Shattered Inside (Yandere!Cheater x Reader)

XXXVI

Even though it was quite cold already, the football team was still training outside on the big football field behind the school. The boys were spread out in smaller groups, all of them wearing long-sleeved shirts under their jerseys and moving around to keep themselves warm. The vicious wind that sometimes swept through made them all shiver in discomfort.

"I wonder who's gonna be our coach now that Coach Morgan broke his leg," James mumbled, passing the ball to David. "Unless he just sits on the bleachers and yells whatever he wants us to do..."

David held back a sigh as he answered, "My dad's gonna be our new coach."

"Wait, really?! How come I didn't know that—" James' eyes were wide in shock. Failing to receive the ball that David had just kicked in his direction earned him a few chuckles from his friend. Even after, he remained frozen, forcing David to eventually run off and fetch the ball from Johnny, where the ball had ended up. Eventually, David returned to his partner and waved his hand in front of his eyes to snap him out of it. James jolted slightly, mumbling, "I'm... not sure how to feel about this revelation."

"I, for sure, am not happy that my dad's our new coach now." James bit his lip, realising that this must have been the cause of David's bad mood earlier. "Have you seen how high that man's expectations are? He'll expect us to be as good as the big leagues."

Naïve James was surprised by David's pessimistic approach, especially since Kayla had advised him just earlier to see things from a more positive perspective. "Well, I'm sure it can't be that bad! He was enthusiastic about football, yes. But do you really think it's gonna be that bad?"

"Oh, you don't know the old man," David scoffed angrily. Letting his emotions get the better of him, he kicked the ball over to James with much more force and aggressiveness, who was barely able to receive the ball properly, and afterwards, the side of his foot hurt. "He's an elitist when it comes to football. We're pretty much doomed now..." He really did harbour a deep resentment towards his father, but deep down, he also had the need to make him proud — just like how every child felt towards their parents.

"Uh, okay sure—"

"Hush, there he is." David's back immediately straightened when he noticed his father approaching from the distance. The aggressive expression on his face disappeared and was replaced by poker face. "Don't say a word if you don't wanna make him mad."

"Good day, boys," Coach Thompson bellowed in a strict voice, catching the boys' attention successfully, and causing them to swarm around him like bees. The old man's legs were slightly wobbling, but he still kept his head held high and his back straight as a stick. "As you may have already heard, I will be your new coach. Your former coach personally asked me to fill in for him... for the time duration." He started pacing left to right, unnerving the frozen students slightly. "I don't take too well to slackers. You all better give it your all during training, or else you'll be sitting on the bench for the rest of the year."

Murmurs spread through their ranks, most of them worrying about the future with such a strict coach; especially since Coach Morgan hadn't been the exact epitome of strictness and discipline. James, too, slowly started to see how David hadn't exaggerated earlier; he started to feel scared of the older man.

The coach raised his hand and hissed, "Silence! So, I hope Arthur coached you well—"

"Hey," James whispered, nudging his friend's arm, "you were right, David."

David started grinning, shooting his friend a playful roll of his eyes. Coughing into his fist, just so that his father wouldn't catch him speaking, he said, "See? I told you." James shrugged slightly while rolling his eyes. They both went on to quietly snicker with one another.