Sugar and Spice / l.h ✔️

11

~Maeve's POV~

I ran a hand through my hair, sitting on the bleachers that were out on the football field, sweating my butt off. It was hot today and I knew that Jase and the rest of the football team must've been sweating even more than I was, because they were all dressed in their uniforms while they practiced. I didn't have practice for cheerleading again today, so I was just dressed normally in a yellow dress with white leaves on it and a pair of white sneakers on my feet.

Sighing, I brushed a hair out of my face and leaned back more, my legs crossed as I rested my elbows on the metal of the empty bleachers behind me and stared up at the sky. I wasn't sure how they could all stand to practice outside in the heat everyday, but I was becoming more thankful by the second that I only had practice in the gym. We weren't required to do anything outside until a little while before the playoffs every year, so that we could get our practice in on an actual field. Last year we hadn't had any newcomers on the team so I'd tried to insist that we didn't need to do that, which coach Frayser had dismissed, but I knew this year it'd be necessary.

"Aw, you're here to watch me practice, Maeve-y?" An annoyingly familiar voice teased, making my eyes snap open. Not to my surprise, I found Nicolai was stood there, smirking down at me.

What I wasn't expecting was for his crotch to be completely eye level with my face.

Grossed out, I jerked away from him and scrunched up my nose, scooting farther down the bench bleachers. "No. I'm here because I literally can't leave without Jase or he'll tell on me and I'll get in trouble." I huffed, leaning away when he straddled the bench bleachers and leaned far too close to me. "So?" He hummed, cocking up a brow. "You don't have to be out here to wait for him. You're allowed to wait in the gym, which is air conditioned, and you know it."

He leaned forward and placed a hand on my bare thigh, nearly making me flinch, but I refrained. His touch disgusted me now, so much that the coolness of his hands made me only feel worse, even under the hot sun. "I think you still love me. You really expect me to believe you're waiting out here for Jase when you never have before? Please, don't bullshit yourself." He scoffed and gripped my thigh tighter, his fingertips digging into my skin. "Everyone knows you're here for me. What, you finally come to your senses?" He chuckled, forcefully tugging me towards him by his grip on my thigh. "Or maybe you're just here because you like the attention you get, because you know all the guys on that field want you."

I pursued my lips and stared back at him. "So what?" I asked, raising a brow. He stepped all over me all the time, and although I was nice, I couldn't just let him do that to me anymore. There's a difference between being nice and being a doormat.

"Them being attracted to me isn't my problem. I know they are, but I don't care and you can say otherwise but you know it's true." I chuckled, peering up at him with amusement. "And you really think I love you still? You think I'm here for you? If that was the case, I'd have been actually looking at you. The only thing I've come to my senses about is how much better than you I deserve."

My words set him off in a split second. Nicolai yanked me right into him and I yelped in surprise, trying to push away so I wasn't close to him. He grabbed my thighs and I gazed up at him with wide eyes, my heart racing in my chest. "Let me go." I demanded a little weakly, trying to pry his grip off me, to no avail. "I'm sick of your shit, Maeve." He hissed, his eyes sparked with anger. I cowered away, feeling my eyes prick with tears. "I-I..." My confidence was dying out quickly and I fumbled to keep it within my reach, but I couldn't. "Shut up." He snapped, making me look down at my thighs as I tried not to cry.

"I'm sorry." I whimpered, scared by now. He leaned down to me and I instinctively flinched when he grabbed my wrist, my hands shaking. "I might have dumped your ass, but don't be mistaken, baby. You're still mine." He growled into my ear, making my heart ache. "Please let me go." I whispered nervously, staring down at my thighs as a tear slipped out and fell onto the bleachers.

Nicolai wouldn't hit me, I knew that, but there was still this part of me that was almost waiting for it. Even when he and I had still been dating, he had always been this way. In the beginning it had been subtle, so subtle that I hadn't even really suspected that he had a problem. But after a month or so of us being together, he'd get angrier about every little thing—the way I wore my hair, my clothes, my perfume, even the way I ate food. And eventually it got to the point where he'd get unspeakably mad at me almost every time we were alone together. I was scared of him.

It wasn't until after he had dumped me that I realized that type of behavior wasn't healthy, and it certainly wasn't normal in a relationship. It was abusive, but I hadn't known better. I thought it was normal and that it wasn't a big deal.

Nicolai went to snap at me, I could tell by the look on his face, but suddenly there was a large shadow cast over the two of us that made the both of us look up. I was relieved while he looked irritated, but was covering it up with that charming smile he gave the people who didn't know any better—people that I had once been apart of.

"I'm pretty sure she asked you to let her go." Luke said, staring down at Nicolai with a raised brow, and then down at the tight grip he still had on my wrist and my thigh.

In a flash, Nicolai had let me go, not wanting to tarnish his reputation. "It's all good. We were just talking." He chuckled, looking over at me with a smile on his lips. "Right, Ave?" He added, and I knew it wasn't actually a question. That was a way of saying you'd better back me up here or you'll regret it.

So I glanced up at Luke, who was studying me already, and forced a small smile onto my lips. "Yeah. All good over here." I fibbed, making him narrow his eyes at me a little. He didn't buy it, not even for a second, but I prayed he didn't make it known to Nicolai. And like he knew what I was praying for, he glanced at Nicolai and sent him a smile. "Cool." He said carelessly, just smooth enough to make it believable. "Oh, Coach Frayser said he wanted to talk to you, by the way." He added to Nicolai casually, making him stand up. After sending a glance to me, Nicolai left, thankfully.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked me, making me peer up at him as I pulled my dress down my thighs more. "I'm okay." I assured, rubbing my red wrist. He sat down beside me and frowned. "Why'd you date that guy? He seems like more and more of a jackass the more I'm around him." He scoffed, making my face burn in embarrassment. I wished I had never dated Nicolai, too. "Well, I didn't know he was like that until after we were together." I said softly, earning a heavy sigh from him.

"Damn, Maeve." He grumbled, shaking his head. "Your wrist is really red. Sure you're okay?" He wondered, reaching over to gently brush his fingers against the spot. It surprised me when he grasped below where Nicolai had, his touch warm and gentle on my skin. "Y-Yeah. It's not a big deal, honestly. Just a bit red." I assured, unsure why I liked his touch so much. It felt...comforting.

"Thanks for helping me." I added softly. Luke released my arm and glanced up at me, a frown on his pink lips. They looked soft, I couldn't help but to notice. I saw him glance down at my lips as well and I felt my heart race, this time not out of fear but excitement. He looked at me for a while, completely quiet, and then he cleared his throat as he looked away. I thought he was blushing for a second, but then I blamed it quickly on the fact that it was hot outside and he'd just been out practicing on the field. It was natural that his face would be a little pink after that. Biting my lip, I looked at the side of his face. "Are you okay?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Yeah," He chuckled, looking at me with a little smile. "Just thinking that I see now why you're so popular with all the guys."