It All Began With A Song [Editing]

Chapter 23: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

  There's simply just some things you do in your lifetime that doesn't matter how many times you've done it, you'll still get nervous. For example, some stage actors still get nervous on the day/night they're performing the show even after the weeks they've been prepared for their role. So does professional sports players.

Okay, I know up I am far from being a professional sports player, but I am at least in some extent of a tennis player.

Today is my last tennis game for the season, and while I'm more than ready to to win the game, I am also extremely nervous about messing up the game. Worst of all, I still need to win the game in order to win the challenge I accepted from Seth almost three months ago.

Three months ago.

I smile at the thought -- that is also the time when I had first met Chase. Looking back, the January me won't even know that I will become his friend and then start liking him two months and a half later. Of course, it isn't like I'm going to confess to him that I like him or anything (not because I don't have the guts to do that); I mean, look what happened to me the last time I confessed to someone that I liked him?

I ended up getting neglected on my very first date and found out that I was being used. I'm telling you -- it's not easy to like someone, especially if that certain someone just so happens to be your friend and tennis buddy. Now that's still a problem.

Nope, life clearly isn't all rainbows and sparkles like what the Hollywood movies show us.

+ + +

"What did the nurse say about your nose?" Seth inquires me in apprehension as we walk out of gym together after the bell had rang for the end of the day.

"Good news: no broken bones." I place a tissue on top of my nose to stop the bleeding; gym class today is a disaster -- at least for me.

Coach decides for us to play baseball again, and much to my dismay, everyone seems to target toward my direction on the field. Oh don't worry, I finally caught the ball after a gazillion tries. However, due to my clumsy and careless self, I ended up tripping over a rock that appeared out of nowhere and fell flat on my stomach, my face directly colliding on the dirt ground.

Forget about the embarrassment, that pain was freaking unbearable.

Well, at least there was only a few students that laughed; most of them rushed to me to inspect the damage. Thus, I was sent to the nurse's office for the rest of the class time, in which the nurse said I was extremely lucky for no broken bones.

Translation: You're freaking lucky that your nose is still functioning properly. And you can still play your tennis game.

"I'm assuming the bad news is you bleeding, right?" Seth hands me another tissue as I shove the bloody one in my book bag pocket.

"Correct," I blow out my nose once again and can't help but feel miserable.

Bloody nose on my last game day.

I must have the best luck ever.

"Nat," Seth stops walking and gestures to look in front of me, eyeing the person standing there.

I follow his direction and immediately understand why he halted. Leaning towards my locker is Alex, peering smugly at us. I should've known by now that he would show up anytime soon, seeing how I've been ignoring his recent texts (I don't even bother to read it anymore).

"You can go ahead; I'll meet you at the parking lot. I got this."

He nods and then gives me a thumbs-up for good luck before turning around to walk away, "Don't forget your racket, clumsy sports girl."

Oh don't you worry. I'll need it to keep this dude from bothering me.

Placing my hands firmly on my hip, I greet Alex in the most polite way I can muster, which is standing in front of him and glaring at him like I'm about to murder someone, "Excuse me, but you're in my way."

"I know."

Oh my waffles. If you don't move, I swear I'm going to grab my racket and smack you with it.

Oh wait.

My racket's in my locker, and he's blocking the way. Darn it.

Exasperated, I throw my hands up in surrender with the tissue in my fist, "Okay, what do you want this time?"

He stands up straighter, hands in his pockets, and answers my question, annoyed, "You're making a mistake trusting him. Haven't you learned enough from me last year?"

Taken aback from his tone, I shake my head in confusion, "I don't understand you at all. Aren't players supposed to help their own kind? Isn't this like a unsaid rule?"

He grits his teeth, "Don't compare me to him. I'm sorry for leaving you there that day. The only reason I ditched you was because Parker was going to play with her, and I really liked her. I wouldn't hurt you if I had a choice."

