(Monday)
Kelsey sat in the bleachers overlooking the football field, her back pressed against the fence surrounding the perimeter of the seats, while her legs stretched out in front of her. After much effort, she had finally managed to find a spot out of the wind, but still with enough light to allow her to carry on scrawling the notes on the latest biology assignment in hopes that by the time she actually made it home, the pile of work would have suffered a significant dent. In truth, she highly doubted she would be that successful, having always preferred a quieter studying environment than the one she currently inhabited. But while she was still rather dependant on Jason for a ride home, and practice should theoretically be wrapping up soon, Kelsey remained where she was, her teeth chewing idly at the eraser on her pencil as she glanced towards the field in question, only to find that while she had been otherwise distracted, someone had taken the liberty of approaching her little space of solitude, and was now plopping down on the bleacher seat two rows down.
"Hey Kels."
"Landry," Kelsey replied, tucking a stray lock of hair that had just blown out of the knot she had tied haphazardly at the back of her head behind an ear, and offering her newfound companion a smile before going on, "You here for Matt?"
"Yep. His glorified chauffeur has arrived."
"At least you have a car."
"This is true," Landry agreed, leaning back until his elbows rested upon the row of bleachers behind where he sat, and regarding her with a half-amused smile as he glanced towards the notebook balanced on her thighs, "Biology homework?"
"The start of it."
"Sounds fun. Not nearly as fun as some other things I can think of, though."
"Oh? And what might those things be?" Kelsey asked, aware that any further attempt at completing homework was going to be a lost cause, and leaning over to shut the biology textbook on the bench beside her with a dull thud as a result.
"Well, seems to me since we are sitting in a football stadium, the least we could do is watch the practice."
"Mmm. Nope."
"Really?"
"Really."
"You know, you really have got to be the only person in Dillon who hates football," Landry teased, aware of Kelsey's answering roll of the eyes, and yet choosing to carry on, regardless, "That's got to be like-some kind of world record, or something."
"I never said I hate football, Landry."
"No?"
"No. I just-I'm not all that interested in it. That's all."
"That's a miracle right there."
"How so?" Kelsey questioned, her fingers toying with the pencil she still held in her hands, though she was hardly aware of the movement as she glanced back to the field just as the shrill sound of the coach's whistle cut through the air.
"Uh-have you forgotten who your brother is?"
"Oh my God."
"Seems like a valid question," Landry shrugged, following Kelsey's gaze toward the field in time to note the hard tackle Smash had just received at the hands of Tim Riggins, "Star quarterback? Probably gonna get a full ride to Notre Dame next year? Lyla Garrity's future husband?"
"Gee, Landry, none of that is ringing a bell."
"Wow. Maybe we should move you in with Matt and his grandma. That way someone can take care of you in your senility."
"Maybe so," Kelsey confirmed, shifting until her feet rested flat upon the pavement beneath her, and her elbows were placed on her knees, "Think they'd make me finish school if we did that?"
"Guess that depends on the 'they' you're referring to. Your parents? Probably so."
"Fair point. If Jason's the star athlete, I guess that means I'm stuck being the brains."
"That's not really a bad thing, Kels," Landry offered, pleased at the faint smile that had passed across Kelsey's features, and choosing to take that small gesture as leave to go on, "And comparatively speaking, I think Jason's got most of the team beat as far as brains go, too."
"What are you trying to suggest, Landry?"
"Well, it's kind of common sense isn't it? He's definitely got more going for him than, say-Riggins."
"Be nice," Kelsey chided, aiming a retaliatory swat at Landry's shoulder, and laughing at the affronted look he gave her in response, "Tim is not that bad."
"Now how on earth would you know a little thing like that?"
"He's kind of my brother's best friend, in case you hadn't noticed."
"And that gives you some sort of first-rate insight into his psyche?"
"It might."
"That's just-"
"Surprising?"
"I was gonna say terrifying," Landry corrected, this time succeeding in dodging Kelsey's swat at his arm, and grinning openly at her rather obvious pout, "It's terrifying."
"You're just jealous," Kelsey quipped, ignoring Landry's mime of losing his lunch in favor of gathering her schoolwork and stuffing it back into her backpack after realizing practice appeared to have come to a close, "And we need to go."
"Don't think this conversation is over, Kels. It's not," Landry pressed, once again grinning at the obvious roll of the eyes Kelsey gave in response to his assertion, and moving to stand, himself, "You haven't heard the last of the Landry Clarke Inquisition."
"Trust me, Landry. I'm aware."
"Good."
"Shall we, then?" Kelsey suggested, starting the trek down the steps to the field, and realizing almost immediately that Landry had moved to do the same, his shoulder brushing against her own as he replied.
"You know, I could always give you a ride home. Looks like Lyla's already gunning for joining you and Jason, otherwise."
Glancing towards the field again as she reached the final row of the bleachers, Kelsey realized Landry was, in fact, correct, her brow furrowing as Lyla leaned up on tiptoe to offer her brother a kiss. Knowing her brother as she did, she could already predict his decision to drop Lyla off first, leaving her as the likely witness to whatever overwhelming displays of affection passed between them…
No matter how much she liked Lyla, and how obviously she knew the cheerleader and her brother did seem to have something resembling a legitimate relationship, that did not mean Kelsey wanted to witness that.
"Yeah. Yeah, Landry, that sounds good," She agreed, adjusting the strap of her backpack on her shoulder, and preparing to head Jason's way to tell him of her last minute change in plans, "Just-give me a minute to go let him know?"
"Sure. Don't keep me waitin', now."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Landry. Wouldn't dream of it."
Whether she knew it might give her a later start on the rest of her homework or not, Kelsey would have been lying to pretend she was not suddenly looking forward to the slight detour before going home.
