It was a freezing Saturday afternoon, and like the absolute weirdos we were - Brandon and I were zipped up in our thick winter coats while swinging back and forth on the playground swing like a couple of fools. 

I like to think the under twelve only sign at the front of the playground gate was more of a suggestion than a requirement...

"Are you going down to the gym later?" Brandon called out to me while he whizzed through the air.

"Fuck, no," I snorted. "Yesterday, I almost passed out after my workout, so I've decided to give myself a break today. The only exercise I'm doing tonight is lifting the pizza slices up to my face," I snickered, glancing his way as I swung.

"We really need to cook something other than pizza. At this point, it's a miracle we don't have rickets," he chuckled.

"Well, that's what happens when two people who are shit at cooking decide to live together?" I shrugged.

 "Hey, I'm not that bad," he snapped defensively.

 "Pasta bolognese," I said without missing a beat.

 "Oh, yeah, fair point," he winced. "Well, the fire brigade got there in time, so no sweat," he chirped optimistically as he pushed himself to swing even higher.

 I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him.

"Soph?" Brandon called after a couple of seconds of silence. 

"Yeah?" I answered. 

"Remind me again, why the fuck are we on a swing?" he asked, amusement lacing his tone.

 Realizing there was no real reason, I let out a loud snort. "Because why not?" I answered simply.

Brandon and I continued to try and outswing each other like a bunch of five-year-olds when something in the distance caught my eye.

 Standing in the line at the hot beverage-kiosk was none other than Nathan Woods. With my gaze still fixed on him, I slowed down my pace of swinging. 

"Brandon, I'm going to have to raincheck our little playground session," I murmured while still staring ahead.

"Why?" he asked in confusion.

"Because over there is a boy, I need to annoy into liking me," I said matter-of-factly before jumping off the swing.

Brandon soon slowed down to a halt before following my line of sight. "Oh, yeah, I believe it is," he drawled. "Damn, he's looking good today. No wonder you were so happy to be trapped in an elevator with him."

 I furrowed my brows. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Nothing," he shrugged. "I just couldn't help but notice you had a massive smile on your face at dinner after you got trapped with him. It was almost as though you're warming up to him," he probed while still hitting me with that interrogative gaze of his.

I let out a loud scoff. "Don't make me laugh. I'll always hold the same opinion for him as the same day I met him."

"I'd be careful if I were you - sometimes you find feelings in a place you never thought you would," he said seriously.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I said dismissively. "Also, can you perhaps go hang out someplace else, I want him to think I'm alone," I asked sweetly while batting my eyelashes over excessively. I figured I should be sweet since I was essentially telling him to fuck off.

"Why? Want me out of the picture so you can cheat on me?" he gasped playfully. 

"Yup, pretty much," I laughed. "Now, go," I said as I gave him a little gentle push.

 Brandon sighed dramatically and headed over to the back gate of the playground, muttering something about how 'he was missing out on all the entertainment.'

Once he had walked a safe enough distance down the park, I quickly pushed myself off the ground and skipped my way over to the line to the kiosk. He was right at the back, so I easily slid into place beside him. 

"Morning, Bestie," I greeted. 

Nathan looked up from his phone in surprise and glanced my way. As soon as he registered it was me, he rolled his eyes and went back to his phone. "You're not my bestie. You're just a girl I put up with," he stated drily. 

"Always with the denial, aren't we?" I sighed as I pityingly shook my head at him.

"So...," I drawled, after an awkward amount of time with neither of us saying anything. "What brings you to this specific patch of grass? Meeting up with a friend, perhaps?" I sung. "Oh, wait a second, shit, do you even have friends?" I rambled out ungracefully.

He looked up at me in irritation. "I have friends," he spat defensively. 

I lifted up an eyebrow. "Name one," I said simply. 

A confident smile spread over his lip "L-

"Fuck buddies don't count," I interrupted before he could finish. The smile slowly faded from his face, and he went back to looking irritated. 

"You've got no names, haven't you?" I teased. 

"Shut up," he said as he took another step forward in the queue.

 "It's alright, I'll be your only friend," I chirped as I patted his back comfortingly.

 He shrugged me off in annoyance. "I guess I was stupid to think I was going to have a peaceful day today. Why are you even here?" he grumbled. 

"Same reason you are, to get a...," I leaned to the side so I could read the menu on the top of the kiosk. "-a hot chocolate," I finished.

"Hmm," was his only response as he took another step forward.

