Kinsely sat in her last class of the day. On the right of her was Luna, who was reading a book on Kinsley's phone.
Kinsley had a bored expression on her face. Tapping her foot while she listened to the professor discuss the importance of anatomy.
"You see, the joints that make up the leg, from the hip to the ankle….."
"You seem agitated, can I ask what's bothering you?" Luna asked, looking up at Kinsley with a concerned expression.
Kinsley sighed. "I just have a lot of things on my mind right now." She said. "I have practice after this, my head hurts, and I'm worried about Marcus."
"You shouldn't worry about Marcus, he can handle himself," Luna said with a slight frown.
"It's not that I don't believe that," Kinsley replied. "But it's hard when he's so…. Oblivious."
Luna smiled. "Marcus is only oblivious when it comes to normal things, like reading subtle hints and whatnot, but when it comes to his job, he top notch."
Kinsley smirked as she looked down at Luna. "It must be nice to have so much faith in your brother. Hopefully, I'll get to that point too."
"You're getting there, I'd say it's only a matter of time before you truly trust him, he's very easy to get along with."
"Is that so." Kinsley teased. "Yesterday was certainly an 'easy' interaction." She said sarcastically.
"Technically, that was your doing," Luna said, defending Marcus. "If you had just let him clean himself up, you'd have seen he was fine."
"Mhmm, because allowing Marcus to walk around the campus like that was perfectly normal."
Luna smirked. "Maybe not, but you certainly didn't complain when you checked on him for yourself." She said with a raised brow.
Kinsley blushed as she averted her gaze. "I knew we shouldn't have done that in front of you." She muttered. She then sighed. "Don't tell anyone about that, especially Kira, because I won't hear the end of it."
Luna sighed. "I don't understand you." She said bluntly. "You seem confident at times, like when you got mad at Marcus, or when you demanded him to stay with you. But sometimes you get shy and irrational. Like whenever Marcus is merely mentioned in a romantic way." Luna looked over at Kinsley, her eyes filled with confusion. "Could you explain why?"
Kinsley sighed as she crossed her arms. "That's… that's a tough one." She said.
"Normally I'm confident and sometimes I can even come off as rude or sarcastic." She explained. "But Marcus, it's like he throws me off my game. He's so irritating at times, but he's so cute at others."
Kinsley then blushed. "And ever since he's been staying with me, I've gotten to see him, his body I mean, and it makes me think about things."
"What kind of things?" Luna asked with a smirk.
"Things you're too young to worry about." Kinsley Joked as she ruffled Luna's hair.
Luna's laughed as she covered her ears. "If you say so." She replied.
Not long after, a soft chime played indicating the end of the class period. Kinsley gathered her book and tablet, placing them in her bag.
She then stood up and reached a hand out to Luna. "Come on." She said with a smile.
Luna grabbed Kinsley's hand. The two girls interlocked their fingers.
Stepping out of the lecture room, Kinsley and Luna were greeted with busy halls. Students and professors alike walked up and down.
Kinsley led Luna through the halls, keeping her close to her side. "Where are we going?" Luna asked curiously.
"The girl's training pitch, I'm going to practice a little early today," Kinsley explained as they rounded the corner, descending a flight of stairs.
"Can I keep your phone then?" Luna asked, "So I can let Marcus know where we are?"
Kinsley nodded. "Of course, just be careful navigating my messages, only text your brother, ok?"
Luna giggled. "Why? Are you hiding something?"
Kinsley smirked. "Something like that, I just don't want you to see what people send me…"
Luna raised an eyebrow. "What do they send?"
Kinsley signed. "Ehh, pictures of boys, pictures of themselves, things of that nature."
"Oh that doesn't sound bad, I look at pictures all the time," Luna explained. "
"Mhmm, just stay out of them, ok?"
Luna sighed but nodded in understanding. "Alright."
It wasn't long before Kinsley brought Luna to the girl's locker room. It was more so a building beside the girl's training pitch, that contained the locker room. Stepping inside Kinsley was greeted by her fellow teammates chatting in what seemed to be a small lobby of sorts.
"Yo, look who decided to join the party on time." A girl with half-red, half-white hair said with a grin. "Got your problems solved with your boyfriend?" She joked. Her accent was faintly Finnish, in origin.
Kinsley frowned. "I don't know, maybe if you focus more on yourself and less on me, you'd be less of a bench warmer." She quipped.
"Ohhh." The remaining girls in the small lobby said in unison.
"Straight for the kill shot."
The girl with the red and white hair frowned. Turning her attention towards Luna. Her deep blue eyes narrowed. "Who is that?" She asked.
"None of your business," Kinsley said coldly, pushing past her and towards the locker room.
Entering in, the duo were greeted with rows of various lockers, showers, and benches.
A few of the showers were being used, with only a small plastic door separating the showers from the rest of the locker room.
"Who was that girl?" Luna asked curiously looking back at the door they just entered through.
"Halley." Kinsley said with a sigh, "She is our left winger, well she would be if I hadn't taken her spot." Kinsley explained.
"But I thought you were a striker?" Luna asked.
Kinsley nodded as she stopped before her locker. "I am." She answered, "But, Debra is better than me, so she's the starting striker." Kinsley explained as she grabbed her gym bag. "And since Debra is our striker, or forward in this case, I got moved to the left wing, replacing Halley."
Luna sighed as she crossed her arms. "That explains Halley's attitude towards you, but surely that isn't everything, right?"
Kinsley nodded as she began changing into her practice uniform. "Yeah, there is one thing," Kinsley said with a sigh.
