seven.  we'll see about that  !
real life & imessages...

✦

EDEN ARRIVED AT THE BOWLING alley a few minutes earlier than she was expected to be. usually she doesn't show up this early, but she didn't want to get here and have everyone waiting on her. or everyone would already be inside and they were awkwardly waiting for eden to walk through the doors. it was the last thing she wanted to happen.

she had no idea when anyone else was going to get here, since she's driven here by herself. she decided to text chris to get his eta. she didn't want to text the group chat because she didn't like the idea of that quite yet. chris would answer her and that was all she needed.

eden 🤔
no pressure but i'm here
what's ur guys eta?

goof 🥸
well matt's driving like a damn slow
fuck at the moment so im not sure.
it should be about 5 mins tops?
liked by eden 🤔

eden 🤔
alright 👍

goof 🥸
i'm sorry

eden 🤔
you're fine!
i'm the one who's here early lmao
laughed at by goof 🥸

✦

WHEN SHE SAW A CAR PULL UP NEXT to her around ten minutes later, she immediately assumed it was matt. she glanced up into the passenger seat window, and saw chris already looking at her, a smile on his face. she grabbed her purse from behind her chair, and got out of her car as quick as she could. except now that she was outside his door, chris was talking to someone else in the back of the car.

eden knocked on his window to try and get his attention. he immediately turned around at the sound of her knuckles on the glass, rolling down the window and placed his arm over the door. he added a questioning, "yes...?" and the way that he said it made eden almost forget what she even needed his attention for. it was as if she was perfectly content with his presence that nothing she needed before mattered anymore.

"i'm just wondering when you guys are going to get out of that car." she made something up on the spot, not wanting him to suspect anything weird going on with her. even though she felt the undeniable heat rush into her cheeks, she still tried to hide it.

chris opened the car door, making eden move to the opposite side of it, as he said, "why? you in a rush?"

they were now separated by the car door. eden had her hand on it, signifying that she was going to be the one to close it, so chris backed out of the way. the gesture just added to her smug expression when she said, "no, i'm just really excited to beat you in bowling."

"you think that you guys will win?"

"i know we will win." eden sounded so sure of herself, though she was now realizing that she hasn't picked up a bowling ball in over five years. she also had genuinely no clue how experienced the boys were with the sport, meaning that she had no idea how this could possibly play out. but she had to give herself the benefit of the doubt either way.

"we'll see about that." chris told her as he stood up after tying his shoes to grab his neon orange ball, that he picked out himself, off the return rack and got ready to throw it. he was the first one up on his team and nick was the first on hers.

she watched as the two bowl against each other, both getting a gutter ball and then a few additional pins their second throw. they got practically the same score, chris just had two more than him.

"oh i'm so scared, chris." she laughed as the sarcasm in her voice hit an all time high. there was no way that she could get a lower score on this first frame than both of them combined.

"it looks like it's your turn, eden." he made it seem as if he was in disbelief. it was eden's turn yet she wasn't immediately getting up to prove him wrong?

she didn't exactly know what was going to happen when she released the ball. she expertly tried to recall all of the prior knowledge she had of the sport. all the tips and tricks her grandfather had given her when she first started. eventually, after a handful of years, she acquired an average of two hundred and fifteen.

when she got up she made sure to place the ball next to her, not in front. her feet had to be straight and on the right dots, as she awaited the perfect moment to take the first step. and everything came back to her like muscle memory.

apparently, that wasn't enough because, she too, got a gutter ball. she wanted to curse the lane and quit right then and there. she forgot how frustrating this used to be. though, instead of getting worked up, she turned around to grab another ball, giving chris a look that said "i know what i'm doing." and that's when it all clicked in her head. she had forgotten to keep her arm straight, so she proceeded to retry everything she did the first time but making sure she followed through with her arm keeping it as straight as possible. and there it was—

a strike.

well, technically it was a spare, but she knocked all ten pins down either way. a win was a win, especially after not doing it for so long.

she heard the plethora of clapping and hollering as she was the first one to achieve it. sure nate and genevieve still had to go, but she was still the first. she saw a combination of both a shocked and and impressed look on chris's face as he held up a hand for her to high-five. it looked like she was going to win after all.

✦
nat's notes !

lol guys i actually used to bowl every
saturday and my average was a 147 😭
so not me self inserting
also this was kinda boring im assuming
dw its abt to get STARTED

<3