Strings Attached

Chapter Eighteen

Monday came, and with it came Henry's soccer game. Teddy, Louise, and I sat down on the bleachers and watched the soccer team warm up. I was a little bit excited, but I did not want to say so. I liked pretending that school games were boring and uninteresting.

Louise kept staring at Henry. She was still very happy to be his girlfriend. She had called me that Saturday to let me know how romantic Henry had been. I had told her about Teddy's gift, and she had told me that I should date him already. I simply had told her that we were just friends, and she had told me that I was a terrible liar.

"He looks so perfect," said Louise, sighing dreamily.

I ran a hand through my necklace and smiled. "I hope his team wins."

"I hope so, too," said Teddy, smiling brightly.

I could see the bleachers starting to fill up, and that made me grow even more excited. I wanted for the game to start already. I had never seen Henry play before, and I wanted to see how he did.

Before the game officially started, the dancers did a performance, and I could see Sonya glaring at me every now and then. I smiled and ran a hand through my necklace, knowing that Teddy would never give Sonya anything as meaningful and beautiful as that.

Honestly, Sonya was a very good dancer. I could tell she was talented from the way she moved. She looked as though she were flirting with the audience, and it occurred to me that she probably did it intentionally.

Once they finished dancing, Sonya waved at Teddy, and he simply smiled a little. I felt a little jealous, but I decided to let it go.

Unfortunately, Sonya was not the kind of girl who just let things go. She made her way towards Teddy and sat next to him.

"Oh, Theo!" she exclaimed with her annoying voice. "Did you like our performance?"

Teddy smiled. "It was good," he said.

"Thanks," she said. "So how come you finally decided to attend a game?"

Teddy smiled. "Well, Henry's playing, so..."

"You're a great friend!" said Sonya, giving Teddy a flirty smile.

Louise turned to see her and frowned. Then, she whispered, "What's she doing here?"

I shrugged. "Flirting," I told Louise.

"Um, I guess," Teddy said. "Chris, do you think the game's starting soon?" he asked.

"I suppose," I told him.

Sonya rolled her eyes. "I heard some girls saying that we'd be a cute couple," she said, smirking at Teddy.

"They're probably blind," muttered Louise.

I chuckled. "They must be."

Sonya sighed. "Too bad you still haven't asked me out."

Teddy shrugged. "It's a pity, isn't it?"

"It totally is," said Sonya. "But that can be fixed."

Teddy raised one of his eyebrows. "How so?"

Sonya smiled. "I was hoping you'd ask. You see, there's this party today after the game..." Sonya turned to see me and glared at me. "... And I was hoping you'd go with me."

Teddy shook his head. "Sorry, Sonya, but I'm busy tonight."

Sonya pouted. "Oh, that's a shame. How about a coffee tomorrow after school?"

Teddy sighed. "I'll be busy this whole week."

"Doing what?" asked Sonya.

Teddy shrugged. "Studying."