➸featured on the What's Hot list
➸winner of The Most Addictive Story in The Writers Awards 2017
┈
❝ i'm going to woo you;
piece by piece,
word by word,
letter by letter. ❞
┈
In which Nova Hart, a star badminton player and hopeless roma...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THENEW GIRL
GRAHAM CAME TO A STOP after the tenth lap around the pitch, his hands on his knees as he breathed hard and a bead of sweat trickled down his nose before spilling onto the grass below.
Someone whistled. Probably his stupid friend. "You're getting faster," Tyler grinned and then shoved Graham, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Graham groaned, his muscles aching and not able to find the energy to get back up. Instead, he just laid back flat on the grass, his hand instantly coming up to shield his eyes from the sun.
"Piss off, Ty," he muttered.
"What? You planning on falling asleep right here?"
"Maybe," he replied, eyes closed and the dampness of the fresh earth cooling his back.
There was no reply from Tyler but Graham felt a shadow fall over him and when he pried his eyes open, he found Ty leaning over him. The stupid grin was still on his friend's face but Graham noticed the unhidden concern in his eyes.
"I'm fine," he sighed before Tyler could open his mouth.
"Didn't say you weren't," Ty replied easily, the grin softening into a warm smile.
A beat of silence passed.
"But how are you anyway?"
Graham groaned. "I just told you, I —"
"Cut the crap, Graham," Tyler muttered, all mirth draining from his face. "I'm the last person you need to keep shit from, you know that."
Despite himself, Graham's mouth twitched. "I know, I know," he made a gesture of surrender with his hands. "Really though, I'm okay." And before he could help himself, he added – "not my problem the woman decided to get pregnant with another man's kid."
Ty wordlessly sat down next to Graham's sprawled-out figure on the grass. "The woman," Ty said, "also happens to be your mother."
Graham snorted and turned to his side, his nose brushing against Ty's knee. "Well, in a few months she's going to be someone else's mum, so may the force be with them."
Graham didn't need to look to know his best friend had rolled his eyes. "You and your fandoms," Ty muttered but there was an undertone of affection in his voice.
"Speaking of fandoms, you need to –"
"Nope."
"But–"
"Dude I'm not watching a show where two brothers with daddy issues go on hunting trips."
Graham flipped him off. "You make it sound ridiculous on purpose. You need to give the show a try."
"Supernatural," Ty tested the word out and then cringed. "Yeah, no. Not happening."
"You need to branch out," Graham muttered, obviously referring to Ty's obsession with Hawaii Five-O.
"And you need to get laid," Ty shot back.
"I get laid just enough."
"Still Monica?"
Graham shrugged. "Its safe sticking to one partner, you know. Plus she gets the deal; she isn't looking for anything serious either."
Ty hummed in response. And then his eyes landed on something or someone in the distance.
"Hey, isn't that the new girl?" He asked, jutting his chin towards Graham's right. He lifted his head up from the grass and saw the brunette who'd passed Nova one of those anonymous notes that day in class several feet away.
"Yeah," Graham muttered in a bored tone, not really caring who she was.
"What's her name–?" Ty was mumbling to himself. "Melody... No, Mandarine. No wait, that can't be right –"
"Mallory, I think," Graham said, "yeah, her name's Mallory."
