Heartbreak Weather, Eli Mosko...

LXXXIV. Heartbreak Weather

      Odessa was confused as to why Mike ordered all of them to gather in the woods at Coyote Creek the next day, but what she did know was that she felt extremely uncomfortable being there. "Why did we have to come here again? We already won," Hailey spoke her thoughts. "I could be shopping right now for Barcelona."

"We're here for support, Hails," Oliver told her.

"You and Dess are here for support. Gray and I are already locked in," she said and the couple smiled in unison.

Odessa rolled her eyes. "Lighten up, Hailey. We can go shopping after. I need a really good going out dress. Ooh, let's go to Macy's."

"Enough girl talk, you two. You can do that later. That's not what we're here for," Johnny said loudly.

Hailey scoffed. "Just because it takes you all of ten seconds to look like that doesn't mean that's how it is for us."

The man narrowed his eyes at her. "For your information, Cooper, it takes a lot of time to get my hair to look like this," he stated and pointed to his blonde hair.

Christian passed by them and laughed. "You should'be seen his hair routine when we were teenagers," he pointed out.

Grayson hummed. "You should see mine."

"Good morning!" Mike announced, standing on top of one of the picnic tables. "At least for now. Gather around. Is everybody here?"

"Unfortunately," Hailey muttered and leaned against Grayson's side.

Odessa grabbed Eli's hand and wrapped her arm around his, smiling at him softly. The boy responded with a smile, but he was anxious as well.

"Yes, this is everyone," Daniel confirmed.

Mike nodded. "Good. I reviewed my notes, made sure the remaining four got a fair shake," he told the teammates. "I've decide it's too close to call. So. . .you're all gonna get another opportunity to prove yourselves."

Odessa was shocked. "Do we have to do it here?" She questioned, looking around the open woods that brought back terrible memories.

Johnny sucked in a breath. "Oh shit, didn't even think about that." He realized.

Eli cringed and he squeezed her hand.

"You will follow this path," Mike continued and pointed to the path behind him. "It will split and it's up to you to decide which path to go down. Down each path is one flag. The two who brings them back wins."

Oliver released a breath. "That's not intimidating at all," he uttered sarcastically, casting Demetri a quick glance.

"Wait, that's it?" Eli questioned, his eyebrows pinching together. "What happens if two of us find a flag at the same time?"

It was a good question, an obvious one at that. The look Mike gave him caused Odessa to shiver. "You fight for it."

The couple looked at each other nervously.

"Yeah, definitely bad memories." Hailey stated.

"Are there refs out there?" Daniel asked the man, finding the situation daunting as well.

"No, they're on their own."

"Sounds a little intense, no?" Christian asked, glancing at the nervous faces on the teenagers.

"It's an intense sport, Christian," Mike simply stated.

"But how—"

It can't get any more objective. Even Barnes isn't judging this one," Johnny interrupted. He looked at Christian. "They'll be fine."

He and Daniel glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. Christian nodded slightly.

"Winning is everything, plain and simple. Take ten minutes, stretch, use the restroom. Call your mothers. When you get back, it's go time."

"I'll have Thalia on speed dial," Christian informed, trying to lighten the mood.

Odessa exhaled a deep breath and she turned to Eli. "How are you feeling?"

He shrugged lightly. "Nervous, I'm not really sure what else to feel," he confessed.

"It's okay to be nervous, just as long as you're confident in yourself," she talked calmly and released his hand, putting hers on his shoulders. "I believe in you, okay? Don't forget you are, Hawk."

Eli laughed. "You hate that nickname."

She shrugged. "Yeah, but, tap into that Hawk mindset, okay?" She said and touched his temples. "Just don't go too crazy out there, yeah?"

He half smiled. "I won't. I'm gonna use the restroom."

Odessa watched him walk off and she exhaled air through her nose. Standing alone, she looked around her, wrapping her arms around herself as she stared at the wood paths ahead of her. Thinking about the last time she was here made her feel nauseous, it made her shudder to think about what happened between her and Eli. She never liked to think about it or talk about it, but being back, it was all she could think about now.

