we'll all be :: [teenfic]

Chapter 31. The Team

I saw Xander before April's tires stopped turning.

I'd recognized the car...the 2006 model was his mom's, and he'd asked to keep it--at least, that's what he'd told me one day in the garage.

"Well, look who it is," April smirked, as we pulled into the unpaved parking lot.

"Who?" I asked innocently. "Whomever are you talking about, April?"

"Hah," April pursed her lips. "Right," she replied. "Like you don't know."

I shrugged. "Well, I definitely don't."

"Well," April snorted, "I'm talking about the best friend of yours who fixes cars."

I blinked. "Not ringing any bells."

"You know, the one who has freckles and brown hair?" She took in my blank expression and shook her head, "No?"

"Sorry, you're going to have to be more specific."

"Oh!" She snapped her fingers, "You know, the friend who wants to pull you into the backseat of his car, unbutton those jean shorts and and f--"

"April!" I screamed. "Alright! I get it; stop! Don't you dare say something like that when we get out there."

I narrowed my eyes, punching her repeatedly as she threw her head back and laughed. "Don't. You. Dare."

"Fine, fine," she replied. Then, her eyes flicked towards Xander, who having just noticed the new car in the lot, crossed his arms and his legs at the ankle, leaning against his Range Rover as he stared back at us with a signature smirk.

"Jesus," April whispered, as she lifted her eyebrows. "If you don't want him, by all means give him to me. He looks smokin' hot today..."

In his white T-shirt, cargo shorts and Vans, I couldn't help but agree.

But, then again, you'd have to be blind to argue the opposite.

"Don't they always, though?"

To that, April nodded. "Way to deflect," she grinned. "But, yes. All of them. Every last one."

Xander regarded us with a raised eyebrow as we stepped from April's Mini Cooper.

"So you did get a friend to come," he exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Wow, Thalia! Yay! Good for you."

"Very funny," I replied with a scowl.

He kept grinning, taking in the mitt in my hand and the baseball bat slung over April's shoulder.

"And look at you! You've got your own equipment?" He tilted his head, eyes glinting gold beneath the sun, "You're professionals."

"Shut up," I exclaimed, as Xander reached out first to give April a hug.

"Hey, lay off her," April began, as Xander then held out his arms to me. "This day should go down in history as the day that Thalia Rose actually and willingly decided to play a sport. This is big news, okay?"

I walked towards Xander's outstretched arms. "Please stop acting like I've never played sports before."

April placed her hands on her hips. "Please stop acting like you've ever wanted to play sports before."

Xander looked between us both. "Please stop acting like you're not going to give me this hug."

At that, both April and I laughed, and I threw my arms around Xander's neck.