3Topsy Turvy
Where the class flirt likes the new girl, who likes the eccentric weirdo, who likes the aspiring artist, who likes the fumbling nerd, who likes the queen bee, who likes the basketball captain, who likes the loner who just wishes everyone would leave her alone.
Prologue: How It Began
The point of the last year of high school is nothing more than a last chance to raise that GPA and get your shit together for the transition to college. The option of taking a few college-credited classes is available and there is absolutely no excuse not to turn in scholarship essays considering they've been incorporated into the syllabus of every English class.
So please tell me why the entirety of teenagers (and movie directors) deem senior year as the 'party year' where one dabbles in underage drinking, late night skirmishes, dates that take on a very promiscuous manner, and follow the concept that true love is found almost instantly (though not without a good dose of hormonal-challenged emotions and ridiculous catfights.)
Bear with me, though. I'll be telling a story exactly as the one Hollywood producers take pleasure in depicting, the very copy of the clichéd plot that revolves around lackluster television shows.
Yes, it is just as you feared. This is the average American high school romance with awkward drama, gallons of ice cream, and that supposedly eye-opening prom/homecoming/whatever dance that makes everyone just suddenly realize that they're looking at the love of their life.
Average is nice. Average is simple. I can deal with average.
So how the fuck did I get pulled into this 'average' mess which, turns out, isn't as average as I wanted it to be?
(Not that I wanted it to be in the first place.)
In hindsight, I blamed my cousin. In fact, I'll continue to blame my cousin. Or you know what? I think I'll blame my cousin for as long as I live (which I hope is a substantially long time.)
Or maybe I shouldn't. After all, she's just as affected by this mess as me. Perhaps it's even worse for her considering she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. I, on the other hand, was simply sitting in a fifty foot deep hole. A very dark hole.
I was not particularly happy at the moment.
"Oh, come on, Leia," whined Lexie. "It's the first game of the season. You have to come!"
"For the last time, I don't want to go watch a bunch of sweaty guys chase after an orange rubber ball and shoot it into little hoop things," I huffed.
"It's called basketball, dear Leilani. And what's so wrong with supporting our team? Don't you have an ounce of school pride?"
I glared at her. "First of all: don't call me that. Second: no, I don't. Now, dear Lexie, if you excuse me, I have a movie to watch."
Lexie scoffed. "Your stupid movie can wait. I need a ride to the—OW!"
My movie was NOT stupid.
I didn't regret throwing my phone at her. Why? Because it was built like brick. No reason to worry about it being destroyed. As for hurting Lexie… eh. She'll survive.
Lexie groaned in defeat. "You're ridiculous. Why do I even bother?"
I shrugged. "We're cousins. It's inevitable."
It was silent for a moment as I flipped through out DVD case, wondering which movie to choose. That is, until my darling relative decided to say it. The words that would change my life forever.
"I'll cover next month's Hulu and Netflix payments if you come."
"Hold up, let me find my keys."
The match was being held in our town's local sports stadium, as both competing schools had gyms that were too small for an official game. By the time Lexie and I got there, the place was jam-packed.
It was absolute hell trying to find parking.
It was simple ordeal after that. We bought tickets, we ventured inside, we winced as the screams of avid fans filled our ears, and we sat down in a seemingly good place to sit. Seemingly.
Now, let me tell you upfront. I didn't do sports. I didn't play, I wasn't interested, and I sure as hell didn't want to spend my afternoon watching our team play.
Three reasons.
For one, I had no idea how basketball worked. I knew there was a three-point line/arc thing, but I didn't know how it was implemented. I knew there was something called a rebound, but I wasn't sure how it played out in the game. I knew there was such thing as a point guard, but I couldn't tell you anything about it.
Two, I hated crowds. I hated the people around me, who just seemed bent on yelling at the top of their voices, just to encourage a sports team. At the end of the day, the mass of people was as inconsequential as a herd of cattle.
In my biased opinion, of course.
"LEXIE! COME SIT WITH US!"
"OVER HERE, LEXIE!"
"LEXIEEEE!"
And number three was Lexie.
Don't get me wrong. I loved my cousin. But her reputation at school?
Most popular girl in school.
No matter what event Lexie went to (and dragged me to), she was the one everyone wanted to be next to, the one everyone wanted to spend their time with. Lexie would usually join them, quickly apologizing to me and running off to her fan club, but there was always that one odd day where she would kindly decline, stating that she wanted to stay by my side for some goddamn reason.
Unfortunately, today was one of the latter. Pity. I could've left her here to escape (as I usually did when she abandoned me) and she could've gotten a ride from one of her many friends.
Life never played out the way I wanted to.
It was especially painful seeing as how Lexie knew nothing about basketball either. She was simply there to cheer. That is, for one person in particular.
Sebastian Bentley. School heartthrob, non-womanizer, polite as hell, and good-looking enough to make any woman of any age stop, stare, and take pictures.
As former head cheerleader and designated queen bee of the school, everyone assumed that Lexie Heart would become his next girlfriend. I thought so too, to be honest. The two had a very light-hearted, yet close friendship. They texted one another AND they hung out after school together (though only with a group of mutual friends).
But the question remains. Why exactly was it painful that Lexie wanted to cheer for Sebastian? Because—
"GO SEBASTIAAAAAAAAN!"
She was giving me a fucking migraine.
I slapped my hands over my ears at the shrill voice. I scowled as I turned to face Lexie. "Could you be any louder?"
She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I couldn't help it." Her focus turned back to the game and excitement quickly flooded her face. "Look! They're about to score!"
And indeed they were. I cringed when our side of the court immediately stood up and gave off roars of approval and an excessive amount of whoops and shouts, their clamor tumbling and echoing in my head.
It did not help my migraine in the least.
