SUMMARY

He's been chasing me and I've been running every since I yelled "GOOSE" to him in the 2nd grade. What happens when the moment he decides that he is through chasing is the moment I decide that I'm through running?

Someone challenged me to write this and I'm not one to back down from a challenge.

I finally knew what I wanted.

For years I've tried to avoid my feelings and ignore my hearts desires by throwing myself into work and school. It was hard pretending that I didn't care about him while brushing his advances aside. I honestly don't know why he continued to pursue me for all of these years but I'm glad he did.

It all started when we were in the second grade fifteen years ago. Mrs. Carmichael, our second grade teacher at the time noticed that we were working too hard and decided to let us take a break by playing a game. I can still remember happily shoving my work into my desk while rushing to squeeze between my friends Dana and Krissy. During that time we were inseparable. Some people even called us the "Three Little Bears" much to our delight.

Anyway, once everyone is sitting in a circle, Mrs. Carmichael begins to explain the game of Duck! Duck! Goose! to us. This immediately catches my attention while the other students groan. Being an only child who was home schooled up until that point, I didn't know how to play.

"A group of players sit in a circle, facing inward, as you are doing now while another player, the 'picker' walks around tapping or pointing to each player in turn, calling each a 'duck' until finally picking one to be a 'goose'. Are you with me so far?" asked Mrs. Carmichael.

"Yes." We sang in unison.

She nods and continues. "The 'goose' then rises and chases and tries to tag the 'picker', while the 'picker' tries to return to and sit where the 'goose' had been sitting. If the picker succeeds, the 'goose' is now the new picker and the process begins again. If the 'goose' succeeds in tagging the picker, the goose may return to sit in the previous spot and the 'picker' resumes the process. Let the games begin."

Everyone laughed as the picker and the goose chased each other around. It wasn't until mid-way through the game that I noticed a boy sitting with his arms folded with a sad look on his face. Nobody had picked him yet. The boy whose name was Harlan Nash was quiet and mostly kept to himself. At that moment I realized what I was going to do.

And I did it.

As soon as I was the picker again, I walked around the circle calling everyone a "duck" until I reached him.

"GOOSE!" I yelled while tapping his head and running away.

He jumped up quickly and pushed his glasses on his nose before chasing me. "You better speed up Aleigna. I'm right behind you."

As soon as I neared his vacant spot, the fire bell rang indicating that we had a fire drill.

Oh well, so much for winning.

From that moment on, Harlan Nash began to talking to me regularly. The next year (3rd grade) we were placed in the same class. He constantly gave me candy and flowers that he'd bought from the dollar store with his allowance. We lived across the street from one another which meant he "chased" me everywhere. By the time 4th and 5th grade started, Harlan had become my new best friend replacing Dana and Krissy who thought he was weird.

"I've got something for you." he says one day while we are on the swing set in his backyard.

I use my feet to stop as he stand and reach into his pocket. His hand was closed into a fist once he removed it from his pocket.

"Well, what is it?" I ask growing impatient.

He smirked before slowly opening in his hand revealing a beautiful diamond ring that was obviously going to be too big for my finger. I placed it on my thumb since that was the only place that it would fit.

"Do…um...Do you like it?" he stammered while nervously biting his nails.

I nod while giving him a quick hug."It's pretty. Where did you get it?"

He just shrugged and sat back down on the swing. It wasn't until later that night when my mama burst into my room demanding that I give her the ring that Harlan had given me. Turns out the ring belonged to Harlan's mother. It was her wedding ring. I pretended as if it didn't bother me but the truth was I cried all night long.

At the age of fourteen, long gone were the glasses and acne. Harlan was now considered the hottest guy in the 8th grade. Even then, he still chased me. Every year he seemed to grow bolder with his attempts. In fact, he flat out asks me, "Aleigna, will you go out with me?"

"Dream on," was my only response.

He cocks an eyebrow at me but remains silent.

We share a dance during our 8th grade prom and I notice how fast his heart is beating.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned.

Only now I realize that I was trying to distract him from my own rapid beating heart.

"I'm fine." he says while flashing me a million dollar smile.

It wasn't until 10th grade when I really started to take notice of Harlan. By now he was a jock. Every girl in the sophomore class wanted him. But like typical Harlan he ignored them and pursued me. During this time, I was just as popular as he was but unlike him, I did date. Even then, he still pursued me.

"Be mines forever," he said while handing me a dozen roses and giving me a box of chocolate for Valentine's Day.

