Lucas wakes to the sound of birds chirping, feeling great.

Obviously, part of this is because he gets to see Sarah right away, which really is kind of stupid, because he lives with Sarah, and he sees her all the time. He saw her yesterday. But screw it - he’s got a thing for her, seeing her makes him happy, and he likes to be happy. So sue him. However, Lucas knows that another big reason that he feels great is because he’s lying in a warm sleeping bag, inside the new one-man tent he’d recently bought in a March off-season sale, his head on his best compressible pillow, outdoors.

Lucas loves the outdoors. He absolutely loves it. He loves camping and fishing and hiking and canoeing and hunting, loves cooking outside and building fires and lean-tos, loves sleeping under the stars, loves telling stories by a campfire and hanging out by the cold waters of a lake. He loves it all. It’s impossible to feel less than amazing when you’re in nature - at least for him, and especially if you normally live in a gigantic, busy city like London.

Lucas checks his watch. Sarah’s run starts at eight, before it gets too hot, and he’d wanted to be there to see Sarah off - if they could find her. It’s six now, so he decides to pull himself out of his sleeping bag and start percolating coffee.

It works; around six-fifteen, Marcia and Jordan emerge from the four-man tent than they (and potentially Sarah, if she’s interested in sticking around) are sharing, and five minutes after that, Lemuel and Hamil appear from theirs. Everyone has a cup of campfire coffee, then get ready and head out to Reading, with the promise of actual coffee and food from one of the cafes in the townsite at the top of their minds.

The run at Reading is, apparently, incredibly popular; it’s very crowded in town, so Lemuel has to park his car far away. As they walk toward the old Olympic speed skating oval, where the race starts, Marcia has her phone out and is texting Sarah’s mother.

“They’re over by a big purple sign, apparently,” she reports, sliding her phone into the back pocket of her shorts. She wrings her hands together and grins at Lucas as they walk. “Ooh, I’m excited now!”

Lucas laughs. “Think she’ll be happy to see us?”

Marcia gives him a look. “She’s going to be thrilled, Lucas. Wouldn’t you be?”

“I’d be pumped as hell,” Hamil interjects. “Big purple sign, huh? Is it that one?” He points east, through the mill of runners and supports, to where a large purple-colored sign is advertising in-town parking spots.

Marcia stands on her toes. “I see them, I see Sarah’s dad. Come on.”

Lucas is not sure what Sarah’s parents look like, so he doesn’t really have a grasp on where they’re headed, but as he follows in line behind Lemuel, Marcia, Jordan, and Hamil, he finally sees Sarah. She’s standing with an older man and woman - yeah, he supposes, they definitely look like they could be her parents - and has a racing bib pinned to her tank top.

“Sarah!” Marcia yells, jumping and waving her hand. They’re still a few feet away, but her voice must carry well enough, because Sarah turns their way and squints, curious.

Lucas sees a look of recognition cross her face as she spots them. “Marcia?” she says, holding one hand over her eyes to shield the sun. “What are you - Lucas?”

They push through the last block of people separating them from Sarah. She hugs Marcia tightly. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to cheer you on, dummy,” Marcia says, hugging her back. She raises her eyebrow at Sarah and then gestures toward Lucas. “It was your roommate’s idea.”

Sarah looks over at him with a look of what almost seems like awe as she hugs Hamil, Jordan, and then Lemuel in succession. “I can’t believe you guys came,” she says, shaking her head at Jordan.

“Wouldn’t have missed it!” Lemuel tells her, flashing his brilliant white grin.

When Sarah reaches Lucas, she stands in front of him for an extra moment. “Lucas, I - you did this?”

“Didn’t think I was going to settle for just a text after, did you?” he teases, stepping forward for a hug. “Wanted to surprise you, Sarah.”

She practically jumps onto him and stands on the toes of her broken-in running shoes so she can wind her arms around his neck. He hugs her tightly, squeezing her waist affectionately but not letting himself indulge. After all, he can see her parents a few feet away. Marcia has gone over to talk to them, but her mother is definitely looking over at Sarah still.

Sarah pulls back and looks up at him with unshed tears shining in her big eyes. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you guys were coming!” she exclaims, hitting his arm.

“That’s the surprise part of ‘surprising you’,” Hamil jokes, which earns him an eye roll from Sarah.

“Thanks, Hamil, very helpful explanation.”

