How Long Before We Fall In Love?

— parkour into heart

The rustling packet was alarm enough to lure any eyes out of the wilderness. As the duo tip-toed, something akin to pink panther, against the back wall of Dumont University, the packet in the girl's hand kept jarring Kaleb's attention.

He would stop, look back, press a finger on his lips, then tip-toe forward. The girl, dressed his brown jacket with the packet pressed against her chest, would merely nod and follow. Her big doe eyes were focused on the back of his curly head and the index finger and thumb of her right hand were grabbing the back of his shirt.

Kaleb stopped in front of a tree and glanced at his watch. 9:20 P.M. flashed over the little digital screen tied to his wrist. He turned to lean into the girl and whispered in her ear, "Wait here."

Breath hitched and heart hammering, the girl waited as Kaleb expertly climbed the thick trunk of the sycamore tree and perched himself on a branch. From the height, he could see the abandoned swimming pool and the darkness shrouded back ground of the Sports Department.

He leaned downward and held out a hand for her to take. "Come up," he whispered and motioned his fingers to draw her in.

The girl passed the packet first. Kaleb grabbed it and threw it over the wall. It landed with a soft rustle. Then, the girl held onto Kaleb's hand with her right and grabbed the trunk's grooves with her left. He pulled her up, she kicked the trunk to propell herself sideways and with a soft, "oomph—" she landed on top of the wall.

"That wasn't in my plan...but it's better," Kaleb mumbled to himself as he saw the girl turn and dangle her feet on the inside of the campus. Kaleb crawled over the branch and made it beside her. "I'll go down first," he whispered and jumped, without a thought. He landed with practiced grace and ease, almost soundlessly, and held out his arms for her.

"Jump, I'll catch you," he whispered, reassuring. His dark eyes caught the silver moon in gold specks. She gulped and tipped over the edge. He caught her, mid-fall, in his arms, as if he had been practicing it for a lifetime. "Are you okay?" He whispered in her face.

Heart thundering, she merely nodded and wriggled out of his grasp. She ran towards the packet of food and picked it up, followed by a loud rustle that made Kaleb swear under his breath.

In the shadows, they crossed the outskirts of the sports department, walked in silence across the science department, climbed a metal staircase on the back of the auditorium, walked over the rooftops of the adjoining music department and finally stopped at the edge of the drama department.

The moon hung big and low in the sky, yet it wasn't light enough to stop her from accidentally bumping her head into his back. She seethed in pain and Kaleb turned to frantically cup her face, "Are you okay? Did it hurt? Weren't you looking?" And fired questions through gritted teeth.

The girl pursed her lips and stretched them in a line.

Kaleb let out a small chuckle and pointed at the building in front. "You see that? That's the boys dormitory. We have to jump to that rooftop. The very last room on the top right is mine. Jumping into the balcony is easy once you're there. Will you be able to do it?" He asked, looking aptly concerned. 'Who am I kidding? She won't be able to, of course.' He thought in his head.

Standing atop huge buildings, their existence was a miniscule blob of black, clothes fluttering towards the left with wind. The distance between the drama department and the boys dormitory was as much as the width of a normal school bus but parkour hadn't been on her mind when she woke up that morning.

"Or, I can just— you know," Kaleb started then kneeled on the ground, "Climb my back, I'll take you," he offered. The girl looked up at him, wondering why a stranger would go through such extremes to help another.

She shook her head and took a few steps back. Kaleb turned to look at her and caught the moonlit determination in her eyes. Alarmed by her sudden brovado, Kaleb got up and held up both his hands to signify, 'Hold up, I'll go first.' He took a lap to run up and jumped, crossing the gap with one easy swift glide owing to his height, agility and the length of his legs.

"Come over," he mouthed and gestured his hands.

The girl, with the packet clutched in her right, ran over the rooftop. Kaleb stood in position, hand out, waiting for her to hold on. She kicked off the edge, Kaleb's breath hitched when she missed his hand — but, instead of falling down, she crossed the gap and plopped over him. Kaleb hadn't braced for impact; the suddenness caught him off-guard and he fell backwards with her ontop.

He laughed as she sat up straighter, on top of him, frantically checking his head and hands for injuries. "I'm okay, I'm okay, are you?" Kaleb asked. The girl nodded and got off him. "We've had quite an adventure," Kaleb grunted and got up.

With the ease of a slithering snake, Kaleb jumped into the balcony of his dormitory and grabbed the girl's waist as she slithered down. He put her to the ground and slid open the sliding door to enter his room.

"Finally, destination has been arrived!" He exclaimed and held his hands out in fanfare to introduce the small room as she walked inside. He turned on the lights, closed the window and drew the curtains. "You can make yourself comfortable there, my roommate is never here," he pointed at the bed opposite to him.

The room had two beds on opposite walls with a study area underneath them. The space between them was the window opposite to which was the door. Kaleb's side of the room had earthy green bedspreads, brown shelves and anime collectibles.

His roommate's side had black and white checkered bedspreads, black shevles, books, books and books. The girl stood awkwardly in front of the bed, wondering if she should sit down and dirty it.

"Ah," Kaleb realised as he noticed her awkwardness. He walked up the cupboard in front of his bed-c*m-study and took out a black tee-shirt and shorts. "Here, you can change. They're new," he held out the clothes for her to take. "Ahhh— I'll close the lights because the bathroom is shared, you know, I won't peek, of course," he babbled as he flipped off the light switch.

The girl slid over the smooth hardwood flooring and took the clothes off his hand. She brought them to the opposite side and piled them over the study table. She took off Kaleb's jacket and felt a chill run across her spine. She looked up to carefully hang the jacket off the roomate's cupboard handle and spotted Kaleb through the mirror.

He was taking his shirt off with his back to her. His muscles flexed under the dim glow of the moon. She gulped and looked away. The cold was suddenly replaced by odd warmth in her cheeks. The girl slid and sat down to change, lest some mirrorly reflections would give away her nudity. She stripped out of her bloodied clothes and felt bad about dirtying his new clothes as she donned them.

"Are you done?" Kaleb asked.

"Mhm," the girl hummed, meekly and stood up. The tee-shirt was big and threatening to fall off her shoulders any minute. The shorts came up to her kneecaps, dangling awkwardly.

"Do you prefer the lights on or off when you're asleep?" He asked. Through the mirror, she noticed that Kaleb had yet to turn even though he was done changing. He merely stood there with his face to the wood, forehead resting against the cupboard.

"I don't mind," the girl whispered and immediately climbed over the wooden ladder and into the roomate's bed, lest he'd see her slipping clothes and go feral.

Kaleb gulped and did the same. He laid in his bed, with his face faced towards Zarek's bed. The place which had been empty for two semesters now suddenly housed a girl. A pretty girl. A mysterious girl. A clingy girl. A cute girl.

Kaleb cursed himself for fantasizing over her when she had gone through so much already. So, instead of letting his thoughts astray, he turned around and faced the wall. He would ask her to leave tomorrow.