Realistic or Modern 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐭?

[esor]

Upon seeing Ellie, his eyes scanned over her body and took note of what she was wearing, he liked her outfit but she wouldn't know that since his face made no remarkable expression. He gave her a simple nod in replacement of a hello, in all honesty he was way too focus on other things to converse with anyone at all. He looked down at his outfit and thought about how much effort he put into his clothes. The answer was not a lot. His go to was always jeans and a random sweatshirt that his mom probably bought him at some point, but he thought it came out quite nicely so he wasn't phased.

Xander had bought himself the largest popcorn he could and was already scoffing some as the group headed to the bleachers, not really savouring the taste, he just appreciated having something to munch on. He walked behind Ellie but was in his own world, as if the popcorn was fuelling his daydream. He was quite interested in sports, not that he ever bothered playing them himself. He would, but he really was not keen on the football team at the school, he thought they were all the same meatheads and he wouldn't fit in that much. Plus the attention would just annoy him, he was happy watching from the side lines with his friends and still experiencing the excitement of the game.

After a weekend of thinking about Josh, Sky came to the conclusion that attempting to impress him wouldn't work. To her, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would be affected by an outfit. Plus he'd probably be focused on the game more than her, which she wouldn't blame him for. She wore a comfortable outfit, deep blue levis and an oversized white sweater, enough to keep her warm. She was hoping, however, that she could sit next to Josh. She envisioned them sharing popcorn, hands touching as they both reached for it at the same time. At this point she was giving herself butterflies by just thinking about made up scenarios that probably wouldn't even happen.

As they neared the bleachers, Sky hummed excitedly and followed Josh to where they'd be sitting.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie was leading the group up the steps of the bleachers, choosing to sit somewhere in the middle so they weren't too high up nor too low. It was getting crowded since the game was meant to start within the next five minutes, and many other teenagers were beginning to crowd onto the bleachers. Luckily, the brunette found a few empty spots and led her friends in that direction. She was using her free left hand to balance herself, while the right held onto a slushie. Leave it to Ellie to buy a freezing cold drink on a chilly night.

Josh was trailing along behind the group with his eyes staring down at his feet, being exceptionally careful not to trip over anything. He initially wanted to settle for a bucket of popcorn, but absolutely hated the feeling of kernels stuck in his teeth, so he settled against that. A hotdog would've been a lovely option too, but he felt like it was too much work to eat it during a crowded football game. So, he settled for a little bucket of chicken popcorn.

As they reached the empty seats, Josh slumped down and adjusted the hem of his sweater. As per usual, he had settled for a relatively simple outfit. The sweater was sort of thin, so he paired it with a black long-sleeved shirt underneath, even if no one could see it. He dipped a chunk of fried chicken in the barbecue sauce that was provided with the bucket before popping it in his mouth, satisfied by the savoury, spiced snack.

Ellie was about to sit down, when she realised that she would've been far from Skylar, since Xander was walking between them. She stood there, waiting for him to sit down so she could more easily move around him without pressing her entire body up against him. A part of her sort of wanted to do that, but in the end decided against it.

 

[esor]

Xander lifted his large bucket of popcorn up a little to avoid it accidentally being knocked and spilling on the floor, he sat himself down and curled his arm around the bucket so his other hand could pick up pieces. Whilst he was waiting for the others to sit down, he threw up some pieces and caught them in his mouth, holding back a smile at his achievement that was probably unimpressive to most. As the game grew closer to starting he began to pay less attention to his salty little snacks and his eyes focussed on the players on the field. He wondered what it would be like to be down there, the anticipation and the big bright lights, people cheering for him. It'd be cool, he thought, but not something he was desperate to experience.

Sky had bought some fries for her to enjoy during the game, along with just a normal coke as her drink. Not the healthiest of choices in her opinion but it was a special occasion and she'd enjoy it a lot. She held up the bag they were in to Josh and looked at him.

"Want one?" She asked, figuring it was a fitting snack to go with his chicken popcorn that he already looked like he was enjoying. Whilst she waited for him to either decline or reach into the bag, she looked over at Ellie, happy she'd be sitting beside her. Not that she'd be unhappy sitting next to Alex, but she liked seeing the girls eyes focus on a particular player so she could tease her about it afterwards.

