The Introvert and the Football Player

Chapter Twenty Six

Nova's POV:
Two Years Ago;

I don't know what light is anymore. Emily was gone, Billy was gone, and so was Jerome. People are nothing but temporary. They're fleeting flares of light that eventually dim and leave you in darkness. All of my flares dimmed at once, and this darkness seamed to stretch on forever. My new clothes I had gotten from Jerome sat in the chair in my room never worn, tags still on. My makeup and straightener had begun collecting dust from the lack of use. My friends wore the same worried expressions everyday, but I could never bring myself to plaster a smile on my face. I could still hear the football player's voice calling me a pothead that night and it had been 3 months since he had done so.

"Nova if you would fix your hair maybe--" My mother said one morning. "Oh stop it. They're all gone, there's no one left to impress." I said icily. "You still have friends baby girl." She said as she applied her makeup. I flinched at her calling me baby girl, but like everything else, it went unnoticed. I went back to my room to put on my everyday attire- black t-shirt, black leggings, and my black boots. I only wore black. It was as if I was forever mourning the loss of my friends; of my light.

I leaned against the pole of the stop sign with Ed Sheeran's Give Me Love on full volume as I waited for the bus. The bus was the worst part of my high school experience since Emily and Billy were gone. Jerome and I didn't ride the same bus so it wasn't that hard. I used to make jokes with Billy and Em, but now I just stare wordlessly out the window with my music on full blast. As Kiss Me began to play I could feel tears come to my eyes. Ed Sheeran could knock me into my feelings as quick as winter could freeze the air. I wasn't okay, and I couldn't even pretend like I was.

******
Present Day
Nova's POV:
I sat on the porch as I waited for Bo. The twins got to sleep later than I thought they would, and I was worried he thought I canceled on him. I could hear his truck before I saw it, and I heard his radio blasting the new Jason Aldean song. Bo was still singing along as he cut the engine and got out. "Hey country star!" I called out to him as I laughed at his voice. "Hey pretty lady." He said as he got to my porch. I stood up to hug him, but I found myself dancing with him to another country song. He spun me around and dipped me, and after awhile we found ourselves laughing uncontrollably.

"How's school without me?" He asked me. "Hell, stupid, pointless, boring. But that's how it usually is with you there." I joked. Bo laughed at what I said and pulled me into his arms. I snuggled into his chest and I could hear his heart beating through his shirt. "I'm glad you miss me as much as I miss you." I heard him say. "Oh believe me, I miss you a lot. I just don't know what to tell everyone when they ask if I'm your girlfriend." I said. Bo looked down at me with a skeptical look on his face. "What are we?" He asked. I could feel his breath on my face, and see his dark green eyes looking into mine. "That's what I've been wanting to know myself." I whispered. At the moment, The Weeknd's song Wicked Games came to my head. I pulled Bo back close to me, and started humming the tune. We danced slowly and quietly as the song went on. I knew I wasn't ready for a relationship after Jerome or my brief fling with Harry, but Bo deserved someone who'd be there for him. And I desperately wanted to be that person. "Nova?" He whispered after awhile. "Yeah?" I asked. I was just as quiet as he was. "Be my girl? I know we don't know each other all that well, but I know you well enough." He said. Oh if only he knew half of the stuff I did.
"I would love to." I told him. Bo kissed me then, slowly and softly as if he was scared I was going to vanish into thin air.

The next day at school all I could think about was my night with Bo. We stayed on the porch until about midnight, alternating between talking and silence. We made plans to see each other at the game tonight, and I couldn't stop staring at the clock wishing it would go faster. Us going to the game together was going to become some big thing. Bo said it was going to be chaotic, but he wanted me to be there. He was still supposed to sit on the sidelines with the rest of the team tonight even though he wasn't playing. Valerie was going to be there to support Ashton, and Danni was probably going to go with Lucas.
I checked my phone for any messages from Bo, but there weren't any. I was only in third period and I still had almost three hours of school left. My English teacher had been the same one from my sophomore year, and everyday I walked in there, he'd look at me as if he was waiting for the girl I was last year to make an appearance.
Even now as I say through his class I could still remember Harry's presence in this class. I turned around and looked for him to be sleeping behind his laptop, but he wasn't there anymore. Harry had moved back to California over the summer, no goodbyes and no reasons why.

"Ms. Sparks if you're done day dreaming, tell me what makes this sentence an indicative sentence." Mr. Cook said to me. "The sentence is an indicative sentence because it's a statement of fact." I told him without needing to look anywhere near him. I could feel his shocked expression on me as I doodled in my notebook. I only had 30 more minutes left in this class before it was time for lunch. It was going to be a long day.