Wrong Quarterback | ✓

30 | party of five

          "Does this look like a snowflake to you?"

Avery's lips pull into a faint smile, glancing up from the pages of her book at Callie's question. Nic has barely made it down the one-stair step leading into Callie's kitchen before she dangles the cut-out piece of paper in his face. Balancing the two paper bags of groceries in his embrace, the boy simply shrugs before walking over to Avery where he sets them down next to her on the counter.

Sighing, Callie turns to the next boy just having walked into the room. "Luke?"

Luke sinks into a seat in the bay window as he pulls his blue hoodie over his head, running a hand through his wind tossed hair as he eyes the paper snowflake in Callie's hand. "Yeah, I guess."

"Good." Callie's lips set in a satisfied smile as she walks over to the kitchen table. Her hair falls forwards, concealing her face as she jots something down before tucking both the notepad and the snowflake into her neatly organized binder.

"I already told you it looks like a snowflake," Avery closes her book and puts it aside, reaching her hand into the bowl of popcorn stood next to her. "Don't you trust me?"

"You did not," Callie disagrees. "Saying 'Mhm' while keeping your eyes on the page doesn't count," Callie throws a look over her shoulder at Luke. "She almost walked into the fridge as well."

Avery shoots Callie a narrowed look as she leans back against the white tiled wall, lightly kicking Nic's leg as he reaches over to grab a fist of popcorn. "How'd practice go?"

"As if I'm telling you," He scoffs, popping one of them into his mouth. "You're only going to run to the enemy and let them in on all our flaws."

"What flaws?" Luke looks up from his phone just as Avery rolls her eyes.

"Yes Nic, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

            Music fills the room at the end of Avery's sentence, Callie cranking up the volume before heading over to the counter where Nic's already busy unpacking the bags of groceries. 

"Okay let's get–" Callie's cut off by the sound of the doorbell echoing through the house. "Lea's here!"

Avery watches her friend whirl around on her heel, disappearing out into the hall to let Lea inside and the two girls come back a second later. Lea's dark hair is pulled back with a hair clip, cheeks flushed from the chill mid-November day and the bounce in her step brings a gust of cold air into the kitchen as she beelines for Luke. She's beaming as she drops into a seat next to the boy in the bay window and Avery pops another popcorn into her mouth while she watches the girl drop a booklet into his lap.

He puts his phone aside, brows etching together as he takes the stack of papers into his hands. "What's this?" 

The corners of Lea's lips pull back even further as Luke flickers his eyes between her and the paper as if to make he's seeing right before meeting her gaze. "This is a B."

"That's a B!" Lea sings, folding her legs to her side as she runs a palm over the denim. "I was going to show you yesterday but–"

She trails off when a squealing laugh escapes her lips instead, the sound cutting through the beat of the pop song coming out the speakers as Luke pulls her into a hug.

"See?" Luke bellows and Avery casts her eyes to the bowl of popcorn, cheeks tightening with her own smile. "I told you so. I knew you could do it!"

"All thanks to you."

Avery has the bowl of popcorn ripped out of her hands a second later and as she glances up she finds Callie stood in front of her.