never have i ever ➣ joey trotta

8

Chapter 8: Never Have I Ever

emma, violet and i are currently heading back to our dorms after an impromptu meeting for all of the members of the field hockey team. "are you guys going to the tournament? it sounds kinda lame." violet asks, reading over the schedule for the trip to the next town over. we usually only go to the tournaments when it's far away because it's fun to travel with our team. however, this time it's only about a half an hour away and there wouldn't be much to see.

"i'm not sure yet. i mean, i am the star defence player," i joke, implying the team wouldn't be able to function without me, even though i'm usually distracted anyway. i'm thinking about attending anyways because it's always good to get away from this prison of a school every once in a while. "i'll probably end up going." i shrug.

"yeah, me too. they're always fun." emma agrees with me. we all stumble into the front foyer, noticing the giant coloured banner that reads 'semi-formal november 5th!' in bubble letters that were clearly hand drawn by the student council. i glance down at our schedule, realizing that our tournament lands on the same weekend as semi. "well, that's unfortunate." she sighs, revealing that she's thinking the same thing i am.

a hand on my shoulder sends a jolt through me, resulting in me spinning on my heels to see who it is. joey smiles at me, "wanna go to semi together? like it doesn't have to be... together... we could just, you know, hang out? we don't even have to go to the dance. like we could go get food or—i'm rambling. i really just want to hang out with you." he breathes out a puff of air at the end of his little speech. my eyebrows furrow. why is he being so weird? we hang out virtually everyday and suddenly he's nervous about it. that's odd.

"well, joseph, we've just discovered that our tournament is the same weekend. i'm not sure which i'm going to yet. i'll let you know, okay?" i tell him, kissing his cheek quickly.

his red cheeks and bitten lip are almost conveying to me that he's embarrassed that i didn't say yes. "uh, yeah. sure. of course. yeah." he scratches the nape of his neck, slowly backing away from us. once he's far enough away, he starts running. god, he's so weird.

the minute i turn back around to face my friends, i'm slapped on the shoulder by my best friend. i mutter a small 'ow', listening in as to why she felt the need to abuse me. "you bitch! the poor kid was trying to ask you out and you totally shut him down!" she whisper-yells to me, "billy talked him up all morning for you to respond with the fact that you might choose a second-rate field hockey tournament over him!" shit.

i ponder over how embarrassed he was, how he walked away awkwardly, how he was really nervous about the whole thing and it registers that he really was trying to ask me out. my cheeks instantly redden at the idea of my best friend— whom i've been obsessing over for the better half of my life— asking me out, and being nervous to do so. i mentally cringe at my actions. i've waited so long for this and i turned him down for a fucking field hockey tournament. "i'll meet you guys at the dorm!" i call out, running back to joey. they both chuckle, shake their heads and continue on their way.

i eventually catch a glimpse of the tall boy who seems to be walking casually beside phil. i run up beside the two, leaping into joey's arms. he catches me with a sort of hesitance, probably because i just accidentally rejected him. "i'm sorry. of course i'll go to semi with you." i whisper into his ear, locking my arms around his neck. he lets my feet dangle, tightening his grip around my waist.

__________

it's finally the night that emma and i set up corey and ricardo. cor's been waiting patiently all week, and i feel bad that it's taken us this long to get around to it. however, i'm excited to see them interact with one another tonight as this is one of the first times they'll have a conversation outside of school. i'm not entirely sure how they met in the first place, but i don't have the motivation to ask either of them.