𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄 ⋆. 𐙚 ˚

──── chapter three; meeting at my house

𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄, walker wiped the sweat off his forehead with the edge of his shirt, his muscles aching from football practice. ridgewood high's team was intense—drills, scrimmages, and endless running—but he liked it. it was familiar. the weight of moving, of starting over, of being the new kid—it all faded away when he was on the field. it was the only time his mind wasn't racing.

"yooo walker, you wanna come over?" nathan asked, slinging his duffel bag over his shoulder. "my mom's making dinner."

walker hesitated for a second. he didnt know if he wanted to or not, seeing as it was only the first day. his mom wouldnt be back until later, and plus she wanted him to make more friends. so he doubted she would care. 

"yeah, sure," walker finally said, forcing a casual smile.

the ride to nathan's house was filled with the usual guy talk—football strategies, complaints about their coach, and a bit of trash talk about their upcoming opponents.

"coach is a hardass," walker said, rolling his shoulder. "but i guess it makes sense. he wants to win."

"yeah, he acts like we're trying out for the nfl," nathan muttered. "but hey, at least we've got a solid team. you played great today."

"thanks," walker said. "first practice was brutal, though. felt like i was getting tested the whole time."

nathan smirked. "you were. new guy's gotta prove himself."

walker chuckled, shaking his head. "figured."

they pulled into the driveway of nathan's house, a three-story place with a white fence and a basketball hoop above the garage. it looked like something out of a family show—warm, lived-in, the kind of house where you could tell good memories were made.

when they stepped inside, the scent of garlic and spices filled the air, and the faint sound of a tv show echoed from the living room.

"you can drop your stuff in here," nathan said, kicking off his shoes. "we usually just chill till dinner." he yelled after, shouting out to his mom. "maa! im home, i brought a friend over, hope its cool love ya!"

walker's gaze flicked around the house—framed pictures lined the walls, snapshots of family vacations, holiday dinners, and school events. it didn't take long to spot naomi. there she was, smiling in a cheerleading uniform, her arm looped through nathan's in a photo from what looked like homecoming. there was another one of her at the beach, laughing as a wave crashed against her legs.

she looked so carefree. so happy.

"so," nathan said, flopping onto the game room couch and grabbing a game controller. "you liking ridgewood so far?"

"yeah," walker replied, sitting beside him. "it's different from my old school, but the team's solid."

"good," nathan said, eyes glued to the screen. "you're gonna fit in fine."

walker picked up the other controller, but before they started the game, he hesitated. "you and trey been friends long?"

nathan's jaw ticked slightly, but his expression stayed neutral. "since middle school. dude's basically family."

walker nodded slowly. of course trey was close to naomi's family. it wasn't a surprise, but still, the confirmation twisted something in walker's chest.

before he could overthink it, footsteps echoed from the stairs.

then she appeared.

naomi.

walker's pulse spiked the moment he saw her. she had her phone pressed to her ear, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and leggings, her hair down curly, graceful as fell over one shoulder.

"no, ivy, i'm not wearing that," she laughed lightly. "it's too much."

walker swallowed hard, his hands tightening around the controller. she was right there—casual, effortless, and completely unaware of the effect she had on him.

he forced himself to focus on the screen, but his gaze kept flickering back to her. the way she leaned against the kitchen counter, smiling at whatever ivy was saying on the other end of the line. the soft lilt of her voice. the small twist of her lips when she rolled her eyes.

"dude," nathan muttered, elbowing walker hard. "stop looking at my sister."

walker's face went hot. "what? i wasn't—"

"you were."

naomi didn't seem to notice, still caught up in her conversation. "yeah, but you know how trey is," she said to ivy, her voice quieter now. 

walker's stomach clenched.

"sounds like trey," nathan mumbled, but not in a judgmental way—it was more like a fact. like he was used to it.

naomi sighed. "i know, but it's whatever."

walker gritted his teeth, wishing he didn't care so much about the way her voice sounded—like she was trying to convince herself it really was whatever.

"i'll send you a picture later, okay? yeah... okay, bye."

she hung up and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, finally noticing walker.

"oh," she said, a little surprised. "hey, walker."

"hey," he managed, keeping his voice steady.

nathan's eyes bounced between the two of them, his protective brother radar clearly going off.

"mom said dinner's in ten," naomi told nathan, but her gaze lingered on walker for a beat longer than it needed to. "don't let him destroy you in the game. hes very easy to beat. trust me i know."

"he wishes," nathan shot back, his voice a little too loud.

as naomi disappeared down the hall, walker let out a shaky breath.

"seriously," nathan said again, his tone only half-joking. "don't even think about it."

walker leaned back against the couch, trying to play it cool. "wasn't planning on it."

but they both knew that wasn't true.

they played a few rounds of the game, but walker's head wasn't in it. every time he blinked, all he saw was naomi—her voice, her smile, the way her lips tugged down just slightly when she mentioned trey.

a few minutes later, naomi's voice floated back from down the hall.

"i don't know, ivy," she said, clearly still on the phone. "he was... nice. i mean, he didn't really say much, but—"

walker's ears burned. was she talking about him?

he didn't dare ask.

nathan must've noticed walker's sudden shift because he tossed his controller onto the couch and squinted at him. "you good?"

"yeah," walker said too quickly.

nathan didn't buy it. "look, man, i like you. you're cool. but naomi's got trey, and trey's my boy. so... just keep that in mind."

walker's throat felt dry. "got it."

but the problem wasn't that he didn't get it.

the problem was that he did.