 

[amberskies]

Once Xander was sat down, Ellie squeezed past his knees and took up the space between him and Sky, holding her big cold drink between her warm hands as she looked over at Sky and returned a little smile. That was much better. She knew she'd get bored really easily if she were to sit on the outskirts of the group. Not that Xander was boring, at all, but getting through the game without Sky by her side so they could talk about boys would've been really hard.

Josh quietly ate his chicken, making sure to pace himself so he wouldn't get through the food too fast. Worst case scenario he could go buy more, but he knew that he would probably be too lazy later on during the game. He had gotten a rather large portion anyway so he should be fine.

Upon being offered fries, Josh gladly accepted with a nod.

"Yeah, thanks." He told her, the smile on his lips verging on a smirk as his eyes moved from her face to the fries she was holding. He reached down and grabbed literally one, since that was the amount she had offered. He wasn't big on sharing his own food either, so he usually didn't take much from others. He knew that the outcome of him grabbing a singular fry was either Sky appreciating it or making fun of him. He then held his own food in her direction, nonverbally offering some.

"Number 12." Ellie eventually whispered into Sky's ear with a slight giggle as the players from both teams proceeded to take over the field, boys jogging to their appropriate positions and some of them chatting amongst each other. Player number 12 was someone Ellie had seen on multiple occasions during their games, but never really talked to. She wasn't sure whether she'd be interested in doing that. She already didn't do much outside of school, so she doubted she'd see much of him. Plus, it was nice to have a little crush to look forward to during football games.

 

[esor]

Alex was not fussed one bit where he was sat. as long as he had a good view of the game he was happy. He almost always did, considering he was so tall it was rare that his view wasn't spectacular. He honestly wasn't sure how people shorter than him didn't get annoyed all the time, he loved being so tall; being able to see everything, to barge through people, never have problems reaching things, people were intimidated by him and girls would swoon at his height alone. It was pretty neat in his opinion.

Sky furrowed her brows a little at Josh with a small laugh. She didn't mind how many he took, she thought it was funny that he only took one. "My fries are your fries." She said to him in a mocking tone, imitating those cheesy couples- which she honestly envied sometimes. She knew that Josh wasn't a big fan of sharing his food, which to her made it even funnier. But this also meant that when he held his food out to her, she appreciated it even more. She took one piece and nudged him with her arm gently, thanking him with "Welcome."

Sky looked out to the field to find the boy with a 12 on his jersey. She smirked and gave Ellie a nod of approval, leaning over and whispering, "Nice." Of course Skylar's lack of interest in the sport was made up by how fun it was to eye up the players, even more so when they got to see new guys from different schools. After she'd spotted the one that Ellie had her eye on, she focused on the faces of some of the others but couldn't seem to find one she was all that interested in. Probably because the guy she actually wanted was sat right beside her.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie's attention was definitely never on the actual game. She was sure half the girls on the bleachers could relate, particularly the ones whispering to each other, likely about boys (or girls), just like Ellie was doing to Sky. A whistle was blown, and the boys began to run across the field. Ellie tried to keep up with the game, but found that she wasn't incredibly excited about the ball flying about the big lawn.

Josh grinned at her, but nonetheless didn't touch her fries again for a while. He didn't mind her taking some of his chicken popcorn. Maybe during the half-time he'd just get up and get something else to eat, since he doubted the little bits of chicken would fill him up.

A few minutes into the game, Ellie could hear a few 'excuse me's as a familiar girl made her way through the bleachers to sit beside Josh, seeing as Sky and Ellie were sitting by each other. The blonde didn't mind sitting by Josh anyway.

"Sorry, the line for fries was really long." She told them as she went on to eat the aforementioned snack. Josh acknowledged her with a nod, before returning his attention to the game, watching it rather intently. He was actually pretty interested in sports, and though he wasn't overly patriotic about winning, it may have also had to do with the fact that he was sort of buddies with a few of the players. Not close or on a hanging-out basis by any means, but he thought they were alright.

Ellie was staring at the field, sipping continuously on her slushie but stopping at some point as she felt her temples grow incredibly cold and she winced as she felt a brain freeze. She lowered the plastic cup for a moment as she recovered, reaching a cold hand up to rub her temples.

 

[esor]

"Hey Lindsey." Sky said after she had sat down, smiling at her. She pointed at her own fries and mouthed 'worth it', referencing to how good they were. She didn't want to keep making conversation with the blonde girl in case it would distract Josh, and soon enough Sky turned her head to look at the field again.

