Season

[*brenden michael erickson]

It was just six in the morning and Brenden was off happily jogging around the track that was wrapped around the football field. He was out running a little later then usual since it had taken him awhile to get out of his home. First, his puppy had managed to run off with one of his shoes and he'd looked for it in just about every place he could think of. As he was walking though the kitchen he had tripped over something and looked down before finally finding the lost shoe. How the puppy had managed to drag it downstairs and into the kitchen was beyond him. By that time his parents were up and they'd wanted to talk with him about some pointless party they were going to. They had tried to convince him to stay home and "watch Holly" that night but he'd declined. After all, Holly was fifteen and she was able to take care of herself. Brenden knew that the only reason they'd asked him that was because they must have figured that he'd use their absence as an excuse to throw a party. That wasn't his scene, he was one to show up at the parties and not to be the thrower of one. His eyes glanced at his watch for a moment, he wasn't planning on running too far today. Yesterday he had went out for a long run just because he hadn't wanted to go back home. "Apparently nobody had the same idea that I had." He said to himself as he looked around again, hoping to see somebody but all that he saw were the empty stands and a few birds out on the football field. Brenden was a very socialable person and even though he liked to jog alone, he'd been hoping to meet up with somebody to talk to today.

There was one person who Brenden knew of that wouldn't have minded going off for a run with him. But Anthony wasn't home when he'd stopped by, he did find that very odd. Which meant that he'd call him later to find out where he'd been, more then likely he'd just wanted to be alone so he'd went off somewhere. But Brenden couldn't help himself, he was a little worried about Anthony's whereabouts. After all, Brenden had known the kid since he was born and he was very attached to him in a way. He shook his head slightly as he tried to think about something else. "There's got to be somebody that's on their way out here or has everybody decided to go off for a jog somewhere else the one day I decide to switch things up and go here." He said before one again looking around for a few moments, if somebody didn't come out here soon then he was just going to go home. His parents would be rather surprised if he showed up so early after he'd left though. They were used to him going out for a run and not coming back for awhile. Sometimes it was because of the amount of time he spent running other times it was because he'd ran into somebody to talk to and that had interrupted him.

I really do have to find somebody else, besides my brother or Anthony who doesn't mind going out on long runs at five in the morning. Today doesn't count because I would usually be done by now. He thought as he looked straight ahead, he didn't know how many laps he'd ran around the track and he knew that most people would be keeping track of it. Brenden would only keep track of how far he ran if he was in a contest with his brother or something. Usually he wasn't the type of say "look at me I ran ten miles today!" more of the time he'd just mention that he ran out to some spot. Then people would be like "my god, that's ten miles away from here". It amused him to hear their reactions to things like that. After checking his watch one more time he decided that if nobody showed up within the next ten minutes then he'd just head on home.

((Well that turned out shorter then I expected))

[alexandria edeline st. laurent]

Alexandria St. Laurent walked towards the football field, water in hand. 'So it's not Central Park, but it will have to work,' she thought to herself as she looked over the football field. She was dressed as she always was before she went jogging: hair pulled back into a straight pony-tail, tank-top (light turquoise today), shorts (black today), and her signature one-of-a-kind sneakers. Jogging was something Alexa had grown acustomed to doing everyday. It had started as soon as she was allowed to wander down to Central Park by herself. Oh, how she missed New York City. Central Park was one of her favorite places there. She used to spend days on end there, walking her dog, reading, jogging, etc. But, they had left that all behind now to move to this place. Central Park was gorgeous, and she loved people watching all the strange tourists who happened upon it. Not many of her friends would ever want to run with her; they'd rather use a treadmill. But her best friend Nate would normally join her, he made it more enjoyable.

Jogging was Alexa's form of relaxation, other than shopping, of course. When she was out running, it was as if the outside world disappeered. She cleared her mind of all things and focused on the tempo of her breathing. She loved the quick-paced beating of her heart, the feeling of her sneakers hitting the ground, learning to push yourself more and more. She didn't know what she would do without her jogging time. A day without jogging never turned out as a good day for her. Her parents always tried to convince her to do it less often, that it was too much for her, but she knew that would never happen. It took endurance, and that was exactly what Alexa had. Her endurance had increased alot since she had first started. Even if it wasn't her old park, this would have to work.

