-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A speech should not just be a sharing of information, but a sharing of yourself
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And what did you do?" Jo asked, absentmindedly twirling a piece of her dark hair around her index finger.
"Well, what do you think did I do? I talked to them." After I had come home from school I immediately sent Jo a skype request. Jo was the only person I could freely talk to about everything. And after a day like today I needed to tell her about it.
"Uh-huh. And what did you 'talk' about?"
So, I told her. Everything. "When I heard their names being listed by the principle I knew that it had to do something with that video. That couldn't be a coincidence. So, I waited in front of his office until I could get my hands on them."
Earlier
I waited. And waited. And waited.
I watched closely as Heather, the secretary, occasionally entered and exited the room numerous times. I had nothing else to do, so I busied myself by thinking about possible scenarios that could've happened. Scenarios that I probably shouldn't have thought about, seeing as my stomach twisted into knots as I thought about all the trouble they could get. So, I cleared my thoughts and continue on my waiting in blissful silence.
I observed as coach Edwards walked into the office, glancing at me with suspicion and curiosity. I willed myself not to analyse the situation further, but instead closed my eyes and waited.
Until, finally, somebody opened the door and all the boys trudged out. "Liz?" Liam was the first one to notice me. A gasp slipped past my lips as I walked up to him, taking his face between my hands. My fingers skimmed over his cheekbone where a bruise was forming. He gritted his teeth together in pain. When I inspected the other boys my jaw dropped. Every one of them had similar injuries. A split lip, a bloodied nose, bruises of all sorts.
All signs of a fight.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Drake asked me.
"What am I doing here? What the hell are you doing here?!" A few of my friends looked down in shame. Several other football player walked out of the office, whom I recognized as Jensen's buddies from our little bus trip. Matthew and Drew were among them.
"Liz, you know we want to protect you ," Jack defended.
The other football player now decided to exit the room. "Trouble in paradise," one of them murmured, loud enough for all of us to hear. His friends laughed. I rolled my eyes. Though my friends looked ready to kill. Jack moved forward, but I turned around and slapped the jerk with the idiotic remark upside the head when he passed me. "Shut up and keep going," I demanded, my voice taking on an authoritative tone, and turned to my friends again.
I felt the idiot behind me staring holes in the back of my head. "Touch her and you're dead," Jack warned, glaring daggers at him.
So, they left.
I sighed, frowning. "Where's Ryan?" I asked, just realizing that he's not here.
"In there," Drake pointed to the door. "Principle wanted to talk alone to him."
I nodded. "So, what's your punishment?"
"He said he wanted to talk to coach Edwards first. But maybe expulsion from the game tonight."
"Maybe? It's most probably expulsion. You know the coach and his theory of unsportsmanlike behavior," Jeremy reminded him.
I knitted my eyebrows in confusion. "What theory?"
"Hm.. how do I explain this?" He wondered aloud. "It's like if you can't behave in school you can't behave on the field."
"And why's Ryan alone in there?"
"Well, he's team captain and he has behaved unsportsmanlike a couple of times before." I bit my lip.
Shit!
Guilt crawled up my spine and wrapped around my throat, making it hard to breathe. The door opened and I looked up, expecting Ryan to come strolling out, but instead I was greeted with the sight of Heather, the principles secretary. My shoulders fell in disappointment before tensing with guilt. This was all my fault. Why couldn't I've just asked one of my friends to come pick me up this morning?!
I was able to catch a glimpse of Ryan, sitting in a chair in front of the principles desk. Coach Edwards, standing near the principle, shot him a frustrated look.
I have no idea why or how I managed to do what I did next, but my movements were driven by guilt. I slipped into his office, the secretary shouting a "Hey, you can't go in there!" after me.
Puzzled by the commotion, all three males stared at me.
"Liz?" Ryan jumped to his feet. "What are you doing here?"
"Yeah, that's a question we'd all like to know," principle Davis said.
I took a deep breath before answering, my heart thumping, thumping, thumping in my chest. "It's my fault that they are all here," I admitted, my voice unsteady.
The coach let out a laugh. "Oh, so you beat them all up?" he asked, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
Instead of answering I asked him, a hint of hope lacing my voice, "You wouldn't believe me if I said yes, would you?"
The coach looked amused.
"No," Davis said firmly. Well it was worth a try.
"Liz, why are you here? Everyone knows who started the fight," Ryan told me.
I ran a hand through my hair. Well, I should have thought this through first. I was annoyed with myself. "What do you think? It's my fault that all of you are in trouble."
"What's your full name, Miss," Davis trailed off.
