Selena's POV
"Yes! Yes!" I heard Stan shout while I closed my eyes since I was so afraid that my best friend would have a strike, and it would be my doom.
"Come on, Elena, open your eyes," he whispered, and I could tell he had won.
"Oh, no, this is not happening," I mumbled as I opened my eyes and fixed my gaze on the end of the synthetic lane in the bowling alley, and I realized I could see no more pins standing on the bowling deck.
"I told you I would win," he said with too much confidence; I usually won every time we had a game, and only this time, I lost when there was too much at stake.
I knew he always lost to me on purpose since he is a bowling champion all over Santa Clara, but he always made me believe I could win if I ever joined a bowling competition.
I was rubbing my jeans with my hands as I could feel the sweat on my palms, and I could feel the loud beating of my heart against my chest as I looked at his handsome face grinning at me.
"I won," he said in more than a whisper, and I could no longer hear the yells and laughter of the player on the other lane as I put my hand over my chest while the hammering of my heart continued.
"I guess we should leave," he said when he noticed I became speechless. Stan dragged me to the reception and helped me remove the bowling shoes on my feet as I could feel my entire body shake.
"Come on, Elena; it was only a game; if you didn't want to do it, it would be fine with me; I will give the concert ticket to Toby and his girlfriend." He said, and I shook my head.
"No, I have a word of honor," I responded as we walked out of the bowling alley.
"I am starving. Can we eat first?" He asked when I walked past him, and I walked faster than necessary.
"Can we have a drive-thru?" I asked without slowing my pace, and since my best friend is tall and got long legs, he caught up with me in an instant.
"Fine, but I wanted to take you to a fancy restaurant, Elena," he responded.
"Fast food would be fine; besides, it is getting late. My father would be looking for me," I responded.
"Okay, fast food it is," he chimed, and I frowned at him.
"Why do you like calling me Elena? I want you to call me by my first name and not a nickname, Stan," I said after a while, and he chuckled.
"I just love calling you that because you reminded me so much of Elena, the vampire girl on a television series." He replied, grinning as he looked at me sideways.
"Come on, you know that is not true; she is hot and beautiful," I replied as I let out a heavy sigh.
"You are beautiful, Selena," he responded as he faced me and walked backward, almost colliding with someone.
"You have to behave, Stanley; you better walk beside me," I yelled at him when he almost hit an old woman, and I wished we were already at the parking lot.
"Okay, mom," he said, and I couldn't stop laughing.
Stanley Alcarazo is my only close friend in Santa Clara Valley Academy, where we are studying as grade eleven students; we are both seventeen years old and couldn't wait to be adults.
I've got casual friends in school, but I don't hang out with them since I was busy helping my father after class. It was a long story about why my dad and my little sister ended up living in Santa Clara.
But to make the story short, my dad was brokenhearted when my mom left us without a word, with only three words written on the piece of paper, and it was the shortest letter I had ever seen.
"Hey, are you okay?" Stanley asked after he helped me buckle my seatbelt.
"How can I be okay when I lost our game," I replied.
"I already told you, you can back out, but I don't peg you as a coward, Selena Castroni," he responded, and I could tell he was serious since he emphasized every syllable of my complete name.
He looked hot and gorgeous in his black jeans and black shirt, and I knew I had been the envy of my classmates for having him as my best friend, but they didn't know the perks of being Stanley's best friend.
And that is to see his elder brother almost every day, and it was torture for me because I've got to see Skyler with different girls in their mansion nearly every day.
Yeah, I was crazy for crushing my best friend's brother, and I knew I would never catch his attention since I am a nobody, and only Stanley appreciates my simple beauty.
Stanley had been telling those girls who idolized his brother were only wasting their time, and they better stop their illusions. I am glad Stan and Sky don't hang out open, or else it would be harder on my part to associate with Sky, but I couldn't deny I liked the way Skyler said hi or waved his hand at me every time we crossed paths on their big house during holidays and school breaks.
My father is the Maintenance head of the Alcarazo household, their father personally hired my dad, but he refused so many times, and only when my mom ran away with another man my father accepted Mr. Alcarazo's offer.
