evening - (29 Parts)

[jezebel215]

it was cool in the evening, the sky heavy with the sun about to set. Sara had set out too late on her hike, that she knew. but she was still going to make it to the top of the mountain--it was a short hike and she practically knew it by heart.

it was getting colder as it got darker. the shorts and cotton sweatshirt she had worn seemed like an invitation to hypothermia and she chided herself, remembering the hiker’s motto “cotton kills.”

all the same, she kept hiking. when the trail suddenly deepened, becoming the dry stream bed, she knew she was near the top. roots from the trees stretched out across the rocks, mixed with fallen brush. the last 50 feet she almost climbed-but then again, she always climbed that stretch. it was pretty steep and the trail had given way a long time ago.

at the top the trail continued, as if unaware it had reached the summit and could start back down the mountain again. if you followed it for a few hundred feet you reached the glacial outcropping of rocks. from there you could crawl out and look into the valley. that was the whole reason she had climbed in the first place.

the sky was turning red and purple at the same time--warm and cool colors that should have been in conflict but weren’t, when sara climbed up the rock to sit and look out on the valley. it wasn’t a valley in the sense of a crevice but rather the town where her college lay sprawled out amongst the farms and occasional highway. usually she had the rock to herself--especially if she had climbed up so late in the evening. scooting forward on all fours she nearly slipped when a voice said “hey--why are you hiking so late?”

---

sara may have been surprised but she wasn’t startled for long. “same reason you are” she replied, even though she had no idea what his reasons for hiking were.

“well, if you’re here for the same reason I am, then you underestimated sunset, like me” he replied. His honesty surprised her and she felt she could relax a little. In a school of hikers, rock climbers, camp afficionados and wilderness gurus sara often felt like a fish out of water. climbing a simple hiking trail on her own made her feel like she was blazing a trail, the world untrodden and exciting. Stumbling upon another hiker brought her naivete crashing down on her and she was immediately defensive, ready to throw off comments with a well timed sharp remark.

“oh” was all she could come up with instead. followed by “yeah. it did get dark earlier than I expected.”

“i’m Ben” he said, extending his hand and not quite rising but stretching from his seated position a few feet closer to the edge than she had dared. reaching out sara shook his hand.

“sara. I’m a sophomore.”

“Senior.”

sara found herself rather transfixed by this moment--the sun briefly brilliant shooting triumphant orange streaks through the clouded sky. Ben had dark hair and shiny eyes and that was about as much as she could see in the falling light. sara had light hair--a product of the bottle as much as the sun--and dark eyes. she found herself wishing she had planned her hiking outfit more carefully, the shorts and sweatshirt were neither warm nor the most flattering.

regardless, she scooted herself down the rock, close enough to reach his hand. they sat for a moment--not quite awkward, not quite relaxed. both had hiked up to see the sun set but sara at least had wanted to see it alone, to give her time to be with her thoughts. Her life with its alarms and LCD screens and microwaved meals needed to fade away into the night and instead, this moment, this place so full of quiet and raw beauty needed to take its place.

there comes a moment when the sky moves from sunset to twilight and you realize the light you have is fading fast.

“are you camping?” sara ventured, because regardless, she needed to head down the mountain, and quickly.

“no” ben replied. “lets go.”

he got up but she was closer to the edge of the rock and ended up leading. she hurried across the summit, reaching the steep part of the trail and turning to wait a moment for ben.

as she turned she saw him halt, and turn, facing his head to the ground. his right hand was outstretched, grasping a young birch tree and his left hand was braced behind him on the smooth face of a large boulder.

“hsz'Gnsshkxt” he half-stifled into his shoulder, looking up to catch her eyes with his slightly-bleary ones.

“come on, what are you waiting for?"

[a red nine]

Aww, that was really cute! Only one sneeze, but good spelling, so that was cool. I hope you're planning on writing more.

[jezebel215]

climbing down was almost always easier than climbing up but you needed to be careful--twist your ankle and it doesn’t matter how quickly you were going, you’re going to be seriously delayed.

sara scrambled down the hillside just faster than she should have dared--the moment with the stream bank and young tree trunks racing by her gave her a sense of adventure and daring she thought she had lost long ago.

about a third of the way down the mountain you reach a plateau--plateau being as generous a description of the flat stretch as ‘mountain’ was of the hill itself. For about 5 minutes it traversed horizontally, slinking across the thick forest before opening out onto a field of large rocks.

although she was in good shape, sara knew she wasn’t fast. someone who would make it a long way perhaps, but never make it there fastest. She wasn’t used to leading a hike (be it a party of two or twenty) because chances were she was not only not the fastest person there but probably one of the slowest. and so it was curious that a third of the way down the hill, she was still leading. Yes, she was going faster than she dared but honestly--her top speed was not something for the record books.

she had looked back surreptitiously as she was making her way down the hillside. never for longer than a moment, a quick head turn that she could pretend was watching a sparrow or squirrel cross her vision patch.

Not so.

He had sneezed. only once but with a ragged desperation that made sara suspicious that Ben shouldn’t have been hiking at all, that he should have been tucked into bed with hot tea and chicken soup.

And oh goodness, she would have volunteered for the tea and soup. Sara didn’t know why, but something about an attractive man struck down with a cold spurred something deep inside her, a combination of lust and care-taking, twined in such a way as to be inseparable.

pausing to wait for Ben -- he was only about 20 feet behind her but in the dusk she could barely make out his movements against the blur of forest--sara sat down on one of the rocks, her back resting on a thick trunk behind it. for a moment she heard the stillness of the forest -- totally still for in late fall there were no crickets--save for Ben’s footsteps, following hers down the mountain. From her seat she turned to watch him, no shame there, she was simply waiting for him to catch up. and then she saw it.

Ben had reached the plateau and was starting to walk toward the large rocks when he paused, looking out into the distance. sara started to turn, to look at what he had noticed, when his sharp intake of breath made her turn back to face him. Both hands steepled at his mouth Ben sneezed.

