"You guys are going to have to roll me back to the car," Kaelin proclaimed, as she stuffed another piece of salami into her mouth. "I'm going to vaguely resemble a human-sized bowling ball after this."
Jonah groaned in agreement from his spot on Cady's lap, the food coma making him even more non-responsive than usual. We'd made a valiant effort to get through the feast I'd provided, but there were still a few remnants remaining that I was sure Liv, Austin, Alec and Harry would enjoy when I brought it home.
"If anyone pokes me, I think I might burst. You could witness spontaneous combustion in real time," said Chance, staring mournfully at a cupcake that he clearly did not have the fortitude to fit into his already loaded stomach.
Cady poked him in the ribs.
"Ouch!" Chance cried out.
Cady looked at him with a deadpan expression, noting his still-whole form. "Why is it that you must disappoint me in this way?"
Chance looked contrite.
My stomach was stretched and full, which made me feel a little bit like Jonah, lazy and content. Knight was running his hands absently through the ends of my hair because, like Jonah, I'd forced someone to be my pillow, and Knight was the closest.
Besides, being able to hide my face in Knight's leg meant I didn't have to see Jace flirting with Callie on the other side of the picnic rug. Because, you know, poor Callie. And my outrage on the behalf of McKenna, who Jace really should get back together with if he had any taste.
I could hear her laughing as Jace spun her an elaborate story. I mean, Jace was newly my friend and all, but everyone needed to stop acting like he was funny. I suppose he did have a somewhat quick wit and a semi-confident grasp of comedic timing, but really, Callie's head-thrown-back heaves of laughter were a drastic overzealous reaction to his abilities.
My eyes fluttered partially closed as the combination of heat, excessive overeating and the comforting sound of my friends' voices and the trees rustling overhead. Cady drawing a revenge penis on the sleeping Alex's left cheek while Daria tried to stir Jonah for some cheery conversation; Chance was chatting away to Knight, discovering their mutual love for Gossip Girl.
It was evident that Chance was still trying to figure out the mystery of Cole Knight—why he had to make a stealthy getaway from my house with a boy bundled in the backseat. Thankfully, Gossip Girl was of more interest to him than the mysteries of real life.
"Okay, see, Blair makes the show," Knight insisted. "Serena is fine and all, but let's be honest, she's kind of the Elena Gilbert of the show; she's just there as a conduit for drama. Blair is the reason you keep watching though."
"But Serena is a fashion icon. Don't get be wrong, I love Blair, but Serena is still important and worthy of more appreciation."
Knight scoffed. "Next thing you'll say is that Nate is as important as Chuck."
Chance raised an eyebrow. "Cole, I am deeply homosexual. Nate is practically the reason I started watching."
"Oh, well that's fair," Knight acquiesced. "Nate is a hot little piece."
"Why does everyone keep forgetting I'm into dudes?" said Chance, looking skyward. "Is this why I never get a date?"
"Probably," I added sleepily. "You're the least gay gay guy I know."
"What, should I just wear flamboyant eyeliner and dye my hair rainbow?" Chance asked, throwing his hands in the air. "Wear elaborate Mardi Gras outfits to school?"
"Yes," said Knight. "Please do."
I smiled slowly and listened to the ebb of flow of their conversation. It was the most animated I'd seen Knight in a while. It couldn't be easy for such an intensely extroverted person to have no one but Austin and I to talk to—and Jace, whenever he was around. I got the feeling that since his rather dramatic exit from high society, he hadn't spoken to his old friends all that much. I hadn't pressed the issue.
Knight could talk about anything and everything, but the personal stuff was not our go-to. For all his jokes about us being best friends, I kind of had the feeling that for him, at least, it wasn't exactly a joke.
But I couldn't spend too long as the proud parent, listening to my little boy make friends, because all the energy required for my eavesdropping was strangely devoted to the conversation between Jace and Callie. By conversation, I mean shameless flirting. A disgusting display of public affection. Worthy of a police patrol for indecent canoodling.
You know, if talking to someone who was sitting three feet away had become a crime since this morning.
"Wait, Jace, try and catch," said Callie with a giggle. I squinted my eyes half-open to see Callie picking up a bunch of grapes as Jace leaned backwards with his lips parted. I sat up slightly. Callie plucked a grape from its stem and prepared it between her fingers. "You ready?"
Jace was smiling. "Born ready."
Callie took aim and threw the grape at him. He caught it deftly in his mouth, but Callie had already prepared another projectile which she threw squarely at his nose. It bounced straight off, and the pair broke into a fit of laughter that somehow wound up with Callie's hand on Jace's leg.
