Kaitlyn could do little more than stare as Rachel closed the distance, frozen to the spot in confusion and shock. Any shred of possibility that the girl had been waving at someone else had been thoroughly dashed as they locked eyes. It was all too clear that she was making a beeline for Kaitlyn herself. Yet despite that, she couldn't imagine why.

Why… Why are you here, Rachel? Why in the world are you talking to me?

The cross country runner's expression dimmed as she approached, her brow furrowing slightly in concern. "Oh, dear. Are you alright, sweetie? Did I frighten you or something?"

It took a moment to recover her wits. Regardless of the why, the fact remained. Rachel was here, right now, talking to her.

Wetting her dry lips, Kaitlyn tried for a smile in return. She mostly succeeded. "Ah! S-sorry. Just… catching my breath, that's all. Thought you were talking to someone else."

Rachel gave her a good-natured chuckle, the sound vaguely reminiscent of windchimes. "Oh, no. I understand why you'd think that. But no, I just wanted to talk to you. I've seen you running around here every morning, after all."

Kaitlyn frowned inwardly. True, she'd more or less stuck to the same route on most days. Keeping to a regular habit made it even easier to slip into that meditative state she so enjoyed. Yet even then, that didn't seem like a great reason for her to catch anyone's notice.

It's not like I'm a good runner. I'm still incredibly slow. And besides, when would she notice me? She's supposed to be going off to practice right about now… Maybe she just sees me through the window while she's getting ready or something?

"Yeah. I do." Kaitlyn ventured hesitantly. "It's part of my morning routine, that's all."

Rachel's face brightened. "I see! Well, in my opinion, it's always more fun to run with a friend. That's why I wanted to ask—have you ever considered joining cross country?"

Kaitlyn stared, dumbfounded. In a way, it made sense. Rachel was a member of the team, so why wouldn't she try to encourage new members to join? Especially if someone was, as she'd said, already running every morning anyway. But avoiding the cross country team specifically was one of the other reasons Kaitlyn woke up so early. The idea of joining them intentionally, after she'd gone through all of this trouble to avoid a chance encounter… It was absurd.

Still, she had no idea how to answer her friend.

Or would it be better to call her a former friend? The stray thought distracted her for a moment before it was dismissed. Nah. That feels weird. We never had a falling out or anything, and I'd still consider her a friend. Pretty much the only female friend I've had here, aside from Heather. Even if we haven't talked in… well, a long long time now.

"...I'm not very fast," Kaitlyn deflected, tucking a loose strand of brown hair behind her ear. It felt slick with sweat. "Even if I did join, I wouldn't really be running with anyone."

"You don't know that. Why, we're not all competitors!" Rachel winked at her. "I am. But there are plenty of people who run just for their own sakes. For health, fun, or something else. Just like you! So I'm sure you'd find someone at your level."

Kaitlyn gave her a wry smile. Even after all of her improvements, Kaitlyn still had always ended up at the very back of the pack during practices. She could catch up to its tail end later in the loop, sometimes. But it took a lot of effort and didn't really leave her with much breath to make conversation with a running buddy.

…Why am I even considering this? She blinked in sudden surprise. Of course I'm not going to join. Why the hell would I put myself through that?

It wasn't just the idea of losing a few hours of sleep, or her slowness, or the desire to keep her alone time to think. There was one massive, glaring reason why she should never ever join the cross country team again.

Alex.

The name no longer caused her heart to clench, nor did it send a wave of melancholy through her. That time had already passed.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

…I moved on a long time ago. I even made sure to talk to him and say goodbye. But that doesn't mean I want to go out of my way to hang around him again.

Alex was a good guy, and someone that she had legitimately liked for a long time. But now? Both she and him were different people. They'd each changed and grown, to the point where she wasn't sure if there was a place for each one in the other's life. Some part of her hoped that there wasn't, if she was being honest.

Then at least it's easier to tell myself that moving forward is ok.

Alex, the cross country team, and everything else that went with them were firmly and securely in the past. She'd learned from those experiences, grown, and moved on. And yet, here Rachel was, a reminder of all those times standing right in front of her and inviting her back in.

