I stared at the handsome guy that was below me. He quirked his eyebrows with a smug smile.
"Aren't you going to open up for me new blood?" His smile never faltered.
"Y-yes, coming!" I dashed out of the balcony and took a quick look at myself in the mirror.
'He has already seen you stupid, just go already!' My brain yelled. I went down the stairs gently, not wanting to be in a rush. I then opened the door.
"What are you doing here?" He looked quite surprised at my question, or was it perhaps because of my tone?
"Do you know how many girls would die to see me at their doorsteps?" He asked. There was a playful look in his eyes.
"No, and I don't care. Why are you here." My voice wasn't timid, it was bold and slightly harsh. Why? I don't know.
"To invite you to a game." I looked at him shocked.
"You came all the way from…wherever you came from to my house just to invite me to a game?"
"Don't think you're special new blood."
'Why would I even think that?'
"Why are you the one here?"
"Karla couldn't call because she lost her phone during the police parade, and she couldn't come here, so I decided to be the one to invite you." He said this with a tired sigh.
"I can't come." I couldn't leave, I was grounded. If my parents should find out, I'd be even more grounded.
"You can't or you won't?"
"I can't, I got grounded." I whispered, although I knew that he heard me.
"You missed curfew?" I gave him a shocked look. How does he always guess right?
"Yeah, and I don't want more grounding."
"This is past one, you'll be home latest by five, don't worry." He said with a weirdly reassuring smile.
"I don't know." I did want to go, but I also didn't want to get grounded again.
"I promise you'll get home on time." 'Damn those trusting eyes!'
After a few seconds of contemplating, I finally decided.
"Alright, just give me a few minutes." I slammed the door at his face and let out a breath of relief.
I didn't bother to change my clothes. I just combed my hair, took my trusted backpack and phone and I was ready. When I steeped out, I saw Shawn's car parked in front.
'Breaking two rules in less than two days? What is happening to me?!"
"You ready new blood?" He asked as he stared directly at my face. It made me feel self-conscious.
'Was there something on my face? But I checked myself before leaving.'
"Yeah." I got in and we zoomed off.
"Where did you say we were going again?"
"A basketball game."
"Oh, so you like basketball?"
"I play at Hawthorne. Infact, most of the guys at the party yesterday play basketball."
"And we're going to this game because...?"
"It's one of the most favorite teams here in Canada, and Carl and Mike wanted you to come badly."
"Oh. Wait, isn't Carl supposed to be orange?" A smile formed on Shawn's lips.
"I gave him and Kevin the antidote, not for free though."
'Cunning, very cunning'
We finally arrived at a huge arena. There, I saw Carl, and Karla, who seemed to be arguing about something as usual and Mike and Kevin who stayed on their own.
"Senorita! You're here." Carl came to me and wrapped his arms round me.
"Hey Carl." I stared at his face for quite sometime. The orange color was barely visible again. Some antidote that was
"Your skin looks better."
"Yeah, couldn't afford looking like a mango all week."
"Mango's aren't orange in color Carl." I heard Mike say. He gave me a smile which I politely returned. Karla stuck to me and we headed in.
The stadium was huge and beautiful. It had so many bright lights that I had to squint a little in order to see. There were already so many people seated. I've never been at a basketball game before, but it seemed like it was going to be fun.
We all took our seats and weirdly, Shawn sat next to me.
"So who's playing?" I asked.
"Montereal Sharks vs The Fledglings." Said Mike.
"And you guys are rooting for..?"
"The Sharks of course! They're the best! And plus the Fledglings are quite lame." He whispered the last part silently.
"Don't you like Basketball?" Karla asked.
"Never watched it." I said honestly.
"That's boring, what do you watch then?" Shawn asked.
"Just other things apart from Basketball." I said with a straight face.
"Can you guys shut up, they're about to start." Kevin grumbled. I unconsciously pouted.
"Is he still mad?" I asked Shawn. He nodded, eyes gleaming.
"Extremely, his parents aren't back yet. But when they do arrive, it won't be good." I looked over at Kevin. I was actually pitying him.
"Don't pity him new blood, he would have done the same thing I did, trust me. But he wouldn't dare do it to me."
"Yeah, but still.." The players came out and the match started. Karla explained everything I needed to know about the game. The basics and the slightly advanced. It wasn't too hard to comprehend.
As the match progressed, the scores were 55:58. The Sharks were lagging behind. Although we were just entering the second quarter.
"This is absurd! That was clearly a flagrant foul!" Kevin uttered. He seemed quite on the edge. Carl, Mike and Karla just kept paying attention to the match, sometimes complaining about some fouls or delays. Meanwhile Shawn rarely said a word. If not because he said he played, I would have thought he didn't like basketball.
'I wonder how he is out there? He must be an excellent player.' A smile formed on my face as I imagined seeing Shawn play.
"Someone's enjoying herself." I snapped out of my thoughts, a blush creeping up my neck.
"It's ok. Better than being cramped in."
"I thought you liked being cramped in?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah, but it's very different when you're cranped in against your will." Shawn nodded in approval.
"Why did you move to Canada?"
"My dad got transferred to work here, so we had to move."
"And you miss home everyday, right?"
"Yeah, it's the place I grew up in. The place I had all of my bad and good memories. So of course I miss it." I said with a deep sigh.
"Yes!" Karla and literally almost the entire stadium jubilated when the Sharks scored a three point, levelling things up.
'Isn't there a Fledgling supporter here?' I wondered. During the break, Karla disappeared for a while, Carl and Kevin also disappeared amongst the crowd which left me with Shawn and Mike.
"Do you want to step out for a while?" Shawn asked. I stared at him for three seconds before nodding. He then motioned to me and we left the stadium.
"Where are we going?"
"To an amazing food spot." I bought a couple of hotdogs for myself and by a couple, I mean three. Apparently sitting down for over thirty minutes while watching a game could work up an appetite.
"Ok, this place is amazing! It's so good!" I know their just hotdogs, but the vendor added numerous toppings and it made it really exquisite. Shawn nodded. He also bought an hotdog. It was just a small food truck by the road side.
"Hmhm." I checked the time and I saw that it was just quarter past three.
"Relax Emily, I promised to get you back home on time. This isn't the first time in breaking people out of their homes."
"Really? How many have you helped?"
"About five, but not once though." I laughed.
"So it's your special skill?" I asked after eating my second hot dog.
"Kind off, but it's only one of my many skills." He said. I looked at him, expecting his next words. But instead, he swipped his thumb against my bottom lip! An audible gasp escaped me and he smirked.
"You had some mustard there." He continued eating his hotdog, like he hadn't done anything. My heart was racing and my hands were slightly sweating.
It was fast, but it was long enough to send tingles down to my stomach. The pad of his thumb felt so soft and gentle. That split second of contact sent numerous sparks through my body. God this wasn't right at all! I tried my best to calm my racing heart
"Ready to go?" He asked after I had finished my last hotdog. I nodded shyly and we left for the stadium.
'He is not good for my heart.'