She wasn't overly interested in football, but she did think playing a sport was cool. For a moment she pondered if she should join a sports club, she wasn't unfit by any means but she would probably have to do a lot to catch up with the other girls, so decided against it. She had considered joining some sort of school club, but there wasn't really anything that piqued her interest enough. She probably would've if Ellie or Lindsey would join with her, cancelling out the nerves from joining something on her own.

Alex watched Ellie rub her temples and let out a chuckle. "You probably chose the worst drink. It's cold out already." He rolled his eyes playfully at her. He was only teasing her, he had to be considering he got the same thing. He had to get something to wash down his popcorn or else he'd end up getting all of the moisture sucked out of his mouth completely. He finished off his teasing by lifting up his own slushie that he had placed on the floor so he didn't have to hold it, bringing the straw to his mouth and taking a big sip like he was mocking her.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie gave him a look, about to playfully roll her eyes at him and continue sipping her drink, until he pulled out his own slushie. She gasped a little, before letting out a small laugh.

"You hypocrite!" She told him, giving his arm a light smack. Part of her wanted to copy him and set her drink down to the floor too, but she was worried someone could potentially knock it over, so instead she placed it between her knees as she pulled down the sleeves of her jacket. She pulled them down enough so her hands were covered, sort of like makeshift gloves, and she could hold the slushie without feeling the cold. Sure, her jacket had the potential of getting a little wet by holding the slushie now, but at least her hands wouldn't be cold.

Josh glanced at Lindsey's fries, but then looked at his own snack and decided that he didn't want to share. It was nothing against Lindsey, he just didn't like sharing his food with just anyone. He leaned forward a tiny bit as the ball was beginning to approach the rival goalkeeper, meaning they were potentially about to luck out and score, or lose the potential lead.

 

[esor]

"Is the slushie really worth it?" Alex asked when he watched her as she attempted at forming makeshift gloves to protect her hands from the cold drink. He snickered at her, shaking his head a little before he looked towards the field, noticing everyone suddenly looking at the game more intently. He wouldn't cheer if they scored, but he'd probably give a couple lazy claps. His eyes stuck to the ball, watching it dart from one player to another as it got closer and closer to letting them score.

Skylar tried to keep her eyes and mind on the game, but she couldn't even focus on the hot players. She watched Josh as he leaned forward a little, she thought it was cute how focused he was on the game. In that moment she was feeling very happy, chewing on a couple of fries before looking towards the field again. The excitement built up at the prospect of them scoring, it would be a great start to the game and everyone would be in such high spirits- nothing could beat it.

 

[amberskies]

"Oh yes." Ellie told him, her face sort of facing forward but her eyes watching him from the side as she sipped on the iced drink. She enjoyed hot drinks on cold days, but for some reason she really liked cold drinks, too. She didn't feel like the slushie was making her feel colder. Maybe she simply dressed well enough for the weather to combat any cold. Her attention then returned to the game just at the right time. Within the next minute, a player from their school wove his way through the other players and gave the ball a hard kick. Josh grew quiet as he watched the ball soar through the air, until it landed in the rival net.

"YEAH!" Joshua practically yelled out. In any normal setting it would've been very loud, especially for Josh who was typically quiet, but the volume of his voice was drowned by all the other yells surrounding them, teenagers screaming in excitement from having scored the first goal of the night so early on. Ellie couldn't deny it; the screams of hyped up teenagers scared the absolute crap out of her, and she flinched a little before joining in on the cheering, most of the people around them proceeding to stand up.

 

[esor]

Alex stayed firmly in his seat when their team scored, a wide grin on his face. He clapped for them, still wanting to show how pleased he was without screaming to the high heavens. He happily picked up a few pieces of popcorn and threw them up into the air, no more than 5 inches above his face, tilting his head back to catch them in his mouth. Sort of like a celebratory action but with popcorn. He thought maybe he should stand up but he was too lazy for that.

Sky laughed happily, a mixture of the excitement of their team scoring and laughing at Josh's passionate reaction humoured her. She clapped and stood up, cheering for them also. Just before all of the cheering died down, a girl sat in the bleachers in front of the group stood and turned around. Sky thought absolutely nothing of it until all of a sudden her white sweatshirt was covered in a deep orange-coloured liquid. The girl had 'accidentally' spilt her fruit punch all over Sky, but anyone who saw it would easily say that it was obviously on purpose. The girl was from the opposing school, which is what Sky initially thought was her motivation for it. A little shocked, Sky didn't know what to do, or say. She was sad her sweatshirt was probably ruined now, but she was also sad that it happened.

