Courtney woke the next day with one clear thought. Her ankle hurt like hell and she needed pain meds. Okay, correction two clear thoughts. The second thought was if she planted herself on the couch in the family room she'd be in hobbling distance to food, bathroom, ice packs, and pain meds.

So that was where she was, stretched out on the couch with her ankle cushioned on pillows wrapped in an ice pack answering all the messages she ignored the previous day.

Overnight her brain hadn't given her solutions to the break between her and Lynn. Or deciphered why when Aiden broke up with her on top of all her emotions, relief had been one of them.

No, her brain only supplied her with where to sit. Not much help but maybe she'd sprained her brain as well.

At least it was a comfy place to send messages from. The entire squad plus all her other friends had asked if she wanted company or needed help. Courtney sent off cheerful refusals.

The last thing she wanted was an audience to see her in her incapacitated state.  

"Hey there, Sunshine," Heather said striding into the family room.

It was a fitting nickname since Courtney felt like the Thor in the family. Both her brother and sister inherited their mother's brown hair and brown eyes. Which meant if she was Thor they were Loki and Hela. But that didn't fit since neither of them wanted to take over a world, more like create their own where they were the sole occupant. Never mind, the analogy didn't fit at all.

"Sorry I missed your call yesterday. What happened to your ankle?" Heather said, leaning on the back of the couch.

"Got into a fight with a bear," Courtney said. "And he fought dirty."

"Haven't you been told to not fight with bears?"

"Yes, but this one insulted my cheer uniform. Them is fightin' words."

Heather laughed. "You really are sunshine. I broke my arm once and cried about it for a week. You injure yourself and make jokes. Do mom and dad know what happened?"

"Yes, and they also gave me a lecture about altercations with bears. Though I think dad was secretly proud."

"He would be. Are they coming home?"

"They offered but what good would it do? Their only job would be to act as my personal slaves. But if they do that then I feel like when they're old I'll have to repay them and then it would be two of them to one of me and that seems like such a hassle."

"Always planning for the future," Heather said.

True but with everyone around her already so successful it felt like she was lagging behind.

"Will you be down here for a while?" Courtney asked.

Maybe Heather could help her decide on what to watch since nothing sounded good. And maybe she'd even join Courtney and they could hang out. Courtney could tell her about the nuclear bomb that was yesterday and her wise sister could give her counsel.

"Can't, I came down for a quick bite then I have to get back to my computers. The coding calls."

Well, maybe Courtney would just go on a quest later and find a wise wizard to burden with her teenage drama.

"Well then you better answer," Courtney said. 

With a smile, Heather left Courtney to something she didn't feel like watching and an empty family room. She stared at the screen, barely taking in what was happening when eventually she couldn't stand it anymore. So what if there was a break between her and Lynn. It wasn't big enough that a little C&C couldn't fix.

Courtney:
I'm in some desperate need of some C&C, you free?

C&C was crimes and cuticles. Early on in their friendship they'd discovered they had a love of watching crime shows, with attractive male leads, and painting their nails. Courtney didn't need her fingernails painted and couldn't very well paint her toenails at the moment but the Batman signal was still the same.

Lynn:
Can't. Making posters for the campaign.

Courtney:
No worries. I would offer my help but Clark says I need to rest and elevate my ankle.

Lynn:
How'd your ankle doing?

Courtney:
It's still an ankle but a colorful one now.

Courtney waited for Lynn's response but none was forthcoming. She decided to blame it on the intense work of building a campaign in a weekend. That was it. The only reason... Yup, nothing else.

Quickly, Courtney sent off a message to Aubrey, another cheerleader, inviting her over. Aubrey wasn't an audience at least.

Aubrey:
Sorry, I'm at Lynns with the squad helping make posters.

Courtney:
If you're not all singing the work song from Snow White then I'm going to be disappointed.

Aubrey:
Haha we'll work on it. How's your ankle?

Courtney:
Still attached to my leg, which I've heard is a good sign.

Aubrey:
I heard that too. I have to go, marker emergency

Courtney:
Godspeed

Courtney laid down her phone and stared up at the ceiling. After a minute she decided that the silence wasn't enough torture that she got onto social media.

