A week flew by. Malcolm and I remained close as ever, and Andre was begrudgingly warming up to me, although he wouldn't admit it. Of course, Elias and I still couldn't stand each other—that was never going to change. Although, it had become a regular occurrence for me to spend lunch with the trio, as, in Malcolm's words, I was too awesome to spend lunch hiding away in a smelly washroom. Whatever that meant.
And so, on Monday the following week, I was at my locker when a pair of hands suddenly covered my eyes.
"Guess who?"
"Gee, I don't know... Heather?"
Malcolm dropped his hands and looked at me, half-shocked half-angry. "Hey! My voice is not that high pitched."
"She was joking, dummy," Andre snickered from next to him.
I giggled, though my smile dropped once I glanced up from my locker. "Is that...?"
Malcolm and Andre both turned around. The three of us stood in a straight line with our mouths agape.
"What—"
"The—"
"Fudge," Malcolm finished.
We both gave him a look.
"What? There's children here?" He gestured at me.
"I'm older than you."
"Tomato tomato," he waved me off. "Can we focus on the matter at hand? What the duck is Elias doing in a football jersey?"
He asked the very question that everyone was wondering. And by everyone, I meant the multiple people in the hallway that were gawking at Elias. He strolled down the hallway with a blank, uninterested look, hardly noticing the attention he was receiving. The football jersey he wore accentuated his broad shoulders, and his dark hair was effortlessly disheveled in the just-rolled-out-of-bed way.
I wiped at my mouth to make sure I hadn't accidentally drooled. It seemed I wasn't the only one affected by his appearance. Whispers of admiration, desire, and even jealousy erupted throughout the hallway.
Elias arrived to a stop in front of the three of us. We immediately attacked.
"Why are you wearing a football jersey?"
"Since when are you on the team?"
"Why didn't you tell us you were trying out?"
"Fucking relax," he ordered the three of us. We each fell silent, waiting for him to divulge.
Elias gave a glance back at the rest of the football team, who I didn't even notice had been standing behind him. He lazily dismissed them with a wave of his fingers, and they went scat.
"I tried out for the quarterback position last week, and not only did coach put me on the team, he also decided to make me captain. He hadn't seen talent like mine in years." At my disbelieving look, Elias gave me a smug wink. "His words, not mine."
"Wow, congrats, man," Andre patted his shoulder, looking fairly impressed, which was rare.
"Wait, if you're the captain," Malcolm began, "then that means—"
"Anthony Miller isn't captain of the football team anymore," I quietly finished in shock.
"Not just that. He's actually off the team," Elias casually said, as if he hadn't just given me the best news I'd heard in years.
"What?" I squeaked.
"Well, as captain, I have to approve everyone who makes the team, and I simply don't think Miller brings enough to the table."
"I-I don't get it," I stuttered.
"Me make football team. Me kick Miller off football team," Elias slowly enunciated.
"Piss off, I'm not two years old," I gave him a dirty look.
"You sure?"
I ignored his comment. My ears had to be deceiving me. Anthony Miller, the very same jock who'd been tormenting me for the last four years, had just gotten kicked off the football team? And by Elias, no less? If I didn't hate Elias so much, I would probably kiss him!
"Not only did you get the most important position on the football team, but you also dethroned Anthony Miller," I said in awe.
"Yes, idiot, that's what I just said," Elias rolled his dark eyes at me. "Anyways, I gotta go."
"Wait, I... I..."
"Any day now, Daisy," he grunted.
"Just... congratulations, asshole."
His pink lips twitched into a smirk, but it was gone before I could even blink. "Yeah, whatever."
And with that, he strolled away. Malcolm and Andre shared a knowing look, but before I could question it, Malcolm began to wheel me in the direction of our first period English class.
*****
The first football game of the season came sooner than I expected. Elias wasn't as good as everyone had expected—he was ten times better.
I was in awe at his effortless agility, his precise throws, his sharp eyes, and his dominating voice as he barked orders to his teammates. I had full faith that he was going to lead our team to victory. So did the rest of the school apparently, because lively cheers and excited remarks wandered around the field.
"Oh, I can't watch," I anxiously murmured once the other team got ahold of the ball.
However, a beautiful interception by Elias had the crowd roaring. I jumped to my feet as he ran with the football, weaving in between the players. And—
"Touchdown!" I screamed, despite hardly knowing the rules of the game.
The ref blew the whistle and the crowd went wild.
"We won!" Malcolm cheered.
"Atta boy!" Andre howled, looking proud.
We'd absolutely annihilated the opposing team. It was the first time I'd actually witnessed our school win a game—not that a nerd like me ever went to the football games anyways. I'd always been too afraid to risk running into Anthony Miller, or another one of the jocks. Besides, it wasn't like I had any friends to sit with, or a person to cheer for. However, this was no longer the case.
I ran down the bleachers to meet Elias on the field, Malcolm and Andre following after me. Though, they'd gotten lost in the sea of students all exiting the bleachers.
As I headed towards Elias on the football field, his dark eyes immediately met mine. He ripped off his helmet, revealing his tousled, wet hair. His chest heaved up and down as his tall figure looked down at me. How could he possibly look so composed after a gruelling football match?
"Did I impress you?" Elias smirked.
It was quite hard to contain my excitement. "Eh, you were decent."
"Decent?" He furrowed his eyebrows. "I was expecting much worse. You going soft on me, Daisy?"
"I was just trying to spare your feelings, but if you really want to know, you were horrible."
"Just horrible?"
"Terrible, even."
"Come on, I know you can do better than that."
"You were awful—outrageous—a disgrace to the sport itself. I especially hated the part where you scored three touchdowns in a row."
His lips upturned. It was the first time I'd ever seen him actually smile—not give me one of those stupid, arrogant little smirks.
Suddenly, Elias was hoisted into the air by Malcolm and Andre.
"Party at Andre's house!" Malcolm hollered.
"What? Absolutely not!" Andre yelled in alarm, though his voice was drowned out by the loud cheers.
I laughed and began to follow the sea of students being led by Malcolm to Andre's house.
*****
QOTD: does your school have a football team?
AOTD: unfortunately not :(
^although we do have a horrible soccer team that loses every game!
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please leave a vote or a comment as a mini Christmas present for me! Anyways, enjoy the holidays you all deserve it!
Until next time, Emmanuela<3
12/25/22