Shortcomings | Alejandro Rosario

Chapter 10: A chance

Ale: Meet me under the bleachers before practice please

I stared at the text, blinking. Under the bleachers? Why did he even want to meet somewhere so private?

Letting out a sigh, I began to pack my books up, the last period bell ringing in my ears, signaling the end of the day.

It was a weird few hours, after the altercation this morning, everything had been seemingly calm and quiet. Lexa had been shooting me weird glares all morning, thankfully Mattia was glued to her side, trying to calm her down.

Vic was no where to be found after she broke up with Alejandro, and Alvaro was a little bit bummed out about the fact that I had left him alone at hoco and gone home with Mattia instead.

Oh and did I mention that literally the whole school thought that Mattia and I slept together that night?

Everyone, and I mean everyone was buzzing about it. Mattia, being our school's golden boy, was loved my many girls who fantasized about being with him for even ten minutes.

And I was with him for a whole night, so go figure.

They hated me, even the girl's I thought were my friends wouldn't talk to me, and when they did, it was behind my back.

"You good?" A voice spoke, shaking me from my thoughts. Kairi put his hand on my shoulder, giving me a soft smile. "Come on, lets get you home.I gotta drop you and get back to practice, I need the car."

"Actually," I began. "I need to go do something before we leave so just, go yourself. I'll have Alejandro drop me home after practice."

Kairi raised his eyebrow, but didn't argue. Instead, he nodded, grabbing his bag. "Okay, be safe. Text me if you need to come pick you up or something." He muttered, leaving the now empty class.

With a heavy sigh, I looked out the window. The weather was gloomy, clouds filled with rain looming over the sky, blocking out the sun.

The soccer team was on the field, warming up, their white uniforms contrasting starkly with the dark atmosphere.

I picked out number 11 easily, watching Alejandro lift his arms over his head in effort to stretch. He grabbed the ball, laughing at something his teammate said.

"He's been in love with you his whole life." Mattia's words echoed in my ears, as I put my chin in my hand, sighing.

Well. What is there to lose huh?

~~~~~~

When I got to the bleachers Alejandro's back was turned towards me, as he happily chatted with Mattia.

The latter boy noticed me, he jerked his head forward, as Ale turned around, his happy expression falling when he saw me. Turning back, he said something to Mattia quickly, before letting go of the ball, running towards me.

"Hey." He said, stopping to a halt when he reached me. I gave him a short nod back, before we began towards the bleachers.

Trotting by my side, he stayed quiet, glancing at me ever so often. The cool air flitted around my arms, goosebumps raising on my skin, not just from cold, but from fear as well.

Alejandro ducked his head, avoiding the bleacher, starting towards the flattened patch of grass where we had spent most of our time together.

That was the place where we came and he comforted me when I got my heartbroken, where I helped him to come up with ways to ask Vic to hoco, where he stayed with me all night the day my dad died, where I sat with him under the stars when he got his first win in his game.

Sighing, I sat down, my best friend crossing his legs in front of me. He clenched his jaw, swallowing, before taking a deep breath.

"So you know, huh." He murmured, breaking the silence.

I gave him a quick nod, avoiding his gaze. "Yeah. Mattia told me"

He bit the inside of his cheek, tapping his finger on his knee. "Um, how do you, feel?"

"Surprised. I never would've thought. I'm sorry you, felt the need to hold that in all these years Alejandro."

He took in a sharp breath, blinking at the sound of me saying his full name. I never said it, so he knew I was serious.

"It's okay Izzy. It wasn't really, I didn't really feel like telling you because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. And then Vic came in the picture, and then Mattia-"

I cut him off. "Why did Vic come in? Why did you date her when you really loved me all along?" I asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

Ale nodded, giving a small, weak laugh. "I wanted to make myself believe that loving you was just a phase, so I dated Vic thinking I could project my feelings and eventually transfer them from you to her. It didn't work though, there's no one like you in this world Iz."

"Stop, Ale, I need some time. I can't just jump into things with you. I need some time to see you like that, You need to show me that side of you." I murmured, wringing my hands together.

Alejandro's face lit up. "So, you'll give me chance?"

"Of course. I love you Ale. And you make me happy, so why shouldn't I? But if you fuck this up-"

"I won't! I promise. My practice ends at 6, so how about we hit up the bowling alley? I have change of clothes and we can stop by yours if you want to change." He said, his voice filling with excitement.

A faint call of his name made him look back, as he looked back, seeing Mattia waving him over, the ball in his hands. He turned back to me, his dimples on display as he grinned. "Okay, um, well, I'll see you later than I guess?"

"Yeah, you will." I smiled, watching the boy run off the field. My heart beat fast, the adrenaline rushing in my body. In effort to calm myself down, I took a few breaths, before laying on my back and closing my eyes.

~~~

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