i wrote this at 4am, let's hope it makes sense.
carmen
November flew by and before I knew it, it was the beginning of December and one week until my birthday.
The weather was worsening, but on the bright side, I was finally going to be nineteen. There wasn't anything special to nineteen, same with all the other ages. It was just a reminder that I was closer to full adulthood which scared the heck out of me. I enjoyed being a carefree teenager.
But alas, everyone had to grow up eventually and this was only the beginning of it.
Today was Maikel, and Damian's, first big football match. They played a few other small ones, but this was the start of the playoffs, and if their team won; they were one step closer to the State championship.
Kai's been stressing about this match for a month, and if they lose he'll be gutted. Not that they will, however, their team was one of the best and part of the reason why Cleveland College was infamous.
"Damian's coming over in a bit, sis. We're leaving together." Maikel mumbled, his voice more tired than usual.
God, it's like that man lived here or something.
Not that I was complaining, he was a pretty sight my eyes wouldn't mind seeing. I haven't seen Damian that much, due to the fact that our assignment was now over. We received 91% which made my entire year. I put blood, sweat and tears into that project and was over the moon when I got my score.
"He should move in at this point." I joked.
Kai's eyebrows raised up, an idea entering his head. "Now that you think of it..."
"I was joking!" I burst. I couldn't ever imagine Damian moving in. Sure, our relationship has improved and he wasn't an eyesore to look at, but my schoolgirl crush wouldn't be able to handle his presence 24/7.
I would most likely be a blushing mess every second of the day and Maikel would be a fool if he doesn't recognize whatever's going on between me and him.
To Damian, I was probably just another girl that was fawning over him. He no doubt enjoyed toying with my feelings, but to me, it was different. Yes, I've only liked about three guys in my eighteen years of living, but I didn't need to be a crush expert to know what I felt for Damian was different.
Whenever he was near, it seemed like my breath was stolen away. Like time slowed and he was the only person in the room that mattered. Anyone from an outsider's perspective would be yanking their hair out of their scalp from confusion.
That man radiated everything the opposite from me. Pink painted and chipped nails. Floral and dull clothes. Soft and rough hands.
I guess the 'opposites attract' myth really was true, well, from my side anyway.
Maikel shook my shoulders roughly. "Carmen, you really need to fix your fucking daydreaming problem. It's like you're on cloud nine all the fucking time. What are you even thinking about in your head?"
Your best friend. I was tempted to say, but I held back my tongue.
"Oh..just you know. Exams. The usual." I drawled.
"I thought we dropped this shit back in high school. Your whole life doesn't revolve around exams and studying. Mama and Papa are happy with you either way."
But they're not. They were happy with Maikel, the picturesque son. Straight A's without even trying, co-captain of an excelling football team, sports scholarship and an outgoing personality. It was like I had to do everything and more just to even compare to my brother, and still, it wasn't enough for my parents.
No one needed to know that, however.
"I guess you're right. Hopefully this football match can distract me from everything going on." Sighing, I rested my face in my hands and slumped against the island stool.
The doorbell rang and instantly, my back straightened. Nila was meeting me at the apartment after I got ready, so that only meant it was one person.
"D, you're here!" Kai's voice boomed and I watched as he pulled Damian in their bro hug. The whole time, Damian's eyes were on mine. The small baby hairs on my neck raised as we kept eye contact until they pulled away.
"Speaking of, why are you in fucking shorts. It's December, you freak." Kai casted a look of displeasure as his eyes, along with mine, roamed over Damian's outfit.
Clad in only black NIke shorts and a matching gray Nike hoodie, the few tattoos on Damian's calves and thighs stuck out, bringing even more attention to his muscular build.
"I just did a pre workout so I'm hot right now. And I don't know why you're talking- you're shirtless. As always." Damian mumbled, walking to the kitchen and dumping his bag. Immediately, he moved to work on his protein shake, but I don't miss the subtle looks his eyes casted at me.
Now that I think of it, my brother had a problem with not wearing a shirt. He finally turned the heating on, and though I was wearing a sweatshirt and some cotton shorts most days-Kai needed to learn how to put some clothes on.
"Carmen, you're wearing red. School colors. I can't have my own baby sister not supporting me, can I?" Kai came round and messed up the hairs on my head with his hand placing a kiss on my cheek.
