Abducted

24 days: The Invitation

I ran to my locker. I knew Demi was following me, so I did my best to think of a lie before she could come up to me. When I unlocked the door, I felt a pair of arms around my waist. I jumped a little and turned around to see Jay laughing. I laughed along and looked at Demi. She smiled with her eyebrows raised. I just shook my head at her. She rolled her eyes and smiled at me. I felt relieved knowing this was the perfect distraction.

"Hey, Bianca," Jay said with a bright smile.
"Hi, Jay. I haven't seen you all day,"I said half-lying.
"Well hello there, Jay. I'm Demi. One of Bianca's best friends. So, are you her boyfriend?"
"Demi!" I voiced stiffly at her.
"No. No it's fine," he laughed, "I'm not. But I'd be very lucky to call her mine." Jay said while winking at me.

My heart began to race and I felt my breathing quicken. A grin painted itself on my face without the intention of going away. I knew for a fact that I was blushing in that moment.

"So uh Jay. Are you going to the pep rally during 8th period?" I asked, feeling hopeful.
"Yeah I am. You're cheering right?" He askes while leaning against the lockers.
"Yeah I am. I'm the captain and lead flyer," I reply.
"Wow! a woman of many talents," he complimented. I could only stand there, smiling like an idiot.

A few seconds of silence went by until Jay broke it.

"Hey, there's gonna be a party after the game at my house. You should come. You too Demito," Jay said shooting finger guns at her.

"Demito"and finger guns? Where the hell do that I know that from?

Jay took my hand in his, taking a deep breath. "It wouldn't be any fun without you. Please come?" He softly asked with puppy eyes jokingly batting at me. I  couldn't say no.
"Of course we'll come! What time?" I ask smiling.
"The game ends around 7 so come at like 8," he answered back.
"Great. We're gonna go, but see you there! I'll uh look for you in the crowd," I say waving at him. "I'll be there front and center," he said before walking away. "Bye, Jay," Demi said before pulling me closer. "So, 'nothing going on there.' Right," she said with air quotes. "I'll explain in the locker room. Come on," I said grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the gym.

I aggressively pushed the locker room floor open to reveal girls changing into their gym clothes. "Okay. What was that? Because that didn't seem like nothing, B," Demi asked, setting her gym bag on the bench. "Wait. Is he the one leaving you notes? He has to be," she added. "No. Probably not. I may have fibbed a bit, though," I said trying to stall. "No stalling. Truth. Now."

I can't get anything past this girl.

"Fine. We kissed last night. Well, more than kissed," I confessed. Demi's eyes widened to the point where I thought they would pop out and hit me in the face. "Define 'more than kissed,' for me," she said growing more excited. "Not that far but far enough. I don't know it felt right. He felt so familiar like I've known him for years. I mean we talked for hours before kissing and it was just mind blowing when it happened." Her face softened. "That sounds genuinely so romantic." I nodded, "It was. I think it really was."

I stared off into space replaying that kiss over and over. The taste of his lips; the light in his eyes. I swear I've met him before, but then again I don't think I have.

"Let's go ladies. This is the last practice before the game. Be out there in thirty seconds or run suicides," Coach yelled before exiting the locker room.

I quickly began getting dressed. "We'll talk more later," I said.

~

Practice went smoothly. My mind wandered a little, but I did my best to keep focus. We ran the routine a hundred times before gym was over.

"Alright. Ladies and Ken. Take the time to get ready. Meet back here at least ten minutes before the pep rally. Good work today," Coach said before walking to her office.

Demi and I walked into the locker room feeling extremely winded. I wiped a few beads of sweat off my forehead as I turned the locker room shower to the cold setting.

"Ew. I smell so musty right now," I said sniffing myself. "I didn't notice over the smell of me," Demi joked. I chuckled as I slid my shower shoes on and stepped into the stall. I could feel the heat my body was radiating finally cool down as the ice cold water ran down skin. "So, it's later," Demi reminded as she got into the stall next to me. "Right. Well, you know how I said he seemed familiar? I know for a fact I've never formally talked to him before yesterday, but I saw that Minji seemed to know him. The thing is, she never mentioned him like ever," I said as I shampooed my hair. "So, maybe they met before he came here. Did you ask about his old school? They probably had a mutual friend or something," she suggested. I handed her the shampoo bottle before rinsing out my hair. "Maybe. It did seem like there was history," I replied back. "I can tell he likes you. Maybe you have two boys pining after you. Go you," she said as she jokingly put her arms in the high "v".
I giggled as I saw her arms lift above the stall.

I squeezed some conditioner in my hand then handed it to Demi. As I lathered the product in my hair, I thought about what the connection could be between Minji and Jay. "Maybe they used to date," Demi finally proposed. I didn't say anything at first. "B? What do you think? I think it's possible. Minji does have a knack for finding flings wherever she goes," she said handing me the body wash. "I guess it is possible, but it didn't seem like an ex-lover's quarrel. It seemed like something else. I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking," I said as I washed my body. "Probably. Just focus on the pep rally and the game for now. We'll figure it out if it's important enough," Demi reassured.

We finished our showers and began drying off. I grabbed my diffuser out of my locker and set it down on the counter. "Can I borrow your curl cream? I think I lost mine," I asked as I rummaged through my bag. "Dang. I liked that one. It smelled like roses. But, sure. Just take it. All it gives me is waves anyways," Demi said handing me the container. "That's because you have straight hair. Just let me curl it," I said as I applied the cream to my hair. "If only we had the time," she joked.

I admired her long, thick, red hair as she dried it and pulled it up into a high ponytail. Once my hair was dry as well, I did the same. By the time we finished getting ready, our arms were even more sore than before. "This is a sport on its own," I said sighing in relief as the last coat of hairspray was applied to my head. "I know. I'm gonna sleep so well tonight," she added. "Me too, dude."

I took one last look in the mirror and snapped a photo with Demi. We checked the time and saw that we needed to head into the gym to set up for the pep rally. "Come on. We should go," I said as I gathered my things.