𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘- a labyrinth sequel

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐙𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒. She hugged her jacket closer to herself, suddenly wishing she'd put on a warmer pair of shoes, or a thicker pair of socks. She could not feel her feet. It was particularly cold for November, so cold that she felt the sting of cold air stinging her cheeks, and blowing her hair in all kinds of directions. She should have been grateful for the fact that they got to on this field trip, but truth be told, she was only here for Donnelly. 

The boys soccer team had an away game, and the school had offered to let students come to watch them play. Aurelia wouldn't usually be caught dead at a sporting event, but he had asked her to come and cheer him on, and who was she to deny him that request. Maybe you're my good luck charm, he had teased, which caused Aurelia to just roll her eyes as she reluctantly agreed to show up, only if he agreed to be on his best behaviour. The bus ride over to the game consisted of the two of them crammed in a row, whispering quietly, occasionally giggling. They played tick tac toe, and a round of chess on her cell phone. When she'd forgotten her headphones, Donnelly offered her one of his, and they shared for the whole way there. 

"Lia! Over here!" Aurelia turned her head to the sound of the voice, looking down the row to see Sadie, Xander's girlfriend, waving her over with a friendly smile. She'd noticed a few minutes ago that Xander had snuck off, which led Sadie to call her over. Even though she hadn't spoken to Xander in nearly two weeks, she could admit that she had never seen him happier. Aurelia was reluctant, but Sadie waved her over, and she snuck past the people on the bleachers, and sat beside her, unsure of what to say. The two of them had never really spoken before, and to Aurelia, Sadie had just been Xander's girlfriend. She was never someone who she was ever super close with. 

"Hi, Sadie," Lia said quietly, rubbing her hands together. "Enjoying the game?"

"It's kind of boring," she admitted with a chuckle, tucking a piece of long black hair behind her ear. "Don't tell Nicolas I said that," she teased. "He's probably the only one that's keeping things somewhat engaging." She wasn't lying. Although Daniel was the captain of the team, it was clear to every single person watching that Donnelly was the one who commanded everyone's attention, the one who everyone else saw as their leader. With their team up two points, and ten minutes left, Donnelly had been the one to score them both. Aurelia noticed the way that Daniel was seething after each goal, keeping his distance while the other boys on the team swarmed him. 

"He is really good, isn't he?" Aurelia mused, watching him weave through the players in his way like it was nothing. He wasn't kidding when he said he'd spent all his time practicing. Aurelia just felt devastated because the reason he'd done it all those years ago was to please his father. 

"Is that his jersey you're wearing?" She questioned, gesturing to the navy blue and white jersey that was peeking out from underneath her jacket. Lia's cheeks flushed, and not from the November chill. When Donnelly had shown up for school this morning and picked her up for the trip, he'd held a jersey in his hands, said she needed to show more school spirit, with a big grin on his face. 

"Oh... yeah," Aurelia replied sheepishly. If she took off the jacket, she'd be able to see Nicolas' number on her back, but this coat was just about the only thing keeping her somewhat warm. She had no idea how the boys down there were running around in shorts and t-shirts, but she supposed the running around for ninety minutes kept them warm enough. 

"That's so cute," she gushed, flashing her a smile. "Xander saw this coming for a while. I think he might have been a little too excited about it if you ask me." Aurelia hoped that Sadie hadn't noticed the way her face dropped at the mention of Xander. He was her cousin, and she missed him, and the silence between the two of them had been killing her. He had been her best friend since birth, and this was the longest that either of them had gone without speaking to each other. Although, Aurelia doubted that Xander was as upset about it as she was, since he'd basically told her she'd been nothing but a burden all these years. Whatever. She didn't need him. "Look, I don't know what happened between you two," she sighed. "But I know that you're his best friend, and he misses you."