Cliché: A Chaelisa Football AU

Chapter Seven: Maybe a Date, Maybe Not

"Okay, boys!" Coach yelled as I caught the ball Brent had thrown at me. "Let's huddle up!"

I ran over to Coach, who seemed a bit on edge today. My teammates came along too, sweating and panting due to the hours we spent practicing today.

"Listen," he began. "Last game in Seattle, that was pretty damn good. But don't let that cloud your vision. Cocky players never make it in football. New England is undefeated too and they can kick our asses as simple as you can flip a coin. But we're not going to let that happen. Got it?"

"Yes, Coach!" we shouted in unison.

"Good." He nodded. "That's it for practice today. Hit the showers. You all stink."

I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade from the cooler and chugged it down, letting the electrolytes course through me. I knew damn well that it would be a rough game next week. We were playing New England, for Christ's sake! They're one of the best teams in the league!

But no matter. If we could defeat Jacksonville and Seattle, there was nothing saying we couldn't beat New England too.

I was about to grab another bottle, but a hand slid it just beyond my reach. I looked up to see Derek glaring at me, a smirk on his face. That couldn't be good.

"Barbie," he sneered.

"Fuck you too, Derek." I quickly swiped the bottle away from him.

"Hey, I'm not done yet!" he yelled as I was walking away.

"Don't care." I shrugged. "Unless you have something valuable to say, which I highly doubt."

"Guess I should cut to the chase, huh?"

He walked in front of me, grabbing my wrist hard. I tried to get free of his grasp, but his grip strength was far too strong. I winced as he gripped my wrist even harder, smirking all the while.

"What's the matter, Barbie?" he taunted. "Can't stand your guard? There's no way that's gonna hold up against New England."

"Let me go," I snarled.

"Not until you forfeit."

"Excuse me?"

"Forfeit from the game," he repeated. "It's no place for a girl."

"Why do you care?" I spat.

"Because I don't want my spot taken away from me!" he shouted.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? You're a quarterback and I'm a running back."

"I'm a backup quarterback," Derek explained. "My normal position is running back, but now that our normal quarterback is returning, I want my position to still be solid."

"So you want me to just sit out?" I scoffed. "Not gonna happen."

He fumed and pushed me to the ground. Hard. My back slammed against the grass, causing me to wince even more. I gained the strength to sit up, but not easily. He loomed over me, his face menacing.

"I'm not letting a slut take my place in this fucking game!" he yelled.

"Hey!"

My eyes widened as I heard a familiar voice from across the field. I turned to see Rosé storming over to Derek and me, seemingly furious. She planted her foot down angrily in front of Derek, her eyes like laser beams.

"Don't you dare talk to her that way!" she growled.

He laughed patronizingly. "And what are you gonna do about it, huh? Wave some pom-poms at me?"