Chapter 9: See You Again (present)

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Junior, huh.

No wonder Frisco knew so much about Halo. He was a junior like her, while the rest of us were seniors. Apparently, he and Halo also had a lot of classes together.

"Hey, Oz."

I nodded to the dude who greeted me as I passed him in the corridor. Several people followed. A couple of high fives here and a few pats on the back there were a regular thing on a Monday, while I only nodded to some of them in turn as I walked down the hallway.

It was a little after three in the afternoon. Students were either going home, heading to their part-time jobs, or on their way to their clubs.

Good thing I had half an hour to spare before heading off to practice. In the meantime, I plan on tracking down a certain purple-eyed dork. I heard from Frisco that she was part of the AV Club. I seriously wasn't expecting that.

Call me stereotypical, but I sorta pictured her as the type of girl reading in the library during lunch. I never would've guessed that she liked hanging out in what we all liked to call the cockpit (school's AV station), which was where the cool geeks were.

When I got to the other side of the school, I slowed down and looked around. The walls were colorful, filled with club posters and paintings. There were no trophy cases or anything. But it looked like an awesome fucking art show.

I didn't come by here often. This area mostly contained the artsy clubs of the school. A world I knew nothing about since I usually hung out at the west wing where the jocks were.

After a couple of steps down the hall, it didn't take a genius to find out which one was the cockpit. First off, it was the only door without a glass window on it. Second, they had a big ass sign by their door saying it was.

I didn't care to knock. I just turned the knob and opened the door.

Half a dozen heads turned to my direction. They instantly froze when they realized it was me. Some jaws were even dropped. Typical day.

My eyes scanned the faces. No Halo.

I caught a familiar mint green hair, though.

"Milo, right?" I asked, slightly tilting my head and pointing at him as I stepped closer.

He nodded slowly but he didn't speak, eyes wide and confused. He wore thin-framed hipster glasses. A little pale and a bit on the lanky side.

"I'm looking for Halo," I explained, scanning the room again. They were all staring at me curiously now. I turned my attention back to Milo. "Do you know where she is?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but got cut off.

"Music room," piped up Halo's brunette friend.

Brooklyn.

She looked confused, her dark brown eyes asked questions she didn't speak out. I bet she was wondering why the hell I was looking for her friend. I absentmindedly gripped the book I was holding.

I could tell her I wanted to return something that belonged to Halo.

Truth? I just wanted to see her again.

"It's across the hall," added Brooklyn. She came up to me by the doorway and pointed to the other side of the corridor. "Halo's a good girl," she whispered under her breath in a stern tone, tinged with a bit of warning.

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

When I looked at her, I saw something in her eyes. There was a slight fear in them, but that didn't stop her from being protective of Halo. That much I could respect.

"I know," I merely replied.

With that, I began to walk towards the music room. My hand reached out to turn the knob. And then . . . I felt it.

The slow surge of excitement, my heart beating faster and the adrenaline rushing through my veins. It was the feeling I looked forward to most right before the start of a game. Because whenever I felt it, I was sure as hell it was gonna be a good game.

My hand was on the knob but I didn't turn it yet. I was still trying to figure out why the fuck I was feeling this way over seeing a girl.

But I knew. Of course I fucking knew.

I just didn't want to acknowledge it yet.

No, not yet.

The moment I opened the door, I instantly heard singing.

"So let the light guide your way . . . Hold every memory as you go . . . And every road you take will always lead you home home home . . ."

I quietly entered the room and saw Halo's back to me. She was playing the piano while she sang, her voice sounding soft and gentle.

I stood there, unable to move - unable to look away as I waited for more.

"It's been a long day without you, my friend . . ."

I liked her voice.

"And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again . . ."

It was angelic.

"We've come a long way from where we began . . ."

It was soothing.

"Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again . . ."

It took my breath away.

"When I see you again . . ."

I didn't even realize that I was staring at her like a goddamn lovestruck puppy until the music stopped, and I was left wanting more.

God, I wanna hear more.

"Great song," I commented.

At the sound of my voice, Halo jumped in startle and fell off the chair.

"Ah!" she yelped, landing on her butt.

"Shit," I muttered, running to help her up. "You okay?"

She nodded in answer, wetting her lips and avoiding my gaze as she composed herself. Her eyes wandered to my hand that was still on her arm. I reluctantly let go of her and stepped back a little.

That was when I noticed her tear-streaked face.