"How can I help you guys?" I heard a young male voice call from behind us.

 I jumped in surprise, not realizing that we had reached the front of the queue already. I turned around fully and found myself looking at a handsome 20-something-year-old looking guy. 

If Nathan weren't here, and I didn't have to maintain the Brandon is my boyfriend lie, I would have flirted up a storm. Speaking of that – I really needed to find a convincing way to break it off with Brandon.

"A black coffee," Nathan said flatly while scrolling through something on his phone. 

"-And a hot chocolate please," I piped in smoothly while firing a flirtatious smile the Barista's way. I rested my elbows on the counter and played around with a few loose strands of my hair.

  What? I didn't say there was a problem with a little harmless flirting, and besides, Nathan was busy fucking around on his phone. 

The Barista's eye lit up in intrigue for a couple of seconds, but then his eyes drifted over to Nathan, then back to me. His gaze immediately withdrew from mine as though he was embarrassed. 

Well, that was slightly off; it was almost as though he thought Nathan was my-

"Can you add whipped cream to my girlfriend's hot chocolate?" Nathan randomly piped in without even sparing me a glance. If I had been drinking something, I would have undoubtedly done a spit take.

 "Yeah, sure," the Barista said as he reached for a nozzle and started to pile up the cream on top of my drink. 

I turned to Nathan sharply; and subtly mouthed: What the fuck.

He pretended to look confused, his eyes all wide and innocent. If I wasn't so baffled, I might have even found it cute. 

 "What's the problem, babe? I thought you liked whipped cream. I mean, you always have fun licking it off my body," Nathan said rather loudly, with the clear intention of getting the Barista to hear.

I didn't miss the way the guy's eyes widened at Nathan's words. My eyes searched all over Nathan's face in confusion. I didn't know what kind of game he was playing, but whatever it was, I didn't like it. I hated feeling embarrassed, and right now, I was drowning in it.

"Your black coffee and the lady's hot chocolate," the guy announced as he placed the cups in front of us. "Two-fifty for the coffee and two-seventy for the chocolate, so that's five-pounds-twenty overall," he explained smoothly. I quickly fished my purse out of my back pocket and started to rummage around. 

I internally cursed myself for my idiocy as I was not in a financial position to be paying for random hot drinks. There wasn't a single note, so I was going to have to embarrassingly hope there were enough two pennies in my purse to pay for it in change.

I looked up in surprise as Nathan slapped a note down onto the table. "That's for both of us," Nathan said. 

The Barista guy nodded his head and quickly handed Nathan back his change. Then surprising me even further, Nathan pulled out my hand before dropping the change into my palm. 

I glance down at it shyly. "Hmm, thanks," I muttered quietly. I know my whole plan was to be a charity case, but it still stung to know that's what he thought of me.

"I might be old-fashioned, but I can't help but find it sweet when a guy pays for his girl," the Barista guy smiled as he looked between the two of us fondly. 

And cue - my internal dry heaving.

"Hmm," was all Nathan said in response as he picked up both of our drinks. He handed mine over to me before guiding me away by the elbow.

When we were a safe enough distance away, I let out a loud snort of laughter. "What the fuck was that?" l snickered as I stole a glance his way.

 "Two people ordering drinks," Nathan said simply. 

"Uh, uh," I intercepted with the shake of my head. "That was a boy incorrectly claiming someone as their girlfriend," I said, giving him a pointed look.

I raised a finger. "Also, I can't help but notice how many plans you have for our supposed kinky sex life. First, you tell your receptionist we're roleplaying, and now you tell this guy we use whipped cream. Been having dreams about this kind of shit or something?" I snickered.

"Oh, shut up, I only said that because you looked seconds away from throwing your bra at him. Someone had to put a stop to your Nymph-like ways, for the sake of your boyfriend," he huffed.

 "Oh, did they now?" I drawled. "Funny, that's the same excuse you used on that waiter a little while ago. You're becoming quite the compulsive liar, aren't you Natalie?" I chuckled.

Nathan simply raised his middle finger up at me while taking a long sip of his charcoal-colored drink. 

God was I tempted to give the end of the cup a little shove, so it would pour over his face. But I obviously couldn't. He wasn't my favorite guy, but that didn't mean I wanted his whole face burned off.

 It was a pretty face, after all.

"Who the fuck even drinks black coffee? Never heard of milk?" I scoffed as I looked him and his black coffee -self up and down judgmentally. 

