Burning Out Bright

FIFTEEN YEARS OLD
He is late and Natalia is worried. It probably isn’t a good sign Shaun Sullivan is late. From what she’d heard from the rumours and Leonora (who had suddenly become very interested in providing Natalia with horror tales about Shaun’s terrible dating records and uh, the infamous things he engaged in…funny how she hadn’t thought about those when she was daydreaming about Shaun, huh?), Shaun would have something planned when he’s late. She shudders just thinking about it.

“Hey. Thank God you’re still here. Sorry I’m late.” He places a hand on Natalia’s upper arm and smiles.

She raises her eyebrows in confusion. Sure, this may be a guy but it isn’t the one that she’s been expecting. “Um…what are you doing h-”

“Natalia!” The guy that she’s been waiting for appears, wearing a smirk. He notices Adam’s hand and takes a step forward, as though he’s trying to stake a claim on the girl. “Why are you here?”

Adam grins, faking innocence. “I was just passing by and saw her here alone. Aren’t you guys supposed to be on a date? Why’s she here waiting?"

Shaun laughs, like an amused uncle patronizing his ignorant nephew. Surprised at the cocky manner Shaun conducted himself, Natalia gazes at him amused. Who knew that the dude not only had charming smiles and twisted words but also possessed a huge ego? “Adam, Adam, Adam. Don’t be a jackass. If you’re jealous because you want the girl for yourself, you should’ve asked her out earlier instead of disrupting our date and hiding behind that façade. Now run along, you wuss.”

Adam blinks at him, his expression giving nothing away. Natalia, on the other hand, blushes furiously, her heart rate speeding up rapidly. Weird how she’d actually become more excited when Shaun said all that than when she’d been asked out…

It is hard to say what Adam would’ve done if Natalia didn’t stammer a reply, “I-I think you’ve got it wrong, Shaun. I mean… Uh…I guess I want Adam here.”

“What the hell for?” Incredulous, Shaun fixes his gaze on the girl with auburn curls. Admittedly, she’s a real hot chick but if she’s going to bring Kingston every time he wanted a date (and honestly, he’s rather certain that there would be more), he’s going to have to reconsider. “Did your parents hire a bodyguard so that you’ll remain chaste until your wedding night?”

She stares at Shaun, surprised at his nasty words. Did he really mean them or is he annoyed that their ‘date’ is disrupted by Adam? In any case, there appears to have been a lot that she didn’t know about the guy.

Adam shakes himself out of the mental hole that he’s been drilling into Shaun’s head and looks at Natalia but speaks to Shaun, smiling secretively. “I think that her parents must’ve foreseen her future and realized that her virtue needed protecting from as-I mean, guys like you.”

Shaun’s complexion suddenly become slightly rosier and he looks away, suddenly finding it hard to speak.
***
“You know, I could’ve handled the situation.”

He rolls his eyes, licking the ice-cream. “He was actually salivating throughout the movie. I mean, honestly, which guy would bring a girl to a horror film unless he wanted to get it on? Pity I was there.”

She blushes and waits for him to finish. “Are you sure that you’d be able to reject his…uh…advances?”

Is just Natalia or did the temperature in the room suddenly rise at the mention of those words? She supposes that Shaun could’ve been a little too forward, with the park and the excellent view of the night sky…it’d almost seems as though he’d been reading too many clichéd romance novels and decided that such a thing would cause Natalia to squeal with delight and initiate a make out session.

She might’ve been a little bit touched at the effort he put in if Adam hadn’t been there with them, sniggering at every move Shaun tried to make.

Now Natalia feels annoyed with Adam. Sure, he might have protected her from Shaun’s less than honourable intentions but he didn’t need to make the guy feel like crap either. Her irritation seeps into her tone as she says, stanchly, “Okay, fine, thanks. But seriously, you didn’t need to be all smug and mean at the park. He did the best that he could’ve!”

“But is the best enough?” Adam tilts his head to the side, finishing his ice-cream. Eyeing Natalia’s, he asks, “Do you want that?”

She shakes her head and hands it to him, waiting for him to continue.

When he’s done with her ice-cream, he finally notices Natalia’s annoyance and continues, “Shouldn’t he have tried to learn more about you before he asked you out? Then he would’ve found out that you’re allergic to grass, that you hate horror movies and that you’re easily bored so you’d naturally be restless at the park.”

