Chapter 29: I Have a Knack For a Lot of Things. Sawyer Would Know. Wink, Wink.

       Sawyer was really determined to get back in his groove of showjumping, especially since there was a fair approaching soon. It was like the annual fair that happened shortly after I moved here but this time, there were a lot more things added, mainly horse events.

       It would be the perfect time for Sawyer to enter in his first showjumping event after getting back into it. He wanted to. But he told me he was still worried about it. That he didn't even know if he was going to be ready in time.

       But he still didn't give up. He was always so determined.

       That was one of the many things I loved about him.

       Whenever Sawyer went to train, I normally went with him because sometimes, how he thought he did on the course wasn't how he actually did, and he also needed someone to time him.

       Unfortunately, I was currently stuck in school right now, bored out of my mind. I just wanted to be back at home with Sawyer. Preferably in bed but if he wanted to train, I'd be fine watching him do that too.

       Thankfully, for my last class, which was English class, we were sent to the library to each find a book we'd have to read and write a report on. It didn't take long for me to find a book and once I did, I sat down at one of the tables to wait until school was over. At least I didn't have to listen to a boring lecture.

       But school would still feel like it was going by slowly because Kitty was in my English class and she was constantly glaring at me.

       All I wanted to do was flip her off but I didn't think the teachers would appreciate that.

       Although for some reason, Kitty didn't really seem mad at me today. She wasn't glaring at me like she always did. Instead, she looked sort of smug. 

       "What's up with her?" I asked Lulu as she sat down beside me. "Her smugness is scaring me. Why is she so smug? Is she planning something? Should I be scared? What am I talking about? I'm not scared of her. But her smugness is still... off-putting."

       "She's not planning anything," Lulu said. "You know the fair coming up? With all those competitions?" I nodded. "She's a champ in cross-country riding. Always comes in first. This is when her ego is extremely high. And it's always high."

       "Nobody has ever been able to take her down a peg?" I asked.

       "Nope," Lulu said. "I keep asking people to try but nobody I know really does cross-country. Zach and Felicity are bronc riders, Sawyer and Lynda are showjumpers. And those two might be good at cross-country but one, Sawyer doesn't showjump anymore and two, Kitty is in the under eighteen category. Sawyer and Lynda are over eighteen."

       "And you don't know any other competitive riders?" I asked. "Doesn't Beau ride? I could have sworn I heard something about him doing competitions sometimes."

       Lulu didn't reply. She just pretended to pay attention to the book she chose for the book report.

       "Lulu?" I asked. "Everything okay?"

       "Why wouldn't it be?" 

       "Because suddenly, that book is more interesting than our conversation. I thought you would have been wanting to find a way to take down Kitty."

       "Oh, right, we were talking about that."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "Uh, yeah, we were talking about that. And again, doesn't Beau ride? Can he do cross-country?"

       Once again, Lulu completely ignored me.

       And this time, it was clear as to what the reason was. 

       It would explain why Beau wasn't here today. Sure, he could have been sick but I think there was an underlying reason.

       "Alright, forget Kitty," I said, scooting closer to Lulu. "Tell me, what happened with you and Beau?"

       "Nothing, nothing at all," Lulu said. "Why would you think something happened between us? We're best friends. Nothing happened. No argument or anything. Just... nothing."

       "I don't think you've said nothing enough times," I said. "Come on, you can tell me anything."

       Lulu hesitated before saying, "Promise you won't tell anyone."

       "Who would I tell?" I asked. "You and Beau are my only friends. Well, and there's Sawyer. Can I tell Sawyer? I tell him everything and he's not one to gossip."

       "Only if he promises he won't tell anyone," Lulu said. "Because I swear, if word gets out, you will get a very personal introduction to my knife collection. Maybe even my duct tape collection."

       I held up my hands in defence. "Don't worry, it won't get out. So..."

       Lulu didn't answer me right away. She looked around, making sure nobody was close enough to listen in. Not that it mattered. She whispered the answer so quietly that I couldn't even hear her.

       "Lulu, I didn't hear a single word you said," I said.