Narrowing my eyes at him, I snap back, "What makes you think that I'm going to believe what you said? Give me one reason for me trust you."

Chuckling, he shakes his head as if he can't believe he is having this conversation with me, "Natalie, I think you already have a reason to trust me."

"And that would be?"

"He didn't tell you where exactly where he went during spring break."

"How'd you -- "

"Because my cousin went with him," he frowns, apparently not approving of what has happened, "She didn't want me to know, but it was pretty obvious that the only reason she came back to him was to help him find her. I don't know what Katelyn sees in him anyway." He locks eyes with me, "My cousin helped him as much as she could to find her, and yet he still broke her heart."

Don't believe him, Natalie. He's the one that hurt you, not Chase.

I cross my arms, unaffected by his words, "I understand if you're mad at Chase if he really did hurt your cousin, but let me remind you that I'm not even your friend. Why would you care if he hurts me or not?"

"Besides Katelyn, you're the only girl I know that's he's hung out with for more than a month. I don't want the same thing to happen again." He glances at the clock behind me and then hands me some tissues, "This is the last time I'm warning you about trusting him. You can either listen to me or ignore me; it's your choice. Good luck on your game, and you might want to wipe your nose; it's bleeding again." With that, he turned around and raised his hand to gesture a good bye.

Hastily, I cover my nose with the tissue he gave me to hide the blood -- goodness, I hate nose bleeds.

There's absolutely no way what Alex said was true, right?

+ + +

"You're going to regret this, sugar cane," Chase warns me again as he watches me furiously gulp down the second bottle of water in the last ten minutes.

We've been in the parking lot for at least fifteen minutes already. Even though there is still ten minutes before our required meeting time, we figured that we can get to the tennis court earlier for more practice, but yet here I am, inside Chase's car, swallowing water to calm my nervousness for the game that doesn't begin for another hour. For some reason, I feel more nervous than the previous games I've played in, probably because this time my parents and Makenna are coming to watch me play unlike the last games.

Of course, chucking down all the water isn't exactly going to help me later on, but at least I won't feel like vomiting any second I start walking.

"Natalie, can I ask you something?"

I remove the water bottle on my mouth, noticing how he isn't looking at me -- rather, he was scratching the back of his neck and staring outside. The only time he calls me "Natalie" was when he is really serious, which rarely happens.

Clearing his throat, he sits up straighter and finally returns his gaze to me, "Why do you hate players?"

Out of all the questions I'd expect from him, this is the last one I had in mind because the answer is really obvious, which means that there is a hidden meaning in his question. I laugh nervously, purposely giving him the evident answer, "They play with people's feelings."

Please don't say what I think you're going to say.

"I heard what Alex said about ditching you."

Just tell him, Nat. He deserves to know.

"This all happened last year. I had a stupid crush on him, and it was during that time that I gave him note saying that I liked him. I didn't actually expect him to say yes or even reply back because his girlfriend had just broken up with him."

I tighten my grip on the water bottle and dared to take a peek; he isn't laughing at me like I thought he will. Instead, his eyebrows are furrowed into a tight knit, deep in thought.

I continue, already wanting to end my talk already, "He set up a date for us at an amusement park and then he left me there. When I asked him about that the next day, I found out that I was just a tool for him to get back with his girlfriend." I laugh, although it isn't funny at all, "Ironic right? I was played by someone before."

He doesn't say anything but instead pulls me into a hug, which is kinda uncomfortable since there is a cup holder and along with other items between us. The sweet minty scent welcomes me as he envelopes his arms around me like a soft blanket.

He mutters quietly, "I promise that I'm not going to play with people's feelings again. And what Alex said about Katelyn was only half true. I never played with her before -- "

Smiling, I look up at him and cover his mouth with my hand, "I believe you. Now let's go before coach starts yelling at us, okay?"

His lips forms into a smile under my palm, "Okay."

I think I might like you a little more now.

