I've seen a hundred. But the ocean?” she couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face. “It's so big and so free. It makes me feel jealous.”

“Why jealous?”

She shrugged. “I wish I could be that free. It's why I run. I try to run to freedom, away from my problems,” she told him. She wasn't sure why she was confiding, or if what she was saying could actually be a secret, but it confused her.

“I know what you mean,” he said quietly.

Avery looked over at him, really looking at him. His skin was darker than anyone back home, his eyes were the same. He was tall, easy half a foot taller than her five foot nine frame, and built. Of course she found him attractive—who wouldn't? But she wasn't interested. Of course not.

Jacob stared back, something hiding in his eyes that Avery couldn't describe. He bit his lip, a war raging inside of himself. He couldn't fight who he belonged with, but he didn't have to admit it to himself. As long as he kept denying it, maybe it would change. It was wishful thinking but it was all that he had.

“Stop,” Avery said, looking back out to the ocean.

“Stop what?” Jacob asked.

She stood up, brushing the dirt off of her back side. “Stop staring at me like you're going to pounce on me and devour me or something,” she said. “Wait. Devour. I have to listen to Shinedown,” she said, changing the music on her Zune and popping back in one earphone.

Jacob smiled.

“What?”

He shook his head. “Inside joke.”

“They always are,” she muttered.

“Do you run every morning?”

She shrugged. “Sometimes. Sometimes I don't.”

“Very vague.”

“Is it annoying?”

“A little bit.”

“Now you know how I feel when I talk to you,” she said, popping in her other ear phone. She sent him a fake salute and started running again. The music wasn't as loud and she was only one song in when she had the distinct feeling of being watched fall over her. She looked to her side to see Jacob running along side of her. He had disposed of his shirt before the run and Avery's eyes widened for the briefest of seconds before she returned to normal. She raised her hand to remove an earphone. “Stalking?”

Jacob laughed. “Wanna race?”

“You couldn't keep up,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Care to make it interesting?” he asked.

Avery slowed her pace before she stopped running. She held her side. “First of all—no, I don't bet. Second of all—no, I don't want to make it interesting. Third of all—it wouldn't be fair, as I have been running for over an hour and you just started. You clearly have more energy than I,” she told him.

Jacob smiled. “You scared?”

“Never scared,” she said.

“Really?” he asked, taking a step closer to her.

“Never.”

“Nothing scares you?”

“Besides spiders,” she admitted quietly. “But they have too many legs, okay?”

Jacob laughed. “Whoever makes it to your house first has to make dinner for the other. And more than macaroni,” he said.

“I'm not betting!”

“On the count of three—“ he began.

“Jacob, you—“

“One—“

“I hate you.”

“Two—“

“This is not a race!”

“Three!” Jacob yelled as he started running out of the woods.

“Asshole,” Avery muttered before she took off running as well. She wasn't going down without a fight.

+

“I think I'd like some orichetta,” Avery mused, laying on the blacktop in the middle of the road, clutching her side.

“Yeah?” Jacob asked, breathing even and calm.

“With Alfredo sauce. Yeah, I miss Olive Garden,” she said, laughing.

Jacob smiled. “You know you lost, right?”

“I did not lose,” Avery told him. “I reached my destination when I wanted to.”

“You lost.”

“You had more energy.”

“I just run faster.”

“If it were a fair race, I would have won, hands down,” Avery told him.

“Of course you would've,” Jacob said, head falling to the side to watch Avery.

Avery breathed in deep, trying to ease the cramp in her side but it wasn't working. “Damn, I hadn't run for like a week. That just kicked my ass.”

“Better than you kicking mine,” he decided.

Avery looked over at him. “I could still do that.”

“In your weakened state? I think not.”

“Maybe tomorrow I will,” she decided, nodding. “Yeah, tomorrow.”

Jacob laughed. “At least I know in advance to watch out.”

Avery smiled, but it faded with discomfort as Jacob just stared at her again. “You have to stop doing that. It makes you look like a creeper,” she said quietly.

“I know,” he whispered. “I just can't help myself, though.”

“And on that note,” Avery declared, standing up and wiping off her clothes.

“Did I say something wrong?” Jacob asked, eyes wide as he sat up.

I will not look at his chest. I will not look at his chest. I will not—Oh screw it, yes, I will. Avery cursed herself. “Goddammit, I have to go inside,” she said, keeping her eyes downcast.

“I'm horribly confused right now,” he muttered.

“As you should be,” Avery told him. “I just. This is. No deal. Too cliché. I'm going inside.”

“What's too cliché?”

“With the staring at the...comments and the... No deal. I don't do this whole boy drama thing,” she said, crossing her arms.

“What boy drama? I was just looking at you!” Jacob said.

Avery scoffed. “Yeah, well...don't.”

Jacob laughed. “Okay, so just never look at you again?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, that's a plan,” he mocked, rolling his eyes.

“Goodbye, Jacob,” she said, making her way back towards her house.

“So you'll be over at seven tomorrow?”

She paused, turning around, frowning. “Seven tomorrow for what?” she asked.

He smiled. “To make me dinner.”

“Fuck you.”

“Is that a yes?”

She bit the inside of her lip. It was rare for her to find someone who understood her witty banter and actually came back with sarcastic remarks of their own. Maybe he was a keeper. Or maybe not. “Six works better for me.”

“Six it is. You can get directions from Linley after movie night. See you later, Aves,” he said, smiling, before walking back into the woods.

Avery cursed. She was already sick of his mood swings, staring, and six pack. She didn't need a distraction during her senior year. She wanted to study hard, go to college, and move away. And she really couldn't afford to have a boyfriend and all of the drama included in that. She had a theory about boys—a premature one, but one she tried to follow anyway. The better looking they were, the more trouble they caused. And if that was the case with Jacob, he was trouble in spades.