Linger

S E V E N T Y - O N E

~ Daniel's POV ~

"How'd Claire get here anyway? Don't tell me you told her about this." Brandon gave me a stern look.

"Not at all." I shook my head as I made my way back up the ladder. 

"Then how did she know about the tournament?"

"There's posters set up all over town." I nodded to the banner as I carefully aligned it in place.  "You've been talking about this for months, Bran!" 

"Oh." He let out a chuckle, looking up at the banner. "That's right. I have." 

The high-pitched tweet of the whistle suddenly sounded from the field.

I nodded to the field. "That's your cue." 

"Huh?" Brandon widened his eyes at me, rubbing his neck. 

"Tournament's starting." 

"Tournament . . ." he repeated slowly, pausing for a moment. He then turned his body toward the field. "Oh, the tournament!! Right! Right! Better go before they start without me!" He ran off. 

"Hey, Bran." I spoke up, making my way back down the ladder.

He stopped, turning around. 

"Thank you . . .  for looking out for Madison and I." 

A bright smile spread on his face as he beamed at me. He then stepped up to me, wrapping me into the tightest, most loving hug an older brother could ever give his youngest brother. 

I chuckled, hugging him back. 

"I'm always here for you, bro. Always," he told me, his smile still in place as we pulled away. 

"Love you, man," I told him, my smile mirroring his. 

"Not as much as Maddie I hope," he said, giving me a playful grin. 

I rolled my eyes jokingly before giving his shoulder a light punch. "Don't you have a trophy to win?" 

"Aren't you going to wish us luck??" His green eyes danced with amusement as he looked at me. 

"You don't need it." I grinned. 

"Never have!" He playfully punched my shoulder back before heading toward the field. "Enjoy the game, bro! Banner looks great by the way! You never needed my help!" 

I chuckled as I watched him join his team eagerly waiting for him on the field. 

"Alright! Who's ready to win this tournament?!" he asked, high-fiving the players eagerly waiting for him on the field. 

Without even meaning to, my eyes drifted over to the sidelines. Although I knew very well that she wasn't here, I still couldn't help but glance just to make sure. Part of me sighed with relief that she wasn't here to see the interaction that had just happened. 

But another part of me weighed with guilt.

A heaviness settled in my chest and I fished my phone out of my pocket.

I told myself I wasn't going to call her. I shouldn't call her. The school had already grown suspicious of me and surely any trace of her in my phone wouldn't help the situation in the slightest. 

But I couldn't stop thinking about her. Ever since Brandon mentioned her, I hadn't stopped thinking about her. Being with her. Talking with her. Laughing with her. Man, it had barely been a week since we've actually spent time together and every part of me was yearning to just be in her presence. 

Sure, we spent time together in class, but that was barely enough. Especially when there were twenty or so other students between us. 

She wasn't even here yet somehow managed to capture my entire focus so much that when I finally did manage to bring myself out of my consumed thoughts, Claire had somehow disappeared and Bran was looking at me with a scowl on my face.