It has been a week since I’ve talked to Anakin. I’ve had to get a ride from Makayla and Luka all week because Anakin has left at least half an hour early every day to avoid me. Our eyes have met a couple times in class, the hallways and through our bedroom windows but he always breaks it immediately by looking away.
"Mary!" I hear screamed in my ear, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"What?" I say to Makayla with wide eyes. I look at all my friends at the lunch table who are looking at me with worried looks.
"You okay?" Jace asks.
"Ya, why wouldn't I be?" I say back.
"Because you were spacing out. Again. We called your name like ten times." Makayla states.
"You’ve been kind of out of it this week. Is everything okay with you?" Cara asks worried.
"You can tell us anything" Lila says.
"It's nothing. Really" I say, trying to get them off my back.
"Okay" Jace says, trying to get everybody to stop pushing me. I give him a thankful look and turn to Makayla.
"What did you want to say to me?" I ask.
"Oh right. I was wondering if you were gonna come with us to the homecoming game Saturday" she says.
"Homecoming game?" I question, confused.
"Ya. The football game. It is homecoming and the football team is playing their rivals. It's the biggest game of the season" she says in an exasperated tone.
"Really? It's this Saturday? Like three days from now Saturday?"
Makayla shares a look with the rest of the table and says, "Are you sure you are okay? This game has been the talk of the school all week."
"I guess I haven't been paying attention" I say, trying to shrug it off.
"Okay..." Makayla says hesitantly.
"So are you gonna come? We’re all going together" Jace says.
"Ya sure. It sounds like fun" I say as I get up from the table. "I'm gonna head off to class. Bye guys" I say as I pick up my stuff and walk away from the table. As I walk through the lunch room, I glance at the jocks’ table. As soon as I look over I catch Anakin's eye. We hold eye contact for a couple seconds before some cheerleader comes up to him and starts practically rubbing herself against his arm. Once he looks away I shake my head and walk out of the cafeteria.
"Hey" I say as I climb into the back of Makayla and Luka's car. "Hi" they chime in unison. The car ride is silent on the way to school, with the soft hum of music coming out of the radio. Once we park at the school, Luka hops out of the car and walks to his friends after giving a quick wave at Makayla and me..
We watch Luka saunter over to his group of jock friends and Makayla says, "I wonder who they are gonna give their jerseys to."
"What do you mean?" I ask, confused as to what she is talking about.
"Oh right, you don't know the tradition."
"Nope" I say, waiting for an explanation.
"Well every year for homecoming the football team gets special jerseys for the game. It has become tradition that all of the guys give their home jerseys to a girl to wear to school Friday before the game and to the game Saturday," she explains to me.
"So they just pick a girl and hand over their jersey?" I ask.
"Sort of. It's actually a big deal. Guys either give it to a close friend, a crush, girl friend or fling. You have to give it to somebody though. The players that don't want to give it to a girl at our school end up giving it to their mom or something. I have worn Luka's for the past two years" she says as we get to my locker. I open the locker to grab my books, poke my head around the door and say,
"That's cute" thinking that it's sweet that Luka gives his jersey to his twin.
"The jersey has to be given out today. Some guys chose to do it in school and others do it after so that it is a surprise when the girl comes into school wearing the jersey. It's pretty fun to see who gives it to who" she says with a laugh, obviously remembering times from previous years.
"Does it cause drama?" I ask.
"There is always one cat fight every year. One guy is hooking up with a girl and gives the jersey to another and the girls end up in a fight. It can be hilarious" she says with a laugh.
"Last year a girl dumped her lunch on her best friend when she saw her wearing her ex-boyfriend's jersey" some dude says that is standing at his locker next to mine.
"OMG, I remember that. It was so funny!" Makayla says as she laughs hysterically. I chuckle, picturing a girl dumping her food on her friend.
"Come on, lets get to class" I say as I pull Makayla away from the guy who is discussing other funny fights that have come from the jersey drama.
"See you guys tomorrow" I say as I get out of the car and walk up to my house. I enter my empty house and go upstairs to my room to do my homework. As I enter my bedroom I see something red on the end of my bed. I place my backpack next to my desk and walk over to the bed to see what it is.
As I get closer I see that it is a red shirt, picking it up I realize that it isn't just a red shirt, but a red jersey. Anakin's jersey.
