Owen

Popular Jock

I had been a little kid at Christmas all day Saturday. Spinning myself in circles on the back wheels of my chair just because my heart was pounding and I couldn't stop smiling or staring at the clock as I counted down to four.

"I don't want to complain because at least you aren't being a dick but you're almost too happy now." Jase said.

"Fuck you." I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"That was almost convincing."

I shook my head as I laughed. "I'm just glad I have something other to do then school, therapy and looking at your ugly face."

"Like looking in a mirror isn't it?" He quipped.

I narrowed my eyes trying my best to keep the smile from my face but it didn't last more than a minute before I laughed.

"You suck." I told him.

A smile twitched to his lips. "So what time is she coming?"

I glanced at the clock on the wall as I spun in a circle. The wheels of my chair smacking against the ground as I said "anytime".

And as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" I yelled, mostly because I did not want to give Jase the chance to embarrass me. He'd surely let it slip that I'd been a giddy mess all day.

I managed the awkward process of opening the door. As it swung open, I took a deep breath trying to steady my nerves.

"Hey."

"Hi." Mina said back. "Ready?"

"Yeah." I still couldn't stop smiling, as she stepped back and let me through the door.

"Have fun!" Jase called from the couch where he stayed seated just before Mina closed the door.

"So where are we going?" I asked for the millionth time.

I'd texted her multiple times since she told me, all of which she ignored, of course.

"You'll find out."

"You're like a vault." I muttered, letting my wheels roll through my hands as I went down the ramp.

She still didn't answer. Instead she pulled open the passenger side door of her car for me. I obliged and rolled up, locking my wheels and transferring myself to her car relatively quick and easy.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't glance up to see if she was smiling at my progress. She wasn't. Just her same flat expression.

She broke my chair down like she could do it in her sleep and was with me in the car moments later.

"Can I have one hint?" I asked again once she was already pulling out.

Her green eyes rolled and she blew out a frustrated breath.

"Alright, sorry. I won't ask again." I raised my hands in surrender. I didn't want to completely piss her off. "So how was your day?"

Pretty neutral of a question I thought. Maybe she'd indulge in small talk with me.

She glanced at me as she drove the quiet streets of the neighborhood I lived in.

"I worked." She stated.

"Nice, therapy?"

She shook her head but didn't elaborate. Apparently there would be no small talk. We fell into silence and I stared out the window watching the world pass by. She had gotten on the expressway, staying in the slow lane as she drove a couple car lengths behind a semi. I thought back to when I use to drive my truck, weaving in and out of lanes like an asshole. I thought I was invincible. I suppose life thought I needed to be humbled.

"I work at a library." Mina said suddenly, breaking the silence in the car. "Just on the weekends."

I had looked over at her when she started talking, surprised. She'd made it clear she wasn't in the mood for talking and as bad as I wanted to know more about her, I also wanted whatever this was today to happen again. I liked being around Mina regardless of how she felt about me.

"You like it?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. Her hair wasn't falling out of her ponytail yet, all the strands perfectly tucked into a blue elastic. The light reflected off her earrings and her freckles were more prominent now that the sun had been shining more and more.

"I do." She answered, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the steering wheel.

Was she nervous? Was it driving? Or was it the tiny slice of her life she was showing me?

"I haven't been to a library in years. I mean besides the schools."

She smirked. "That doesn't surprise me."

I laughed, taking a moment to watch her. I wasn't sure what it was about me that Mina didn't like but I had gathered being a popular jock was part of it.

"Ya know I'm not just some obnoxious popular jock that's never had to work for anything a day in his life." I told her. "I had the tenth highest GPA in school and up until my injury I had a couple scholarships for college. They of course pulled them seems how I can't play soccer or run track but I still had to work my ass off for them."

She pulled off the hallway, sneaking glances at me while she drove. I focused on our surroundings, trying to peg where she was taking me. I kept coming up with nothing.

"You had the tenth highest gpa?" She asked.

I shrugged. "My grades may have dropped a little but I'm still above a 3.5."

"Wow."

I laughed, her green eyes wide as she stared at the road. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I didn't think you'd care about your grades." At least she was honest.

"I had plans." I said.

"You don't anymore?" She slowed down, her blinker clacking in the background as she waited for a car to pass.

"I don't know." And I didn't. I knew I wanted to run again. I still wanted to go to college but I wasn't sure how I was going to get to either of those now. "I was going to go to U of M but now that my scholarship is gone, I'm not really sure if I should, cost wise."

"What did you want to study?"

She pulled into a parking space and I looked up at a massive steel building.

"What is this place?" I asked, ignoring her question, my mind too preoccupied with the now rather than the future.

She didn't say anything, instead she climbed out of her car and grabbed my chair. I looked up at her as she opened my door. The smallest of smiles on her face but it was enough to send my heart stampeding and for my brain to stop thinking. Did she know how beautiful she was? Did she know that I was quite possibly falling hard for her? Especially if she kept looking at me like that.

"Are you coming or what?" She asked.

"Yeah." My voice came out low and distracted.

I scrambled with my seat belt, transferring as fast as I could. The whole time Mina stood there patiently waiting on the sidewalk for me.

"Ready." I said, shoving my wheels forward.

We headed in silence to the doors, my curiosity growing. Just as Mina went to pull the door open for me she stopped.

"Just keep an open mind."

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I like writing Owen and Mina chapters.

Also because I know you all care, I ripped out an over grown flower bed yesterday and now I feel like I was run over by a train. Be kind to me 30! 😫😭😂