Until Next Time | HS

46.

"Bowling is not simple, what are you talking about!?" I laugh at Syd's statement and poke my finger into the ball, lifting it as I see her smirking at me with the blue ball in her hand. "Syd, it's easy for you because you've played it so many times, I haven't. And you saw how I did before, it's terrible."

"Come on, baby Lou," I grunt when she comes by my side and throws her arm over my shoulder. "I'll give you three more chances to get it right. Don't worry, Harry will teach you." she looks over her shoulder. "Won't you, Harry?"

I look over my shoulder as well and find him looking at me while he sips his cola but in a second, he blinks and looks away at Sydney and puts his can down. My brows slightly furrow when he nods casually and stands up from the couch. "Okay, I'll teach her. We're a team after all."

My brows shoot up. "Team?" I look at Syd. "What team? We never decided on a team, Syd." I look back. "Josh, you can't fool me like that. You're telling me this now because you're winning, aren't you?"

"It's my birthday, so I'll do whatever I want." he shrugs and goes back to eat his sandwich.

"You still have 3 chances, Lou," I look at Sydney who sneakily slid away from me back to her place, ready to throw the ball. "Ace 'em all."

With a smirk at me, she does a little jog and throws the ball into the alley. I fix my eyes on the blue ball rolling on the wooden but I quickly groan and throw my head back when she manages to knock all the pins, again.

"That's not fair!" I pout as she cheers and Josh gets up from his seat to hug her. So I scoff and turn away from them, facing the alley in front of me. "Ah, cheaters..."

I startle when someone grabs my right forearm and my waist with the other hand. So, I quickly straighten my posture and look to my left, my eyes stopping on the perfect side profile of the boy I almost haven't talked with for an entire week.

"You'll do good," he says and adjusts my arm and posture while I keep my stare at the side of his face. But I quickly look away when he glances at me. I keep my wide eyes on the front and swallow dry as he taps my left outer thigh, gently pushing it forward before speaking closer to my ear. "Keep that posture and do as I say."

I feel myself nodding at his statement and from the corner of my eye, I catch a small glimpse of his smirk. His hand on my right forearm slides down up to my hand and he covers the back of my hand with his palm before standing right behind me. "before throwing, take the left leg-" he touches my outer thigh. "-bend your leg slightly and tilt your shoulders to the right." he adjusts my shoulders as I try to stay calm, he grabs my left hand and lifts it. "keep it parallel and keep your focus on the goal." I close my eyes and internally shudder when he drags his hand down from my side and finally grabs onto my waist with both of his hands before leaning forward in my ear. "Throw it."

With a little squeeze, he lets go of my waist and backs away. I take a breath and do as he said. I fix my eyes on the red ball rolling down the alley and eventually crashing with all the pins.

"Oh my god!" I hear Sydney shout from behind. "Eureka!" Josh laughs.

I stand up straight and turn around, directly latching my eyes with Harry who was standing behind me with arms folded and a sly smirk on his face. He tilts his head sideways, "Goal."

Suddenly, my face breaks into a smile and I look down at my feet, getting embarrassed as the blood rushes up on my face. But I look up when I get shaken up by Sydney in front of me. "See? That was perfect."

"I knew you'd get it." Josh ruffles my hair so I swat his hand away.

"Give me some credits, guys." they both turn over their shoulders and I look at Harry, taking a ball from the line. He lifts his hand and balances the weight of it on his both hands before looking at the three of us with a smirk on his face. "I'm a very good teacher." my heart skips a beat when he looks at me and quirks his brow, making me quickly look down with my lips tucked in.