A little down time.

[Peyton James]

The waves crashed against the sand. Peyton looked down at them. Her barefeet were silently tredding the sand. She walked for a while longer then stood. It was a bit chilly but not bad. Peyton had on a pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt. A slight smile covered her face. It wasnt big smile but it was a smile but it quickly faded. She looked into the horizen and could only see miles and miles of ocean. There was like there was no land beyond but she knew there was. Peyton held her flip flops in her hand. She didnt want to set them down or wear them becuase she liked how the sand felt between her toes. She looked behind her to only see a single pair of foot prints trailing behind her.

Peyton looked at the sand and sat down. The waves came and crashed onto her feet but didnt go up any farther. She moved her toes a bit at the cold feeling. She put the hood up on her sweatshirt and fixed her black hair so that it wouldnt get ratted up under the hood. Peyton's brown eyes scanned the beach. She couldnt see anyone. Face it Peyton, you dont have any friends right now. She said to herself. The only friend she had at Canterbury so far was her horse and that wasnt hard to make friends with May that fast. Peyton sighed. Normally she would have met someone by now. She thought it would have been easy since she has been doing it her whole life. Peyton grabbed her cell phone out of her sweatshirt pocket. She had a couple of text messages from a cousin of hers. Peyton started a new text message and wrote- Jason I miss you! I wish we were still going out. Peyton sighed again. She hated breaking up with her boyfriend, but it felt like the right thing to do since she was leaving anyway. She was never in a place long, but this time she was going to be at Canterbury till she graduated.

Peyton put the phone back into her pocket and looked into the horizon again. Her mom once told that some person across the ocean is looking to try and find land and is waving to the imaginary person. Peyton laughed at the thought. She hadnt seen her family for a while. She thought of her little sister and thought about how much she had probably grown since she had last seen her. The phone vibrated in her pocket and started playing the song that Peyton had as her ringtone which was "Crushcrushcrush". She opened the slider part of her phone and looked at the message. U kno it was the right thing to do Peyton smiled. She had moved on but hated the fact of not having a boyfriend. Actually all Peyton needed right now was a friend whom she could talk to and tell secrets to...and maybe gossip with. Peyton brought up her knees and placed her chin on them and wrapped her arms around her shin. She felt so lonely.

[Cole Green]

the young gelding was hesitant to approach the crashing waves, and halted in his tracks, almost half way to the shore. cole raised his hands to match the gelding's alert head. from the back of the paint horse, cole could make out the heavy snorting that came from his nostrils. cole cooed soothingly to the young horse beneath him, taking both reins into one hand so that he could scratch the horse's bright neck. allowing patch a few moments to collect his thoughts, cole continued to coo to him. as patch lowered his head a bit, still remaining alert, though, cole applied some pressure on the gelding's barrel, asking for forward movement. without warning, the gelding shot up.

cole, unprepared for the gelding's actions, lost his seat and slipped back away from the gelding's withers. now is the time where the teen wished he had gone with tack, instead of taking his horse to the beach bareback. the gelding's hooves landed back on the sand with only enough time allotted for him to bolt forward, which unbalanced cole even more. before cole could steady himself on the horse's back, patch ran himself in a tight circle, and then shot, once more, towards the sky. this time, the young gelding went all of the way up onto his hind limbs. the teen lost his balance and fell, very unceremoniously, from the horse's back and onto the sand. patch, without a glance back at his rider, took off down the barren beach at a dead gallop.

cole stood up, uninjured, but slightly shaken, and looked after his horse. brushing the sand off of his black skinny jeans and black band tee, cole brushed some of his straight hair from his eyes and began to walk after his horse. damnit.

[Peyton James]

Peyton listened to the waves again. She heard more then waves now. Almost like hooves pounding into the sand. She looked to her left nothing was coming and then to her right. There came a galloping paint coming right toward her. Peyton stood up and tried to make the horse slow down. She didnt see a rider on his back. Oh my gosh...what if the rider has fallen and got hurt? Peyton thought to herself. She looked around for someone walking. She could see someone a little farther walking in the distance. Maybe that was the owner. The horse got closer and she grabbed for the reins. She was successful and stopped the horse. Whoah! Calm down there. Peyton said as the horse snorted. Now where is your owner? She asked looking to her right. She started walking the way the horse came. She seen a boy that was maybe a year older then her walking down the beach.