She'd let out a little gasp when she did it, pinching her sweatshirt and pulling it away from her body so that the liquid wouldn't seep through to her layer underneath.

"What the fuck?" Sky asked, her tone more confused than angry, but still with a clear hint of annoyance in her voice.

 

[amberskies]

Joshua was absolutely filled with adrenaline, maybe more than he should've been, but nonetheless he clapped hard as cheers poured out from the Sunnydalers. It wasn't until he heard a gasp and Skylar talking with an unfamiliar tone that Josh returned his attention to her, his face contorting into a completely different expression as he realised what had happened next to him. His eyebrows were lowered in a mixture of annoyance and confusion, looking at Skylar before turning to the culprit. The girl was a stranger to him, and from the red paint on her cheeks, he knew she was a Shadysider. He hadn't seen the girl purposefully spill the drink all over Skylar's white sweater, so this whole time he assumed it was an accident.

"The hell?" Was all Josh said. Had he been in the situation, he probably would've been pissed. He wasn't really hot-headed (at least he didn't think so), but it would've absolutely ruined his night.

Ellie's perspective was a totally different story. She was facing Skylar with a grin of excitement moments before it happened; the other girl practically aimed for Skylar's sweater. Ellie, too, let out a loud gasp, her eyes following the orange liquid dripping down to the ground before turning to the Shadysider with a glare.

"You did that on purpose you bitch." Ellie seethed as she fulled turned to face the Shadysider. The blonde girl was a few inches taller than Ellie, but that intimidate her one bit. The blonde's attention was initially on Skylar, since that was the entire point of spilling half the punch on her, before it eventually shifted to Ellie.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She passively told Ellie with her eyebrows raised up, an air of superiority surrounding her. She had one hand on her hip and the other gripping the half empty plastic cup. "Cute sweater by the way." She commented as she returned her eyes to Skylar, offering a smile with undertones of sarcasm.

The teenagers nearby were paying attention to the confrontation at this point, some of them beginning to whisper things among each other.

Ellie's mouth dropped open, a quiet gasp escaping her upon hearing her passive-aggressive comment toward Skylar. Still clutching onto her slushie, she took a step toward the blonde.

"Apologise to her right now, blondie." Ellie warned.

Was Josh meant to be the one in Ellie's place right now? He couldn't help but feel the guilt overcoming him upon realising he was doing absolutely nothing to help the situation. It was his friend being treated like shit by some stranger, after all. A few beads of juice were sitting on the tips of Skylar's hair, likely caused by the upward splash of the liquid when it first hit her body. With the sleeve of his sweater, he dabbed away the pearls of orange liquid in hopes of preventing it from making her hair weird and sticky. He did his best to try and flick them away rather than let them soak into her soft locks, a slight grimace on his face as he imagined himself in her situation.

 

[esor]

As if the actual incident hadn't annoyed her enough, the girls completely obnoxious and nasty attitude enraged her further. But her battles were being fought by Ellie- something Skylar actually appreciated more than she could explain. She was definitely not one for confrontation, even if that girl from Shadyside High had just ruined one of her favourite sweaters.

Sky's eyes darted around to the teens near them, it was unsettling that they were all whispering and looking at what was going on. Despite the initial attack being on her, it seemed like the majority of the attention was on Ellie and the girl from the opposing school in that moment. Being someone who always tried her best to not upset anyone and be as kind as she could, the fact that she'd obviously not meant to do anything to provoke the blonde girl did upset her. She knew she didn't do anything to deserve that, and as he anger subsided she just felt sad about it; it was plainly unfair, really.

At this point, Alex was more entertained by what was going on between the girls than the game itself. He was in shock that someone would do that to Sky, he wondered if she'd have done it regardless of who was behind her or if it was somehow motivated to Sky individually. He nudged Ellie's leg, since she was standing and whisper-shouted up to her. "Throw your slushie!" Now he wasn't trying to cause more drama, he hated it, he honestly thought that the blonde girl deserved a taste of her own medicine but freezing cold and stickier.

Despite being in the middle of watching the confrontation, Sky obviously couldn't help but notice Josh gently patting away the juice that had found its way into her hair. In the midst of feeling upset and annoyed, she felt all mushy and warm because of his attention.