"Alright, who wants to bet money?"

Odessa gave him a crazed look. "Gray, we're not betting on our friends."

"Why not? It's clearly obvious who's gonna win," Grayson said with a shrug. He hit Oliver's arm. "Ollie, you wanna bet?"

Oliver immediately raised his hands. "Nah, I already have to get a tattoo, I'm not betting anything else." He backed out.

"I'll bet," Robby stepped in. "I got $10 on Kenny."

Miguel joined the conversation. "I'll put $10 on Hawk."

Grayson smirked. "Alright, now we're talking. Anybody else?" He asked. He saw Tory and Sam walk by. "Sam, Tory, wanna place bets?"

"What? No—"

"Hell yeah." Tory grinned and quickly walked over to the group.

Odessa chuckled. Sam went and stood by her side. "Don't worry, I said the same thing." She said and they crossed their arms.

"Are you nervous that Eli won't get a flag?"

"Sure, but, I know what he's capable of. I have no doubt he'll get a spot," Odessa spoke with confidence. "Who will get the second spot? That's what I'm concerned about."

"It's gonna be Demetri," Oliver said when he leaned over her shoulder. "Trust me on this one, he'll get a flag."

Sam didn't look convinced on that one. Odessa smiled at him. "Of course he will. Maybe then we can have one giant group date."

"Well at least I'm not an overbearing control freak! Your obsession with MIT is so freaking annoying!" They heard Eli shout.

Simultaneously, all of the friends looked over and saw Eli and Demetri stand face to face, glaring at each other. "Oh, no," Oliver muttered.

"Annoying?" Demetri repeated, looking hurt. "I'm. . .all right, well, I promise not to annoy you anymore. How about that?" He raised his voice and stormed off.

The red head instantly went after him. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, what happened?" Oliver asked rapidly.

"Leave me alone, Oliver." Demetri snapped accidentally.

"Just stop for a second, okay?" He said and put his hands on his arms, keeping him in the place. "Tell me what happened?"

The brunette avoided his eyes for a second but when he realized he wasn't going to give up, Demetri looked at him. "He lied to me, okay? Eli didn't apply to MIT." He told him roughly.

Oliver's face fell slightly. He looked over his shoulder and saw Odessa standing in front of Eli, trying to calm him down. "Oh, Metri, I'm sorry," he said and looked at him again. "But there's still time, isn't there? Maybe he's going to—"

"No, y-you don't get it, Oliver!" Demetri bursted out, holding up his hands. "You can't just wait last minute to apply to somewhere like MIT. You can't! He'd rather go to parties and have the time of his life than go to MIT!" He expressed his anger. It soon turned into vulnerability. "I mean, we had a plan. We had everything figured out—"

"Hey," Oliver interrupted his banter. "You are not a 50 year old man worrying about withdrawing money from his 401k account. You're a seventeen year old boy still in high school. So is Eli. Plans change, D. People change their minds. Maybe Eli's just trying to figure things out before he 100% commits to something. That's okay. Don't be mad at him for that."

Oliver was always good at pep talks. That's what Demetri loved about him so much, his ability to calm his friends down. But this, this was something he didn't understand. "You just don't get it," Demetri muttered and walked away from him.

The red head frowned. "Demetri–" he started to say but realized he wasn't going to listen to him. He sighed.

Odessa came over, having the same look on her face as he did. "How'd that go?" She wondered.

"Not well. You?"

She shook her head. "Not well." She confirmed.

Oliver threw his arm over her shoulder. "Boyfriends. They're so complicated."

Once the ten minutes were up, everybody crowded around the remaining four fighters and encouraged them before they took off in the woods. Odessa blew Eli an encouraging kiss, making him smile.

They four lined up and on Mike's call, they ran into the woods. Odessa instantly felt nervous again and she scratched the back of her neck, her anxiety running high.

Her dad came and stood beside her. "How are you feeling?" He asked even though he could guess by her jittery behavior.

