The Elites

Chapter 9

Chloe

Chloe paced in front of the games room. Nash's laugh echoed out of it, making her heart flutter repeatedly and she bit her lip. Why was she so nervous? It had been days since he'd spoken to her after the cooking contest and to Chloe's surprise, she missed him. She worried he gave up on her and now she was pacing, debating on approaching him first.

With a sigh, Chloe told herself to suck it up. For days she wished to approach Nash, to for once, make the first move, and now she finally had the chance. She couldn't chicken out now.

Chloe marched into the room, her uniform wrinkled from pacing so furiously around the Elites building. In front of her, Nash, Caiden and Elijah all sat on the couch facing the giant television screen. In their hands were PS5 controllers as they played a match of Call of Duty.

"Nash," Chloe said.

Nash turned to look at her, his eyes widening at the sight of her and she bit her lip again. She stopped in front of them and Caiden grinned at her. Elijah gave her a small smile.

"Hey, Chloe." Caiden's grin grew. "What brings you here?"

"Um..."

Chloe clasped her hands together. Her eyes remained on Caiden, ignoring the way Nash's eyes bore into her.

"Hi Chloe, it's been a while," Elijah said, waving. "How are you?"

"Great." Chloe finally broke out into a smile. "How have you been?"

"Great. My team is winning the chest competition. Just a few more weeks until we go into the championships."

"That's incredible!"

Chloe beamed at Elijah. He was usually on the computer playing some sort of game, which meant he didn't spend much time with the Elites. He had always been a homebody, a bit shy too, and Chloe had never minded that. Despite them knowing Elijah the least, they all had a soft spot for the shy boy.

"You said my name," Nash said. "What's up, Chloe?"

Chloe's eyes drifted towards him and she stilled. He had an arm casually rested on the headrest of the couch and a few buttons on his shirt were undone. His brown eyes glowed under the lights above them and his hair was a disheveled, but done in a way that Chloe couldn't help but stare. What had gotten into her?

"Chloe?" Nash said. "Helloo, are you there?"

"Oh, yes." Chloe flushed. "I-I came here to challenge you. To a contest."

"Oh really, what kind of contest?" Nash smirked. His eyes turned playful and Chloe gulped.

"Painting. Or drawing if you prefer that. At your house, if that's possible."

Nash's eyebrows shot up. Chloe felt her heart pound, wondering why she said his home. But something about his home made Chloe feel closer to him. Maybe it was the emptiness or maybe it was the way Nash had opened up, but Chloe wanted nothing more than to go back to the moment and learn more about him.

"Deal," Nash replied, moving to stand. "Let's go. Prepare to lose."

"In your dreams."

*****

Chloe sat on the chair in front of Nash's bed. His bedroom was enormous - probably double the size of her kitchen and living room combined, and Chloe's eyes drifted around the room. In the centre of it was his king sized bed and on the walls hung posters of rock bands and singers. Off to the side lay his guitar against the wall and a mirror table and a bunch of drawers stood next to it. All the furniture was the same marble that the rest of the house contained.