Of course, the girl wasn't going to apologise. Her motivations for what she did were still at the front of her mind and probably made worse by Josh trying to help Skylar not end up with sticky hair. Of course, the superiority the blonde girl felt meant she wasn't afraid of Ellie, nor was she going to back down.

"Oooh, I'm so sorry you got what you deserved!" She taller girl mocked, her eyes gazing over at Skylar as she said so, before looking back at Ellie for her reaction.

 

[amberskies]

Josh was absolutely oblivious to the fact that his gesture toward Skylar was only further provoking the girl. It hadn't even crossed his mind that he could be related to the reason why Skylar was currently covered in juice. Hell, he was the reason. He wasn't sure why there was so much tension between the three girls, either, and all he could do was stand by Skylar's side and watch it unfold, a look of bewilderment on his face as he looked at the girl.

"You might wanna take it off." Josh suggested, pointing at her sweater and assuming she was wearing something underneath it like he was.

Ellie felt something touching her leg, and after she looked down at Xander, she glanced at her slushie. Her eyes then returned to the blonde girl, looking up at her with an irritated expression, eyebrows lowered all the way and the corners of her lips slightly downturned. Without a second thought, she listened to him and propelled the contents of the cup in the Shadysiders direction, slightly upwards to account for their height difference. Freezing cold, cherry-flavoured slush hit the girl directly in the face. In fact, almost the entirety of the slushie had landed on her hair and face, slowly dripping down her neck and into her clothes as the seconds passed. Ellie covered her mouth with a hand, letting out a stifled laugh that she tried really hard to suppress. She glanced down at Skylar to see how she reacted, and then Xander, almost for approval.

Josh, too, placed a hand over his face and did a better job of holding in his laugh. The football game was still continuing in the background, but he couldn't care less at this point. While he didn't enjoy partaking in drama, this was exciting to spectate.

"Ooh, i'm so sorry you got what you deserved!" Ellie mocked the girls previous tone, a fake pout momentarily taking over her features before it was replaced by that little smile.

"Hey, it's your school colours!" Josh added, pointing out the red colour that was tinting her light hair. He really tried hard to stop himself from making a joke at her expense, but it felt much deserved at this point.

 

[esor]

Sky nodded at Josh's suggestion and pulled both of her arms into he sweater, then lifting it off from the inside so none of the remnants of the liquid would get on her. Underneath she wore a grey tank top, it was obviously way too cold to just be wearing that and jeans, especially since the sun was close to being set at this point and the night air would grow cooler.

Though she didn't have time to think about the temperature as the contents of Ellie's cup were flying through the air to land on the blonde girl, to which Sky could definitely not keep in her laugh. A chuckle flew from her lips, her hand reaching up to cover her mouth afterwards, regretting her audible mock. It was as if her sadness was washed away, watching the girl stand there, practically frozen as thick red liquid dropped off of her, splattering onto the floor. Her hair and clothes were most definitely ruined, temporarily at least, and she deserved it. In this moment she realised how much she loved her friends.

"You're a little bitch!" The girl shouted after a dramatic gasp.

Alex was quick to chuckle, his mouth half full of popcorn when he spoke. "Someone's angry." He was still sat in his seat, enjoying watching the whole thing unfold. His grin was partially due to Ellie doing what he told her to, and he thought it was definitely worth sacrificing a slushie for. But he sat there as he waited for things to calm down, mindlessly popping piece after piece of popcorn into his gob.

 

[amberskies]

"Your insults are painfully weak." Ellie commented, not saying anything other than that. As much as she loved putting bitches in their place, she also wanted the situation to end. A part of Ellie was concerned that she would end up covered in some sort of sticky liquid, too, so she took a tiny step away from from the blonde-haired - well, now pink-haired - girl, stopping as her calves hit Alex's.

"Wow." Lindsey simply said in reaction, letting out a small laugh as she continued to eat her fries, still sitting down but watching the confrontation with a passion.

Josh watched as Skylar pulled the top off of her body, only to reveal a grey tank top underneath. He immediately averted his eyes from her out of respect, staring at the floor for a few moments before looking up at the girl. How was she not embarrassed to still be there talking to them like that?

"Dude, just drop it. You're embarrassing yourself." Josh spoke up with a serious tone, his eyes on the blonde as his fingers grabbed the hem of his sweater and slowly pulled upwards to remove the top in a swift motion, an action Skylar had already witnessed before. He doubted his words would do anything, but surprisingly, it did. That seemed to be the last straw for the girl; the boy she was being jealous over was clearly not on her side, so with one last groan of annoyance and a glare toward Skylar, she stomped off the bleachers and onto the green grass, likely treading in the direction of the closest bathroom.