“aht'Heshoo. ehh-Chiew.”

he lifted his head with the smallest of shakes, sniffing hurriedly in the cool air. catching sight of her watching he smiled and said “sorry I’m so slow, I’m just off my game today.”

sara shook her head quickly, trying to say ‘no’ before she could even get the words out.

“no, not, its ok, i’m super slow anyway” she blurted out, before realizing that her comment was almost an insult, taken improperly.

“bless you” she said belatedly as Ben crossed the distance to her makeshift chair, pausing and craning his neck to look at her with a small smile on the curve of his lips.

“thank-you” he said and was silent for a moment.

“comfortable?” he asked, breaking the stillness and turning the burden of their descent back to Sara.

“Waiting for you!” she answered. if nothing else, sara could not control her tongue. it would always say something slightly sharper than she intended and always too fast for her to amend or take back. that’s why she’d never be the teacher’s pet, the golden girl, no matter how good her grades were. she was spiky; something about her would always have sharp edges.

Ben didn’t seem to mind. he smiled back at her saying, “ok, let’s keep going then. it’s not getting any warmer.”

[Aprilcot]

I like!!!

Please do continue!!!!

[starpollen]

I like it too! That first sneeze was VERY awesome - incredible spelling. Can't wait to see where this goes!

[jezebel215]

as she got up Sara noticed the goose bumps rising on her arms, the slow chill invading her bones despite the thin sheen of sweat brought on by the exertion of climbing down the hill. looking back briefly at Ben she saw he had caught up with her and she gasped.

“sorry, i didn’t expect you so close.”

then she could have kicked herself for saying that. So close? They had a whole mountain! She was the slowpoke who couldn’t get her butt in gear. In the midst of her self flagellation she heard Ben laugh and say,

“no biggie, i didn’t realize i was so stealthy.”

sara turned at him quickly, noting the smile playing on his lips matched the one on her own. She turned and started back down the mountain, enjoying the sound of leaves rustling and branches cracking behind her, a reminder she wasn’t climbing down the mountain alone.

Up ahead the hill molded briefly into a sheet of rock--not one she needed to climb, thankfully--but a sheer face of dark stone she had always found particularly lovely. sara slowed and Ben reached her almost immediately--a testament to both her slowness and his quickness, even under non-optimal circumstances. He knew immediately what she was looking at and followed her gaze to the thick sheet of rock.

sara wanted to say something, something to let Ben know how much she loved this raw, quiet place. instead she said “it’s so pretty” and then mentally kicked herself before the words were out of her mouth. pretty? really? that’s the best you can do? Sara often thought if she were to be reincarnated as an animal she would come back as a raven or a magpie--something flighty that liked things that were shiny and terribly inconsequential.

Instead of condescension she found Ben smiling again. “Unreal” she thought. “I climb up the mountain too late and instead of dying a horrible death -- so far at least -- i run into someone who seems to find my inane comments amusing.” if she had let herself hope she would have thought ‘charming’ instead of merely ‘amusing’ but Sara was too well rooted for that.

“It’s wild. that’s what I love about it.” Ben’s voice shattered Sara’s mental commentary. “not that I know what ‘wild’ is, just that I think this might be it” he added, the touch of insecurity in his voice reassuring her like nothing else could.

“i know. I just love it here” sara added. Again! Could she say anything more trivial, sara wondered. She picked up her pace a little, giving little heed to the softening ground beneath her shoes, the brush closing in around her. She remembered this part of the hike--she was almost off the hill now

Not only that, but she was close to a place where the trail abutted civilization, where her wild walk-about ran across the far edge of someone’s lawn. Normally she resented this stretch of the hike--it made her feel soft and artificial. Today, as the deep red sky was painted with navy and violet, she was as happy to see a stranger’s back yard as she would have been to see her own bedroom.

she quickened her pace, turning to Ben and calling “come on! We can cut off the trail here.”


He saw where she was looking--he was only about 10 feet behind her--and sped up as well. For a moment, at least, until he stopped short, hand tight around the small trunk of a seedling oak. He caught her eyes and smiled, looked toward the yard, and then turned away, coughing roughly into his elbow.

It took a moment for him to catch his breath and when he spoke again it was hoarse, raspy.

“can we get out here?”

[Weirdo Girl]

awww... love it!

[jezebel215]

Sara didn’t know. She didn’t know where they were, only that if they were next to a trimmed lawn and a paved cul-de-sac it meant that they were out of the wilderness. Beyond that it was anyone’s guess.

“I don’t know” she replied truthfully, “but we might as well. it can’t be worse if we’re walking on asphalt, at least there will be streetlights, and we could always ask for directions if it gets too dark.”

It was funny in a sense. Going to school in the woods Sara had a greater chance of an unfortunate wildlife encounter than a human crime. And yet, that safety had given her an arrogance, the misguided confidence to be out wandering about as evening turned quickly into night. Even if she wasn’t worried about crime, Sara realized she should have been worried about safety. Her sweatshirt wasn’t getting any warmer and she hadn’t felt the skin on her legs in a long time.

The yard was large, surrounding one of those great big stucco homes almost too big for their plot of land, but thankfully here next to the forest, the house still left a wide swath across its far side.

Looking down, the hill was steep--it would have been epic for middle-school sledding but a nightmare to run down.

Sara stopped and looked at Ben. He was right behind her and caught up easily. He followed her gaze down the hill and then looked back at her.

“It’s steep” Ben said.

“I know” sara answered. again, too sharp.


“I was thinking” she let it hang in the air a moment, both unsure of herself as a hiker and as a wilderness ranger.

“I was thinking--why don’t we roll down?”

---

Ben looked up and caught her eyes with a grin.

“Roll down?”

“Yeah” sara replied hesitantly.

“That’s awesome” Ben replied. Together they picked their way across the yard to find the best starting point. Finding a nearly flat stretch (flat meaning smooth in the downward direction) Sara stopped and turned to Ben. Ben looked down and back at Sara before smiling.

