Connor
How come Travis got the good ones?
I knew from the start that my older brother had a crush on Katie. It was the most obvious crush he had ever had; and it was the only one I saw not working.
Don't get me wrong; Katie was a looker. She had smooth skin, long brown hair, gentle emerald eyes, and nimble fingers. She looked like a dryad from mythology (that's what my brother had mentioned) and she had this serene aura around her.
Then there was my brother. With his messy brown hair, mischievous smirk that sent him to the principle's office weekly, and thirst for trouble, he was hard to tame. He always needed attention. A friend, a girlfriend. By his first year of high school, he was already on his fifth girlfriend. He and Katie were poplar opposites; one hated people and preferred silence, the other caused trouble and loved drama. I couldn't see them working out, as much as I was hoping it would.
Yes, it may seem that I am jealous of my brother. That's one hundred percent true. But not because I was just as infatuated with Katie as my brother – which I wasn't – or that I wanted Katie for myself – which I don't – but because my brother got himself another girl.
Growing up with a cunning, attractive older brother, I was now used to being the third wheel. All my friends started out as his friends. All the girls became his girlfriend or admirer. I was just an afterthought. A free drink with the meal. Or maybe the bag of chips... I was never the lucky one.
First, I lost the only true friend I ever had – my brother.
My other brother.
Then my mom decided she loved Travis more and pampered him, and I got all the hand-me-downs and extra chores. I got a waffle-fryer for Christmas when he got an Xbox, and then our cat pushed it off the counter and it shattered. Did I get a replacement? No. When Travis's Xbox froze and wouldn't reset, did my mother buy him an entire new Xbox? Yes. Who got the broken Xbox? The cat.
No, just kidding. I got the broken Xbox and had my friend Leo (who was Travis's friend first) fix it.
Long story short, when I looked down from the balcony and saw my brother flirting with Katie on the trampoline, I was filled with jealousy.
Why couldn't I get a cute girl to like me?
Why was I always over-looked?
"Connor, did you run the dishwasher yet?" I heard my mother yell from the study on the other end of the house. Her voice echoed across the walls and to my ears from where I sat scrolling through my phone at the bar in the kitchen. I sighed and glanced at the dishwasher. It had a green button on, and I could hear the water running.
"Yes, Mom, the dishwasher is running! Do you need me to go catch it?"
Silence. She only laughed at Travis's jokes.
I glanced at my sleeve and rolled the fabric up, exposing my soulmate tattoo. It was still a blur, as if someone rubbed charcoal or black eyeshadow on my bicep. I sighed.
Will I ever find my soulmate?
I slid off the chair and picked up my backpack, ready to head out the door once Travis came down the stairs. I walked to the end of the banister and yelled up the stairs.
"Travis! We're going to be late!"
Silence.
"He left already!" My mother yelled. I frowned and walked into her office by the stairs. She was hunched over her computer, her fingers in a blur on the keyboard. She had her short brown hair pulled back by a yellow scrunchie, the ends sticking out like a hedgehog. She looked up with glazed eyes and frowned.
"You're going to be late. Get out of here already!"
I choked back a snarky response and crossed my arms. "Where's Travis? Why would he leave already?"
"He went by the neighbor's before school. Said he was going to walk one of those orphans to school." She waved her hand at the wall, where Mr. Chiron's house was on the other side.
"Stop calling them that, Mo-"
"Didn't I already tell you to leave? Do you EVER LISTEN?" She yelled and threw a paperweight at me. I ducked and it sailed over my head.
Before she could throw something else, I raced to the side and flung open the front door, slipping outside and falling to my knees.
She only screamed at me. She only threw stuff at me.
I think she still blames me for what happened...
I took a deep breath and stood up, gathering my surroundings, and making my way down the lawn to the street. No one else in the neighborhood was out. The bus stop was several blocks away, the only one in the neighborhood. I glanced at Mr. Chiron's house. It seemed nearly empty already, only Will's yellow Buggy in the driveway. I wondered if he were still home, and if he could give me a ride.
Just as I was contemplating calling him or knocking on their door, the front door opened, and two people stepped outside.
Will was dressed differently every time I saw him, but he always wore his mustard Vans. Today he was wearing a yellow flannel shirt over a white T-shirt, with ripped blue jeans and the brown belt with the sun buckle he wore a lot. His keychain dangled from his hand, the other hand holding a coffee mug. I didn't know he drank coffee. Then I looked at Nico, his hands holding a cardboard box, and I realized Will was holding Nico's coffee. That made more sense.
