Hey guys! Sorry to keep you waiting – I actually ended up reading a bunch of fics that kept me way too invested to be writing my own stuff haha. Thank you so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it – so motivating! Anyway, here's another chapter. I had some fun with this one, so I hope you like it! Let me know what you think. I'll try to get the next one up soon.

Chapter 3

"I… I don't even know what to say." She spoke in a near whisper through her fingers. "I'm humiliated."

"Please don't be. It's totally fine." I tried.

"It's totally not fine." She said quietly. "Now you're never going to think well of me." I hoped she wasn't being serious.

"Ashley, I swear, I don't care at all."

"Ash, it's fine," Glen put a hand on her shoulder and she swatted it off angrily.

"No, it's not. So stop saying it is." She snapped. None of us made a peep, not wanting to be the next one to be snapped at. "What did I do?" She said, after a long silence.

"You just were getting sick and I helped you a little."

"And I made you stay with me?" She asked, looking afraid.

"You didn't make me, but you asked me and I didn't want you to be alone so I stayed. It's really not a big - "

"Stop saying that." She interrupted.

"Sorry." My eyes fell, and I felt awkward.

"Did… anything else happen?" She looked at me with begging eyes, as if she was afraid of something… something specific having happened.

"Like what?" I asked, honestly curious.

"I'm asking you." She insisted, her eyes flicking between me and her hands.

"Nope. You just got sick and then we got you clean and I took you home and we went to sleep in your bed."

"That's why…" She trailed off. A quiet epiphany dawned on her face, but her expression quickly sobered.

"That's why what?"

"Nothing."

"No, seriously."

"Seriously, nothing." She said with finality. I decided that I didn't want to cross her right now, but I made myself a vow to figure it out later. The others were still silent around us, as if waiting for her to let them speak. "Well, for whatever it's worth, I'm really embarrassed, for the third time. I hate that you met me that way."

"Well it's fine." I reassured. She averted her eyes ashamedly, and I could feel myself blushing too, though why I didn't know. We are all silent again, and I mentally groped for words.

"Well, this has been fun." Glen said, his fingers gripping Ashley's shoulder once again. This time she didn't swat.

"A pleasure." Ashley sighed, glancing quickly at me, and then back down to her fingers, which tapped against her jeans.

"So, Ash, wanna get out of here?" Glen asked, walking around the car.

"Glen, you got here like, an hour ago." Aiden piped up. I had almost forgotten that he was here, which was strange because he set the whole ordeal in motion.

"And…." There was a pause. With no response from Aiden, Glen looked down to me. "You can get out now."

I unclicked my seatbelt and was just about to leave the car when Ashley spoke up again.

"Actually, Glen, I think Spencer and I need to get to know one another a little better. Properly. I come get you in a little while." My head snapped around and met her eyes. They told me to stay. I looked back to Glen and shrugged my shoulders.

"Fine." He huffed, displeased. "You're going to make it up to me later though." He winked at her. She closed her eyes and plastered a closed-mouth smile onto her face.

"Bye girls." Aiden said, a similar smile on his face.

"See you guys."

Ashley was quiet. Her eyes were still closed but the smile had turned into a line, pressed thin. I longed to know what she was thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" I couldn't help asking.

"Just trying to come up with ways to redeem myself – Don't." She asserted, seeing me open my mouth to reassure her. She exhaled a long breath. "Where do you want to go?" I paused, thinking.

"Well given that I don't really even know where I am, I think that's a question better posed to you."

"I knew you'd say something like that." She smiled a little. My stomach fluttered a little. I smiled. I liked seeing her smile. "It's a good thing I'm decisive."

She threw the car in reverse and we were rolling off towards a destination unknown to me.

Minutes ticked by in silence. The late afternoon scenery streamed past us as the wind caused my hair to fly in a number of directions. I couldn't think of the last time I was driving with the top down. Life in the city was different – faster paced. Not in the literal sense of course, the speedometer needle climbed higher and higher, my adrenaline pumping more or less in proportion. I reveled in the trees that lined the street rather than busy pedestrians, the fact that I could see a clear sky, free of skyscrapers. Flat horizons lay on all sides. I felt like I could scream, like I could sing. I didn't know what it was about Ashley, but when I was in her presence I could go from somber to ecstatic in moments, and the opposite, – without her having to do a thing.