Across all of the whole squads' profiles were posted pictures of them all working together at Lynn's. That was good, it was good that Lynn had so much help. It was good. Super duper good.

Courtney sat up and reached for her crutches. With them firmly under her arms, she slid her phone into her pocket and grabbed a pillow from the couch. With great effort, she managed to make it outside and into her family's golf cart. Driving it with her left foot was weird but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Beyond her family's backyard lay an entire golf course. It was one of those clear days with a mild breeze and barely any heat that made many pack up and move to California. It also meant that every golfer was out in droves. Courtney navigated the lanes, avoiding driving and walking golfers. She pulled up outside of a cafe that served golfers who couldn't afford the restaurant at the club.

Inside was a coffee and pastry smelling haven. One side of the cafe was made up of glass, offering a scenic view of the Green. Tables were crowded with polo shirt and visor wearing golfers.

In comparison with her comfy shirt and workout shorts, Courtney looked out of place. Never mind the pillow dangling from her hand. Still, she crossed to a far booth and settled in, propping up her ankle.

It wasn't long before the proprietors' son walked over to her table.

"Cory," Sean asked. "What happened?"

"Tiger attack," she said. "Could you get me coffee and any kind of sandwich?"

"Sure."

He left and Courtney laid her head back against the booth. The air hummed with conversations, the noise soothing and distracting. This was better than a tv and an empty family room. Solitude was overrated.

"Uh, hey."

Courtney opened her eyes and found Micah standing by her table.

"Hey," she said, smiling. He offered a shy one back to her. "You know, I had no idea we lived next to each other. Where's your house?"

"You know Ash street, the house at the end?"

"You mean the monstrous house?"

Micah fidgeted and nodded. "Uh, yeah that's the one. It's...a lot."

"It kinda is. But wait, I thought Jeremy, you know the realtor whose face is everywhere, lived there?"

This time Micah looked like he wanted to deny ever living at the house.

"My dad," he said.

"Wait! Your dad is Jeremy Jackson? Seriously, he is-"

Micah held up his hand. "Please don't tell me my dad is hot, it's really weird."

Okay, she wouldn't tell him his dad was hot, but he was! Every time Courtney passed a realtor sign with Jeremy's face on it she figured most of his clients hired him because he was so nice to look at. And Micah was his son.

"Okay," Courtney said. "But you have those genes. That has to be a plus."

Micah stared at her like she was being obtusely optimistic.

"Does it look like I have my dad's genes?" he asked.

Okay, so he had the skin tone but none of the broad features. In fact, his features were almost delicate in comparison.

"My mom's Asian America," Micah explained.

That explained the slopped eyes and cheekbones. But it was a combo Courtney liked. Work with what you got, right?

"It works on you," Courtney said.

Micah blushed so deeply that Courtney worried his head might catch fire. Best to change the subject before he set off the fire alarm.

"Thanks for your help yesterday," she said.

Micah seemed to relax. "No problem. How are you...um doing...with all that? Your break up and stuff?"

Haven't cried, which is disturbing. Felt relief, which is confusing. So great. Super great. One of the main things that I have no conflicting feelings about at all.

"Fine," she said, with a smile. "It is what it is. Because you did help me I wanted to say if you needed help on anything to let me know."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I want to repay you."

"Thanks." Micah looked like he wanted to say something but didn't know how to word it. The expression that resulted from this was endearing. "Could you...I mean...you see... there's this girl...and she's...and I'm not...so...yeah."

Communication skills need work but luckily Courtney was fluent in crushes.

"Okay, did you just meet this girl or have you been friends for a while? Because that makes a huge difference."

Micah slid into the booth across from Courtney, careful not to bump her ankle. Sensitive to others, definitely a positive attribute.

"I talked to her for the first time yesterday," Micah said.

Okay. Wait a minute...Follow up question for clarity.

"But have you been in classes together before?" Courtney asked.

She didn't get crush vibes off him but he was awkward around her. Hopefully he was just generally awkward.

"No, she just started at Oceanside."

