Chapter 3

" competitive. But it wasn't too bad, honestly. She could play a fair game if she wanted to, especially with Hinata distracting her. She still managed to get through most of the field with Hinata trailing behind her, grinning victoriously the whole time. He wasn't even sweating at all, and Anabel was starting to wonder how he was even breathing, given that it was summer and he didn't even wear a jacket. She glanced over her shoulder, looking at her boyfriend in slight amusement before glancing back at the soccer ball in front of her. She picked it up carefully before throwing it hard in the air, smirking triumphantly at the sound of the ball hitting the net.

She threw it several more times throughout the rest of the game, cheering loudly and clapping for every successful goal. When they scored a point, it was all for show because she already knew that they were going to win the next game, but the others didn't know that, so she pretended to cheer along when she wasn't interested in the game whatsoever. Once they scored another goal though, she noticed that Hinata hadn't cheered as loud or enthusiastically as she had; he was staring intently at his shoes.

"Hey," She called suddenly, turning towards him curiously, placing her hands on her hips. "What's wrong?" She asked. He didn't reply, simply continued to stare at the ground, his brow furrowed in concentration.

It took Anabel a few seconds until she understood the problem and immediately groaned, slapping the top of her forehead with her palm.

"Oh my god, Hinata, I told you to keep an eye on the scoreboard! You forgot to do that and now you lost us five minutes. You dumbass!" She yelled angrily. Hinata jumped slightly as Anabel shouted at him, but then pouted as he realized exactly how angry she sounded at him.

"I know…I just got distracted by...you…" He mumbled quietly. Anabel groaned again. If it wasn't for Hinata, she would've been completely fine by now! She should've known better than to let him distract her while they were both focused on the ball. It was almost impossible for him to focus when he was focusing on anything other than winning the game.

"Alright, fine! Stop blaming yourself and hurry the hell up so we can go home!" She snapped. Hinata sighed, nodding silently as he bent down slightly, running his fingers through his bangs in frustration before getting up and jogging to catch up with her, his face red with embarrassment.

Anabel sighed irritably as she ran alongside Hinata. The boy looked miserable, and she felt like kicking herself for snapping at him. She knew that he was just worried about her, and she shouldn't have taken it out on him. She knew that he was just trying to help, but she couldn't help but feel annoyed at him for being so careless.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Hinata spoke up. "Are you mad at me?" He muttered miserably.

"No, not really," Anabel replied slowly, stopping in her tracks momentarily. Hinata stopped shortly thereafter, looking up curiously at her.

"Then why did you yell at me?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

"I'm sorry." She said, reaching up and brushing a lock of hair out of his face. "I just got really mad at myself. We were both so focused on the match that neither of us paid attention to the score. It happens sometimes, so don't worry about it. And I shouldn't have hit you so hard either." She added softly, smiling gently at him. Hinata smiled weakly back at her and nodded.

"Okay. Let's just forget about it then." He suggested, grabbing onto her hand and intertwining their fingers together. He looked very happy, and Anabel's heart warmed when she saw it.

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's forget about it…"

The two started walking once more, content in each other's company. Anabel glanced at her boyfriend as they began walking through the park, wondering why she never really thought about what they would look like married. She was sure that her mother would kill her if she ever found out what they were doing, although it was probably for the best if she did. It wouldn't do to have anyone find out. Especially her dad, since he was very protective and would probably beat Hinata up without hesitation for doing such a stupid thing. It made her smile slightly to herself and she squeezed Hinata's hand lightly. He seemed to notice what she was smiling at.

"What's funny?" He asked suspiciously. Anabel blinked in confusion, confused by his question. Her eyes met his confused ones for a few seconds before she realized that the reason he was asking that must have been because her gaze seemed weird enough that he wondered what she was thinking.

She shook her head. "Nothing." She answered softly.

Hinata looked at her sceptically, not believing that she had been able to answer that truthfully. After a moment of contemplating, he decided not to pursue the matter further. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and pulled Anabel into his side, resting his head against hers as they continued to walk across the park. Anabel smiled softly down at him, squeezing his hand lightly in reassurance. She felt like things may not be as horrible as she thought they might be when they eventually went home. Everything could turn out alright in the end, even with a bit of luck on their side.

After everything that happened with her father, Anabel wasn't sure if he would want to come home or not. She wasn't going to force him to stay, no matter how much she missed him. All she could do was wait patiently and hope that he would decide to give her a chance. No matter how long that might take, she would never stop waiting for him