Reluctant Hearts

Chapter 8

"Oh whattt" Melissa feigned shock, then rushed out before Harry or I could speak, "Then I claim Niall as my partner." With the biggest glare I could muster, I shot it toward her way. Just by Niall's fidgetiness and Melissa's tone, I knew this was no crazy accident but was an intentional part of their plan. I tried to hide my displeasure, but I knew I wasn't fooling anyone, though Harry seemed amused by the situation.

"Whatever, Niall sucks ass, so you can have him. No chance of winning with him on your team." Harry spoke out. Niall stuck up his middle finger over at Harry, then proceeded to tell everyone to put on their bowling shoes to get ready to play. Once we all had put our stuff down on the table, shoes on and tied, we separated out into our respective teams.

"Ok team name is half the competition right there. Gotta be better than theirs," I explained, picking at my nails. Not really mad at this arrangement since me and Harry had gotten along without a fight since we arrived, but definitely still anxious and nervous about my nonexistent skill of bowling. Already knowing my lack of experience will ultimately result in us losing. Harry seemed very competitive, and I didn't want to let him down. No, I meant I didn't want to give him another reason to make fun of me. Yeah that's what I meant.

Harry began typing and hovering over the whole screen board. I got onto my tippy toes to get a peak of what he was writing, but as if sensing me behind him, Harry took his free hand to cover what was left of the screen. I whine out, not liking him having full control and not discussing with me, but what's new?

He spun to face me with a goofy face, almost as if he was trying to hold in laughter. I stared at him expectantly hoping he'd either explain what he was doing or show me. Though it was hard to keep a straight face when he wore such a contagious beam, as now I was fighting back a smile. Finally, he moved to the side to reveal the screen with fingers wiggling just lacking the "Tada". I burst out laughing when I noticed the team name he had chosen: PINHEADS

"Do you get it?" He glanced, now a cheeky smile present on his face.

"No" I lied.

"Shut up, yes you do." He rolled his eyes. Waiting for a reply, I didn't provide him one. "Like bowling pins" I raised my eyebrows, "Come on, you cannot be this stupid!"

I finally joined him with a smile, "Of course I get it, dummy. But team names have to do with the both of us, not just you, Pinhead." I fired back with a grin. Proud of myself, that I was able to beat him to his own punchline that I knew was going to be directed at me.

"Ha. Ha." He mocked back. I glanced over at Melissa and Niall to see what they chosen as their team name. Their screen lit up with the words: ROLLING STRIKERS. "Dozy name, ours is better" I heard Harry say proudly.

Then came the dreaded part - it was time to actually bowl.

Niall went first, adamant to prove Harry wrong. He stepped up with a silver bowling ball in hand, his eyes narrowed, and with a swift motion, he swung the ball onto the lane. In less than two seconds, the ball hit the ground, and found its way into the gutters.

"That was just a warm up!" Niall defended himself. He took his second turn, and once again, the ball rolled into the gutters. Their team earned zero points for that round. Niall stood in shock, then turned around when Harry roared in laughter, and went to sit down. Melissa consoled him with a pat and whispers into his ear.

Up next was Harry. He smugly proceeded confidently to the line, ready to go and show off his skills. I watched as he took a deep breath, adjusted his grip on the ball, and took a few steps forward. With a practiced flick of the wrist, he released the ball, which rolled down the lane with a satisfying thunk hitting seven pins, leaving three standing.