I felt the heat rise in my cheek and at that moment I was thankful for my dark skin tone. Instead of jumping into his arms like everyone expected of me, (Apparently we'd drawn a crowd) I smirked. "Get a life."

This time he didn't even bother to hide his disappointment. Instead he frowned at me and turned to walk away. That of course earned me various looks of discuss from his many worshippers. I wanted so badly to go after him-but I couldn't. Something was holding me back. And at that time I had no idea what it was.

I knew that I'd probably ruined the only friendship besides that of Gods that mattered to me. So you can imagine how surprised I was to find Harlan sitting on my front porch when I got home.

We stared at each other neither knowing what to say. His blue's gazing into my browns. We played this game all the time. It was called "look-away". Whoever turned first was the loser. Since I was a coward, I turned first.

He cleared his throat and stood up. "Your boyfriend was here." he finally spoke.

I ignored the way he'd said boyfriend before responding. "Was?"

"Yes was. As in not anymore." he smirked while rolling his eyes.

"Uh-yeah, we broke up. Well I broke up with him." I said while unlocking the door.

I felt the tension dissolve once we entered my house.

"Good." was his only response.

Senior year was the best and worst time of my life. It was during this time that my parents decided to get a divorce after twenty years of marriage. Of course he was there to comfort me when I blamed myself. Also senior year was the year that I learned that Harlan…my Harlan was no longer a virgin. In fact, he'd already been with two girls.

Can you take a guess as to which two girls he'd been with? Yup that's right, Dana and Krissy. When he told me about it, I felt my heart breaking inside of me. He quickly mentioned that he was drunk and angry during those "moments" and neither meant anything to him.

Once again I did what I did best-I coward. I laughed and playfully shoved his shoulder before saying, "You don't have to explain anything to me. It's no big deal."

"Of course I do." He says while giving my hand a squeeze.

"You don't."

"I do. Don't argue with me Aleigna."

The way he said my name sent down my spine. "Fine, you win."

He gave me a satisfied smile before doing something that completely shocked me. He grabbed both sides of my face in his hands and placed a lingering kiss to my forehead. "I care about you. Maybe a little too much." he admitted.

As soon as he released my face, I felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

"Aleigna, go out with me…please."

I turned away from him and focused my attention to the TV. "You wouldn't want to date me Harlan."

I felt him stand but I refused to meet his eyes. It took all of my strength not to get up and declare my love for him.

"I'm not going to wait forever."

Then he was gone.

This brings me to the present. Right now we are in our senior year of college. Of course we attend the same college.

I was currently at memorial Hermann hospital in the children wing waiting on Harlan to show up. He did a lot of volunteering here during his free time. As I waited, I noticed a couple making out in the view of 4-12 year olds. I felt my own jealousy arouse when I saw Harlan walking towards me with Denise the nurse.

"She's okay."

I turned to look at seven year old Nina as she sat beside me. "Excuse me?"

Nina looked at me. "Nurse Denise. She's okay. I think you're prettier though."

At this I smiled and thanked her.

"Hey you." He greeted with a heartwarming smile.

"Hey yourself." I greeted while returning the smile.

We shared a silent moment while Nurse Denise waited to be acknowledged.

"Aleigna you remember Nurse Denise right?" he asked.

I forced a fake smile onto my face before responding, "Of course."

We made small talk for awhile before she had to return to work. I silently thanked the heavens for her departure. I couldn't stand her bubbly giggle and the way she playfully swatted Harlan's arm didn't go unnoticed.

"She's nice."

He cocked an eyebrow at me knowingly. "Yeah"

"So are you guys dating?" I asked knowing that I was probably skidding on thin ice.

"Is that why you were being rude to her?"

I feigned ignorance. "I wasn't being rude."

"Whatever you say Aleigna," he say while pulling out a fresh deck of Uno cards and walking towards Xavier who was lying in bed.

I followed him as he set the card up.

"Even if we were dating, why would you care?" he asked suddenly.

Oh I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm completely in love with you and I can't stop thinking about you.

But of course I didn't say that. Instead I said something that I wish I hadn't.

"I don't. I was just curious that's all." I shrugged.

Shut up you fool. My brain was telling my mouth to shut up but it wouldn't listen.

I noticed the muscle in his jaw tighten as he dished out some cards to Xavier who was currently glancing back and forth between the two of us.

"Yeah I figured you wouldn't." he mumbled. "I think you should go."

