Page 15 of I Blame the Rival

“So, you’ll be at BEATS tomorrow night?” Pushing his way inside, Vector comes up behind me, “New project?”

“No to the first question, yes to the second.”

He sighs and drops onto my bed, “Stop being a buzzkill, Sky. Come out with the team tomorrow.”

“I can’t be a buzzkill if I don’t go out.”

Vector shoots me a glare, “You’re an antagonistic bastard, you know that, right?”

Choosing not to answer, I return to the paper in front of me. My bed squeaks as Vector hauls himself back up and wanders over to annoy me.

“Come out with us tomorrow and I’ll tell you what's missing.”

I narrow my eyes at him, “How can you tell something’s missing?”

Vector flashes his teeth, “Because I’m brilliant. Now, what are you going to do tomorrow?”

He’s bluffing. I’m sure of it.

But if he’s not…

“Fine. I’ll go out with you tomorrow.” My shoulders slump with defeat and Vector claps me on the back.

“That’s what I like to hear.” He points at my sketchbook, “It needs more colour. Add some more flowers but make them blue or something. Maybe yellow.”

Yellow.That’s it.

Reaching for my colour pencils, the rest of the world fades away as I add the simple blot of yellow that’s become my favourite part of each week. The addition is so small and yet the boldness of the colour makes the whole piece come together.

Just like what Lacey does to me.

“Not what I was suggesting but I guess it works.” Vector’s voice jolts me out of my thoughts and I quickly put the sketchbook down.

“What time are we going out tomorrow?”

He raises a brow, “Look who’s getting excited to go out like a normal person.”

“More like I need time to prepare myself.”

“Well, review how to socialize with people.” He gives me a harsh look, “Don’t do your usual sulking in the corner, Sky. It’s embarrassing.”

I shrug, “Now you know how I feel.”

“You’re fucking impossible.” A glimmer of anger flashes through his eyes but it burns out before it can spark, “Find yourself a bitch to take home tomorrow and maybe it will snap you out of this funk.”

I stare back at him, watching the tension roll through his body. My attention snags on the muscles straining against his t-shirt, making me think back to a time when life was darker but so much simpler.

“Don’t talk about women like that.” Standing up, I brush past him on my way to the door, “Mom’s waiting. Let’s go eat.”

“Can you miss someone you’ve never met?”

I voice the question as I pass the clean dish to my mother. By the time we finished dinner, Vector had snuck off to hang out with his lacrosse buddies and left me to clean up his mess once again.

Amber tilts her head, “Is this a theoretical question or is there someone special you’ve been talking to?”

“Forget I asked.”

“No! I love these types of questions. Makes me feel like a young person again.” She winks and takes the plate from my hands, “I just love being nosy as well.”

---