Placing her water bottle on the ground, she ran a hand through her pony-tail before starting. She would start slow and then work her way to a faster speed. "Alright. Get a steady pace going," she said to herself, closing her eyes for a minute and taking a deep breath. In, out. In, out. That was all that went through her mind: her breathing. Oh, if only Nate was here. Running would be so much more enjoyable with someone to run with. Looking around, a few yards in front of her she spotted a guy about her age. Maybe he could replace Nate for now. She pushed herself just enough that she could slowly catch up with him. As soon as she was next to him, she said quickly "Don't want to get beat by a girl, do you?" And then she sped up so that she was a couple yards infront of him, and stole one look behind her to see his reaction.

[*brenden michael erickson]

All of a sudden there was a girl running in front of him who apparently wanted him to challenge her. Well, he most certainly would do that after all he was a very competitive person. Not to mention he was a very fast runner and he was still full of energy. He increased his stride slightly and then caught up to her, it was then that he realized that he'd never seen this girl before. A new girl had challenged him? Well this was certainly something very new to him, and if she told any of the girls at school that she'd challenged Brenden Erickson she'd immediately earn twenty points in the books of the popular girls. "Who said that I was afraid to get beat by a girl?" He said and then smiled playfully at her, one might call this flirting, but he didn't. He merely called it getting to know a new girl. The pair were lucky that nobody else was out there otherwise they would probably be the talk of the student population within the hour. He then sped up so that he was just a few yards in front of her, this could be fun. After all it had been awhile since he'd raced anybody, not since track season.

He wondered how long their little match race would last, sooner or later one of them was bound to become tired. But by the looks of things this girl was rather fit and he knew that eventually he would have to stop and go home. After all, if he was late then he would hear about it from his parents. They always expected him home by seven o'clock since breakfast was between seven fifteen and seven thirty. Usually he was home by six or six thirty since he was out running by five fifteen most days. Now would he run that whole time? Well sometimes, but most of the time he'd stop and take a look around at the scenery. When he didn't walk to talk to anybody then he'd simply go for a little jog off onto one of the small trails in the woods. He'd been known to go off for a run on deer trails, and usually when he did that then he'd take one of the dogs at his house with him. Was it because he was afraid something would attack him? No, he took the dog with him because he knew that it would enjoy the long run. Brenden couldn't take his dog out with him when he ran because Brownie was just eight weeks old and couldn't run too far.

Brenden wondered if he should slow down and try and strike up a conversation right now. But he quickly dismissed that thought, after all they were both involved in a small competition between two strangers at the moment. Maybe later, after everything was over he'd introduce himself to her. And if he liked her he'd offer to show her around town sometime. Just then, a thought crossed his mind. Maybe this girl would eventually end up being a jogging buddy. Sometimes he could use somebody to talk to that wouldn't complain about how far he ran. He quickly shook his head, he was thinking way too far in the future. Not to mention, he didn't know if this girl would even like him or not. He knew that if his older brother Jake was here that he'd probably be encouraging him to flirt with the girl. He wasn't going to do that, not when he didn't even know her name.

[alexandria edeline st. laurent]

Alexa like that was guy was going to accept her challenge and that he did it with a little playful humor. She kept herself from laughing slightly, though. That were change her breathing rate and that would slow her down. And she certainly didn't want that to happen now, did she? She was a very determined individual, and was not going to let this guy beat her. Alexa decided to stay at the same pace for a few minutes, making sure she didn't waste all her energy in one sprint, and then slowly uped her speed. 'Maybe this guy could replace Nate,' she thought to herself. It would be nice to have a running partner again. But, she would have to see if he was worthy of filling Nate's shoes first.

This boy obviously went to the school she was going to attend, and he seemed like the jock type. Not the bone-head jock type, though. But then again, she didn't know him yet. She didn't even know his name. Well, maybe if they had time after there little race, they could talk a little. That reminded her. She had to be home by 7:30 sharp. Her family rarely spent time together and breakfast was the only time the got to 'bond'. Her mother and father were always very busy with there jobs, so they didn't have much time to spend with her. But, the job paid the bills and paid for her shopping trips. Basically, if she missed breakfast, she was toast. Well, technically, she would be french toast, seeing as her entire family was from France. Alexa had plenty of time, though; atleast an hour.