That totally caught me off guard. "What/"

He pulled a card from the deck and placed it down before facing me. "I can't do this anymore Aleigna. You know how I feel about you. I'm tired of chasing you." he says while closing the distance between us. "I've been offered a job in St. Louis after graduation and up until this point I was going to turn them down. But now there is nothing keeping me here. Is there?"

By now my heart was beating a thousand miles per hour. I know he felt it as well. I was thankful that I was in a hospital because I felt like I would pass out at any moment. Just tell him! Just tell him!

Harlan's eyes bore into mines. It was almost as if he was begging me to ask him to stay. I badly wanted to look away but something inside of me wouldn't let me. In the corner of my eye I saw Xavier peeking at the cards that were in the deck.

"There you have it. I guess I have my answer." He said sadly while backing away. "I'll see you around Aleigna." he turned to resume his game with Xavier.

Why did that feel like good-bye?

I spent the next few days crying in my apartment. "How could I be so stupid?" I yelled

"Just tell him how you feel?" said Gabi my roommate. "You're obviously in love with him."

"You're right. I'm tired of running." I said feeling more confident. "I'm going to call him right now."

Once I was in my room, I dialed the familiar number and waited.

"Hi, you've reached Harlan. I'm sorry that I'm not available right now. Please leave your name and number after the beep and I'll get back with you ASAP. God Bless."

I immediately hung up the phone and let out a frustrated sigh. Where is he? As soon as the thought left my mind, my phone began to ring and my heart leapt as I saw his name flash across the screen.

"Hello" I greeted trying to calm my nerves.

"Hi Aleigna. Did you call here for Harlan?"

I immediately noticed the strain in her voice. "Hi Mrs. Nash. Yes I did call for Harlan. Where is he?"

She paused before responding, "He's at Northwest Hospital. There's been an accident. But…"

I didn't let her finish. I was already out of the door and in the car. The entire time I feared the worse and rehearsing my speech to him. What if he died without ever knowing how I feel? That was the worst feeling in the world. As soon as I made it to the hospital, I ran inside bumping into a few people in the process.

"Um I'm looking for Harlan Nash." I say to the receptionist.

"Harlan Nash. He's in room 212." she smiled.

I thanked her and raced towards the nearest elevator. That had to be the slowest elevator I've ever ridden. I rushed down the hall but slowed once I was about a foot away. The door opened before I could even reach for the handle and out walked Harlan.

"Aleigna what are you doing here?" he asked confused.

I took the opportunity to look him over. He had a small bandage on his forehead and his left wrist was wrapped in a cask. Other than that he seemed fine.

"You're crying." he said while using his good hand to cup my cheek and brush my tears away.

"I'll be downstairs." said Mrs. Nash whom I hadn't noticed until then.

He nod but didn't take his eyes off of me.

"Your –mom-told-me-that-you-were-in-an-accident. I-thought-you-were-hurt-or…"

He smiled sadly. "I'm fine. I was being careless in the kitchen."

It's was now or never I thought to myself as I closed the distance between us by pressing my lips against his.

He immediately tensed and slightly pulled away. "What are you doing?" he asked confused.

"There's something I've wanted to say to you. I-I love you okay."

He frowned and backed away. "You love me, since when?

It was my turn to frown. "Since forever. I thought you would be happy."

"Excuse me for not jumping with glee. I find it ironic how you suddenly have these feelings for me on the day you think I almost died."

"It's not like that" I pleaded. "Besides, you know that I love you."

"Do I?" he asked while narrowing his eyes. "How?"

"Yes you do. I kissed you and you kissed me back."

At this he laughed. Not the sweet laugh that I was use to hearing but a cold one. "Did I really kiss you back? Because if memory serves me correctly YOU kissed me and I didn't respond. In fact, I even pulled away."

I felt my heart shatter. It was true, he had backed off.

"Besides, if I had kissed you back you would've known."

My anger was starting to rise. "What do you want me to do huh? I love you. There's not much else I can say."

"Oh how the tables have turned. Now you have a taste of what I've been through these past 15 years. You asked me what I want you to do. It's quite simple. I want you to prove it." he said while walking away.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

He just shrugged and continued down the hallway.

Fine, let the games began I mumbled to myself.

Two days later

I watched from across the parking lot as he opened his car door and pulled out the flowers and card I'd left him. As if sensing my presence he turned to face me and said, "You have to do better than that." With that he got in the car and drove off.

The next day we were in the University's basketball arena rehearsing for our graduation ceremony which was tomorrow. He was on the other side of the room flirting shamelessly with a random red head.