"Are you," I paused to lean closer, "crying?"

Her eyes met mine for a second, before she looked away again to wipe her tears. I couldn't help but admire how her black hair framed her porcelain face. Despite the red puffy eyes and nose, she looked good.

"The song," she cleared her throat, trying to explain.

Oh, right.

"Paul Walker."

Man, that guy was a serious fucking legend. Such a shame what happened to him. I saw Furious 7 last April and the end nearly had me in tears. Nearly.

"Yeah," sniffed Halo. "It's such a nice tribute. We had a movie marathon last night, see. I get a little emotional whenever I hear that song and it takes me days to get over it."

I fought a smile. "Dork."

"That's rather mean," she said, pursing them damn fine lips of hers.

"Or rather adorkable," I teased, grinning now.

She groaned and covered her face in humiliation. She peaked between her fingers, and said, "I was hoping you've forgotten."

No fucking chance.

It was an amusing memory. It happened just as I was about full on sick of attending parties. No way in hell was I ever gonna forget that.

"Well, you forgot this," I told her, handing her the crystal necklace.

Her eyes widened, automatically reaching out her hands to take it. "I've been looking everywhere for this!" She clutched it to her chest and looked up at me with the most grateful look I'd ever seen. "Thank you."

"Sure."

"Um," she mumbled, biting her lip worriedly. "I'm really sorry I slapped you the other night. I didn't mean to."

'I miss that look.'

I couldn't get those words out of my mind. I was pretty sure there was more behind them than she let on. What did it mean, though? Has she been watching me all this time?

This girl's a freaking mystery.

"No worries," I assured her. "I had worse."

I play American Football. Hell yeah, I've had worse.

I watched as her eyes lit up like she remembered something funny, then she covered her mouth to muffle a laughter. She turned away from me as if to hide.

The corner of my lips turned up in a smile. That was seriously cute.

"I'm sorry," she giggled. "Your flustered face that night just popped into my mind."

"And you find that funny, huh?"

She nodded.

My face turned grim. "I'm not laughing."

Her amusement instantly vanished when she saw my reaction. It reminded me of that cartoon Bambi. I almost laughed, but I stopped myself.

"Sorry," she murmured.

I waited for a couple of seconds, before I let out a small chuckle.

"I'm kidding. It's cool," I said, an easy smile stretching across my face.

She sighed in relief. "Oh, good."

I seriously wanted to ask her about her statement last Friday night at the party, but I got the feeling she wasn't the type to open up easily.

"I brought you something," I said instead, holding up the book that had been in my hand. "I decided to lend it to you. Not sure if you already read it but it's pretty damn good."

Halo's eyes went bulging wide and her mouth literally hung open at the sight of the book. Her reaction did wonders to my ego.

"Holy moly!" she gasped.

What the fuck? 'Holy moly'? People really say that shit?

She stared at the book in her hands, and said, "I've been meaning to read this. But then I got my list piled up. I still have tons of series and documentaries to watch that I forgot about this." She turned to me in disbelief. "You read."

I raised an eyebrow.

Contrary to common belief, I actually enjoyed storing my brain with knowledge. In fact, it wasn't really a secret that I had a 4.0 GPA. Even though I didn't give a shit what my folks thought of me, I still wanted to succeed.

When Halo realized what she said, her eyes squeezed shut in regret.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Uh-huh," I nodded skeptically.

"No, really!" she said, opening her eyes and waving her hands.

"That's the second time you've hurt my ego now."

"Forgive me?" she replied sheepishly.

Despite her asking for forgiveness and me playing it cool, she looked like she was having fun with our little exchange. And I gotta admit, I was, too.

I smirked and crossed my arms.

"Come to the game this Friday and I will."

She blinked, clearly not expecting me to say that.

"Are you serious?"

"Yep."

From her confused look, I thought she was gonna ask why. It was a reflex thing. Also, girls wanted certainty. I prepared my answer, too. But she didn't ask.

"Um, I don't watch football," she admitted instead.

"It's a good way to start," I shrugged.

She didn't reply.

We stood there in silence for a minute, staring at each other. I took that time to study her face; her purple orbs, so fucking unusual; her little button nose; her full pink mouth, looking so soft - tempting the shit outta me.

Before I could step closer to her and give in to the temptation, I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked away before I did something stupid.

But in a matter of seconds, I found myself returning my eyes on her. She was looking at me curiously now, like she was trying to figure me out. I also saw intrigue in them.