“This looks good” he replied.

---

Sara hadn’t rolled down a hill since elementary school and the proper technique eluded her. She tried a prayer position with her arms tucked tight to her chest, only to find her head was banged about terribly on the uneven ground. Eventually Sara wrapped her arms around her head with her fingers laced tightly at the nape of her neck. As she rolled she picked up speed but at least the banging seemed focused on her elbows and wrists.

At the bottom of the hill Sara rolled to a stop. She looked up at the sky, surprised to see that it had gone from twilight to true evening at some point in her deliberations. She wasn’t sure--she hadn’t taken a class--but the constellation she always called the ‘little dipper’ seemed to be winking down on her.

Head still spinning Sara sat up. She saw Ben about 15 feet away from her and pushed herself to her feet, running over to him.

Ben looked up into the sky. The stars were bright against a navy palette, plumes of cornflower and indigo creeping up from the horizon. He felt terrible. His head ached -- from rolling? perhaps, -- and his eyes felt heavy. Hiking the mountain had been a stupid idea. He had felt off or a few days now, would it have killed him to take it easy?

No. He had to go and hike up the local mountain in the falling dark, so much slower than he had expected that he was left practically stranded at the peak, thankfully meeting this girl to help him down.

Help him down. An interesting description. She was cute, in a nondescript way. Until she looked at you, catching you with one of her barbs. She wasn’t a shy violet, not by any standards.

He liked it--liked it that she was all business about their situation. Ben felt that if he weren’t here this girl, Sara, would have climbed down the mountain on her own.

On her own. Instead he was practically clinging to her coat-tails (should she have been wearing a coat). Ben was cold--really cold--through his long sleeve-T and khaki hiking pants. He had planned for a daytime hike and with the complacency borne of practice he hadn’t bothered with anything else.

Now he was achingly cold--his skin long numb but the early fall chill seeming to sink past his skin into his muscles, his bone. His head felt heavy--intellectually he shouldn’t have gotten sicker in the last 2 hours, yet here he was shivering incessantly in the early evening.

--

Sara had stopped rolling and looked back up at the sky. It was all black now, the edges rimmed with a deep cerulean blue that would have taken her breath away, had she not already lost her breath to the frosted air. Looking over to Ben she saw him looking similarly transfixed at the sky. It made her happy--that for a moment, he saw all the same blinking possibility that she saw.

As she was watching he shuddered, pulling his arm up over his face, “hzs'Gnshkxt....eh...he'Gnkxt”

They sounded wet, and his hesitant breath afterwords made Sara eager to get Ben off the mountain. To an observer, she thought, this can only be a comedy of errors. Still she scrambled her way back to him--only a few feet but most ungainly-a tangle of arms and ankles in the soft dirt.

Ben was thankfully pliable, sitting up while the stars above her were still spinning. Sara looked down the hill and saw that they were only about thirty feet from the road. Ben saw it too, although it took a moment for his mind to stop rolling and focus on the stars and asphalt around him.

Grabbing his arm Sara half-hoisted Ben--half pretended she was leaning on him for support--and together they made it the last ten yards into the street.

A planned community is a strange land--so much symmetry and precision you can’t help but to feel out of place. Luckily Sara recognized where they were -- the stretch of road where the planned community ran smack against the older hiking trail.

While there was conversation to be made about land development and the loss of the forest, Sara found herself hiking silently, worried about Ben. He was following a step behind her but while her footsteps were steady, Ben shook the entire time. He seemed unable to draw a full breath without the quick gasp of sudden cold.

Sara slowed, waiting for him to reach her. When he did it was with a certain degree of reticence. Just past her the planned development reached a high point -just around the bend from their high speed escape Sara saw a small covered gazebo with hiking instructions. She hurried toward it, Ben close behind her.

[jezebel215]

Reaching the gazebo Sara stopped for a moment, to sit down and catch her breath. It wasn’t warm but she could see the lights of the town’s main drag glittering beneath her. Her evening hike had been exciting but somewhere on the way down the mountain, when the light had disappeared completely, the fun and excitement had morphed into fear. That fear melted away in the glow of street lights in the distance and Sara relaxed, slipping back into the sense of fun adventure, now that she knew she wasn’t going to be stuck up on the mountain overnight.

Ben caught up and although she hadn’t known him long, Sara could tell he looked worse for wear. He was shivering lightly with an occasional full-body chill and he didn’t so much sit down on the bench as dissolve into it. He rubbed his arms up and down, trying unsuccessfully to generate a little heat. His hair was a mess, sticking out in unplanned directions and littered with crumpled leaves. One leaf was caught in his bangs, hanging just to the edge of his face. Sara reached over and pulled it off, her hand brushing his forehead as she swept the leaf out of his hair.

Sara’s hands had been cold for so long she wasn’t sure she could trust her assessment of temperature but Ben’s forehead seemed unnaturally warm.

“You feel hot” she said, again wishing she had said something wittier.

“It’s just from hiking” Ben answered. “Let’s get going.” He half stood, half pushed himself off the bench and headed down the road. Although they were now walking on paved road, the light had totally gone. Sara was focused on the ground in front of her, placing her feet cautiously around the stray gravel and occasional branch. She was about two steps behind Ben when he stopped. Sara hadn’t noticed and kept walking, looking up right as she plowed into his back. She stepped back but in her hurry her foot caught on a branch and she stumbled. Ben reached out, his hand wrapping around her flailing arm and steadied her.

His arm was linked with hers, fingers around her elbow. Sara opened her mouth to say “why’d you stop?” but the words never came out. Ben took a faltering breath and looked away from Sara.

sara had just regained her footing and the slight surge of adrenalin from her near fall made her feel hyper alert. She could feel Ben gasp and watched as he turned and buried his face in his free elbow.

“hsz'Gnkxt. nn'Eksht.”

He looked up, eyes slightly unfocused.

