He didn't notice her for a long time. As soon as she started running faster than him, he realized she was there.
She wasn't breaking a sweat. She quickly tied her hair into a messy ponytail without missing a beat. So he increased his speed until he was running faster than her. He kept his eyes on her, seeing if she would notice. She did, and she picked up her pace. He ran faster. She ran faster. Suddenly, he slipped and fell off the treadmill.
"Ow."
"Oh my God," she hit stop and jumped off her treadmill, running over to him. He was a crumpled mess on the gym floor. He was more embarrassed then hurt. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured her. She knelt next to him anyways.
"You just fell off a treadmill."
He laughed. She caught his eye and…whoa. Her eyes were hypnotizing. They were such a deep blue, they looked violet this close.
"I love this song," she said at last, breaking the silence. He listened, too.
Where are you now?
As I'm swimming through the stereo
I'm writing you a symphony of sound
Where are you now?
As I rearrange the songs again
This mix could burn a hole in anyone
But it was you I was thinking of.
"The Mixed Tape? Jack's Mannequin?" he guessed. She grinned.
"Yeah, that's it," she said. "I'm Mikayla, by the way."
"I'm Carlos."
"Nice to meet you. And I have to say…you never would have run faster than me."
"Oh really?"
"I ran cross country back home. That was a piece of cake for me."
"I think I would've caught up."
"Legit?"
"I believe it with every fiber of my being."
He stood and offered out a hand. As soon as their palms touched, a wave of fiery heat flushed her cheeks. He pulled her to her feet. Mikayla smiled awkwardly, her bangs falling into her face. It was like she was looking at him through a curtain of red.
"So what brings you to LA?" Carlos asked.
"Change. New opportunities," Mikayla shrugged. "Sometimes you just have to get away. Florida was beautiful, but I just…" She trailed off.
"I moved from Florida a few years ago." Carlos said.
"So what brought you here?" Mikayla asked.
"Opportunity," he grinned. "I got cast in a TV show."
"So you're the actor type. What show?"
"Big Time Rush. You ever hear of it?"
"Yeah, actually-"
"Carlos!" another boy walked into the gym. "We have to go, we need to meet the new actress." He looked at Mikayla, in an 'Oh who's your friend?' sort of way.
Were all boys in California adorable?
"Oh, hey Logan," said Carlos, picking up his gym bag.
"This time, I'm driving." Logan waved the keys in the air and slipped them in his pocket. Carlos sighed and followed him out of the gym. Then he stopped. He turned and gave a little wave. She smiled and waved back.
As soon as he was gone, she made a little wish that she would see him again. Even though she was almost sixteen and probably too old for wishing, she couldn't help but hope.