[Old Version] Playing for the Other Team [Old Version]

Chapter 16

Monday morning Nathan was up earlier than usual. He'd decided to try and be his absolute best, and make Jonathan like him. He spent a large amount of time picking out an outfit, and put some extra care into his hair. Satisfied with the result, he gave himself a big smile in the mirror. He did look good, better than he usually did.

"Good morning, Jennie." He chirped when he stepped into the kitchen, and opened the fridge.

Jennie yawned, and looked up from her mug of coffee. "Good morning, Nathan." She hummed. "You're up early. You're not going to school already, are you?" She asked when Nathan practically tossed his breakfast into his mouth.

"No, I'm... um... I'm picking Jonathan up before school." Nathan explained, scratching the back of his neck.

Giggling, Jennie nodded. "Oh." She smiled. "Well, good luck with that. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you." She said.

Nathan couldn't help but blush. "T-Thanks, Jennie." He said, and gave her cheek a kiss before he left.

Just as Nathan, Jonathan was up and running early, and when Nathan knocked on the door he was already ready to go, despite him being almost fifteen minutes early. "Hi." Jonathan smiled when he opened the door. "Mom, I'm leaving!" He called into the house.

"Morning, Mrs. Meade!" Nathan called.

"Is that you, Nathan?" He heard her reply. "Good morning to you too."

"We're leaving!" Jonathan repeated and closed the door behind himself, and then turned and gave Nathan a small glare. "Why did you do that for?" he asked.

Nathan shrugged. "I don't know." He said, when he was really just trying to be friendly to Jonathan's mother.

"Whatever, let's go." Jonathan marched towards Nathan's car and gave Nathan an impatient look. "Unlock the car, would you?" He sighed when he saw that Nathan had locked it.

Nathan laughed, unlocked the car, and watched Jonathan slide into the car. Nathan got into the car, and looked over at Jonathan. "How many times have I told you?" He asked, sighing. "Seat belt." He tapped his fingers over his own seat belt.

Jonathan wrinkled his nose in a grimace, and chuckled. "Sorry." He buckled up, and Nathan looked away, blushing. "I always forget." Jonathan shook his head and turned to Nathan. "You okay?" He asked and narrowed his eyes at Nathan's flustered appearance.

"Yeah." Nathan nodded, and forced a smile. "I'm fine."

Jonathan rolled down the window as Nathan drove. He kept glancing at Nathan's bag, where Nathan's phone was practically blowing up with messages. "Wow, Mr. Popular." Jonathan whistled when Nathan finally reached over and shoved the phone deeper into the bag. "People really wanna talk to you today."

Nathan shrugged. "Yeah..." He mumbled.

They got to school, and said their goodbyes before going separate ways, promising to meet up again after school. Nathan walked upstairs to his locker and was stopped more than usual by the girls in school. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to them.

"Nate! Bro! Homie! My man!" Josh called when Nathan dug through his locker, and gave his back a harsh pat. In a way Nathan was relieved to see that his friend was all right, but annoyed that he was so loud and borderline violent.

"Hey, Josh. You're back!" Nathan smiled and gave Josh's shoulder a pat. Josh winced, and Nathan frowned. "Sorry, man."

"No problems." Josh chuckled. "A few broken ribs won't stop me!" He rubbed his chest.

Oliver came walking and gave Nathan an odd look. "Rumor has it you broke up with Wendy."

Nathan looked over at him. "We never dated." he said before going back to looking for his books.

"Everyone is talking about it." Josh laughed loudly. "They say you broke her heart and everything." He grinned.

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows. "She was wasted when I got there, and she got angry when I wanted to leave. She yelled and everything!" He shook his head. "She even threw stuff at my car."

Josh seemed to choke on his laughter. "What? The bitch is crazy! You don't throw things at such a pretty car." He grumbled, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever. I tried not to hurt her, but she was drunk and tried all kinds of things. I couldn't stick around, you know." Nathan said.

"Stuff? What kinds of stuff?" Josh asked, suddenly curious.

"I'd rather not talk about it..." Nathan muttered.

"Is she easy?" Josh asked.

Sighing, Nathan shrugged and closed his locker. "Too easy for her own good. My class starts, I gotta go." he added and ignored the rest of Josh's questions and walked down the corridor and turned the corner.