"Graham, sir. Elizabeth Graham." The fear was growing in my stomach as the principle marched to a drawer in the far corner of the room. After rummaging around for a moment he comes back with a file.
My file!
I gulped.
"Miss Graham," he trailed off, looking inside with a frown. Silence engulfed us. I fidgeted. I got more nervous though when he did look up. "You, practically, have a blank file. No detention or other significant behavior. You haven't been late once and you have pretty decent marks."
"If you are such a good student then could you explain to us what is going on?" Coach Edwards demanded.
I looked at Ryan, stunned. "You didn't tell them?" His eyes pierced through mine as he shook his head, no. And a fuzzy, warm feeling overtook the guilt that had crept inside when I had seen his split lip and bruised jaw, settled into my chest and exploded in my heart. A soft smile attacked my lips.
And in that moment I realized that Ryan truly knew me. Unbelievable. It only took him four days that we've spent together to figure me out. And that both delighted me and terrified me at the same time.
I thought about the time we've spent together. About the possessive way he behaved around me. About the way he apologized when we had fought about peanut butter and chocolate. About the way he comforted me when I had cried, without asking why. About the way he picked out ice cream for me, peanut butter, white chocolate and mocha. About the boyish way he tells me that he loves to see me blush. About the way he taught me how to dance. About the polite way he spoke to my parents. About the way he talked about constellations. About the cute way he gets when he eats chocolate chip cookies. About the way he's around Hayley. About the way he got me into the rollerskating rink. And lastly, about the way he gets overprotective.
My heart skipped a beat as happiness enveloped my chest, lifting the curtain of weights.
I flushed as someone behind us cleared his throat, my eyes snapping away from Ryan's. For a split moment I had forgotten where we were. "Please, enlighten us."
I was clueless. But one thing was for sure, I wasn't about to tell them anything about the video. Because they'd definitely inform my parents. And that was the last thing I wanted.
"I... I can't tell you much about the matter. But I can tell you this: they are the good guys. Sure, maybe they started the fight. And they're definitely too overprotective for their own good. But I guess that's why they are the best football players on your team. And they only started the fight because of me. Because they were trying to defend me.
"And I know, God, I know that they are immature idiots for thinking they were helping me by starting this stupid fight. But, please, believe me when I say that their teenager brains only had somewhat good intentions. Please believe me when I say that they are the good guys." I ended my little speech with a desperate look and a hopeful smile.
They stared at me, stunned.
"We'll think about their punishment. Thank you, Miss Graham," principle Davis was the first one to find his voice. "You should return to your classes," he dismissed us.
I nodded politely and gave them a small smile before leaving.
"What happened?"
"Did you get in trouble?"
Questions came flying at me the minute I stepped out.
Ryan laid a hand on one of my shoulders. "Well, it seems to me that Liz just saved my sorry ass, yours too, by the way." He shot me a dazzling smile and squeezed my shoulder. However, I was still annoyed with him, so I shook it off.
"Did you talk them into this fight?"
He was about to speak, but Drake beat him to it. "Liz, we did this willingly," he clarified.
I made a sound of frustration in the back of my throat and ran a hand through my hair. "Hey, why are you so pissed at us? We should be pissed at you!" Tony exclaimed, outraged.
Something in me cracked at his statement. I looked at him, confused and hurt. "What?"
What do you mean what?! It's all of your fault! They have every right to be mad at you! They are only in trouble because of you!
"Would you have told us about Jensen if that video wouldn't exist?"
A breath of relief escaped my lips. "Of course! I wanted to tell you. But not here and not on a Friday, because I knew that you'd do something impulsive. Like, I don't know, start a fight with your teammates?"
He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Please, as if this would be the first time you keep something from us."
"What are you talking about?" I asked through gritted teeth, an unspoken warning in my voice. I already had an idea where this was leading to.
He took a step closer and pointed at me. "I'm talking about your fight with Logan." My assumption was confirmed. "What does he know that we don't?"
I took a step back, feeling verbally slapped. Vulnerability slipping through my facade before I could stop it. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, my mind a void of words. Desperation, frustration and hurt a constant coming and going in my heart.
"Hey, back off," Ryan stepped between us.
"Make me," he challenged.
Jack stepped in, "Easy, man."
Tony turned to him, "Or what?"
"Or I'll make you-"
"Stop!" I pushed them apart. Were they for real? I just saved their asses a few minutes ago. "Everybody have their secrets," I said to Tony. "So, don't you dare accuse me of being the only secretive person on this god damn earth."