I looked at her, trying to suppress the stupid smile on my face. She glanced back at me and didn't even meet my eyes – her gaze drifted upward to the flying mess of yellow.

"Nice hair." She laughed. I laughed too. She looked back to the road, but I couldn't take my eyes away from her. She was smiling: her bronze cheeks dimpled, genuinely smiling. Her nose crinkled adorably, and the corners of her eyes pinched together.

"Nice face." I don't know what made me say those sincere words, but I loathed myself the moment they crossed my dumb, suddenly smile-less lips. My eyes grew wide and I heard a brief pause in her laughing.

She looked at me again and I quickly looked away, embarrassed even further that I was staring. After a moment she continued laughing, even harder. This time it was Ashley who wouldn't stop looking at me. When I peeked back at her she giggled, so I did too. Our giggles continued, eventually turning into full-blown laughs. She looked at me again, her eyes wild and expressive. They spoke of excitement, of questioning.

"Why are you laughing?" I struggled to compose the sentence.

"Why are you?" She retorted, also struggling to stifle the laugh.

"I don't know!" I nearly screamed. I knew she didn't either.

We continued our exchange of incomprehensibly hilarious glances, laughter filling the air, growing increasingly loud, becoming howls. She screamed like a hyena, while I became breathless, laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe, couldn't make a sound. Her eyes glistened with tears.

Why were we laughing?

Neither of us knew, and that's what made it so magical. My hair continued to whip through the air, golden tendrils reaching blissfully into the air. I ran my hands through it then threw them out to my sides, imagining for a moment that we were flying. Something felt different here. Something felt different with her. I felt something swelling up inside: a euphoric wave, an intangible happiness, bubbling its way from my core, threatening to explode from me. I closed my eyes and leaned back: I felt free.

There was no music but that of the wind in our ears, the resonating laughter that grew softer. The silence that would have felt claustrophobic before, that would have made me anxious was now liberating. I had never felt like this before.

I could feel my face fall when I felt the car slow beneath us. Wherever we were going, we were close. Don't get me wrong, I was excited for her to show me her world, but I didn't want this ride to end. I could tell she felt the same way: her face, though still smiling, relaxed into contentedness. I felt happy that at the very least, she felt better than when we left the site.

Soon we had pulled into a driveway, and I knew where we were. Split rail fencing lined either side of the unpaved gravel road, and behind these fences were horses, speckling the property in chestnuts, bays, and pintos. We were going to see Riddle. Seeing that I understood, she spoke

"I hadn't seen him yet today, so I figured we could pay him a visit." I nodded in reply.

We got out of the car and stepped into the barn, where numerous horses stuck their heads out of their stalls, nickering in welcome. We stopped at the last stall on the left, where a big black head hung.

"Riddle-Man!" She cooed, taking the underside of his jaw into her hands and pressing her forehead into his face. She planted a kiss on the white blaze between his eyes. I smiled – it was very cute, her affection for her horse. "Want to pet him?" She asked, turning to me. I hesitated, opening my mouth to speak, but gaping. Her eyes rolled playfully, "Why did I even ask?" She quickly seized my wrist, which tingled at her touch once again, and our eyes met briefly before she forcibly dragged my hand up and down Riddle's face. Eventually she let go, and I pet him on my own. "See, not so bad, eh?" I smiled bashfully, a little unsure of what I should say. "Now, want to ride him?"

"Ashley, no." I said firmly.

"We'll only make him walk, you wimp. We can ride together." I still hesitated. She jutted out her lower lip, pouting, and her hands clasped together before her chest. Her eyes bore into mine, pressuring me. "Please?" She had me at lip-jut.

She slipped what she called a 'halter' over his head and clipped a lead rope to the part under his chin, then led him out of his stall.

"Aren't you supposed to use saddles and bridles? With bits that go in their mouths?" I asked, a little nervous at the lack of control devices present.

"Yep." She said quietly. She led him outside beside the little 3-step block used for mounting.

"Well are you going to?"

"Nope." She smiled wryly at me. I rolled my eyes, trying not to let my face betray me, telling how nervous I really was.