"At least, I don't drink hot chocolate, like a five-year-old," he said as he rudely glanced down at my cup.

 I cradled my cup possessively. "Shh, he didn't mean that you're a very mature drink. I promise," I whispered to it comfortingly.

"Great, I'm walking with a weirdo who talks to cups. Wonderful!" Nathan spat out sarcastically.

As I was about to take another step, my eyes caught onto something furry and small lying near a tree, and I immediately stopped.

 Even though Nathan was under no obligation to, he also stopped. "What?" he snapped, looking around in confusion.

I didn't answer and shoved my drink into his hands. "Here, hold this," I said. 

Slowly walked over to the tree, I crouched down to the floor. On closer inspection, I saw that what I had spotted was a little baby squirrel. It was tucked up in a little ball in between the autumn leaves and was breathing steadily.

 "Aww, no, he must have fallen from its nest," I mumbled. Cautiously, I reached out to it and gently lifted it into my palms and up to my chest. I surveyed the squirrel slowly, checking for any scratches or injuries.

"The squirrel is fine, Sophie. Put it by the tree roots, and the mother will come down and find it," Nathan called out, interrupting my train of thought.

 I shook my head firmly and climbed to my feet. "No, a fox could get him, or...or...or...the mum might not be able to find him," I rambled. 

Turning away from Nathan, I moved a little closer to the tree and looked up and down the length of the bark in search of its mother. To my utter relief, I saw an older-looking squirrel stick its head out of a tree hollow before ducking its head back in. "

Hey, I'm pretty sure that's its mother," I smiled as I turned back to Nathan in excitement.

"Yeah, most likely," he shrugged. His confirmation made me smile even wider. It was time to reunite baby and mother.

Gently, I tucked the little squirrel into my front pocket and approached the tree. I jumped to try and reach the first branch up, and I groaned when I realized it was too high. I turned back around. 

"Oi, Nathan, make yourself helpful and give me a leg-up," I yelled. Nathan rolled his eyes and placed both our cups on the floor before making his way over to me.

 "I'm not sure why I'm helping you climb to your death, but fine if it'll get you to shut up," he grumbled.

Although I should have seen it coming, it still took me by surprise at the touch of his hands around my waist. Then tightening his hold on me, he hoisted me effortlessly up in the air, causing my body to feel kind of hot.

  Fuck, he was strong; I wonder if he could...

I shook my head, frantic to stop any more foolish thoughts from running through my mind.

  Focus, Sophie, we're conning him, not jumping him. 

Remembering the task at hand, I reached for the branch of the tree above my head, which was much closer now. Once I had a firm grip on it, I pulled myself up onto the branch and swung my leg over. I let out a satisfied breath as I found myself straddling the tree. Carefully, and using the bark of the tree for support, I placed my feet on the branch and slowly rose to my feet. 

"If you fall, I'm not catching your dumb ass," Nathan yelled from somewhere below me. 

I rolled my eyes and continued on climbing. After clambering up a few more branches, I finally made it to the level of the tree hollow. I sat down, and let my legs dangle on either side of the branch to balance myself.

 Delving both my hands into the front of my pocket, I carefully pulled out the squirrel and safely tucked it into the little crook in the tree. The mother squirrel jumped up to it and started to sniff around his head while making some odd squeaking sounds. I smiled, figuring that must be some form of affection in squirrel language.

"Excellent, you did it, now get the fuck down," I heard a rather impatient voice yell from the ground. 

I looked down to see Nathan's moody self staring up at me with a wrinkled forehead. I couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't just fucked off. He really was under no obligation to stand here and wait for me; it was almost as though he was worried about my safety.

"Alright, grandma, calm down. I'm coming down now," I chuckled as I swung both my legs to the side of the branch. 

My movement was a lot sharper than I intended it to be, and my breath hitched as I found all my body weight shifting backward. I tried to snatch at the branch, but I was too slow, causing it to slip from between my fingers.

 I screamed as I suddenly found myself hurdling backward, the free air rushing around me. The wind swallowed my sounds as I fell; my limbs, a jumbled mess, thrashed around widely. I was desperate to try and catch on to something - anything. 

Then all movement stopped altogether as I bashed into the hard woodland floor.

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Author's note: 

So yeah lol , Sophie could potentially be dead right now...so guess you've got to wait for the next chapter to figure out if I'm random enough to have killed her XD

Anyway, hope you enjoyed xx

Next Update: Friday (6-8 PM - UK time)