       Lulu sighed before whispering again. This time, I was able to hear her say, "We..." before her voice went even quieter once again.

       "Okay, you don't have to tell me but if you are, you're going to have to speak up," I said.

       Lulu took a deep breath. "On Friday night, we... slept together."

       "Y-you and Beau... slept together?" I asked. "As in... slept together, slept together?"

       "No, Jamie, as in went to the diner and ate onion rings," Lulu said. "What else could it mean?"

       "Well, it could have meant you just shared a bed as you slept," I said.

       "Yes, Jamie, thats the world shocking news," Lulu said. "That we shared a bed, something we do all the time. We literally shared a tent on the camping trip and you know that."

       I ignored Lulu's sarcasm. "Okay, so... You two are ignoring each other now?"

       Lulu shrugged and looked down. "I'm just... I'm afraid I ruined things between us. It was probably just in the heat of the moment. I doubt he feels anything for me."

       It took all the willpower I had to stop myself from grabbing my book and repeatedly hit my forehead with it. Was she really that oblivious? Literally every single person knew that Beau was madly in love with Lulu. How could she not see it?

       "What makes you think he doesn't have feelings for you?" I asked.

       "Because we're best friends," Lulu said. "We've always been."

       "Okay, and Sawyer and I are best friends," I said. "We've always been yet we're dating. And I'm the most annoying piece of crap ever yet he still says he loves me."

       "Oh my gosh," Lulu said, her solemn expression changing to a happy one. "He said I love you? You guys are at the I love you stage? Awe!" She then punched my arm. "Why didn't you tell me?"

       "Uh, I don't know, the same reason why you never told me that not only you slept with Beau but that you have feelings for him as well," I said. "And are you certain Beau doesn't have feelings for you? Like one hundred percent certain?"

       "Yes."

       I shouldn't tell her...

       But if I did, it would help them finally admit their feelings for each other. I never told Lulu before because I didn't know how she felt about Beau. Now I did.

       But still... I shouldn't tell her.

       Lulu eyed me suspiciously. "What do you know?"

       "What?"

       "You know something. Did Beau talk to you? Did he tell you what happened? Why did you get me to tell you then?"

       I sighed. "Lulu, Beau never talked to me. Well, at least not about what happened."

       "What does that mean?"

       I just shrugged, hoping she would get the hint that Beau truly does like her.

       "Oh..." Lulu said sadly. "I get it. He only things of me as his friend."

       Or not.

       I couldn't help it. I banged my head on the table repeatedly before looking at Lulu. "Lulu, seriously? You're so oblivious. So freaking oblivious. Beau is crazy for you. Seriously. Everyone knows. Except you, apparently."

       "Are... Are you serious?" Lulu asked.

       "Yes," I said. "I don't want to say anything because it's not my place to tell but holy crap, that boy is crazy for you and I felt so bad because you didn't even notice."

       Lulu didn't say anything. Instead, she just stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder. "I've got to go."

       "Wait, school isn't even done yet," I said but Lulu was already gone by the time I finished my sentence.

       Great, now I had to spend the rest of my time alone.

       Or not alone because Kitty decided to sit down beside me.

       I'd rather be alone.

       "So, Jamie, I suppose you heard about the fair that's coming up," Kitty said. "I suppose that's all Sawyer has been talking about. Oh, right. He won't be competing. Such a shame. He used to be a champ, like me. It was how we connected so well."

       "And now that connection is gone before you're biphobic and homophobic," I said.

       "I'm not," Kitty said.

       I snorted. "Okay, which is why you're so against the idea of him having a boyfriend."

       "I'm not against the idea," Kitty said. "I just think he deserves someone better. Someone... Well, the opposite of you."

       "What, you think he should date someone like you?" I asked. "Who is constantly going out of her way to be a bitch? Who brought up the fact that I lost my dad to cancer? Who said Sawyer fell off of the horse during the competition for attention? Sorry, I'm just not seeing what you're seeing."

       The bell, thankfully, rang just then so I got up from the chair, placing the book I was using for my book report in my backpack. I left the school library, walking to the front door of the school and walking outside. I immediately spotted Sawyer's truck parked on the side of the road. He has always been sweet enough to drop me off and pick me up every single day, even though I kept telling him it wouldn't take long for me to walk to school.

