The Psycho Is Innocent | ꪜ

Chapter 8: The Other Him

Past

          HE LEANED AGAINST the metal lockers, the jersey dangling from the ends of his fingertips as he wiggled it in her face. She sighed as the silk-like material fell against her skin, "put it on, the game starts in twenty minutes." He exclaimed. She bit her lip, eyeing him warily. She flipped it to the back and it read Aspen 1. Knowing there was no escape from this, she took it from his grasp and slipped it over her head till it stopped just below her belly button.

         She expected it to have fallen below her waistline seeing as Tobias was significantly taller than her. She wondered if he had it altered purposely for a moment like this. "Wow, he didn't lie, you do look good in this." Before Ariel could respond, he took a step towards her and lowered his hands, grasping the jersey tightly before he tucked it into the front of her jeans, "it looks nicer like this." Ariel sucked in a harsh breath at the proximity between them, unable to form a coherent sentence.

          "Come on." He slipped his hand into hers and tugged her down the deserted hallway, ignoring the stunned expression on her face. Ariel nearly jolted in shock at the spark that rippled through her hand. Maybe it was just static or not, whatever it was it didn't help her almost comatose state. He led her to the back exit that leads to the baseball field and headed straight for the bleachers, uncaring of the eyes that penetrated through them both.

          Mouths fell agape, eyes widened, glares sliced through the air, murmurs trickled through one another's ears. Ariel Campbell being the first person to ever wear Tobias' jersey would undoubtedly cause a riot within the confines of a small-minded school. When they arrived at the front of the bleachers, he sat her down. Usually, the cheerleaders were the ones who sat on the first row of benches but occasionally if the girlfriend of a player attended a game she'd find herself getting a front-row view.

          Ariel was not a cheerleader. . .so what else could she possibly be? "Hey," he knelt down before her, his face suddenly morphing in concern, "are you gonna be okay?" He asked, referring to the commotion erupting behind them. This wasn't normal, but Harleyville was a small town and unfortunately for them with their level of popularity, nothing would go unnoticed. "Yeah, I'll be fine, don't worry about me, I can handle myself."

          "Don't worry we'll take care of her!" A shrilling voice exclaimed. Ariel ignored the girl shimming down towards her. Tobias wasn't her boyfriend and she didn't need others thinking that as well. But a promise is a promise; if she bailed now she'd be riddled with guilt. "Hey, make sure to cheer me on, yeah love?" He pivoted on his heels and climbed through the fence towards the baseball field, leaving Ariel to be fed to the raging lions.

          "So, are you guys like an item now? I've never seen a girl wear Tobias' jersey before. You're Ariel right. . . Larson's ex-girlfriend?" The girl who invited herself within Ariel's personal space rambled and much to Ariel's dismay, ignoring her would be futile. She clenched her jaw tightly and snapped a venomous glare in the girl's direction, "Tobias is a friend, that's all." And that's all he would be until she figured out what the hell her plan was moving forward.

          "Yeah right. For the past few weeks, you guys have been all over each other." The girl snorted loudly. Ariel sighed deeply as she fought to bite back the urge to punch someone to sleep. So instead of resorting to anger and replying to brainless questions, she focused her attention on the baseball game which had begun. Her eyes immediately found him, jogging towards one end of the field.

          He took his position as the pitcher. The other players fell into their rightful place but Ariel focused her attention only on him. He stood in a balanced point position, the ball pressed firmly against his brown gloves. He pivoted on his left leg and hiked his right leg up towards his chest before he twisted into a flexed bow position. With as much strength as he could muster up, he swung his left hand forward and the ball propelled towards the batter at full speed, fast enough so that his eyes barely caught sight of it as it careered towards him.