Head Games

“Did he see you?” Mia whispered. Brent nodded, thinking that this idea of Alyssa’s had been pure genius.

Dave heard giggling in the kitchen, and he scrambled away from the spot Brent had frozen him in. He walked into the kitchen to see Mia standing over the stove with Brent’s arms around her. He almost turned around and walked right back out, but he couldn’t tear himself away.

“Hey Seabs, can I talk to you for a sec?” Dave finally managed. Brent turned around and nodded, kissing Mia on the cheek before walking out of the kitchen with Dave.

“What’s up?”

“What are you doing?” Dave blurted.

“What do you mean?” Brent asked, playing dumb.

“You slept with Mia? I thought this was all going to be acting or whatever,” Dave said.

“I thought I was supposed to date Mia and make her feel good about herself,” Brent countered. “And boy, was she feeling good last night.”

Dave’s hand twitched, and he wanted so bad to haul off and punch Brent in the face. He held himself back though, and instead opted for clenching and unclenching his fist.

“Don’t toy with her, alright?” Dave growled.

“Maybe I’m not toying with her,” Brent defended. “Maybe I really like her.”

“You’ve gone out on one date,” Dave remarked.

“But I’ve known her for years,” Brent pointed out.

“So what are you saying? That you’ve had the hots for Mia the whole time I’ve known you?”

“Dude, all the guys have the hots for Mia,” Brent informed. Dave rubbed his temples, and Brent sighed. “Listen, Dave. I’m not going to hurt her, okay? And you know, I don’t get why you’re so concerned about me anyways. You dumped her. You toyed with her. You hurt her.”

“I still care about her. She’s one of my best friends,” Dave argued.

“You sure?”

“What?” Dave asked.

“I asked if you were sure. That you and Mia were still friends, I mean. Because she doesn’t seem to be all that fond of you,” Brent told him.

Dave looked up at him, confused, before realization began to settle into his features. His eyes dulled and his shoulders slumped, and he nodded. Brent felt bad for saying it so bluntly, but it was probably the only true thing he had said to Dave during this conversation.

Apart from the fact that all their teammates thought Mia was hot.

Dave started walking away towards his room, and that’s when Mia came out of the kitchen.

“Hey, where’d you guys….Dave, aren’t you going to eat?”

Dave turned around, looking at Mia apologetically.

“I’m not hungry,” he denied. He continued to his room and shut the door, and Mia turned to Brent.

“What did you say to him?” She said, almost accusingly.

“Just stuff he should have already known,” Brent replied. After Mia continued glaring at him, he brought her back into the kitchen. He sat her down and made their plates before settling down next to her.

“Well?”

“He assumed we slept together, which was our plan,” Brent started. Mia nodded, prompting him to continue. “And he got a little…upset with me about it. Which, is completely understandable, really.”

“Okay…” Mia sounded, still unsure of where this was going.

“But he started telling me not to toy with you, and then I got mad and told him he toyed with you first, and he hurt you, and not to worry about me. Then he goes off saying he still cares about you and how you’re still one of his best friends,” Brent continued. “So I asked if he was sure.”

“Sure of what?”

“Sure that you were still one of his best friends,” Brent clarified.

“I am still one of his best friends,” Mia said, wondering what got Dave so upset.

“Well, I told him you didn’t feel that way.”

“You what?” Mia announced. “But Brent, he…I…”

“Mia, I know you might still be friends, but he just needs to sweat this out a little. Besides, all I said was that you weren’t too fond of him. Which is true,” Brent said.

“Yeah, but…I don’t want him to think…” she trailed off.

“You don’t want him to think what?” Brent pried.

“That I don’t love him anymore,” Mia whispered, looking down at her plate. Brent stood and knelt next to her, guiding her face to look at him.

“Mia, listen, maybe we are going about this all wrong,” Brent said. “Dave obviously still has feelings for you too, so maybe you guys should just talk it out.”

“He dumped me for a reason though, right?”

Brent didn’t know what to say anymore, because he wasn’t sure about either person’s motives.

Why did Dave dump Mia? Did he lose feelings for her, or was he just scared of commitment?

What did Mia want to accomplish? Did she want to rub what Dave was missing in his face, or did she want to just have a clean break?

“Look. Either way, talk to Dave. Otherwise, things are going to get really confusing, really fast,” Brent informed.

“Things are already confusing,” Mia muttered. Brent chuckled, sitting back in his seat.

“Talk to Dave,” he repeated, digging into his food. Mia nodded absentmindedly, wondering how on Earth she was going to start that conversation.

Brent left a couple hours later, after the two of them had finished eating and gotten dressed. Mia knocked on Dave’s door softly, sucking in a deep breath.

“Hey,” she said once he opened his door. Dave nodded at her in response, and Mia bit her lip. “Um, can we talk?”

“Sure,” Dave sounded, walking out of his room. The two of them went to the couch in the living room, and Mia noticed that Dave tried to keep his distance. “So…” Dave prompted after Mia was silent for a while.

“Listen, about Brent-”

“Mia, don’t apologize,” Dave interrupted. “You’re a grown adult, and you can do what you want. Brent’s a good guy, and he’ll treat you right. I’m glad you guys are together. Don‘t worry about how it‘s affecting me. I‘m the one that broke up with you, right? Seriously, it‘s fine.”

Mia just stared at Dave and nodded. Dave got up and went back into his room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

She wanted to tell him the truth, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Dave seemed pretty sure of himself and his decision, so she decided to just let things play out the way they were.

He was moving out soon anyways, and then she wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore.

Dave laid on his bed with his arm across his face. He didn’t understand how things had escalated to this level so fast, but he knew that it was his fault. Everything nowadays was his fault, apparently.

Breaking up with Mia may have been a rash decision, and Dave knew that he was stupid for doing it. But he hadn’t been thinking clearly when he came up with the idea. He was on a kind of adrenaline rush from being recognized all over as the Blackhawks got more and more popular. He didn’t want to be tied down in case…an opportunity presented itself.

And not just with other girls, but with anything that Mia might get mad at him for. Drinking, partying, anything. He let it all get to his head, and now it was too late to go back.

He’d be moving out soon anyways, and then he wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore.