Dedicated to Candybrowneyez and Novajanna, the only two people who bothered to review my last update.
Mixed Up Doubles:
"Blow off the universe again?"
Squib glances up in surprise to see her standing over him. Just what he needs. First this whole doubles tournament fiasco, and now little miss hot-and-cold. Then again, he reminds himself, none of this is really her fault. The tennis, she has nothing to do with. The kiss, well, that was…emotional intensity, or whatever crap she fed him.
"How long have you been here?" He turns back to his game nonchalantly.
"Long enough to know something's eating you," Well, gee; you just think you're so smart, don't you?
"Leave the shrinking to your old man," she ignores his comment, instead opting to lean over and snatch his phone right out of his hands. He can't really be angry, though, seeing as he's always admired her for her confidence. Instead he just puts on a slight look of annoyance.
"So, you're not entering the mixed?" She asks, even though they both know the answer.
"I'm in a bit of a slump," he makes a weak attempt at brushing it off.
"So?" You really don't get this tennis thing, so you, Myers?
"So, who wants a loser for a partner?"
"Oh, cry me a river, Squib," then again, sometimes her confidence can be a little…infuriating. A few seconds later, she's handing him back his game, proclaiming that she 'meant to do that' and looking a little embarrassed. It's cute.
"You think I should play?" Squib, in a rare moment, asks her.
"Well, it's not only you on the court, right?"
"So?" He echoes her earlier words.
"So, I can't imagine a better way to break out of a slump, especially if your partner's good," maybe she gets this tennis thing a little more than he thought.
Okay, so, at first, it was great. A free ride up the rankings. But this is just getting embarrassing. He's being owned by a twelve-year old. If Sunny would just let him hit the ball a couple times…but nooooooo.
"Wow! You were electric!" Cody smirks as he approaches the stands. She always picks the worst times to mock him. "So fast, I couldn't even see you touch the ball!" Oh yeah, laugh it up, faculty brat.
"You write that one yourself?" This is all her fault.
"Seriously, congrats," and now she's actually smiling a real smile as she gives his visor a little tap and, were he not so angry, it probably could've kept him blushing all day.
"You think I'm coasting." It's a statement, not a question.
"Well, I didn't say anything…"
"Hey, you're the one that said I should do this. You hinted that I should lean on someone who's better. Like it'd help my slump."
"News flash, Squib," she says in an alarmingly calm manner compared to her teasing tone seconds before, "slump's over." He simply glares and walks away because, damn it, she has a point! He hates when she has a point!
So, his new strategy is to write signals down on a piece of paper, stick it in his wristband, and do whatever the heck Sunny's cues him to do. Still pathetic. But at least now he's hitting them. It's a good enough plan…
That is, until the paper's ruined. And he's screwed.
"Sunny…I won't be able to remember the signals…" the tiny little twit simply glares and walks away. He sighs, wondering what he should do. Looks like its back to letting Sunny get everything…
But then he takes a glance out into the stands and she's sitting there. She gives him a big smile (real, not sarcastic, for once) and a thumbs up. And suddenly he realizes that he can't just do nothing…
So, with the painful and rather stressful knowledge that, for the first time in a while, there's at least one person in those stands who's rooting for him, he does the only logical thing.
He plays.
They're all sitting in the Open later, playing cards (what else?). He's never actually thanked her for the victory, but he thinks she knows.
Squib smiles, yes, slump's definitely over. Not to mention, he has a killer hand. That is, until Cody slams down her cards.
Damn it!