When Peyton and the paint finally reached the boy she held the reins out toward him. Excuse me is this your horse? She asked politely. She smiled at him and looked to see if anyone else was missing there horse but he was the only one there. With her free hand she pulled down her hood of her sweatshirt and her black hair hung loose. My name is Peyton...Um your horse is very pretty. Peyton said putting her hand on the horses neck. Peyton had always loved paint horses. They reminded her of someone throwing a different color on the horse and it just sort of splattered. Peyton brought her eyes down towards her feet. Her flip flots were covered in sand but that didnt bother her.

Peyton fingered the cell phone in her pocket that had just started to vibrate. She quickly hit the ignore button. She didnt want to answer it. That would be rude. Luckly she hit ignore before her ringtone started going off. It probably would have scared the horse. Great this boy probably thinks I'm a freak. Peyton thought to herself. Whenever there was silence when first meeting Peyton always thought the people were thinking about how weird she was. Most the time that didnt happen, some people just liked to choose their words before they said them. Unlike Peyton who said whatever comes to your mind. Sometimes that got her into trouble with people becuase she wasnt afraid to speak her mind. She told it how it went and went with whatever happened. Peyton flashed a smile this time her smile was real and not fake.

[Cole Green]

the teen pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile. he felt a small wave of embarrassment, but relief, too, rush through his body. cole swept a few strands of his brown hair away from his eyes, stretching out his hand to take the reins from the girl who had saved his ass a lot of walking by catching his horse before he could go any further. yeah, i guess i claim him, cole responded with a sigh, his tones sarcastic. his fingers closed around the reins, and he stepped forward to pull them down from the middle of the gelding's broad neck. at the same time, he took a second or so to correct the stands of his mane which where out of place.

cole's fingers ran down the smooth coat of the gelding's warm neck. his hand touched in between his muscular chest, feeling the warmth of his body. the gelding stretched out his head, shook, and then ejected a deep sigh from the depths of his large lungs. cole shook his head lightly, speaking quietly to his horse, of course, now you agree with being near the waves. light lids where slowly falling closed over the gelding's eyes. "my horse in mental," cole came to the decision in his head quickly.

thanks for catching him, cole spoke into the silence which had built for a few seconds after he had last spoke. nice to meet you, peyton, i'm cole. he stretched out his hand, for the second time in a few minutes, in a friendly hand gesture towards the girl he now knew as peyton. he had never seen her around, and he supposed that she was about his age.

[Peyton James]

As the reins left her hand she put her hand down to her side. She put it in her pocket. The boy who introduced himself as Cole reached out his hand to shake hers. She stretched her hand out and shook it. Nice meeting you. Peyton said to him. She smiled back. Peyton was terrible at starting conversations. She felt stupid when she brought up school but what else was there to talk about. Cole must like horses right so she might as well ask about his riding. What events do you do riding? Peyton asked. That was the first thing that came to mind. Why cant I ever have something good to talk about? Peyton thought to herself. She looked at her feet again. I should have brought May down here with me. Peyton decided. Knowing Peyton she wouldnt have thought to bring May if her life depended on it.

The wind caugh hold of her black hair and made it blow out behind her. Her bangs got in her eyes slightly. She brushed them away out of her brown eyes. She had never seen Cole before. Maybe he didnt even go to Canterbury. Peyton just assumed everything was what she thought...which she soon learned wasnt always right. Are you from around here? Peyton asked. She tried to remember her home but it was very fuzzy. She never really had much of a home. She lived at many schools. She could remember the schools better then her own home. Italy was her favorite but so far she wanted to be at Canterbury the most. She loved it here and how you could have horses with you. The only thing she missed was all the friends she had made. They were all nice but she couldnt keep track of all their names. Yea she still texted them but that was about all.

