Chapter 25: 14|Who thought Felix could be like this?-1

"I still don't believe it, you know." Rose muttered. I nodded in agreement. "Exactly. I never considered that Carter Brown was none other than Felix, the guy Astrid punched, the guy who disgusts me because of his ways with girls and the guy who is disliked by whole soccer team because of his defiance. I don't know how the guy I strongly dislike is the same person I respect dearly for his No 2 status." I sighed and took a sip of my mock tail. I lifted my head slightly and saw a hesitant Felix approaching us. I opened my mouth to alert Alex and Rose but my phone rang and I excused myself. "Hey, dad?" "Enjoying? I saw the match on TV. Carter won but Alex was amazing." "He was." "I knew the kid had potential." I practically heard a smile in his voice. "Aren't you supposed to be in the middle of a business dinner?" "No. They cancelled it before I could because of some family issues." "Oh." "Yeah. Okay then, be home by 10. I will text your brothers about Alex's match." I nodded and then realized that he couldn't see me. "Yeah. Okay dad. See you." He hung up and I started walking towards our table again. Felix was tensed in his or more specifically, my seat. I shrugged and took adjacent one. "Astrid, I know you hate me but I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone at school about this." "About what, specifically?" I asked, confused out of my mind. "This. Fencing thing. There is a reason I go by Carter instead of Felix. Today was the first time I removed my headgear and now that I have, a lot of people know it's me." "What makes you think that kids from school wouldn't know?" "Fencing doesn't fall in list of cool games, Rose. They don't care about it." He averted his eyes but I clearly saw hurt in them. Whoa! Who thought Felix can be like this. "Why did you remove your helmet today?" Alex questioned. Felix passed a hand through his blonde hair in frustration. "Because of A-Astrid." He muttered silently. "Huh?" I asked dumbfounded. "I saw you backstage and I wanted to show you that I am more than the team member who never listens to you or the asshole you punched or the player who breaks every girl's heart. I was determined to prove your image of me wrong." I was stunned. "Y-you- me? W-why?" he chuckled at my stuttering. "You're not the only one who thinks I am a worthless asshole, Astrid." Both I and Alex averted our eyes. Silence settled for a while. "Let's forget about all of this today, okay?" he asked hopefully. I nodded as Alex and Rose mumbled a yes in response. He stood up abruptly and stretched his hand towards me. I looked between his hand and eyes in confusion. "Hello. I am Carter Brown, Ms-?" he scrunched his eyebrows. I played along and grinned at him "Astrid. Astrid Parker." "Can I have this dance, Ms Parker?" he asked like a gentlemen he is not. "Okay." I put my hand in his as he tugged me up from my chair. I discreetly caught Alex glaring at him. Rose was looking between us hopelessly as she tried to calm Alex down. I am starting to think that Rose is Alex's babysitter. Felix led me to the centre of stage. I didn't want to dance with him. But I also didn't want to upset him when he actually risked his identity to prove me wrong. 'Firefly' by Ed Sheeran was playing and a few couples were swaying to the beat. Felix snaked his arm on my waist and brought me closer. I felt a shiver run down my spine. I gingerly wounded my arms around his neck as we swayed. "Loosen up. I won't bite." He chuckled in my ear and I felt goose bumps rise on my skin. I nodded against his shoulder. "We will go back to hating each other tomorrow, okay?" I laughed. "Sure." We danced for a bit until Alex came, stole me away and started dancing with me. "Bit too overprotective, are we?" I mused and he chuckled. "Won't want Aiden to kill me, now would I?" I shook my head and smiled. "Where is Rose?" he stiffened. "On a call." I nodded. Something was wrong but I didn't press it. "Can we leave now? I am tired." "Yeah. Let's go." He grabbed my hand and led me towards exit. I saw Rose standing out and walking back and forth with a frown. "Everything okay?" I asked unsurely. "Yeah. She is just having some issues with...parents." I nodded in understanding. "Rose-" she shushed Alex by flashing him her index finger and quickly excused herself from caller. "It will take time, Alex. You can take Astrid home. I have my car." "But-" "No buts, Astrid. I will be alright, you should leave now. It's getting late."