He glared at me. For a minute I mirrored his actions before remembering my current situation. My eyes softened and I turned around, head in my hands.
"What is happening to us?" I asked in disbelief. Their expressions softened. "First Logan and now this," I shook my head. Then I looked at each of them. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to tell you about Jensen. It almost killed me not to. But I knew... I knew I had to wait till tomorrow.
"But unfortunately, that decision was made for me today when you opened the message with the video. And my own opportunity to tell you evaporated into thin air. But believe me, eventually, I would have told you. Because you are my friends. And a part of my family." And every one of them has a piece of my heart.
Seems like I was giving a lot of speeches today. I cleared my throat when they didn't say anything, embarrassed. "Sorry, I got a bit cheesy there. Okay, how much time do we have left of-" I didn't get to end the sentence before I was engulfed by a hug. I didn't know if Tony or Jack was the first one to wrap his arms around me, but that didn't matter because soon every one of my friends followed. And we were standing right here in the administration, bodies intertwined in a group hug.
It were moments like this one that warmed my heart to the core.
That made me feel whole and loved.
That showed me my place in this world.
The place where I belong.
And this place was right here.
In the arms of my friends.
Now
"Girl, I love you."
That was the reaction I got from her. That was Jo ladies and gentlemen. I gave her a smile. But before I could say it back she continued. "How did it go from there?"
I hesitated for a moment, contemplating how to voice my thoughts. The rest of the day turned out to be rather painful. When I had first walked through the hallways to enter my next class after lunch people had been openly staring at me, whispering and not so subtly calling me slut 'behind my back'.
"Bee, don't listen to those idiots. I would love to pay them a visit and punch some reality into them. Little fuckers." My smile widened. Jo always got me to smile. "Did you tell the guys?" I nodded. "And?"
"And they flipped. And went completely overprotective. Which I'm totally grateful for. But they decided to be my bodyguards and insisted to walk me to every single class. And I don't mean to sound ungrateful, not at all, it's just that... I don't want to keep them from anything. Or worse getting a bad rep because of me."
"Bee, they are your friends, they love you," she pointed out.
"I know. And I love them for being there. But I can't shake the feeling off that this won't end well for them."
She shook her head. "The only person this won't end well for is Jensen and probably the guy who sent that video to the whole student body. Oh, and all people that are talking shit about you and calling you names," she growled, temper rising and ran a hand through her long black hair.
Suddenly, I remembered something.
"Hey, you sent me a text yesterday, but I forgot to call you." I instantly felt bad. It had seemed urgent, but here we were, talking about me.
Her eyes started to sparkle as a grin spread across her face, excitement permeating the air. "I met someone."
Instant relief flooded through my senses. "You met someone," I repeated slowly.
She nodded vigorously. "His name is Josh."
"How do you know him?"
"I cheered for his basketball team the other day. And, oh my gosh, Bee, he is soooo hot. Here, sending you a pic right now." And soon enough my phone buzzed. When I looked at my phone dazzling blue eyes gazed back at me. "What do you think? Hot, huh?"
"Eh, yeah." But despite her excitement, suspicion crawled up my spine. Let's just say Jo didn't have that much luck when it came to relationships. Her former boyfriends had been total douches. "Hey Jo, you know what you're doing, right?"
Her smile fell and my heart shrunk. "Yes, Bee. I know what I do." Her voice took on a frustrated tone. "I know that you're thinking about Raven and all the other guys I've been with, but this is different. Josh is different."
I held my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I just want you to be careful."
She started laughing. "A few days ago I told you the same thing about Ryan." I cracked a smile. "Speaking of, how's the agreement going?"
"It's good," I nodded.
"Good, huh?"
"Yep."
"You fallen for him yet?"
I sighed, frustration lacing my voice, "No. But I think that Ryan actually is a decent guy. And well, you know, we're something like... friends now."
"Whoa. That's a first."
"I know," I mumbled, absentmindedly.
"You'll watch the game tonight?"
"Of course. Dad's driving me. It's been some time since he last kept me company on the bleachers." I smiled, remembering the last time my dad had joined me. He was the guys #1 fan. Seeing as my sister and I weren't exactly into sports my dad latched onto the fan base of my friends.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready then?" She asked at the same time somebody knocked on my door. A shouted a 'come in' as I reached for the rubber band at my wrist, pulling my hair into a messy bun.
My dad came in, a moment later, his salt and pepper hair looking disheveled. "Hey pumpkin, just wanted to tell you to get ready so we can leave soon."
"Okay, dad."
"Hi, Mr. Graham!" Jo shouted, smiling.
