Concussion •Miniminter•

•29•

He beat me. I knew he would beat me, but I wanted to act like I knew what I was doing. Boldness can have its perks.

I sighed in defeat as I bounced the pool stick on the ground. Vik put his vlog camera to my face.

"How do you feel about this loss?" He asked like a news reporter. I thought for a moment.

"You know Vik, this loss, and the loss at the pitch, won't compare to the loss of your team in two days," I preached, resulting in some 'ooooh's echoing around us.

"Oh really?" Vik questioned, keeping my face in the shot. I crossed my arms and looked straight into the camera.

"Really."

"We'll see about that, won't we. Good game though," Simon approached and Vik backed up, getting a better shot. Simon put his right hand out to shake. I slowly put my pinkie-braced hand out, about to shake it, but immediately rejected it and acting-ly smoothed my hair back instead. I winked at Simon, making him roll his eyes and smile.

     "You're so dramatic," he accused me. I made a dramatic gasp, which added to his comment.

     "Me? Dramatic? No," I said in the same tone, remembering when Jay called me the same thing in the taxi on the way to Nandos. I put the pool stick back where it belonged, as did Simon.

     "And sarcastic," he added behind me. I turned to him, now having an annoyed smile. Yet, I wasn't annoyed. I found this entertaining.

     "Yes, thank you, smart ass," I simply said, now ending the conversation, and showing that Vik could stop recording now. I walked over to Emily as Simon went over to some of the guys.
Emily's grin got wider and wider as I got closer to her.

"Oh. My. Shitting. Gosh. Bailey!" She squealed, letting out all her excitement from her body out through her mouth. I chuckled, a little confused on why she was so giddy.

     "Why are you so energetic? Just because I played a game with him-"

     "Yes. You played a game with him. Only him. Out of everyone here-" I cut her off with a little scoff.

     "We already had this conversation." I plainly said.

     "-and he was totally checking you out every now and then." She added after I cut her off, making me look at her surprised. I don't know if I should be shocked, but I was.

"For real?" I somewhat mumbled so people around couldn't hear. Emily let out an annoyed breath.

"Bloody Hell, Bailey. Don't you see it? He likes-" I cut her off once again.

"You remember I have to tell you shit later?" I reminded her.

"Ohhhh, right. But still," She nodded.

     I looked behind me at the other side of the pool table to Simon, who was laughing with the other guys. And like it was on que, he looked over to me, but saw me looking and he immediately looked away. Tobi also looked over and then looked at Simon and immediately started talking. Simon scratched the back of his neck. I have a feeling they're talking about me. I looked back to Emily who smirked at me while crossing her arms, making me laugh at her.

"I know." I simply said, knowing what she was getting at.

~~~~~~~~~
We all ended up eating dinner at the hotel thanks to the chefs working there. I sat next to Emily who was at my left and Simon who sat to my right. Sarah sat across from me with Cal to her left and Greg to her right. I didn't eat much because every time I would take a bite either JJ, Ethan, Simon or Cal would crack a joke making laughter spread to everyone around, causing me to almost choke on my food. The girls would also joke about to add to the laughter, so there goes more chances to eat.

After the dinner, Jay and I went up to our room, Jay soon taking off to go hang out with some guys, leaving time for Emily to come over. I texted the number she gave to everyone at the pitch, as did everyone else, and told her my room number.

I was sat on the couch and decided to snapchat Arya. I told her about the Simon situation and she started freaking out, making me laugh at her. I asked her about the Uni and the football team, and she said the everyone missed me, which made me sad but still happy to be where I was.

     When I was done talking to her I heard a knock at my door, making me smile knowing Emily was here. I jumped up and walked to the door, being faced with- no one. I looked down the hall to the right; I saw a long hallway ending in a big window, looking into the starry sky, but no one. Then I looked past the door to the right and got spooked right in the face by Emily. I managed not to scream but I punched her arm.

     "There has been enough scaring today!" I scream-whispered so people in their rooms wouldn't hear. Emily giggled as I let her into my room gesturing her to sit on the couch, in which she did. She was wearing a graphic tee with sweats and flip-flops.

     "Nice outfit," I chuckled as I went to the kitchen and grabbed two bags of crisps.

     "Ay, it's not any better than your no-shoe outfit that you're wearing," she defended. She had a point.

     I made my way back to the couch, slumping next to Emily and tossing the crisp bag onto her phone which she was texting on. She looked up to me and grinned, putting her phone down and opening the bag.

     "Okay. So tell me everything," she said adjusting her seating so she was facing me, her eyes and ears ready to engulf drama.

And like she wanted me to do, I told her everything. I told her about the car rides, the little heart next to his name, the sudden sit-by-me at nandos the first day (although he could've just wanted to be friendly), and even about the talk with Tobi and Harry, although I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Throughout the story she would nod her head and mumble a 'mhm' to show she was listening.

"And promise that you do not tell anyone I told you that," I begged, making her promise. She held up her pinkie.

"Pinkie promise?" She smiled. I laughed at her and took her pinkie in mine.

"You're such an 8 year old," I accused her which made her laugh, agreeing with me.

"But, wow. So he legit loves you," she confirmed on a serious note. Her saying that aloud made my heart ache.

"I know, but there's a big wall of past experiences in our way," I sighed looking down,  making my heart ache more. I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me look back up and look to Emily. She had the most sincere look on her face, her green eyes full of empathy. And with that face she said a sentence that would change everything,

"Then break down that wall."

~~~~~~~~~