My brother took his time explaining special moves to Leo. He pointed out the various techniques and button combos that’d allow Leo to deal the perfect amount of damage to opponents.
“You won’t be as good as me,” Nate noted when they finished a quick match, which resulted in Leo getting pretty close to beating my brother. “But, maybe one day, you’ll make me sweat a bit.”
Leo grinned as he shook his head. “One day might be closer than you think.”
“Keep dreaming,” Nate said and destroyed Leo’s character in the practice ring to prove his point.
“Watch your back, I’ll get it,” Leo promised as he studied the buttons on his controller, trying to commit to memory the combo.
“Just keep practicing,” Nate encouraged while watching Leo’s character flip around on the screen.
I turned my head when I heard a knock on the door. Nate shot up and tossed down his controller, heading towards the sound. For a brief moment, Leo and I were left alone. He didn’t even look away from the screen. I scratched the back of my neck, trying to build up the courage to bring up the pool. He kept his back to me, shooting at a practice target like his life depended on it.
“Hey, um, Leo…” I started.
“What’s up?” He sounded a million and one miles away. Leo didn’t look away from the screen for a second. My face flushed as I struggled to find the words and he continued to play as if nothing was going on outside of the screen.
“Kira,” Claire greeted, becoming my saving grace as she entered the room. “You’re down here. I thought I’d have to drag you out of the room.”
“Hey.” I accepted a hug from her. Another girl from school, Mary Grace trailed behind Claire. I hadn’t spoken to her much but she hung out with my brother and Claire a lot. Mary Grace had a crush on Leo. Everyone at school knew it because she wasn’t exactly quiet about it. And when she said ‘hi’ to us, Leo finally tore his gaze away from the screen.
“Take a seat, ladies,” Nate invited. “We can switch out after I kick Leo’s ass one last time.”
Leo scoffed. “Yeah, right. I got you this time.”
I pushed off the wall, ignoring Claire’s curious look as I started back up the stairs.
This could go on forever. Me taking whatever small attention Leo decided to give me and then, watching him rescind the offer when he found something better to hold his attention.
Two could play the ignoring game. Two could pretend like the other didn’t exist.