"I am not a coward; you can call me anything, but not a coward," I responded, and his laughter reverberated inside his car.
"So, are you sure you are going to do it?" He asked as he started the engine of his sports car, and I could see the amusement on his face while my face turned pale.
"Of course, but you have to promise me you will never leave me when things turn bad," I responded, and he stopped laughing as he looked at me with tenderness.
"Of course, I know it was only a challenge, but you have to answer me honestly and tell me about what is really in your heart. Do you like my brother, Selena?" He asked.
"No!" I answered right away as I tried to control the racing of my heart. I practiced my answer how many times to make it sound perfect and true.
He is my best friend, and I felt guilty that I haven't told him about my feelings for Skyler. I could tell he caught me gaping at his brother many times, but I always told him I only admired his brother's physique.
"Are you sure about that, Selena? You can be honest with me; I will never judge you," he said, and I laughed.
"There is no way I will like your brother, Stan. Do you think I am crazy? I saw him almost every day with different cheerleaders, only recently that he was going out with the school director's daughter that he lay low spending time with different hot girls." I replied.
"So, you paid attention?" He asked, and I smiled at him.
"I am not paying attention to Skyler. I noticed, besides I was living inside your estate, and I am not blind," I said in more than a whisper as I could feel a pang in my chest when I remembered Sklyer kissing Erika on the balcony of his room the other night.
"Why do you want me to do it, anyway?" I asked as my curiosity heightened.
"I love my brother, but sometimes I don't like the way he treats those girls; they have feelings too, and I couldn't save them all; even if they are throwing themselves at him, he could have stopped them," he responded.
"And why do you think I can help you change him?" I asked.
"Because I could tell my brother got his eyes on you," he said, and my eyes widened in disbelief.
"What?" I asked, and then I laughed, and my laughter only subsided when I could feel my stomach hurt.
"Yeah, it may sound funny to you, and that is a good thing that you don't have any feelings for Skyler, or else it would be a disaster. I don't want you to get hurt, Selena." He responded as he looked at me, and my mouth hung open.
"What made you think he likes me?" I asked, and I felt like I was on cloud nine. I couldn't believe my luck if Sky ever told his brother he liked me.
"I can see how he looked at you when you weren't paying attention to him," he responded.
"If he does, why didn't he tell me about it?" I asked, feigning uninterested in it, even if my heart was jumping with too much excitement.
"Because my brother has a reputation to uphold, girls would always confess their feelings for him; you just don't realize how many girls cry after he rejected them ever since he started being the most popular guy in Santa Clara Valley Academy." He declared.
"And that is why you challenged me to confess to your brother even if I don't feel anything towards him?" I asked while I could feel the butterflies in my stomach.
"Yeah, I want you to make him believe you like him and then break his heart by rejecting him," he said with a triumphant grin on his face while I had a doubt, knowing I was in love with his brother.
"Is this all about Dayana?" I asked, and he averted my gaze, and we both fell silent.
Stanley was in love with his childhood friend Dayana, but one day she confessed to him that she liked his elder brother, and Skyler made Dayana his girlfriend for one week and dumped her. She stopped talking with Stanley after his big brother broke her heart.
I thanked Stan for the treat after I climbed out of his car, and I went straight to my father's workplace.
"Hi, Selena," I could feel the hair on my nape stand up as I heard Skyler's masculine voice behind me.
When I turned around, I felt my entire body weaken as I could see the gorgeous smile on his kissable lips.
His smile alone could melt any woman's heart. I needed to lean on the door frame for support as I looked at his handsome face; his compelling eyes were looking straight into my soul.
I had a bet with Stan that if I lost our bowling game, I had to pretend I loved his brother, Skyler, who was standing in front of me like a model in a Magazine. Since I lost the game, I needed to do it, and Stan would give me a VIP ticket to my favorite pop singer's concert, and he would be coming with me to see my idol.
I realized I should never have agreed to have that stupid bet since I would always be crazy about Sky even if I knew he was trouble, and it dawned on me that I would lose myself to Skyler even before I could confess to him.