Don’t stop running.  Don’t look back.  Don’t think about the bear.  These were the only thoughts running through my mind as green and brown was blurring my eye sight.  I was sprinting through the forest as fast as I could.  My eyesight was focused directly on blond hair on the back of Liam's head as he was running.  Never would I have ever thought this was going to happen and I don’t know how I let it. 
Two days earlier I was sitting in my dorm room wondering how I was going to reply to Liam’s text.  The text read, “Hey Sophia do you want to come hiking with me on Saturday?”  My first thought was,  do I  look like the type of outdoorsy person he really should be taking hiking?  This made me question if Liam really knew who I was.  I would never just go hiking for fun, but Liam was someone I want to impress.   He has been my best friend ever since we started college 3 years ago together.  We met on the first day of classes, when I dropped all of my books on the ground and he stopped to help me pick them up.  Instantly we became friends because we both had the same major and almost all classes together.  But recently I have realized that I want more than a friendship and want to be in a relationship.  Everytime I look at Liam, all I see are his blue eyes and blond hair.  I love how adventurous he is and that he has a spontaneous type of personality. I realize this could be my chance to show Liam how much he really means to me and have a chance to talk.  After contemplating my options I made the decision to go. 
Saturday comes up faster than I ever thought.  The night before I went to the store to get myself a new hiking outfit to show that I can be an outdoorsy girl and do things Liam likes.
A knock sounds on my door and I sprint to open it.  Standing in my doorway is Liam and he looks as good as ever. 
“Hey Sophia are you ready to go?” Liam asked. 
“Yes of course!” I exclaimed.
“Okay we just have to get one more thing before we go.”
“What else do we need?”
“Tucker.  I never go hiking without him.” Liam said. 
“Ohh yay Tucker is coming!” I said in the happiest voice I could but in reality I really do not like that dog.  Everything I do he always seems to have this disapproving look on his face.  I swear that dog really does hate me. 
The car ride seemed to go on forever all the way to the Pine Grove forest.  Once we got there we started unloading all of our supplies.  I never knew so much went into going hiking.  The only thing I really thought I would need was cute clothes, a backpack, and water.  Liam on the other hand looked like he was bringing everything he owned.  While packing his backpack in the parking lot, I sat in the car savoring the last of the air conditioning before we began our hike.  Liam offered to pack my backpack and in the end my backpack was stuffed all the way to the top, making it look like I was carrying a bright blue boulder. 
Hiking through Pine Grove forest was something out of a movie.  The trees towered above us, with birds flying out of the trees each time I stepped on a branch or heard the crunching of leaves underneath my boots.  Sounds of nature and the sound of rushing water from the stream up ahead filled our ears.  The occasional bark from Tucker running after a squirrel or trying to catch a bird was the only disturbance in the forest. 
After about an hour hike we finally reach the stream in the middle of the forest.  Liam and I find the perfect spot to set up our hammocks next to the stream.  We sit down in the hammocks and just begin to talk to each other.  Liam pulls out the bright yellow tennis ball out of his bag and throws it into the stream.  Tucker sprints to the stream and leaps into the stream to get his ball.  The throwing of the ball repeats about fifteen more times before the silence between Liam and I is broken.  Just as I thought I had built up enough courage to actually talk to Liam about how I feel,a growling sound comes from behind us.  Immediately I hop out of my hammock and sprint into Liam’s.  That was the worst possible thing I could of done. 
The bear starts coming towards us and we try to stay as still as possible inside of the hammock.  Suddenly something is jumping and hitting the hammock.  Liam and I both look at each other with a concerned look, Tucker. Tucker starts barking and running around giving our location away in a second. 
Again we both look at each other and Liam says, “Run.” 
Never have I ever moved this fast in my whole entire life.  The only thing in my mind is trying my hardest to not get eaten by the bear.  As I look back, I see the bear sprinting towards us. In the process of starting to run we both leave our backpacks which contained bear repellent.  If only one of us would of grabbed a backpack we could of had a way to defend ourselves.  Everything becomes a blur while I’m focusing on the back of Liam’s head running away from the bear that I didn’t see the log across the path.  Everything suddenly stops as I fall to the ground and see Liam standing above me.  While on the ground I look at my hands and knees and see red.  I didn’t notice Liam standing over me because I was so focused on the cuts.  Liam pulls me up off of the ground and puts me on his back and begins to run again.  Liam runs as fast as he can while carrying me on his back.  But we both know the parking lot is still too far away for me to be on his back the whole time.  While running, we come across what looks to be an abandoned house.  We make a beeline towards the house with the bear still on our heels.  Liam and I reach the house and immediately rip open the door and go inside with Tucker. We both fall to the ground, exhausted from sprinting we lay on the ground trying to catch our breath. 
While laying on the ground, Tucker comes over and starts to lick me and that's when I realize that Tucker may not actually be that bad. 
He gives me some short lived confidence as I say, “Liam I like you.”