Whirling Storms: Darius

24

I was getting ready to leave the house when Darius called for me. I put the bag of food on the center table and went to Darius who was in the kitchen.

"Oh my goodness. What are you doing?" I asked as I see black smoke coming from the oven.

"The steps said to turn the oven on and leave it for twenty minutes." Darius explained and I opened the oven.

I coughed due to the black smoke and I waved my hands to look at the inside. There was a dough inside and sadly, it was now burnt. It's inedible and will go to the food waste bin.

"Did the procedure really said twenty minutes?" I asked because it may be a really long time.

I bet Darius is just making cookies. Twenty minutes will probably be too much with this amount of degrees. Darius gave me his phone and I couldn't help but facepalm.

"Darius, it's supposed to be two minutes, not twenty." I told him calmly despite my heart pounding so fast.

He gave me a slight fright from that black smoke. I should put a rule to not let Darius cook or touch things in the kitchen. Darius and cooking, it'll be a no from now on.

"Was it? I'm sorry, I had to read it fast. I wanted to bake some cookies for your friend." Darius said and my heart melted from that.

I looked at Darius who had this apologetic expression on his face. It's a little overwhelming to know that he wanted to give Neo some cookies. That's so sweet and heart fluttering. Which is not a good thing for me to feel.

My smile slowly disappeared as my stare linger on Darius for a bit more. I looked away and sighed deeply. This is frustrating and stressing me out. I cupped my forehead before doing a breathing exercise. I shouldn't be thinking of this right now.

"It's fine, Darius. Neo would still be grateful even if you don't give him cookies." I tried to comfort him.

"It's a relief to know that, Miss Aronson." he said and I smiled upon hearing that.

"Now please don't make any more trouble. I'll be really going on my way." I stated because it's already half past eleven.

It'll take me an hour or so to arrive to the place where the summer camp for the football team is. I should be heading out now or I'll miss the practice game. Even if it was just a practice game, I promised Neo that I would cheer for him.

"I won't, Miss Aronson. I'll actually be going out to meet Darla too." Darius informed and I nodded.

"Really? Send my regards to Darla and tell her to visit some time. I'll head out first, Darius." I said and wore my shoes back again.

"Be careful on the way, Miss Aronson." Darius said and I nodded before walking out.

I rode a bus to the summer camp and it took me an hour to arrive. When I stepped out, I saw a lot of athletes. The summer camp isn't just for the football team. It is for all the athletes of the university. They are basically going to live here and practice for the upcoming quarter.

"Coach Dylan!" I called to the football team's coach.

Coach Dylan turned his head towards my direction. He beamed at me with a smile and waved his hands. He gestured me to come closer and I skipped my way to him.

"Are you here for Neo? It's great seeing you, Sydney." he said and I smiled.

"Yes, Coach. It's great to see you too. By the way, where will the practice game be?" I asked.

"I'm actually heading there right now. You should come with me." Coach Dylan suggested and I agreed to that suggestion.

We walked somewhere near a field and we finally reached the oval. A humongous oval with some white lines drawn on it welcomed me.

"Fitzgerald! Sydney is here!" Coach Dylan shouted to the group of people not far.

"Woo! The captain's girlfriend is here!" Neo's teammates teased and I grimaced.

They are still keeping that up? Seriously. His teammates never grow. Neo and I constantly denied that we were in that kind of a relationship. It's hard to talk with hard headed football players. And my efforts will only go to waste if I deny their claims even more. They just won't give up.

"Shut up!" Neo shouted back tk his teammates while running towards me.

"Fifteen minutes, Fitzgerald. The game will start after that." Coach Dylan reminded before leaving us behind.

"Hey, glad you came." he said after removing his helmet.

"As promised. I also brought you some foods. I'll be at the bleachers." I told him.

"You can sit by our bench. The bleacher's packed." Neo stated and I ran my eyes to scan the bleachers.

It was really packed with girls who are also anticipating to watch the practice game. How come they have so many fan girls? I don't even find any of them attractive. Psh.

"Okay. I'll sit with Coach Dylan. You go on and do your thing. I'll be waiting." I said and tapped the side of his shoulder before we walked to the benches.

When I arrived at the bench where Coach Dylan was also sitting, I felt numerous stares from the girls. Neo is the captain of the football team and with false news about me being his girlfriend, this is putting me in a bad spot. Neo is popular with girls. I can imagine how they loathe me despite the fallacy of the information they acquired.

I just looked away and pretended to not notice them. They can glare at me all day. Whatever. It's not like I care that much. As long as they do harmless things, I'm fine. I won't care about them that much.

Good thing that the practice game started. The girls' attention was pulled to the game and I monitored Neo's game. I'm not a professional when it comes to football. However, Neo values my opinion over his actions. He always ask me about his game afterwards. That's why I take this game seriously.

After a couple of minutes, the practice game thankfully ended fast. It was faster than I expected. Usually, their practice games takes up a grueling amount of time to finish.

"How's my game?" Neo immediately asked when he arrived at the bench I was sitting at.

I handed him a towel first before answering. "Good. But you kind of became a little slower. What happened?"

"My legs are killing me today. I can't use them with their full potential." he said.

"I told you to maintain your skills. What did you do to make you feel like dying from your legs?" I asked because Neo is very athletic.

"I didn't play throughout last year's season so I kind of got a little rusty. Just a few practice and it'll come back, Sydney." he assured and I nodded.

"Just don't overstretch yourself. Stay away from injuries as much as possible." I reminded him.

"Yes, scary bear. I'll just go and get some shower." he informed.

After Neo got fully showered, he came to me. He excused himself from hos team and told them that he'll accompany me first before going back to their rooms.

"Why do you look so down, Sydney? I noticed how you kept on sighing." Neo pointed out and I smiled sadly.

"It's nothing. I'm just tired." I told him because that was half true.

"Your expression tells me it's a guy problem." Neo commented and my eyes grew bigger because of that.

Am I going to be busted very soon? It's just a few days after Darius moved in. Will Neo find out about it this fast?

"Guy problem? What nonsense are you talking about?" I tried to sound like what he said was full crap.

"True. I'm the only guy you are close with anyway." Neo agreed and I felt relieved when he believed me so quickly.

Oh Neo. If you just know what I'm entangled with right now. You'll probably give me an earful with this guy problem I have.