"Hey, guys!" I waved, and they both looked up. Will smiled and waved with the hand holding his keys, and Nico simply stared at the box in his hands. Nico still hadn't warmed up to anyone but Will.
"Hey, Con! Need a ride?" Will unlocked his car and I walked over with a smile.
"Yes, thanks. Travis ditched me and didn't tell me."
"Yeah, he came by earlier to get Katie. They walked to school, apparently." Will climbed into the driver's seat and Nico and I stared at each other, not sure who should sit passenger. I shrugged and crawled in the back. Nico slid into shotgun and held the box in his lap, shutting the door and taking the coffee mug from Will's hand.
"Sooo, what's in the box? A bomb? A snake? A decapitated bird head to put in the principle's office?"
Nico shot me a frown and I shut up.
"No, it's just an art project he has due." Will said as he backed out of the driveway and pulled into the street. "He worked all night on it and kept me up because he yelled every time the clay fell apart."
"Well, it's not my fault you bought the wrong kind of molding clay!" Nico snapped, but I didn't hear anger in his voice. He kicked his feet up on the dashboard and Will sighed.
"Please put your feet down."
Nico didn't remove his feet, but a smirk formed on his face. I smiled and pulled out my phone, looking at my schedule for today.
I like to be spontaneous, but sometimes I keep a schedule. Today was one of those days. We had our first game this Thursday, and Coach had us doing drills for hours after school this week. I was looking forward to the game, not the practice.
"Are you guys coming to the game Thursday night?" I leaned between the seats and asked.
"I was planning on going with Austin and Cecil. Kayla said she'd think about it. She's not a fan of contact sports."
"What about you, Nico?" I could feel him slide farther away from me. "Do you like sports?"
"I mean..." He started to say something, but turned red and looked away.
"What?" Will asked, an eyebrow raised. He pulled up to a stop sign and turned to face Nico. "Have you played a sport before?"
Nico blushed deeper and looked away, staring at the line of trees beside the car as if some mass murderer would come running out and snatch him away from the conversation.
"Nico, do you play a sport????" I asked, laughing and slapping his seat.
"Come on, Nico. What sport was it? Basketball, baseball? Tennis?" Will asked.
"Aw, if I was a tennis player, I would be embarrassed to admit that, too." I laughed again.
"I don't play tennis!" Nico snapped. "I used to play volley- " He stopped abruptly and wrapped his arms around his head in a fetal position. "Go ahead, mock me!"
"Bro! You played VOLLEYBALL?" Will screamed in shock. Thank God no one was behind us at the stop sign. We were going to be late for school, though.
"Yes, okay! I played volleyball! And you know what, I was good! I was really good!" Nico emerged from his fetal position and snapped, his eyes burning in anger. "I was the best libero our club had had in years! Then I got embarrassed when a classmate I hated saw me during a match and posted a video on social media of me smacking my face on the court during a dive, and I quit!"
Silence.
I didn't think he could talk that much.
"We were mocking you; we were just surprised is all. Not many guys play volleyball around here. Our school doesn't even have a team. Did you find a club or something?" I resisted the urge to place my hand on his shoulder, but I thought he'd bite me or something if I did.
"Yeah, there's a club for high schoolers at a local gym. I was on the team last year but..."
He didn't finish his sentence. Will turned into the street finally and we continued our way to school in silence. Before anyone could say a word, Nico was out the door the second Will changed gears when he pulled up into the school parking lot. I watched him storm off.
"I never took him as the athletic type. He always wears baggy clothes so I can't see his frame, but I always though he was a skin-and-bones kind of guy."
"He's actually pretty muscular. Lean, really. He just covers it up in those rock-band hoodies and goth jeans."
"A goth, male volleyball player. Not someone you meet every day."
We climbed out of the car and I thanked Will for the ride before racing into the school, ready to tear Travis' face off for leaving me at home with Mom so he could walk his new girlfriend to school.
//AUTHOR'S NOTE//
Alright, kiddos. That's all I have at the moment. I don't know when more will be published, but I promise you they will arrive on Wattpad as soon as they are written.
I've been writing another fanfic during this one, so I'm multitasking and multi-plotting and multi-charactering. You know, becuase those are totally words.
Thank you guys for all your love and support during this book! I can't wait to hear back from you guys. Remember to vote, comment, and share so this story can reach others!
Love you guys
~Yawarakai~