Kayla woke up early on a Saturday morning, rehearsing her lines for her next big play for the school.
However, the events of Friday still stung and she couldn't concentrate on the script in her hand.
"Argh!" she threw the paper away.
All of this was Oliver's fault. She ran her hands, angrily through her hair before bringing them to cover her face. Why did what happened, have to happen?
She needed her boba tea. That was the only thing that could make up for the start of the already shitty morning.
It was still around 7, so there wouldn't be a long line. She came out of her room and her eyes strayed to Louisa's door.
She should ask Louisa to come with her.
She knocked, "Loui? Are you awake?" No response. Kay guessed was sleeping, so Kayla went to the kitchen to make her toasted bread and Louisa's favorite, an iced Spanish latte.
She pictured the smile on her friend's face when she woke up to breakfast in bed and how it would slowly disappear once she remembered she would do the dishes. Kayla chuckled thinking about this.
Tray in hand, she silently pushed open the door with her back.
Louisa's room was colored with white and pink and a little brown. A large bookshelf took up an entire wall filled with different genres occupying two rows each. While Kayla had only a few hacking books and almost every edition of the Harry Potter books back in her room.
A desk and chair were placed on the left side of a glass door and the floor was a white fuzzy shag carpet which Kayla loved.
However, to her surprise, there was no one in bed and it was made. "Loui?" she set the tray on the bedside table and went into the bathroom but it was empty.
Where could she have gone? Kayla slid open the large glass door that led to Louisa's balcony but she wasn't there.
She went back to her room to grab her phone and called Loui's number but she didn't pick up. Her left eye started twitching as she paced back and forth in the living room trying to reach her best friend. Where was she?
That was when a text came in from Louisa.
[Angellouireads]: Emergency! Hurry! I'm at d soccer fields!
"Emergency?" She quickly dialed her number again but the damn girl didn't answer.
Was she in danger? Her pulse quickened as she rushed out of the house and headed to the location.
"Oh God please don't let anything happen to her!" Kayla muttered as she took the nearest shuttle to the field.
The Auburn-haired girl ran towards the field after jumping off the shuttle before it even parked.
She was out of breath as her legs moved swiftly across the field and she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the person she was looking for.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" She swore angrily. The sun was rising and Louisa with her blue hair sat on the bleachers, a yellow book in hand which Kay made out to be, "100 Days of Sunlight", and the view looked like something straight out of a beautiful painting. A painting that Kay wanted to tear apart.
"Louisa Avery Dorne!" Louisa raised her head slowly, after hearing her name and when she saw it was Kayla, she smiled and waved her over.
Both of Kay's eyes were twitching now. She smiled!? She walked up the bleachers, snatched the book in her hands, and admonished, frustrated, "Are you mad!? I was fucking worried, Louisa! I thought something bad had happened! I ran! I freaking ran here just to see... to see this!"
"I said it was an emergency not that I was kidnapped." She tried to explain but Kayla glared at her. "Fine, fine. I'm at fault, but I have a good reason for doing this. Sit down."
Kay stood rooted to her spot until Louisa had to forcefully pull her down. "Sit!" Kay grumbled and crossed her arms.
"Give me back my book, Kay."
Kay muttered something under her breath but still complied.
Louisa rummaged through her tote bag beside her and brought out another book. "Take this. If we are going to be here, we have to look the part." She handed it to Kay.
"Look the part for what? Why did you call me out here, Loui?"
"I heard from a friend that the soccer team usually practices at this time."
"And that concerns us how?"
"God you are so clueless!" she flicked Kay's forehead.
"Ow!" she rubbed the spot. "One of these days you're going to maim me."
"If you don't drive me crazy, first. That aside, we are here for the boys!"
"I didn't know you were into ogling people, Loui?" She teased with a playful smile.
"I am not! I am here to do research for my book. It's about a soccer player and an artistè, so I came here to observe and ask questions but I thought it would be too eye-catching to do it openly."
"I am the happiest person alive that you want to finally publish your first book, but why drag me into this?"
"How in the world did you pass the college entrance exam, again?" It wasn't adding up to her and Kayla rolled her eyes, rubbing her palms due to the fall breeze.
"I called you here because you are kind of an expert thanks to you-know-who-"
"We can say his name, Loui. He's not Voldemort-"
She ignored Kayla's words and continued, "So you will be able to explain what they are doing to me, aaaaaaaand, the biggest reason you are here is to help me score an interview with the team." Louisa zipped up her jacket. Winter was almost here.
"How do you.... wait! You are not thinking that I talk to Wyatt, are you?" Her eyes widened in shock and she pointed her index finger at Louisa. "You scheming devil!"