Any day she could snag a visit with Matt's grandma was a good day, as far as she was concerned.
…
"Well hi, sweetheart. Come on in," Lorraine Saracen enthused, pulling Kelsey into a warm embrace, and running a hand across the younger woman's back, before stepping away so she could pass through the door with Matt and Landry following behind, "You three have a good day at school?"
"It was fine, Grandma," Matt replied, tossing his bag down on the floor by the sofa, and flopping down onto the cushions with an exhausted sigh before going on, "You watch your shows while I was gone?"
"Sure did. Why don't I see about gettin' you three somethin' to eat?"
"I gotta be gettin' home soon, Mrs. Saracen," Landry protested, the wariness in his expression provoking a roll of the eyes from Matt, and a barely suppressed laugh from Kelsey in light of how they both knew exactly what had him so hesitant to spend too much time in the older woman's company, "Kelsey too."
"Well surely y'all can stay long enough to eat somethin'."
"Grandma, they said they can't."
"But they have to be hungry-"
"Really, Lorraine, we're gonna be fine," Kelsey assured, reaching for the older woman's hand, and giving it a squeeze in hopes that the gesture would prove to be reassuring, and glancing back towards Matt before going on, "Besides, Matt's probably gettin' pretty tired of us by now, anyway."
"Oh now I can't see how that can be," Lorraine protested, maintaining her hold on Kelsey's hand, and allowing the young woman to lead her towards her chair as a result, "Matt's always talkin' about how much he enjoys your company."
"Grandma, come on," Matt pleaded, a slight flush blooming against his cheeks as he dropped his head into his hands and emitted a soft groan, "That's not what I'm talkin' about when I say stuff like that."
"You talk about me when I'm not around? Aww, Matty, I'm touched," Kelsey joked, holding in her amusement over Matt's honestly horrified expression, and deciding that she may as well continue the teasing whether it came at her best friend's expense or not, "I never knew you felt that way."
"I kinda hate you right now, you know that?"
"Yeah. I think I can live with that."
"You two are so darned funny, you know that?" Lorraine cut in, glancing between Matt and Kelsey, and shaking her head in both amusement and exasperation before going on, "I keep tellin' Matthew to get a move-on, and ask you out."
"Grandma!"
"Well I hate to break it to you, Lorraine, but Matt kinda has his eyes on someone else."
"What?"
"He does," Kelsey confirmed, ignoring the warning look Matt sent her way, and turning back towards his grandma to continue, "Take a guess on who."
"I don't have a clue, honey."
"She's a real cutie-"
"Okay, well I think maybe Landry's gonna start jumpin' out of his skin if you don't wrap it up and let him take you home," Matt suggested, rolling his eyes at Kelsey's attempt at providing a saccharine smile, and nudging Landry in the ribs to persuade him to agree in the same motion, "I'll see ya tomorrow at school."
"Now Matthew, it's not very polite to kick your friends out of the house."
"They don't mind, Grandma. They don't mind."
As she was ushered towards the door, still laughing a tiny bit at Matt's expense, Kelsey managed a parting wave for Lorraine's sake, before fully committing to the task of heading towards Landry's car, her head tilting back to look at Matt directly for a moment before she spoke.
"You know I'm just messing with you, right?"
"Yeah, I know, Kels. It's alright."
"You sure?"
"Of course I am," Matt promised, coming to a stop alongside the passenger seat of Landry's car, while Landry himself moved towards the driver's side, keys in hand, "It's just a little embarrassing is all."
"Come on, Saracen, you know your grandma probably already knows who you like," Landry began, leaning his arms on the roof of his car, and ignoring Matt's skeptical look in favor of going on, "Witches seein' into the future, and all that. She's probably got some sort of ESP or somethin'."
"My grandma is not a witch, Landry, I don't know why you're so determined to think that-"
"I'm just statin' the facts that you don't want to see, man. One of these days you're gonna have proof that I'm right."
"Oh really."
"Yep. You gonna let your little girlfriend get in the car with me now? You're the one that wanted us out of the house."
"Come on, Landry, you know it's not like that."
"He knows," Kelsey interjected, watching as Landry smiled and shook his head, before getting into the car, and placing the key in the ignition, "See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Kels."
"Want to meet to go over the biology homework before class?"
"Sure. Not that you need to, since you get all the right answers in your sleep," Matt replied, aware of Kelsey's roll of the eyes, and yet choosing to ignore it, anyway, "Don't let Landry traumatize you with his driving, alright?"
"I heard that, you know."
"Yeah, well, you were meant to."
"I'll make sure, Matt," Kelsey stated, ducking into the passenger seat of Landry's car, and shutting the door behind her before rolling down the window to holler at Matt as she realized her would-be driver had already started pulling away from the curb, "Tell your grandma I'll see her soon?"
"Will do."
Whether Landry seemed to believe Lorraine Saracen was a witch or not, she was just about the sweetest woman Kelsey had ever known, and to say anything other than that it was a genuine pleasure visiting with her would have been a lie.
…
Hello there, my lovelies! And welcome to a brand new chapter in Kelsey's tale! I am so, so excited to really start getting into this story (true confession, it may be because I am eager to get her with Tim). But I promise I'm not going to rush things, no matter how much I may want to. I'm kind of a sucker for the occasional slow burn, so hopefully no one minds all that much!
As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of you that has taken the time to read, follow, favorite and review this story thus far (and special thanks to last chapter's reviewers: MulishaMaiden, ChiTown4ever, and TexasForeverFan, for leaving such lovely feedback the last time around!) I am beyond appreciative of the support, and I truly hope that this chapter was as enjoyable as the last!
Until next time, darlings…
MOMM