Challenge | Adam Banks

NINETEEN

Adam just shrugged. "It was nothing special," he said simply, "Rick was in a tizzy and I missed Jett at lunch, but that was it." He didn't know why he kept his answer short. Maybe it was that he wasn't interested in talking about himself. Or maybe it was the fact that he began to drown in nervous butterflies every time she batted her long eyelashes at him.

"You could've come and sat with us," Delanie offered, though she mentally slapped herself. She kicked her foot against the carpeted floor, "Guess I should've offered that earlier."

Adam chuckled, shaking his head. "It's okay. I'll definitely keep that in mind. Lord knows I'd much rather sit with you than my teammates." The pair shared a soft smile, their faces matching shades of red. Adam cleared his throat awkwardly after a moment, and looked as if he planned to go.

Panicking once more, Delanie racked her brain for a question, a comment, a concern -- anything to get him to stay just a minute longer. She quickly spoke up. "Do we have history homework?" she blurted oddly, causing the boy across from her to give her a strange look. They both knew very well that they never had history homework.

"Delanie," Adam began, a slightly humored smile on his lips, "is there a reason why you're stalling?"

The fact that he saw right through her made her want to crawl into a hole and never come out. She was incredibly embarrassed, but soon realized that she couldn't just ignore his question. "Stalling? Why would I be stalling?" she chuckled awkwardly, her gaze focusing anywhere but his eyes.

Adam smiled in adoration before reaching out to gently touch her arm. "Lanie, do you have something you wanna talk about?" he asked softly, an intrigued and hopeful look in his eyes. The way he looked at her made her stomach do flips. She had to restrain herself from kissing him right then and there.

She took a deep breath, "Kinda." When Adam gave her a pointed look, she nodded, "okay yeah. There definitely is."

"I'm all ears," he assured her, his gaze unchanging. Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Delanie's mind tumbled. What were the words she was looking for? How could she say them? How could she salvage the situation, come worst case scenario?

When she found Adam's expectant gaze once more, she realized that she had hesitated long enough. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment before opening them again, seemingly having gathered the last of her courage. "I was really unfair to you when we first met, and I can't get over that. I don't think I've ever really apologized, and even if I have, I don't think it was enough."

Adam looked as though he was going to console her, but she trudged forward, not leaving room for his interruptions. "You're a really good person and it wasn't right of me to dismiss that. Honestly I think I was just afraid that if I gave you a chance, I would be wrong, and I would have to be disappointed all over again. But I was wrong to not give you a chance. You're so much more than I ever gave you credit for. And now I feel horrible because you're this amazing person and I can't stop thinking about you and..." she sucked in a deep breath, "And I'm so into you. And I never thought that I'd actually say that but-"

A soft palm stopped her from saying anything else. Her sentence was muffled by Adam's hand and eventually died off all together. When she met his blue eyes, she found them to be gleaming affectionately. She had never seen such a wide smile on his lips. "Sorry," he said quietly as he removed his hand from her lips, "you're cute when you ramble, but I figured I would never get a word in if I just let you keep going."

Delanie's cheeks turned a deep crimson color as she awkwardly slumped her shoulders. Adam chuckled softly, reaching out and taking her hands in his. "You don't have to apologize for anything anymore, Lanie," he began softly, "I was just as mean to you. Granted, I just wanted to get your attention, and annoying you was the only way to get you to give me the time of day." He blushed at his own words, but hurriedly continued before Delanie could poke fun at him. "Honestly, I'm just glad you gave me a chance. I was starting to be afraid that I was just going to have this useless crush on you all year."

Delanie bashfully fixated her gaze on the floor, a happy smile on her lips. Her hair slowly fluttered into her face, something which Adam remedied quickly. He brushed her hair behind her ear, leaving his hand lingering on her cheek. She gazed up at him adoringly, finding it far too easy to get lost in his eyes. She had always known how cute he was -- that was the reason she sat next to him on the first day of school -- but he was an entirely new type of handsome up close and personal. She wanted to swoon. Her heart couldn't take it.

His eyes slowly assessed her face, following the line of her jaw down to her lips. This time, he very deliberately let his gaze linger, begrudgingly dragging it back up to her eyes. He made his intentions very obvious, and before Delanie knew it, she was unconsciously leaning towards him. His hand cupped her cheek gently, his blue eyes disappearing underneath his pale lids. Just as Delanie felt her own eyes shut, the door behind her creaked open, causing the pair to jump apart.

Julie stood in the doorway, her hockey bag slung over her shoulder. She had a guilty look on her face. "Sorry!" she shouted quickly, her face pink, "I didn't mean to interrupt. I just... yknow... game."

Adam scratched his neck awkwardly and avoided the goalie's gaze as Delanie uncomfortably clasped her hands in front of her. She cleared her throat, "Erm, good luck, Julie. I hope you guys win."

"Right, yeah. Thanks," the girl sputtered, her face still red. She nodded curtly at Adam and bid Delanie goodbye before darting down the hallway.

Delanie and Adam turned to one another, a silence between them. After a tense moment, they both erupted into somewhat-awkward laughter. Adam shook his head exasperatedly. "This hallway hates me," he joked, causing Delanie to laugh.

"You should probably get to practice anyway," Delanie supposed, though she very badly wanted him to stay.

Adam nodded in agreement. He hated to admit it, but she was probably right. He pulled her in for a hug, which she quickly returned. Her embrace once more turned his insides to mush, and he smiled against the top of her head. When they separated, he leaned down to delicately brush his lips across her cheek. "I'll see you later," he said, though it sounded more like a promise than a simple statement.

Delanie smiled and said her goodbyes, her face heating up in the spot where his lips had been. He offered her a wave before disappearing down the hallway.

The brunette girl sidestepped into her dorm, pressing her back against the door as it shut behind her. She let out a content sigh, biting her lip to suppress a wild grin that fought at the corners of her mouth. She knew her face must've been bright red, but she didn't care. She had never felt this way before, and now that she did, she never wanted it to stop.