“Bless-” Sara stopped as Ben shook his head briefly. He turned back to his elbow and sneezed again. Sara could feel the tension in his fingers, his rapid inhalation-

“T'Gnkxt . Eksch'Hischu.” The last sneeze had overcome his attempt to stifle it. Ben lifted his face out of his sleeve.

“Bless you.”

“Thanks.” She could hear a smile in his voice and thought that if the light were better she would also have seen him blushing. Ben stood up, giving his head a small shake to disguise the sniffling that followed his last sneeze.

“come on. let’s get you home” sara said and this time Ben just nodded.

----

They reached the base of the hill quickly and crossed the bridge over the railroad tracks. To Sara that bridge was the border between a hike and a walk--one side was wild, the other side was in town. The sidewalk was well lit and Sara and Ben walked the last few blocks quickly.

“I live right here” Ben said, gesturing to an older house still a few blocks off campus. Sara paused.

“oh. ok.” she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do next--the excitement of the last hour hadn’t dissipated and she still felt a little wrung out. Still, she didn’t actually know Ben and she was only about a half mile from her dorm room. She waved quickly and turned to go.

“do you-”

sara turned back, head half cocked. Ben was standing on his front steps, the door unlocked and held partway open.

“do you want to come in?” He asked. The question hovered for a moment as Sara thought briefly. She didn’t know Ben, but he wasn’t exactly a stranger. She recognized him from campus--it wasn’t a huge college. Ben shivered.

“Just to warm up, I thought, maybe you were cold...” he paused looking away.

“Sure. I’ll just text my suite-mate. what’s your address here?”

“Uh'Hffft” Ben’s head was crumpled in his arm.

“and how do I spell that?” sara teased as he looked up slightly confused.

“I didn’t catch how to spell your address.”

“oh.” Ben laughed. “Five sixty-two Southworth street. I’m the apartment on the top floor, we don’t have numbers.” He pulled the front door all the way open and stepped in, holding his arm out to her. Sara texted her friend and followed him inside.

[jezebel215]

Inside Sara got a clear look at Ben for the first time. He looked just short of 6 feet although she wasn’t the best judge--anything over 5’10” looked tall to her. His hair was warm brown and slightly too long but he probably looked more disheveled than usual on account of the stray leaves still clinging to his shirt in places. He looked fit but not bulky, his long-sleeve T fell on his shoulders with the intimacy of well worn and over-washed cotton.

“So why don’t I know you” Sara asked, again blurting out what she meant to say, but not how she meant to say it.

“I mean, what are you majoring in? I don’t recognize you from any of my classes. I’m majoring in chemistry or biology, I’m not sure which one yet.” Sara was talking too much and she consciously slowed herself.

“I’m a history major. But I’ve also taken a lot of Poli-Sci classes” he answered.

Ben laughed at Sara’s blank expression. “There are buildings on campus that don’t have laboratories in them” he teased.

“Yeah, but do they teach you anything in there?” Sara teased back. History and Poli-Sci would explain why she’d never had a class with him. “Besides, I take classes that aren’t in the science quad. I just don’t take that many of them.”

They had crossed the room -- a mix of paisley armchairs and a bright cushions on a deep blue couch. The room could have looked ramshackle but there was a homey feeling to it Sara enjoyed. The warm air of the apartment felt like heaven but Ben’s sniffles were becoming increasingly wet. He got up and walked over to the counter and she saw a box of tissues--the nice ones, the ones with lotion, tissues that suggested his nose was already sore from abuse. He pulled out a few and unfolded them slowly in his hands. His eyelids drooped and a quiver of irritation crossed his forehead. He stretched the tissues across his palms and tucked his nose deep into them.

“Ik-Etsch. huh-Gxssht. Ack-Hapt'choo.”

The last sneeze escaped his attempts to contain it and sounded like it had been a bit messy. Ben walked into the bathroom and Sara could hear him blowing his nose. Or at least, hear him trying. It didn’t sound like much air was making it through his irritated nasal passages. Sara sat down on the couch with her legs folded up under her. She was still cold and she was just getting feeling back in the skin of her legs. It felt like the bite of small insects the red welts of cold from her ankles to thighs seemed to agree.

Ben walked back into the living room and seeing Sara tucked up on the couch made him feel like an ungracious host.

“I have a sweatshirt and pants you can wear, if you want. Just on top of your outfit, if you’re cold that is.”

“That would be great.” Sara watched as Ben walked down the hall. He seemed as prone to babbling as she was, a nice turn of pace from the eloquently soft-spoken people she normally found herself jabbering over. While Ben was rummaging through his room Sara saw a kettle on the stove.

“Would you like me to make hot water?” She called, already rising. Ben came scrambling back into the room. He had kept his t-shirt on but traded his hiking pants for thick grey fleece that he was still tying closed when he made it around the corner.

“I can do that. I’m the host. You sit down, relax.”

He was amusingly eager but as much fun as being waited on was, Sara could only enjoy it if there was a good reason for her to receive such special attention. Just being the guest didn’t seem like a good reason to receive special treatment. If anything, she was the one owing Ben a favor--thanks to him she was already inside and about to be treated to warm clothes. Warming up water on the stove seemed like the least she could do to help.

“If it’s OK, I’d like to do it. Do you have tea?” she asked.

“Top shelf, over the stove” Ben answered. He went back to his room, returning moments later with a big grey hoodie and pants similar to the ones he was wearing. Sara pulled them on over her hiking clothes, feeling immediately warmer and yet more bedraggled. The pants were about six inches too long and she had to roll them up to keep from tripping. The sweatshirt was better, but only because she liked her sweatshirts big. She felt like she was playing dress-up but that silliness diffused the slight tension of the moment---two people, relative strangers, suddenly alone with no real obstacle to talk about.

Sara filled up the kettle and set the water to boil. She found a collection of herbal teas above the stove and pulled out a few packets--chamomile for her nerves and honey-lemon for Ben’s throat. In the same cabinet she saw a half-empty plastic honey bear and she took that out as well. The search for mugs took a little more effort but three cabinets later she had found two novelty mugs heralding such exotic travel locales as ‘the Jersey shore’ and ‘Atlantic City’.