When everyone had seated themselves again, I promptly got up and announced my intentions to Lexie before heading down the bleachers. "I'm going out for some air. I'll be back. I think."
Lexie nodded her head to show that she was listening, but her eyes remained on her crush as he ran alongside his teammates. I glanced at him myself as I walked down. Even an outsider like me could admit the boy had talent.
I pushed open the door to the outside world and took a deep breath. The pulsing in my head slowed with every gulp of air I took. I leaned against the side of the building and let my eyes close, relying solely on my sense of sound to ground me to reality.
I expected the standard noises one should hear outside a sports stadium: the rumble of cars in the parking lot who were just arriving or leaving, the muffled cheers of the audience from inside, etc. What I didn't expect was the cry of pain.
I opened my eyes blearily, the afternoon sunlight almost blinding me, but I adjusted to it rather quickly and turned my head toward the noise.
I frowned at the sight.
It was obvious the older guy was from the rival school since he was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the Oak Ridge High mascot. It was a perfectly normal shirt, save for the fact that there was a large brown stain on the white fabric.
In front of him was a smaller boy in a short-sleeved plaid shirt, who trembled where he stood. The older guy's hand was gripped tightly around the younger one's arm, and even from my distance I could see how painful it was. I noticed the empty coffee cup on the ground and connected the dots for myself.
Before I knew it, my hand was holding onto the guy's free arm, attempting to pull him away from the small boy. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, buddy?"
He turned around and I realized I had made a mistake. This guy, whoever he was, was terrifying to look at. Glaring eyes, a sharp jawline, and a scowl that made me what to run away. He was bigger than I had imagined him to be, towering over my 5'4" figure, and his muscles bulged under the t-shirt he wore.
Leia, you definitely messed up.
"What'd you say to me, bitch?"
I shivered under his gaze, but met his cold eyes with mine. "Let go of him. The concessions stand here only serve cold coffee, I know that for a fact. There's no way he could've burned your skin. Just let it go, will you? It was a mistake."
"Sh-she's right!" the boy squeaked. "I didn't mean to spill it all over you!"
The guy chuckled darkly. "Sorry, toots, but I'm not going to listen to your nonsense. The shrimp wasn't looking where he was going and he's going to pay. How about you let go of me instead?"
I gritted my teeth, holding onto him firmly. "No way in hell. Not until you leave him alone."
My eyes never even saw him move. One minute my hand was around his arm, the next his hand was twisting my arm around painfully. I gasped, feeling the shock of a throbbing ache in my wrist where his hand was centered.
"L-let go of me. Please."
"Whatever you say, bitch."
His hand was gone, but it immediately pushed me away with a strength I had never felt before in my life. I fell to the ground several feet away from where I started, clutching my arm, tears pricking my eyes.
He turned back to the boy who was shaking in fear. "W-Why'd you do that? You shouldn't have hurt her. She did nothing wrong."
The guy shrugged. "She was in my way. Now, where was I? Oh, ye—"
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, you son of a bitch?"
My head slowly turned to face the new voice, gulping. There he stood in all his glory, basketball uniform on, still sweating profusely from the game.
Sebastian Bentley.
The guy blinked before backing away, his hold on the smaller boy loosening before completely gone. "S-Sebastian? What are you doing here?"
Sebastian glared. "Came to get a drink of water. Closest water fountain's out here. Imagine my surprise to see you manhandling some kid and my girl for no good reason, Brian."
"Look, Sebastian. I didn't me—YOUR GIRL?"
Sebastian crouched down to look at me. "You okay, Leia?"
I blinked. "Um… yes?"
Sebastian's lips quirked upward before bending down to brush against mine in the lightest of kisses. He turned to face Brian with another deadly look in his eyes. "Fuck off, Brian. Don't let me ever see you get close to Leia again. Understood?"
Brian scoffed. "Whatever. I don't get what you see in her, but keep the girl. I don't want her around me anyway. Fucking bitch."
Sebastian growled. "Say that again. I dare you."
Brian narrowed his eyes, but seemed to think better. He turned on his heels and walked away.
Huh. Sebastian sure had a lot more power than I thought, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Popular people were magical that way.
I stood up, intent on thanking Sebast—wait. Didn't he kiss me? What? What?
I gaped at Sebastian, who was simply grinning at me. "How you doing, Leia Heart?"
"H-HEART?!"
I jumped at the sudden screech. Sebastian and I looked at the small boy, who was still apparently there. His mouth was open as he stared at me. "Yo-your last name is Heart? Like Lexie?"
I sighed. "Yeah. I'm Lexie's cousin. Nice to meet… you…" My voiced tapered off as I watched the kid hurriedly pick up his empty coffee cup and run away as fast as humanly possible. "Well... that was strange."
"You're telling me."
My attention switched back to our resident basketball captain. "What… what did you do?"
Sebastian chuckled sheepishly. "Uh… yeah. About that. Well, it's like this. Last time Brian and I got into a fight, it landed him in the hospital. Needless to say, he tries not to mess with me anymore."
I instantly took a step back.
His eyes widened. "It's not what you think! We just got a little bit… aggressive."
I took another step back.
Sebastian sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you, Leia. Honest."
"How do you know my name?" I asked carefully. "I don't talk to many people at school."
At this, Sebastian laughed. "Oh, that? That's courtesy of Lexie. She talks about you all the time. She really loves you, you know."
Love or not, Lexie was going to suffer.
"I'm surprised."
I raised a brow. "About what?"
Sebastian winked. "You haven't said anything about our kiss."
My eye twitched. "You mean your kiss. I never responded, remember?"
"True," he said, "but still. A kiss is a kiss. And you know what?"
I looked at him warily. "What?"
Sebastian smiled. "I liked it."