My eyes go wide and I snap my head to look out my window. Mine and Anakin's eyes instantly meet. After a couple of drawn out seconds I break eye contact and look down at the jersey in my hands. I pick my head up again and look at Anakin. His eyes hold a hopeful look in them as he grabs his bag and walks out of his bedroom. I throw the jersey on the end of my bed and launch myself face first onto my bed.
I lie there stunned, not sure what to think of this. Why did he give this to me? I thought he hated me. He hasn't talked to me in over a week, and all he ever did when he did talk to me is make my life a living hell. Is this some sort of prank? Not knowing what to do, I flip over, grab my phone and dial Makayla.
"Hey girl, whats up?" Makayla says when she answers the phone after a couple rings.
"Anakin gave me his jersey" I blurt out.
"What?!" She screeches.
"Anakin. He gave me his jersey" I say again.
"Holy shit" she says in a stunned voice.
"I know" I say, equally stunned by it all.
"Are you gonna wear it?" she asks me.
"I'm not sure..." I say hesitantly.
"You should! That is practically a declaration of love!" She says, getting excited.
"I don't know Makayla. How do I know this isn't some sort of joke. I thought he hated me."
"He wouldn't do that. And he doesn't hate you. Trust me" she says.
"I'm still not so sure."
"Wear it! We can be matching!" She demands.
"Luka gave his jersey to you again?" I ask.
"No actually, Mason gave it to me" she says all giddy.
"Mason?" I ask, confused.
"Mason. My English project partner. The guy I have been crushing on for like ever!" She says in a duh tone like I should have known all this information.
"Oh my gosh! Really? That's so amazing! Congrats Makayla!" I say, super excited for my best friend.
"I know! And he asked me to go to a party with him Saturday night" she says enthusiastically.
"I'm so happy for you" I say genuinely happy that her love life is working out.
"You are wearing Anakin's jersey tomorrow and we are gonna look hot as hell in them" Makayla demands.
"Okay, okay. I'll wear it" I agree.
"Yay!" She squeals, "This is gonna be so fun!"
"Sure" I say, still hesitant to wear it. "I gotta go do homework. I'll see you tomorrow" I say.
"'Kay. Byeee" she says. We both hand up and I flop down on my bed again with a huge sigh, wondering what is to come.
"N- nice jersey" Luka stutters out with wide eyes when I hop into the car friday morning.
"Thanks" I say with a smile while sharing a look with Makayla.
"We look hot in our jerseys! Let's rock this bitch" Makayla yells out as she cranks the music up and drives off to school.
Once we get to school and out of the car, Luka gives us a scrutinizing look and says, "try not to get into any cat fights". His gaze lingers on me and Anakin's jersey before he gives me an odd smile and walks towards his teammates.
"That was weird" Makayla says to me as we start walking towards the school doors. Looking around the yard I can already see the people looking at Makayla and I. Most of whom gasp once they realize whose jersey it is I am wearing. And then there are the cheerleaders who are all in a group by the door whispering and sending me dirty looks. I keep my head down and walk past them, not quick enough to miss one muttering "bitch" at me.
"Don't let them get to you" Makayla says into my ear. I decide to take her advice and lift my head up, link arms with her and walk down the hallway to our lockers. Makayla un-links our arms and says that she is going to her locker and will be right back. With a quick bye I walk up to my locker to grab the books I need.
As I am about to put my history textbook into my locker, the door is slammed closed. I jump and spin around to see a bunch of the cheerleaders surrounding me looking at me like they would like to kill me.
"So what, did you steal his jersey or something?" One of them says.
"Or are you just his whore?" Another says with a sneer.
"Enough!" The one in the middle says. Amy, the head cheerleader and the biggest bitch at our school. She thinks she runs the place because everybody moves out of the way of her in the halls and is scared of her. Makayla said that it's because people think she has a disease down there from sleeping with so many guys, which made me laugh and not be intimidated by her. But now, having her give me a death stare, I am not so sure I love being on the receiving end of the look.
"Mary right?" she says in a demeaning voice.
"Ya" I squeak out, pressing my back against the lockers to get as much distance between us as I can.
"You are wearing Anakin's jersey. Why?" she spits.
"He gave it to me" I whisper.
"He gave it to you? Why would he give it to a girl like you? A know it all loser like you, who is so ugly she needs a bag over her head, shouldn't be wearing Anakin Scott's jersey. Right girls?" she says with a menacing sneer.