She threw the lead rope over the base of his neck, stepped onto the block, and threw her leg over his dark back. She looked down at me expectantly, as if to say, 'well?'

"Ashley, I don't know if I can…"

"Nonsense." She wouldn't hear it. "You're getting on."

"But I've never ridden before, and - "

"Will you please just trust me?"

"You have an interrupting problem."

"Just trust me." She said finally, ignoring my valid criticism. She stuck her hand out to me. I stepped nervously onto the block. "Now do exactly what I did. Stick your right leg over his back and push yourself up. You can use me for support." I swallowed thickly. I lifted my right leg, closed my eyes, and pushed off forcefully with my left leg, grabbing for Ashley as soon as I had clamored on. "Guess what?" She spoke in a near whisper.

"What?"

"You did it." She smiled back at me, "You're on a horse." I smiled, secretly a little proud of myself. My sense of victory was short lived – Ashley's heels tapped Riddle's sides, and he took a large step forward. Feeling the animal move beneath me, my arms instinctively wrapped tightly around Ashley's stomach.

"Sorry" I said, removing my arms as soon as I felt stable.

"It's fine, you can keep them there if it makes you feel safe." She replied quietly, not looking back at me. I wished I could read her face right now.

"Okay." I sighed, rewrapping my arms. I did it partly because I truly did feel safer with a hold on her, but I won't lie, it felt good to be wrapped around her, to have our bodies pressed close together once more. There was something static between us, something that electromagnetically bound us to one another.

The tops of my thighs met the back of hers, and our hips swayed together as Riddle took each step. We walked back down the driveway and across the street, into a large field of yellow-green grass as tall as at least my waist. The tops of the tall grass tickled my Capri-clad legs where the skin was exposed.

We wound up a partially beaten path, the scenery passing us slowly, the sun growing lower on the horizon. It occurred to me suddenly that I hadn't known this girl for even 24 hours. I hadn't known her for a day, and here I was, tight against her body, wrapped securely in just the sounds of nature: the brushing of grass blades against one another, of Riddle's hooves patting the ground, of the gentle breeze rustling the leaves of surrounding trees. No speech, and I felt comfortable. Cozy even, as though I had known her for months at least. I couldn't fathom this feeling of instant friendship. I had never clicked with anyone like this. I barely knew anything about her, other than the facts that she hated mushrooms, couldn't swim, and a couple other random tidbits. Yet, I still felt like I wanted to be near her. I was ravenous for her presence.

"Okay now hold on, a little tighter – we're going up this hill and it's a little steep." I obliged without argument. I was happy to. If anything, I was fighting the urge to put my chin on her shoulder, or press my cheek against her back. I told myself that would be weird, and I refrained.

Riddle began the trudge up the hill, putting a little more effort into his steps. I looked behind and watched his strong black haunches pushing off of the ground, his coat glistening in the falling sun.

I wondered how big this hill was. It seemed we had been traveling upward for a long time. Just as the thought crossed my mind, however, I felt the ground begin to even out. Riddle's movement relaxed a little. The hilltop peaked, and from where I was I could now see a large tree that grew right from the middle. One sole tree, quite the picturesque scene I must say.

"Okay." Ashley breathed. Okay what? "Spencer, this is going to make you nervous, but you need to trust me."

"Ashley" I drawled out in a warning.

"Trust me."

"You keep telling me to trust you, Ashley, and I barely know you."

"You took care of me last night, let me take care of you now." She insisted.

"You're the one putting me in the middle of this!" I pleaded.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask you to do." She finally said. I had to admit, she had a point. I looked at her expectantly, her face turning away from me and up towards the branches just out of arms reach above us. I paused, doing double takes between her and the branches before I spoke.

"No. Way." I stated.

"Are you scawed?" She teased, childishly making the 'r' sound a 'w' sound.

"Yes!" I was not ashamed.

"Okay baby, well get over it." I knew she didn't mean baby in the endearing way, but my breath caught anyway. I internally scolded myself for even regarding such a stupid notion.

"Please?" My pleas fell on deaf ears. Her thin fingers peeled my arms from her stomach and placed them down at my sides. Pushing off of Riddle's shoulder blades where they met his neck, she began to draw her feet up from his sides, putting them underneath her until she was positioned in a crouch. "No fucking way."

