[𝟐] 𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | adam banks

C H A P T E R 16

I was the only one staying here in the dorm, Connie went out with Guy while Julie hangs out with the boys. I jumped a little as I heard a knock on the door.

I ignored it so whoever was knocking outside will assume no one is here. However, the knocking continues, not planning to stop until the door was open so I shouted.

"Who is it?!"

"See, I told you she was here." I heard from the outside.

"What do you want?" I questioned, growing agitated now, hoping they leave me alone.

"Open the door, El." I heard Charlie's voice.

"Not until you tell me what is it that you want."

"Oh, come on just open it."

I groaned loudly as I decided to rise from my cozy bed and comfortable position.

When I opened the door, I saw Banks and Conway standing there.

"Now tell me, what do you want?" I questioned in frustration, irritated that they forced me to get up from my bed.

"Well, uh, we just wanted to ask if you would like to come with us to study Iceland's hockey moves so we're gonna be prepared the next time we fight them again."

"Who's we? Last time I check you're the on-" Banks let out a hissed as Conway shoved him on the ribs while smiling sweetly as if he didn't do anything.

"You guys just literally made me get up from my bed so that we can study our enemy's movement on hockey?"

"Pretty much," Charlie pursed his lips to the side, nodding slightly at me.

I huffed before stepping out of the dorm and closing the door behind me.

As the three of us were making our way to the room where the tapes are stored, Banks and Conway were keep messing with each other while I just ignored them.

We finally arrived at the room and stepped inside.

"Well..." Banks spoke up as we stared at the boxes that were organized on the metal shelves.

"How exactly are we gonna find the U.S.A vs Iceland tape on here?" Raising my brows at the two boys as I gestured at the boxes.

"Of course, we'll check the boxes and the names that were written on it," the brunette boy replied.

"How did you even find this place?" Banks contorted his face in confusion as he asked his best friend.

"Coach Bombay." He simply replied, shrugging at us.

"Come on we don't want to waste our time here." Charlie walked away to start searching for the tape on the boxes. I followed behind the boy, leaving Banks on there.

Charlie went to aisle one while I walked to the three.

I tried to reach for the box that was a little higher on me, but I guess I need to get taller though.

"Need a little help there?" Banks' voice invaded the silence which made me jump.

"Jeez Banks! No need to scare me like that and no I don't need your help." I rolled my eyes and then focused back on reaching the box.

"Okay. It's actually amusing to watch you struggling to reach that box though." I shifted my gaze to him and saw him leaning on the shelves with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"Shut up, Banks."

He pushes himself from the shelves before walking toward me until his face was inches away from mine. He looked me up and down, smirking then grabbed the box that I was trying to grab. He gently gave it to me as he was trying not to hurt his injured arm more before backing away to give me a little space.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I checked the box but unfortunately, the tape we were looking for wasn't in there.

"Now you wanna tell me why you were crying yesterday?" He asked, his brow furrowed, yet his eyes filled with concern.

I looked at him for a moment before speaking up. "It's none of your business, Banks." I spat.

He opens his mouth to speak but Charlie suddenly came into our view, holding a tape. "Guys! I found it- wait did I interrupt something?" He stared at us with a frown on his face.

I shooked my head, giving the box to Banks so he can put it back then marched to the brunette boy. "Nope, not at all. Come on let's watch the video."

After I inserted the tape into the TV in the corner, we three stood next to each other.

Then I suddenly felt Charlie's arm brush against mine, feeling my cheeks heat up.

Banks spoke up, pointing at the TV, and said, "Look how that guy yanked El's foot."

"Adam, we're inspecting Iceland's moves here." Charlie reminded, raising his brows at his best friend.

"Yeah, I know."

"No, you don't."

"Look, I was just pointing it out because I thought it was funny."

"Oh, so I looked funny falling on the ice?" I glared at the blond-haired boy.

"I mean, kinda." He shrugged but I know that wasn't true because I saw Banks' angry expression as he witnesses what the guy did.

I rolled my eyes and leaned my head back to rest against the shelf while Charlie and Banks continued inspecting Iceland's movements.

After about fifteen minutes of watching and rewatching the video, Charlie and Banks got tired of seeing the same thing over and over again. So, I suggested we took a break since I was already tired before they even asked me to go with them.

We three walked out of the room after we put the tape back where it belonged. As we were walking down the hallway, we spotted Averman running toward us. "Hey, guys!" 

"What's up, Averman?" Charlie said as Averman stopped in front of us, panting. "Coach was looking for you guys."

"Why?" 

"To practice duh," Averman said before turning around and walking away.

"Come on, Banks, El." Conway winked at me before patting Banks on the right arm, causing him to wince, but Charlie didn't notice because he was off to follow Averman, leaving the two of us standing in the hallway.

As Charlie was out of our sight, I turned to face the boy with my brows raised at him.

"What?" He frowned as he gently massaged his right arm. The arm where Sanderson hits him.

"Show me your arm," I demanded, reaching for his arm but he pulled away.

"I don't see why is this any of your business, Cromwell." He glared at me.

"I think it is." I retorted, mirroring his glare.

"And why is that?" 

"Because- because of course you're my teammate so obviously I'm worried." I stammered a little, but I tried my best to look confident in front of him.

"You're worried about me, huh?" He said, smiling smugly down at me.

"No, I'm not!" I exclaimed.

"You just said you were, Cromwell." He rolled his eyes as he reminded.

"Did I?"

"You're confusing." He shooked his head slightly with a little smile on his face and then began walking away from me.

I chuckled and playfully rolled my eyes before following the boy to practice.