TEA! (es)

CHAPTER FIVE!

**Friday, after drama rehearsal

     Lisette sat next to Athena, watching the game. Athena was busy trying to get Kate's attention, while all Lisette could do was stare sadly at Emaline. More than anything, she wished so wasn't so shy all the time, because then maybe she could find the right words.  She sighed, thinking too hard about it. Thinking like this made Lisette stress out.

     "You good?" Athena asked her. Lisette nodded, even though she wasn't. She pushed some of her dark brown hair behind her ear, looking over at Emaline. Emaline was actually watching the game, but looked a little down. Lisette wanted more than anything to go over there and talk to her, but alas, she was too shy and anxious to do so. 

     "Hey, Lisette!" Tyler greeted, plopping down beside her. Emaline was now covered by the face of Tyler, which was slightly disappointing, but Lisette didn't mind too much.

    "Hi, Ty." She replied softly, smiling. Tyler was the only person who knew about her crush on Emaline. Not even Athena, her friend of many years, knew her secret. It seemed unfair, only because Lisette knew hers. 

     "Any luck?" He asked, referring to Emaline. Lisette smiled sadly, looking away from him.

     "I haven't even said a single word to her," Lisette confessed in a sad voice. Tyler looked disappointed in her, but he meant well. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both pretending to understand what was going on in the game. Lisette thought about how Tyler was destined to never get what he wanted, not as long as most females who were attracted to guys existed. Tyler wanted Oliver, but Oliver wanted a girl. Tyler was coming down from heartbreak, not because Oliver rejected him, because he hadn't, but it was all about how Tyler sort of understood that his chances were little to none at all. Lisette found it hard to watch him go through that, but she assured him that as a bisexual, there were more than plenty of fish in the sea for him.

     "Do you want to go grab a soda with me?" Tyler asked, standing up. Lisette nodded, following him out of the bleachers. She saw him glance at the tall, trenchcoat-wearing boy with sad eyes. Lisette only grabbed his shoulder and pulled him on, not wanting her friend to have to go through that right now.

     "So, how are you going to get Emaline's attention?" Tyler asked as they walked side-by-side. Lisette thought, or rather, tried to, but nothing came to mind. She only shrugged. "Maybe you should try talking to her?" Tyler asked. Lisette scoffed, punching his arm softly.

     "You know I can't do that, Ty." She responded, kicking some gravel up. She noticed Becka sitting under the bleachers, looking like she was looking for someone, but she paid no mind to her. She clicked her tongue, something Lisette found herself doing quite often.

     "I think you should try." He replied, walking up to concession stand. Lisette almost wanted to argue, but she bit her tongue, reminding herself that now was no the time nor place.

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     "Hey, where'd you go?" Athena asked as Lisette sat back down. To be perfectly honest, Lisette was surprised Athena even noticed her absence. Lisette stared at her blankly, wanting to mention that last thought, but decided against it.

     "Sorry, Tyler wanted to get a drink." She replied, sitting down. Athena flipped some hair over her shoulder, looking out onto the field. The band was about to go into halftime, and so she was ready to catch Kate alone. Lisette felt bad for Olivia, but then again, she also felt as though she had to stick up for Athena in a sense. She was caught between a rock and a hard place, and it didn't feel nice. The bad part about being the quiet one is that you know all the secrets, and they're really easy to keep. Secrets that are easy to keep are the worst.

     They watched as the band got ready to perform their halftime show, and they heard Kate wave and yell a form of good luck to Olivia. Athena then got up, not saying goodbye, and went to talk to Kate. Lisette only sighed. Tyler had run off to talk to Oliver, so she had no one to turn and talk to. Instead, she was left alone and uncomfortable. 

     In one swift movement, someone was next to her. Lisette looked over, meeting, much to her surprise, Emaline.

     "Hey." Emaline greeted. She offered a stick of gum, which Lisette gladly took.

    "Hey." She greeted softly, nervousness rushing through her.

    "Why are you all alone?" Emaline asked, looking around, reminding Lisette of her lack of friends.

     "They're busy." Lisette shrugged, clicking her tongue again. 

     "Well, I'm not busy," Emaline responded, smiling brightly at Lisette. When seen with Oliver, Emaline had always come off as bad-mannered, and maybe even rude. But when away from a toxic influence, Emaline was kind and caring. Lisette couldn't even help but to smile back. It felt nice to be noticed.

     "Thanks, but I'm not much fun," Lisette told her, brushing some hair behind her ear nervously. Emaline only laughed.

     "I don't mind." She told Lisette, scooting closer. She offered her some nachos, which seemed to be fresh. Lisette was glad she didn't get chili over hers; she had never much cared for chili. So, gladly, she took one, biting off the area that was covered in cheese.

     "So, some game, huh?" Lisette nervously asked, trying to make small talk. She could have spoken about anything: the weather, how her classes were going, if she liked all types of nachos or just the ones they sold at concessions. But instead, Lisette chose to speak about the subject she knew nothing about. 

     "You like football?" Emaline asked, smiling. Lisette panicked.

     "I- yes?" Her voice was unsure of her answer. Emaline threw her head back in laughter, startling some of the people around her.

     "You know nothing about football, sweety. First of all, we're at halftime. There's no game going on. Second of all, we're doing really bad." Emaline informed her. She seemed to know what she was talking about, but Lisette got the feeling that Emaline probably just came to football games often, so she caught on. 

     "Okay, then what do you wanna talk about?" She asked her. Lisette was sure she was blushing, as she didn't usually get to be in these predicaments. But somehow, she figured this would all turn out good. Nothing could ruin her night, not even a moody Athena if Kate didn't notice her in time or noticed Olivia too much.