Lena's Light

🥍 Darren (2)

I absolutely love getting to her, it's so funny. "Aww boohoo. You'll get over it. You're gonna have to get used to being near me more often."
I hear her scoff at that and see her roll her eyes. I let out a small chuckle. She speaks up,"it's not funny".
"Oh but yes it is." She isn't entirely wrong. It's not funny, it's kinda cute. But will I ever tell her that? Not in a million years.
            
                                 ✝️

     I sit down with a couple of the guys at lunch. I can't help but overhear Helena and Nora talking. I think they're saying something along the lines of: "There's no way you haven't seen the way he looks at you", "that's ridiculous. He's too aggravating" or something like that.
I hear Leon, the team's goalie, snapping his fingers, and I turn my attention to him. He starts teasing me. "Dude, come on. We're talking serious things over here. Get out of la-la land for a couple of minutes and focus on us, not that girl."
"Yeah, Cap" one of the attack-men, Trey, puts his word in,"the season is about to start. You can't lose your focus over some chick". This sets me off.  Just a little.
"Watch yourself. She's not 'some chick',
she-", I really need to shut up. "Never mind. What were we talking about?"
Leon sighs and says, "There's no hope for you, man. But anyways, as I was saying...". We spend the next 15 minutes discussing the freshmen that have just joined the team. A couple of them played for us while they were in middle school. Good kids, I gotta admit, even though a few of them get on my nerves from time to time.
                                 
                                  ✝️

     I listen and clap my hands as the worship leaders sing and play their instruments, even though I'm not really listening at all. I'm kind of in my own head, thinking about whatever pops up. What's popped up now?
Helena, of course. I'm (hopefully) discreetly watching her as she takes photos of the service, the designs on the walls, and anything photo-worthy. She catches my eye and I look away. I did notice before I turned, though, the small smile she gave me. Good to know she still tolerates me.
After the service is over, it's time to say goodbye for the night. She's outside by the doors, leaning against the wall, scrolling through photos on her Canon. I walk over, my hand on the wall behind her, the other hand in my pocket.
"So, any good pictures of me in there?". I wiggle my brows at her. She snaps her head up,
"Hm? Oh. A few. I got a couple of you dancing with Beth in your arms." Beth, AKA Elizabeth, which she rarely gets called, is her 2-year-old cousin, who likes me quite a bit.
"That's good." I can't help but notice how the sunlight makes those brown flecks in her green eyes pop. She must've been out in the sun quite a bit lately, with new freckles along her cheeks, I subconsciously trail my eyes all over her face.
I get snapped out of my trance by her talking. "Do I have something on my face?" "Oh. No. Nothing ex-" I stop myself before I say something stupid. She just shrugs and walks away to her family's SUV.
Nora comes out of nowhere, making me jump a bit. "Darren, pal. You're pathetic sometimes, I swear. Just ask her out already. This is ridiculous."
I chortle, "no way. She can't stand being around me."
She rolls her eyes."Yeah, Right. You keep thinking that." She gives me a pat on the shoulder before heading off in her own direction. What's that supposed to mean?
                                 ✝️
                           
     I stand on a bench in the locker room. "Alright boys! Today's the day. The group interview from Helena. Be on your best behavior. Please. You're all a bunch of wild animals and you know it. Now, continue on with whatever you were doing before."
I step down and go to my locker, spraying myself with my best cologne. I see Trey wiggling his brows at me. I simply shake my head at him.
20 minutes later and she's right on time, early even. Of course. She doesn't fail to rub it in my face either.
She walks up with a smirk, Here we go. "I told you I'd be here."
"Can we just get this over with? I've had it with your bragging. Just wait. You'll see."    "Yeah, fine. Everybody! Get in line!" Every single one of my teammates get in a straight line nearly immediately.
She gets things done, that's for sure. "Bossy much?" I mutter. She sends a glare my way. I can't help but chuckle a little. In all honesty, there's no way she could ever look intimidating.
The next 30 minutes went by fairly quickly, then it was my turn to answer some questions. The rest of the boys have gone to do warmups before practice, leaving me all alone with her. I spot Leon smirking at me from the field.
"It's a little muggy in here. How about we go outside for a bit, yeah?" I ask her. She nods and walks out, taking the lead as if she knew this place better than me. I follow behind like a lost puppy.
"First question. What are your goals? As it is your last year playing for and leading this team?"
"Definitely to push my boys extra hard, make this year worth it, to be one of the best."
"Next, any plans for college?" "Maybe Cleveland State. A scout is coming to a game sometime during the season, so I could very well get a scholarship.".
"That's awesome, now..."
     15 minutes later, and we're almost done. A ball comes flying our way, almost hitting her. I grab her arm and push her aside while shielding her from getting hit.
Those balls can hurt when they're thrown at the right speed. Plus her voice recorder is not cheap, even if it was provided by the school.
     "Thanks. Now this is a personal question."
"Yeah?" She tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"The other night after church...what were you going to say? It's been aggravating me. You were going to say 'nothing except'...except what? It's killing me."
"Oh, um. I was gonna make a comment about your freckles. I can't remember what exactly."
"That's something a little odd to comment on, ya know. Especially considering it looks like dirt sprinkled over-"
I stop her off immediately, "dirt sprinkled over your face? No way. Please don't say that again. They suit you."
She sighs, "Darren, you don't get it. You have this face that's, well, perfect. Free of anything at all. Not even a pimple or scar."
"Not true, look." I tilt my head up to expose the scar below my ear and the mole right at the nape of my neck.
"I have imperfections. And that's okay. So are yours. Heck, they're not even imperfections. I think they enhance your face quite a bit."
When she says nothing for a few moments, I furrow my brows, searching her eyes. "Come on, say something. You always have something to retaliate, especially to me." I catch her biting her lip and I grab a hold of her chin, pulling her lip from her teeth. "I hate when you do that, going all quiet on me, plus biting that lip. You're just gonna ruin it. You need those lips".

Author's Note

Heyyyy! Here's the second chapter! I don't have much to say except stay tuned. I wonder what she's gonna say? 🤨. You'll find out soon enough.