Coming back to Earth, Alexa realized she was extremely close to the guy. Uping her pace a little, she passed him. "Don't fall behind there," she said in a teasing manner. If this was considered flirting, she didn't even know it. She made sure she was a few yards infront of him before slowing down slightly so that she was around the same pace as him, but still infront of him. This guy seemed to be pretty in shape; he was proving to be a worthy oponent. But Alexa was an extremely competitive person, and according to her friends, that wasn't always a good thing. She got very into every sport or game she played, and sometimes that would drive people away from wanting to play with her.

This post has been edited by alexandria edeline st. laurent on Dec 30 2007, 07:11 PM

[*brenden michael erickson]

For some reason all of this remind him of grade school, maybe it was because of the way that the two were playing with each other by teasing. Of course, he did the same thing when he ran with the cross country team. But the was because he found it funny that he could stay ahead of the whole team and then end up finishing first during their practice when he wasn't even on the team. He then increased his pace once again and then drew even with the girl for a moment. "Don't worry about me falling behind, it'll be awhile before that happens." He said and then looked over at her and smiled slightly, at least nobody was out here to interrupt their little competition. "But you know, you should go out for the track or cross country team." He said and then once again drew away from her. This was fun, he liked friendly little competitions like this. They made things a lot more interesting.

It had been a long time since he'd been challenged by a girl to a race. Most of the girls here were afraid to get dirty and they'd only run on a treadmill. After they were finished they'd take off for the mall and talk about the "hard workout" that they'd had. If they wanted a hard workout then they should run as much as this girl or him did. Brenden figured that the girl had to run at least as much as he did because of the way that she was easily keeping up with him. Not to mention, she didn't show any signs of slowing down. He checked his watch again just to make sure that he had enough time left to run some more against this girl. If she's a new girl then I bet she'd fit right in. She certain has the looks to be one of the popular girls that's for sure. He thought to himself before looking at the track ahead of him for a moment before glancing out at the birds on the football field. They didn't seem to be bothered by the two of them running.

As he was running he got to thinking about dating for some stranger reason. Maybe it was because he thought about Jake and then it occurred to him that he'd been going out with the same girl for a year and a half. He on the other hand, hadn't dated anybody seriously in about a year or so. Sure he'd had a couple of girlfriends but usually they didn't stay a couple for very long. For some reason he just wasn't too interested in them. He knew that people thought that he was afraid to go out seriously but that wasn't it. The truth was, he just hadn't found the right girl to go out with yet. Brenden knew that some people thought that all of that had to do with him losing Mike, and he knew that they could be right. He himself didn't know what his problem was.

[alexandria edeline st. laurent]

Alexa didn't bother to think much about his suggestion. She would never want to do this as an official competition. Sure, nice little races like this were fun, but doing it as a sport wasn't for her. She put her leg muscles to use with soccer and cheerleading. She was much more of a team-sport person. After thinking about it all for a second, she focused on the guy once more and quickened her pace. This time, she stayed at his rate for a little longer. "Nah. I'm more of a soccer and cheerleading girl," she admitted. "What do you say we set a finish-line spot?" she suggested and then took off again. He would have to catch up if he wanted to answer her.

Alexa thought about taking her puppy out to run sometime. But maybe when he was a little older. Kavik was only three months old, after all. But when he was a grown Siberian Husky, he would be the perfect running companion. This guy could prove to be a perfect running companion also. Alexa looked around once more at the beautiful scenery. The sky was a light shade of blue and there were a few clouds scattered around the sky. The grass was the perfect hue of green and it wasn't to hot out. Absolutely perfect running weather. She had run through rain and snow, as cliche as that sounded. But it was true. There was all kinds of weather in NYC. When it rained, she never ran into many people while at Central Park, but there a few faithful runners who could always be found there.

Alexa turned her head to look back at the guy once more. He was pretty cute looking; most likely one of the more popular guys at school. But, she could care less. Sure, she had always been in the popular group in school, and normally the leader of that group. But she tried not to judge people on their social rank; only their personality. Thinking about the popular group made her think back to her friends in Manhattan. All the parties, the shopping, vacations; they did everything together. And their families were always more wealthy than everyone elses. Back in the Upper-East side, money was the first thing people judged you on. Next was who you knew. But if you could spend money like it meant absolutely nothing, you were automatically in. Unless you upset Alexandria or her closer group of friends, that is.

