[Jasper's POV - Continuation of part 3]

"So you climb trees, huh?" I hurriedly say to break the silence. Alex raises a brow at me in surprise but nods.

"Do you think you could teach me?" I ask gleefully. I can practically feel the grin split my face.

"I could, but not right now. The sun has nearly set and coming out of a tree in the dark is not something a beginner should be doing."

"Whuuut?! You wound me bro! Why would you label me as a beginner? I climbed trees before!"

"So you're telling me that you'd be able to get into this tree on your own?" Alex asks, an eyebrow cocked in disbelief.

"Well, ... if I had a chair or a ladder I could," I mumble as I avoid Alex's eyes.

"Of course you can," Alex scoffs sarcastically in a final decision kind of way. It makes me realise I'm not putting up a good fight. That has to be changed. So I put on my best kicked-puppy-face and direct it at Alex, who looks genuinely surprised to see that expression pointed at him.

"Please~?" I beg with folded hands in front of my face.

"I just told you-" Alex starts to say, but I don't let him finish.

"PLEASE!!!!" I beg even louder. He looks absolutely repulsed right now. It's kind of funny.

"I only want to see the sun set!" I say quickly before Alex decides to flee. He frowns at me a moment longer, his eyes going up and down over my body as if he's sizing me up. Then he takes his smartphone from his backpack, checks something on the screen and sighs.

"You're lucky. It's still more than half an hour before the sun sets," he says, but before I can say or do anything, he adds: "But if I help you to climb this tree, we climb back down as soon as the sun is setting, understood?!"

I nod excitedly, like one of those toy dogs on the rear shelf of a car when they drive over a bump.

"But first, I want to see what you're made of," he says. "I want you to try to get into the tree by yourself."

I look at the oak tree Alex came out of earlier. The lowest branch that looks strong enough to hold my weight hangs two meters high.

"That's unfair," I complain.

"It would clear you of the noob-grade if you succeed," Alex laughs.

"Ok! Fine!" I say gruffly and stand up. I don't feel like going to grab a stool or ladder nearby, so I try jumping for the first branch. I manage to hold onto it with both hands, but can't lift my legs up high enough to wrap around it too.

"However much I like to see you struggle, ten minutes have passed and we don't have all day," Alex chuckles next to me while I let go of the branch.

"Come on, I'll hoist you up. The first branch is always the most difficult. Grab onto something as fast as you can," he says as he offers his hands weaved together as a foothold. I gladly accept it.

"On three," he says. "You count."

"One, two, three~hee!" I count but yelp in surprise when Alex nearly catapults me over the first branch. I manage to grab a hold and steady myself. That couldn't have been easy. I'm not a light person. Perhaps, Alex is stronger than he looks.

"Now move aside a little," Alex says once our eyes meet. "I'll show you how you're supposed to climb onto the first branch the way that you were trying to do. But know that there are easier ways."

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I nod and watch intently as Alex gets into position in the same spot as I did and jumps for the lowest branch. He grabs onto it firmly with both hands, the same way I did, but then he swings his whole body forward and uses the backwards momentum of the swing to hoist his upper body onto the branch he was holding onto. And just like that, Alex has made it into the tree.

I sit there, dumbstruck. I know that I don't have the upper-body strength to pull that off, and I work out regularly.

"I'll be in your care, teacher," I say and bow my head. Alex snorts as he sits down on the branch he climbed onto. I'm kind of glad that he seems to be familiar with the reference.

"You have much to learn, my Padawan," he chuckles, turns to look up for a second and then looks straight down to the ground. "How are you doing with this height?"

"Are you kidding?" I ask as I look straight down too. "I've jumped from higher stairs than this."

"Good, because I'm not taking you up if you already have a problem with this height," Alex says seriously. "Follow me."

It surprises me, but the climb to the top is relatively easy. I guess it is because Alex is showing me all the right branches.

"Stand here and hold on there," Alex says about a meter from the top. "The branches get really thin from here, so this is as high as we go."

"Ok," I say as I move carefully to the spot Alex showed me and squint as my face gets hit by sunlight. Once my eyes get used to the light, the view is breathtaking. I can see over the treeline of the park and even over the rooftops of the shopping district in the distance. The sun is a big red disc, hovering right above the horizon, ready to set, and the sky is coloured in the most beautiful hues of red, pink and purple.

"Wow," I breath in awe.

"I know, right?" Alex says kindly behind me. "It gives you a new perspective on things, doesn't it?"

"A new perspective?" I ask confused, unsure of what he's getting at.

"Am I wrong if I say that it's been a long time since you worked hard to achieve something?" Alex asks.

"Hey! I worked hard for my re-takes!" I complain as I look behind me to look at Alex.

"Really? Worked hard for your RE-takes" he asks as he stresses the "re" in the word, clearly unimpressed. With the sun shining into his face, his already bright blue eyes seem almost luminescent with the sunlight reflecting in them. "I mean, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, we're going back down now."

"What? Already?! What's the big deal anyway? Isn't it the same way down as we came up?" I complain as I look straight down in between the branches and stiffen.

"Holly crap!" I exclaim as I grab onto the branches I'm holding onto a little tighter.

"What? What happened?" Alex asks as he hasn't noticed where I am looking.

"Why are we so high up?" I ask as I'm still looking down. It's not just the height, my sight is dancing with a huge black spot from looking at the sun for too long.

"O, no no no. Seriously?" Alex curses next to me. "How high did you think we'd be?!"

"I know! I know! That was before I looked down," I say, regretting the fact that I did so very much.

Alex releases a long sigh and rubs a hand over his face, before he says: "I swear I'll call the fire brigade on you if you refuse to move!"