Wish I Was Better

IV

School is the bane of my existence.

So naturally, when the weekend comes rolling around, I enjoy my peaceful alone time. Swimming in the pool first thing on a Saturday morning, and then having the whole day to enjoy, feeling refreshed and relaxed is my downtime.

Until, my darling asshole of a best friend blackmails me into watching his matches.

It wasn't my fault I'd accidentally caught a cold, or had a dog's funeral to attend, or fell asleep, or had a really bad twisted ankle every single time he had a match, but he thought differently. Hence, I was being dragged like a rag doll to his soccer match.

His match was at two in the afternoon, meaning I had enough time to grab a light lunch before making my way to the makeshift stadium.

The moment he saw me, his eyes lit up. My head throbbed slightly with guilt - I hadn't been a good friend to him at all recently. I knew how much he loved sports, but I was so stuck in my dark little shell of doom and gloom that I hadn't really put any effort into our friendship, and even less into making time for the things he liked. Nevertheless, he'd continued being my solid rock of sarcasm and love the whole time. I felt like I owed him a truck worth of the Korean food he was so fond of.

"You came!"

There we have it folks, the final punch and it's a knockout!!! Gods above, the person who created guilt deserved to suffer in hell.

I smiled, even though I could tell it didn't reach my eyes. "I try."

He raised an eyebrow. "Right. No dead dogs? Or angry kidnapping aunts?"

I winced. Those excuses sounded so made up it hurt. I somehow mustered up the composure to channel my inner sarcastic self. "Yeah, the wannabe kidnapper was buried with the dogs."

He let out a startled laugh. "You should really stop drinking chlorine. I think it's messing with your brain."

I let out a cheeky smile. "You're the only one who can mess with my brain, darling."

He shook his head, still smiling, and I felt a little bit of the guilt lighten off from my shoulders. "You're insufferable."

"Only for you." I promised.

"Jake!" A voice called from behind me, and both me and him turned to the voice. Aaron, one of the soccer players, was waving Jake over to the rest of the team, in what I assumed was a before-match meeting.

"I gotta go." Jake said.

"Go get them, champ."

He cringed. "You really need to stop acting like my grandpa, Atlas."

I shrugged, but my grin betrayed me. "What can I say? Your grandpa was iconic."

He shook his head, turning around and mumbling a quick goodbye before the player screamed at him again. I smiled inwardly. I missed our stupid conversations about this type of stuff. Inside jokes. Name-calling. Regular idiocy.

I leisurely made my way to the stands, finding a seat with a decent view. They were mostly empty, considering it was still relatively early. I pulled out my phone, idly scrolling through my Pinterest. I had never used social media in the first place, so Pinterest had become my only pastime pretty quickly. My life functioned pretty well without any other social media, so I didn't ever see the need to use it.

A tap on my shoulder forced me to switch off my phone and socialise, and I barely bit back a sigh. I really didn't want to see people right now.

Next to me stood a nervous looking Rowan. I forced back my shock, clearing my throat.