This post has been edited by alexandria edeline st. laurent on Dec 30 2007, 09:04 PM

[*brenden michael erickson]

So she was more of a team sport type of girl. Well, track was the only sports that he did solo and even then it was technically a team sport at times. But football and basketball were the two sports where he got to put his leadership skills to good use. Of course, he wasn't like his older brother he knew that Jake had just barked orders at the younger people and just expected them to follow them. But, to the older people he was Mr. nice guy apparently his older sibling hadn't thought too highly of the new members that much. He'd heard that from his brother, and from some of the former members of the team. Now him on the other hand, he tried to treat everybody fairly. Although there was always one person that really got on his nerves which he just wanted to strangle. It seemed as if when he didn't like somebody, the rest of the team usually didn't like them either. It felt good to know that so many people were on his side. But at the same time it didn't because it felt like he was the one that was deciding things. After all, the other people sometimes didn't have a reason to hate the person, they only did just because he did.

He heard the girl's suggestion and he knew that she was right. What was the point of racing against each other if there was no finish line? Then it would be like the race would never end and that didn't seem like too much fun. He quickly caught up to her once again and then looked around before deciding on a finish spot. "How about the finish line is the field goal post over there." He said and the pointed to where it was for a second. "Now, I'm not going to cheat you if I think you won then you did." He stated, hoping that she'd believe him because it was true. He wasn't the type of guy who would argue when there was no way to prove anything. Besides, if he wanted to be friends with this girl then he wasn't about to start an argument after just meeting her. That would ruin everything, and then he'd lose his chance at gaining a potential running partner. He small smile appeared on his face, he knew what some people would think if he did go out running with this girl and it would be amusing to see their reactions the first time they seen them. But once again, he was thinking too far in the future. He quickly sped up, but not too much he wanted it to be a final sprint to the finish to make things more fun.

Brenden knew that he could easily get this girl into the popular crowd but he figured that there would be no need to. After all, she could probably handle herself and establish herself in the clique. He then looked back at her and wondered just how far she could run, that would be interesting to find out. Since really, this didn't count because by the looks of things he'd have to quit to go home before that happened. Just think, if I hadn't been running late then I never would have met her. I guess that things do happen for a reason after all. He thought to himself, in a way all things worked out in the end.

[alexandria edeline st. laurent]

'This guy is pretty decent,' Alexa thought to herself. She knew many tough guys who would complain and argue if they lost, even to a guy. When her and Nate raced, he would do that sometimes, but in a playful Matter. Usually it consisted of 'I let you win' or 'I twisted my ankle last night and its still healing'. But, they would always just laugh it off. Thinking about this made her miss him, and the rest of her friends. She knew school wouldn't be the same without any of them, but she would make the best of it, she was good at making friends and knew she would gain friends who would be just as close to her as her other friends were. That didn't mean they would replace her NYC friends. No, they would always be a part of her life, even if she wanted to cut loose from them, which she certainly didn't want to do. She wondered silently to herself if her competitor had friends like that, ones he could always rely on.

They still had a good ways to go before the reached the field goal post. That gave plenty of time for them to pull in front of each other. So far, he was proving to be an excellent running partner, they ran at about the same speed. Maybe he could become her regular partner. Well, they didn't even know each other's first names,so introductions might be good before they decide on that. He seemed like a person who would run with a partner, a very social person. Just like Alexa. Without friends, Alexa would surely go mad. It's not like she had her family to socialize with. Other than breakfast, she got to see them at fancy events her mother was invited to or parties the family threw. Oh, and holidays. The more important ones like Thanksgiving and Christmas. And birthdays, normally. But, she had grown used to it. Alexa was good at adapting to situations. Her parents being MIA most of the time hadn't bothered her for a long time now.

'Time to pull ahead,' Alexa thought to herself as she pushed herself even harder. She was beginning to feel the burn in her legs slightly, but it was pain she enjoyed. Yes, that sounded odd, but she loved pushing herself to new limits, and that included the pain. No pain no gain, right? "Come on, I'm sure you can do better than that wimpy pace your jogging at," she teased him with a smile as she began to put some space between them.

