Amore Mio ✓

V. Number One Girl

I sat on the bench with dangling legs. Neilson ran back and forth on the court. The sweat was dripping down his face. He gave his friends high fives when he shot the basketball inside the hoop.

Soon, Carmen returns and starts cheering again. Everyone cheered very loudly, but I just sat there, staring at him. He smiles proudly with each shot and each passing. Neilson turned towards us and gave a wave.

"See! I told you everything is fine! Neilson is waving at you!" Carmen's friend said happily.

The last buzzer went off, and Neilson's team won with his last shot. His teammates surround him, cheering loudly. He turns towards us, and I can hear Carmen's shoes hitting the bench as she rushes towards him.

I know what's going to happen next. I saw it in movies all the time. She will jump in his arms, and he will spin her around in the air and then kiss her.

My eyes widen when he waves at me. Carmen and her friends were in front of him. He pats her shoulder then runs up the bench with a smile on his gorgeous, sweaty face. "Did you see me, Angel? My shot won us the game!"

He stops, furrowing his brows together. "You don't look happy."

My chest hurts. "N-No. I'm happy."

"Then, where is my congratulatory hug?" He bent down and spread his arms.

Instantly I rush in it, and he spins me around. I start giggling. "Thank you," he whispers into my ear, and I hold him tighter. He smells like sweat and more sweat, but I like it.

Neilson holds me while we all walk out of the auditorium. There's a painful glare hitting the back of my head, and I know exactly who it is. A few of Neilson's teammates jog towards him. I can see some curious looks towards me, but I wrap my arms around his neck, hiding my face.

"Who is this cutie?" one of Neilson's friends bent his knees and smiled at me.

Another one hit his arm, "Desperate for a girl that much?" he said. They all crack into a laugh.

I laid my head on Neilson's neck, listening to them talk, but I didn't understand anything. Next to Neilson is Carmen, who shoots me a dirty look once in a while, but I ignore it. I'm used to Neilson's girlfriend looking at me like that.

Eventually, we went to the parking lot to go back to Neilson's house for a celebratory dinner. Neilson sat me down inside his parent's car and glanced to the side when he heard his name being called: "Neilson! Come on, babe!" Carmen waves him over.

He looks at me, and I smile at him, feeling my chest tighten. "You can go," I manage to say. He messes up my hair and walks towards his friends.

I lean my head against the chair and release a deep breath. My body leaned back when I saw a new, unopened chocolate bar smack on my face. "For you," the boy from earlier mumbled, his cheeks still pink.

"Why?" I ask, slowly putting the chocolate bar down.

"B-Because you l-look sad," he let go of the candy, putting it on my lap as he threw his hands behind him. "Do you not like chocolate?" he asks.

I shake my head. "I love chocolate," I said, and he smiled at me. My head tilted when I saw Neilson behind him. His lips thin into a straight line, eyes darkening but quickly smiled. The boy turns around slowly, eyes widening as his neck bent back, far back, to see Neilson.

"Who are you?" Neilson asks, placing his hands on his knees and leaning down on the boy, a smile on his face, but it doesn't feel nice.

The boy starts shaking, and I notice he is only a third of Neilson's size. Neilson is a giant! "Umm, uh." The boy starts playing with his fingers. "S-She looks s-s-sad, so I gave her s-some ch-chocolate to make her feel b-better."