Falling for the unloveable

Threats and girlfriends

"This is blackmailing gold" she snickers, shoving her phone back into her back pocket.
"Iris wake up!" I watch the girl with amusement as she prods her sister's cheek constantly until a groan rips through her throat and her eyes flutter. "Rise and shine sis, we've got shopping to do" Gracie sing songs as Iris finally opens her eyes and scans the area. She freezes after a second before slowly craning her neck to look up at me. "Hey sleepy" I greet with a smirk.
"Oh my god put me down" a laugh erupts form my chest as I safely place her back on her feet.

"I've got to run but I'll be expecting a call later Moore, bye Gracie"
"Bye Elias have a good practice" the youngest of the Moore siblings calls after me while the eldest broods by her side. Her mood swings are giving me whiplash, one second she's peacefully sleeping in my arms and the next she looks like she wants to kill me. I guess I should of been prepared to see those walls go back up to unclimbable heights because that's how she copes. She pretends that it didn't hurt her and that she's okay. If Iris was dying I think she'd bleed out before telling anyone that she's hurt.

Jogging back through the school I make a quick job of throwing the rest of my football gear on before sprinting out to the field. I'm twenty minutes late to practice which coach will not be happy about. "Jones get your ass over here now!" Here we go. "I'm sorry coach but-"
"It was that girl wasn't it?" He narrows his eyes, daring me to lie. "If by 'that girl' you mean Iris Moore then yeah, it was that girl" of course it's Iris there is no other girl. Hell the only person I could focus on since I got here is Iris.

"Is she okay?"
"What?" The question catches me completely off guard as I was preparing to go on a rant about how important Iris is too me and how much I needed to be there for her. But he's asking me if she's okay? Is this some type of joke?
"She's better" I vaguely respond.
"Good. 100 laps around the field now. Go." He orders me and I don't resist. I'd do 1000 laps if it meant I still got to have those minutes with Iris.

40 minutes later I've completed all of my laps and managed to practice some offensive plays before we all head back to the locker rooms.
"How is she?" Jake asks the question but there are two other boys just as eager for the answer.
"Better. She's gone home now" Malcolm blows out a breath of relief as he turns to change. Jake looks as gloomy as ever and Aidan, he appears still worried as his forehead wrinkles from his downcast expression. We collectively dress in silence well Malcolm is the exception as he chatters on about utter bullshit but no one cares to stop him.

The only thing that causes me to break my silence is one of the idiots on the team.
"Hey Jones that pussy must be real good if you're willing to do one hundred laps for it. You think she'd be up for sharing I mean the whole team wants a go of that piece of ass" all I see is red as I turn around so fast the guy isn't able to laugh fully before I grip him by his collar and slam him into the wall. A shocked breath escapes him as I face him with a scorching glare.

"If you ever talk about a girl like that again-especially Iris-I will have no choice but to knock some sense into you and that might damage the last two brain cells working in that thick head of yours" I throw him into the wall once more to have it set in stone that I am by no means joking.

"Coach would kick you off the team" is his weak attempt at a threat. "you wouldn't have any teeth left to speak, so how would you tell him who did it huh?" He fucking whimpers like the pathetic excuse of a human he is. Jake is the one brave enough to step in and pull me away.
"Leave it" he gruffly tells me. And I listen, with taut muscles and a pounding urge to knock that shithead clean out, I return to my place.

A beat of silence ricochets around the locker room before Malcolm breaks it.
"Yeah that's right you should be scared, of us all" he smirkes, arms triumphantly crossed against his chest. "No one is scared of you. You look like a fucking teddy bear and you act like one too" Aidan mutters as he pulls a shirt over his big head. "People are only scared of you cause your so fat you could crush us all"
"Wanna test that theory?" Malcolm is quick to jump away from Aidan as he threateningly moves toward him. Idiots. I'm friends with idiots.