"Me? I'm fine." She answered with a wavering smile. "It'll be fine. Right?"

"Of course it will be. We're going to Barcelona. Maybe we can convince your mom to come, have a little family vacay," Christian said with a happy smile.

"Please don't ever say vacay," she said and laughed.

"Why? Is it not cool?"

"No, it's cool. Just not when you say it."

Christian gasped and she walked away, still laughing. It was a genuine laugh, one that made him smile.

She waited for however long it had been, constantly checking her phone, and Odessa grew more apprehensive. She sat on top of a picnic table and chewed on her nails. Oliver acted the same way, the best friends drowning with nerves because it was their boyfriends competing with each other; four best friends, two couples, two open spots in the tournament. It was nerve racking.

"Okay, enough." Tory said and pulled the girl's hand away from her mouth. She, Hailey, and Sam walked over and sat on the table with her. "If you keep chewing, you won't have any nails left."

"And if that happens, don't be afraid. My nail lady works miracles," Hailey unified and grabbed her friend's hand. She observed her chewed nails and cringed. "Yeah, I'll make an appointment."

Odessa rolled her eyes and snatched her hand back. "Guys, I'm fine."

"You're a horrible liar," Sam said, sitting by her feet.

"I am not. I just really want Eli to win. He deserves it," she told them. "Not that any of them don't, but, I feel like Eli doesn't realize how amazing he is sometimes, no matter how many times I tell him. If he wins and goes to Barcelona, he has the chance to show the entire world how amazing he is. I want that for him."

"Don't worry, Dess. Eli's a big boy. If he really wants it, he'll get it." Hailey told her and patted her knee.

Soon after more waiting around, Robby spotted Kenny running back from the path. "Holy shit. Kenny won!" He announced with a big smile.

Grayson turned around and groaned. "Man."

Odessa looked up and smiled upon seeing him, but the smile slowly faded when she saw how big of a hurry he was in. "He doesn't look so good."

"Uhhh, is he okay?" Oliver asked out loud and watched him run past everybody, straight to the porta-potty. "Oh. . ."

Odessa covered her mouth as most of them started to laugh. She heard Hailey snort and she quickly slapped her arm. "Hailey!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Someone just got their brown belt," Johnny said to Christian and cackled.

Hearing him, Odessa looked their way and widened her eyes. "Really?"

Christian held up his hands. "What? I'm not laughing."

"Ah man, that sucks," Oliver commented and covered his mouth, trying his best not to laugh. When he couldn't hold it in, he looked away and laughed into his palm.

Miguel, who was standing beside him, punched his shoulder. "Shut up," he said while laughing himself.

"Hey, guys! It's Devon. She won!" Sam shouted when she saw Devon exit the woods with a flag in her hand.

As the team erupted in cheers for the girl's win, Odessa's face fell and the four best friends looked at each other. "Shit," her and Oliver said at the same time.

Apparently, Odessa's ability to read situations was correct again, because the next person to emerge from the woods was Eli, flag in hand. She gasped. "Eli!"

"Hawk won!" Miguel yelled with an excited smile.

"Oh, my god," said Hailey and she immediately looked at Odessa, then to Grayson and Oliver.

Oliver's smile faded when he saw that it wasn't Demetri who had won.

Odessa jumped off the picnic table and ran to him. "Oh my gosh!" She squealed and instantly hugged him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "I told you that you could do it!" He felt one of his hands press against her back but he was stiff. She pulled back and saw his disappointment expression. "What? What's the matter?"

"Dess. . ." He started to say.

Demetri was the last to come out of the wood, empty handed, frustrated, and hurt. Oliver walked up to him. "Hey," he said softly and slowly hugged him. "I'm so sorry, D. . ."

Demetri didn't say anything. He just rested his forehead on his shoulder and took a breath.

"We got into a fight," Eli told her, swallowing a lump in his throat.

Odessa frowned deeply. "I'm sorry, E." She whispered and pulled him back into the hug, rubbing his back.