Ben returned right as the water reached boiling and Sara showed him her tea choices.

“Honey lemon sounds like heaven” he said, reaching for the packet.

Sara noticed he had a tissue already balled in that hand and that his voice was rougher than it had been only moments earlier outside. He had pulled on a dark blue sweatshirt but while Sara felt almost normal after a few minutes inside Ben was still shivering. She brought the kettle over to the kitchen table and poured them each a mug of hot water.

As the tea steeped Sara watched Ben. He had his fingers wrapped tightly around the mug even though Sara found hers too hot to hold. He was handsome, more so than she had realized in the falling dark, but the light wasn’t all kind. Dark circles painted on like smudged eye liner clashed with his too-bright eyes. Although his skin was pale, his cheeks were flushed, whether from cold or from fever, she couldn’t tell.

Ben broke the silence.

“So really, why’d you go hike up a mountain tonight?” He asked with the bashfulness of a co-conspirator.

“Well, it was a really beautiful day” Sara replied. “And it’s November, in New England. I didn’t know how many more beautiful days I’d have. So I skipped my last class to go hike instead. I thought I left around 2 but it may have been closer to 3. And apparently the sun sets closer to 4:30 than it does to 6. So I was there because I don’t look at the clock or the calendar, what’s your excuse?”

Ben laughed. “I didn’t think it would take me so long.”

Sara raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t a hard hike but it was 1.7 miles from the base to top, plus another mile and a half from her dorm to the trail. That made it about 6 miles round trip, maybe 5 for Ben because his apartment was closer. They had made good time down the trail but it had still been nearly dark by the time Sara had reached Ben at the top. She knew she was in trouble but was too pigheaded to turn around. Ben couldn’t have gotten to the top much faster than she had.

“Seriously?” she asked.

“Well, I had wanted to go hike after lunch but I lay down for a few minutes, thought I’d try to shake this headache” he paused, looking away. “And when I woke up it still seemed early enough, so I went anyway.”

“So we’re both irresponsible risk takers, is what you’re saying?”

“Yes. Exactly. Ignorant and irresponsible.” He shivered. “And cold.”

Sara had just started to sip her tea, finding it only now to be a drinkable temperature. Ben was already finished -- had he gulped it down? Sara wondered. She was beginning to feel cozy and warm inside, the tea and sweats like a cocoon. She wasn’t looking forward to the cold walk home. Not to mention she was having tea with a lovely, charming man who seemed to be coming down with a terrible cold. She knew she should be heading home -- she didn’t want to overstay her welcome -- but it was friday and she had nothing to do the next day.

Ben must have seen her glance over at the door.

“Do you need to go?”

[SomethingClever]

NO! she dosen't need to go! she needs to stay and take care of him!

(he he e...) I love this, it's reallyreally cute...

[obsessed]

Aw, this is positively adorable.

[semperfi0609]

I'm loving this, please continue!

[littlesneezer18]

So great ! Good work.

[White Rose]

awww

this is SOOO cute loving it

[jezebel215]

part 7

“Do you need to go?”

“No. I mean, I don’t. Unless you have something you need to do. In which case, I can go.”

Verbal diarrhea. That’s what she had. An inability to control anything that came out of her mouth.

“You don’t have to go. I don’t- I’m not doing anything. I mean, I’m having tea with you but nothing else. You know, or, well, whatever. Do you want to watch Jeopardy?” Ben finished with a hail-mary question and Sara realized that whatever self-editing disease she had, Ben had a severe case of it as well.

“I love Jeopardy.”

They refilled their mugs and walked back into the living room. There were four seats--two on the couch, two chairs--but only the two on the couch had a good view of the TV. Sara sat down on one edge, trying to find a happy medium between taking up too much space and seeming like she wanted to avoid touching any part of Ben. Ben started to sit down then stood up again.

“I’ll be back” he said and left down the hallway. He returned moments later with a look of triumph and carrying a thick wool blanket.

“Ta-dah!”

Between the tea and the heat Sara was nearly sweating and she had used Ben’s absence to take off the extra sweat shirt he had lent her. When he saw that he seemed to lose a bit of his excitement.

“I thought you might be cold” he said, holding out the blanket. “But if you’re not-”

“No, the blanket looks great. We’ll share.”

We’ll share? That was so bold! Ben had not made clear any intentions to share the couch with her. Of course, while she was busy in mental deliberations Ben unfolded the blanket and sat down on the other side, shaking it out so the blanket reached over both their legs. He found the remote and turned on the TV, finding Jeopardy only partway through the first round.

Sara loved Jeopardy. She was good at it and knew it. But she didn’t want to seem like a jerk. But she did want to impress Ben, at least a little. It was always a war inside her head. Sometimes she wished she could just do something, just act normal without thinking about it so much. That never happened.

Pride won out. Once Ben saw that she was playing along he started answering questions too. They were a good pairing--Sara getting most of the science and Ben a good portion of the humanities questions. Sara found herself watching Ben more than she watched the screen. His eyes were warm brown like his hair and he looked, well, he looked wholesome, not that Sara would have used that word to describe anyone before. The paisley chairs, the herbal tea, the sweatshirt. Once you got past the ‘getting stuck on a mountain’ part, the evening had turned into something really nice.

The category was “Just Say No-” , a hint that all the correct answers in that column would start with the letters “N” “O”. Sara loved word clues and this was her favorite kind. After her first answer of “What is notorious?” and the quick rush of pleasure at getting it right, she registered Ben’s answer.

“Whad is do-dorious” is what it sounded like.

“The answer starts with ‘N’” Sara offered, alluding to his thickening congestion with what she hoped was a joke.

“I said “eD’ ” Ben answered then paused, heard himself and laughed.

“You know what I meant.” He reached over for a few tissues and wiped his nose, making a token effort but not clearing any congestion. The tissues must have been invitation enough to his irritated nose and he quickly stopped wiping and looked up.