He averted his eyes halfway through the process of removing his sweater, his jaw clenching as the shirt underneath the jumper rode up his lower stomach while his arms were stretched up. He felt the cold air nip at his skin, and as soon as the sweater was off, he pulled down the black long sleeved shirt that was underneath.

"Here." Joshua said as he very casually handed off his sweater to Skylar without a second thought. It had absolutely no romantic undertones to him. I mean, he couldn't let his friend freeze in the cold. Ellie had a jacket, too, but she was very clearly wearing a crop top underneath, and Xander didn't seem close enough to Sky to make that kind of offer. Lindsey, too, was wearing a denim jacket over a tank top.

 

[esor]

Alex was the first to celebrate when the rival girl left, shouting out a "Boooo!" with his hands making a circle around his mouth to project his voice further.

Despite it being funny that the girl was stood there covered in slushie, Sky was happy she had stomped away. She let out a little sigh of relief as she left and was about to talk to Ellie and thank her, but was pretty heavily distracted by the boy next to her removing his sweater. Her eyes widened a little, unsure of what he was doing, but as soon as he held it out to her she smiled. "Wha- thank you! Won't you be cold?" She sincerely replied, before quickly pulling on the sweater he handed to her. Usually she would've waited until he answered before putting it on but she was freezing and wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to wear her crush's jumper

It was still warm from his body heat and smelled like him; if you asked her she would've said she was in heaven. It was a much appreciated relief from the cold, and of course meant a lot more to her than Josh probably imagined it did. She shot him an appreciative smile before turning her head to look at Ellie, mouthing an 'Oh my god!' and gesturing to the sweater she was now wearing. This was a big deal to her, a really big deal. It hadn't crossed her mind that it was just a friendly gesture.

Alex picked up his slushie and reached out his long arm to Ellie, he was giving it to her. He was the one who told her to throw hers, and wouldn't be fair if he kept his all to himself. Plus he thought she deserved it for sticking up for Skylar.

 

[amberskies]

"Nah, i'm like a walking heater." Josh told her with a shrug and a lazy smile. He wasn't really sensitive to the cold in general, and besides, he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt underneath while Sky had a revealing tank top. He wouldn't be comfortable knowing she was freezing her ass off the entire night. The boy watched as she pulled it onto her body. Something about the way it fit her looked nice. Maybe it was the fact that it was his sweater, and slightly oversized, but for some reason he found it to look real nice. After a few moments he looked away, his eyes now on their seats, covered in a mixture of slushie and punch.

"We should probably find different seats." He noted, not particularly interested in sitting down on the sugary mess.

Ellie was a little bummed that she no longer had a slushie, but decided that the triumph of watching the blonde girl walk off covered in it was better than the taste of the cold drink. She was still holding the empty cup, and eventually placed it down to the ground by her feet. Glancing down at Xander, she was at first confused by him holding out his slushie, and then understood that he was giving it to her. Her eyes softened a little, taken aback by the gesture. He wasn't one to normally share his things with her, so while she felt appreciative, she also felt bad for taking his entire drink, so she shook her head.

"No no, you keep it." She told him, placing her hand on the cup and gently pushing it back in his direction. Maybe it was because of her totally different perception of money, but she felt way too guilty receiving something like that. She was a tad stingy with money, just because she really didn't have as much of it.

 

[esor]

"Probably." Sky chuckled a little, pulling the sleeves of his sweater gently over her hands; the sleeves were too long for her anyway so they were doing it automatically no matter if she tried to keep them up. She was enjoying being in it for so many reasons. It'd be tough to return this sweater to Josh, but her love-sick mind was hoping the scent of her perfume might linger on it and lead him to think about her later. Maybe she liked him more than she was letting on to herself.

Lindsey stood up and looked around to see if she could find some spare seats, upon doing so she got up and climbed a few rows up, "Follow me!" She called down to her friends. Sky listened and followed her up, giggling as she climbed up the stairs, clutching her bag of fries in her hand.

Alex gave Ellie a very stern look. He was not one to take no for an answer. "No, I won't keep it." He stood and put it down in place of where he was sitting. "If you don't have it, no one will." He continued with a cheeky smirk. He wasn't even sure himself why he was so adamant on her having it, he was definitely not going to make a habit out of offering people things, maybe she was an exception. He didn't think much more about it as he walked up to the row a few spaces above, following Lindsey also.