I turned the laptop in his direction. "Oh, hello, Johanna. How are you doing?"
I left them chattering on my bed while I went to my closet. I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans and a long, baggy, grey sweater with two stripes on each sleeve. I showed them to Jo. "The jeans get a probably, but the sweater is a no-no. It's too boring, Bee."
"But it's cold outside," I reasoned. Dad agreed with me.
"Okay, but you can do better than grey." She thought for a second. "Okay, I got it. You could wear that cute, cream blouse and that gorgeous maroon knit sweater and oh my gosh, you could finally use the brown boots I got you."
I groaned. "There's a reason why I haven't worn them yet."
"Oh please, the heel won't kill you." Oh, but I'm positive that I'll fall down the stairs and break my neck. "Come on. They'd go perfectly well with the outfit." I stayed silent. "Just keep telling yourself: they are more afraid of you than you are of them," Jo advised.
My dad cracked up.
"Doubtful," I muttered as I slipped them on.
\\\\\
We were loosing.
This was the first time we were loosing since the start of the season. And I knew why. No one of my friends were in top form today, but Logan...
Something was strangely wrong with him tonight. I cringed when he got tackled way too hard way too quickly. Normally, Logan was fighting with every once of strength he had to get to the end zone, squeezing through the tiniest of gaps with a certain grace I couldn't describe. But, tonight, he didn't even see the gaps.
"Hey, Liz, is something wrong with Logan?" Dad asked next to me.
I frowned. What was wrong with Logan? I was going through every single possible answer as half time was announced.
And then it clicked.
Our fight!
Yesterday, finally, caught up to him. I could tell that his mind was somewhere else entirely. On our argument. And maybe, just maybe, he regretted his actions. No, he was definitely sorry. I could see it in the way he moved, in the way his thoughts were blocking the logic part of his brain. And I could feel it. I've known Logan for such a long time now that I could sense when something was wrong and when it came to the reason why, my guess was right on any number of occasions.
"Liz, do you want something to-"
"Er, dad, I'll be right back, okay?"
He looked at me in question, but nodded. "Okay."
And what I was about to do was probably a really, really bad idea, but I did it nonetheless. I went looking for my friends.
When I entered the locker room I prayed to God that I wouldn't see anyone naked. I realized that I was actually sneaking into the locker room when someone yelled after me "Hey, you can't go in there!" a second time that day.
Oh, well.
Unfortunately, I sort of interrupted a speech head-coach Edwards was giving. "Can I help you?" he asked, voice not necessarily harsh, but sincerely curious.
"Hey, what are you doing in here?" one of his colleagues wanted to know. I felt every single pair of eyes on me as I stared at coach Edwards.
"Liz?" I heard my friends puzzled voices.
"I-I-I..." I let out a deep breath, trying to calm me as my heart was threatening to jump out of my chest. "I need to talk to Logan."
"Miss Graham, I don't allow girlfriends in here."
"He's not her-"
"He's not my-"
Ryan and I answered at the same time. I gave him a questioning look. Ooookay.
"Whatever. Get out," he ordered.
I hung my head, sighing. It was worth a try. "Yes, sir." I turned to go, but stopped when I heard his voice.
"Wait a second!" Ryan called out to me. I turned to face them. "Coach, I think you should let her talk to him."
Edwards raised his brows. "You sure?"
Ryan nodded and murmured something in his ear. I could barely hear it, but I'm pretty sure it was something along those lines: "Let her talk some sense into him." The coach seemed to trust Ryan. "Okay, Elizabeth. You have two minutes."
I smiled politely. "Thank you, sir."
My eyes briefly met Ryan's before they latched onto Logan's and I gestured him to follow me as I turned to a row of lockers. Something that could get us at least some privacy.
I needed to put some things right. "Logan, I-"
"Liz, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for fighting with you. I'm sorry for telling Mrs. Evans. I'm really, truly sorry for every shit that I fucked up. I just... You, giving me the cold shoulder, it-"
I grabbed both of his upper arms. "Logan, I know that. I know that you regret what you did and I accept your apology."
He slouched his shoulders in relief, smiling. "Thank God. Liz-"
I pointed a finger at his chest. "That doesn't mean that I forgive you thought. It just means that I will learn to forgive you sooner."
His smile shrunk a little. "I take what I can get," he murmured.
"Williams!"
Logan sprang out of our private bubble. "Yes, coach."
I trailed out behind him. "Come join us."
He stepped closer to his team members. And coach Edwards started his speech. "Boys, I know that there is a lot going on in your lives. You are young, in school and you begin to understand how cruel the world is," he stated, ticking each reason off on his hand. "But whatever it is that is tormenting your thoughts, or whoever-" At this the coach glanced at me. A few players followed his gaze.
