CHAPTER 6: WHAT HE NOTICED
889 Words
Friday arrived with the school’s annual football game against our biggest rival.
The entire campus seemed determined to talk about nothing else.
By lunchtime, students were already making plans for after the game. Posters covered the hallways. Cheerleaders practiced routines near the gym. Even teachers seemed unusually excited.
I sat at our usual table in the cafeteria while Sofia launched into a speech about why she deserved some kind of award for supporting school athletics.
“You don’t even like football,” I pointed out.
“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?”
“The point is that I show up.”
“You show up for the snacks.”
“That’s still showing up.”
Across the table, Vivienne laughed.
Iñigo had joined us halfway through lunch and was quietly listening to the conversation unfold. To my surprise, he’d become part of our group naturally over the last week. Nobody had officially invited him. Nobody had announced it. He simply started sitting with us sometimes, and eventually it became normal.
Nikolai seemed to like him.
That surprised me more than anything.
The two of them spent half their conversations arguing about sports.
“Basketball is better,” Iñigo said.
“Objectively wrong.”
“At least basketball players run.”
Nikolai looked personally attacked.
“We literally sprint.”
“You stop every ten seconds.”
“That’s strategy.”
“That’s resting.”
Their argument continued while the rest of us laughed.
For the first time in a while, I found myself relaxing completely.
No jealousy.
No overthinking.
Just a normal lunch with friends.
The realization felt strange.
Maybe because moments like that had become rare.
⸻
That evening, the stadium buzzed with energy.
The stands were packed with students dressed in school colors, and music blasted through the speakers as the teams warmed up on the field. Sofia and I found seats near the middle section just before kickoff.
“I still don’t understand football,” she admitted.
“You’ve been coming to games for three years.”
“And yet I still don’t understand football.”
I laughed.
The game started a few minutes later.
Truthfully, I wasn’t paying much attention during the first quarter. I understood enough to follow what was happening, but my focus kept drifting elsewhere.
Toward the sidelines.
Toward number twelve.
Toward Nikolai.
It wasn’t intentional.
At least, not entirely.
Years of friendship had trained my eyes to find him in a crowd. Even when I wasn’t looking, part of me always knew where he was.
The thought should have concerned me.
Instead, it simply felt familiar.
The crowd erupted halfway through the second quarter as Nikolai scored a touchdown. Students jumped to their feet, cheering loudly enough to shake the bleachers beneath us.
I found myself standing too.
Smiling.
Proud.
The feeling caught me off guard.
Not because I was surprised he played well, but because his happiness still affected me so easily.
Watching him celebrate with his teammates made me happy.
Watching him smile made me happy.
That probably wasn’t healthy.
Before I could dwell on the thought, someone appeared beside our row.
“Mind if I sit here?”
I looked up.
Iñigo.
Sofia immediately scooted over.
“Please. Save me.”
“From what?”
“Football.”
He laughed and slid into the empty seat.
For the remainder of the game, conversation flowed easily between us. Sometimes we watched the field. Sometimes we didn’t. At one point, Sofia attempted to explain the rules before accidentally proving she didn’t understand them either.
By the final whistle, our team had won.
The crowd exploded into celebration.
Students poured from the stands and gathered near the exits, talking loudly about the game.
As we made our way toward the parking lot, I spotted Nikolai near the field. He was surrounded by teammates and classmates offering congratulations.
A few seconds later, his gaze found mine.
The smile that appeared on his face was immediate.
Natural.
Automatic.
As though seeing me was something he’d been looking for.
My heart responded before my brain could stop it.
The feeling was familiar enough that it almost didn’t hurt anymore.
Almost.
Then Vivienne appeared beside him.
His expression softened instantly.
Not dramatically.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But I noticed.
Because I always noticed.
She slipped her hand into his, and he looked at her the way people looked at things they never wanted to lose.
For a moment, I forced myself to look away.
The night air felt cooler than before.
Beside me, Iñigo had gone unusually quiet.
When I glanced at him, I realized he was watching me.
Not staring.
Not judging.
Just observing.
As though he’d noticed something.
The thought made me strangely uncomfortable.
Not because I cared what he thought.
But because I wasn’t used to people seeing through me.
Especially when I worked so hard to hide what I was feeling.
A second later, he offered a small smile and looked away, giving me an easy escape from the moment.
I was grateful for it.
At the time, I didn’t realize that would become one of the things I appreciated most about Iñigo Flores.
He noticed things.
But unlike everyone else, he never forced me to talk about them before I was ready.
- Writer
