Cruel Me

Chapter 21: Hard Time

Better listen to Hard Time by Seinabo Sey while reading this for best effect.

WARNING: Pretty violent.

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I'm bored off my ass.

What the fuck's taking them so long?

I flipped the football in my hands, looking around the field while I sat on the bench. It was a bit cloudy. Perfect weather for a game.

It was lunch time. Some students ate at the bleachers, while some studied. A bunch of cheerleaders looked like they were having a meeting or some shit at the bottom. Meanwhile, the school marching band practiced their thing at the other end.

"Hey!"

I turned my head and saw Alfie running towards me. He was wearing the same maroon letterman jacket I did. When he neared, we did a pound explosion. It was kinda our thing.

"They're coming," he informed me.

About damn time.

I nodded and looked away. We only had half an hour of break left. We better make it quick. Alfie took the football from me and sat on my side.

"You tell Buckley about this?" he asked, tossing the ball between his hands.

I frowned. "Why the hell would I tell her?"

In no way did I want her involved in any of this fucking mess. She had nothing to do with it, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Alfie raised his hands. "Just asking, man. I thought you tell her everything."

"Not about this," I replied quietly, looking away and shaking my head.

This revenge scheme we had going on was some horrid shit.

Halo was far from that.

It had been two weeks since we started going out. Coach Buckley wasn't happy, but he wasn't really stopping us either. Scout Crimson wasn't all that thrilled, too.

Boohoo. Cry me a fucking river.

Of course, Coach Buckley had no clue that I was picking up Halo every now and then for a night cruise. She was practically a pro at sneaking out now.

Yeah, I think I'm rubbing off on her.

She was still shy at times. But mostly, she was comfortable with me. She even sent me a goofy selfie just this morning. I smiled whenever I remembered how cute she looked, with her morning face grinning against the sun. Actually, she did that almost everyday since last week. I had to admit, I've also done it a couple of times.

It was fun. Everything with her was fun.

A sigh escaped my lips.

I never thought of Snow again since that day at the hallway two weeks ago. I guess it was a moment of weakness. I was feeling vulnerable thinking about the probabilities of this thing with Halo ending badly.

Thing is, even if I'm brave enough to risk myself this time, I'm not sure I'll be able to find my way back if I lose myself again. I might end up getting lost for good.

Full of fucking Ifs. I needed to get back to the facts. Like the fact that I was itching to get this over with. Unlike with Lawley, this time it wouldn't be a quiet thing.

"Incoming," muttered my best friend.

I raised my head.

Frisco and Kurt walked with Cameron Wood behind them. He tried to strut to show that he wasn't scared shitless. My eyes studied him, though. His hands were buried inside his pockets, probably in fists based on the bulks. His upper body was stiff, jaw clenched, and eyes narrowed. He was uneasy as fuck.