Obsessed over the Popular - a high school romance diary

10 - The football game

After their little talk, Alyah went to class with a new stroll, she walked with a sense of pride. Simon had finally stood up for himself, or so she thought.

While in class, Simon couldn't stop smiling, drawing on his notebook with the giddiest demeanor. When the bell rung for lunch, Simon packed everything up and was walking to the cafeteria when he spotted Alyah at the end of the hallway.

Now that the Justin situation was resolved, he still thought about the crying session on Friday when her dad didn't arrive. Now that she looked so tired and sad, he had no doubt he had to do something to cheer her up, or... figure out what's wrong.

He followed Alyah and her puppy friend Amelia into the cafeteria, sitting far away from them as he always did. They sat with the football players, and right now that was the most unsafe place for him.

But a few seconds later, Simon was surprised when Alyah stopped in front of her usual table, looking Justin up and down, and then turned around.

She was walking the other way, to Simon's table. He stuffed his notebook in his pocket immediately, watching as she opened a smile, moving closer to his table.

"Can I sit here?"

Alyah's presence was messing with Simon's ability to function, and he nodded excitedly but keeping the same numb expression.

She smiled again and sat down, taking out her phone. Amelia and the football guys were all looking at her and Simon as she scrolled mindlessly on her social media.

She didn't seem too bothered by the looks, and Simon kept his mouth shut while he ate. She wasn't eating, he noticed that.

So, after a lot of thinking and considering things, he slid over the other half of the sandwich he was eating.

Alyah stopped, put her phone down, and looked at him.

"Why are you giving me this?"

He shrugged, and lowered his head to his own food.

"Thanks."

She then took the sandwich in her hands and ate, no fuss made over it, just ate. The table was quiet and they both seemed content with each other's presence.

It was calm. Peaceful.

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Later that day, there was a football game in the school, with a rival school. Simon didn't care for those kinds of vulgar entertainment, but when he saw Alyah was going, he decided that he could maybe spend a while enjoying the things she liked.

They got to the field right after school ended, and Simon was on the highest part of the bleachers reading when Alyah got there.

She looked up and saw him, but didn't know how to approach him without seeming weird.

That shared moment at lunch was just that. Truth is, he was becoming a bit more bearable to this cold-hearted girl. She appreciated his presence, and liked knowing he was around.

Maybe it was a crush, but our little Alyah had no idea how big of a crush he had for her.

Simon looked over his book and spotted her a few rows of seats down, looking up at him.

She immediately turned away from him, embarrassed he caught her staring, and sat down without another word.

Simon didn't even notice that, he could only focus on her beauty. He went back to his book when she sat down, but secretly wanted her to come up, maybe sit with him.

But that was asking for too much.

As the game went on, Alyah kept turning her head up to look at Simon, who looked fairly bored and confused about the game.

She chuckled when he sighed, rubbing the back of his head like he didn't get what was happening.

She finally got the courage, took a deep breath, and climbed up the rest of the stairs to get to his level.

No one else was sitting up here, still scared of Simon. Which was foolish, because after all, everyone had seen how badly Justin treated him. Did they seriously think he'd take it forever?

She sat down next to him, a few feet away, and looked down at the game, fidgeting with her hands.

And if Alyah was nervous about talking to him, imagine how Simon felt after she sat down.

His heartbeat quickened almost instantly, and he hid his face in his book as he attempted to make the courage to talk to her.

At least she came up. Simon was glad she wasn't scared of him, after he explained what happened.

It was a lie, but still.

After a while, the home team scored a good touchdown, and she clapped a few times with a smile on her face. It was her school's team, and even if she didn't like the players, she liked the game.

Simon saw this and was a bit confused, he didn't understand why they were cheering, and found this to be the appropriate time to talk.

"What happened?"

He asked, putting down the book for a second. Alyah looked at him, and smiled softly before scooting closer to him, pointing down at the players and the field.

She carefully explained what happened to Simon, who made sure to pay extra attention on her explanation. After all, if she liked this, he would like this too.

Once she finished explaining the science behind this play and touchdown, she looked back up at him, a more open smile on her lips.

"Do you get it?"

"Uhm..." he hesitated. Although he paid close attention to everything she said, this game was too much for him to understand. "Not really..."

He was afraid he'd sound dumb, by admitting he didn't understand something as simple as a football game. But Alyah just chuckled a bit, looking back down at the field and watching the players run around.

"It's okay, no one gets it at first. You'll learn."

She said, smiling at the field. She really enjoyed watching football, and in the past she was even a cheerleader. But now that senior year rolled around, Alyah found it distracting from her important classes.

Simon noticed how much she liked this, and took a mental note to draw her as a cheerleader for the fun of it. After all, who wouldn't like that view.

The game went on, and Alyah tried her best to explain him the plays, but Simon just seemed more confused after every word.

It was a nice evening, and Alyah felt glad she got the courage to come up to him. Simon was thrilled about this whole interaction. She was being sweeter to him, and he really liked her company.

But for now, Simon had a long way to go in understanding this game, just as much as Alyah had a long way to go in understanding her feelings towards this nerd.

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1180 words.
I'm sorry it took so long to continue the story, but at some point I just figured no one would be interested and stopped.

But I'm glad you're enjoying it and reading it.

And as always, have fun.