       I got into the passenger seat of the truck and Sawyer leaned over, giving me a quick kiss. "How was school?" he asked as he started up his truck.

       "Oh, same old, same old," I said. "Kitty being a pest, me wanting to flip her off, Lulu being oblivious to Beau's feelings for her even after they slept together. You know, the usual."

       "Wait... What?" Sawyer asked.

       "That's exactly how I felt," I said. "I just hope they're finally going to figure it out."

       As soon as we got to the farm, Sawyer and I got our horses to head to the secret training spot. Once we got there, I couldn't even get off Paint because he kept circling around the training course. I always moved him to the side so Sawyer could run the course with Raven but right now, Paint wouldn't move off to the side.

       "Seems to me like Paint wants to give the course a try," Sawyer said. "He keeps eyeing the first jump. You should give it a go."

       "Really?" I asked.

       "Yeah," Sawyer said, moving Raven off to the side. "Gives Paint an excuse to exercise even more."

       "But we're here for you to train," I said. "I don't want to take away some of your training time."

       "You won't," Sawyer said. "There's still time for the competition. Besides, Paint is a stubborn horse so it might be best to let him run the course if he wants to."

       "Alright, here it goes," I said before running the course with Paint. I didn't feel him hit any of the jumps but I couldn't be too sure.

       I actually had fun doing this course with Paint. I loved it as much as I loved going on trail rides with Paint.

       There was just a thrill to it.

       When we finished, I slowed Paint down and looked at Sawyer. "How was that?" I asked.

       "That was amazing for it being our first run," Sawyer said. "You and Paint are naturals together. You ever thought of competing in showjumping?"

       "I don't know, I don't want to kick your butt too hard," I said.

       Sawyer chuckled. "You'll be entering in the under eighteen category so we wouldn't even be competing against each other."

       Sawyer saying the under eighteen category made me think of something Lulu said earlier. She couldn't find someone to compete in the cross-country competition because everyone she knew that competed either didn't do cross-country like competitions or they weren't going to be in the same category as Kitty.

       I mean, if I did compete, it wasn't just going to be to try to kick Kitty's butt. The cross-country competition had a mix of everything I loved about horseback riding. It was the perfect competition for me.

       I would enjoy it, even if I didn't win.

       "You have that idea look on your face," Sawyer said. "What is it?"

       "How do you think I'd do in the cross-country competition?" I asked.

       "You want my honest answer?"

       "No, I want you to lie, which is why I asked you how you think I'd do."

       "Well..."

       I frowned. "That doesn't sound good."

       "Just listen, Jamie," Sawyer said. "Paint is the only horse you'd compete with, right?" I nodded. "You two do work amazing together. But the competition does happen rain or shine."

       "So...?"

       "So if it does happen to rain, you won't be able to compete," Sawyer said.

       "I won't," I said. "Believe me. I promised myself I wouldn't get on Paint again when it's raining. So... Do you think I have a shot to be good at it?"

       "With more training, definitely," Sawyer said.

       "Great," I said. "I can't wait to kick Kitty's ass."

       Sawyer sighed. "I hate to admit it, but that's going to be hard. She's a reigning champ. She never loses."

       "And I... I actually can't think of anything that will prove I could beat her," I said. "But I am a stubborn person, just like my horse. Together, we will make a stubborn team and win."

       Sawyer chuckled. "That, I believe. You want to do more jumps?"

       "Nah, I'll do that back at the training course on my own time," I said. "This is specifically for you so you can get used to showjumping again."

       "And I'm close to it," Sawyer said. "I might actually use the other training course tomorrow. I think Raven and I are ready for the more advanced jumps."

       I smiled. "And you two will do great."

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lulu and beau oof :o

also for some reason, i kept writing kitty instead of lulu so if there was one that i didn't change, pls tell me.

also unrelated but i watched season 3 of stranger things and it's a big oof. also *spoilers* and nothing can convince me otherwise 😌

anyway stan paint, the superior horse