Recap:
A pang of sweetness flows through my heart as I realize he must have been letting Jake win the entire time. All the while, when Jake was dribbling one foot at a time, Pablo could've stolen the ball and ran to another continent before Jake could get somewhat close to him again.
Pablo pulls back and fakes anger which has me smiling, "Ouch chico! We'll have to battle this one out."
Jake and Pablo grin at each other and I smile at them. They continue to bicker, but all I can see is their lips moving. I've zoned out of every little voice. Just watching them talk, not listen, makes me think of other things.
And at that moment, only two things are on my mind.
1. My brother is okay.
2. I'm in love with Pablo Remires.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Madison
A week has passed since Jake was released from the hospital.
They said he would take a slow and steady recovery, but of course, the first thing he wanted to do when he came home was play soccer with Pablo. We tried telling him no in the kindest way, and still, Pablo ended up carrying him upstairs into his room.
Soon after, Jake started getting better, his headaches decreasing. He was able to wake up on his own and we no longer had to fear that he'd be gone in the morning--in a coma of some sort.
"Jake don't touch my pancakes." I say without having to turn around to know what that silence means.
He groans and I hear the plate on the kitchen counter clatter softly. "I just want that blueberry!"
I open my mouth to speak, intending to tell him to get his own, when Pablo saunters into the kitchen, his hair spikey and wet.
"Hi Pablo!" Jake exclaims, directing his brightened gaze to him.
He grins and rubs his hair with his hand. "Hola chico. Are those for me?"
"Touch them and die." I state bluntly, whirling around to lean against the counter with a stern look on my face.
Pablo stops midwalk and throws his hands up in the air--something he tends to do a lot around me.
I roll my eyes and walk over to the plate to mark my claim. Grabbing a fork from the cabinet, I stab my pancake while looking right at him. He raises an eyebrow, his lips forming a smirk at the same time.
"I think she's in one of her crazy moods," Jake whispers quite obviously to Pablo.
I put the plate down and fold my arms across my chest, trying to fight back a somewhat amused smile of my own. Jake stares up at me with his lips sealed together and his arms behind his back like a little kid being told his punishment. Bending down, I cup my mouth to whisper in his ear.
"I think I'm in my crazy mood too." I say and then pull back to look at his expression, "You know what that means?"
In an instant, Jake sprints off with a loud war cry.
"You'll never get me!" He screams, running around the living room like a maniac who never injured his head.
I chuckle and exchange glances with Pablo before we both sprint around the counter to chase after him. When Jake hears both of our thudding footsteps, he screams again and starts running around the coffee table, his arms flailing around.
I make a break for him, aiming to get him on the couch so I can tickle him.
"You run that way!" Pablo tells Jake to my confusion, "I got this."
Jake sticks his tongue out and darts out of my grip last minute.
"Cheater!" I shout as Pablo's hands wrap firmly around my waist to pull me back. He chuckles as I try to elbow him in the gut aimlessly. In less than a few seconds, I find myself thrown onto the couch with Pablo standing above me, his hands poised and ready for an attack.
I glare at him, "Don't you dare."
"Jake!" Pablo calls, ignoring my empty threat, "Come here!"
Immediately, I hear his little thumps come back down the hall. When he appears in front of me, his face cracks up and he starts to giggle.
"You think this is funny?" I ask, wanting to make him laugh some more despite my situation of almost being tickled to death.
He nods his head and giggles, positioning his own hands for an attack.
"Jak- ah!"
I cut myself off with a loud scream as soon as their hands meet my sides. I throw my head back, feeling my eyes start to burn as I try not to laugh. Pablo, who's slowly working his way up my neck, grins at me while I nearly die. I start to flail my legs around and attempt to push their hands off, but each time I do so, they come back for more.
Eventually Jake jumps on my chest and starts to tickle my neck just as Pablo straddles my legs to follow suite.
"Stop!" I shout, my voice coming out strangled as another laugh overcomes me.
"Stop...what?" Jake asks innocently, managing to bat his eyelashes.
"You little meanie-"
Just as I'm about to throw out the most immature minor words I can think of, the doorbell rings, making us all freeze in our places. When no one answers, it rings again, and I decide that maybe I should go and answer it.
"I should get that," I state, raising an eyebrow at both of them.
They nod eventually and get off of me. I take that to my advantage and leap up, brushing my pants off when I'm standing.
"You guys will pay," I warn them, narrowing my eyes before heading for the door.
I flatten out my hair on the way to the it, knowing that it probably looks like a trainwreck. When I pull the knob back, I'm met with the hopeful face of Courtney.
"Hey," She says softly, her eyes drifting down to her fingers.
I clear my throat and lean against the door, deciding to give her a small smile.
"Hey."
I know I had overreacted back at her house, and I also knew I had to apologise to her. I figured one day, i'd come around and do it, but each time, I'd just put it off.
"Look-"
"I'm sorry-"
We both say at the same time. A nervous laugh makes it past my lips and I look up to see her smiling as well.
"You go first," She says, pointing at me.
I gulp and look down momentarily, trying to gain the courage to apologise again. When it comes flooding back, I glance back up at her curious gaze.
"I'm sorry for yelling," I state openly, "I had no right to put my anger out on you. You were just trying to help and I jumped at your effort."
Courtney shakes her head, "No, it was my fault for pushing the subject. I should've known."
After that, another silence engulfs us both as we figure out what to say. For me, it's weird to have to feel this way, because never in my life had I ever felt awkward around Courtney.
"So," She says after a few minutes, tottering on her toes, "Um, I'm sorry if I interrupted something..."
I frown at her, confused as to why she would think so, "No, no of course not!"
"Right," She nods her head doubtfully, "I was just wondering then, since we're okay now, if you would want to go dress shopping with me today? I figured since Homecoming is in a few days, we might as well."
Surprisingly enough, I really did like the sound of that. Courtney and I hadn't spoken for an entire week and a half, and it felt terrible. It was like there was this social iron curtain drawn between the two of us. Usually, I would've been a little okay, but I didn't have Natalie by my side either so it changed the way I looked at things.
I nod my head, "Yeah, I'd actually like that."
She grins, "Great! I can wait for you to get ready if you want?"
I open the door wider for her to enter, "Sure, I'll be right down."
When she is a distance away from the door, I close it and quickly dart upstairs, ignoring Pablo and Jake's weird stares.
All I know is that homecoming is coming up and I haven't found the perfect dress to kick some Lucas with.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
I hope it's good enough for now.
It's short, and I'm sorry. I think there are around three to four chapters left of this book though.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and i'm sorry if this is a crappy note.
Can I get some votes and comments?
Vomment.
xxSummerxx
Errors will be fixed later.