Winning My Ex-Crush

Laird’s POV

A girl approached me. I guessed she was around sixteen years old. Her style was trendy hipster, with a t-shirt, skinny jeans, and a gray beanie. She looked cool, and I never expected such a cool girl to greet me.

“Hey.”

“Yeah,” I replied with a brief nod.

Of course, I tried to look cool too, but who knows? Fenella and I got off our bikes and leaned them against the edge of the bus stop.

“Can you help us take a photo?” The girl grinned widely.

“Sure,” I nodded.

I glanced at Fenella and whispered softly to leave my bike with her. “Hold on.”

Suddenly, Fenella pulled my t-shirt. She whispered anxiously at me. “Don’t take too long, Laird. They seem like troublemakers.”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Hearing that, I snorted. “If you want to join, just say so. Cath also hasn’t come yet.”

I immediately sauntered over to the group of cool teenage kids. The girl with the beanie handed me her phone. They quickly faced me, preparing to pose for a photo.

From their clothing style, the refurbished, shining old car, the latest model of the phone, and the classy neighborhood, I knew Fenella’s intuition was wrong. They weren’t troublemakers, and they seemed to be having fun.

“1, 2, 3.” To make them aware of posing, I counted. After taking the photo three times, I returned the phone to the girl with the beanie.

“Hey, this is great. Thank you.” The girl smiled happily at the photo.

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

“Hey, wait. I feel like I know you.”

This time, a teenage boy approached me enthusiastically. I looked at his face, and it was clear he was a stranger to me. He appeared to be the car’s owner.

“Yeah, yeah, I remember! You’re a Little League player for the Boston team, right?” The boy became more enthusiastic, pointing at me. “Number 7, right?”

Of course, I never expected someone to recognize an amateur athlete like me. Especially in a place like this. I grinned broadly at the facts.

“Yes. Do you follow the Little League Boston team?”

“I used to be an athlete too. Because my brother is on the team, I still watch him. Do you know Brad Atkins?”

“Of course. Number 23.” I lightly fist-bumped the boy as a sign of camaraderie.

“My name is Josh, and this is Samantha.” Amidst the noise of their friends around the car, the two teenagers introduced themselves.

“My name is Laird. Nice to meet you guys. Say hi to Brad for me,” I said to Josh.

“Sure.” Josh nodded.

“Do you want to come in and hang out? This is my house, by the way,” Samantha pointed to her house, where Josh parked his car in front of it.

“Maybe another time.” I politely declined.

“I already promised to visit our friend’s house today. His name is Adam O’Neal; he just moved from England last week. Do you know where his house is?” I took out a scrap of paper with Adam’s address written on it and showed it to Samantha.

“Yeah, Block F is straight ahead. See the brick-colored house there? The one with a white car parked in front of it. Block F is next to it.” Samantha pointed into the distance, bending down to match my gaze.

“Yes, I see it. Thank you.”

I bid farewell and headed back to Fenella. I glanced occasionally at Fenella, who seemed impatient to leave for Adam’s house. Cath had already arrived, and it was clear that she couldn’t wait to go to Adam’s house.

“Let’s hang out at my house sometime. Brad would be happy too,” Josh offered, and I just nodded. After waving, I quickly approached Fenella.

“It took you long enough. What were you talking about over there?” Fenella asked, investigating as she began to mount her bike.

“Hey, Cath. Did you wait for long?” I ignored her question and chose to greet Cath first.

“Not at all. I just came,” Cath replied.

“Do you know them?” She asked again after we started cycling.

“No. We just met,” I replied frankly.

“Oh, I thought you were so cool chatting with those teenagers.” Cath giggled.

“So, did you guys get acquainted? What did she say? What did you talk about?” Fenella asked again without pause.

“It turns out he’s the brother of one of my teammates. Then I asked the girl for directions to Adam’s house. Nothing more.”

I rang the bike bell to say goodbye to Josh and Samantha. They waved in response. Slowly, the three of us began to cycle away from them.

“What are their names? Do they live there? Is their car new? Does the car belong to the girl or the boy?” As if interrogating me, Fenella continued to ask.

“So nosy.”

I began to feel lazy when responding to Fenella’s questions. Sometimes I want to praise myself for being so sensitive to other people’s emotional conditions. I realized Fenella felt threatened by the stranger who had befriended me. She had always been like that, afraid that I would ignore her and choose to be friends with someone else she didn’t know.

So clingy.

I pedaled my bike faster and began to leave the two girls behind. Especially Fenella, who was now at the back.

“Hey, Laird! Wait!” They shouted loudly, but I continued to pedal faster, leaving them far behind.

Instead of dealing with Fenella’s random questioning, it was better to find Adam’s house first. I continued to pedal my bike until I reached Block F, according to Samantha’s directions.

After verifying Adam’s house address, I entered through his front yard and pressed the doorbell. It wasn’t long before Adam came out and opened the door for me.

“Hey, Laird.”

“Hi,” I replied.

“Where are Fenella and Catherine?” Adam asked in confusion.

“Behind. They’re cycling like grannies, taking forever,” I chuckled.

Adam laughed at my joke. “Come in. Let me wait for them outside.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll wait for them,” I said as I arranged the bikes in front of his house.

A girl came out of the house. She peeked, and our eyes met. I waved and smiled at her, but she remained shyly behind the door.

“That’s my sister, Mary.” Adam introduced his sister to me. “Mary, this is Laird, my friend.”

“Oh, this is your little sister you mentioned yesterday. How old is she?” I asked.

“Six years old,” Adam replied with a chuckle.

“Is she the little sister you mentioned who loves to play dancing game with you?” I asked in amazement.

“Yes!” he replied with a laugh.

Adam and I laughed together. It was funny how Fenella was compared to a six-year-old girl by the boy she liked.

Ha! Poor thing!

“Hey, Adam!”

Fenella and Cath finally arrived. I immediately covered my mouth with both hands and controlled my laughter.

“Come in.”

Fenella glared at me, but I didn’t care. Cath lightly tapped my shoulder in annoyance for leaving her behind, but she didn’t demand much anymore.

Adam invited us all in. His mother also entertained us with a variety of sodas and chips. It didn’t take long for us to feel comfortable at Adam’s house. We played games together until the sun went down.