"Daydreaming about your little crush again?" Michael asked from his perch on the computer chair in Kevin's bedroom.

"I don't have a little crush," Kevin replied, frowning from his seat on his bed.

"You're right, it's a huge one. Not to worry, though, I've done some detective work and narrowed down four social accounts named Willow that are athletes."

"That's not detective work, that's called stalking!"

Michael smirked. "Potato, potahto. Are you coming or what?"

"No, I refuse to participate," Kevin said even as he made his way behind Michael and peered over his shoulder at the screen.

Michael had the potential to be a younger Joe Goldberg with how quickly he had found the potential accounts with such little information. Sure enough, he had four tabs opened on the computer each hosting an Instagram account with the first name Willow.

"Nope," Kevin said to the first candidate which showed a muscular girl that was much taller than him. Definitely not her.

"Nope," Kevin repeated as the second tab revealed a girl that weighed much more than him.

"Bingo!" Kevin yelled as the third person popped up. There was only one picture posted and it certainly wasn't recent but the skinny build paired with those intense light brown eyes were unmistakable.

"This is our girl, Watson?" Michael asked in an exaggerated British accent. 

"What?" Michael asked as Kevin rolled his eyes. "Just getting in character. You weren't kidding about her being skinny though, maybe the secret to super speed is having the weight of a feather!"

"How do you explain Usain Bolt then?"

"He's Jamaican, that's all the explanation you need."

Kevin couldn't find a hole in that logic.

Just then, Scarlett walked into the room. "What are you dorks up to?"

"Nothing of interest," Michael said, turning to face her. His eyes widened as he laid eyes on her. "Wow, Scar. You almost look like a proper woman now, we just have to fix the face but I think that's a bit more permanent."

Kevin looked at her just as she stuck out her tongue at Michael. She wore a flowy blood-red dress that hugged her figure with expensive-looking red high heels which further complemented the rose look she had going. 

Eastwood High was hosting a friendly open modeling contest and as an attractive member of the popular crew in her year Scarlett was expected to participate. Michael pulled the pity card, nagging Kevin about how lonely he would be in the crowd if Kevin didn't come until finally, Kevin relented. 

Thus, he would be spending his Sunday evening at a social event. Kevin could almost hear his father laughing at the very thought.

"What do you think, Kevin?" Michael asked in a slightly teasing manner, prompting Scarlett to give him a sharp glare before meeting Kevin's eyes.

"I think...if anyone sees her leaving my car they'll think I kidnapped her."

Michael guffawed while Scarlett rolled her eyes. 

The three left shortly after, with Michael sitting in the back and Scarlett next to Kevin in the front since he couldn't guarantee the safety of her dress in the backseat.

A few minutes into the drive Scarlett broke the silence.

"So...Kevin you know that girl that won the meet Friday?"

"Huh?" Kevin asked, caught off-guard by the sudden question.

"The short one. I saw you talking to her after the race."

"Oh." Kevin gave Michael a warning glare in the mirror, knowing he would be tempted to make a comment. "I met her that same day and talked to her for like five minutes before the meet started."

"You were congratulating someone you just met?"

The pitch of her voice gave Kevin pause. Was that anger in her tone?

"What's wrong with that?"

"You don't see anything wrong with that? You didn't even commend me for placing and you've known me for over a decade, but some girl you just met all of a sudden can get all the praise?"

Kevin blinked. Where the hell was this coming from?

"And it's always been like that, you hardly ever show me support!" Scarlett continued, her face a classic portrayal of a female tongue-lashing.

Kevin resisted the urge of saying; well you didn't exactly win. He didn't even want to imagine how that would go down.

"I'm supporting you right now, aren't I?" Kevin protested.

"Because Michael asked you to. If he never asked you would've never even thought about coming."

Kevin gripped the steering wheel tighter as his annoyance grew steadily. "That's not the point."

"It is! You always treat me like I'm just some random bystander if Michael isn't around. Is that the only time you can be seen talking to me?"

Kevin looked to Michael in the rearview mirror for help but Michael pointedly looked through the window. The one time he wanted Michael to butt in he had conveniently decided to stay out of the convo. 

Kevin sighed. "You're popular. You have people jumping at the opportunity to be with you after a race. You don't need my presence among that flock."

"I don't care about them! They're just high school friends that I'll probably never hear from again when we graduate. Is that what you see me as, too?"

"No," Kevin said honestly. Regardless of if they stayed friendly, as Michael's sister he was sure he would see a lot of her after she graduated.

Kevin tuned out her next words as his eye started to twitch, a tell-tale sign he was reaching the peak of his annoyance tolerance. The fact Scarlett was being so overdramatic for no reason at all really pissed him off.

Thankfully, the turn into the parking lot was fast approaching, saving Kevin from her rant. 

The silence was beyond awkward as the batmobile came to a stop, Scarlett realizing she was now being ignored had settled for intense glaring.

"Listen," Kevin said, gulping down his annoyance. "I'm sorry that I didn't speak to you after your race. It was two different situations with you and Willow, you were surrounded by supporters and she wasn't."

"Whatever." Scarlett said before exiting the vehicle without a second glance.

Kevin turned to Michael in the back. "What the hell was that all about?"

Michael shook his head with a small smile. "You, my friend, are completely clueless."

Whatever that meant.

