Viciously in Love

Twenty two.

   "Does it still hurt?" the couch asks me again.

"A little." I mumble.

   That's a lie. A massive lie. A little accident took place more than an hour ago, at practice, and now my ankle is twisted. The pain is killing me, but I'm too stubborn to say anything about it.

   "I'm telling you, she did it on purpose." Kelly whispers after the couch leaves.

   "Did you hit your head? It was an accident." I say raising my voice.

   "Trust me. This girl would do anything for a pice if Jake. You kind of stole him from under her nose, last night."

   "I didn't steal anyone. You just lost your mind. I just told them to mind their business somewhere else, or not at all, because I want to sleep. That's it." I mumble looking away from her.

   "And he listened to you like a puppy." she says and I roll my eyes.

   "Hey. How are you?"

   I turn my head around to see Jake in his equipement, because the game is about to begin.

   "Hey. A little better." I smile.

   "If you need something... anything... Let me know." he says worried and I nod and smile again.

   "See? Puppy!" Kelly whispers yelling after Jake walks away.

   "Don't you have a boyfriend to kiss or something like that?" I ask trying to avoid the subject.

   "No. I have a game to prepare for." she corrects me with a superior smile.

*

   European football is one of my favorite sports. It has very few rules and those are really simple too. Meanwhile, American football is a complete mess. I've been sitting here for almost an hour trying to figure out the rules of the game, but nothing. They only thing I understood is the team I'm supporting. And that's because I saw Jake's equipment. All these guys do is jump on each other, kick each other and run. And yet they're happy. It's a violent game and they love it. And by "they" I mean Jake. He's the only one I look at. Deep down I hope he will somehow tell me telepathically all the rules of this game. But he doesn't. And yet I don't look away.

   Eventually, his eyes meet mine and for a second there's just us. Again. No one exists. We are the only ones who matter. Just us. One second. Until some guy kicks him to the ground. I almost get up on my feet but the pain stops me.

   He'll be ok.