Again (PUBLISHED!)

Chapter 9.

"You ain't serving properly," Stef accused Josh when he missed hitting the tennis ball for the second time.

"Trust me, it's way lot easier to just accept you're not as good as me at table tennis than to blame me," said Josh smugly.

"Just because I got the last Ferrero Rocher that Eleanor had and not you, you're out for blood," frowned Stef.

" That's not even close to the truth! I...."

I didn't quite hear after that. My mind came to be occupied with something else. I couldn't rid myself of that horrible nagging feeling yet. I was so confused to the point where I didn't know how to hold myself together anymore.

There was this unsettling thought gripping the roots of my conscience.

Was I upset because Luke was very busy training to save his quarterback position that he almost had no time to see me. Or was I upset because Devon was apparently pretending to like me?

"Earth to Eleanor,"

I heard Josh's voice calling out to me in deep grudge which broke the trail of my mind.

"Huh..?" I blinked.

" Just so you know, you just missed the ball." he said disapprovingly, "We're losing the match!"

The four of us were at the sports club playing table tennis in doubles, Josh and me against Stef and Adam.

"Weren't Stef and you fighting?" I muttered, picking up the tennis ball.

"Didn't you see and hear the part where I played peacemaker between these two warring souls?" asked Adam.

"Um..."

"Nope. She didn't," said Stef, reading my blank expression. "I don't know what's wrong with you, El. Don't you think you're zoning out a lot today?"

"Nothing like that. I'm good," I said.

"Speaking of losing focus," Stef smirked at Josh, "Girls in school no longer know about your existence because they just can't get their hormones off Devon."

Josh gave her a disgruntled look.

"Stef, drop it please?" Adam said, dissuading tone.

"What? I'm not speaking against Josh but for him," responded Stef innocently which made Adam sigh.

"So, do you guys know Rhea, one of those hot cheerleaders?" began Stef conversationally, "She, like many other girls, tried to seduce Devon today in school. I was so sure she would succeed but Devon plainly ignored her and walked off as though nothing happened!"

"Parker has average looks. I don't know what attracts girls to him," said Josh, doing poorly at hiding his jealously, "If it were me, I would have made out with Rhea a couple of hundred times by now."

Adam laughed. "But seriously, have never come across a guy like Devon," he spoke in a tone of amusement, "He turns a blind eye to all the female attention around him and is extremely blunt and unabashed in speech with everybody. To say the least, he is very lucky that words don't actually kill."

"I know right," piped in Stef, "I--"

"Can you guys please stop talking about Devon?" I huffed, "It's so damn annoying! I'm sure as hell there are better topics to converse about."

All the three gave me startled looks. Adam stopped from serving the ball.

"Okay, you seem to get really pissed at the mere mention of Devon these days," said Stef, "What's up?"