“Um.” She paused. “Thanks.”
Asa’s eyes narrowed the slightest bit. It would’ve been only natural to miss the gesture, but Carmen’s senses were tuned into everything Asa-related right now..
He offered her a curt nod and moved back a few steps, letting her walk past him to where her bag was occupying her seat.
“You definitely took your time,” Joyce said incredulously once Carmen was close enough. “Seriously, I was beginning to think you got lost and was about to come look for you.”
“Nah, just ran into Isla.” Carmen shrugged, handing Joyce one of the fizzy drinks that wasn’t as chilled now as it was when she’d bought it.
Surprise flashed across Joyce’s face, and her mouth made an inaudible “oh” but she didn’t say anything else and Carmen was thankful for it. In the recent months, she’d come to realise that Joyce didn’t really have a narrow-minded perspective, that it wasn’t in her nature to stereotype or generalise people.
Joyce just had a pliable mind, and it was easy for other people’s attitudes to rub off on her. Despite that weakness, she was actually a pretty great person, and Carmen appreciated that.
Popping her own can of soda open, Carmen’s eyes sneaked a glance at the tall frame just an arm’s length away, his mop of cinnamon hair looking almost glossy under all the stadium lights.
“How long has he been here?” Carmen found herself asking Joyce.
“Asa?” Joyce furrowed her eyebrows. “He was already here with Wyatt and Lyra by the time I came back with the fries. They were chatting with Willa and the rest of the girls. I don’t know, maybe they were on the opposite side of the stadium before the halftime and decided to be seated here instead.”
“Makes sense.” Carmen nodded absentmindedly. “The opposite side is filled with a majority of the other school’s students.”
“Right.” Joyce snorted, munching on cheesy fries and rolling her eyes. “That’s why he’s here, because he didn’t like the seating arrangement.”
Carmen paused midway of bringing the can to her lips and frowned at her friend. “He didn’t come from the opposite end of the stadium just to be near me.” Joyce opened her mouth to say something when Carmen cut her off. “I mean, he is the kind of person to do something like that, but he’s not my biggest fan right now, so it just seems unlikely.”
“The heart wants what it wants, Carmen,” Joyce said dramatically before releasing a sigh. “And right now, mine wants more cheesy fries.”
Carmen laughed lightly and shook her head, before gesturing towards the direction of the food stalls. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“Umm…” Joyce kept humming as she scanned the area around them and then stopped as she suddenly noticed something in the distance. “Nope! Seems like Lyra and Wyatt are heading in that direction. I’ll just catch up with them.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah, thanks!” Joyce flashed her a toothy smile and then hurried down the steps to join the other two who were already descending the bleachers.
She didn’t see Asa with them though, which was odd since he’d been chatting with them just minutes ago.
Carmen had barely finished thinking it when she felt a presence near her and before she could look up, that presence was filling in Joyce’s vacant seat.
Asa seemed comfortable enough seated towards Carmen’s right, his legs outstretched in front of him and fingers tapping away at his phone.
Carmen blinked, forgetting how to breathe for approximately three to five seconds. And then she turned back towards the field where the teams were gathering to resume the game, finally registering in her mind that Asa was indeed sitting beside her.
The game didn’t seem to matter anymore, and Carmen’s fingers kept tracing the rim of the can, her stomach too knotted for her to be able to even drink anything.
“Hey, Asa!” Willa called from Carmen’s left, and Carmen felt Asa turn his face towards her.
She didn’t register Willa’s words—or anything else for that matter—because Asa had shifted in his seat and was now leaning across Carmen to be able to communicate with Willa better.
Carmen’s sight was blessed with a direct view of Asa’s side profile, his slanting cheekbones just a few breaths away from her lips. She watched, with fascination, as his strong jawline twitched and clenched with every word he spoke. There were a few dark strands of hair that’d fallen over his forehead, brushing the tips of his left brow.
He was just a breath away. Just a breath away. And yet, somehow, she was miles apart.
Carmen’s attention snapped back to her surroundings when Asa was beginning to pull away and his face was slipping past her line of sight. Something seemed to catch his attention though, because he suddenly stopped halfway, and when Carmen turned to look at him, she found his eyes fixed on the jersey she was wearing.
A beat passed. Then another.
“Um…” Carmen trailed off awkwardly, clueless as to whether she should say something or not.
“Our school’s team actually has pretty cool jerseys,” Asa commented, pulling his eyes away from the material swallowing Carmen’s small frame. The jersey was almost twice her size.
“Yeah…,” Carmen said distractedly before clearing her throat and speaking in a clearer tone. “Yeah, it does.” There was a pause after that, but it felt more like a breakneck speed than a pause. As if everything had gone still at the suddenness, at the abrupt halt, and was waiting for one of them to give into the overwhelming silence.
“Uh…” Carmen hesitated, the words in her head tripping over one another and falling into a nonsensical heap as something in her rushed to offer some sort of explanation. She felt an irrational need to justify herself. “He, uh, he wanted me to wear it, and, well, I mean, this sport means everything to him, you know. And it’s the first
