Poor, Sweet, Broken Soul

C⃜h⃜a⃜p⃜t⃜e⃜r⃜ O⃜n⃜e⃜: Unexpected Offense and Declined Apologies

   I look across the football field at the many guys trying out for George W. Bush High's 2017-2018 football team. Most of them were eighth graders, and I was only just starting sixth. I had heard, though, that it was always these same boys trying out, minus the few sixth graders that had hope. Only the seventh graders had realised there was none left for them unless they were truly gifted.
   I noticed a few familiar faces in the crowd, but one stood out. Jacob Lilley, my all time crush. I've liked him since third grade, yet he's the one person who fails to notice me. My bullies talk to me more than he does! And all they do is leave notes on my locker that say something like Strut the slut or some other crap that relates to "the incident".
   My cousin Hunter had given me a few warnings about the so-called jocks, otherwise known as my bullies, but I didn't need them. I had already learned my lesson. Fifth grade was a bad year for sure.
   I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts by Hunter's voice in my ear. "Helloooooo! Earth to Dakota! If you're done checking out Jacob, that is."
   "Shut up!" I say, "Someone could have heard you!" Hunter was the only guy that I had told about my crush. We were actually really close, and I was Glad to have be related to someone who could keep my secrets, tolerate my friends and protect me from my bullies when he wasn't in class. He was pretty mature for a seventh grade boy.
   "Sorry, just trying to get your attention! You weren't gonna be grasped out of your eternal thoughts by anything else. I already tried shouting all of your other deep, dark secrets where everyone could hear."
   "Hunter!"
   "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Geez." Like I said, he's mature for his age. Not.
   "Don't do that to me!" I said, slapping his shoulder and panting heavily, as I tried to calm myself down. "You scared me."
   He looked down in shame. He doesn't like when I say that he scared me. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-"
   "It's fine. I shouldn't have said that. It's my fault. You can go back to thinking or whatever. I don't care."
   "Hunter-"
   "No! Stop. It's fine. Do you want nachos, pickle or popcorn? Coach said we could get something, so we don't have to just sit here on our phones and watch."
   I looked at him with an apologetic stare. For a moment, he seemed hurt, then scared, then mad, then he was back to himself, surely replaying the dreadful day in his mind. I stared at him for a minute more before answering, "Just a pickle, please."
   He didn't look back at me as he got out his wallet and replied, "Ok. I'll be back in a minute."
   "Thank you." I muttered silently under my breath.