Peyton looked at Cole again. She didnt want to seem like she was playing twenty questions so she stopped asking. She would just wait for his reply. She didnt need to know everything in the world. Since she was just meeting him she would have to wait and be nice. Sometimes that didnt always work out though. There were days when she would ask whatever she wanted just so she could get the answer. She was trying to change but sometimes thats a little hard for her. She looked down at her sweatshirt and played with the little strings that hung from the hood to tighten it. She tied them together and then untied them. That was along with another habit of hers that she wanted to get rid of but thats easier said then done.

[Cole Green]

the girl appeared to him as nervous. or socially retarded. but cole, having a slightly generous mind, would go with the conclusion that she wasn't socially retarded, just kind of shy and unable to find the right words sometimes, he was the same way most days. she had only left a few seconds between each question she had asked, and he had barely had time to open his mouth, let alone answer about the events he rode in, before she had asked him where he was from. cole smiled faintly. she was very much like him, actually; she wasn't against speaking what was on her mind. or, possibly, she was unable to not speak what was on her mind? either way, it still made cole smile.

well, i guess. i am now, that is. i just transfered in for the school year at the high school, canterbury. i don't know if you've heard of it? but.. yeah.

cole had decided to simply not answer the question she had asked first. he didn't really know how to answer it anyway. how did she mean by what events did he do riding? cole shook his head gently. his finger tips where resting very gently on the edge of his gelding's neck. the horse shifted his weight gently, and cole switched the position of his hand up to the gelding's mane, which he took a gently hold of.

are you from around here?

[Peyton James]

Peyton blushed lightly. She flipped her hood back up so that her hair wouldnt become a mess in this light breeze they were getting. She picked at her nails as he answered her questions. The orange sparkle nail polish was flaking off. She could never keep them painted for long cause the polish would be off in a second. I actually dont know where I call home haha. I currently go to Canterbury also. Peyton answered him. Cole probably thought that she was a homeless person because she said she didnt know where she considered home. O-M-G, maybe I should tell him I have to leave...why am I being soo stupid. Peyton thought to herself. She never acted this way in front of people...not matter who it was boys or girls. Didnt matter but she never did. She almost felt like she didnt belong in Canterbury.

Normally she was outgoing and didnt ask a million questions in just a few seconds. Maybe I should tell my parents I want to move again...guh no dont do that you want to stay somewhere for a while. Peyton shook her head lightly. She did these little mind games to make her happy. She hated them. She thought she was the only one that talked to herself in her head and helped make descions. She couldnt leave this place. Not until they got a taste of the real Peyton. She was the gossip queen and she knew everything that was going on about everyone. She almost felt like she was stupid and back in Kindergarten when she first started school.

She ran her fingers over her hair again. She was to obsessed with her hair. She didnt know how to act around new people that she didnt know...all of them of different cliques, and she only knew her own. She knew she was a prep...she just hadnt met the others that were the same as her. Maybe she would get along with them just fine. She kicked the sand with her food coming back to reality and flashed another smile but kept this smile on her face. She felt rude becuase she kept going back in time. She always did this and she hated it.
Sorry. Peyton said. Cole probably had no clue why she was saying sorry but she knew she was sorry becuase how stupid she was acting.

[Cole Green]

..for what? he questioned with a slightly awkward tone. cole didn't really know what was going on inside of her mind, and he didn't really know if he wanted to know. with a small sigh, cole took a small step backward, feeling himself sink a bit into the sand.

cole stared at the girl named peyton for a few more seconds, then asked her, are you here alone? he didn't really know what else to say, and felt like shooting himself for being so god-damn awkward right now. his gelding placed his head against the side of his body and nudged him, and hard. cole stumbled forward, sand kicking up onto the top of his white vans. he sighed and shoved the gelding's head away from him before he could repeat his actions.

[Peyton James]

Peyton watched him as he spoke her. I'm sorry...I just dont feel like I'm acting like myself. Peyton said. Was that what he wanted to know? Maybe they had nothing in common...thats why it was so awqward. Peyton had never felt this way when she was meeting new people. Maybe it was because she was nervous.