Huh. Who knew that Adam had gathered so much information about her tastes? Unwilling to back down (why is she defending Shaun anyway?), she asks, “So what? Are you sure that even with all that you know about me that you’ll be able to come up with something you think I’ll enjoy?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“I’ll bet.” She snorts and throws away the half eaten cones.

“Don’t need to sound so sarcastic. Give me a few seconds, okay?”

Natalia waits, feeling more excitement and anxiety that she’d had all night, which is rather odd.

“I think I’ve got it.” Adam smiles triumphantly. “I’d bring you to go-carting because I know how you like speed and crashing into things. Then I’ll bring you to Friday’s because a proper dinner is overrated and ice-cream will smoothen whatever rough edges…and then, I’ll end off the night with some stupid chick flick you’ve probably been bugging me all week about. Does that sound about right?”

Her heart stops, stuttering like a car engine. He’d described the perfect date, something that she’d joked about with Leonora a couple of days ago. How did he manage to come up with something that trumped her imagination? Attempting to cover her… (What is this alien emotion anyway?) shock, she cracks a weak smile. “Dude, you cheated. It doesn’t count because you know me so freaking well.”

“I’m just saying…” He shrugs and notices the odd expression on Natalia’s face. Softening slightly, he adds, “I’m just saying that Shaun could’ve done that a lot better.”

“Yeah?” His hair looks very soft…almost like she could run her hands through them. Wait. What is this that she’s feeling again?

Adam nods; unaware of the treacherous thoughts lurking about in Natalia’s mind. “Yup.”
***
Briarwood versus Lakewood…3 vs. 3

This is supposed to be an exciting match against old rivals but Natalia couldn’t have cared less. Adam wasn’t kidding when he said that she was restless. The fact is that she’s almost certain that making herself sit through something as boring as a basketball match could make her brain spontaneously combust. Yet, she’d forced herself to do it not because she wanted a challenge but because Adam’s playing.

It’s ludicrous of her to think that just by being there, it’d help Adam. After all, she’d already wished her hardest that the match would go well so that the comparisons between Eric’s incredible skill and Adam’s playing would cease.

But she still came to the match anyway, out of a strange idea to provide Adam with some moral support. So now she’s bored out of her mind.

Adam eyes the Lakewood player (no.9) with caution. This guy has not slipped up at all and it’s starting to frustrate Adam how he’d made the game seem so effortless, scoring point after point.

Suddenly the ball is in No. 9’s hands and Adam focuses on the game, tailing the guy and watching his play for any flaws. Even the best players had to have some faults and Adam is determined to find No. 9’s. In a flash, Adam catches sight of how the guy seemed to rely on his left hand just a little bit too much.

Smiling grimly, Adam tricks No. 9 to dribble the ball to the left and snatches the ball out of No.9’s hands.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees his team mates exchanging swift grins and he passes the ball to Levi and watches as Team Briarwood scored, with only minutes left to the game. Turning to high five his team mates, he notices Natalia-the only one who isn’t her feet yelling at the top of her lungs for Briarwood-looking absolutely bored. Shaking his hand and grinning slightly, he wonders why Natalia even came to the game when she isn’t interested in it.

She notices him and her face lights up in a smile. She waves and mouths, “When does this end?’

“Are you bored?” When she nods, Adam continues, “I’ll give you something to watch then.”

She stares at him but he merely smiles and turns away from her to continue the game. Wondering what he means by that, Natalia ponders over another odd question—why is her heart suddenly racing again. Is it because of Adam’s uncharacteristically cocky words?

She doesn’t have to wonder about this for long because the next time Adam gets his hand on the ball he doesn’t follow the game plan. Instead, he dribbles and runs and the ball goes through the hoop effortlessly. The Briarwood crowd goes insane over Adam’s arrogant display and even Coach Keller can’t help but smile slightly.

Natalia is still recovering from the shock when Adam turns and looks at her again, mouthing something that she can’t decipher over the roaring of the crowd and her heart which has suddenly decided to do the tango. She frowns and he repeats himself but she still doesn’t get it. Finally, he yells, “So are you still bored?”

People begin to realise that he’s speaking to Natalia and they turn to look at her, all thinking the same thing. Adam did that for her?

She flushes at the sudden amount of attention she’s receiving and shakes her head quickly. Anything to get the people to stop staring at her… Adam grins (and her heart beats like a drum) until Coach Keller smacks him on the hand to pay attention. Natalia laughs but stops short; startled.

Her heartbeat was returning to normal until he smiled at her. Why is her body reacting like this?

What the hell is happening to her?