The Introvert and the Football Player

Chapter Thirty Four

Valerie's POV:
I watched as my best friend tried to pile her blonde hair into a bun, each turning out more messy than the last. "You're agitated." I said as I flipped through Instagram. Everyone's prom pictures were up there, but I didn't care about anyone's pictures except for my own.

"No I'm not." Nova told me as she walked into her room. I could see a hickey on her neck from her time with Harry, or at least I'm hoping that's who it was from. "How's Harry doing?" I asked.  "He's doing perfect." She said sarcastically.

"Why are you being such a bitch today?" I asked her. Nova continued attempting to fix her hair, ignoring my question. "Nova--" I began. "No don't 'Nova' me, Val. He's the one who left me not the other way around. I stayed there hoping he'd come back but he didn't and Harry did so stop talking about it." She snapped at me.

"So is he your boyfriend now?" I asked her. Nova froze in the mirror as she worked to cover her hickey. Harry and her were always sensitive information; almost as off limits as her and Jerome. "You already know that answer." Nova said quietly.

Nova's POV:
After leaving Valerie and her 50 million questions, I went to Harry's apartment. Harry was the guy I had sex with occasionally, not someone who wanted a long term relationship. Sophomore year, it was the most perfect arrangement; now I was starting to think I wanted more.

'You're probably only having these thoughts because you're angry at Bo' my subconscious told me. I still couldn't get over him leaving me at the prom. I remember how he excused himself to go to the restroom, but instead walking out of the doors and somewhat out of my life; considering we hadn't spoken since.

I knocked on Harry's door, now angry over my remembrance of my disastrous junior prom. "Hey gorgeous." He said cooly. "You're cute. Open the door." I told him with a smirk. He stepped back, allowing me to enter his apartment. From his windows you could see the view of the whole town, his parents didn't spare any expense when it came to getting him this apartment.

"You miss me already?" He asked as he poured himself a glass of tea. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He chuckled again as I hugged him tightly. "Yes I missed you. I always miss you." I said. "Oh she speaks now." Harry said as he turned around to face me. I put my head on his shoulder, and he pulled me in closer.

"I missed you too." He said, kissing my head.  We stayed like that for God knows how long before my phone started ringing. My Caller ID said it was Valerie.

"Hello?" I said. I felt Harry trying to pull away but I refused to let him. "Where are you right now?" She asked; I could hear two male voices in the background. "I'm with Harry." I said honestly. I could hear her telling the two other people what I said, and my anger grew. "Who are you talking to?" I snapped. "Ashton and Bo." She said, hanging up as quickly as she called.

"Trouble in paradise ?" Harry asked me. "Something like that." I told him as I stood on my tip toes to kiss him. "You know you like that Bo guy." He said as he traced my cheekbones.

"Not you too." I muttered. Everything wasn't about Bo with me and no one could see that. "It's okay if you do. He's the right guy for you, babe." Harry said as he hugged me again. "What if I thought otherwise." I said, defiance lacing my tone. "He's what's good for you now. I was what was good for you last year. And despite how it ended, Jerome was good for you at one point." Harry said. My eyes began to water; I knew where he was going with this.

"I think I should stop coming around. I'm only harming your chance with him." Harry said quietly. "I don't want to lose you again." I cried. Harry looked at me with sympathy, but didn't make no moves to comfort me further.

I grabbed my keys and ran out to my car. When I turned it on, Hello by Adele was playing. And then I began to really cry. I was a sobbing, mascara dripping mess, and no one was around to comfort me this time.

Bo's POV:
I was shooting the basketball with Ashton when she pulled up. From her car I could see the tear stains. "Nova?" Valerie called from where she was sitting. Nova got out slowly and offered us a small smile before she sat beside Valerie. Oh. She came for her.

I could see them whispering to one another, and it wasn't hard to guess that Valerie was learning what was wrong. "Oh Nova." I heard her say as she hugged my girl. Ashton and I stopped playing and looked at the girls. "I'm going to go to Nova's for the day." Valerie said as she kissed Ashton goodbye. "I'll be back for dinner tonight."

Nova's POV:
All I want by Kodaline was blasting through my headphones. I had been staring at my ceiling for hours; unable to find the strength to look away or to care enough to look away. Everyone was pushing me towards a relationship with Bo; even Harry.

Bo was an amazing guy, but he was the one who left me the last time. He was the one who left me at prom. But as I was trying to convince myself that he was the bad guy, I found myself thinking of how far we'd come.

He was just a stranger at the beginning of the school year looking for a friend; I was the girl pushing everyone besides Valerie and Danni away. Then once we formed something that resembled a friendship, it grew into something bigger. But now I was laying in my bed alone, thinking about Bo Tyler Smith.

I grabbed my keys and ran out of the house. I didn't care if he refused to see me, I just had to see him.

Bo's POV:
"Bo there's a girl at the door for you." Lauren called from the kitchen. My first thought was that it was Valerie coming to complain to me about Ashton not doing something right. But I was wrong. It was Nova.

Her cheeks were puffy from crying and I could see faint black stains on her face from her makeup running from the tears. "Nova?" I asked. As soon as I said her name she started to cry again. I ran to her and took her into my arms. She gripped onto me tightly almost the same way I did to her at prom.

"Let's go upstairs." I told her. Nova nodded at what I said but hid behind me so I couldn't see her face anymore. Once we were in my room, I locked the door and took her in my arms again. I don't know how long she sat on my lap crying, but I never let her go.

"I'm sorry Bo. You must think I'm insane or something." She said after awhile. Her voice was hoarse and her eyes were even puffier. "I'd never think that about you baby girl." I told her honestly. I laid back onto my bed, pulling her with me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked after we laid there for awhile. "I thought about you all afternoon since Valerie and I left here. I thought about you going out of your way to get to know me, and everything that happened after." She told me. I was stunned. The girl who didn't let anyone in and hated getting to know people had been thinking about me.

"I miss you so much Bo. But I'm not ready for a relationship with you." Nova told me honestly. I smiled at her before saying "To be honest, we rushed into the first one. We went along with the pressures from our friends and from that hellish high school. Neither of us were ready."

"You're right!" Nova said as she sat up. "It was like everyone expected us to get together since you kissed me at the game." I laughed at the way she put her explanation, and she smiled for the first time all afternoon.

"So what are we going to do about it?" I asked. Nova looked at me confused and I could see she was waiting for me to explain. "Since we're not going to date again, but there's obviously feelings involved, so what are we going to do?" I explained.

"We have to get to know each other better. So I guess we're going to be friends?" She said laughing. "Us? Friends? How is Taylor High School going to handle it?" I said as I laughed with her.

"Fuck what they think." Nova said.

I spent the rest of the night talking to Nova; getting to know her. And for the first time since football season ended I felt happy.