Not a Love Story

Forty-One // Lot to Talk About

Oliver Greene

I spent the rest of the week counting down the days until Friday when I could finally see Ben again. We would pass one another in the hall and he'd walk past me in bio, but we never got to talk.

I hadn't been able to ask him about how his visits went either and I was dying to know. On Friday, Henry and I walked into school a little later than usual, with barely enough time to stop at my locker to get my textbook. The whole school was electric, everyone excited for the last game before the playoff games started.

I saw Ben in a circle with the team, looking distant as they talked around him. I frowned and shot him a quick text.

how are you?

Henry said he'd see me at the game, smirking because he knew the real reason I was going was to support Ben. I rolled my eyes at him as I got my things out of my locker.

"You've been acting weird all week." I heard Mia say, suddenly leaning against the locker next to mine.

"Okay?" I answered. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Care to enlighten me?" she asked. I looked around, seeing the crowd in the hallway was starting to thin out but there were still a lot of people milling around. I shook my head.

"Not right now. After school. When you drive me to the game." I replied.

"You're going to the game?" she exclaimed. I nodded.

"Yeah, I am." she nodded excitedly.

"Yay, okay I'll pick you up at 6." she said as we started walking towards our first class. "I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about." she smirked as we sat down and the final bell rang.

- - - -

The day went by surprisingly quickly. Before I knew it, I was in Mia's car, wearing Ben's Eastside Football sweatshirt under my jacket. Mia smirked when she saw me.

"Oh we definitely have a lot to talk about. Spill!" she demanded, pulling out of my driveway.

"We kissed." I confessed, blurting it out so fast I surprised myself.

"You what?" she cried, nearly screaming.

"Shh! Not so loud, geez." I said.

"You kissed?" she exclaimed. I nodded.

"Friday night. After the game." she slapped my arm.

"Why didn't you call me! Like immediately after!" she asked.

"Ow! And because he ran off the field afterwards. I went to talk to him the next day and things did not go well." I said. Mia looked over at me, sympathy in her eyes as she stopped at a light. "But he came over on Sunday and we talked things out. And now we're kind of together? I guess?" I said, still unsure what exactly Ben and I were.

"Are you happy?" she asked. I nodded, smiling.

"Very."

"Good." she said, nodding. "Care to explain the sweatshirt? Because I know it's not yours." she said. I felt my cheeks burn.

"It's Ben's. I borrowed it when I stayed at his house when Henry was in the hospital. And I kinda didn't give it back." Mia shot me a smirk, humming in acknowledgement.

When we got to the game, the stands were already nearly full. Mia was able to find Jack and Alex, who were just as surprised as Mia when I showed up.

"Emily said she'll be here soon, so we need to save her a seat." Mia said. I nodded and scooted over to save a space for her. Jack and Alex were messing around, throwing popcorn at each other when Emily finally made it.

"Thanks for saving me a seat." Emily said, sliding into the spot I had saved. I smiled at her in response just as the buzzer went off, signaling the beginning of the game.

While Eastside got into formation, I looked around the crowd. I instantly saw a few well dressed men with clipboards in the crowd. I felt my heart clench, nerves starting to seep in. Although I wasn't the one playing, I was nervous for Ben, desperately hoping one of the coaches would see just how much talent he has and offer him a spot.

Ben was an absolute stand out during the game. They ended up with 21 points over the other team. The entire team was huddled together cheering and jumping. I saw Henry on the sidelines, jumping up and down with his other teammates.

Students started to rush the field, ecstatic with the ending of the last home game of the season prior to the playoffs.

"Come on!" Mia called, grinning as she grabbed my hand and pulled me with her onto the field. I laughed, seeing the rest of my friends descending onto the field with us. Mia cheered, jumping up and down. I joined her, my eyes wandering around the field.

Through the crowd, I saw Ben take off his helmet, laughing and cheering with a few of his closest football friends. Josh clapped him on the shoulder and Cal patted his back, a wide smile on all their faces.

Ben suddenly looked in my direction, our eyes meeting. He excused himself from his friends and strided towards me.

"I'm gonna go over there." Mia said, smirking as she disappeared into the crowd. When I looked back, Ben was just a few steps away from me.

"Hey." he greeted, grinning.

"Hi." I responded. "You were amazing tonight." I complimented.

"Thanks." he said, stepping closer to me. I looked around, seeing we were surrounded by people, some who we were looking our way.

"People are looking." I nervously laughed.

"Do you want me to leave?" Ben asked, not taking his eyes off me. My lips quirked into a smile, shaking my head.

"No." I confidently responded.

"Good." he smiled. "Is that my sweatshirt?" he asked, his eyebrows quirked up. I felt my cheeks heat up as I nodded.

"Yeah. I might've forgotten to give it back to you a few weeks ago." Ben grinned.

"Keep it. Looks better on you anyway." he said.

"Ben! Coach wants to see you!" Cal called. Ben gave him a nod and looked back at me.

"I'll see you later." he said.

"Yes." I said, smiling as he nodded at me before turning and jogging towards Cal and his coach. I let out a short breath and looked around, finally spotting Mia among the crowd. I pushed my way towards her, catching a glimpse of Ben shaking hands with one of the well dressed men I saw in the stands next to coach. I smiled, walking until I met up with Mia.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Whenever you are." I responded. She nodded and said bye to the guy she was talking to, towing me behind her back to her car.