Ashton's POV:
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"And I was thinking maybe we could hang out tonight after the game." A blonde was trailing her finger down in what she thinks is seductive. It's repulsive and I can't help feeling as if it's because of this one girl I can't keep my mind off of.
"No." I push her hand away and continue my search through the halls for her.
Cece has ignored me since Wednesday. She doesn't talk to me or anyone on the team outside of practice and when she does, it's as little as possible. It's Friday and we have our first game and I don't know what's going on. Caroline said to give her time, but I'm afraid she's filling those cracks back up and I'll never get in.
"C'mon, it'll be fun." She purrs, but it sounds like a cat going around in a washer.
"I'm sure I will have fun, just not with you." I push past her and catch up to Cece.
"Hey!" I grab her shoulder and spin her around.
"Hey..." She trails off when she notices it's me. She gently removes my hand and steps away. "What do you need?" It wasn't want, it was need. Like I would only talk to her if I need something. That stung a little. Fuck, that stung a lot.
"I don't need anything." I slowly step closer.
"Okay, I'll be going." She steps backwards in an attempt to get as far away as possible.
"Your class is the other way." A smile plays on my lips, not quite able to settle.
"Right, of course." She goes to step back towards me, but hesitates.
"Cece?" I try to catch her attention.
"Hmm?" She looks exhausted. There are bags under her eyes that I didn't notice before, the light in her eyes are dim, and she's pale. She looks horrible and there's this guilt gnawing away in the pit of my stomach, as if it were all my fault.
"You don't have a class, it's lunch." I can't help the teasing way it comes out. Some things will never change.
"Great." She runs a hand down her face. Defeat evident in her voice.
"Will you please talk to me?" I'm begging, but I'm willing to do almost anything so I don't lose her.
She looks up and I see the conflict in her eyes. She looks away and sighs. "This is talking."
"Just give me lunch. Just give me now." I plead.
She opens her mouth and I can tell she's going to reject my offer, so I interrupt her before she can. "I'm your best friend, don't you owe me that much?" It's a pity card, but I'm not going to give up easily.
Something in her deflates and she looses her fight. She nods and we walk towards the doors. I want to grab her hand, I want to hold her, I want to be as close as we were behind that waterfall, with reality far away. The sad truth is, this is reality, and we have to talk if we're ever going to get anywhere.
I tentatively grab her hand and guide her towards the soccer field. She tenses, but finally relaxes and gently holds it back. My stomach flips and I wipe my other suddenly sweaty hand on my jeans. I don't know if it's her, our talk, or the nervousness of the outcome of the next thirty minutes that causes this and hell, knowing me, it's all of them.
I walk her to the middle of the field and flop down. She sits more gracefully than I did. "What do you want to talk about?" She drums her fingers on the ground, a sign she's nervous.
"Why are you shutting me out?" I don't try to beat around the bush. The only way to do this with her is to be straight forward.
"I'm not-" She attempts to brush it off, but I stop her.
"Don't you dare lie to me. You don't answer my calls or texts. You don't talk to me at school. You locked your doors and won't answer when I knock. I know I have a key, but I feel like I'm invading. I've never felt unwelcome before, no matter how bad we fought before. What did I do?" My voice involuntarily cracks and I look away.
"Ashton, you didn't do anything." She subconsciously pulls at blades of grass. "It's just, you started, to, uh. Shit! I don't know, okay?"
"I started getting too close, didn't I? It doesn't matter who it is, if anyone gets too close, you freak. It doesn't matter that I've been your best friend since we were five, it still scared you."
"I didn't want you to know, I didn't want you to worry and now you do know and I don't know what to do." She says it all in one breath and I almost don't catch it.
"Do you remember the first time you had one?"
She finally looks me in the eyes. "It was a couple of months after the accident. We were walking home from school and I collapsed. I couldn't breathe. It was like a huge weight was on my chest. My nerves were fried. Everything was, wrong."
"And it took me 2 hours to calm you down. Scared the shit out of your dad. Do you remember your last one?"
Her eyes dart away nervously before coming back to mine. As if to say, the new ones or the old ones? "We were at your house, in your room. I could feel it and you just hugged me." She pauses and chuckles. "I was getting ready to have a panic attack and you hugged me. I don't know why, but it made me feel safe and I've never had one since."