"Well he did give it to me. We were best friends as kids and our parents are best friends. He lives next door so we see each other a lot" I say, trying to justify it.
"Live next to him? So what, you snuck into his bedroom and stole it?" The one who called me a whore says.
"Leave her the hell alone Amy!" Makayla yells while pushing through the crowd that formed.
"Stay out of it" Amy snaps at her.
"No. Just leave and accept that Anakin wants nothing to do with your slutty ass and leave my friend out of your petty little life!" Makayla yells back. With that she grabs my arm and pushes through the crowd. She doesn't stop dragging me through the halls until we get to our science class and sit at our lab table.
"Are you alright?" She asks with a worried look.
"I guess, I knew something was gonna happen if I wore this" I say and look down at my fingers that are fiddling with the edge of the desk.
"Don't listen to them. Anakin likes you and no matter what that jealous bitch says just know that your are amazing and beautiful and not a loser in any way. And if you think you are a loser then you are saying I'm a loser too because I'm your best friend!"
I laugh at Makayla's rant and say, "thanks".
"For what?" she says, cocking her head to the side with a confused frown on her face.
"For defending me, and making me feel better."
"You don't need to thank me for that, it's what best friends do" she says with a smile that says 'I would do it a million times more'.
"Awwww" I say with a huge smile and squeeze my best friend in a tight hug.
"Ready to go to lunch?" Makayla asks as I walk out of class and into the mass of students heading for the cafeteria.
"I'm actually just gonna go to the bathroom. I'll meet you in there" I say back.
"Sure, see ya in a bit" she says before skipping off to lunch. I drop my bag with the rest of the backpacks in the hall and continue to the bathroom. As soon as I step out of the stall I come face to face with all the girls from the morning.
"The bitch is still wearing the jersey" Amy laughs in a menacing way.
"She must be stupider than we thought" one of the girls says. I can keep my laugh at bay and let out a chuckle at her ironic choice of words. Amy sneers at me and says, "What's so funny?"
"Your idiot friend" I spit back, deciding to try and stand up for myself.
"Leave, all of you" Amy commands. The girls all jump and scramble out of the bathroom door as fast as they can. Once they are all gone Amy walks up to me and gets in my face.
With a glare she says, "Anakin is mine. Stay away from him or I WILL destroy you. Got it?" She then turns around and walks out the door, not expecting a response to her question.
I sigh and rip the jersey off of me, wanting all the drama to stop. I march out of the bathroom while adjusting the plain white fitted t-shirt I had worn under the jersey. I walk up to my locker, open it, shove the jersey inside and slam the locker closed. I sag against the locker and let out a sigh before pushing off the wall of lockers and starting to walk to the cafeteria.
When I am about halfway down the hall from the cafeteria, I look up and meet eyes with Anakin. He looks down at my shirt and back up at my eyes. A look of hurt flashes in his eyes before it switches to anger. I realize that he never did see me wearing his jersey. With one last angry look he storms down the hall, dodging people who are starting to walk to their next class.
"Anakin! Wait!" I yell as I run after him, trying to catch up so I can explain why I'm not wearing it. I weave through the people, apologizing when I knock into somebody's shoulder. I round the corner after him and bump into a large body. I stumble back, and once I regain my footing I realize that Anakin is nowhere in sight. With a frustrated sigh I run my fingers through my hair and walk back towards the cafeteria in defeat.
I plop down at my desk after school, put my elbow on the desk and rest my cheek on my hand with a sigh. Why does Anakin have to be so complicated? Frustrated, I yank my homework out of my backpack and start working, picking my head up every so often to look through the window to see if Anakin is back.
Just as I finish my math homework I look up at the window and see a flash of movement in Anakin's room. I jump out of my desk chair and rush over to the window. I push my window open and am halfway through Anakin's window before I look up and see that it isn't just him in the room.
He is lying on his bed, shirtless with one of the cheerleaders on top of him while they make out. I go to climb back through my window, but hit my foot on the windowsill, making Anakin snap his eyes open to see me.
He starts to get up so I scramble back into my room and shut the window just as Anakin reaches out to stop me. I lock the window and close the shades, blocking out Anakin's face but not stopping the banging and yelling from coming through the window. After a minute of banging and yelling for me to open the window, he finally gives up. I sag my back against the wall next to the window and slide down the wall in a mess of limbs.
Not knowing why I am feeling a pain in my chest, I bury my head in my hands and let out of strangled sob.