Try and Catch Me (Published)

Chapter 10: We're Not Dating

Thanks _That_Hipster_Girl_ for another awesome cover :)

Chapter 10: We're Not Dating

I stared down the hallway looking at Aspen. I noticed that multiple tiny bruises littered his face. Clearly, Caleb didn't go too easy on him. My eye had purple decorating it as well because of the fight, but thankfully I was able to cover up most of it with makeup. Aspen didn't have the fortunate of doing that.

Aspen was surrounded by his soccer friends. Today they had a big game against their rivals. The whole school was rooting for Aspen to win, even I was. It was an important game, and I knew that they needed all the support.

Aspen caught me staring and smiled, but I hid my face. We hadn't talked since the weekend. I should've reached out to him and seen if he was okay but I wasn't okay, so why should I have called him? He could've sent me a text or two. I shuffled down the hallway but unfortunately I had to walk by Aspen; he was standing next to my classroom.

"Branson!" Aspen called as I walked passed him. It was really hard not to stop. But I headed into my classroom, sitting in my usual seat in the back. "Ella, can we talk?" Crap. Aspen had followed me into the room.

"Don't you have a class now?" I asked him while I pulled my notebook from my soccer bag.

"I'm in your class, remember?" Aspen looked at me as if I was crazy and squatted into the seat next to me. "I've sat right here since school started."

"That's unfortunate," I mumbled.

"You didn't think that in the beginning of the school year." Aspen winked at me.

"You're repulsive," I spat.

"You love it," Aspen kept joking, but didn't he realize that it wasn't a joke to me?

"Do you still find this fun?" I asked him. Now I was definitely not being easy to get, and that was exactly what Aspen wanted. It infuriated me to think that I was just a game to him.

"Shit, you remember that?" Aspen looked guilty suddenly and his eyes widened. The color in his cheeks was gone and his hands formed into a ball.

"Caleb told me."

"Of course he did," Aspen sighed and fell back into his chair.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped at him.

"He likes you, Ella. Of course he's going to do anything in his power to separate us," Aspen tried to explain to me, but I refused to listen. Caleb didn't like me. We were best friends. He was only looking out for me. Besides, he liked Rebecca. How he could have liked her after she lied to all of us, I didn't understand, but he liked her.

Aspen sighed seeing my face. "Look Ella, I'm really sorry that I offended you. It's not that you're a game. It's just that I want to be the one who makes the first move when we do kiss." I finally looked at him now. After all that just happened, he still wanted to kiss me? If I was him I would have ran. Seeing my shocked expression, he chuckled. "Let's go out on a real date, Branson," he announced. "This one will make up for everything." He winked at me just as the bell rang.

I didn't say yes, well not aloud, but Aspen knew. He knew that in my head I was considering it, and that was practically a yes.

. . .

I decided that I would go to Aspen's game. It wasn't like I wouldn't have gone even if we were still in a fight. After my own soccer practice, the whole girls team was going to cheer on the guys.

Would it be weird if I said that my parents were at the game also? Well, they were. And of course, they were sitting right on the first seat of the bleachers.