Once he noticed me starring he upped his game by placing an arm around her shoulders and whispering in her ear causing her to giggle.

I guess the black t-shirt with big white letters that says I HEART HARLAN NASH which I was currently wearing meant nothing to him. After rehearsal I quickly walked outside not wanting to witness their game any longer.

He came behind me and tugged on my shirt. "I'm still not convinced."

I grabbed his arm before he could walk away. "Pretty girl in there."

He smirked and gently removed his arm from my grasp. "Jealousy doesn't suit you." He whispered in my ear before walking away.

GRADUATION DAY

Harlan and I starred at each other throughout the entire ceremony. He looked so adorable in his cap and gown. I wanted so badly to be with him right now. Once the president called his name, I leapt up and declared my love for him. "Harlan Nash I LOVE YOU."

I was glad that he had to walk pass me in order to return to his seat. I noticed the redness that crept into his cheeks as he received his diploma.

"Try again." was he said when he brushed pass me.

After the ceremony, I was asked to take a lot of pictures with different people but the one person I wanted pictures with was ignoring me.

Prove it. I rehearsed those words over and over in my mind as I jumped into a picture that his dad was taking of him.

"You don't mind do you Mr. Nash?" I asked while looking at Harlan.

"Of course not, Aleigna."

"Good." I smiled while stepping closer to Harlan.

He glared at me before I noticed the corners of his mouth curl up. "What are you doing?"

I turned away as I felt him snake an arm around my waist. "I'm proving it by being next to you."

He pulled me even closer and whispered in my ear, "I'm still not convinced."

During the photo session, I purposely pressed my body against his while throwing in kisses on the cheek which he surprisingly returned.

It was during his graduation party that I managed to get him alone. "Having fun?"

"Uh-huh." He said while drinking some punch.

"Good. I have something to show you." I said while grabbing his hand and ignoring the tingling feeling that pass through my body as I pulled him into the living room. I couldn't help but notice how right our hands fit together.

"Sit." I demanded

He obliged as I gathered the guest around. Once everyone had settled I walked to the front the room and grabbed the karaoke microphone. "Uh hi. As most of you know, Harlan and I are best

friends. Now that he's going to St. Louis I wanted him to know something before he left. We use to sing this all the time when we were kids. This is for you.

"Listen, baby
Ain't no mountain high
Ain't no valley low
Ain't no river wide enough, baby

If you need me, call me
No matter where you are
No matter how far
Just call my name
I'll be there in a hurry
You don't have to worry

'Cause baby,
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you"

Please let this work I prayed silently. Harlan got up and joined me in singing our favorite song but not before whispering, "Cute but not quite."

"Remember the day
I set you free
I told you
You could always count on me
From that day on I made a vow
I'll be there when you want me
Some way,some how

'Cause baby,
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you

No wind, no rain

My love is alive
Way down in my heart

Although we are miles apart
If you ever need a helping hand
I'll be there on the double
As fast as I can

Don't you know that
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you

Don't you know that
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough"

We finished the song and I left soon afterwards. That night I thought of the perfect way to prove to him that I loved him. If this didn't work, I was going to give up. The plan was put into action the next day while he was visiting the kids at the hospital. I'd even convinced little Nina to help me.

"Hey guys, what game do you all want to play today?" asked Harlan.

"Bingo"

"Uno"

"How about we play something different?" Nina suggested

"Like what?" asked Harlan.

She pretended to think just like I'd coached her. That's my girl. "Duck! duck! Goose"

Immediately the kids agreed just as I knew they would.

"Okay" Harlan agreed.

That was my que. "That's a great idea Nina. Can I play?"

"Sure" she exclaimed happily.

'I'll go first." I said once everyone sat in a circle. Here goes nothing Aleigna I said to myself. "duck! Duck! Duck! Duck! GOOSE!" I said while tapping Harlan on the head.

True to my plan he jumped up while I stayed in place.

"Shouldn't you be running? I mean it is what you do best isn't it?"

I brushed the comment aside before responding, "Naw I'm tired of running. I've decided to let you catch me."

At this he smile…a real smile and took me in his arms lifting me from the ground so that I could be eye level with him. "It took you long enough." he said as he pressed his lips against mines capturing my lips in his. I quickly responded to the kiss by wrapping my arms around his neck much to the dismay of the kids.

He placed me down and pressed his forehead against mines. "You know what this means right?"

"I have to move to with you?"

"Actually I was going to say you're out but that'll work too."