 

[amberskies]

Josh flashed one final, lazy smile in her direction before grabbing his chicken popcorn and following Lindsey further up the bleachers toward a row of empty seats. There weren't many at this point in the game, since most of the people attending were already sitting, but it wasn't totally packed. It wasn't like a professional football game that was jam-packed, so there were still occasional empty seats. He sat by Lindsey once they reached the new, dry row of seats, setting the paper box of chicken popcorn back onto his lap so he could eat it in comfort.

Ellie was surprised once more by his unwillingness to take back the drink. "But-" She started, unsure of how exactly to defend herself. Before she could do anything anyway, he was already making his way up the bleachers, leaving behind the slushie. She stared at it, before grabbing it and following the group. She made sure to try and get a seat next to Sky and still possibly next to Xander, taking a sip out of his slushie as she followed the group toward the new seats.

Once Josh was settled into his new seat, he let out a quiet sigh of relief, now letting his eyes return to the game and catch up on what they had missed for those few minutes.

 

[esor]

Skylar sat down too, her stained sweater at her feet now. Usually she'd never put her clothes on the floor, especially not on the ground near the bleachers but there was no way it could get much worse at this point. She sat comfortable in Josh's sweater and paid attention to the game, hopefully after that whole ordeal they missed only insignificant parts of the game. Though, she still found herself wondering what she did to annoy that girl so much, what could she possibly have done to get on her nerves to that degree? She thought hard, but didn't know. Maybe Ellie would have a clue, she thought.

Xander had a mischievous smirk on his face, glad he got Ellie to take the slushie. Not that he didn't want it, he genuinely just felt like he wanted her to have it. Like a strange gift, he wasn't sure why and couldn't put his finger on the sudden absence of his selfishness. He had no inkling towards the guilt she may feel taking something from someone else, or her financial situation so nothing of that manner even crossed his mind. He noted it down in his head as his first kind act. And last. Probably.

Sky was sat beside Josh and hoped that Ellie would sit beside her again, maybe they could spot number 12 and return to the familiar feeling of gushing over him and the other players.

 

[amberskies]

"Comfy?" Josh asked at some point, checking in on Skylar for just a moment as he sat there, totally relaxed as he watched the game. It wasn't too crowded on the bleachers, and there were a few other people with a cigarette, so he figured it was socially acceptable to smoke. He reached into the backpack he had left by his feet, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and setting one between his lips before lighting the tip on fire. Taking in a deep exhale, he let out a quiet 'whoosh' sound of air as he exhaled, the smoke appearing thicker because of his breath being white and frosty from the cold.

For a second, Ellie held her slushie out in Xander's direction, as though offering him a sip. She was drinking from his used straw, so she doubted he cared about sharing germs. Besides, just a few days ago he was practically begging for a kiss, which involved a far greater exchange of germs.

Ellie hadn't realised until she sat down, but sitting directly in front of her was a very familiar boy with a buzzcut. She stopped slurping on her slushie in realisation, staring at the back of his head and eventually pulling away from the straw. That buzzcut belonged to the one and only Gage Petronzi, one of the best athletes on Sunnydale High's swim team and her longest ex-boyfriend. It was way too late to make an excuse for them to move elsewhere, and she wasn't interested in letting Xander and Josh in on her boy drama, so she stayed quiet. She had a feeling they probably would've known that they were together at some point, since Gage was sort of popular so word about their relationship had spread relatively fast. Atop his broad shoulders was the letterman jacket he used to let Ellie borrow, and for a moment he craned his head to the right to laugh along with one of the other jocks, revealing his side profile to Ellie. It seemed as though he spotted her from the corner of his eye, because his eyebrows lowered for a moment, as though in realisation, before he turned his head around. A soft, familiar smile immediately overcame his features at the sight of his ex-sweetheart, the eye contact remaining strong for a few seconds. Despite her slight shock, Ellie managed to muster a tiny smile, before Gage turned his attention back to the game.

She sucked in a deep breath and looked away, or more specifically, looked at Skylar next to her. She widened her eyes for a split second, as if indicating shock or 'help me girl', and then looked at the boy in front of her, repeating that back and forth as though attempting to gesture to him with her eyes, letting Skylar know just who was sitting right in front of them. Their relationship didn't end too horribly, there was just a lot of miscommunication on his side, but they were still in that awkward phase of being unable to sit in the same room together. Or so she thought.

