The Cliche Gone Wrong

Chapter Thirteen

I scream at the top of my lungs, leaning into Asha as I cheer along with all of the other students in the section. I pretend I don't feel the eyes on me as I chant along with the other students, counting down the last seconds of the game. We're up by one point, but we're on defense, which I have to admit the team has never been very strong on. But they can't fuck up the lead with only three seconds right?

The boys spread out in a man-on-man defense, guarding their players with their lives as the opposing team tries desperately to create an opening for a shot. And one of the players almost gets it, rolling off a perfect screen to have a millisecond window to take a shot right before the buzzer. But right as the ball is rolling off of his fingertips the captain of the basketball team appears out of nowhere, swatting the ball out of the air as the buzzer rings loudly.

The bleachers erupt in excited screams as some of the fans start to storm the court. I don't move from my spot though, clapping happily as the other teams runs off to the locker room, some of their heads hanging low as they disappear out of sight. I sit back down on the bleachers as I turn to face my group of friends, jumping into their conversation halfway as they try to figure out what to do now that the game is done.

"We can go get something to eat?" Asha says, resting her head on Femi's shoulder.

"We can always eat at my house," Michael speaks up, looking around the misshapen group.

"I'm always down for free food," I pipe in to groans and some nods.

They keep debating the plans, trying to figure out whose house would be closest, but also has enough food to feed all 8 of us.

"Hey, uh, can I talk to you?" I look over to see where the voice is coming from, unsurprised to see Shills standing on the stairs to the bleachers, almost leaning over one of my friends in his effort to capture my attention.

"No," I smile at him before turning back to the conversation.

I expect him to insist on it, but I don't hear another word from him. I look back over to see him disappearing into the crowd, his head almost looking like it's drooping a little bit.

"Okay," Femi asks, leaning around Asha to whisper to me. "What is going on there?"

I crinkle my nose in disgust, rolling my eyes. "Nothing."

"No," she shakes her head, "something is going on there."

"What do you mean by something?" I question.

She doesn't have time to respond before the crew is standing up, stretching out their legs as they prepare to act on the decision I didn't hear them make. I follow suit, not exactly sure where we're going, but knowing I'm probably going to be driving a couple people. We exit the gym amidst the middle of the celebrations, not even trying to wade through the crowd to find the few people we do associate with on the team.

But as we make our way to the parking lot everyone starts to branch off to his or her respective cars, calling out brief goodbyes and "see you at Michael's". Everyone seems like they already have a ride, so I walk to my van all alone, lacing my keys through my knuckles like I usually do as I keep looking around the dark parking lot. This time I see him leaning against my car when I'm about 10 feet away, his head ducked as he looks down at the ground.

"What do you want, Shills?" I call out, surprised that my voice sounds so light and welcoming.

He looks up surprised too, his eyes locking on me as I keep walking closer. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About?" I question, stopping a foot away.

"About me just showing up at your house."

"Yeah, you can't do that Shills," I scold, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Your mom said I could come back anytime I want." He replies, smiling at me for the first time since I walked over.

"My mom is an attorney," I spit back, "she lies for a living."

He doesn't respond, looking down at the ground once more. I sigh heavily, rolling my eyes discreetly before I apologize.

"Why are you doing that?" He asks, looking up at me.

"Apologizing?" I ask.

"No," he shakes his head. "Being nice to me."

I laugh unlocking my car as I prepare to get inside. "I'm not."

"Yes, you are. But you only do it when we're alone." I watch his jaw clench in the limited light from the street lamp. "Whenever your friends are around you start acting like a total asshole but when it's just us you—"

He doesn't finish his sentence, allowing me to draw my own conclusions as he looks away. My mind automatically thinks back on all of our interactions, focusing on our conversations and how my behavior can be confusing to him. But I don't voice the obvious conclusion for him, instead pushing him to say what he thinks about it.

"I what?" I ask.

"You—" he hesitates again, but I can sense him trying to push through it. "You talk to me like I'm more than just a person. Does that make any sense?"

I frown, trying to figure out what the hell he's talking about. "No."

At that moment I hear a car horn honk. I look over my shoulder to see a car idling between two open spaces, a hand waving out of the window before it peels away.

"I gotta get going," I say as I swing open the door before I drop into the van, preparing to slam the door behind me, but he stands in the way of the door, stopping me from closing it.

"It's a three-day weekend." I narrow my eyes as I watch his fingers tighten over the doorframe. "So, what? Am I not going to see you until Tuesday?" He takes his hand off of the frame as he takes a step back, allowing me to shut the door.

"Probably." I slam the door closed and turn on the car, turning the heater on full blast before I roll down the window enough for him to hear me.

"But you heard my mom." I start to turn up mymusic, almost hoping that the rest of my words get drowned out with the treble."You're welcome to dinner anytime."    

A/N I know I know I know! It's a short chapter. But honestly, I was so close to just skipping a post for the day so be happy with what you get! But I swear, I won't miss out on words for the next post, or who knows, maybe you'll get two chapters?

Leave comments, questions, and likes!

Much Love,

Naomi