There was a rhythm to his sneezing: a pause, then the look up, the quick breath and then the volley of sneezes. He was delightfully unfocused when he looked up, eyes closing slowly as the tickle built until he couldn’t hold it back any longer. It was a strange duo, the gentle teasing out of the sneeze and then his abrupt attempt to stifle it into submission. Strange, perhaps, but delightful. Ben eyelids fluttered and the muscles high in his cheeks quivered, his nostrils flaring with a desperate inhalation. Burying his nose in a clutch of tissues he started sneezing.

“ihk'Gxt. hz-Egscht. ehh-Chiew”

He looked up, scanning the room anxiously before his eyes lit on the box of tissues on the arm table next to Sara. She followed his eyes and pulled out a bunch, handing them over to him, just in time. Ben grabbed them and seemed to try to say thank-you but all that came out was,

“the..eh..aht'Hepshoo. hhr'Etschu.”

He sighed slightly after the last sneeze, blowing his nose lightly before turning to her and saying ‘thank-you.‘ He closed his eyes and laid his head against the padded back of the couch and rubbed his temples.

“You really don’t feel well, do you?” Sara ventured.

“No, I’m f..eh-Eshu.” Ben’s attempt at denial failed. “Ok, I feel not awesome. But it’s nothing, maybe just a little cold. I shouldn’t have stayed out quite so long today.”

Sara turned to face Ben and looked him over thoroughly. His cheeks were still flushed but there was a sheen to his forehead she didn’t like. His nostrils were red-rimmed and a glint of moisture hovered, threatening to escape. His head rested in his hand like it was too heavy to stay up on its own but when he noticed her giving him the once-over he sat up quickly. Not quickly enough.

“Agreed. I should head home though, and you should go to bed.” Sara couldn’t believe what she was saying. She didn’t want to go home, she wanted to stay right where she was but at the same time, she knew Ben needed sleep.

“We could watch a movie” Ben offered and Sara smiled.

“I’d love to stay. But I’ll make you a deal. You go drink a big glass of orange juice, take two Advil and go to bed. I’ll come by tomorrow and we can watch a movie. Maybe get to know each other while it’s still daylight” she added, laughing.

Ben managed to look disappointed and relieved at the same time.

“Ok. Deal. Oh wait. I only have apple juice. Can it be apple juice, then advil, then bed?” he teased.

Sara just rolled her eyes and reached out her hand. As her fingers neared his forehead she slowed, losing her confidence. She crossed the last inches slowly, unfurling her hands and brushing her fingertips lightly across his forehead.

“I think you have a fever. Go to sleep sick boy. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ben nodded with insolent obedience and walked her to the door, the wool blanket still draped around his shoulders. He pulled the door open and stopped, shivering as the air hit him. Sara had started to take off his sweats but he said,

“Keep them. It’s cold out. You can bring them back tomorrow. Don’t want you to catch your death”

He left the last statement hanging, daring her to call him on his hypocrisy. Instead she said “I’m glad I got stuck in the dark tonight.”

“Me too. I could have done without the mountain part I guess. But I’m glad I met you.” He looked up shyly and held out his hand, looked down to see the balled up tissue still clutched in his fingers and quickly retracted his offer.

“I’ll give you my number. I’m not doing anything tomorrow so just shoot me a text whatever time you’re coming over. Ladies choice on the movie.”

They switched numbers and Sara made herself leave, before her self restraint gave way and she found herself back on his couch, slightly too eager to play nursemaid. She turned back to wave and saw Ben standing in the doorway. He smiled then turned away, giving his head a slight shake. The last thing Sara saw was Ben bending at the waist, hands still holding the blanket tight around his shoulders.

“hz-Egscht. eksch'Hischu.”

“Bless-”

“eh... Ighi-Heischue”

“Bless you!”

---

The walk home took about ten minutes although it could have taken an hour and Sara didn’t think she would have noticed. The whole evening was surreal -- the excitement, the danger, meeting someone new (a boy!), his sneezes... Reliving his last triple Sara’s heart did a funny flip-sink in her chest before she scolded herself “Down girl. what you meant to feel is ‘I hope he feels better tomorrow’.”

Sara got home and changed out of Ben’s clothes, out of her hiking clothes, then went to pull on her pajamas. She grabbed a tee shirt but then found herself sliding back into Ben’s oversize hoodie. It wasn’t late but she was tired so she grabbed her biochem textbook and crawled into bed. Nothing like gluconeogesis and amino acid metabolism to put you to sleep.

She turned off the light about an hour later and snuggled down under the covers, her sleeves curled over her wrists and held tightly in her fingertips.

---

Sara woke around 7am the next morning. She had gone to bed early and had slept well, although she had difficulty falling asleep. She kept playing back moments of her day--Ben’s stifled sneezes, the way he tried to pretend he wasn’t sick, the dizzy thrill lying at the bottom of the hill with a full sky of stars swimming above her.

She couldn’t decide on what movie to bring. ‘Ladies Choice’ was a whole lot of pressure (if you’re someone to whom every decision is an agonizing deliberation). Sara didn’t have all that many DVDs and though the ones she had were her favorites, she couldn’t help but be slightly embarrassed at their content.

The Rock.

True Lies.

The Matrix.

Legally Blonde.

Sara recognized that these were not works of cinematic greatness. She ruled out ‘Legally Blonde’ on account of it being too girly, ‘True Lies’ because she had seen it too many times to watch it again so soon. That left ‘The Rock’ and ‘The Matrix’ -- two movies she’d never grow tired of although she half wished she was bringing some independent foreign film with subtitles and ‘deep’ themes. It fit her idea of the ideal ‘college student’ like trendy glasses, thrift-store levi’s and a slightly jaded outlook on life. Instead Sara was mainstream denim, no-name sweatshirts and a slightly too naive view of the world, despite too much time spent pondering her every move.