Luna looked up to Kinsley with an expectant gaze.
An uncomfortable expression showed on Kinsley's face. "I rather not talk about it, at least not without your brother's permission."
"Does it involve the devil's tango?" Luna asked seriously, prompting a raised eyebrow from Kinsley.
"Why are you asking me that?."
"Are you a lesbian?" Luna asked.
"No!" Kinsley exclaimed. "I already told you, I don't swing that way."
"Hey, I support you," Luna said with a thumbs up. "I mean, Marcus might be a little sad, but I'll let him down easy."
"Luna," Kinsley said with a frown, her eyes narrowed as she held her cleats in hand.
Luna flinched. "Sorry." She said softly.
Luna watched in silence as Kinsley finished dressing. When she was finished, Kinsley reached out her hand to Luna, who hesitantly accepted it. Kinsley then led Luna outside.
Outside, Kinsley's teammates were making their way onto the pitch. Kinsley meanwhile, led Luna to the steel bleachers just beside it. "Stay where I can see you," Kinsley said sternly, setting Luna down on the second row.
Luna nodded, then watched as Kinsley jogged onto the field, joining her teammates, and a woman dressed in a black tracksuit.
"Gather up ladies, I wanna see all 25 of ya!" The woman in the tracksuit said loudly. Clapping her hands.
Luna watched the scene with a conflicted expression. She then sighed as she looked down at Kinsley's phone. She stared at it for a few seconds, before placing it in her lap.
"What's with the long face cutie?" A familiar voice said from a short distance. Turning to see who it was, Luna was greeted by Kira and Cora.
"Hi Kira," Luna said softly.
Kira frowned as she climbed the bleachers, sitting beside her. Cora followed closely behind, sitting beside Kira and opening her sketchbook.
"What's wrong cutie, do you miss your brother?" She asked. Tilting her head to the side, getting a better look at Luna's face.
Luna sighed. "I don't know, i always miss him when he leaves for work, but that's not why I'm sad."
"Then talk to me," Kira said with a warm smile.
Luna shook her head. "No."
Kira sighed as she looked out to the pitch. Her expression was a mixture of curiosity and concern. "You know, I can't wait until the season starts, it'll be great to see Kinsley compete with top players of other academies."
Luna silently nodded.
Kira looked back at Luna, who looked to be deeply lost in thought. She was staring down at her small shoes, kicking her feet back and forth.
"You know, I was always curious as to what your brother did for work." Kira said with a soft chuckle, "And why did he bring his sister along with him, at first I thought he was just jobless." Kira said with a smile. "But seeing him go from Manchester to New York, and back to Manchester it's obvious he has some kind of money."
Luna looked over to Kira with a blank expression. "You saw that video, didn't you." She asked.
"The one with Marcus covered in blood and dragging you through the city, yes I saw it," Kira said softly. "I don't mean to talk bad about your brother, but it seems whatever his 'job' is, causes a lot of trouble."
Luna frowned. "You shouldn't pry in his business, you'd only put yourself in danger."
Kira shrugged. "If he's bringing you along, then it can't be that dangerous." She said with a smile. "Otherwise he would've left you home with your parents."
Luna remained silent.
"Unless you're somehow involved in Marcus's work." Kira continued, "Is he your protector?"
Luna remained silent.
"What would that make Felix?" Kira asked. "Is he also your protector, or are they part of a larger network of people? That would explain Felix going to Japan all of the sudden, while Marcus was in New York."
Just as Kira opened her mouth to ask another question. Kinsley's phone began ringing. Luna hastily answered it, happily greeted by Marcus on the other side.
"Kinsley, I'm back on campus, where are you?" He asked with an exhausted voice.
"It's Luna, Kinsley's at practice," Luna answered with a smile. "Do you want me to come meet you?"
Marcus paused for a moment. "Uhm…. I'm by the main building now, I can just ask for directions and meet you at… where are you again?"
"The girl's training pitch," Luna answered.
"Right," Marcus replied. "Are you with anyone?"
Luna looked over to Kira, who watched her with a curious gaze. "Just Kinsley's friends, we're on the bleachers."
Marcus yawned. "Sit tight, I'm on my way." Marcus then hung up the phone, leaving Luna without him once more.
Luna's smile faded as she placed the phone back in her lap.
"I'm assuming that's Marcus?" Kira asked.
Luna nodded.
Kria smiled warmly. "I bet you're excited, cutie. Your big brother's coming."
— — —
Marcus walked towards the closest student he could find, a tall guy dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Marcus tapped their shoulder, causing the student to turn around. "Can I help you?" He asked.
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, do you know where the female's training pitch is?" He asked curiously.
The guy smirked as he crossed his arms. "I like how you're thinking man, but trust me, you'd be expelled faster than a fat man eating a burger."
Marcus raised his eyebrow. He wasn't sure what the guy was yapping about, and he wasn't interested in figuring it out. "I don't even attend this school, my sister and…. Friends are there."
The student paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes at Marcus. "Ah dude, wait I think I heard about you." He said, nodding his head, "You're with that Kinsley chick aren't you?"
Marcus felt his cheeks grow warm. He pinched them as he nodded. "We're just friends for now."
The student smirked. "Heh, friends… well, I'm not the type to pry into another guy's affairs." He said with a shrug. He then pointed towards the practice pitch. "Just head over there man, little piece of advice though, keep your eyes off the players."
Marcus nodded. "Uh-huh, I'll be on my way now."
Marcus then quickly began to run in the direction the guy had pointed him in. He was tired, but seeing Luna was definitely going to make today worth it.