+ + +

The last game is an overall success. Even though not everyone won his or her game, what matters the most was that I have won mine (with Chase, of course) because it proves to people that I am not the world's worst sports player and means that Seth is going to have to be Barbie for a day.

Life is good.

However, I won't say so much about that later on.

Since it is the last game, Chase and I decide to go to a restaurant with our friends -- Seth, Zoe, Makenna, Jaxson, and Jaxson's girlfriend Lauren. (My parents decided to go home.) We narrow down our choices to either pizza or Chinese food -- the latter won. Of course, before we can go there, we have to say our farewells and thank you's to the coaches and teammates. The season has gone by like a blur, and I'm not quite ready to accept that it's finally over. Although I am glad that I have accepted Seth's challenge joining the team, I kinda wished I didn't join it because ending the season also meant another thing.

There is now no reason for Chase and I to hang out together.

Before, the only common thing we have together was tennis, but the season's over now, so there really isn't any excuse to use to hang out with him. We both know that, but I'd rather not mention or even think about that.

"So Nat," Zoe slings her arm around me and purposely leads me away from everyone else (we are still at the park). When the coast is clear, she whispers, "Are you going to confess you like him?"

"I don't really know about this. Remember when I confessed to Alex?"

Zoe widens her eyes, clearly surprised by what I have just said, "What happened to the Nat who gives flowers to her crushes? Where did she go?"

I smile faintly, shaking my head, "I'm still here. Look, the reason I'm not telling him I like him is because -- "

"Like who?"

Oh my goodness!

The two of us jump back in surprise when Chase says the words, and I pray silently in my mind that he hadn't heard the full conversation. Nothing is more embarrassing than letting the person you like know that you like them before you actually tell them.

Chase frowns, as if the words are like poison, "Who do you like?"

Giving Zoe the help-let's-change-the-subject  look, I quickly cough out loud, over exaggerating it, "We weren't talking about who I like! We were talking about... Lice! What is lice!"

Lice.

Lice?!

What the waffles is wrong with you, Natalie?!

Zoe stifle a laugh, while Chase narrows his eyes, not believing what I have just said, "You don't know what lice is?"

"Now I do! I- I mean... I kinda knew about that before, but I had to make sure. Google and Yahoo couldn't... give me more information, so I asked Zoe... but she wouldn't tell me what lice really is. You know, really, really  is."

Okay, now I am just blabbering nonsense.

Just shut up Natalie before you start mentioning aliens invading the planet. 

"I- I'm going to go to the restroom. Can you guys wait five minutes?"

I really need to clear my mind before I start talking unicorns and mermaids.

Chase smiles, amused by my little speech, "Go ahead. I still gotta get our rackets."

Zoe simply gives me two thumbs-up in return.

I know, I should totally win a gold medal for the best liar.

Thanking them, I hurriedly rush to the restroom, which is inside a small building situated close to the parking lot. Once I get inside, I receive a text from Zoe.

good job on ur lice explainin xD

I groan out loud and then pause midway, looking under to make sure no one was in the stalls next to mine. I've had more than enough embarrassment today. First nose bleed and now lice explaining.

What's next in line now?

When I get out of the building, I head to the court to thank the coaches for helping me out before and during the season, but I stop once I notice two familiar looking people talking in hushed tones next to the fence.

Katelyn and Chase.

I've heard of the saying "in the wrong place at the wrong time" enough times to know that this applies to me right now. I don't have the chance to turn around in order to avoid the sight of Katelyn standing up on her tiptoes and leaning forward to kiss his cheek. She smiles, a tear falling down her cheeks, and I walk right past them to the coaches as if I don't see what happened earlier. I don't want to see him smile to her either, nor did I want to hear him say anything that would only make the knife-stabbing feeling inside me worsen. In fact, I wish that I can just erase the memory in my mind.

Alex may be right about me getting hurt, but he is wrong about one thing.

Chase isn't playing with her, not with the look he is giving her.

And it hurts so much.

More than when Alex left me at the park while it was raining.