After an exhilarating weekend of all-nighters and English essays, Delanie found herself once more nearly falling asleep in her desk during first period. Monday mornings were always hard, but there was something about Monday mornings at Eden Hall that were just a new breed of impossible. Granted, she and Mabel were up studying for their math exam until 11 pm, so that probably didn't help the whole exhausted thing.
The only thing keeping her awake during English was Chris Mcmahon and his incessant babbling.
"You know, little Park, Nigel and Jett seem to think that you're good luck," the older boy chattered, though the humored smile on his lips told Delanie that he was joking. Not only could she never in a million years imagine Nigel Sweeney saying something so sincere, but she also knew for a fact that Jett had no idea that she and her friends were at his game on Friday. If he had, she wouldn't have heard the end of it during breakfast on Saturday.
She rolled her eyes at the boy, but said nothing. She had learned a long time ago that boys like Chris only fed off of objection. If you ignored them for long enough, they got bored and moved on to find someone they could actually get a rise out of. That was actually a lesson she had learned from Jett when they were kids. That was his secret way of not letting Chris bother him when he was being a jerk: ignore him.
Needless to say, Delanie didn't say much throughout first period. Second period, however, was very different.
As per usual, Delanie bumped into Nigel in the hallway. He gave her a smile as he fell into step beside her. "So, how was your first Eden Hall weekend, Park?" he asked politely.
Delanie couldn't help but quirk an inquisitive eyebrow at him. That was a genuine question. Nigel Sweeney was attempting to hold an actual conversation with her, no teasing involved. "It was fine," she responded apprehensively, staring straight ahead as they maneuvered down the hallway.
"Glad to hear it," the boy said cheerfully. There was an uncomfortable silence before he spoke up again, "Zander picked you out of the crowd during the game. Didn't think you were planning on coming. What changed?" There was a lilt in his tone that led Delanie to believe that he had more reasons than simple curiosity to ask such a question.
She narrowed her eyes slightly as she considered the question. What had changed? Did she really just not want to sit in her dorm by herself? Or was her sudden urge to prove herself to blame? There was no doubt that she was trying her hardest to break out of being Jett's shadow. Perhaps the whole "I want nothing to do with my brother" shtick was doing her more harm than good.
"My friends were going," she finally decided, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, "I didn't really have much else to do, anyway."
Nigel nodded. After a moment, the smile on his face was replaced by a smirk that was typical of him. He seemed to be internally warring with himself for a while before he caved. "Heard you're becoming friends with some of the Ducks."
Delanie furrowed her eyebrows. The only Duck she would consider herself to be anywhere near friends with would be Julie, and most of their friendship was built upon the fact that they woke up in the same room every morning. She could see herself becoming friends with Charlie in the future, but they were hardly friends now. She shook her head, "I mean, not really. My roommate is their goalie. I know some of them."
Nigel's smirk only widened. "So you know my boy Banks then?" he asked with a suggestive quirk of his eyebrow.
Delanie scoffed. Of course that's where this was going. "I wish I didn't," she answered coolly.
"Aww, don't be like that, Park," Nigel cooed, elbowing her side softly. "Banksy's cool. Well, as cool as a freshman can be. Cooler than you. He minds his own business and stays quiet. You could learn a thing or two." There was the Nigel she was used to.
Delanie rolled her eyes, relief filling her stomach when she realized how close they were to her classroom. "Thanks, but no thanks," she snarked before quickening her pace and leaving her brother's friend behind. She heard his chuckle as she walked away, but didn't bother turning around. She didn't have the patience for him any longer.
When she plopped into her seat, Adam and Julie were already there. Julie offered her a bright greeting almost immediately, "Hey roomie! How was English?" When Delanie just shook her head, the blonde laughed, "That bad, huh?"
Adam watched as Delanie smiled at his former teammate. She responded with a quip about her partner, and for the first time ever, the pair carried on a conversation. He was almost bewildered by the exchange. First she shows up at their game, and now she and Julie are casual friends? He didn't really know what to think. But he did know that he was starting to feel left out.
"Isn't your partner Chris?" Adam asked, hoping that this was his ticket into the conversation.
Delanie turned to him for what seemed like a millisecond before answering his question with a short nod. When she turned back to Julie, he realized that while she seemed to have less reservations about hockey, she clearly hadn't changed her mind about him. He caught Julie's eye as he frowned, causing the girl to smile softly before clearing her throat. "Hey Banksy, you really made your mark with the team on Friday, didn't you?" Of course, they had already spoken multiple times about Friday's game. The look on her face told him that she was trying harder than he was to build a certain bridge.
