My locker is slammed shut by someone. The door almost hits me. There he is, Mr Cockface himself. His expression is full of anger. He takes my arm and pulls me into the janitors closet. I push him off of me, as he tries to hold me against the wall.
"What the fuck was that on Saturday?", he barks.
"You're asking me? You should ask yourself, Horan", I spit back.
"Everything was fine with me at the bowing alley. You're the one who made my sister and friends all leave, so you left me there with Amanda."
"You're the one who fucked her in the bathroom and sucked her face off the whole time!", I shout now.
"Yeah? And? Why do you care so much?", he asks.
"Because you're the brother of my friend and you're my team mate, Horan", I say.
"That doesn't give you a reason."
"I just don't want you to date a slut. She'll use you and let you fall like a used tampon. Open your eyes and see what she'll do with all your friends", I explain.
My hand finds the doorknob and I open the door. Niall walks past me, so I slam into the door. As soon as I get everything from my locker, I head to my car. I don't feel like going to practice today and after what happened last week, makes it worse. I drive straight home without glancing back at the school. Bella and Missy weren't here today but Nia was. She was with Troy the whole time, who was with Niall and Harry, so I had no one today. Amanda actually helped me today, as I got lost in history class. My locker got painted today with a penis (how mature). As soon as I open the door, my mom's out of the kitchen and in the hallway to greet me.
"Hey Max, what are you doing here so early? Don't you have practice?", she asks right away.
"Hi mom, I don't feel good today, so I blew training off, that I won't get any worse", I explain.
"Okay, Honey, do you want me to bring you anything? Tea? Food?"
"Nah, I'm not hungry or thirsty, just need some sleep. Please don't let anyone in, okay?", I ask friendly.
She nods.
"Call me when you need something", she speaks, as I walk up the stairs to my room.
My bed is still a mess and my clothes lay everywhere. I overslept this morning, so I couldn't clean up but otherwise, I don't expect anyone to come here today. I'm glad, when I can sleep until tomorrow morning and then go to school healthy.
*****
Someone knocks me over, as Niall passes me the ball. I've been sick for two days, so it's Thursday now. Coach Patrick decided it would be good to do a football-session in the gym. It isn't big enough but we can at least try. It's almost December. I'm so happy that Christmas vecation is coming up, so I can go to the mall and buy all the useless Christmas shit. I'm just kidding, I hate Christmas. It's a useless day of the year. I'm not very Christian, so I don't really care.
The person gets off of me and looks me straight in the eyes. His green eyes stare at me like I'm a vase, so breakable.
"Sorry", Harry speaks, as he lifts me to my feet.
"S'okay", I smile half true.
Niall hasn't talked to me since the thing in the janitors closet. I take my helmet off and in that moment a football comes flying straight in my face. My hands find my nose, as I look up to find the person. Niall stands there grinning his ass off. I march over to him and push him so hard, that he stumbles pretty far. My nose starts to bleed, as Niall's fist collides with my face. I stumble back this time and stare at him in awe and fear. Never did I think he would hit a girl.
"Dude, you hit a girl!", Harry shouts.
Niall walks backwards, away from me and the others. He runs off to the locker room, throwing his helmet on the floor.
"Get some tissues, please, Jason", Harry speaks.
Jason runs right off, as I feel dizzy. Harry helps me lay down on the bleachers. My head spins a little, as I try to move my head. Jason comes back with a lot of tissues and a ice pack. The bleeding soon stops and Coach Patrick appears. He looks pretty mad. His face is in pure anger.
"Manning, where is Horan?", he asks.
"I don't know", I say quietly.
He nods and tells me to go home and get some rest before I knock myself out. Harry hugs me goodbye. As I enter the locker room, there are sobs coming from the showers. I take off my gear, so I only wear my shorts and jersey. The sobs get louder by the minute. I walk into the showers as fast as I can. Niall sits there in a corner, crying on his own. He still wears his whole gear. I really hate Niall at the moment but seeing him cry makes me feel kinda bad. He actually is really a nice guy. He just does so many wrong things, so I just have to hate him. Amanda is a bad decision for him. Niall needs a nice girl who loves him, not a slut like Amanda. She just uses boys and fucks around school the whole time. I sit down next to Niall. He sobs more, as I lay my hand on his shoulder. His sobs are a little consumed by his hands, laying in front of his eyes and mouth.
"It's okay, Niall. I'm not mad", I say.
He wipes some tears away, as I speak. His eyes are puffy red.
"Nothing's okay, Max! I hit you! I'm such a bad person. Never would I hit you or any other girl. It just took over me", he cries.
"I understand. I know how it is when something takes over your body but you can't take it all on you. It's my fault, too. I'm the one who pushed you", I explain, taking his hands from his face and laying them next to his body.
Niall looks awful, his eyes are red, his cheeks are stained by tears. I hug him from the side, as he calms down a little. He doesn't hug back but lays his head on mine.
"I'm sorry for hitting you, Maxine. I really like you and don't want anyone to hurt you", he says after several minutes.
"It's okay, Niall. I like you, too. I'd never let anyone hurt you", I smile gratefully.
Now he gets us in a different position, so I sit on his lap again and he has his arms around my waist. He smiles at me with shiny white teeth. Tears still flow down his cheeks but I wipe them away.
"I'm sorry for being with Amanda. I'm sorry for fucking her in the bathroom at the bowling place. I'm sorry for inviting her. I'm sorry for the thing on Monday. Amanda isn't good for me or anyone else", he says with a frown on his lips.
"It's okay, Niall. I think you should tell Missy what you told me. She'd be happy to hear those words", I smile.
He pulls me towards him and hugs himself to my body. I lay my arms around his neck and hug him. His head lays on my collarbone and my head lays on his. We stay like this for a while. His hands rub soft circles on my back.
"So, are we okay now?", Niall asks.
"Yeah", I say.
"Good, then you don't have to go to the concert by yourself. I'll pick you up at 5, so we have two hours spare to look around the stadium and go to the merch stands", he now smiles.
I nod. It's great that Niall and I are okay now, so I after all didn't loose a great friend.