Uhh, ya, actually I am here alone. Are you? She asked firing the question back at him. She too took a little step back as she watched him get nudged by his horse. She tried not to laugh and ended up turning red from holding her breath. She hoped Cole didnt notice. Peyton looked at the gelding who just got his head pushed away from Cole.

[Cole Green]

yeah, i a— cole was cut off by patch. the horse had reached over and grabbed the bottom of cole's shirt between his teeth; and at the same time, he had clipped a bit of cole's skin. cole swore under his breath, turning around and smacking the gelding's muzzle with a good amount of force. quit that! cole spoke coldly towards the horse, nearly yelling. he had witnessed enough of the gelding's childish games for one day, and wasn't about to stand there and be bitten. the paint horse backed up a few steps hurriedly, his ears pinned and his head raised; but he quickly got over it, and he also kept to himself and respected cole's space.

as i was saying, cole continued, holding onto his reins tightly, yeah, i'm here alone. he paused for a second, trying to decide whether or not he should say what he wanted to right now, or not. the sting from where patch had clipped him with his teeth was dying away, and he hadn't broken the skin, but he had made cole a bit pissed off, which was currently ruining his train of thought. finally, he just came out and said it, why can't you just be yourself? i'm not gonna bite. he might, though. cole raised his eyebrows a bit, playfully, as he joked about patch.

[Peyton James]

Peyton winced as he got bit by his horse. That had to hurt. She giggled at what he said about the horse biting but not him. I dont know why...maybe its jet lag. Peyton joked. But...I'll try to act more like I normally do. She continued. She looked over at the horse and then back at Cole. She sorta laughed at the feisty horse. May was sort of like that but then again she would back off once she knew she was in trouble.

Peyton looked over at Cole. So what grade are you in? Peyton asked. She knew he was probably a year or so older then her but she didnt know. So she decided to ask. Peyton slipped her hands back in her pockets and fingered her cell phone. Do you want to keep walking? Peyton asked. Maybe it would keep his horse busy and not try to bite him. Then they could talk and walk and not stand at the same place. Peyton moved her foot a bit to see if he was going to keep walking but if not that was totally fine with her.

The sun had gone down ever farther and it got cooler. The wind picked up again and Peyton pulled her sweatshirt over her hands. She shivered a bit but she wasnt to cold. She heard the waves crashing a bit below from where they are standing. Peyton liked the beach becuase it was very relaxing to her and it reminded her of old times when the family was all together on family vacations. The last family vacation was in Miami. They all had fun but now it was over. Her parents had busy jobs nows and they couldnt handle her and her sister so they sent Peyton everywhere. She shook her head and looked at Cole to wait for him to answer her.

[Cole Green]

sure, cole responded with a small nod, taking a step forward and beginning to walk next to the girl. the paint gelding trailed along at the end of his rein, damp with sweat and a bit bored. patch lowered his head, twitching his muzzle against the cool sand as he slowly moved forward.

cole quickly responded to peyton's first question, i'm in eleventh grade. the teen sighed gently, how about you? the winds picked up a bit as he spoke, rushing into his face and pushing his straight brown hair back away from his forehead. pushing out a second sigh from his lungs, the boy's hand attempted to replace the wind struck strands, but he failed. thankfully, the powerful gust only lasted a few moments before dying down. after pulling his brown strands back across his forehead, cole's fingertip ran absentmindedly to the copper ball stud just below his lip, fingering is gently for a moment.

[Peyton James]

Peyton walked by him and the horse. Tenth for me. Peyton said. She didnt know anyone yet from her grade. She looked down as she walked and then lifted her head. Her brown eyes wandered down to teh water. If it were a bit warmer she would have wanted to be in a water fight but it was a little cold for that.

Peyton looked over at the horse who was walking beside Cole. She really should have brought May along with her. She would have enjoyed playing in the water and a nice ride by the beach. Peyton kicked off her flip flops and carried them again. She loved the feeling of sand between her toes. Her toe nails were painted a light pink. They were the only nails that could be painted without her trying to pick it off. She looked over at Cole.