 

[esor]

"Mhm, comfy." Skylar responded, a smile growing on her face. He must care about her, if he was asking her that. All rationality went out of the window when she thought about Josh, it was almost as if friends didn't check up on each other! The girl was a fan of Josh smoking, it was hot and she couldn't deny that. She'd never thought about smoking herself, if she was offered one she would probably take it to social smoke but she'd never indicated that she wanted to. She didn't particularly like the taste, just the smell since it reminded her of Joshua.

Noticing Ellie look at her, Sky turned her attention over and soon enough noticed the boy sporting a buzz-cut sat in front of them. Her eyes widened too, but she tried to keep her facial expressions as normal as she could, knowing reacting like that wouldn't help. At the start of the relationship, Sky was a fan of Gage but towards the end her fondness faded; simply because she just wanted the absolute best for Ellie and wouldn't want her settling for less. Even though the two of them weren't on particularly sour terms, it was still a shock to see Ellie's ex there. Sky felt like she hadn't seen Gage since him and her friend broke up, so the situation was very strange. Sky caught Ellie's eye once again and mouthed "Wanna leave?". The two of them could just make an excuse to leave, she thought, or go elsewhere. She didn't think Ellie would take her up on the offer, but wanted it to be there regardless.

Alex had noticed the interaction between Ellie and that boy who he couldn't quite remember the name of. He was about to go for a sip when Gage turned around, and all of a sudden he didn't seem so keen on sharing a slushie with the brunette. Not that he had any feelings or felt weird at the fact, he just saw that there was something in that smile he gave her and the last thing Xander wanted was to be mistaken for someone in a relationship, or situationship, with Ellie and end up being hassled by a group of the more popular guys. He could handle them, he just couldn't be bothered to. He then watched as the girl turned to Sky, which confirmed his suspicions that there was history between the two of them. He was aware of Ellie having an ex-boyfriend but he wasn't overly interested when she'd mention him, so didn't know that it was him.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie wasn't particularly offended by Xander not wanting a sip of her slushie. So instead, she sipped it herself.

The sound of her heartbeat in her ears felt as though it was louder than the crowd surrounding her. Now, her attention was most definitely not on the game, but fully on the boy in front of her. Memories came rushing back, both good and bad, as she looked at the back of his head once more. From where she was sitting she could notice the way he started fidgeting, something she remembered him doing whenever he was nervous. She returned her gaze back in time to look at Skylar mouthing something to her, which Ellie responded to by shaking her head without thinking even for a split second. Based on the way he turned back to smile at her just a minute ago, it was clear that they were heading toward the stage of being cool with one another, rather than awkward and avoiding each other.

Josh was pretty oblivious to his surroundings. He noticed Gage from the moment they sat down, but didn't really greet him. They were sort of friends, especially when he was dating Ellie, but they drifted apart after the break-up. While he wasn't close to Ellie by any means, the main reason he did so was because Skylar was practically always around Ellie. So, not hanging out with Gage anymore was partly for Skylar's sake. Saying hi to him now had the potential of being weird, especially if done in front of the two girls, so he simply placed his attention upon the game instead, his eyes moving from player to player as he tried to figure out who would be the next to score.

The jock next to Gage said something, causing him to look at him and laugh in response, momentarily glancing at Ellie once more as he did so. Ellie didn't look at him, pretending as though she was very focused on the game, but she definitely noticed that.

"Want a sip?" Ellie asked Skylar as she held out the slushie, trying hard to develop some sort of active conversation to feel a little less weird.

 

[esor]

Sky observed Ellie’s behaviour and hoped she was feeling alright, not having a boyfriend for a while meant that Sky was unfamiliar with that tension between ex-lovers, she was sure that whether it ended in bad blood or not it was still an odd feeling.

But since Ellie declined the offer of them leaving she guessed that the two of them were moving past that stage, which was good. Resolved tension always felt relieving, she thought, and there was nothing bad about moving into a stage where they were cool with one another.

“Sure.” Skylar responded, leaning over and taking a sip of the slushie. She grinned at that, forgetting how wonderfully sweet they were. “Thank you.”

Xander was still stuck in thought, not sure why this was something he was hung up on. He put it down to being intrigued, though he wasn’t keen on knowing all of the gossip. He wondered if their relationship had ended sourly or if they were still friendly with one another. Either way he didn’t care, for now at least.