✔︎ 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, Charlie Conway ¹

𝐨𝟑. 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐒

THE sound of nirvana muffled through the banks females room as she laid on her roof, the window of the room causing the music to flow its way out.

the cold winter air blew through her hair as she stared up at the night sky. the stars seemed as if they slightly twinkled. eliza only thought it was her eyesight deceiving her. she played with her fingers, twisting the rings around the them. she faintly hummed along to the music, smiling to herself as she thought about scenarios in her head. those little things made her feel less lonely. making up the simplest things, just to district her mind from the fact that other people would be hanging out with their friends on a friday night. but eliza, she had no friends that wanted to hang out with her.

only adam, and she knew it. adam was the favourite out of the banks twins. he was loved, adored, popular. even their father cared more about adam, then he ever had with eliza. at one point, eliza was a favourite by someone, that being her mother. but, when her father and mother got divorced, eliza's mother didn't even glance back to say goodbye. she was gone within a snap, and it killed eliza. she missed her mother everyday, and only wished she'd come at visit her at least once.

but, she tried to hide the pain the best she could. she took the anger she had boiled up in her body, all out on hockey. after losing her mother, she was horrified about what would happen if she ever committed to a relationship. her father and mother were the perfect couple, until one day her father just snapped, and started treating her mother horribly. eliza was scared that at some point, she'd find someone who'd she fall in love with, then they'll just flip a switch, and become completely different, then what they were before.

"eliza, what are you doing up there?" a voice lowly shouted from the porch down below, pulling her away from her thoughts. her eyebrows had furrowed, seeing rick and skyler standing there with shocked expressions. she gave them a small smile, waving them off. "i'm fine. i do this a lot." she shrugged, biting the tip of her thumb. "are you not cold?" skyler crossed his arms, letting out a huff. eliza rolled her eyes, "skyler, i'm fine. go away." she shooed, causing him to glare up at her, and walk away without another word.

rick seemed to be the one to stay, staring up at the female. eliza gave him a confused look, raising an eyebrow. "can i help you?" he shook his head, clearing his throat. "sorry." he whispered, before eliza let out a laugh. "it's fine. you know, you can come up here? if you want." she shrugged, turning her gaze back up to the sky. his eyes had slowly widened, before nodding his head.

the minutes had passed in utter silence. before, the sound of a door opening erupted out the window. eliza had furrowed her eyebrows, turning her head around to see rick standing there, before moving himself towards the window. she gave him a small smile, waving him onto the roof. he obliged, silently joining her. he sat himself on the roof, letting out a shaky breath from the cold air.

"so, you play hockey, right?" rick started up the conversation, turning around to face her. she only nodded her head, shifting her head to face him. "yeah. have been since i was four." he nodded his head, fiddling with his fingers. "what position?" eliza tilted her head, staring at the boy. "defensemen." he smiled at her, slowly nodding his head. "cool. i'm a centermen."

eliza had given him a impressed look, smiling at him. "really? ok, mr. big shot. you're the captain of your team, right?" she furrowed her eyebrows, "yeah. what about you?" eliza had sighed, biting her lip. "captain. adams the co-captain." she shrugged. the two seemed to continue the talk about hockey for a while, actually enjoying one another's presence. the conversation went on through the night, listening as a random group of people walked down the street, earning odd looks from the two teenagers.

eliza's eyes had trailed down to the group, immediately noticing one boy. "oh, crap." she whispered, straightening herself out. rick gave her an odd look, looking between her and the group. the groups voices seemed to quiet themselves down as they caught sight of the banks female, watching as their faces turn into horrified ones. the one she recognized, whipped himself around to face her. his eyes had widen, staring at her and the boy next to her.

"hey, banksie!" the conway boy shouted towards the dark blue house, earning a shocked face from the blonde. "go away, conway." she snarled at the boy, earning a fake offended look. "want me to leave so soon? what a shame. i would have thought you'd enjoy seeing my face. since, you know, you're in love with me." he smirked, crossing his arms. eliza rolled her eyes, leaning in herself forward. "trust me, conway. the day i fall in love with you, will be the day your team actually wins." eliza smiled at the group, earning muttered curses at the female.

charlie sent her a nasty look, saluting her. "touché. i'll see you tomorrow, banksie." he winked at the female, before ushering his team to move down the street. he strutted away, sparing one last glance with the girl. eliza let out an annoyed huff, shoving herself back into her room with rick following. she shut her window, locking it immediately. "who was that." the brunette laughed, leaning against the bedroom door.

"that was charlie conway. and his stupid team. they don't even have a name. they're just called the name of their district. how sad is that? never even won single games." eliza threw herself onto her bed, resting herself against the wall. "really? that is sad." rick smiled towards her, earning a nod. "hey, you know, i actually kind of enjoyed tonight. just talking to you, i guess." rick shrugged, fiddling with his fingers. eliza let out a huff, looking up at him. "yeah, i liked it too. we should do it again." rick looked up at eliza, watching as she sent him a goofy wink, earning a laugh from rick. "goodnight, banks."

rick smiled, opening her door. she sent him a small wave goodbye, before he shut the door. eliza let out a deep sigh, walking over to her stereo, switching it off. exhaustion took over her, causing her eyes to become heavy. she didn't realize how late it was, til she looked at her clock. just from looking at it, made her tired. she plopped herself back onto her bed, switching off the bright lights. she stuffed herself into her sheets, falling into a deep slumber.