"Firstly. I'm not your baby sister. It's a two year age gap, Kai. Secondly, I-" I stopped myself when I realized I didn't have anything planned for my second point. Shutting my mouth embarrassed, my cheeks only burned brighter when my brother laughed at my loss for speech.
I got up slowly, tucking the chair into the island and started backing away to my bedroom. "I'm just gonna..go." Damian's eyes trailed down to my bare legs for a few seconds and I smiled inside at the subtle smirk situating on his lips, before they returned to their natural, unbothered state.
Only once I retreated into my bedroom and let my hair down from its bun, did I release the breath I was holding in ever since Damian walked into the room.
—————
It didn't take me long for me to get ready. I decided to leave my hair in the unruly, wavy mess that it was since my hair didn't react well in the cold when I applied heat.
The sweatshirt that I went for was the school's merch with the crest on the front and 'Cleveland' above it. Paired with some black flared leggings, I'd say this outfit was match-appropriate. My makeup was light, a bit of concealer and some mascara with lipgloss to finish everything off.
Spraying my perfume, the loud talking coming from outside my bedroom was all I needed to know that Nila arrived. Her and Kai were probably at it again.
"Why the fuck are you wearing shorts?" Maikel's voice became louder as I walked into the lounge area.
Damian looked over to me, a tired expression plastered on his face as he mouthed 'Help me'. In return, my beaming smile returned to my face which seemed to brighten his mood.
"Oh my God, not this again. Cammy, tell him why I'm wearing shorts in winter." Nila rushed over to my side, slinging an arm over my shoulder.
"Please don't make me say it." I pleaded, but once I saw she wasn't backing down, I gave in. "Hoes don't get cold." My hands formed into bunny fingers as I mocked her words.
Kai snorted, and muttered something along the lines of 'sounds about right'.
"Exactly, babe. One day, I'm going to convert you to my ways." Nila squeezed my nose slightly and twirled in her outfit. "You like?"
I took in her outfit choice, black low waisted denim shorts along with a white football 'Cleveland Cougars' sweatshirt. I nodded my head in approval. "I love."
"How'd you even get that sweatshirt anyway? Only football team members can get it." Kai asked, packing his bag.
NIla smirked, winking in my direction. "I have my connections."
Maikel groaned, not wanting to listen about Nila's latest new 'boy toy' as she called them. "Whatever, I don't have time for this shit. Let's go."
——————
The stadium was packed, to say the least. Chants boomed throughout the stadium along with the marching band's backup music. Luckily, because we knew at least one football player on the team, me and Nila got seats at the front so we could see everything clearer.
The opposite team's colors were blue and white, contrasting with our red and gold. The two cheer teams were on the pitch right now, performing their routines while the football players warmed up. I found Damian as soon as he walked onto the pitch and my eyes haven't left him since.
The cheer teams soon disembarked from the pitch and made their way to their side of the stadium, and our team just happened to stand right next to myself and Nila.
A couple of minutes passed, before the horn blew and the game began. I'll be honest, I had no clue what the heck was going on.
Sure, I've been to quite a few of Kai's football games before, but I've never quite grasped my head around the sport. So, when the game ends; I smile and tell him I did great-even if they lost.
Roars erupted throughout the stadium as the ball was thrown into the air. Kai was the center and I'm pretty sure Damian was the quarterback so that meant they were together. I watched as Maikel threw the ball backward and Damian caught it, his run beginning.
Everyone from our school chanted 'Cougars' as Damian sprinted effortlessly through the pitch, no other player being able to keep up with his incredibly fast pace. He seemed different on the field, more concentrated, more in his zone.
I liked it.
"Come on, Damian." I muttered under my breath but apparently that wasn't quiet enough when Nila raised a questioning brow at me.
She definitely knows.
Damian neared closer to the end zone and my hopes shot up, as did everyone else's. The cheers got louder and I swear I even heard a few people scream his name.
After a nerve-wracking run, I burst into jumps when Damian threw the ball on the qualifying line and the commentators screamed "TOUCHDOWN" into the speakers.
The crowd exploded with screams and Nila brought me into a bone crushing hug. "Not even five minutes in and he scores a touchdown." She gasps, in shock at Damian's talent. That was the first time I've seen her speechless so Damian obviously is special.
"He's okay, I guess." I played down how proud I was of him, but it was very noticeable considering I was currently drooling over him. Damian grabbed the helmet off his head and threw it on the ground, his teammates running up to him and all cheering together.
"Oh fuck off, babe. We all know what's happening between you two."
