chapter two
When a loud thud comes from my window, the sound of something hard hitting the side of our house, my first thought is that, this is it. I'm going to die, and I haven't even finished my Economics paper.
I hear the sound again, and decide to brave a look out my window, pulling back my curtains softly. It's ten-thirty at night, and if this sound doesn't stop it's going to wake up my mom.
"AJ!" someone shouts, and I peer out into the darkness, seeing a boy standing on the roof of the Tate house.
"Oliver?" I ask, and then I realize that I am inside, and whoever that is, is in fact not inside my house with me. I open my window, to get a clear look at the boy, whose features are beginning to resemble Oliver Tate's.
"AJ, come out here!" the boy shouts again, and this time I'm certain that it's Oliver. He's been the only person to ever call me AJ, when all of my friends were calling me Dee and Deana. He had to be special, and he knew that I wouldn't tell people my middle name frequently.
I climb through my window and out onto my roof, like I had done many times as a child. It's cold outside, and for some reason I continuously forget that we're swiftly approaching winter. I'm dressed in a ratty t-shirt and sweatpants, and for a moment, I want to go inside and get changed, not wanting Oliver to see me like this. And then I remember that this is Oliver Tate, and I refuse to let myself become a different person for him.
"Do you want my jacket?" he asks me as he walks closer to my roof, and I forgot how close our houses actually are. The distance between our two rooftops was probably close to two feet, but when we were younger it felt much larger.
I don't say anything, but watch as he takes a large step onto my roof, and slides off his letterman jacket. "I figured we could finish that interview, if you're okay with it?" He holds out his letterman jacket, and I take it, giving him a grateful smile as I slide the jacket over my thin shirt.
"I'll be right back, okay?" I ask him and he nods his head. I climb back through my window, and immediately close my bedroom door. I grab my phone and notebook from where I've set them on my desk, and then climb back through my window, trying my best not to look winded.
"So, what're you doing up so late?" he asks me, now laying down, looking up at the sky.
"I have an Econ paper due tomorrow," I tell him, taking a seat next to him and pulling out my notebook. The only light is the light that is coming from my bedroom, and the way that it hits Oliver's face is a whole other story.
"Alright, so what were you going to ask me next?" Oliver asks, and I sprint down at the paper in my hands.
"How do you think your season has been so far?" I ask him, and he laughs.
"I mean personally, I think that we've been playing really well as a team," he tells me, and I nod my head, checking my phone to make sure that I'm recording. "We've won most of our games so far this season, and the ones we lost we've really been able to learn from and had fun playing them."
"And do you know where you're going to be going to college?"
"Probably just the local university, I've been offered a full ride scholarship to continue playing football there, so it's as good as any."
"And are you going to continue playing football after college?"
Oliver goes quiet. I look over at him, and a thoughtful look comes over his face.
"I dunno," he tells me after a moment, and I know that I've found something.
"Oliver, do you know what you're going to do after college?" I ask him, and he shrugs his shoulders, looking over at me.
"Do you?" he counters, and I frown. "Do you know what you're going to do in college?"
"I'm going to study journalism," I inform him, looking down at the titles on the rooftop. Anything to avoid his prying eyes. We're silent again, and it's easy to remember how we grew apart. How the silences would grow so long that suddenly there were no words at all, just the ever growing silence between us.
"Since when do you call me Oliver?" he asks me, and I look over at him.
"What do you mean?" I ask in response, and he moves his hands in front of him, like he knows the word, and is just trying to grab it out of the air.
"You used to call me Ollie," he replies, and I shake my head, frowning.
"Oliver, we haven't spoken since like, the ninth grade." Oliver frowns, and although a part of me feels bad, the other part of me knows that the end of our friendship was on both of us, not just me.
"I know that, I just figured, maybe you would still call me Ollie, that's all," he responds, and I have no reply. "I missed you, you know?" He looks over at me, and something about his smile softens me a little.
"I missed you too," I tell him, and he seems to cheer up at the idea. "So, do you think you're going to win Homecoming King?"
"I thought we were supposed to be talking about my football career?" he teases, and I shrug my shoulders, looking down at my list of questions.
"I mean, your football career seems to be the reason that you'll be our Homecoming King," I inform him, and he shakes his head, looking back up at the stars.
"Is this the part where I'm supposed to tell you that I'm honored?"
"I mean, I feel like it's probably pretty humbling, at the least."
"Would you be surprised if I said I don't want to do it?"
"Not in the least," I reply honestly, and he looks over at me. I move to lay beside him, and look up at the sky, praying that my face isn't bright red. "You were never one for the spotlight."
"That was always your job," he tells me, and I look over at him, shaking my head and grinning.
"There's no way that I was the attention grabber in this relationship," I reply, and instantly snap my mouth shut. I can't believe that I just said we were in a relationship.
"Says the girl who faked a broken arm to get out of a pageant with her mother," Oliver responds, and I break out into laughter. He turns his head to look at me now, and I smile as our eyes meet. "I have to say, I think that's one of my favorite AJ memories."
I roll my eyes, and the butterflies in my chest come to life. "One of your favorites? What's your favorite?"
"Homecoming, freshman year," he answers, and I hide my face in my arm, trying my best not to feel terribly embarrassed. "You showed up with that total tool, and I swear, it was like the entire night you were just trying to hide from him." I shake my head, laughing slightly. "But we did get to dance together, so that made it all worth it in the end."
"You totally scared him off," I accuse him, looking back up at him. Oliver's face morphs into one of complete innocence, the face that he used to make when he wanted to get his way.
"I have no clue what you're implying," he tells me, smiling. And as much as I want to press him about it, ask him why he danced with me on homecoming, I let the matter rest. "Are you going to homecoming this year?"
"Probably," I reply, shrugging my shoulders. I turn my body to face his, resting my head upon my arm, and he moves to mirror me. "Are you going to?"
"Well, considering I might be homecoming king, I suppose I should," he answers, and he sighs. His eyes never leave mine, but I can tell that something else is on his mind.
"OLLIE!" a young voice shouts, and Oliver sighs again, sitting up. I sit as well, looking around for the source of the scream.
"That would be Bonnie," Oliver says, looking back at me as he stands. "I'll talk to you later?" I nod my head, watching him walk towards his roof. He leaps over, and crawls back in his window, but this time, he turns around and gives me one last look. One last smile, before he closes his window and turns his back on me.
As I lie back down and look back up to the stars above me, I realize that he left his letterman jacket with me. Which means, I realize with a mixture of excitement and dread, that I'll have to give it back to him tomorrow.
opening gif credits to: zuleszn
sign off gif credits to: potterlulls
AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS:
Welcome to the second chapter of Interview With The Homecoming King! I'd love it if you guys were to vote and comment your thoughts!!
Question of the chapter: Who's your favorite character so far? Which characters would you guys like to see more of in the future?