I suddenly remembered her saying that I was a mystery to her.

We're a fucking enigma to one another, then.

"Aren't you late for practice?"

Halo's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, making me glance at my wristwatch.

"Shit," I muttered, already dreading Alfie's smartass remarks when he finds out why I'm late. I looked at her. "I gotta bounce. See you, dork," I nodded, flashing her a crooked smile. I turned to leave, but then stopped to add, "Think about Friday night."

She smiled. "I will."

It was my turn to grin.

I hurried to the other side of the school, across the fields, and straight to the locker room. I quickly changed into my uniform, thinking all the while about a purple-eyed dork.

She has a nice smile.

"Fuck."

I shook my head, trying to get my head focused as I stepped out onto the field. Closing my eyes for a second, I gripped my helmet and took a deep breath. When I finally had my game face on, I put the helmet on and ran towards Coach.

I glanced at the bleachers and sure enough, I saw Connie watching me like a PMS-ing hawk. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. I ignored her and headed to where my team was at.

The team was scattered all over, warming up with drills. The offensive linemen were doing barrels - I saw Kurt killing it. My eyes wandered to Alfie and Frisco doing long toss, with Frisco backing up five yards with every throw.

Alfie easily tossed the ball, without much effort.

I'm pretty damn proud. We trained so fucking hard everyday for the past three years, motivating and pushing the hell outta each other until we reached the breaking point.

Here we are now, eyeing our third championship together.

When Coach saw me approaching, he blew the whistle and signaled everyone to get to position for the plays. I chuckled, already knowing what my punishment was.

Good thing I already did my warmups in the locker room.

One step ahead of ya, Coach.

"You're late!" exclaimed Coach, as soon as I joined them in the scrimmage. He was scowling, trying to show off his intimidation tactics that didn't work on me.

"I'll make it up on the field," I assured him.

He huffed. "Boy, you better."

He dismissed me and waved for me to run to position. I obeyed because this was my favorite part of practice. We perfected the plays and sometimes got to improvise.

Improvisations are the fucking best because that's where the real fun in football is. And playing it with people who enjoy it just as much as I do? Kick ass.

"Do I have to ask?" teased Alfie, when I came up to him.

"Nah," I breathed out, stretching my arms. "Pretty sure you figured it out already."

After all, he wouldn't be my best friend if he couldn't read me inside out.

He snorted. "Bet your ass I did. How'd it go?"

He knew my sudden interest in Halo. It wasn't a secret. In fact, not much was a secret between our little circle of friends. All our shits out in the open for us to make fun of.

I feigned innocence. "How did what go?"

"Don't make me spank you," he warned, pointing a finger at me.

I cracked a grin. "I'm so scared, mom."

"How scared?" he asked curiously, playing out the role by crossing his arms and slanting his posture like any woman would.

"Shitting-my-pants scared."

He made a disgusted sound. "You're fucking gross. Get lost and take care of your shit or else your father will hear about this."

"Aw." I placed a hand over my chest. "How sweet, mom. I feel so damn loved."

"Here comes your father," he said, nodding behind me. "You know what? To this day, I don't know how the fuck his dick fits into anywhere," he added, breaking character.

I glanced and saw Kurt, making me laugh.

"Girls dig that shit," I shrugged.

"Don't you mean he digs girls' shit?"

I burst into another round of laughter.

"What are y'all laughing about?" called out Kurt.

"Dicks and shits," I answered simply, grinning.

"Riiight. Well, good news," he announced, slapping my helmet as he came up beside me. "You remember when you asked us to dig up some dirt on the sissy team?"

Alfie snorted, while my laughter died down. As if on cue, Frisco joined us from getting a drink at the bench.

"Yeah, go on," I told Kurt.

"I did some recon. It was hell bribing them, but some fuckers ratted him out." He grinned. "We got some dirt on Lawley," he finished, waggling his eyebrows.

"How bad?"

"It's bad," confirmed Frisco, nodding seriously.

Before I could reply, a whistle was blown from a distance. We turned our heads to Coach who looked pissed as fuck.

"Are you gonna stand there all day or are you thickheaded boys gonna damn play?!"

The four of us exchanged nods and got to position to run the play.

It was almost time for payback.

I couldn't fucking wait.

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Haloz chapterrr! Hehe :D

The way I see it, Snow and Oz have chemistry. While Halo and Oz have a connection. Which weighs more? ;)

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