Rogues

Chapter XIX

- You promised him. – Maya contradicted.

- And you accepted to come, quit complaining. –

We walked up to the football field, where the scent is at its peak. Honestly, the amount of hormones and testosterone in the air is so much I might need to take a bath just to get rid of the stench. Putting the intoxicating scent aside, the place is full. I don't think we'll manage to find a place to sit, everything looks occupied. I tried searching for a place, where the three of us could sit, if possible, as far away as possible. I was so concentrated that I didn't someone walking up to us.

- You came. – a male voice said, making me turn around.

It's Nate. He's wearing his football uniform, making him look bulkier. The jersey and pads are black with white letters on them. He's wearing number 11, has two stripes of black paint on his cheeks, and has a sports bag around his shoulder. He looks good and ready for the match.

- Yeah, you invited us. – I casually said, making him laugh.

- Yeah, I just thought you wouldn't be able to make it. – he scratches the back of his neck with his left hand since the right one was holding his helmet.

He looked straight into my eyes meaningfully. He's happy we could make it; I can tell from his scent. Seconds pass and an uncomfortable silence grows. I can tell that he wants to tell me something, but he stops himself. Luke coughs breaking the moment.

- Luke, and Maya, so good you guys could come as well. – Nathan greets them friendly.

- Thanks for inviting us, man. Who are you up against? – he asked, making a small chat.

- A private school nearby. – he answers.

- Private school. That sounds fancy. Are they any good? – Maya chimes in.

- Yeah, but we're better. – Nathan says cockily, making us smile.

- You better, we didn't come to see you lose. – Maya plays around.

- Oh, that reminds me. I brought you something. - He says fishing for something in his bag.

- Here. – he says handing us something.

- A key ring? – Luke asks confused.

- It's the team's key ring. That way you can cheer for us. – he says with a big smile on his face. – I dipped them in coffee. You guys have better senses so hopefully, it will help with the smell. I'm used to this, but I thought the smells might bother you guys. It won't get rid of sweat and odor, but you can focus on the coffee to ignore the other scents. It's an old trick my father taught me. –

The key ring's nothing fancy, just a big circle with the team's logo engraved in it. But just like he said, the coffee's deep scent is very characteristic and does help block all the rest of scents and emotions. This is very thoughtful of him.

- Thanks. I was beginning to get upset. – Maya said, taking a deep inhale of the key ring's coffee fragrance.

- Beginning? You've been a pain in the ass since we got here. – Luke teased his sister. She hit him on the shoulder, hard. – Ouch. – he complained making Nate and I laugh.

- Thank you for the key ring. It helps a lot. – I thanked him.

- No problem. Come, I'll take you with Nadia, she's setting aside some seats for you guys. – he says.

We follow him towards the stairs. Nadia is waiting for us in the front row, with empty seats on her side just like Nathan said. I wonder what would've happened if we decided not to come. Would she have sat alone? Nah, probably some cheerleaders would come and sit with her.