Hidden; Asher Adams

Chapter 8

I changed into a white sports bra looking shirt and some jean shorts before leaving the house and heading to the field. They had already turned on the lights and the scoreboard, now we were just waiting for the players. "Ready for this?" I asked patting my brother on the shoulder. "Ready as I'll ever be." He replied with a sigh. We saw all the rest of the team walking onto the field, looking ready to play. I saw Jordan and Asher doing this weird handshake thing and then breaking apart and going separate ways, so I'm assuming they're cool now.

"Hey." I said approaching Asher as he was putting his bag down and reaching for his water. "Hey, how was the cookout?" He said smiling up at me and then standing up to meet my eyes. "Well it ended with us being here, so take a guess." I said sarcastically, causing him to laugh. "No padding or anything huh?" I asked slightly concerned that someone might get hurt. "Nope, guess not." He said scanning over his opponents. "Hey- uh, be careful ok?" I said stuttering on my words slightly. I tried cover up the worry in my voice by saying "wouldn't wanna have to call Layla this late at night if you got hurt." But he read me like a book. He smiled and faced me, laughing slightly. "I'll be fine Lils, I promise." He said reassuring me. I looked up at him for a second, then sighed, pulling him in for a quick hug before shoving him off and onto the field with a quick "good luck!" and then moving to go sit with coop.

I joined her on the bench while the game started. She looked at me and started cracking up. "What?" I asked, confused as to what sparked her sudden outburst. "Who was that?" She asked smirking, referring to the boy I was previously talking to. "Him? That's Asher." I said scanning the field for his figure. "Wait a damn minute, the one who's been beating on your brother? Oh he must love this." She laughed out. "Yes Coop, he's my friend." I replied seriously. "Friend my ass, you like him." She said rather loudly. "Shh- Coop shut up. I don't. He's dating my Friend." I shot back quickly. "Right. The friend that practically eye-fucks Spencer every time he walks into a room?" She said sarcastically. I laughed, even Coop can see that they're into each other.

        My foot was slapping hardly against the ground as I watched the game with intense eyes. "Yo, can you stop tappin." Coop pointed out, making me realize that my anxiety was visible, and most likely rolling off of me in waves. "I can't Coop, they're playing without padding in an unofficial game. Those are my friends, and my brother, and they could get seriously injured or even in legal trouble." I stressed, praying nothing would happen. Every hit they took was like a tick on a time bomb, there's only so many before something bad happens. "Did you seriously think I wouldn't notice everyone left?" Mom said appearing out of literally nowhere.

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       "Hey! What the hell are you doing" the security said clearing out the field. "Oh Shit.." I mumbled, sprinting after the guys, and out off the stadium. "Lils, wait!" I heard from behind. Asher ran up and joined me as I walked down the street, and back towards the bus stop. "Hey loser." I said laughing as he gave me a fake hurt expression. "We did not lose, it was a tie." He stated matter of factly. "Which means you didn't win either." I joked knocking his shoulder. "Ow" he stated in pain, reaching for his chest, right along his shoulder. "You ok?" I said stopping on the sidewalk. "Um yeah, just probably a little bruise, it's nothing." He shook it off. "Wait no- hey let me see." I stated softly, ignoring the fact that he was trying to end the conversation. Taking his arm out of his sleeve and raising his shirt to his neck, it revealed a rather large bruise, not only on his chest, but 2 on his stomach as well. "Holy shit Ash." I breathed out, not thinking before lightly running my fingers along the dark marks on his torso. "Hey. Lils Im fine ok? I Promise." He whispered, lifting my head to meet his eyes. It was as if time seemed to stop. I didn't realize the close proximity we were in until I was looking directly at his eyes, which were only a few centimeters away from my own. We only remained there for a few seconds though, before breaking the eye contact and moving apart slowly. He fixed his shirt and we continued the walk to the bus in a half comfortable, half awkward silence.

        While neither of them were speaking, both parties were thinking of the same thing. Layla. Only one was thinking that she didn't want to lose her best friend, so it was worth burying the electric feeling she had just got in her chest from being so close to him. The other was thinking that he wasn't going to cheat again, but he knew for sure what he wanted, and it was no longer his girlfriend.

          The bus ride back was quiet between the pair as well, neither one wanting to address what had happened. When they stepped off, they said their goodbyes, ready to part ways and head home. "You gonna be alright walking by yourself?" Asher asked scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah- no yeah I'm good. I'm great- uh, thanks though, I'll catch you tomorrow." I replied, clearly struggling to use the English language. "Yeah, uh, no problem. Night." He added, offering a small smile before turning and walking in the opposite direction. "Night" I mumbled, mentally slapping myself in the face for being so awkward.

       While they didn't mention it out loud, it was becoming quite clear to both teens that neither of them wanted to be 'just friends.'

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Upon entering the house I saw Spencer talking to Mr. Baker at the kitchen island. "Can't nobody shelter his son from that." My brother finished before turning to see who walked in the door, looking relieved when it was me. "Hey, what's going on?" I questioned. "Two racist cops pulled me and Jordan over." He stressed out. "Oh shit, are you ok?" I asked giving him a hug to hopefully lift his spirits. "Yeah I'm fine, Jordan's a bit confused though." He added. "Where've you been?" He asked pulling out of the embrace. I didn't quite know what to tell him. It's not like I could just say oh yeah, I was with the guy that you hate and we almost kissed. He would most definitely lay my ass out on the spot if I told him that. "I uh, I saw Shawn on my way back to the bus stop so I chatted with him for a bit." I lied. Not much better, but at least it was believable. He gave me a look of disapproval, but decided against lecturing me tonight, which I was grateful for. "I'm just glad you're safe."