Of course, she might die of boredom if she had to watch said exotic film. The way she figured, she was under enough pressure already--was this a date exactly? And a couple of movies in her comfort zone couldn’t hurt. She decided to bring a pack of cards and her favorite word game -- letter tiles in a fabric banana you played in a weird boggle-scrabble hybrid.

It was only 8:30 am. What Sara wanted was to go straight over to Ben’s and knock on his door but she didn’t want to seem too eager. So instead she spent the morning pampering herself. She put on a brightening face mask--some gooey concoction that dried to a skin like the top of old soup. But it made your face clear and radiant, or at least, that’s what it said on the bottle.

While the mask sat Sara gave herself a mini mani-pedi (no nail polish, just nicely trimmed and shaped). She peeled off the mask and hopped in the shower. She washed her hair with her favorite shampoo and then put in a hair conditioning mask--something fancy that left her smelling like orange blossoms. While her hair conditioned she shaved and exfoliated. After rinsing out the hair mask she stepped out of the shower fully reinvigorated, feeling as clean and pampered as she had felt disheveled and desperate the night before.

Further deliberations and a carefully planned, then replanned outfit selection had only brought Sara to 10:30 am. On a Saturday. That was really too early for polite company, even if you knew they hadn’t been out boozing the night before.

Taking care of someone with a cold. Bringing them tea and Nyquil, chicken soup and tissues -- call it a quirk or a kink, it was something Sara loved. Loved enough that she knew to tone down her own plans and try to keep her care-taking within the bounds of what she could carelessly dismiss as ‘being thoughtful.’

Within that set of guidelines she decided she could drive to the grocery store--she needed food also and If she happened to pick up colds meds and juice for Ben? Well, she was just extraordinarily thoughtful.

Cruising the aisles of the Super Stop’n’Shop felt like a waking dream. There were so many choices and Sara wavered between too much and just right. Just right--”feel better” herbal tea. Too much--the entire ‘cough and cold’ aisle. Finally settling on orange juice, canned chicken noodle soup, herbal tea, Dayquil/Nyquil, ‘cold relief’ body wash, cough drops and more lotion-y tissues Sara headed for the checkout line.

She didn’t plan on showing up at Ben’s and piling all her goodies up on the counter, it was enough that she had them. Introduced one-by-one maybe she’d seem like she always had a trick up her sleeve, that she hovered right between sensitive and intuitive.

Sara decided she would drive to Ben’s -- it was only about a mile but she had a lot of stuff to carry now. She had stretched out her morning activities to 11:30 am. Still early, she supposed, but maybe just right for a casual ‘lunch and a movie’ kind of (?) date. After sending him a short text (she was too much of a sissy to actually call him) and receiving an invitation in return, she drove over and parked across the street from his house. She packed her bag carefully, bringing the 2 DVDs, a pack of cards and a selection of medicine. She put on lip balm, smoothed her hair and took a deep breath.

How could knocking on someone’s door in broad daylight be so much scarier than running into them on a mountain in the dark?

[starpollen]

"...she half wished she was bringing some independent foreign film with subtitles and ‘deep’ themes. It fit her idea of the ideal ‘college student’ like trendy glasses, thrift-store levi’s and a slightly jaded outlook on life. Instead Sara was mainstream denim, no-name sweatshirts and a slightly too naive view of the world, despite too much time spent pondering her every move. "

Wow. This was SO me. I love this. I love their slow getting-to-know-each-other and the whole:

"How could knocking on someone’s door in broad daylight be so much scarier than running into them on a mountain in the dark?"

'Cause it is. Really. We've all been there. I think that's what I love most: it brings back awesome college memories of crushes and first-meetings and... *sigh*

Can't wait for more!

[White Rose]

OMG!!!!! I LOVE THIS! O.O it's so amazing

please do continue

[onlyhim]

Somehow I missed this story. I just read part seven and it is too cute! Can't wait for their "date"! =)

[semperfi0609]

this is my favorite part so far! i can't wait to find out what happens next!

[jezebel215]

part 8

---

It was bright but cold, a day when fall seemed ready to give in to winter. Sara crossed the street to Ben’s door, glancing back briefly at the mountain she had climbed last night rising in the near distance. In daylight it wasn’t so scary, just a rumble of deciduous forest with glacial outcroppings of rock at the top. It was now, Sara thought with a smirk, perhaps her favorite place of school.

She hesitated at Ben’s door, taking a breath and then pressed his buzzer. It took a moment for him to get downstairs and in that time Sara had already imagined a thousand possibilities--he wasn’t actually sick and she would look like a fool with all her dayquil; he was no longer so interesting without endogenous adrenalin pumping through her veins; the light would be unkind to both of them.... Ben opened the door before she could continue.

He was wearing jeans and a dark sweatshirt and her first thought when she saw him was “He is so handsome. Why didn’t I remember that he was so handsome?” The jeans were a darker wash that had faded, it seemed at least, from actual use and not a fashionable sand blasting in the factory. His hair was still a mess but this time a clean mess--the half wet, slightly rumpled look of someone who had gotten out of the shower not too long ago.

“Hey,” he said, smiling and opening the door wider. His voice was gravelly and lower than Sara remembered. Looking closely she could see that despite the shower and clean up job he was still not 100% -- his eyelashes seemed to blend with the dark smudges under his eyes, his nose looked thoroughly chapped and he glowed with the not-quite-healthy shine of warm cheeks and glassy eyes. He looked adorable.

“Come in.”

Sara followed Ben upstairs. As the walked into the living room Sara could see Ben had cleaned up. There were no dishes in the sink, the blanket was neatly folded at the foot of the couch and although she couldn’t be sure, she had a suspicion he had dusted.

Dusted? Sara almost choked on the idea. To her dusting seemed like willingly assuming the guise of Sisyphus, gladly pushing the boulder up the mountain every day, only for a fine layer of dust to settle again the next day. Better to just learn to love the dust, she figured. Still, the shine on the wooden table was nice and as she took in more of her surroundings Sara noted the smell of fresh coffee.