Adam felt his cheeks redden as Delanie turned to him, her stony gaze set firmly on his face as she waited for his response. He shrugged, "I mean, it was just one goal." In an attempt to sound confident, he failed to realize the arrogance that seeped into his tone. When Delanie rolled her eyes, he jumped for another remark, "It's not like I'm as good as Jett or Rick or anything."
This just awarded him another eye roll, those this time, it was accompanied with a snide remark. "Yeah, well trust me," she chuckled dryly, "no one is as good as Jett." Her comment was laced with sarcasm, causing Julie to peer angrily in Adam's direction.
It was clear to Adam that Jett was most definitely her point of tension. If it wasn't obvious from her response, it was made clear by Julie, who was giving him a look that could kill. Adam sent his friend an apologetic smile before continuing. "Well sure, Jett's a star. But Chris is -- for all his faults -- pretty good too. And Nigel of course... Hey, don't you and Nigel walk to class together everyday?" There was a smile on his face that told both Julie and Delanie that Adam knew exactly what he was doing. He was obviously trying his very hardest to get on her nerves, and he was certainly succeeding.
Delanie let out a hot breath, her brow creasing. She shook her head decisively and kept her answer short, "No, we do not."
Adam raised his eyebrows in fake surprise, "Really? But weren't you just-"
"The fact that my brother's teammates make annoying me a hobby does not make us friends," she clarified as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Before Adam could say anything else, Julie jumped in, "Clearly, your brother's teammates do love bothering you, huh Adam?" She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were telling him that if he didn't change his tone, he would be in a world of hurt.
And while he was, in many ways, terrified of Julie, he just couldn't resist. Delanie was one of the most infallible people he had ever met. Getting a rise out of her was in no was an easy task. Besides, he figured it was deserved, considering her unprompted disdain for him. He just shrugged as he leaned back in his seat, a smug look on his face. "No comment."
Delanie just scoffed as the bell rang. She spent the rest of the period doodling on binder paper to avoid looking at the dumb smirk that was permanently stuck on her handsome seat partner's full lips.
When class was over, Delanie and Julie chatted peacefully as they packed up their belongings. When Delanie finished first, she bid her friend goodbye, and began to head for the door. Adam glanced up just in time to see her leaving, and couldn't stop himself from calling, "Bye Delanie!" after her.
Without turning, the girl shook her head dismissively before disappearing into the hallway. As soon as she was gone, Julie whirled on her chuckling friend. "Adam Banks, what is wrong with you?"
"What?" Adam asked innocently, holding his hands up, "I just treat her the way she treats me!"
Julie shook her head angrily as she stuffed the last of her papers into her bag. "I'm sitting over here trying my hardest to get her to like us, and you're doing everything you can to get on her nerves!" Julie accused, glowering at the boy across from her. "I just want to be her friend!"
Adam gave the girl an exasperated look. "It's very clear that she's not going to like me no matter what I do," Adam argued, "the only way she even looks at me is if I'm giving her a hard time. It's not my fault that she has some grudge against hockey players."
Julie crossed her arms and popped an eyebrow. "Oh, really? So that's why she's chosen to be my friend? And that's why she and Charlie got along so well at your game on Friday? Oh right, and that's why she came to your game on Friday? Give me a break, Adam!"
Adam furrowed his eyebrows, "Wait, she and Charlie are friends now too?" When Julie nodded, Adam frowned. If she didn't have anything against Charlie or Julie, then what was setting him apart from them? He definitely wasn't friends with Jett, so that wasn't an option. "Okay, so why has she chosen to just hate me for no reason?"
Julie threw her hands up, "I don't know, but I was trying to figure that out before you gave her a reason to hate you!"
"She's been just as mean to me!" Adam bickered.
Julie shook her head with a sigh. "She's nice, Adam, and a good friend. I don't know what her problem is, but it's clear that it wasn't just you until you decided to go back and forth with her. You literally told Charlie last week that you thought she was cute, and now you're making her your own personal enemy."
Adam's face flushed. "Charlie told you that?" he asked, a feeling of betrayal sweeping over him. That was the last time he told his best bud about a girl.
Julie nodded, "Mhm. And take it from me-- you're never gonna get a girlfriend if your only form of flirting is annoying the hell out of the girl you're into."
"I'm not into her!" Adam blurted, his face red, more out of frustration than embarrassment, "Are you kidding, Jules? We can't stand each other!"
Julie just scoffed before tossing her bag over her shoulder and leaving the room. Adam stared exasperatedly after her, his head swimming. After all of that going back and forth with Delanie, why did Julie decide to appoint all of the blame to him. Just last week Delanie had been pushing his buttons the way he pushed hers. If anything, he was just getting even with her. Because if that's how she was gonna play then, well...
Challenge accepted.