Page 35 of Reviving Kendall

“What did I miss?” Teagan asks, confusion pulling his brows down.

Lucas shoots me a smile, “Kendall not losing at a staring match with Mav.”

“Hey,” I say defensively, “That wasn’t fair.”

Maverick’s eyes seem to turn even darker blue behind his glasses as his dark eyebrow shoots up, “Life isn’t fair, little girl.”

This raises my hackles as much as it makes me sad, “One, you’re preaching to the choir. Two, I’m older than you are. Little boy.”

Goose’s mouth hangs open and Lucas looks stiff, like he’s ready to stop a fight. Teagan stands beside me stuffing his mouth with a slice of pizza while watching us. Maverick just glares. I watch his mouth twitch like he’s having to fight whatever it is that he wants to say. I could be the bigger person and have Goose take me home, but I was here first tonight. I’m pretty sure that Goose didn’t invite them, so he’s more than welcome to leave. Instead, he shrugs and goes back to eating his pizza, relieving some of the tension in the room at the same time.

Jeez, this is going to be a fun night.

Rollercoaster

After our stomachs are full, Goose drags us back downstairs for another movie.

“We should be working out instead of sitting on our asses,” Maverick complains once we’re down here and settled in. Goose gives up his chair for me and sits between my legs in the floor. I see Teagan throw him a look out of the corner of my eye, but Lucas just shakes his head with a smile.

Goose turns to Maverick, “Dude, we lifted after school. Won’t hurt to take a break and relax for a bit.”

Maverick mumbles, but quietens down when the credits start. I haven’t heard of the movie that Goose put in, but it turns out to be pretty decent, and has lots of action. There’s a slow part in the middle, and I find myself nodding off. With a belly full of the best pizza I’ve ever had, and hardly any sleep, it’s no wonder really.

The next thing I know, Lucas is shaking me awake, “Kendall. Come on, let’s get you home.”

It takes me a minute to fully wake up and I yawn, “Sorry I fell asleep. I didn’t get much sleep this weekend.”

He smiles, “No need to apologize. Teagan didn’t make it through, either.” I look over, and sure enough, he’s asleep. His long blonde hair hangs around his face since his head has fallen forward. That can’t be very comfortable. Lucas goes to the rescue, and wakes him up too, but Teagan just curls up into a ball in the chair and doesn’t say a word. It’s not until I laugh that he shows any kind of reaction. He glances over his shoulder and smiles sleepily at me.

“If you want a ride home, you better come on,” Maverick says. At first, I think he’s talking to Teagan, but when I turn to look at him, he’s staring at me.

“You’re taking me home?” I ask, trying to hide my disappointment.

I must not do a very good job, because he narrows his eyes, “You can walk home. Your choice.”

He makes his way up the stairs, and I glare daggers in his back in hopes that he can feel him. I turn to Lucas, “Do I really have to ride with him?”

Lucas smiles, “One of us could run you home, but it’ll take longer since Teagan is already on my way. Maverick just lives across the street, so he won’t have to double back around.”

“That’s how you knew that we had ordered pizza,” I say.

He shrugs, “Goose knows better than to order from our favorite pizza place and have us not show up.” Makes sense. That’s why he went ahead and ordered so much food.

Goose comes racing down the stairs, “Kendall and Maverick haven’t left yet have they?” He sees me standing beside Lucas, and a relieved look passes over his face.

“We haven’t left,” I tell him, “but you better hurry up, or I have a feeling I’m going to be walking home.”

He finds an old messenger bag thing in the corner and shoves a laptop inside followed by a power cord. He comes over and drops it across my shoulders, “This is for your free time tomorrow. There’s a ton of movies on there. I left the file open for you. It’s got the first ten you should watch, and I’ll come over after practice to watch some of them with you.”

Teagan jumps up, “Hey, count me in.”

I laugh at his enthusiasm and Lucas says, “Yep, me too.”

Shaking my head, I say, “Why don’t we just meet back over here then. It’ll be a tight squeeze in my room, plus I don’t know how Gramps will be feeling either.”

Goose wraps me up in a hug, “Sounds good to me.”

“I get to pick Kendall up tomorrow,” Lucas says. The other two look like they want to argue, but finally agree.

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