[*brenden michael erickson]

She wasn't going to get by him that easily, if he ever let a girl win by this much then it would be a disgrace. Not to mention, he'd probably be disowned by his brother and most of his friends too. Although he knew that would probably happen too if anybody found out that he had lost to a girl. He picked up his pace once again before he drew even with her. If only somebody could be timing the two of them, he'd really like to know just how fast the two were running. "I'm not giving up without a decent fight." He said and then once again was off and running, this time though he didn't slow down. This was kind of like when Anthony or Jake was in a good mood and they'd decide that they were going to race him. When Jake and him raced it usually was pretty close and with Anthony he usually one by a short distance. Although that was only because Anthony was younger then him and was still considerably shorter. Brenden figured that by next year, he wouldn't be able to win so easily with Anthony.

He wasn't about to look back to see how close she was to him, looking back made him slow down which cost him time and the valuable amount of distance between them. I'll have to get her name right away so that she doesn't run off on me. After all, who knows when I'd see her again. What am I thinking though, she might not even be living here now. But I don't think that a tourist would go out jogging on their vacation, even though I would. He thought knowing that it was true, he had went off jogging when he'd been on family vacations before. He couldn't afford to go out of shape because right after football season basketball started up and then there was only a short break between that and track. Which meant that during the summer he had to stay in shape for football season. Since he did not want to be one of those people who showed up to practice after not exercising all summer long. Usually those people didn't make the team anyway or if they did they didn't get much playing time.

Sometimes when he ran was went into his own little world and tended to think about things. Which was exactly what he was doing now. His mind kept going from wondering about who the girl running against him was to thinking up all of the possible places where Anthony was at that moment. He had to be with his dad since nobody had answered the phone. Which meant that they were probably going to spend the day together doing who knows what. It was then that he realized just how close the goal post was and he quickly put in one quick burst of speed before he was just a few yards away from them.

[alexandria edeline st. laurent]

Alexa smirked. She was glad this guy wasn't going to just let her win. She loved an honest competition and she couldn't stand it when guys let her win because she was a girl or because they liked her. She'd rather have someone who proved to be a little bit of a challenge. Gawd, she needed to find out this boy's name, so she could stop calling him 'that guy' or 'that boy' in her mind. She wondered if this guy was a senior like her. And if he went to Lakeland, the school she was supposed to go to. She hoped so; then she would actually know someone on her first day of school. And that was always a plus. Maybe if he did go there, this school might not be so bad after all.

Alexa's mind went back to her family for some reason. What she wouldn't give to see her mom running around this football fiel with her. That would be something would pay money to see. Her father had gone jogging with her before, and he was in pretty good shape so he didn't pull her down much. But still, no one could beat a partner her age. Preferably a guy, since most girls would rather go to the gym for an hour. And most of that hour was spent gossiping and talking about their work-out outfits and such. Plus, she loved being outside rather than being stuffed up in a room filled with tons of other people. She crisp air against your face, the grass or sidewalk beneath your feet. Alexa looked at her watch once more; she only wore her watch while jogging. She had plenty of time, like she usually did. But it looked like alot of the time would be spent socializing today.

Alexa's mind focused back on the race once more and she realized how behind she was. 'Alright. The final stretch.' This was where her speed came into play. She used all the energy she had left to sprint towards the finish line that was growing closer and closer by the second. She was almost up to the guy's speed. This would be a very very close race. These last few seconds would determine the entire race.

[*brenden michael erickson]

So this girl wasn't going to give up so easily, he liked that it meant that he could know that they both ran a very honest race. Sure there was some minor teasing going on but hey, it wasn't like it had interfered with the race. If anything it had helped make the race better because he wasn't about to lose to a girl and she had wanted to keep up with him. He noticed just how close she was to him and he desperately tried to stay ahead of her, and only gained about an inch before she was once again even with him. This was going to be extremely close, in face he already figured that it would be too close for them to call. Tieing with a girl wasn't so bad of a thing to do was it? Because neither of them had won and neither of them had lost right? He'd give this girl about twenty points in his book for keeping up with him and catching up like she had. He had never known a girl to close like a freight train before, but she'd done just that. It really was a shame that she wasn't the track type of girl the team could use a girl like her.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the goal post flash by and he immediately started to slow down. Just as he'd thought, it was basically a tie. That was certainly some race though, if only somebody else could have seen it. Or would that have taken away from everything? Maybe it's a good thing that nobody seen that because right about now I'd probably be getting teased for not beating a girl. Does it really matter, it was a tie meaning that nobody won or lost. He thought before he finally came to a complete and full stop. A small smile appeared on his face as he waited for the girl to approach him. If she wasn't going to then he'd walk right up to her and ask her what her name was and congratulate her on such a fine race. He wasn't afraid to talk to a strange girl and he did want to let her know what his thoughts were about their race. Then he would simply introduce himself, and probably not say too much about himself and leave her to find the rest of it out. Of course, that could be a dangerous thing to do, after all who knew who she would talk to. For all he knew she could talk to Ashlyn and he didn't know what his ex girlfriend would say about him. Sure they had basically just drifted apart but she could still have some bad feelings.

