Game Theory × NH

022 | titanium

The team broke apart to go into the building to get changed and shower. I followed after them until Coach called me back.

"Yeah?"

"You saw it, didn't you?" he asked me, a smile playing on his lips.

When I looked at him confused, he almost looked disappointed that I didn't understand what he was talking about.

"You and Lynn. You worked well together; you push each other to do better. This banter you two do with each other - the yelling and the sly remarks - it works out in the end because it's like you're feeding off each other's actions. If one does a little better, then the other pushes just a little bit harder," he paused and looked at me, the disappointment still visible on his face. "Are you telling me you don't see that? Because everyone else on the team does."

I shook my head. I honest to God had no idea what he was talking about. I was just trying to win the game. Over Coach's shoulder, I saw Lynn talking to her friends.

Did she know what Coach was talking about?

"Let me put it in a way that you can understand," Coach continued. "You and Lynn are like water and potassium. Do you know what you get when you mix the two?"

"An explosive reaction," I answered automatically.

Coach grinned. "Exactly. Now you may leave."

Before I could move, he grabbed the clipboard and his drink in one swift motion before going over to Coach Sharp. I blinked and continued on my way into the building to shower and change.

My cleats were echoing off the walls of the silent hallway as I made my way down to the locker room when Lynn shouted after me. I stopped in my tracks but didn't turn to look at her.

"Good game today, Ireland," she said nonchalantly. I could hear her cleats tapping on the floor as she made her way over to me.

I looked over my shoulder at her but didn't bother to respond or even give her a small smile. I just glanced at her before turning back around and continued on my way.

"How long are you going to keep this up?" she pressed as she kept up with my pace behind me. "This... avoiding me - only looking at me if you have to and speaking to me in short sentences. Is this your way at pretending the kiss didn't happen, to act as though I'm not really here?"

I kept making my way to the locker room, but when the sound of her feet continued behind me, I spun on her.

"I told you this was going to happen," I snapped, my voice short. "I told you I was going to avoid you. I can't even look at you without thinking about what happened right there," I yelled, pointing to a spot on the wall just a few feet away from us. "And it's going to stay like that."

I didn't bother to give her a second glance before I went into the locker room.

× × ×

"So what are you going to do about Lynn and what happened last Saturday? Was it Saturday? I think it was Saturday..." Jace trailed off as he calculated the days in his drunken mind, only to end up shrugging and taking another sip of his beer. "I'm talking about the kiss."

"I'm going to hook up with the first girl I see," I told him honestly as I leaned on the railing, looking down at the dancing bodies that were in sync with the booming music.

I was standing on the stairs in a house that some lads owned from UNI. There was a party, and everyone seemed to be there; the big football win gathering a large crowd knowing the new star was going to make an appearance.