I felt my sneakers hit the hot asphalt as me and the rest of the team trudged our way out of the school parking lot. I'd barely had them a week and they were already worn in. My friend Amy pulled her black hair back into a hasty pony tail. "God, does it ever get below ninety degrees out here?"
"Oh, it does. It's the humidity you gotta look out for," Justin Parking said, jumping into stride beside us. "These weeks are just the hot ones. Wait till October. You'll be longing for the sun."
"I doubt that," Amy said, smiling. Justin smiled back, casting his bright blue eyes down at his own shoes.
He lengthened his stride and began to catch up with the rest of the boy's team, who usually ran ahead of us by a mile or so. Once he had, Amy watched his figure with large doe eyes. I laughed. "What?" She cried, still smiling.
"You're so into each other!" I cried. "Why don't you just admit it and go on a date before school starts."
"I just don't think he's into me like that. He's…A-team. I'm barely junior varsity."
I snorted. "That has nothing to do with it! Trust me! Ask. Him. Out!"
At that moment, we ran around the corner of the school. We had a long windy road that passed behind our school, running from the main parking lot in the front and then into a small, more secluded parking lot. It looked right over the football field and baseball diamond. We didn't have much at our school and it looked like we had more teams then we did. Our school barely had more than 3,000 students in it and we hadn't had a baseball team in two years. Our football team sucked but that didn't stop the whole school from supporting them.
The two biggest teams in our school were the cross country running team, which is what I was on. I'd been on it since freshman year, before it was so huge and important. However, I worked hard and was now one of the higher standing junior varsity runners. Our varsity teams were almost a shoe in for states this year.
The second biggest team was…
"HEY RUNNERS!" We all stopped in our tracks, our hearts beating against our chests from the sudden stop and the exclamation. Standing in the small parking lot was a group of around thirty kids. They were all dressed in baggy t-shirts and shorts. Every single one of their t-shirts was the same and all the shorts were black with a white stripe down the side. Black flip- flops were on their feet. The shirts all were bright blue and white (our school's colors) with black letters over the back. MARCHING BAND, they said, screaming out to the world.
"Band geeks," Justin cried, walking over to them. One of the taller band members walked over to meet him halfway, a smirk plastered on his tan face, his saxophone bouncing with his stride on his neck strap.
"What are ya'll doin' back here?" The saxophonist, named Carter, asked, still smirking at our skinny figures. He, himself, was a senior and very well built in the chest and arms. Leather bracelets outlined his wrists and a silver snake ring ran around his middle finger.
"Only way out to the trails," Justin retorted, folding his hands over his own rather skinny chest.
"Well then, get on your way and get of ours!" Carter cried, his smirk folding into a frown.
I looked over at Amy, who was biting her lip in concentration. The other band members were starting to crowd behind Carter. I searched the faces and finally found the one I wanted. We barely met eyes for a second but it was enough to get the message across.
"What makes you think you can boss us around?" Michael, a smaller blond boy asked.
"Well, if you actually looked at us…" Carter said, holding out his well muscled arms and gesturing to the other band members, who weren't that bad either.
"You'd have to catch us first!" Gabe called.
"If you actually had the balls to fight us, we'd win faster than you can run your little race!" Kyle, a flutist, said.
"Big words for a guy playing a girl's instrument!" Gabe called back.
"Yah," Michael agreed. "I've heard your mom hit higher notes in the shower!"
All hell broke loss. Kyle ran at us and Michael didn't argue. They charged at each other. Carter ran at Justin, throwing him to the ground. Amy screamed and started to run over to them but I stopped her. "No!" I hissed. She stared at me with her big brown eyes but I didn't let her out of my grip.
"Guys! Let's go!" Gabe was standing above the crowd and began to move toward the trails that led to the woods. Taking one last look at the marching band, we gathered together and ran back into the woods to finish our warm up.
"That was way too close today!" Daniel muttered, pulling me by my waist closer to him. We were lying on my bed, the only light coming from the single lamp sitting on my bedside table. My mom and dad got divorced around two years ago and I stayed with my mom now. She was a nurse and had the night shift at the local hospital. Every night she left at seven and got home the next morning around seven. It. Was. Great!
Daniel leaned over and kissed my cheek. "You sound so concerned," I said, laughing as he hand ran its way down my side.
"Yah, I know. But…I'm just worried," he sat up and leaned against the wall. "You should've heard Carter after you guys left. Some of the ninth graders had to cover their ears."
"I know, we could hear him."
He laughed. Daniel was in the band as well, being the next best saxophonist after Carter. We'd been dating for around a year. We couldn't tell anyone though. If we did, it would probably be the last straw in our teams' feud. So we kept our romantic feelings quiet. However, hard it was.
After a moment of silence, Daniel sighed. "What are we gonna do?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, nuzzling into his neck.
"What are we gonna do if there's an even bigger fight. I don't wanna hurt you or Amy or anyone."
I nodded. "And it'll look way to suspicious if neither of us join the fight. They might find out about…us."
Daniel smiled and intertwined our fingers. I pulled his hand up to my lips and kissed his fingers. "I should probably get some sleep." I whispered into his ear.
He laughed. "Falling asleep at ten o'clock in August. Weird much?"
"I have to be a school at nine for practice!" I argued, laughing.
He nodded. "I know, I know. I'm pretty tired too."
"You'll be gone before Mom comes back, right?" I asked, always nervous.
"I always am," he assured me.
And with that, he leaned over and pulled the chain on my lamp, enveloping my room in darkness and flirtatious giggles.