And what if she ran into Jake, I know what he'd say about me. In fact, he might try and set me up with her if he was in a good mood. He could tell her embarrassing stories. He thought and knew that Jake probably wouldn't do that to him. Or at least that was what he hoped because he hadn't done anything to make Jake mad lately so there was no reason for him say something embarrassing about him in front of a girl right? He then glanced over to where the girl was, he was going to give her about ten more seconds before he went over there.

[alexandria edeline st. laurent]

This was definitley an extremely close race. And no doubt he saw it as a tie, too. The only way the would be able to tell who the exact winner was would be if someone snapped a picture as soon as they crossed the finish line. But, she was content with tying with this guy; he was a pretty good runner. She was proud to say that she had kept up with this guy, guessing he was on track since he suggested it to her. As soon as the race ended, she gradually slowed her pace down until she was standing still. Breathing deeply a few times, she walked over to where she put her water bottle down. She snatched it back up before walking over to the guy. She wanted to congratulate him on his excellent running skills. And maybe find out a little about him.

"Great race," Alexa said, walking slowly over to the guy.Talking to people she didn't know was always a strong point for her. She loved meeting new people and was pretty good at making friends with them, too. She was just naturally a friendly, outgoing person. "I'm Alexa," she said, holding her hand out for him to shake. This guy seemed pretty friendly, too. So no doubt they would spend a few minutes talking. And maybe, just maybe, he would become her new running partner. She sure could use one. She would hate to have to come out here by herself every morning. But, she would run even if she didn't have a partner. Nothing would keep her from from her relaxation time. A da without running certainly wouldn't be a normal day.

This post has been edited by alexandria edeline st. laurent on Dec 31 2007, 11:14 AM

[*brenden michael erickson]

So she was going to be friendly and walk over to him, it meant that she wasn't afraid of speaking with strangers. That was always a good thing, it also meant that they could have a small conversation before he had to leave. Now that he could see her up close and not when they were running he realized that she was even more good looking then he had originally thought. Well if she did go to school here then she certainly would be turning more then a few heads. "Yes, that was a great race and I'm calling that one a tie." He said and then shook her hand, she had sportsmanship too, that was another good point about her. Boy he was just full of good points about her, it seemed odd really. Of course he wasn't the type of person who would pick out everybody's faults right away. "Brenden Erickson, and it's very nice to meet you Alexa. Are you new around here because I don't think that I've seen you before?" He asked and knew that her answer would be yes, after all the high school wasn't so huge that you could go years without knowing somebody. Or at least seeing them in school and he didn't recall ever seeing her. Alexa had mentioned that she did soccer and cheerleading and he certainly hadn't seen her practicing with the other cheerleaders.

"You're a pretty fast runner and I wouldn't mind racing you again." He said and knew that he was telling the truth. After all, he wasn't going to lie about a person's abilities. Now was he going to tell her that she was better then him or something? No, because he didn't know that for a fact and he wasn't going to tell her something other then the facts. Sure that attitude had gotten him into some trouble from time to time. Especially with girlfriends that wanted to know if something looked good on them and it really didn't. Usually he'd just give them a one word answer such as yes or no. After all, he did not want to go into details with a girl when it came to talking about fashion. He knew from experience that they could go on for hours about one pair of shoes, he'd seen his sister do that before. But he knew that he could do the same thing when it came to certain subjects such as a sport or what his thoughts were about a certain game.