“You can put your bag down anywhere, and take off your coat, if you want to” Ben offered. Sara put her bag in the corner but first pulled out the package of cold-relief tea

“A house-warming gift” she said and handed it over to Ben. He smiled and seemed ready to insist that she ‘shouldn’t have’ when instead he got a familiar, far away look in his eyes. He smushed his hand up under his nose, knuckling his nostrils savagely in an attempt to contain whatever mayhem was brewing. It worked, for the moment at least.

“Thank-you” he said. “I’ll go heat up--”

Sara looked back at him. He had his hand back up and was rubbing furiously at his nose. This time his trick failed him and he reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt with a bit of trepidation. He pulled out a stack of fresh tissues and started to unfold them in his hands.

“Excuse be” he said and turned away, sneezing harshly into his hands.

“his'Gnkxt. ihk'Gxt. eksch'Hischu.” He blew his nose lightly into the tissues before folding them and slipping them discretely into the trash can. Sara followed his hands and saw that the trash can was nearly full of used tissues.

“Come on, let’s brew some tea” Sara offered.

They walked into the kitchen and Ben pulled out the teapot and filled it with water from the sink. He set in on the stove to boil and turned to face Sara. Sara had spread her entertainment choices down on the table -- The Rock, The Matrix and a deck of cards.

“I didn’t really think you were a romantic comedy kind of girl” Ben said, smiling again “but I had no idea you were so violent.”

Sara laughed. “Well, I do own Legally Blonde. It just didn’t make the cut today. I figured we’re a couple of world-weary adventurers and I for one, find cinematic gun play strangely calming. I’d probably pee myself if I saw a gun go off in real life.”

Sara stopped speaking abruptly and covered her mouth with a look of horror. Ben almost laughed out loud but caught himself and said instead, “Loss of control of bodily function under situations of extreme stress is entirely understandable. But maybe we shouldn’t check out the shooting range any time soon.”

Sara could feel the blush rising on her cheeks but she couldn’t stare at the floor forever.

“I’d probably pee myself too” Ben offered, “although chances are good I’d faint before I had the chance.”

He was goading her!

“Well, you can still shoot someone with wet pants. You’re pretty worthless lying on the floor. Given those options, I suppose I’m actually made of pretty sturdy stuff.”

They decided to watch ‘The Rock.‘ Ben had rearranged the room slightly, just enough to make one of the end chairs a comfortable viewing spot of the TV. Sara chose her side of the couch instead. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought Ben smiled when he saw her choose the couch. He came back into the room carrying two cups of tea.

“I made us both your tea. Just, because, well, it was a nice gift I thought” he rambled and Sara took her mug.

“It smells yummy”.

Ben followed her lead and took a deep breath in of the fragrant steam rising up from his mug. That was a mistake. He jerked away almost imperceptibly and brought his hand back up to his nose, this time with a tissue. He pinched his nostrils shut between his thumb and forefinger, brows furrowing with concentration. Again, he succeeded only briefly. Abandoning the clenched fingers Ben pinched his nose between fresh tissues.

“igh-ChGxt. his'Gnkxt. hhh'Etsch.”

“Bless you,” Sara said and then bravely offered “Do you always sneeze in threes?”

Ben blushed. “Not always, but if I’m sick, yeah, I usually sneeze at least three times. My nose just tickles so much, you know?”

He looked up to Sara for confirmation and she tried to put her face back into a semblance of normalcy. Meanwhile her insides felt like hot jelly -- Ben talking about his own sneezes? Admitting he was sick? Sara felt like she was full of melted butterscotch and it was sliding all the way through down to her toes.

“I don’t really get sick,” Sara said. Again, majorly lame answer. True, but still lame. and Maybe a little off-putting.

“I mean, I don’t get sick often. I sleep a lot, you know, get like 8 hours a night. I figure it keeps me pretty healthy.”

Ben grimaced. “8 hours? I’ve been lucky if I’ve gotten more than 5 hours a night.”

“What have you been doing?” Sara asked. “I mean, I study. not all the time, but enough, well, I thought enough.” She was rambling again.

Ben laughed. “It’s not all studying. I waste a lot of time. Somehow my body doesn’t know the difference between 1 am and 4 am. So if I’m not asleep by one, it’s anyone’s guess.” He started to chuckle but it turned into a cough and he turned away, covering his mouth with a handful of tissues.

“Fat lot of good it’s done me” he said as he turned back around. Sara looked at him again. The freshly-washed look of the shower was fading and Ben seemed to be fading as well.

“Let’s watch the movie” Sara offered and Ben jumped up to put the DVD in the machine.

“I love this movie because it lets me pretend when I”m in chem-lab that I’m diffusing a dangerous chemical bomb.”

Ben looked at her a little funny. “You pretend you’re diffusing bombs in chem lab?”

“NO! I mean, no, not really. sometimes its so boring though--how many times can you do an acid titration. I let my mind wander a little bit... Are you telling me you never daydream in your history lectures? ‘Cause I don’t believe you, if that’s what you’re telling me.”

“No, I daydream. It’s just not about dismantling IEDs or chemical weapons.” He settled down on the far end of the couch, placing the box of tissues within arms reach on the end table.

“Let’s live out your fantasy,” he teased and they started the movie. It was about noon and the light through the crack in Ben’s curtains made a distracting triangle on the screen.


“May I close your curtains?” She asked.

After receiving no answer she looked over at Ben. The opening scene hadn’t even finished and he was curled over, his head resting on a pillow and body curled up under yesterday’s blanket, sound asleep. Sara crept over to the window and pulled the curtains shut. She climbed back onto the couch, slid under the blanket and settled in to watch the movie.

[ID2006]

yay... I like updates. I can't believe it took me so long to get to this fic.

[jezebel215]

i can't believe it took me so long to try to write a fic! (lord knows they've been floating around in my head for ages...)

give faith to stories without capital letters!

[obsessed]

Well, this was adorable. They're so cutee when they flirt obliviously, aren't they?

Best wishes to a marveelouss 2010.

[White Rose]

aww this is amazing!!