My eyes widened. I knew I would eventually have to come clean to NIla, but now?! "Huh, what do you mean? We aren't doing anything."
Nila wriggled her eyebrows. "You're rambling, Cammy. It's so obvious."
Knowing I wasn't going to get my way out of this, I rested my head on her shoulders, eyes still fixed on Damian. He found my face after what seemed like searching and almost immediately, a small smile reached his lips.
"I think I'm going to throw up, you two are so gross." Nila gagged.
"What do you mean?"
"I saw that little look you guys just gave each other. He looks at you like he's in love with you or something disgusting." She patted my head, continuing. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the tiniest bit cute-as random as it is. His personality is questionable and he seems a bit morally gray for me, but whatever floats your boat. As long as he's good in bed."
I tore my head away from her head. "Nila."
"What? I was just joking about the sex bit, but by the looks of your face...Oh my God, you two have definitely done something." Nila's mouth hung open, and this was when I realized she was going to find out everything.
"Don't tell anyone, please. I promise I'll explain everything later." I was stressed.
"Relax, Cammy. I won't tell, as long as you give me all the details. Carmen Marquez, little miss innocent. Who knew all it took was a dickhead with tattoos to come and ruin this big ball of sunshine." Nila teased, doing a little dance.
We were so engrossed in our own conversation that we had completely forgotten about the game that continued. One of the cheerleaders reached over and shushed us, a rude look on her face.
"Can you two like shush? There's a game going on and you guys shouldn't be so ignorant. The guys on the team probably don't even know you." A blonde, pretty girl with a badge on her uniform spoke. 'Captain Sophie'. I watched as her gaze went back to Damian in admiration, and my heart stung a little bit.
Who was she and why was I feeling like this?
"Sorry." I apologized, and Sophie gave me a bitter smile.
"Hey, Sophie. See that Center over there?" Nila wasn't having it, though.
Sophie's eyes drifted to Maikel and instinctively, her chest stuck out more. "Yeah, what about him?"
"What do you think about him?" Nila asked, shushing me when I went to speak.
"Maikel's handsome. Just wait till I grab his attention." She licked her lips.
"Yeah well, Maikel over there is this," Nila pointed to me. "Girl's brother. So good luck trying to grab his attention now."
Sophie was left breathless, and even though I felt bad; Nila only smiled when she saw the hurt on Sophie's face.
"That was rude." I pointed at Nila's face.
"It was deserved." She shrugged.
I chewed my lip, before turning to Sophie. "Hey, sorry about her. Hormones."
"Yeah, whatever you bitch." Nevermind, I take it back. Sophie deserved what Nila said.
"Sometimes, you're no fun." Nila sighed, pouting at me. Ignoring her, I turned my attention back to the game where Damian was thriving.
—————
Half time soon approached and the Cougars were winning by a lot. The environment was laid back since everyone knew our school was going to win. The animosity had cooled and Sophie left to perform her halftime performance.
Damian and I have been sneaking glances occasionally, and I pretended to not acknowledge Nila everytime she made a noise of disgust. This was fun, I was having fun.
I hadn't even noticed the December chills, that's how much I was enjoying myself. Everything was fine.
I lied.
Out of nowhere, a crowd of football players from each team gathered in the middle, pushing against each other. I zoomed in on the member from our team shouting at a player from the other team.
It was Damian.
"Shit, what's happening?" Nila stood, bending forward to get a better view. Damian threw his helmet somewhere away and I saw Maikel get closer, trying to pull him away.
The blue swarm of players backed up behind their friend, pointing at our team. The referees and coaches were simply standing to the side, watching it all play out. The crowd got louder, and soon a small chant was being repeated throughout the stadium. 'Fight, fight, fight.'
I hope Damian's okay.
"Finally some fucking drama in this game. I was starting to fall asleep." Nila yawned.
"Nila, hush." I stood, placing my hands on the chairs in front of me and squinting my eyes.
More and more players joined the huddle from the side of the pitch and soon, it was a screaming fest. I thought it would just be that, shouting with a few pushes being made here and there from athletes on opposing teams. Damian stood taller than the other player by a few inches, the man taking his helmet off as well.
The first punch was thrown.
a/n:
THOUGHTS???
why do we think damian and the guy from the other team got into a fight...
i wonder why
i'm also quite close to emailing tiktok to unshadow ban me, so there's that as well.
tt concinnityy_
love you all❤️