muse:american football?

what is this even. umm... have fun?

i know that will's in the cafeteria--i spy him walk in and maybe i snort at his board shorts a little bit (really? turquoise? it looks like a swim suit, it's freezing outside, and--never mind), but nobody really notices. it's possible that ash notices though--she quirks her ever-expressive eyebrows and i kinda stare her down until she returns her focus to the not-food that the cafeteria staff has deigned to blorp on our plates. (well, we have the choice, but that's not the point.) our group chats away for a bit, and i maybe forget that will's still in the cafeteria.

"we should leave," sam says, standing up and brushing herself off. the rest of us follow her lead. i fumble with my things, tucking my to-go cup under my arm. we drop off our plates, cups, and utensils on the conveyor belt that leads back to the humid, sweaty kitchen and i try and maneuver myself (a bit unsuccessfully) to the milk machine. and that's when i reacquaint myself with will's presence. he unceremoniously avoids me, his soda sloshing a bit in the tall plastic cup he's holding.

"hey," i kind of mumble, trying to not let my face turn beet red.

"hey," he says, his eyes smiling. there's an awkward pause and he turns to sit down, but then turns back to me. "you're japanese, right?"

i nod sheepishly, not really breaking eye contact (you try not getting lost in the most gorgeous eyes ever!) while adding, "yeah, half. why?"

something in will's eyes lights up and then my heartbeat decides that i've run a marathon. if i had closed my eyes, i could have recounted the course of the adrenaline from the tips of my kidneys to everywhere else in my body, all in the span of negative two seconds. okay, well not quite negative two since that's impossible, but you kinda get the idea.

"there's a football thing happening. you should play!" he says. my brain starts to short-circuit, and i can't comprehend things for a bit. football? like tackle football?

"american football?" i manage to ask, attempting to not look like a deer caught in the headlights.

"yeah," he says, a little taken aback. "it's the rice bowl, all the asian student groups are playing against each other."

adrenaline has thrown a coup over my brand of sanity up in my brain area. my palms are starting to sweat and I can see sam filling up her milk behind will.

"haha, I'm not really built for football..." i say, trying my hardest not to bite my lip. keep cool, keep cool, keep cool...

"well, at least you won't be the shortest one!" sam pipes up, walking towards us, giving me a knowing smile.

"yeah," Will agrees, laughing a bit. my gaze shifts from his eyes to the rest of his face. he'd shaved that day, his stubble at a minimum but still getting to the point of five o'clock shadow.

"i'll think about it," I manage to say, the words just falling out of my mouth. if things continue the way that they are going, i'm going to pass out because my nerves are being worn to well past frayed. is there a word for that? there probably is.

"i'll facebook you," he says, flashing me his charming smile. any and all remaining calmness dissolves instantly, because that face is absolutely excellent at liquefying my insides.

"cool," i say, finally biting my lip. "see ya later?"

he nods. i go to the milk machine to fill the increasingly flimsy paper cup. when i turn around to face my friends, ash is standing a good distance away with oli, smirking at me.

"American football?" Sam asks me, guffawing as we start moving towards the exit. "that was priceless!"

my face finally starts to heat up as i almost sprint for the doors. of course everyone keeps pace with me.

"oh my god!" i say as soon as we burst out into the pseudo-courtyard. "i can't believe that i said that slash that actually happened!"

"you're coming back with us," ash says. "We gotta debrief."

i roll my eyes. ash smacks me.

and then it finally occurs to me that the boy that i'm head-over-heels in like with is partially japanese. score.