Not a Love Story

Thirty-One // Never Know Until You Try

Oliver Greene

It was a busy week. I had a pile of tests, lots of grading for Mrs. Newsome's last period to do and a big history project due Friday night that was looming over me. On top of that, it was Homecoming week, so everyone was buzzing with energy, excited for Friday's game.

"So, who's going to the game on Friday?" Mia asked, all of us sitting at a cafeteria table eating lunch Wednesday afternoon. Everyone nodded, noises of excitement traveling around the group.

"I'm excited for the after parties." Jack joked, earning a punch in the arm from Alex.

"Of course you are." Alex teased.

"What about you, Oliver? Are you going?" Emily asked. I shrugged.

"Probably not." I answered.

"What a shocker." Jack joked, making me laugh.

"No use in changing up a routine that's worked the past 3 years." I said, shrugging. I saw Mia looking at me from the corner of my eye, a mildly concerned look on her face.

"The parade is going to be awesome this year." Mia chimed in.

"The floats already look so good. I can't wait to take pictures of everything on Friday." Emily excitedly added. She was head of the yearbook committee and loved taking photos.

My thoughts began to wander, tuning out my friends as they excitedly chattered about homecoming. I slowly ate my pasta salad, thinking about the project I had to finish.

"Hey, you okay?" Mia quietly asked, nudging my arm. I nodded.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just been a busy week." I responded. She nodded, understanding in her eyes, before turning to face the rest of the group.

- - - -

It was dark when I returned to the school, quickly pulling into a spot before heading inside. I had lost track of time at the shelter and was running a little late, but Ben wasn't waiting at the door when I got to the library. I unlocked the door and headed in, flicking on the light switches when I heard the door open behind me and Ben walked in.

"Hey." he greeted, grinning.

"Hi." I responded, walking side by side with him to the table. "Are you excited for Friday?" I asked, sitting down.

"Hell yeah. We're gonna kick ass." Ben excitedly declared, a small smile forming on my lips. "You should come to the game. It's senior year and you've never been to a game, right?" Ben pondered. I slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I don't know, doesn't really seem like my thing." I confessed.

"You never know until you try." Ben continued.

"I'll think about it." I responded, earning a satisfied nod from Ben. "Okay, biology." I started, pulling out a few worksheets and notes from my backpack. "This is everything we've done the past week. Try to answer all the questions." I said, sliding a review worksheet over to him. He nodded, his hand ever so lightly brushing against mine as he took the paper, making me draw my hand back in surprise.

He was already working on the worksheet, seemingly unfazed, as my heart began to pound so loud I was sure he could hear it. I dropped my gaze and opened Romeo and Juliet, taking a quiet breath before turning to the page I had stopped at.

I looked over the top of my book at Ben, checking to see how far he was on the worksheet. My eyes drifted up to his face, his eyebrows crinkled in concentration and his chin resting in his hand. Suddenly, he looked up and met my gaze.

"What?" he asked.

"N-nothing. Just checking how it's going." I responded, feeling flustered. He smirked and lifted his chin out of his hand.

"Is that the only thing you were checking?" he drawled, leaning closer to me across the table.

"What?" I gasped, confused.

"I don't know, Ollie. Seems like you might've been checking me out." he put his elbows on the table and leaned closer towards me, smirk still on his face. I scoffed, trying to save myself from the embarrassment I was likely about to face.

"Don't flatter yourself, Jones." I replied, trying my best to keep my heart from stopping. Ben let out a light laugh before slowly sitting back in his chair.

"If you say so, Greene." he taunted, emphasizing my last name. I deeply sighed, throwing a ball of discarded paper at him.

"Shut up. Just get back to work." I said, a hint of a smile playing at my lips. Ben shook his head before looking back down at the worksheet. I opened my book again, reading and re-reading the same page over and over but unable to process any of it. How could I possibly concentrate on reading after what had just happened?

My mind was racing and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. The sound of Ben's pencil scratching across the paper relaxed me, allowing me to take a breath and collect my thoughts.

The rest of the hour and a half we spent working was uneventful. We finished up around 9, both of us quietly walking side by side to the parking lot.

"I'm glad to hear Henry's getting better." Ben started. I nodded.

"Yeah. He's pretty upset that he can't play this week or next week."

"That sucks." Ben sympathized.

"It does." I agreed. "So, who are the coaches you're meeting with next week?" I asked as we pushed the doors open, the cool night air surrounding us.

"Wisconsin, Florida, and Colorado." Ben rattled off.

"Are you excited?" I asked.

"Yeah. More nervous than anything. I really can't mess these meetings up if I want to play next year." Ben said, the stress apparent in his voice as he ran a hand through his hair.

"You're going to do great. Your playing speaks for itself. And you're not too much of a bad guy, which can't hurt." I joked, smirking.

"You wound me, Ollie." Ben laughed.

"Well in case I don't see you before your meeting on Monday, good luck." I said, stopping as we reached the parking lot.

"Thanks. And think about Friday, yeah?" Ben reminded. I nodded.

"Sure." I waved goodbye as we went our separate ways to our cars.