aubrey likes kel's jacket

i won't say i'm in looove

Maybe his jacket was a way to assert what was hers; a way to say "fuck you" to all the change she couldn't decide on. 

Mari died, and Sunny never left his room for four years.

Mari died, and Hero wasted away in his for a year or so.

Mari died, and Basil drained of any joy he ever had held.

Mari died, and Aubrey had turned into a completely different person. She couldn't decide if she was proud or ashamed as the years went by.

But Kel, her once childhood friend, was fine. He had to be.

Smiling and laughing, like he always was and always would be. It didn't matter if Aubrey was there to laugh with him, or if Mari was there to hum to the constant tune of that duet she wanted to play.

Even though Mari never got to play her duet, Kel moved on. How the hell did he do it?

What made Kel so much better than everyone else? Why didn't he get to suffer?

Aubrey grimaced at her bitter, angry thought as she walked down the street. The cool, harsh wind whipped against her arms, piercing them with goosebumps. She sighed, swallowing back the beginning of a lump in her throat.

She almost felt the brush of his hand against hers. She closed her eyes, imagining the rush of hotness on her mortified cheeks and the sound of his choke of a surprised laugh. It would be so.. irritating.

"God. Just.. shut up. I don't need you in my life, okay? We're not friends. You don't even care about Mari! Leave me alone!" She muttered, shaking her head as she clenched her fists, stomping through the streets.

She hated being angry about someone who didn't even care about her. 

She thought about the game he played that night; an easy victory. Kel scored most of the shots, to her dismay.

He was good. He dribbled, passed and shot the ball with no effort. It danced on the tips of his fingers and pirouetted out of his hands, expertly scoring a swoosh into the basket. The whole night, he played better than Aubrey ever remembered. 

And in the stands, where she and her friends had came to boo him, she found herself competitively cheering for their team—for him—louder than everyone else. When everyone else cheered and laughed and hollered, she whooped and grinned.

He glanced at her for a second.. confusion, then happiness, then withdrawal. Why would you cheer for me?

She couldn't give him an answer.

Suddenly, Aubrey felt the hammer of footsteps behind her and turned around to find her friends. It was just a few of the hooligans (phew).

She didn't feel disappointed... why did she expect to be? Either way, she sighed a shaky breath of relief. 

"Aubrey!" The four called, grinning.

"Wait, were you guys following me?" She stammered, avoiding their eyes in embarrassment.

"Nah.. not until now! You aren't too far from school, y'know.. we just had to give you something!" Kim barked a laugh, seemingly unbothered by the cold.

"Look what we got you, mwahahaha! You'll be astounded, amazed, and maybe even a little revolt-" Mikhael smirked smugly, before being cut off by Charlene throwing her a jacket of some sort. She grabbed it, turning it over to see a small stitched basketball on the back.

"They.. um..  took Kel's basketball jacket from his locker.." Charlene sighed, blushing in embarrassment.

"Heh, yeah! He was actin' all high and mighty after that win, so we decided to humble him a bit!" Angel pumped his fist in the air, practically glowing with energy.

Aubrey grinned wickedly, laughing. Her heart felt weird, as if it dropped and collected itself again.

"Hell yeah! This is mine now, sucker!" She announced, putting it on eagerly.

She felt her heart flutter. Why the hell was it doing that?

She was grinning, putting her hands in the pockets, zipping it up... it was nice.

She kinda liked how comfortable it was.. over-sized, but not huge. She'd grow into it. Fleece, as well as a mix of white, brown and orange. It suited her!

Not to mention it felt like a hug. She felt blood rush to her cheeks as she imagined him hugging her... zipping it up on a cold day, or taking it off her when she was at his house. Maybe he'd grin at her the next day, like 'yeah. that has my name on it and you're wearing it. you like wearing my stuff!'.

Aubrey was wearing Kel's jacket. 

Why was it less about the power she held, and more about the fact it was his in the first place?

Why did she cheer for him instead of celebrate his missed shots?

Why did she sort of miss Kel's company over the Hooligans' sometimes?

Why was she such a mess over someone she barely knew anymore?

Shit.