Blue Moon.

Chapter 35

Side by side Liam and I walked inside the school and took an immediate right hand turn, facing a double door. The heavy doors were propped open exposing the medium sized gym inside.

As Liam and I walked inside the wooden floored room, my eyes zoomed right to the middle of the room where two groups of girls were separated by a tall net. I found Cassie on the home team dressed in a baby blue and gold jersey with very short black shorts on, her long hair pulled back in a pony tail. She had the volley ball in her hand, and her position told me she was serving the ball.

I felt a sense of pride swell in my stomach as I watched her hit a mean spike over the net. The other team fumbled to hit the ball, but when one of the girls did, it veered off out of bounds. Already immersed in the game, I clapped my hands loudly and cheered for Cassie. Liam jumped at my sudden raise of volume, and as someone passed the ball back to Cassie she turned her head towards me with a big grin. I beamed back and took Liam by the hand, pulling him along with me up the bleachers.

I saw Joni before I saw Greg, due to her baby blue foam finger. I snorted when she waved at me, and just about peed my pants when her eyes fell onto Liam. Already I could see the questions forming in her mind as she glanced smugly at our connected hands.

"Hey Joni! Nice foam finger." I giggled as Liam and I slid into the row she and Greg were sitting in. Joni was always very supportive of Cassie's volleyball playing, and was very, very, very zealous about it. She was like a football fan at the super bowl at every one of Cassie's games. Her enthusiasm easily rubbed off on me, too.

She gave the foam finger a little wiggle and flashed us a smile. "Thanks. Who's your friend, Aub?" she asked brightly and Greg leaned over Joni to look at me with a grin.

"Hey Aubrey! Glad you could make it!" he said and I beamed at the both of them, happy that I had come as well.

"Me too. Guys this is Liam, and Liam this is Joni and Greg Mitchell, Cassie's parents." I introduced them, gesturing with my hand at each person.

Liam nodded his head once. "Hello." He said with a small smile, though his eyes fell back onto me intently. I blushed slightly as he continued to gaze at me, though I turned away like a coward and tried to focus on the game. The other team now had the ball, and when they served, Cassie and her team moved with such skill and precision to send the ball back that the opposing team looked like a train wreck when they let the ball hit the ground on their side.

Our school volleyball team was pretty good, and Cassie was definitely one of the best players. They were completely shutting down the visiting team, who seemed to get worse as their chances of victory faded. By the time the game was over, the score was 9 to 21, ending earlier than the games usually did.

When the ending buzzer sounded through the gym, all the girls on Cassie's team rounded up together in a group hug, celebrating gleefully. It was a good way to start the season, and when the girls broke apart Cassie looked up in my direction, her expression so touched that I felt like we were reuniting after 20 years of being apart.

After the team had a quick talk with the coach she grabbed her water bottle and equipment bag from the bottom row of the bleachers and jogged her way up to us, her eyes only on me.

I moved towards her and hugged her tightly with a squeal, patting her back. "You came!" She gasped with a grin as she pulled away.

I jumped up and down energetically on my toes with joy. "I couldn't just not come!" I giggled, and she looked at me with a touched expression. "But look, Liam came too!" I perked up even more, reaching around for Liam's arm. I pulled him onto the bleacher's stairs where we were standing and Cassie laughed at his overwhelmed expression.