"Oh, okay. You dropped an F-bomb." She said with mock seriousness, "That changes everything" Drawing out the last word.

"Shut up." Ignoring me, she began to stand, letting go of the bit of Riddle's dark mane that she'd been holding. As soon as she could reach, she put her arms over a branch and began to push herself up, pushing one of her feet against the body of the tree. I was alone on a horse… who did not have proper head gear for control. Suddenly, the tree sounded like a magnificent idea. Ashley slid back, straddling the branch she was on, making room for me. Imitating her actions precisely, I drew my legs up on either side of Riddle and began to stand on his back. I planted my feet carefully, my knees wobbling due to the slight give of his back. Fearing that I might lose my balance, I ungracefully threw my arms out for the branch, thankfully taking it beneath my arms. Like Ashley did, I pushed off of the tree's body, and propelled myself onto the tree clumsily. I looked down at the black horse beneath me and smiled. Another success.

"Guess what?" Her breath tickled my ear. I started, almost forgetting that she was behind me.

"Christ, please do not scare me when I am suspended, somewhat precariously, many feet above the ground." I gasped.

"Okay," She ceded, "But guess what?"

"What?" I rolled my eyes, anticipating the answer.

"You did it." She flashed a big smile and threw two cheesy thumbs up. "You're in a tree." I couldn't help but smile back – it was definitely contagious with her. She leaned against the body of the tree and stuck one of her feet on the branch so that her leg bent casually while the other hung.

"Whoopee." I said nonchalantly, even though I was secretly kind of excited. Riddle stood quietly below us, having lowered his head to nibble on the grass. "Aren't you afraid he's going to run away?"

"Nah, Riddle never goes anywhere." She flipped her hand down, brushing off the question. "You're typically not supposed to leave a horse standing on his own, let alone in an open area, but Riddle is different. Aren't you, my boy?" She cooed down to him. Hearing his name he raised his head and looked up for a moment before resuming grazing.

"I've actually never climbed a tree before." I confessed after a moment of silence.

"What?" She exclaimed, sitting bolt upright.

"We don't have trees like this in the city." I said meekly.

"Oh, right. I forgot you were a sheltered city kid." I smiled abashedly. "Alright, get up." She said, climbing to her feet. She grabbed higher branches for support. I stared at her incredulously. "Get up!"

"When are you going to stop making me do things that scare me?" I whined.

"When you're dead." She said, deadpan. I scowled. "I'm kidding. But honestly, you should do something everyday that scares you. And since I probably won't see you everyday, this will hold you over for 2 days when I'm not with you."

It was strange, I realized I couldn't picture being here in South Carolina without Ashley. She'd been on my mind essentially since I'd arrived. I didn't like the idea of not being around her, but I kept my mouth shut, and uneasily stood up on the branch, tightly gripping the branches above me until I was sure my knuckles were turning white.

"We're going up." She said casually, as if this was something as easy as ascending stairs. She stuck her foot into a niche and pulled herself up onto a higher branch. She must have climbed at least 10 feet higher before she looked down to me, expectantly.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"You know, you're really a wimp." She smiled and shook her head.

"This is peer pressure!"

"Oh please, it's a tree for Christ's sake." She rolled her eyes. I grabbed the above branches cautiously, preparing to launch myself. "Although technically speaking, I am pressuring you to get high." She smiled smugly. I think she was trying not to laugh at her own joke.

"Funny." Sarcasm dripped generously from the word. Okay, here we go. I took a deep breath, put my foot into the niche, and propelled myself up. Each branch came more easily than the next, and soon I was climbing without trembling or feeling imminent death. When I reached Ashley's branch, she was nowhere to be found. I had been so focused on my epic climb that I hadn't been watching her. My heart raced as I scanned around the surrounding branches. Where was she? What if she fell? I looked to the ground where Riddle stood alone. Where the hell was she?

"Oh Spenceeeeerrrr." She sang. My head shot up to where she was, another 10 feet above. How freaking big was this tree? "You're not done yet."

