Rejection | gxg

Chapter 7

Weeks have passed since Elan first showed up to Lakeset, and she seemed to be fitting in perfectly.

After showing off her above average soccer skills during tryouts, she was immediately awarded a spot on the varsity team, and they seemed to be taking a liking to her. They even offered her a seat at the group table, but she declined when they said only one seat was available and chose to continue sitting with me instead. The attention would take some getting used to, but I guess it would need time.

People genuinely liked Elan, and since she hung around with me most of the time, they were forced to get used to seeing me too.

Like when she'd drag me out to her practices and made me play a quick game with her on the field before she had to go with the other girls. Yeah, there were always looks because of that. She says it's because she felt bad that I don't get to play often, so she wants to help me out. I liked the gesture and all, but sometimes I just didn't enjoy the stares.

I liked being around Elan though. She's started to grow on me.

She also hasn't told me about what happened on the track yet, and I assumed I was never going to hear about it again.

"Vannah! Hey, our first away game is on Friday and I was wondering if you were going to show." She told me, falling into stride beside me as I walked to my locker.

"Friday?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I was thinking you could come and support the team. You can wear my letterman again if you want."

I thought about it as she nodded to the people greeting her while we walked down the halls. When we finally reached my locker I turned to face her, "Sure. Where's it at?" I asked, exchanging my books for the ones I needed.

Her eyes lit up at my agreement and I couldn't help but admire the faint dimple she had on her left cheek. Who could say no to that face? I mean, come on. "Really? Vannah you're the best!" She told me she'd text me the location and tugged on my ear gently before starting to her next class.

I remember one of her teammates, Juliane, came up to me in the bleachers after one of their practices and asked me if I thought that was annoying, — the thing where Elan tugs on my ear — after seeing her do it to me during one of our private games. I told her I didn't mind it, because truly I didn't.

I always loved the contact. Even though I never really knew when she would do it. Sometimes she'd do it when she was excited or just teasing me. Nonetheless it would be a quick, gentle tug at the lowest part of my ear so it never hurt me. It was only annoying when she did it slowly and smiled that sweet and charming smile of hers as her fingers lingered against my skin, leaving me trembling. That's when it definitely annoyed me. Just thinking about it gives me get the chills.

Walking the halls seemed less stressful with Elan beside me. It gave me the confidence boost to keep my head up instead of studying the specks of dirt on the floor. But walking without Elan. It was like all progress was lost.

Even though a majority of students tried not to get in my way, some still teased me from the sidelines and whispered as I walked by. It's like most kids stayed clear of me because they were unsure of the relationship between Elan and I, and others just didn't care; although, it wasn't like I expected them to part like the red sea for me.

When I reached my homeroom class, I took my usual seat in the back - like that would ever change - and pulled out my phone. Elan hadn't wasted any time texting me the address to the highschool of which they were playing tomorrow and told me that she would see me next period.

I'm guessing the person at the desk beside me noticed the corner of my mouth slightly curve upwards as I looked at me phone and was curious. "What're you smiling at?"