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"May," he yelled, his voice loud enough to snap her out of her daze. "I, uh—I like you."
Brett's words seemed to hang in the air, catching May completely off guard. Her wide-eyed gaze met his, and she blinked, processing the confession that had just burst out of him like a sudden storm. She stared at him, her mind taking a moment to switch gears from the whirlwind of emotions she'd just been unravelling to the boy in front of her, suddenly laying his heart bare. For a beat, neither of them spoke, Brett, looking hopeful and terrified all at once.
She opened her mouth, then hesitated, the chaos of emotions swirling inside her settling into something awkwardly clear. She studied the boy in front of her and as if her brain was cleared from the fog of Rakim the name Brett popped into her mind. He was the ace pitcher for the varsity team ranked 7th in the state of Florida and was quite popular within the school.
"Oh," she started softly, trying her best to choose her following words carefully, not wanting to hurt the boy who had been so brave to confess to her. "Thank you for telling me, I really, truly appreciate it, but you should take the words back I don't deserve them from you." Her gaze fell briefly to the floor, struggling to find a way to soften the blow she was about to deliver. "But, I just… I'm not the right person for you. You deserve someone who is crazy about you and knows what a special person you truly are. I'm sorry,"
Brett's face fell, his hopeful expression fading as he absorbed her words. His shoulders sagged slightly, and for a moment, he just stood there, as if her response had robbed him of the energy to react. He forced a small, shaky smile, nodding a bit too quickly.
"Oh," he managed, his voice almost a whisper. "No, yeah, I… I get it. I just thought—" His words faltered, and he let out a quiet, embarrassed chuckle. "I thought maybe there was a chance. But, hey, thanks for… being honest, I guess."
May bit her lip, hating how crestfallen he looked. She hadn't wanted to hurt him, and she reached out a hand only to stop midway, knowing any words she could offer wouldn't help him. Good thing for her the awkward situation didn't persist as one of his mates who had been watching the interaction swopped in.
"C'mon bro I'll drive you home lest you hand the wheel to Jesus. Why u sad you should be celebrating that you had the courage to act. Not even Greg Maddux has pitched a perfect game," she heard the boy say not understanding whether he was trying to cheer his friend up or trying to antagonise him into getting over his emotions. She watched as Brett let out a forced laugh, his shoulders lifting a little as his friend threw an arm around him, pulling him along the hallway.
'You think the song is, okay?' Rakim inwardly asked Eva already feeling nervous at what he was about to do. He had been preparing this for months after his mate Weah in the Celtic squad told him how he asked his high school sweetheart to prom.
He had managed to convince his friends in a band to help him write a song and perform it in front of his girl. The confession didn't end well with the girl rejecting him outright as it turned out she had a crush on his best friend. The moral of the story is that he was brave enough to do something and that he got rejected for it.
Given that example, Rakim was having a bit of pre-show jitters similar to when he first participated in the school play. {You are gonna do it anyway, so why the hesitation,} Eva replied in a disinterested tone not at all trying to placate the nerves of her host. Knowing she was right Rakim simply nodded as he walked towards Reece who was pulling into the student parking lot.
He was driving his matt black Ford Raptor taking up the entire lane with its massive body and custom wheels the boy had bought. He had gotten the car as his birthday present upon turning 16 but if you asked his older sister the only reason, he got the car is his ability to catch a pigskin. Her father loved the sport and having a son who was so talented in the game and genuinely took it seriously was a point of pride for him.
Reece was all too happy to accept the gift especially since he had been salivating over the car for months dropping not-so-subtle hints like 'I would love to have a Raptor as my first car." That was beside the point as what really mattered to Rakim was the trailer that was being pulled by him. On it was a black piano that the boys had liberated from Bennett's home without his mother finding out.
"Special delivery," Reece exclaimed after coming to a stop next to the curb, smack dab in front of a walkway that students would have to pass to get to their cars or head to the club areas. "You can still cop out of this, no one would blame you that girls got the crazy eyes," Bennet exclaimed from the passenger seat with a worried look plastered on his face.
"I know she is my sister but even I agree that she is a handful," Reece added not even thinking of defending his sister as he seemed to agree with his best friend's analogy. "It's like the start of a horror movie, this is your chance to turn around before shit gets real."
"Are you both still mad that she beat you up in the taekwondo tournament?" Rakim questioned not at all taking their warning seriously knowing they were just joking or trying to get him to mess up later. After all, it would be much funnier for everyone if the boy got so nervous that he started forgetting his words. They had no malicious intentions but simply wanted to take any chance at enjoyment they could.
"Hey she used an illegal move, the ref was blind not to catch that," Bennett retorted with indignation immediately going on the defensive. "Yeah, I was distracted by Stacy who was flirting with me in the spectator's seat." Reece also defended himself to what he deemed was a good enough defence only to feel a cold stare locking in on him.
Turning towards the direction of the gaze he spotted the figure of Lexi and her volleyball girls just a few yards away from their location. They had been heading towards them and had clearly overheard the boy's conversation causing both Him and Bennett to sweat. That was due to Madison Bennett's date also being a part of the group of girls and she was also a loyal subscriber of the girl code. The Old Testament of that code, which dictates in chapter 1 of the book of Boyfriends, that if my friend is mad at you then we all are also mad at you along with everyone close to you.
Before Rakim even realised what was going on the two girls stormed off with their friends with the two boys following in toe trying to explain themselves. "(sigh) Guess I gotta do this myself," Rakim muttered as he watched this scene play out only to be startled by the figure of his sister behind him.
"I could lend you a hand if you ask nicely," she said from behind him almost scaring the be-Jesus out of him. Seeing her brother's shocked reaction Emma burst out with a soft laugh fully enjoying the unexpected scare she had caused him.
"(whooosh) always knew you'd be the death of me," Rakim responded quickly regaining his composure, "You sure you're ok helping me.... I know you said you're ok with this but...,"
"No buts, she likes you and you hardly like anyone outside our family. Besides what is a big sister for if not for this type of situation," She replied with a bright smile before proceeding to head towards the trailer where the piano rested and started connecting the four speakers meant to enhance the sound.