Playing For The Other Team [REMAKE]

Chapter 16

Jennie looks up just in time to see Nathan slip into the kitchen and head towards the fridge. He decisively avoids looking at her - which is not like him. She puts her hands on her hips as she watches him rummage through the refrigerator. "Where have you been?" she asks.

"Jonathan's," Nathan mumbles.

"And is that why you didn't answer my texts?"

Nathan shrugs. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. I didn't see them."

"Mhmm." Jennie watches him for a few more moments. When it's obvious that he's just mindlessly moving things around the shelves, Jennie begins to worry. It's unlike him to be so quiet when he comes home. Unless something's happened, Nathan's usually happy to talk to her. "Is everything alright? Did something happen?"

Nathan turns to her. His expression is hard to read. His brows are sunk into a confused frown, and for a moment, he stands with his mouth open. It's as if he's waiting for the words to fall out on their own. "I did it," he says. "I asked Jonathan out."

Jennie blinks. "How did it go?" she asks. She watches Nathan let out a sigh and turn back around to close the fridge. "Did he say no?"

"No," Nathan mumbles.

"Did he say yes?"

"Yes."

Jennie smiles, but her stepson doesn't seem as excited as she thought he'd be. "Isn't that what you wanted? This is a good thing, right?"

Nathan looks at her again and frowns. "I didn't think he'd say yes," he admits. "I swear I'm really happy that he did, but... I've never asked anyone out before. Isn't the first time supposed to suck?"

It's Jennie's time to sigh. She walks over to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders. "It'll go just fine," she assures him. "Asking someone out is a big step. I'm proud of you."

"I-... thanks, I guess." Nathan flashes her a weak smile. "We're going out on Friday. So don't plan anything then."

Jennie chuckles. "I'll make sure to do that. Now, why don't we eat before the food gets cold, and you tell me how your day was?" She gestures to the stove, and the two of them sit down on each side of the kitchen island with their meals as Nathan relays the day's events to Jennie.

He tells her all about the bus ride to and from school. He tells her about how Jonathan had invited him in and how Nathan had blurted out his question without much thought.

The scene itself plays on repeat in his head. Nathan wishes he'd been a bit less spontaneous. Or at the very least asked while he wasn't standing twenty feet away.

Jonathan had looked just as surprised as Nathan when the words - and what they meant - finally settled in. Nathan had wanted to hop in the car and make a quick escape, but he'd stayed for the small chance of Jonathan saying 'yes'.

"You mean like a date?" Jonathan had asked, and for a long moment, Nathan had wondered if he should say 'no'. But instead, he'd just nodded and watched Jonathan stand and consider the invitation.

It felt like minutes passed by when it was probably just a few short moments. "I guess we could do that," Jonathan had said, and Nathan remembers thinking it was a rejection since the word 'yes' was nowhere to be heard.

He didn't believe what he'd heard. Actually, he hadn't really heard what Jonathan had said because he was expecting a solid 'yes' or 'no'. "Really?"

"Yes. Wait. This isn't a prank, right?"

Jennie laughs when Nathan tells her that. "Oh, sweetie," she gushes as she watches Nathan push some vegetables around on his plate. "You are so sweet."