The Misfortunes of Lolita

19 | when lolita asked

THIS IS AN UNEDITED AND SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT VERSION OF THE MISFORTUNES OF LOLITA. I AM PUBLISHING IT IN FALL 2021—PLEASE FOLLOW ME ON IG @/ls.akhter and GOODREADS (L AKHTER) TO STAY UPDATED. I am so excited to share TMoL with you again.

"He never asks me to stay. He never grabs me by my heart and forces me to stay rooted in this place and I'm grateful for that. I wouldn't have it in me to leave if he asked just once." - Lolita's writing journal.

"So," Liam took his helmet off, placing it on the bench where Frank sat, untying his shoelaces. "Lolita, huh?"

Frank stretched his neck, wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead with the back of his palm. "Yes."

"She's cute," he nodded at Frank, like he approved.

He'd been expecting a different reaction from Liam, the same one everyone usually gave when they heard Lolita's name. But Liam was even smiling, no hint of insincerity in his expression or tone.

Frank wouldn't have cared either way - he was hardly the type of guy to give a shit about what people thought of him or anyone else. But he'd be lying if he said that the response he got from Liam- who'd become a pretty good friend in between the last few practices - didn't feel nice.

That was the thing, though. No matter how much Frank Novak said that he didn't care about what other people thought of him or anyone else, he was still human - and humans were fickle creatures. They craved approval even when they didn't realize it. They needed reassurance even when they were determined that they wouldn't.

"She's adorable," he said, putting his things into his bag. A little smile found its way to his face as he remembered her fingers along his arms, and then his shoulders, and her lips on his -

"You're whipped, aren't you?"

Frank looked up. "Screwed."

"Skewered with the arrow of love," Liam said.

"Nerd."

The kid read too many books - comics, mostly. He was apparently in the drama club - Frank didn't even know Dale High had a drama club. He was still surprised that a school like this had uniforms, even. When Liam had heard this, his eyes had rolled to the back of his head, and he'd decided to give Frank a full description of every single production they were planning for the next four years, which gave Frank the unnecessary knowledge of twenty play names and plotlines.

"The great captain is sinking," he went on with his dramatics.

Now it was Frank's turn to make a face, but he couldn't help the warmth that crept up his neck. "Dude."

"Frank the titanic," he said. "Meets Lolita the iceberg."

"Fuck off," Frank scratched the back of his head, giving him a lopsided grin.

They both stayed quiet for a moment in which they packed the remainder of their gear into their bags.

"You nervous about the game?" Liam asked then. "Two days away."

"I think we're going to win," Frank said. "We just need a final practice."

"Today's practice was pretty good," he looked around the empty change rooms. "You know, despite Robin's stupidity."

"His stupidity kind of encourages me, to be honest," Frank said.

Liam guffawed. "Good one."

-

Frank had been brushing his fingers into his hair to shake off the rainwater, waiting for the elevator door to close when Lolita walked in.

"Uh," his breath left him in a little whoosh, and his hand dropped from his head.