"The fear in your eyes!" Callie's American accent was annoyingly adorable. "You were like a deer in the headlights!" If I didn't like her so much—an immediate and intrinsic like, because Callie was the kind of All-American golden girl you couldn't help but love—I think I'd kind of hate her a little bit. Because of, um, McKenna.
And the feeling that settled in my gut—caustic, like acid or poison that slowly ate away at me and was spurred on by the sound of Jace's laugh—that was for McKenna too. McKenna still liked Jace, and I was McKenna's friend. Although, I had kissed him, so it wasn't exactly a high horse I could sit on comfortably. The horse was probably trying to buck me off.
"I was confronted with a terrifying projectile. I can't be held accountable for my reaction," said Jace, and his smile was pleasant and easy-going and warm and it had not been turned toward me for what felt like an eternity. I had become accustomed to the full force of Jace Hartley's smiles, and the change was, well, unsettling. And that is all that it was. He leaned slightly closer to Callie. "You're not going to hold me accountable, are you?"
Just a little bit unsettling.
Callie smiled back. "Wouldn't dream of it."
I sat bolt upright. "I brought a football, does anyone feel like a quick game?"
Callie moved away from Jace with a small guilty smile. "Sure," she said, jumping up from her spot and brushing the crumbs off her lap. "Dibs on Alex's team!"
Alex winked at her.
"Two team captains?" I suggested. "Then they can pick a fair team?"
"Yeah, alright," said Cady. "Jace, you can go first."
Jace looked up from his conversation with Callie. "What?" he said. "Who said I was team captain?"
"You and Lena are always team captains," Chance pointed out. "Because if you were on the same team, you would be useless. And you both always need complete control of your teams so that you can beat each other."
The rest of our friends nodded, with the exception of Callie and Knight, who hadn't been privy to our intense bouts of competitive spirit.
"Wait, we did that?" Jace asked.
"You all noticed that we did that?" I asked.
"Um, yes," said Cady. "It was not very stealthy. Lena always ended every group huddle with 'let's make sure we injure Jace and all of his Jace-lings'. Now, you might think there's a lot of room for interpretation in that comment, but I think Lena may have been motivated by not liking Jace. Potentially."
I looked down shamefully. Jace threw a strawberry at my head.
"I mean, Lena and I are great friends now," said Jace. "So other people can be team captains. If they want."
"Great may be an overstatement, but what he said," I agreed.
Jonah shrugged. "I like it when you guys are captains. The competitiveness makes the game more fun."
The others nodded in agreement, murmuring their wishes for Jace and I to remain their competitive leader's hell bent on destruction. I had to admit, it did add to the environment of the game. People always got into it far more when the stakes were raised, and I was good at nothing if not making the stakes high in regards to Hartley.
"Alright then," I said, standing up to survey and judge my friends and their athletic abilities. Chance was big, Jonah had, like, one muscle, Daria was too sweet to get really violent with it. "I'll take Cady."
Cady was a firecracker. And everyone was terrified of her. It made her my ideal teammate in all walks of life. She unfolded herself from the ground, dislodging Jonah, who grunted in disapproval at having his nap disturbed. She came to stand beside me.
Knight, sitting next to me, looked up at me with betrayal in his eyes. Given he came up to about my knee when sitting down, it was a comedic picture. "Et tu, Brute?"
I patted his head sympathetically.
"Daria," said Jace. She jumped up enthusiastically and practically skipped to Jace's side.
"See? Hartley picks his best friend first. I need a new best friend," Knight muttered.
"Knight," I said, hitching my thumb toward the spot next to Cady.
"What?" he said.
"I'm picking you, nufty."
He perked up considerably at this news.
"Hm. Callie," said Jace.
Despite Alex being, far and away, the best remaining player, I could see Callie gesturing excitedly to him, and decided to take the demotion. "Chance."
"Alex."
"Kaelin."
Jace looked at the sleeping Jonah. "You can have him if you want?"
I thought about his general sense of enthusiasm. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Leave him asleep?" Jace suggested.
"Yep."
My group formed into a little huddle; Cady, Knight, Chance and Kaelin. It was a mixed bag of talents and weaknesses. Chance was a tall guy, but athleticism wasn't exactly his forte. Kaelin was absolutely clueless with any sports; she probably didn't even know the rules. I had yet to assess Knight's general athletic ability, but he was tall and co-ordinated, so I had faith.