I should say no. There's nothing good that can happen from going back. Even if I had friends and good times and lots of fun, there's no way it could ever be the same. Not with all the baggage I have now. It would literally be going backwards.

The silence stretched out between them. Just as Kaitlyn began to realize how long and uncomfortable it was becoming, Rachel spoke up once again. "...Well, just think about it. There's no pressure at all, obviously. But I wanted to let you know that we're here and we'd be glad to have you. If you change your mind, practices are at 7:30 every morning except for Sundays. You're already up and about earlier than that, so I don't expect you'd have the same problem waking up as the rest of us… We meet at the football field. Alright?"

Biting her lip, Kaitlyn gave the girl a small nod. "...Ok. I'll think about it. Thank you."

"Of course! Oh, and where are my manners!" The girl gasped audibly. "My name is Rachel. I'm so sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself."

"It's alright. I'm Kaitlyn."

"Kaitlyn, hmm? Nice to meet you sweetie. Have a good day! I'll see you around, one way or the other!"

With a final wink, Rachel turned and jogged off, her steps gliding across the pavement with an athlete's grace. Kaitlyn watched her go. A strange feeling bubbled faintly inside her as the girl's figure faded into the distance.

With a final deep breath, Kaitlyn shook out her stiffening legs and got moving again. Rachel's appearance had left her taking a much longer break than she'd intended, leaving her muscles time to complain about their treatment and begin succumbing to the cold. Still, her heart rate and breathing had pretty much entirely recovered. It meant she felt like she could push herself a bit more on this last leg of the run.

As the rhythmic sounds of her sneakers and breaths started up once more, Kaitlyn tried to put the interaction out of her mind, only to fail spectacularly. Each time she tried to focus on something else, she found herself slipping right back to Rachel and the cross country team. After about the third time that it hijacked her train of thought, she finally gave up.

Seriously. Why is this bugging me so much?

There was an obvious answer, of course—it was a new development. Novelty was something in particularly short supply within the game, especially at this point, so it only made sense for her to latch on to an event like this. But that didn't feel quite right.

There's gotta be something else, too. Like… why did I feel disappointed when she left?

She hadn't really thought about Alex in quite a while, if she was being honest. Even now, the thought of her old crush didn't spark much more than a faint nostalgia. As strange as it felt, she had been pretty certain that she'd left all that in the past.

Maybe… it's not about Alex, though?

That felt a little bit closer to the truth. And the more Kaitlyn thought about it, the more she became certain she was on the right track. It hadn't been Alex she was thinking about when disappointment struck. It was her friend.

Huh. I guess I didn't realize quite how much I missed talking to her.

After finishing the Alex routes, Kaitlyn had left that entire part of her life behind. It had been the right move, looking back on it. There was no way she could've stayed sane otherwise, especially when she considered how long it had taken to recover fully from that first ending. But since then, she'd grown. The thought of meeting an old flame no longer sent her into a borderline panic attack—all the loops she'd spent working alongside Philip were proof enough of that.

Alex wasn't the only one I left behind all those loops ago. I had to leave behind Rachel, too. And Cedric, and running, and Coach… and the rest of the team. Even if I wasn't the closest with every single person on it, that was still the first real sense of community I ever had in this game. It's not the only one. I felt pretty comfortable with the Bash Bros crowd. But… it's different.

The idea made her really wonder. Did she truly miss all of those things? Or was she just longing for things that she could never get back? She'd made friends with these people over and over, loop after loop, and still enjoyed their company despite everything. But weren't they too tied to that old part of her life now? Could it ever be the same?

The brick walls of the West dorms came into view a few minutes later. She finally allowed herself to slow into a warm-down walk as she reached the particular rosebush marking the end of her route. With a grateful gasp, she laced her fingers behind her head and focused on recovering.

Whatever this is, I think I'll need to run a bit more to figure it out. Not that I would join. Obviously. But even if I did for some reason, it wouldn't really matter if I joined now or in a few weeks.

With that final reassurance to herself, Kaitlyn headed for the stairs. Right now, all she wanted to think about was a hot shower, a warm change of clothes, and some tasty oatmeal.