His turquoise eyes sparkled with ripples of light. Under the spell of his captivating smile, the girls around him naturally parted, creating a path for him to approach Avira.
“Not seeing you for a day makes me miss you terribly. Am I getting crazier?”
With an easy, fluid motion, he slung his arm around her shoulder and leaned half his weight against her. Orson bent down to whisper in her ear.
Avira tilted her face up, blinking at him with a puzzled expression. “Orson… have you ever been normal?”
“…”
“Hmm… Orson, if you think you’re not normal, you should get your brain checked at a neurology clinic.”
“…”
“Oh, I remember now.”
Avira reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. The golden strands slid through her slender fingers. Seeing his slightly stiff expression, she tilted her head and broke into a soft smile. “Orson, you don’t have a brain.”
“…”
Ahh, this is terrible…
Orson paused, a beautiful glimmer flashing through his eyes. The playful smile on his lips took on its usual beguiling allure, instantly eliciting screams from the surrounding girls.
Every time, it was against the rules…
Wearing such an adorable expression, Avira… if you keep this up, I might not be able to resist asking for a reward right here and now.
“Hey, what’s going on over there?”
A teasing voice suddenly interrupted.
Everyone turned to see several tall and lean boys, each over 190 cm, wearing Whitewall Mountain basketball uniforms as they walked toward them.
The boy leading the group skillfully twirled the basketball in his hand, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar faces from Eastwest. Each one looked more like a celebrity than an athlete, completely devoid of any semblance of a sportsman.
When his gaze landed on Avira, he suddenly broke into a mocking laugh.
“So, I guess Eastwest’s so desperate that you’re recruiting people who’d get blown away by a strong wind?”
“I can’t believe they actually accepted the match. Overestimating themselves! Just having that shorty on the team makes it hopeless!”
“Exactly. Rumors are never reliable, after all.”
The other boys around him laughed uproariously. The black-haired boy at the center appeared to be the team captain.
Another boy sidled up to him with a sneer plastered on his face. “Hey, Orson, George, don’t tell me you joined Eastwest’s basketball team because you’ve got the hots for this guy who looks like a girl?”
George stood still, showing no reaction. Yet, in his deep black-blue eyes, a glimmer of profound light flickered for an instant. He lowered his gaze slightly, looking at Avira. She still wore that perpetually drowsy expression, her misty eyes empty of any discernible emotion.
“What are you all talking about?”
Orson, still holding onto Avira, raised his head to look at the boys opposite them. A poppy-like smile bloomed on his lips, laced with intoxicating danger. “Basketball is always more fun when you’re playing with someone you like, isn’t it?”
Despite his words, his actions seemed natural, even protective. The surrounding girls interpreted his behavior as him standing up for his teammate, and their admiration for Orson skyrocketed.
But no one knew the truth: he was unabashedly declaring his feelings.
For Avira, Orson had nothing to hide.
The boys on the opposing team froze for a moment before bursting into even louder, exaggerated laughter.
“People say you’re gay, and I guess it’s true, huh?”
“Yeah, just look at all of them, a bunch of pretty boys… Eastwest must be a breeding ground for that type.”
“Disgusting. We used to share the court with people like them. Think we were ever at risk?”
“What’s all this noise about?”
A warm voice suddenly interrupted.
A young, handsome man approached the scene. He exuded an air of sophistication and maturity. His tall, lean frame was clad in a clean, tailored shirt that hinted at a physique rivaling even the basketball players. Standing there, his natural presence radiated authority.