“Anytime!” Hamil replies cheerfully.

Lucas rubs her upper back between her shoulder blades, where he knows she’s been sore. “So, how are you feeling? Good? Ready?”

Sarah nods, sniffing a little. She swipes at her eyes. “Nervous, but I feel a lot better now that you guys are here.” She leans into Lucas, hugging his side. “I’m ready to get it done.”

Lucas tilts his head down. “You’ve got this,” he says in her ear. “I just know it, Sarah."

She nods and looks up. “Your optimism is appreciated, Lucas.” Then a look of realization dawns on her face. “Sorry, I’m being so rude. You guys, come meet my parents.” She leads them over to where Marcia is standing, and gestures to the two older people. “These are my parents, Jay and Mamaw.”

“Great name,” Lemuel says, shaking both of their hands. “I’m Lemuel.”

“It’s a nickname,” Mamaw explains. “Short for Monica.” She shakes Hamil’s hand next. “And you are…”

“Jevon,” Hamil answers, moving onto shaking Sarah’s dad’s hand. “Nice to meet both of you.”

Jordan introduces herself next, then steps aside so the line of introductions can more easily continue; she gestures to Lucas that she’s going to grab a race map from a nearby stand, and heads over with Marcia.

Lucas smiles at Mamaw approaches him. “Hi ma’am, I’m-”

“Lucas,” Mamaw finishes, looking at Sarah. “We’ve heard lots about you.”

“That so?” He looks at Sarah with a wide grin; she rolls her eyes and waves her hand.

Jay comes and introduces himself to Lucas as well. “Nice to meet you, son,” he says. “Good of you to come cheer on our Sarah.”

Lucas smiles good-naturedly. “Well I see her in and out all the time prepping for this - figured I couldn’t miss the main event! Plus this place is great, I love the area, so that don’t hurt either.”

Marcia walks over with Jordan close behind, both now holding race maps. “Okay, Sarah - I think we picked out a couple places that we can hopefully wait around to catch you along the way.”

Lucas checks his watch. It’s nearly time to start; she should be heading over. Sarah seems to realize this at the same time as he does, because she checks the runners’ watch on her right wrist and groans nervously.

“You’re going to do great, sweetheart,” Sarah’s father tells her. “We’ll all be cheering you on. Maybe your mother will end up buying more of those damn ornamental plates - there’s a boutique in town here.”

Mamaw rolls her eyes at her husband. “I just said I wanted to look.” She gives Sarah a hug. “Good luck, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.” Sarah rocks back and forth on her heels. “Okay,” she says, taking a deep breath. “Heading over. See you guys after, I hope?” she asks, her eyes finding Lucas’s.

He smiles at her and nods. “We’ll be here, Sarah. Knock ‘em dead!”

“I’ll do my best.” She turns and heads over to the starting line.

The seven of them move up to a better spot along the early course, standing with the rest of the spectators. Lucas and Hamil move to stand toward the side, both conscious as always of the fact that they’re definitely blocking people behind them from seeing. They cheer once the starting gun goes off, clapping and hollering alongside everybody else, then find Sarah’s parents and their shorter friends again.

“Well kids, I think we’re going to look around the town a bit,” Mamaw tells them. “I’m sure we’ll see you all around later.” She gives Lucas a pointed look; he gives a friendly wave in response, not knowing what else to do, but once Sarah’s parents are out of earshot, he turns to Marcia.

“Did you see that look she gave me?” he asks. “What was that about?”

Marcia yawns. “Probably just letting you know that she knows that you’re very clearly super in love with her daughter.”

Lucas’s jaw falls open. “I - what?” His face is heating up. He can take this from Hamil, but Marcia? Thankfully, the rest of their friends have already started walking toward what he recognizes as a coffee shop, and he and Marcia are bringing up the rear, so there’s no indication that any of them overheard. And Hamil, he knows, would definitely pile on at this point.

Marcia looks almost bored by the conversation. “Are we still pretending that you’re not into Sarah? Come on, Lucas, I’ve got eyes.”

“I’m - I didn’t -”

“Hey, I support it.” She holds her hands up in surrender. “She’s a lot more relaxed since you moved in, and she seems happier. Well, as relaxed as Sarah can get, you know. She really, really needs more of that in her life. So you have my endorsement.” They reach the door of the coffee shop; Marcia lets out a loud, “Oh, this smells so good, I hope they have bagels."