The first aid section was a little different than what I expected. It was divided into four rooms. One room for each camp. Our room had four beds divided by a white curtain. So, here I was. Alone in a room with Lachelle again. I'm honestly not afraid of her anymore. How could I be?

I sat silently as Lachelle played nurse. My lip was busted and she was applying pressure trying to stop the bleeding. I couldn't help myself as I looked into Lachelle's brown eyes. She was too focused on my lip to notice me.

I took a minute to look at her injury. The swelling to her eye wasn't as bad as when I first saw it. It was still black in color. I brought my hand up to her cheek. I carefully moved my thumb in small circles under her injure eye. It looked painful.

Lachelle's eyes met mine in that moment. I'm not sure how, but the way she looks at me leaves me speechless. She always looks so worried when she looks at me. 

"What's wrong?" I asked. I don't want her to be worried.

Lachelle pulled away from me. She went to sit on the bed directly across from me. There's so much distance, and I heard it in her voice. "Alex are you having fun?" Lachelle asked.

"I had a lot of fun punching Buster in the face." I admitted with a laugh. "And Chloe doesn't kick as hard as you." I joked.

"Yeah, she's not as strong as me." Lachelle teased. "I can't believe you let her kick you in the face."

"Do you think Chloe would be interested for the kicks for kisses trade?" I meant it as a joke but I can feel the anger radiating off of Lachelle. Out of all the glares I ever received in my life this one is the worse.

You're in danger.

"You know Alex I think you just have a thing for girls kicking you in the face." Lachelle snapped.

"You have a thing for kicking people in the face." I shot back.

"I don't kiss everyone I kick!"

"Well neither do I." I laughed. Only Lachelle wasn't laughing. Lachelle was mad at me. "Did Chloe tell you to say that to bother me?"

"No." I'm in trouble.

"It's working." Lachelle whispered.

I felt bad for making her mad, especially before her match. Then again I also was kind of happy. She was upset because I might be interested in someone else. "Did you ever fight with Cara the way you fight with me?"

"Yeah we argue all the time." Lachelle answered. 

"No like hand to hand." I explained.

Lachelle gave me a questionable look. "We never spared before. I actually never asked. Why do you want to know? Are you worried about your match?"

"No." I answered. "I just don't want to make the same mistakes she made. Chloe told me that back in ninth grade we were close before Cara came into the picture. I don't remember anything, but it was really easy to connect with you."

Lachelle looked at me with curiosity. "We were close." I could tell that Lachelle was being cautious with her answer. It was as if she was hiding something from me. "Can we have this talk after the tournament?"

"I want to have it now." I explained.

"Why?" Lachelle asked.

"Because there is a lot of pieces missing for me. I thought I was alone the majority of my life, but Chloe said we use to be close. Maybe my issue is that I just didn't spend enough time with everyone. If we were close for a track season, that's only two months. I only been spending time with you for a month. I don't want to forget about you. I really like you." My feelings just spilled out. I had no control over them in that moment.

Were we this close before? This feels repetitive.

I tried to walk pass Lachelle but she jumped up and pushed me back. She kept her hands against me as she stopped me from leaving the room. "Hey now." She whispered.

This isn't right. Why can't I remember her? How did I make it this far in life? Is it just people? Is it just events that happen to me?

Why is she so cool with my condition? Why am I even good at Karate? "We were close in ninth grade. Weren't we?" My tone was harsher than I intended.

"Yes." Lachelle whispered. She now had her head on my shoulder but she was looking down at the floor.

"How close?" I regretted the question immediately.

I couldn't see Lachelle's face. I felt her gripping my shirt. Her reaction triggered me to rub her back. Her voice was practically a whisper but she filled in the pieces. Slowly.

I was on a relay team with her, Cara and Chloe. It was their job to keep me in line with the schedule. My speed was worth making the girls miserable. Lachelle told me how I found her attractive and would flirt with her. I would volunteer to learn her karate tricks. Cara would get angry and bully me till I ran away. Lachelle and Chloe would take turns chasing me down. That was until Lachelle and Cara became a thing.

I guess I didn't take it well because I put even more distance on the group. Lachelle would still chase me when I ran away from the team and force me to come back; but Cara hated it. She hated me.

Then Cara cheated on Lachelle with Keith. By the track season started for the tenth grade I didn't remember Lachelle and I developed a healthy fear because of the rumors.

Lachelle had Chloe keep a close eye on me because of the rumors, but she was still the one who chased me down when I ran away. No one else was able to catch me.

"That's why when you run off my first reaction is to chase you." Lachelle concluded. "I been doing it for years."

Years. She has been looking out for me for years. That hurts. I wonder how many times she introduced herself to me. I wondered if I subconsciously knew this when I saw everyone.

Lachelle never look up when she spoke. She kept her head on my shoulder. Her grip may have loosen but she never let go of me.

Again I'm speechless. To think that I have known her for so long. It makes sense that her name was stuck in my mind. I wouldn't be surprised if I liked her then.

I like her now.

I lifted her head up by placing my finger under her chin forcing her to look at me. She diverted her eyes and looked away. I may not know what to say but, I know what to do.

I kissed her. As soft as I possibly could. It stung my lip a little, but I didn't care. I wanted her to feel what I was feeling. I wanted her to understand.

I felt her slide her hands up and wrap them around my neck. I pulled her in closer to me hugging her tight against my body. The last thing I wanted to do was let go. So I didn't not even when the door opened.

"What the hell are you two doing?"

I'm so happy it was Jim, because if it was one of our moms we would both be dead. Lachelle tried to hide her face into my shoulder, but I was able to see how red she turned.

"Let's go. You both will be fighting at the same time." Jim informed us. "It would help if you two won't be distracted with each other."

Lachelle laughed as she pulled away from me. We followed Jim as he ranted all the way back to the arena. "Unbelievable. You two are lucky I was the one to come looking for you." Jim ranted.

"Thanks for that." Lachelle said still embarrassed at the encounter.

Jim looked back at me and smiled. "Good job Alex. I'm proud of you."

"For kissing Lachelle?" Why am I like this? 

Jim frowned at me. "No. For trying new things." 

"Girls?" I teased.

"I'm going to hit you." Jim threaten. 

"I do not recommend." I said with a laugh. "I'm a ninja now."

We walked into the arena. I saw Cara standing in one ring and Keith in the other. It was officially the semifinals.

"Hey Alex." Lachelle called grabbing my attention. "If you win I'll give you anything you want."

"I want to sleep in your bed." I meant it as a joke but Lachelle never seems to disappoint me. 

"Well I hope you win then."

We climbed into our respected rings. The glare Cara was giving me was intense. I honestly don't know what I did to her but it's obvious she doesn't like me.

Still I bowed down to her. Just like I saw Lachelle bow down to Keith.