As the two blended into the crowd ascending the stairs Kevin had to admit the school almost looked cool, lit up against the backdrop of the starry night as it was. 

Of course, being reminded of just how many people he would be around quickly diminished the effect of the beautiful image.

Kevin hadn't been to any non-compulsory events, so seeing the school halls decorated and seeing the auditorium filled with rows of chairs and a festive mood was a breath of fresh air compared to the prison-like atmosphere and aesthetic he came to acquaint with the school.

"This is a nice little setup they have here," Michael said as they sat in a row near the middle of the big auditorium. "I didn't realize this was so big."

Kevin sighed in relief. Atleast one sibling wasn't mad at him all of a sudden. 

"Tell me about it. It's almost enough to forget when we had to run the stairs as punishment because of Matt in gym class."

They laughed at the memory. Matt Lock was trying to impress his girlfriend by outperforming Kevin and Michael, who were the most athletic in their generally unathletic gym class. First, he challenged Kevin to a race, which he didn't even come within 20 meters of winning. His loss only sparked his competitiveness, however, as Matt challenged Michael to a shotput contest next. Michael half-heartedly threw a pretty impressive distance --atleast it looked so to Kevin, and Matt stepped up next, laughing at Michael's throw. Michael hadn't spun a lot since they were in the gym which didn't have a lot of space behind them, but Matt, absorbed with beating Michael's throw spun his way out of control and ended up releasing it in the opposite direction it was intended. 

The result was a 12 Ib shotput crashing through the window and into the hallway right where their gym teacher was walking. Kevin could still remember the look of shock and disbelief on the teacher's face paired to the look of horror and fear on Matt's face. Although the whole class had to run the steps as punishment, seeing an embarrassed Matt sulking made up for all of it.

"Good times," Michael said fondly as a woman dressed in business attire walked up to the mic on the stage.

She thanked everyone for coming before announcing the first contestant. The first contestant was a short girl with auburn hair done up in a long ponytail. She wore some sort of tribal dress whose origins Kevin couldn't pinpoint.

He never paid much attention in History class.

At first, it was pretty entrancing seeing different types of females strutting across the walkway in elaborate dresses to the cheers of the crowd, but it got old pretty quickly for Kevin. He couldn't fathom how people could sit all day watching people --no matter how attractive, walk up and down for hours at a time. It was simply mind-boggling to him.

After Scarlett pranced down the runway to the most cheers and whistles from the crowd so far, Kevin used the classic bathroom excuse to get the hell out of the suffocating room. Michael waved him goodbye while keeping his eyes trained on the next particularly curvaceous contestant.

The hallway was unpopulated except for a few stragglers which was more than a welcome sight for Kevin. 

He propped up on the wall of the hallway and enjoyed the breeze that drifted through the windows as he had done so many times when he was supposed to be in class. The wind wafting across his face, undisturbed by the presence of many people was comforting as he closed his eyes and let his brain travel wherever it carried him.

Track practice. Upcoming meets. Basketball. Regionals. College.

Nationals.

Kevin felt a presence next to him and cracked open his eyes, expecting to see Michael had joined him. Instead, he was greeted by the lithe blue-eyed figure of Shalissa. 

She propped herself up on the wall next to him and shot him a small smile. "Not a fan of this, huh?"

Kevin's mind went entirely blank for a good 4 seconds. Like any straight boy who came up through the Eastwood system and had even a slight interest in the track team, Kevin once had a crush on Shalissa. 

"No," Kevin said, finding back his voice. "It's cool and all but it gets boring."

Shalissa nodded knowingly. "I couldn't agree more."

Kevin was surprised at how approachable she seemed. For years, the thought of even having a conversation past good morning with her seemed mythical now here she was, starting one with him.

"Why aren't you participating?" Kevin asked, noting her casual t-shirt and jeans. She was the most popular girl in the school so he had thought her participation was a given.

Shalissa grimaced. "This type of thing definitely isn't for me. My parents always call me a tomboy and they're probably right because just the thought of walking down that path in high heels and a stupid dress is enough to make me nauseous."

Kevin smirked. "That's not what I imagined you like at all."

"Ditto. I thought you were either some stuck-up guy or an antisocial hermit."

"Don't judge too early now, that second one may have some truth to it."

Shalissa laughed, a soothing sound that pleased his ears. "Can't judge a book by its cover as they say."

Kevin nodded. "Exactly."

"Well, I better get back in before my friends start noticing my bathroom break is going on for a long time," Shalissa said with a sigh.

"Yeah, same."

Shalissa paused, looking over her half-turned shoulder. "You know, it would really be a pity if you didn't join the male version of this next week. I imagine you would look good all dressed up."

Before Kevin couldn't collect himself she disappeared behind the double doors.

Did Shalissa just compliment him?

Unsurprisingly, that ended up being the highlight of his night, as sitting through twenty more minutes of modeling wasn't exactly fun; though Michael certainly seemed to enjoy what he referred to as the exquisite eye candy that was on show.

Scarlett went on to win 2nd place and was in much better spirits when they returned to the car. Kevin just acted like the ride before never happened and he was glad that she played along.

All in all, the night definitely hadn't increased his nonexistent appetite to attend this sort of stuff, but even he had to admit, having a change of pace from practice and then staying cooped up at home wasn't so bad once in a while.

Not that he would ever admit that to Michael, of course.