"You know, you're making me hate you." She gasped and clutched at her heart in mock sadness, her finger tracing a tear down her cheek. I smiled and rolled my eyes, determined now to reach her. I climbed furiously, feeling like a monkey. I couldn't help but feel sad that I missed this during childhood. I would have loved this. When I arrived at her branch, Ashley had once again moved, but this time I could see her. This time, she was extended farther out, splayed on her stomach on a dip in a series of thinner branches. They made up somewhat of a seat. To get there, she had to crawl across one really narrow branch for something like a distance of 15 feet. It was only about 4 or 5 feet above where I was, but the climb was something I was not willing to do. I did not nearly trust my balance enough for that.

She sat up and patted the spot beside her.

"Just one more." She smiled. My face grew serious.

"No, Ashley."

"Spencer, come on." She laughed.

"I mean it. No."

"But you've come this far, it'd be stupid not - "

"No." I interjected firmly.

"Whose got the interrupting problem now?" She smiled, but I remained serious. I was not getting up there. I think she sensed my mortal fear, because I could see her shoulders droop, and she turned away from me, back to the clearing in the leaves in front of her. "You're missing the best view," She sighed.

"I'm pretty sure it's not good enough to be the last view I ever see." I felt bad, she did look put out, but I wasn't going to budge on this one. I was already higher above the ground than I cared to acknowledge. She shrugged, and turned back to me, not trying to hide her disappointment. She looked defeated.

"Fine. Your loss." She even sounded a little irritated.

"Can you just come sit down here with me?" I asked sweetly, "I'm feeling a little uneasy about this height." I added, hoping that the threat of danger would beckon her down. She nodded quickly and began the climb back across the dangerous limb. "Please be careful." I pleaded.

"I know what I'm doing, Spencer." She said curtly. She navigated it with finesse, not looking off balance once. She reminded me of those creatures in Avatar.

"Fine, fine." I said, raising my eyebrows and my hands, surrendering. I immediately wished I hadn't let go of my grip on the branch. I wobbled for a moment, but thankfully steadied, and no sooner Ashley's hand was on top of my own, and the heat wave coursed through my body once more. I slowly raised my gaze to meet hers, which stared intently into my own. Her eyes had perfectly captured the sunlight, soaking it up, holding it in to make them even more alluring. The deep brown was illuminated and showed off a more amber color, not much different than the reddish color of her glistening hair as the setting rays ricocheted from it, back into the sky.

I'm not sure if either of us realized it, but our faces were gravitating towards one another. Soon I could hear the uneven breaths coming softly from her mouth, slightly ajar. We didn't look away from one another.

"So what do you think?" She said suddenly, quickly backing away and clearing her throat.

"Of what?" I asked, still unable to tear my eyes away from her face.

"The view." She turned away from me and faced forward, gesturing towards the sky before us. I finally forced my eyes to avert.

The horizon had become a vibrant shade of pink magenta, gradually becoming purple and blue as you looked up. The sun beamed, already almost halfway below the distant silhouette of the land. I felt like I could see for miles: blankets of trees extended in every direction, occasionally thin road fell beneath their canopy, winding through the vastness below. A gentle breeze tickled my face, and I felt myself not breathing. This was truly beautiful. I let out a small gasp.

"I know." Ashley agreed, taking the gasp as my answer.

"It's breathtaking."

"Mmhmm." she nodded. A moment of silence followed. "If only we were up there, the view is just a little more - "

"Ashley," I exhaled. She looked at me curiously. "Don't ruin the moment." I closed my eyes and smiled.

Have you ever felt like there was a flavor associated with your memories? Not something that you could physically taste on your tongue, but something you could feel: something specific and distinct to each memory, that filled your chest with floods of nostalgia, or sadness, or happiness or anger depending on the emotions involved. Maybe there was color involved too. I could feel it now, the flavor. Bursts of bright orange lights, yellow and red, exploded colorfully in me. It wasn't even a memory yet, and I could feel it as if it were. Maybe it was because I missed every second as it passed. Time ticked away, and I missed Ashley even though she was sitting next to me. I missed what we were moments ago, because we were in a different place. I could feel us changing, and changing fast. I could feel me changing. I didn't know where we were headed, only that we were going somewhere. We sparked, and now it was about feeding the fire, letting the flames tickle and not scorch.

I didn't outwardly say it, but my earlier words couldn't have been more facetious. I knew that she couldn't ruin a moment if she tried.