Obsession

Secret: Chapter 2

Evenings in Shaw were typically quiet. With it being a close-knitted community where everyone knew everyone, the streets were a safe place to wander no matter the time of day or night. The locals were friendly, and it was the local custom to show common courtesy when passing by others on the street with a simple, "Good day," or some variant of a greeting.

Angie's Grill was the local hotspot. A diner located on a street corner, at the intersection of two main roads that ran throughout the entirety of Shaw. The diner opened every day at 5:30 AM and closed at 11:00 PM. It served breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if you were a lover of grease, or fast food, or food that was mouth-wateringly amazing, Angie's Grill was the place to be.

However, on that Saturday evening, following the game between the Shaw Stallions and the Gold Hawks, Angie's Grill had become overrun with locals coming for a quick cup of coffee, or iced tea, or to grab a quick bite while celebrating the win of the Shaw Stallions. Soccer season in Shaw created quite a buzz and was good for business, especially restaurants and diners, and even the bars for college students and adults.

The bell at the top of the door to Angie's Grill jingled as Gabriel pushed it open. He looked around at the packed diner, spotting his team which took up five booths. This was counting only the members of the team who had come to the celebratory dinner. Among the team, were some girls, many of them girlfriends of the team, and some of those girls had brought along their friends who had eyes for a boy from the team.

"Gabe," came Chris' bellow, cutting through the chatter and bustle of the diner. Chris, however, immediately piped down and grew red in the face when two more people entered the diner following Gabriel.

One of them was a girl, and the other, was another boy. The girl was Rebecca Stroup. The town's resident beauty with thick, dark brown hair, pouty, cupid's bow lips, and caramel-coloured eyes. Following her was her older brother, Julian Stroup. A local heartthrob himself, Julian was a college student in his second year at the college in the city. He, himself, was an athlete, but he played hockey.

Despite being older, he had tagged along as a chaperone when his sister agreed to join Gabriel at the celebratory dinner. His protective instinct had kicked in knowing that she would be surrounded by a bunch of hormonal teenaged boys in good spirits following their win. Even though she wouldn't be the only girl there, she was most likely, the only girl there who was single. Other than that, he couldn't pass on the opportunity to congratulate Gabriel on the win as well.

Julian had had a class that afternoon, which went on for three hours, so he had missed the game. However, his sister had kept him updated, texting him each time a goal was scored, and she'd been sure to let him know who had scored each goal by the Shaw Stallions. Since Gabriel was once again named the MVP, Julian knew he needed to congratulate the town's local celebrity.

The three of them moved farther into the diner. As Gabriel and Rebecca went over to the booth where Chris was seated with Josh, another player named Nico Hoffman, and his girlfriend, Lyssa Isaacs, Julian went to a vacant booth where he'd be able to keep an eye on his sister and her best friend.

"Hi, Chris," Rebecca greeted, flashing him a dainty smile. Though she acknowledged Josh, Nico, and Lyssa, she kept her attention focused Chris. "Awesome game, today. You were amazing. I was rooting for you, you know."

She tried striking up a casual conversation, but Chris had been reduced to a flustered ball of nerves. Instead of providing a proper response and keeping the conversation going, he said, "Yeah –" and choked rather suddenly. His face turned red, and he reached for the tall glass of icy water.