I might as well go ahead and ask her if she wouldn't mind being my running partner, after all I've already made up my mind that she's new around here and not a tourist. He thought and then tried to think up a way to ask her, hoping that it wouldn't be such an odd thing to do considering that they had just met. "You know what, I've been looking for a running partner for quite some time now. But nobody ever wanted to run as far as I do. Or they're afraid that they'll get eaten by a bear out in the woods. Which you won't so don't even think that. So I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind being my running partner? Since I can tell you right not that I don't know of any girls that even go out running in the morning." He said and then waited for her reply, hoping that she wouldn't think that he was weird or some stalker.

[alexandria edeline st. laurent]

Alexa nodded her head to show that she agreed with calling it a tie. Now that she got a good look at him, she had to admit he was pretty good-looking. But she didn't need to think about that right now, she was more focused on getting adjusted to this place and making some friends. She didn't need to think about guys at the moment. 'Brenden. Like the lead singer of Panic! At The Disco,' she thought to herself (although that Brenden spelled it like 'Brendon'). "Yeah, I just moved her from New York City," she answered him with a smile. Well, this must be one of those schools where everyone knows basically everyone, or else he probably wouldn't have automatically assumed she was new. Well, she seemed to be right so far about him being a friendly person; he seemed just as outgoing as herself. And that was a good thing. It wasn't that she disliked she people, but she much preffered people who were more outgoing.

"I don't normally race. But I'd certainly be up for it again sometime," Alexa agreed. It was fun, and she loved competitions. She was very competitive. And according to most people, over competitive. She loved winning, even if it was just an arguement. People had suggested she join debate because of how heated arguements were when she got involved. People had learned to agree with what she said, or else the arguement would go on and on. Brenden seemed pretty competitive too, so he was a good match for her.

Alexa was pleased to see that he had the same idea as she did. "I was going to ask you the same thing!" she said with a bright smile. "And my answer is yes," she added. "So you go to Lakeland, I assume," she guessed. He certainly seemed like a high-schooler, and this was the closest high school. She hoped he did go to Lakeland, then it would be much easier to make new friends. Not that it was difficult for her ,though.

[*brenden michael erickson]

So she was from New York City, well this place was a heck of a lot different from New York. There wasn't mass traffic jams and there wasn't a ton of people living here. But he did know something there was enough gossip here, although he hadn't been hearing too much of it lately. Luckily, he hadn't heard anything involving himself for a long time. Since most of the stuff that was said about him was false anyway and sometimes he thought that people had him confused with somebody else. Honestly, you wouldn't see him making out with a girl on top of a table at a party. Besides, he never got drunk enough to do anything crazy anyway. He couldn't now anyway, since Jake had moved back home which meant that he'd have a babysitter at the parties once again. Sometimes that was a good thing but often times it wasn't because it seemed as if Jake would know every single thing that he did. Did he have eyes in the back of his head or something? "So you're from New York City, I assume that you've already found out that things are a lot quieter here. Not to mention things probably are not as fancy." He said, knowing that it was the truth some people here just didn't care about name brand things. Although, she looked like the type of girl that did, which meant that if you added everything up about her she was a shoe in for being accepted immediately.

"Well, I only race when people actually want to run against me. That isn't very often, they say it's not fun because I don't let them win once and awhile." He said and then smiled at her, she already knew that he wasn't the type to give up or just allow people to win. He couldn't help it that determination was one of his strengths, it was what had made him be where he was in sports. He'd also been determined to not let his last name alone spring him to the top. He'd proven himself to be trustworthy and capable of being a leader. The one thing that some people didn't like about him was how he'd talk to anybody, and not just the popular people. He couldn't help it that some of his friends had decided that they were going to go off to different cliques, sure he didn't talk to those friends every single day. But it was nice to speak with them every once and awhile in order to catch up on what they were doing.

It looked like he had a running partner now. Perhaps he should have warned her that he usually went out at five in the morning. "Ok, well usually I'm not out running this late. Most of the time I'm out around five or six depending on things." He said and then looked at her, hoping that she wouldn't back out on him now. "Yes, I do go to school here my family has lived here for years. What grade are you in. I'm thinking that you're either a junior or a senior, like myself." He said before looking around for a moment, there was still nobody else out at the track. He had been under the impression that everybody else ran here but apparently he'd been wrong.