Noticed

Forty

Becky Adams

I was rushing back to my room between classes, realizing I had forgotten my essay on my night stand and it was to be handed in in about 15 minutes.

"Crap, crap, crap!" I exclaimed as I was pushing past every slow walker in the hallway.

I finally got to my room, saw my essay laying there, grabbed it, and immediately turned around without even looking where I was going.

Being the idiot that I am, I bumped into someone, dropping all my stuff all over the place and bumping heads with whoever I ran into.

"I'm so sorry." we both said at the same time.

When I looked up to see who I had bumped into, I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Brendon?"

"Becky...."

I hadn't heard that nickname in years.

After everything that had happened between me and Brendon, we decided it was best to take a break from each other. We had both gotten through the rest of year, graduated, and went our separate ways. He stayed in California and went to UCLA on a soccer scholarship and I decided to follow my dreams and go to Queen's University. After our serious talk, we hardly ever saw or spoke to each other, until this moment.

"Wow, I haven't heard that name in years." I said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, everyone just calls me Rebecca here. I figured fresh name, fresh start."

"Wow. Four years really do fly by don't they?" he pointed out.

I forgot I was in my final year at Queen's. Time had just flown by being away from everyone at Westview.

"Yeah they really do. Anyways, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Soccer tournament."

"But don't you go to UCLA?"

"Yeah, but this is a North American tournament. They're taking all the best schools in all of North America. You guys just happening to be hosting the semi-finals and finals."

"Well, look at you go."

"Will I...will I get to see you out there this weekend?" he asked nervously.

"Maybe."

I suddenly looked down at my phone and realized that I had 5 minutes to hand in this essay or get a zero and I could not afford that in my final year.

"Shit!"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah I just have five minutes to get this essay handed in or I get a zero so I'll call you later!" I started shouting as I ran away.

"O-Okay bye Becky!" Brendon waved off as I disappeared into the distance.

I quickly ran into the lecture hall of my next class, placed the essay on the podium and just stood there for a few minutes, catching my breath.

"Are you alright Miss Adams?" my professor asked me.

"Yeah, just....just making sure I get my cardio in for the day you know?" She just laughed.

I took my seat in the middle row, got out my laptop and notebook and once the lecture started, I began taking notes right away.

Three hours later, I was ecstatic to get out of that class. Three hours of corporate finance is never fun.

When I got back to my dorm room, I could see people playing soccer at the outdoor stadium. And then I remembered Brendon's game. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to go or not, but I decided to go for the sake of getting some fresh air. Which I was in desperate need of.

When I got to the stadium, there was barely any room for me to sit so I just found an empty area by the edge in the front row. I didn't exactly want to stand out, but I guess I didn't have a choice. It was Queen's versus UCLA in the semi-finals and of course I wanted to root for my team, but part of me wanted to cheer for UCLA as well. So I just sat there in silence not wanting to make the wrong decision. Although I slowly found myself cheering for Queen's anyways. School pride gets me every time. 

Minutes later, the game got really intense as it was tied 3-3 and there was about 2 minutes left in extra time. 

Brendon suddenly got a hold of the ball and was sneaking past players left and right until he got close enough to take a shot and as the ball zoomed in the air, it barely slipped the fingers of the goalie, entering the net. UCLA ended up winning 4-3 in the last few seconds of the game and although I was disappointed Queen's was out of the tournament, I couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness for Brendon.

We had parted ways a long time ago, but I'll always love him and be happy for his success.

Once the final whistle blew all the guys from the UCLA team jumped with glee and joy as they were moving on the final round. Everyone from Queen's had basically emptied out as soon as UCLA scored another goal.

I started making my way over to Brendon to say hi and congratulate him.

"Did you see my goal?"

"I did. It was alright."

"Alright? Alright?! It was more than alright it was amazing!" he exclaimed.

"Congratulations."

"Sorry to hear Queen's won't be moving on."

"No you're not. Besides, if it was meant to be, we would've won."

"And...what about us?" he asked, leaning in a little closer now. My heart started to jump and my stomach filled with butterflies. I hadn't felt like this in a really long time.

"It might just be meant to be..." I said as I leaned in even closer. Our faces became centimeters apart. Our eyes were locked on each other's and all of a sudden our lips were pressed together, our arms around each other.

When we pulled apart, it felt like magic was in the air.

"Whoa..." I said.

"Whoa indeed." Brendon said with a grin on his face.

"I...I got to go but I'll see you around?"

"Yeah. When UCLA wins the finals, I'm taking you out to dinner to celebrate."

"Oh we'll see about that." I said as I started backing away to head back to my dorm. We both laughed and stood where we were for just a moment.

From being partners in drama class to being in two completely different countries, Brendon and I had been through it all. And in this moment, I could tell that there would still be more to come.

THE END.