Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other

(1) Enter Rye

"Rye, pass the damn ball" Rye heard his coach say, but why should he pass? He was the best player on the field, may as well be his field.

He had a very strong, athletic build, the type of body on the front of men's magazines. His soft chocolate fringe swept just over his eyebrows, allowing people to see his deep brown eyes. He was tan-skinned and wore a perpetually cheeky smirk, the cheeky smirk that managed to make every girl in the school fall for him and allow him to then fall into their beds. The smirk that meant; 'no strings attached'. The smirk that made every girl who slept with him want more, the smirk that then broke their hearts as he said 'just friends'. The smirk that made him untouchable, he breathed defiance and vanity. Yet every girl who lay with him swore to 'tame him', that challenge in itself drew girls to him. He was, to be short, a bit of a prick to the females who were just good for, 'a nights' fun'.

Basically, the short way of explaining Ryan Beaumont was that he had the sex appeal of a Greek demigod, and boy did he know it.

He rolled his eyes in retort to his coaches demand and preceded to lengthen his stride, ah yes. Football was his relief. The adrenaline from speeding down the pitch chasing a black and white ball was a drug to him. Completely disregarding his coaches instruction he pelted down the field to the goal. I guess you could compare Rye's attitude to one of those super-sporty sports addicts in PE class. Those douches who would need to win even in class, and they would make the people they played against look (and feel) awful in the process. But to Rye, every win gave him his high. Who cares if he had to knock a couple of nerds over to get it.

Not him.

While Rye was one of the best athletes in the school, he was an average student. So while he embarrassed these kids on the field where he had the upper hand, he was frequently targeted in class by those with superior intellect. But did he care?

You guessed it,

absolutely not.

He just scared people who challenged him with a smirk, he could humiliate people very easily with his words too. He enjoyed seeing their confidence wither in front of him as he picked away at a personal weakness. He was cruel, his verbal humiliation stretched far further than physical ability, it went from parents to siblings to friends. People on the receiving end of the torment, suffice to say, did not bother him again.

In Rye's opinion there should be more PE, those lessons to him flew by. He loathed being in stuffy classrooms, surrounded by people who actually wanted to be there. To some extent, you could say his prickish attitude was due to his home life. In fact, it was the only reason he felt comfortable picking on other people's situations, as he knew his was worse. It was not like he did not have a house, for lack of a better expression, he did not have a home. His father was always drunk, stuck in his state of eternal depression since Mother left. They lived in the worst part of town, surviving off benefits and Rye's job at the diner.

Of course, it is wrong in so many ways to take out your insecurities on other people, but it was a defense mechanism for Rye. He was indeed a golden boy of the school, so nobody could find out about his life, his father, him. He used to just scare off anyone who got too close to him, but that was risky. So he changed his plan and just scares everyone, and those he can't scare, he lies to. He is never really himself and so, he has one lesson every two days plus training every other day, to be himself. He needed the feeling of freedom. So anyone who gets in his way, in his mature and humble opinion, can suck it.

After PE it was the end of the school day, Rye always got lifts from members of his Football team, most of whom lived in the rich part of town. He just got them to drop him on the outskirts so he was close to home, but not too close for any of them to realize he did not live in the nicer area. He worked from 4-8 on days with no training and 5:30-9 on days he did. He was paid little more than minimum wage, but it was enough to get the odd luxury and live his life. After all, the benefits were mostly spent on his Fathers alcohol. Frequently Rye had to force him to give money for the rent. He rolled his eyes, he was supposed to be the child, but he too-frequently found himself in charge of everything. He went to parties when he could, he had to keep appearances up. And yes, he did sleep with girls, a few. But there were some who claimed they had slept with him but he hadn't, they were the ones that spread the most ridiculous rumors about him. Rye was beyond caring at this point. So long as nobody knew he was actually a decent guy with a messed up home life, he did not care what people decided to spread about him.

He was in the back seat of his friend Ben's car, zoned out, when they opened a topic that was interesting.

"So, nearly prank week with the hockey players now boys. And man do I have some shit planned for those fuckers. The better team my fucking arse" Ben said, as perceptive as usual. His ability to singlehandedly exhaust the use of swears never ceased to amaze. It was a seasonal thing, prank week. In which, the two biggest sports teams in the school would attempt to out-prank the other. Yes, of course, it never goes to plan. This year, Rye thought, was going to be no different. If a prank backfired or was caught by a teacher, the repercussions would be severe, that is why prank week was always towards the end of the season.

But, as captain of his football team, he had a rivalry with the captain of the hockey team. One which has gone back years, despite never even having a proper conversation. So, being as competitive and as anxious to win the rivalry as he was. Rye asked,

"What have you got in mind?"

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Hey kids. You may notice a change in characters. Welcome to a Randy fanfic. If you're new here. Yo I'm B no more, no less. So sit back and enjoy a cheesy one.
Lots of love
B x