Phew!

"That's great," Courtney said. "It's harder to make a friend see you in a new light than making someone you've just met see you as attractive."

"So what do I do..."

Courtney sat back, surveying Micah. His clothes were too big for him. He might not have muscle underneath but right now he looked like he was a kid playing dress up. Hair was messy and not in a purposeful way.

"There's a couple things you can do," she said. "One, get a makeover."

"Like create a whole new look type thing?"

The idea of it seemed to make him panic and she placed her hand on his arm.

"No. You always want someone to like you for who you are and not someone you pretend to be. If you did in the end you'd end up exhausted from the effort and they wouldn't know the real you. Never change who you are to attract someone, it will never be the right person."

"Oh, okay. What do you mean then?"

"I mean buy clothes that fit you. If you want to try for more colors in your wardrobe great. With your skin tone you could pull off some interesting colors like a brunt orange, teal, or a salmon." Micah made a face and Courtney laughed. "Okay, stick to darker colors then. But again find ones that work for you. Forest green, charcoal, a dark maroon, possibly a deep deep purple."

Micah stared at her wide-eyed like everything she said left him lost and further out at sea.

"Never mind. A haircut is something that also could help. People rarely understand that a haircut can make a 75% difference in their level of attractiveness."

At that, Micah ran his hands through his wild curls, like he was just realizing how crazy they were.

"Okay," he said.

"Also if you're nervous to do anything major, sometimes an outsider showing attraction to you can help change someone's view of you."

"What? Like someone pretending to date me so this girl sees I'm dateable?"

Courtney laughed. "Sure, if you want this girl you like to be cruel enough to try and steal another girl's man."

"Oh, yeah. But how will she see me as you know...attractive?"

Micah winced like he couldn't imagine a scenario where that was a reality. Courtney felt bad for him. With a hot father and an extremely hot brother like Denzel, she imagined that might be hard to imagine. Especially when he didn't have the build of either of them as well.

But that didn't mean he didn't have his qualities. Kind. Not a gossiper, as far as she could tell. Considerate. All good things. Someone who deserved him would see past the fact that he didn't have the classic hot-guy veneer.

"I could help there," Courtney said.

"How...?"

"Easy, at school when I see you, I'll say hi. Maybe compliment your shirt, put on a flirty voice so people would see that I'm attracted to you. Which should do it."

Micah ducked his head and pulled at his curls. "You would do that?"

"Sure. Who am I to not help love along?"

The edge of Micah's lips curled and he blushed again. "Umm...I'm not sure if it's love."

"Either way, I'm happy to help."

Sean returned, apologized for the delay and set down Courtney's coffee and sandwich. She thanked him and when Micah said he didn't want anything, Sean left.

"Want half?" Courtney said, pushing her plate into the middle of the table.

Hesitating a second, Micah took the other half of the sandwich.

"What's the girl's name that you like? Or at least describe her so I'll know to approach you when she's around."

"She's really pretty with brown hair. She wears all black, that will help. Her name's Max."

"Max..."

So Courtney was helping Micah attract Angry Biker Girl. Well, this would be interesting.

**********************************************************************

It's a spiddly diddly day folks!

(Greeting curtesy of lilmenu from the first chapter of A Secret Service. I finally get to use all those suggestions that have been building up!)

Otay! Drop dem thoughts of yours about the chapter, Micah being a cutie, and the twist with Angry Biker Girl! 💭💬🗯

On to bigger and more important things! And I mean we are deep diving into you who you are! Revealing secrets that have never been revealed before! Exposing the true depth of your soul!

NOW>>>

What is your spirit animal?

I told you, we're getting deep today!

I'm definitely my pet Poodle, Chez!

Go ahead and try to infer from that what you will!

Vote vote! Come on let's vote! Comment comment, I wanna her you cheer! Follow, follow that's right team let's do this!

(Prediction: this is going to get worse with each chapter. If you have some cheer about vote, comment, follow then go ahead and tell me!)

Micah's father would look like this, so Courtney ain't wrong.

And Denzel would look like this...
So I understand Micah feeling left behind.