Ten Things

Ch.17-Emotional Repercussions of a Dare

Cole

"Cole."

I more or less threw my math book into my locker as I spared the guys beside me a glance. "Hey," I greeted. Well, more like grunted. Needless to say I wasn't the most conversational or alive in the morning.

"Seriously, Winters, we need to talk to you."

I zipped up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, kicking my locker door shut. I turned and faced the five or so guys from the team that had congregated around me. I noticed the one leading them was Jed. I immediately knew what this was about.

I leaned back against the lockers casually, like I had all the time in the world to listen to them bitch and whine about their moronic problems.

"So get to talking," I urged, pinning them with the look I often saved for Coach Wilkins. Was it bad that I felt great that it made a few of them squirm?

"It's about Grace," Jed started unsurely.

"Of course it is," I mumbled under my breath, and then louder, "what about her?"

"She's a girl."

So it really is going to be like that. "Yep. And I'm a boy."

Jed frowned. "You don't see a problem with this?"

I sighed. "I'm having trouble understanding the problem you're referring to."

I could see him starting to get angry. Poor bastard. His temper was riled way too easily. "That stupid bitch on our coaching staff," he elucidated, and my eyes narrowed dangerously at his word choice. "I don't know if she's your latest conquest and you want her around to get it on in the locker room during water breaks or something, but I'm not being told what to do by a girl in a sport she knows nothing about."

"Wow," I chuckled humorlessly, shaking my head. He had managed to insult Grace twice and me once in that whole spiel. If he didn't stop we were going to find out real soon if my foot fit up his ass. "Jed, I don't have time to deal with your jackass self on a good day. At the moment I have even less time for you. So unless you have something productive to say please do me the favor and piss off."

 His lip curled up in a snarl. "Just because you're our quarterback doesn't give you the right to be a fucking asshole."

"It doesn't give you that right either," I returned calmly, but nonetheless harshly.

"If you don't do something about it I will," he warned. I dropped my bag to the floor and straightened up so we were eye-to-eye.

"I don't think you will," I returned in a dangerously low voice. "She's your coach now and you have to respect that. I don't care if she's a fucking alien, you're going to do what she says. And as your quarterback and captain I'm telling you to comply."

"Don't worry," Jed stated, more to the other guys than me. "It won't last long. She's just another one of his sluts to ignore."

That was three strikes for him. I saw red and before I knew what was happening my fist was plowing into his face.

"Dammit!" Jed hissed, cupping his nose as blood gushed from it. My fists were clenched at my sides, shoulders heaving, nostrils flaring. I was sure once Coach found out I beat the living daylights out of our center I would probably be kicked off the team, but I didn't give a crap at the moment.

"What's going on?"

My gaze slid sideways, seeing Grace, Dustin and Tiffany. Oh, Dustin was definitely the last person I wanted to see feeling the way I was.