Chalk

7

“What’s the Passion Pit?” I asked Edward the next day, gulping down my feminist side to take his hand and let him help me up the last steep part of the trail. He basically pulled my arm out of its socket, hauling me into the air like a rag doll and plopping me onto my feet next to him in the meadow, shaking his head at me.

“Not for you. Not yet.”

“But, what is it?” I pressed, knowing full well that it could be a person, place, thing or imaginary fucking creature, depending on the slang. Half of the time I still had no idea what he was saying.

“A problem I’ve been working on for a while.” His face compacted in the center and for a moment he looked just as frustrated as I probably did most of the time. I hadn’t seen this problem of his, but I was fairly certain it would put my own problem to shame.

Edward watched me struggle with my shoes again when we made it to my rock, but didn’t offer to help this time. He handed me a roll of white medical tape before I stood. He’d already bandaged his own hands, covering up several of the spots I’d noticed yesterday. The salve he gave me worked wonders last night, but my knuckles still felt sore and stiff.

“Tape up those fingers, Sparkles, or you’re gonna live to regret it.”

He ended up taking pity on me and helped to wind the tape around my fingers, his calluses against my wrists and long fingers prodding the cradle of my palms. I tried to ignore how good he smelled.

I was failing at everything these days.

But I got to the top this time.

Conquered that stupid, stupid rock like a fucking champion. A gumby champion, green and floppy, but successful nonetheless. I scrambled to my feet, heart pounding in my throat and screamed at the tops of my lungs, so full of adrenaline that my knees were shaking. I could see why Edward had done just such a thing on the top of that other rock because it just felt so fucking good to let it out. He tiptoed nimbly up the rock I’d struggled so fucking long on and gave me an awkward high five.

“Pretty good for a flat-lander, Sparkles.” More of that killer smile.

“I have the feeling that’s not a compliment,” I accused him and he grinned so hard at me it almost seemed like he was proud of me for making the connection.

“Flatlander. You know . . . those of you who never venture off the horizontal.” He gestured to the ground which, now that I stopped to look at it, was really freaking far below us. I couldn’t believe I climbed up that. I stuttered and I’m sure that my face turned a little green because the next thing I knew I was slumped against Edward and he was gripping me tightly by the arm, my vision spinning.

“Sorry. Me and heights aren’t all that awesome together,” I panted.

“Rule number one, don’t look down. Always up.” Edward propped me back on my own feet and was standing way too close for me to blame this dizziness completely on vertigo.

“Always up,” I parroted, trying to remember what we were talking about.

---

We heard a loud whoop through the trees as we were heading back to the cars and Edward scowled in the direction the noise had come from, huffing under his breath. He loped into the forest without telling me and I followed him without asking.

Glitter Friend was watching Giant Friend attempt what looked like an absolutely impossible line on of the biggest rocks I’d seen here so far, the chalk fading out higher and higher until it was just gone. I assumed this to mean that no one had ever reached the top.

“You know that’s supposed to be mine, right?” Edward said as he sidled up to Jasper and I wondered if this was the elusive Passion Pit problem that apparently wasn’t for me.

“You’ve been back there on that VB problem for some reason.” Jasper eyed me again with a smirk. “Kind of left it up for grabs, you know?”

“VB?” I asked. Again, these boys confused the fuck out of me.

“Beginner level,” Edward smiled at me. “One a scale of one to sixteen, it doesn’t warrant a number.”

“And what’s this, then?” I waved at Giant Friend on the enormous rock. “A V7?”

Edward choked in his throat and threw a cursory glance at the rock. “Try15, Sparkles. That’s about as high as it gets out here.”

“This is Sparkles?” Jasper arched both eyebrows at Edward. “Your Gabby?”

“Gumby,” I corrected him. I wondered if they’d had a conversation about me last night and barely suppressed the urge to scream ‘Glitter!’ in Jasper’s face.

“Gabby,” he responded wrong again, and I saw him exchange a look with Edward that made Jasper’s go wide eyed and Edward’s jaw turn to stone.

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