Again, so sorry about the long wait between chapters! The feedback I've been getting from you guys has been great though and very encouraging, so please keep it up!

-athlete12

By the time 5:45 am rolled around, Spencer had already been up for hours. She spent all night tossing and turning, thinking about Emily. She couldn't even remember the last time she had been this nervous. Running for her first time at the state track meet, meeting with college scouts and coaches; none of it could compare to the way she was feeling now. She took a deep breath and looked down at her wristwatch, 5:51 am. After taking one more deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves, Spencer grabbed her keys, threw on her running shoes, and jumped into her car.

Pulling into the parking lot in front of the school, Spencer could see that Emily was already there doing some light stretching. Spencer took yet another deep breath, praying her nerves would subside, and stepped out into the crisp morning air.

"Hey Emily, you ready to go?"

"Sure Spence!"

Spencer paused at Emily's use of a nickname for her. Only Toby ever called her "Spence"; not even her own family used the nickname. For some reason it felt so right coming out of Emily's mouth, as if they'd known each other for years. Shaking it off, Spencer started running with Emily following closely behind.

"Wow Spence! You're really intense about your training aren't you?" Emily said after they finally made it back to the school. Both girls were out of breath and sweating profusely. Spencer had gone a little bit harder than usual, but it felt good and she wanted to impress Emily. She realized during the run that although Emily was in very good shape, she wasn't noticeably better than Spencer, which meant that they would actually be very good competition for each other during the season.

"I may have gone a bit harder this morning, but I wanted to see what kind of competition I would be dealing with this season"

Emily smiled, "Oh really? And...? What do you think?"

"I think we'll really be able to push each other. You'd definitely be a better training partner than Toby..."

"Oh yeah? Who's Toby? Boyfriend?"

"No... I mean we did date for a while, but it didn't work out. He's my best friend. He's on the track team too, so I'm sure you'll meet him soon."

"Oh, okay. So.. Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Nope. Between track and school I've never really had the time, plus there aren't many great options at Rosewood. Once you've been here for a few more days and gotten to know more people I'm sure you'll agree that the amount of boyfriend material is pretty scarce"

"Well I wasn't really planning on checking out any of the guys at Rosewood"

"Oh? So you're planning on focusing more on track and school as well?"

"Well, yes.. But boys have never really been a top priority for me when it comes to dating..."

Spencer mulled that over a bit, her head shooting up to look at Emily when she realized what the major emphasis on "boys" meant.

"Oh.. So you're.. Are you..?"

Emily laughed, "It's not a bad word Spence, you can say it. I'm gay"

It had been hours since Emily told her she was gay, and Spencer was still overwhelmed with the thought of it. It's not as if it wasn't a possibility, and she didn't really know the girl, but it still came as a shock to her. This, combined with Toby's comments and her own late-night thinking the night before, was a little much for even Spencer to assess, and had resulted in a rough school day that she wanted to just push behind her. As the bell rang, Spencer quickly made her way out to the front of the school and climbed into her car. She closed her eyes and relaxed at the piece and quiet, but was then interrupted and startled by the sound of a sharp tapping at her window. Her eyes flew open to find Toby standing outside her car laughing.

"God Toby! What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Spence.. You've been completely out of it all day. You barely said a word in class and didn't eat at lunch. What's up with you?"

"I've just... I've got a lot on my mind Toby, that's all"

"Okay well do you want to go run to clear your head?"

"No.. I ran this morning and I think I overdid it"

"Wait.. You ran without me? Spence it's too dark in the mornings for you to be running alone"

"I wasn't alone.."

"What? Who did you run with?"

"Emily..."

"Who's Emily? Wait.. The new girl? So you did get her number?!"

"No! She got my number from Coach Thomas and texted me about possibly running with her"

"And...? How was it? Is she fast?"

"She's not bad at all. She'll be good competition for me doing the season. I think she'll really push me to the point where Oregon might notice me"

"Well that's great Spence! Why were you so uptight and out of it today then? You should be happy"

"I already told you. I had a lot on my mind. Emily told me she was gay..."

"Really? Wow Spence, what'd you say?"

"I didn't saying anything.. I think I managed to stutter out something about showering before class and ran off into the locker room.."

"Wow.. That's kind of rough Spence. Have you seen or talked to her since then?"

"Well... No..."

"Spence! You need to text her! Otherwise she'll think she freaked you out with the gay thing and won't be comfortable enough to join the track team"

"I guess you're right.. I'll text her when I get home"

"K good. Aria, Caleb, Hanna and I are all going to study at The Brew for that history test tomorrow. Want to join?"

"No, that's ok. I've got a lot of unfinished homework from last night that I need to catch up on. I'll see you tomorrow. And thanks for talking to me Toby. It was nice to just get everything off my chest"

"No problem Spence. Let me know tomorrow how it goes!"

After flashing a giant smile, Toby waved goodbye and walked to his truck. Spencer rolled up her window, started her car, and began her drive home.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home" Spencer shouted upon walking through the front door of her house. After getting no response, she continued into the barn, which she had recently transformed into her own personal space. She placed her backpack on the coffee table, grabbed a water from the mini fridge, and settled in on the couch with her phone. After staring at it for a few minutes, she finally made the move to text Emily.

Spencer: Hey Emily, it's Spencer. Sorry if I made things weird or offended you today with my behavior after our run. I don't care at all if you're gay or not, it just kind of caught me off guard a little bit. I hope you still want to be on the track team, as I'm sure you'll be a great asset to the team this year. Again, I'm so sorry about my behavior this morning. I hope I didn't offend you in any way.

After what felt like a few years had passed, Emily finally responded.

Emily: Don't worry about it! People never really know what to say when I come right out and tell them that I'm gay. You were the first to not say anything at all! Of course I'll still be on the track team; I think you'll really push me to be much better than last year. Think you'll be able to handle a little competition superstar? ;)

Spencer sat staring at her phone, not knowing how to even begin to respond to the message. All sorts of thoughts were flying through her head. It was possible that Emily was flirting with her because she's gay. Or was she just being competitive? Spencer wasn't sure, but decided a little flirty, friendly competition couldn't hurt.

Spencer: Bring it on ;)