Double Trouble (Owen Joyner and Charlie Gillespie)

Erynn -18

I hate bowling, have I ever mentioned that? The last time I went bowling was when I was 8 years old. That night ended with me sitting on the curb waiting for Everly to pick me up from the alley. Annalise had left me there to go drinking with her "work friends" and it's easy to say that I've hated the idea of bowling since then.

I don't know why I let Owen talk me into the idea, maybe it was because of his attempt to make things better between us. I still felt a little weird after he had yelled at me like that for setting off the fire alarm in his apartment so maybe this was his way of trying to make things normal once again. That, or maybe I caved because of the puppy dog face he pulled as he literally begged me to come. Either way, I had woken that morning to the sound of Owen banging on our front door.

I got up and let him in before walking towards the bathroom to get ready. "Your hair looks like it could house an entire colony of bees!" Owen laughed out from behind me. I responded by flipping him the bird from over my shoulder. I walked into the bathroom and saw my hair in the mirror, silently agreeing with him. The blonde mop on my head stood in a messy dome atop my head, kind of in the shape of a small afro. Comment put aside, I hopped in the shower to wash it of imperfections. Once I was done with my shower I quickly ran to my room in my towel to avoid seeing Owen just yet. I slipped on my blue acid-wash Van Halen tee and khaki shorts. I tucked my shirt loosely into the shorts and tied my hair into a high ponytail before heading into Emilee's room to make sure she was awake for her little date.

Emilee had seemed like she had just woken up when I walked in. I reminded her of the time and she cussed to herself before leaping out of bed and rushing off to the bathroom. As soon as I had chosen her outfit Owen shouted for me from the kitchen. I walked out to see him standing behind the island with a huge smile stretching across from ear to ear. "What is this?" I asked quietly, referring to the dozens of cupcakes that sat on the island in front of him. They had been easily decorated, a few iced to spell out my name.

"I still feel awful about blowing up on you the other day, so Emilee and I made you these. She told me that what I did reminded you of something from your past. She didn't say what specifically, but I wanted to apologize for whatever memories I had brought back up." Owen explained with a kind smile on his face. I didn't know how to react to the kind gesture so I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around his torso tightly, burying my head into his chest.

My voice was muffled by his shirt as I squeaked out "Thank you O, I didn't know you could be so sweet." He chuckled at my reply and wrapped his arms tightly around my shoulders and sat his chin atop of my hair. "Of course E." We stood there for a minute before separating, both grabbing a cupcake.

A few minutes went by before Emilee made an appearance, fully dressed and ready to go out. She rushed about before finally making an exit through the front door. Owen and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows, breaking out in laughter. "She seemed a bit flustered, yeah?" Owen laughed out, wiping away tears that fell from his eyes.

"Yeah! She isn't a serial dater so she often gets like that when a guy shows interest." I choked out when both of our fits of laughter faded to a stop. When I mentioned her date Owen visibly tensed, a sombre look making its way onto his face. I pouted over at him and pinched his cheek teasingly, asking "Why so glum, chum?"

He huffed and tore his head away from my hand, rubbing his now sore cheek. "It's nothing. I'm happy for her." He mumbled out, turning back to the island and grabbing another cupcake to shove into his mouth.

Something clicked in my head as I remembered all the times Owen and Emilee had hung out over the past month or so. I walked around the island to stand across from Owen, putting my elbows on the counter and my chin on my hands. I smiled up at him and teased, "Y'know Owen, green certainly isn't your colour." He furrowed his brows and crossed his arms over his chest.