Was this a date? Adrian thought about for a moment, then realized that it probably wasn’t. He shouldn’t be getting his hopes up like that.
“Yeah, sure. What time?”
“I can be at the school at five-thirtyish? You?”
“Five-thirty?” He looked at his clock that read four. “Yeah, yeah I can do that. See you there?”
“Sounds good!” She sounded happy and it brought a small smile to his face. “See you then.”
“Bye—”
She hung up on him.
What exactly did he just agree to?
Chapter 10
aria
Her stomach wouldn’t settle.
Although she told herself five different times to calm down, she just couldn’t. Her heart wouldn’t stop fluttering, and her traitorous brain kept conjuring up Cinderella-esque moments.
Just a friendly hangout at a game. Nothing special. We’re just hanging out. Mira’s busy and Adrian’s a good friend.
Just a good friend.
Maybe a few months ago if she tried harder to forget her unrequited crush then perhaps the word ‘friend’ wouldn’t leave such a bitter taste in her mouth.
Aria scoffed at herself. This is why she hates catching feelings for someone. It’s just a roller coaster of emotions she’s never prepared for.
When Aria arrived at school a little earlier than five-thirty, she saw a vast array of people. It looked like a mixture of madness, chaos, and a bunch of teens who were ready to celebrate a Friday night. This was also a pretty big game for her school as they were going against their all-time rivals on television. A hallmark of the American high school teen, attending this game was simply a must.
She ended up buying the tickets earlier to avoid the massive crowd later, and applauded herself as the line grew exponentially within five minutes of her purchase.
Just as she was about to text Adrian the meetup spot, so they could avoid the bedlam, she immediately caught sight of familiar spikes.
His hair was usually a dark brown; no ifs, ands, or buts about that, yet for some reason it was spray painted to have their school colors. Aria dared to say that he out-spirited her despite the fact that she was the one wearing everything with their school’s logo on it.
“Adrian!” she shouted his name over the crowd and hoped that he could hear her. It didn’t work the first or the second time, but on the third she felt like she was finally heard.
His eyes found hers and for a brief moment, elation ran through her body when he waved at her.
“Hey!” He walked over. “We should probably get in line because it’s getting long—”
“I already have the tickets.” She waved them in front of his face.
Was it too much?
“You bought them already?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to get stuck in that monstrosity.” Aria gestured towards the line.
He nodded his head in approval. “How much do I owe you?”
“Don’t worry about it.” She started to slowly walk towards the entrance. “My treat.”
“No seriously—”
“It’s fine, Adrian.”
“Aria,” he groaned.
“I invited you, it only makes sense.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll buy snacks then.”
“Oooh, sounds like a plan.”
They passed through security checks rather quickly, and opted to head to the concession stand first. As they dodged several cameramen setting up for the game, they found themselves closer to the front of the line than she initially expected.
As they neared the counter, Aria saw a familiar face.
“Hey guys,” Olivia Howard greeted them, but her eyes were glued on to Adrian’s. “What can I get you?”
“What do you want?” Adrian nudged her.
“Ah—”
“Oh! We just got a new cotton candy machine. It’s only two dollars and you can get refills for one.” Howard’s bubbly voice filled the air again. “My favorite is the green apple, I’m sure you’d love it.”
God she’s annoying, Aria clicked her tongue softly.
“Hmmm,” he hummed. “I’m not a huge fan of cotton candy, you?”
“I don’t mind—”
Howard butted in again, “Well, how about caramel corn? The popcorn’s made fresh and the caramel’s a recipe my gran taught me.”
“I’m more of a savory person,” Adrian mentioned.
A girlish giggle erupted from her and she responded, “I’m sure my caramel could change that.”
For f*ck’s sake. F*ck off, Howard.
Okay, maybe that was a little more possessive than it should be, but seriously. Aria understood that it was her job to be nice and to upsell the food, but the way she was acting was going above and beyond the call of duty to sell some stupid caramel corn. If Howard wanted to flirt with guys on her off time then fine, more power to her, but Adrian was off the table. He wouldn’t even be an option if Aria had a say.
Maybe she sounded like a crazy person, but she was looking out for him. Adrian was way too sweet, too nice, too smart, and too good to be a part of the mind games that Howard liked to play. Besides, Aria did not hold herself back just for him to fall into Olivia Howard’s hands.
As she listened to their conversation, if she could call it that, her stomach knotted. As much as Aria disliked the girl, it was clear that she knew exactly what she was doing. Aria could only hope that Adrian didn’t fall for that honey trap.
“What do you think?”
It took her a second to realize that the question was directed towards her.
“I’m not sure.”
“Eh.” Adrian looked at the menu again. “Maybe we can catch something later?”
“Yeah, I’m not super hungry yet, so I think that’s a good idea. Let’s go find some seats?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
Howard didn’t seem to take rejection well, and her usual smile was wiped off her face.
“Are you sure? The line will get really, really long later.”
“We’re good, thanks,” Adrian dismissed her