Track meet.
It was and is my favorite part of the track season. Not because I get to go about my normal routine, competing and throwing discus like at any other meet. No, it was him. He was the highlight of the whole meet, the one who kept me going when I was about to run out of steam while we were racing around the track.
We piled all our stuff on the bleachers, and me, being the normal queen of the bleachers, had to race to the top step to drop all my bags, desperate to snatch the very top. It was funny, considering I was afraid of heights, but I loved being at the top.
Soon enough, I heard his voice, and glanced down in his direction, seeing that he was walking up with his friends, and while they piled their stuff, he hesitated, seeing as there wasn't any room left for his things. So, I called out his name and waved him up, smiling when he set his bag down next to mine.
"Go ahead, sit here, I don't mind."
He laughed, knowing that I tended to keep everyone off of, "my step", and sat down, taking off his cover t-shirt to reveal the track uniform underneath. Shivering, I glanced at him, raising my eyebrows in expectation, and he rolled his eyes, unzipping his bag as if he knew the question before I would ask it.
Out came his blue Colts football blanket, the one that I used every track meet in an attempt to stay warm. Smiling, I grabbed it from him, sending a thank you in his direction before leaving him to changing.
Snatching up my purse, I raced down the stairs with all the other members of my team towards the bathroom. We were known as a school at whole to overtake the bathrooms as soon as the meet started, a habit of all of us.
I barely even had time to pull my hair up into a pony tail when they called for my event over the intercom.
"First call for field events. Boys' Shotput and Girls' Discus."
My neon blue Nikes yanked me out of the restroom and out of the way of the mirrors, taking me up the bleachers and straight towards the crate with our supplies. I looked around, digging through the pile for our discus, and when I heard my name called, I turned around, seeing my partner in the sport waving me over. I dropped my purse by my stuff, making sure I was tightly wrapped in his blanket before running with my team mate down to the ring.
---
We were done in what seemed like only a few minutes, and I found myself looking to the bleachers, and then down at the track for his face. It was a habit, and with his blanket over my shoulders, it just made it worse. It didn't take me long to locate him by the high jump, so, I took off in that direction, keeping my walk casual, just in case he saw me.
Beside him was one of my best friends, but one of my worst offenders. She had fallen in love with my best friend, him, and little did she know, I had fallen for him too. Everyday was a question on how to get his attention, and then, the question on how to ask him out. I told her, not wanting to give away my secret, and she asked him. He denied, to my relief, with the only answer of, "I'm not really interested in a girlfriend right now."
I was grateful, but since then, all her talk was about him. And every day, it broke my heart down a little bit more. Then there was the fact that she had his jacket for three days now. Three days. And he didn't ask for it back. But, who was I to complain? I was just his friend. Nothing more.
Sighing, I kicked the nasty thoughts out of my head, focusing on some of our happier times. The shadow beneath me flickered with each step, and I realized that I was closer to the jumpers than I had realized, so wrapped up in my thoughts I had drifted from my path, so, I looked up in his direction.
And my heart shattered.
He was standing there, but she now had her head on his shoulder, leaning against him. And the best part?
He did nothing about it.
Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I took in a deep breath, letting it loose and opening them again. I never told him how I felt, so I didn't deserve to feel jealous. But why was I so in love with him?
Instead of running over, or even storming away, I stood there, the fading sunset behind me growing my shadow. My shadow, unlike me, was not threatened with sadness or heart break. It just sat there, the blanket over its shoulders meaning nothing. But it did to me.
So, turning, I let the blanket out of my hands, the wind catching it and pulling it away from my grasp. Then, I did what I should have done years ago. I walked the other way.
And didn't look back.
[[ A somewhat true story of what happened to me. It was going to be a funny story of me and him, but it didn't turn out that way. This is actually true though. I did fall in love with my best friend, and then, one of my best girl friends also fell head over heels for him. She asked him, which he denied to for the above reason, but then she made moves on him, and it seriously shattered my heart. At this point, I am avoiding him, choosing not to be around him if it's only going to hurt me. I can't find the courage to tell him how I feel, just because he will give me the same answer he gave every other girl, but in the end, I'm losing a good friend.
If only happy endings were real. ]]
x 
