13
1006 Words
Emaline
After school, I went to the gym to wait for Dec's training to end, as I did last time, but five minutes later, Lana, Hannah, and Mable stood in front of the building. Lana surprised me with slightly provocative sportswear, which looked great on her. Mable and Hannah were dressed normally. Mable was playing with a ball, throwing it high, while the other two were talking and looking at me.
I got a text from Dec, who was asking am I ready, and quickly started typing.
"Yes, but I think there is someone else waiting for you."
Another five minutes later Declan left the building, this time with a few more of his teammates who quickly continued on their way. Dec stopped at the girls and Lana started talking to him. I didn't know what they wanted, but it wasn't long before Dec came to me. When he neared me, he eyed me from head to toe and grinned.
"You ready?"
"As you can see."
"Dressing appropriately isn't enough. I'm asking if you're ready here." And he patted my head with his index finger. I chuckled and pushed his hand.
"Certainly not."
We went to the stadium and as soon as we arrived I turned around and noticed the girls coming towards us. Contrary to my expectations, the three of them headed for the seats without saying anything. I started getting nervous and glancing at them, and Declan saw them too.
"Would you mind If we leave training for tomorrow?"
"Why? Don't mind them. We are lucky that there are no other trainees at the moment. In a little while, the stadium will be full. " He grinned, starting to run on the spot. "Come on, I'll run slow to keep you company."
I sighed but did what he said although I kept feeling their gaze on me. I imagined what a sight I was, running with my huge body, dressed in sportswear, and soon the expected reaction came. I heard the girls' laugh and it took all the inner strength I had to not stop running and get the hell out of here.
As he could sense my feelings, Declan's strong and serious voice sounded.
"Keep running." I dared a glance at him and I couldn't believe how angry he looked. As we passed them, I looked at him again, and there was disgust and disappointment in his eyes, which the girls might have seen because the giggles stopped abruptly.
When we were done, I could barely catch my breath, and Declan looked intact. He still looked as if he wanted to kill someone, but when he had to tell me something, his tone always came out normal. When we went to get our things, the girls stood up and waited.
"Dec, we're going home. The guys are already waiting there."
"I have plans." He just took his things and went with me. The cold tone with which he answered clearly astonished Mable because the next moment her angry voice hissed.
"Are you really...?!"
When he kept going without saying anything, she shouted.
"Careful, Dec or your reputation of a gentleman could evaporate."
We kept walking as if nothing had happened, but I couldn't help myself.
"I don't think she knows the meaning of the word gentleman."
He didn't laugh but turned to me and pinched my neck slightly.
I felt guilty about his mood, even though I wasn't really to blame. I know he was close to them, which made me feel even more grateful for his reaction.
Dec took me to my home and after a short talk, he left in the same bad mood. As much as I tried to cheer him up, his mind seemed to be somewhere else. I went home and went straight to my room. I thought that I was avoiding staying anywhere else in my own home because of my deteriorating relationship with Aunt Sophie.
I decided to do some of the assignments for next week but I wasn't in the mood for studying. I opened a new window and started looking for new ideas for the lesson with Austin. As always, I checked first to see how far his class had come and what I had to prepare, and in the middle of taking notes, the door to my room swung open. I turned to see who it was, though I could already guess.
Lana went inside impatiently and quickly closed the door behind her.
"You said you were just friends?!"
"Yes?"
"Then how come he dropped the opportunity to sit next to the girl he supposedly likes just to sit with you? And then how come he ignores some of his closest friends, again because of you?"
"First, it's just one class and he has a lot of opportunities to be with you. And second, because he's a decent human being who doesn't like someone to be bullied?"
"Oh, come on! What bullying?"
"Well, it doesn't feel good when you try to workout and someone's laughing his ass off at you."
"It was nothing. And we may have laughed at everything, it doesn't need to be you."
"Maybe, but you still laughed at me."
Lana went silent for a few seconds, staring at me.
"Look, Emaline, I'm going to turn down the chance to be with Declan because of you. He's going to lose me because of you. Is that what you want?"
"Don't play these games with me, please. If you want to be with him, do it. And then you can figure out your rules. I told you, Dec is my friend and I won't stop seeing him just because of your secret."
"Fine." She smiled and for a moment the look in her eyes made me nervous. There was a challenge in them. "But don't tell me I haven't warned you, Emaline."
And with those words hanging, she left the room.
I sighed inwardly. My life was way more simple without Declan Moore in it. But way more boring as well.
- Writer