"What?" she asked innocently. "We both know he likes you, so he might help you convince the other boys to open up to me about their experiences."
She pursed her lips but understood where Loui was coming from. First of all, her best friend was shy and secondly, the soccer team was extremely private or arrogant.
"I can't promise you, Loui but I'll... I'll try my best."
The soccer team jogged onto the field, their cleats crunching the grass underfoot as the sun bathed the field in golden light.
"Alright, let's go over their warm-ups," Kayla said, her arms crossed as she observed the team. "We start with dynamic stretches to get the blood flowing. Keeps us from getting injured later on. Then some light jogging to boost endurance."
Louisa raised an eyebrow, holding her phone to record Kayla's explanation. "And the ogling at the toned men? Is that part of the regimen?"
Kayla smirked, glancing over at the team, her gaze lingering on a group of particularly well-built players. "Totally essential. Builds team morale."
Louisa chuckled. "Well, I'm sure the view doesn't hurt."
The girls giggled as they discreetly eyed the players, casting glances at Wyatt, the team captain, who was already mid-jog, his muscles rippling under his jersey.
"Wyatt's playing like he's in a professional match already," Kayla said, watching as he sped past his teammates.
Louisa wanted to ask who was better between Wyatt and Andrew but chose not to.
The better option.
The coach's whistle pierced the air. "Hudson! That's the kind of energy I want to see out here!" he shouted, his voice booming across the field.
One of Wyatt's friends, Aiden, jogged up beside him, a teasing grin on his face. "Nah, he's just showing off for the girls in the bleachers."
Wyatt shot him a look and gave him a playful shove. "Shut up, man."
A few minutes later, Wyatt jogged over to where Kayla and Louisa sat. He was dripping sweat, his hair slightly tousled, but the grin on his face didn't falter.
"Hello, beautiful," Wyatt greeted Kayla, his voice warm.
Kayla blushed furiously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as Louisa quickly averted her gaze, her lips pressed into a smirk.
"Are you here to see me play?" Wyatt asked, his voice full of mock seriousness. "You should've told me. I could've put on a real show."
Kayla crossed her arms, smirking up at him. "Why? So you can give the coach a heart attack by scoring a hundred goals just to impress me? Didn't know I was that special."
Wyatt chuckled, his eyes never leaving hers. "Now, that's a lie. But if you let me, I'll show you how special you are in my eyes."
"Give us single people a break." Louisa chimed in, rolling her eyes dramatically.
Kayla cleared her throat, her heart racing in a way she didn't expect. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"
Wyatt's grin widened, his voice dropping to a low, teasing tone. "Go on a date with me?"
A sudden idea flashed through Kayla's mind. She wasn't ready for a relationship after what had happened with Andy but Louisa needed the interview for her book.
She glanced at Louisa, who was already staring at her in surprise, knowing exactly what was going through her mind.
"I'll go on a date with you," Kayla said, holding Wyatt's gaze, "if you help me get my friend an in-depth interview with your team."
Wyatt blinked, surprised by the sudden twist. "An interview?"
"Yeah. I know you guys don't really like doing them, but she just wants it for her book. You'll all be anonymous. Please?" Kayla gave him her best puppy dog eyes, practically daring him to say no.
Wyatt looked from Kayla to Louisa, then back at Kayla, his smile slowly creeping back. "For you? I'll make it happen."
Kayla couldn't help but grin, her heart lightened by the unexpected victory.
"You are willing to sell out your guys for a date?" Louisa was bemused.
"When you put it like that, it sounds bad but I know they'd do the same." he smiled. "Didn't catch your name?"
"Louisa. Kayla's best friend."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Wyatt."
"Oh I know who you are Wyatt Parker Hudson." she wiggled her brows
Wyatt wanted to ask what she meant but was called back by the coach. "Hudson! Enough flirting and get over here or you'll do 30 laps across the entire campus! Let's go!"
"I'll pick you up Friday night!" He yelled jogging backwards.
"But you don't know where I live!"
"I'll text you on your socials!" He turned around and when he got back on the field, Aiden slung his arm around his shoulders, ruffling his hair.
Louisa folded her arms, staring at Kayla in disbelief. "You agreed to a date? With Wyatt? After…"
Kayla shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "It's just a date."
Louisa raised an eyebrow, knowing there was more to it than that.
She didn't like the idea of going on a date but it was for Loui or the only other option was to hack into their devices and get all their information.
However, that was wrong and would be proving Oliver right about her. Thinking of Oliver, her face soured. She hated him and hoped he died from suffocating on his enormous ego.
Still, the fact she wasn't going to be in that class anymore stung like a scorpion's pinch. Maybe she should apologize to him.