I laugh with her at my stupidity. Give me a break though, I was still in middle school. "It worked though. I'm assuming your dad leaving triggered them?" I slowly scoot closer.
"It's only been two." She sighs and waves her hand. "I'm sure they'll go away."
"Why don't you want my help? I can help you, if you'd just let me try."
Her head snaps up and she gives me a hard look. "I don't need your help."
Her words cut through me like a knife. I've never felt so hurt, betrayed almost, that she doesn't trust me. I've been through hell and back with her. It hasn't been easy for either of us, she's not the only one with demons. We've always had us though, and now it doesn't feel like us. I don't know what to do without her. I would live of course, but a piece of me would be gone, a good piece. I'm not going to let this happen, not without a damn good fight. She's not getting rid of me, not after all these years, she's too important.
"Of course you don't because you're strong and you can handle everything. Nothing effects you. You're invincible." The words are dripping with sarcasm, but I can't seem to stop. "Do you even know how much you just hurt me? How much those words tear me apart? To hear you say something like that to me, is one of the worst feeling in the world."
"First off, I never said that." She looks like she's going to go on so I cut off anything else she might've said.
"You didn't have to, you project it. When someone's too close, you keep your face guarded. You cut them from your life. I've seen you do so many times. I never thought I'd be on the other end. It is so painful. Not only for you, but I have to see you go through this and feeling so helpless."
"I don't want you cut from my life." She says softly.
"And I don't want to be." I hear the bell ring in the distance, signaling the end of lunch.
"I need your help Ashton." She looks up at me and the pressure in my chest releases. She's back.
Cecelia's POV:
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I strap my helmet on and wipe my sweaty palms on my pants. The first game of the season is getting ready to start and I'm nervous as hell. After the talk with Ashton though, I'm feeling a lot better. I'm ready to win.
"Alright, Cece, Ashton, Emmet. Coin toss."
We all walk out to the field and meet the opposing team and referee. The captains of the other team don't react to me and that's when I realize I have my helmet on. They don't know I'm a girl. I decide to use that to our advantage and Ashton understands.
"The Pelicans will call the coin in the air, since they're the visiting team. Any questions?" He looks at us and proceeds to flip the coin.
A cocky guy in the middle across from me calls heads. When the referee takes his hand off my heart beats a little faster. It's heads.
"We'll kick." He smirks at us and I see the referee silently laughing at him.
"Cocky, aren't we?" Emmet smiles evilly.
"I have good enough reason." His teammates snicker.
I'm about to go off when the referee stops us. "Shake hands."
I grudgingly stick my hand out, but he just laughs. "That's your quarterback? His hands can't even fit around a ball."
Before one of us strangle them, the referee blows his whistle and we return to our respective sides. "Wesley and Emmet, remember you don't have to make a touchdown, just get as many yards as you can." Coach pushes them to the field and we watch everyone else take their place.
Wesley and Emmet are also kick returners since we are short players. The Pelicans kicker kicks off and Wesley catches it. He thankfully makes it past some of the other teams players but gets stopped 35 yards from their end zone.
We make our call and I head out into position. "Red 52, Red 52, hike!"
Nate snaps the ball to me and I drop back a couple steps. I search for an open wide receiver and pass it to Wesley. I loose him in the rush, but I hear, "Second and one!" called out and I can't help but feel this is a great start.
*****
We have 30 seconds to go, four and nine. The score is 24-27, them leading. We are nine yards from the end zone. This is score or nothing. I get in position and wipe my hands. Ashton shoots me a reassuring smile and I relax a bit.
"Brown 69, Brown 69, hike!"
Nate snaps it to me and I fake a pass and hand it to Emmet. This is the one we accidentally did during practice, hence the name. Our team pretends to create a hole and all the opposing team moves in to block it.
Emmet breaks away and runs for his life down the field. Someone clips his side, but he doesn't go down. He's almost in the end zone when they pile him and everyone rushes over. The referee gets everyone off him. He's curled in the fetal position, ball tucked in, over the line. Touchdown Panthers.
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Authors Note:
A little heads up so your not confused later in the book, the Masquerade Ball and talent show is switched to be on Halloween. Since I'm not stretching the book to Christmas. That's all, please vote, comment.
Love you lovelies!