"Okay, guys," I said, my voice lowered so that Jace's team, which I would officially be referring to as the Loser Squad, couldn't hear our plans. "We need to talk strategy." Jace and Alex were easily the best players of the whole group. They played for the same team; Jace the solid centre half back, and Alex the speedy midfielder. However. "Now, Jace won't let himself and Alex monopolise the ball time. You know he believes in disgusting things like fairness and inclusion."
"I know," said Knight. "What a monster. Hate that guy."
"Your commentary is unwanted and will get you benched," I said. "Now, we all know that Daria is, quite frankly, terrible."
"Well... yeah," said Chance.
"So, when Jace gives her the ball, I want you to smash her."
Cady gasped. "But it's Daria."
I pointed at her accusingly. "This is uncharacteristic of you, and this is not the Cady that I used my first pick on."
Cady shrugged. The Daria magic was unbreakable.
Knight looked away from me. "This is what happens when you don't pick your best friend first," he said.
I ignored him. "I don't know how Callie fares, but she is also American, and has therefore never played football before. So, there's a good chance she will suck epically. Given Cady has decided to be a bad sport and refuse to physical maim my favourite person, Cady, you're on Callie. If she doesn't know to be scared of you yet, she will by the end of this game. Bury her when Jace passes it."
Cady saluted me.
"Chance, you're on Alex. He's your brother, so I figure you will have the least qualms about hurting him deeply."
He looked gleeful. "I will metaphorically draw a penis all over his game."
I nodded. "I don't know what that means, but love the energy. Knight, you're on Daria. You've been exposed to her wily charms the least, so you are most likely to actually take the ball off her."
Knight nodded.
"I'm on Jace," I said. "If they try to force different match ups, don't let them. It's our best chance of winning."
"What's your plan for Jace?" Cady asked.
"Um, same as usual," I said.
"Oh, so gratuitous violence," said Cady. "I love it."
About five minutes into the game, I realised the flaw in my strategy. Callie was surprisingly competitive, and was not yet wise enough to know that fearing Cadence Grey was a survival strategy and way of life. For all the frustration it gave me, as Jace's team piled on the goals, it made me admire the tiny golden girl.
I think I watched Alex fall slightly in love as Callie knocked Chance clean off his feet when he scooped the ball off the ground and went to handball it in my direction.
Jonah had woken up in the first minute of the game—when I had tackled Hartley to the ground and an uproar from both teams had erupted—and had decided to play referee.
"Holding the ball," he called out. "Callie's free kick."
Chance passed the ball back to her, and her unimpeded kick went sailing through the goalposts.
Jace ran to her side and picked her up, spinning her around in celebration. I decided that I would kick him later in the game, when the opportunity presented itself.
My team came into a huddle. "Okay. These match ups aren't working," I said with frustration.
"Why is the new girl good?" Cady demanded. She looked angry. "I'm in love with her."
"We all are," I said snappily. "She's pretty and talented and I want to borrow her shorts. Now, I'm going to play on her and I'm going to kill her a little bit."
Knight grinned. "Awesome."
I jogged over the Callie's side, waiting for Jonah to throw the ball up and start the next play. Callie's hair had come loose from her braids, framing her face in a stunning and effortless kind of way. She had a small streak of dirt on her right cheekbone, and she looked like every guy's stunning tomboy fantasy.
She smiled at me as I reached her. "Hey, Lena. Gee, this game is so fun. I can't believe we don't play it over in the States."
"Well, you're very good at it," I admitted.
"Thanks!" she replied. She tapped my shoulder. "Oh, hey, by the way, are you sure there's nothing going on with you and Jace? Your friend made a comment earlier and I really don't want to step on any toes."
I shrugged, but my heart was thudding. "Not at all. Why?"
"I don't know. I mean, I really wasn't looking for anything, but he's so sweet and funny. I guess I'm not down for anything too serious, but he kind of gave me the impression he wasn't either." She took a deep breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I thought it might be fun to ask him out sometime." She looked at me with hopeful doe eyes, and I could imagine her standing at Jace's side. They would be a very handsome fling.
I pasted a smile on my face. "Well, you should definitely go for it. Hartley needs to get out more."
Callie jumped up excitedly. "Oh, awesome. Thanks, Lena."
Hartley's team went on to win by three goals.
***
Thank you guys so much for sticking with this story. I don't say this enough, but I am having so much fun writing this story, especially recently. I think the chapters are getting longer because I'm just having so much fun writing Lena and Jace's story.
Also, don't worry. I do not believe in third act angst, so it shall not be happening.
I would love to hear your feedback, so please, comment, vote and if you love this story, add it to your reading list. Remember, 10K means 10 chapters in a week!
Thanks, pals.
- K