"You have to forget about it when you're out there, okay? You leave it right here, in the locker room, and when the game is over and we won, then you come back here, pick your problems back up and return to the life you have to face. Understood?" he asked, his voice creeping through the room.
They all answered in unison. "Coach, yes, coach." And half of them cracked a smile, the other half cheered.
Despite my exhaustion and anxiety of coming here, I also let a small smile twist the corners of my lips. I was glad that my friends had something they were truly passionate about.
"Miss Graham, is there anything I forgot to mention?" he asked, eyes focused on my face.
My heart stopped beating for a second before running a marathon in my chest. My smile fell as fear settled in my stomach. I crossed my arms over my chest and shifted self-consciously from foot to foot as all eyes darted to me.
Could this day get any worse?
Both questions were answered when a boy I didn't recognize spoke up. "Hey, aren't you that girl in the video?"
I fought the urge to face-palm myself. How could this kid be so insensitive and stupid?
Ryan stood a bit taller and Logan immediately shifted into protective mode. Oh no, not this again.
"Shut the fuck up, idiot," some boy not far from me exclaimed, to my surprise.
I've managed to successfully ignore Jensen and his friends before, but now they stood out like some neon light in the dark.
And after the boy blatantly mentioned the video, others joined him in the gossip discussion. How could they be so excited about this topic?
I had no idea how it could escalate this quickly, but in the next moment a war evaporated out of thin air. I couldn't hear much of the argument, but I watched as Jensen threw one insult after the other at my best friend.
"You want a repeat of this morning, Jensen?! You can get it!" I watched in horror as Logan made his way towards him. Warning bells rang in my head. Immediately, I stepped in between the two, trying to prevent a fist fight. Much to my relief one of the coaches found his whistle and the entirety of the room froze.
"Thank God," I exhaled. But my relief was soon over-come by something much stronger.
Anger.
"Have you not heard what coach Edwards just told you? Or maybe you've listened too hard! What he meant was that you have to leave your thoughts behind in order to have a clear mind on the field!" I had everyone's attention at that moment. But it wasn't really helpful that all of them were taller than me. "Help me up," I muttered to Logan when I didn't succeed to climb the bench the first time. Damn heels!
When I was finally standing on it with both feet I turned to the crowd.
"You guys can't keep on doing this. The season literally just started. And your behavior is self-destructive. You guys are a family, or at least you should be. And if there are people in this family that you can't stand then grow up and find a damn way to deal with them."
"How would you know all this?!" Jensen challenged.
"Because I'm sitting every damn Friday night out there, on the bleachers, watching the game. And I can assure that your performance tonight is the worst I've seen in a really long time."
Silence followed. They didn't try to defend theirselves because they knew I was right.
"But if you put on your big boy pants and accept the way the things are right now and the way your family members are, then you might still have a chance."
Logan spoke up, pointing a thumb at Jensen, "But Liz, he said-"
"I don't want to hear what he said. I don't care. He'll get his fair share of karma."
"But the video, you-"
"Uh-uh. He did something bad, you beat him up, end of story. Clear?" He didn't answer me which I took as a sulking yes. "So, now that everything cooled down again, could we all please at least pretend to be mature and suck it up for another two quarters! I promise you can sulk over it during the whole weekend. But now you have to pull yourselves together, get out there and win this damn game. Alright?!"
To my surprise a big amount of them responded with cheers and shouts of appreciation. Most of them stormed out the room with new found enthusiasm. When it was Logan's turn I stopped him. "Wait, you forgot something."
Confused, he turned around. I spread my arms out, waiting for his embrace. I didn't give him a good luck hug before the game. Seeing as we weren't on speaking terms.
But I wasn't willing to break our ritual.
He didn't wait for my feet to touch the ground before he scooped me up in his arms. I retreated quickly, the smell of sweat unbearable. Noticing my discomfort, he sat me down again and, with one last smile, exited the room together with my other friends. They were seemingly relieved that we, eventually, made up again.
Ryan lingered behind. "Where's my hug?"
"You are all sweaty," I reasoned.
And he was, even more so than Logan. But it had it's reasons. Because Logan hasn't been in top form and several passes didn't end well, he came to the conclusion that he had to run more frequently than usual.
"Hey, I got sacked pretty hard a few moments ago."
"Yeah, ouch, that one looked painful."
He decided not to answer my comment. "So, no hug?" I shook my head. "A kiss then? You know for good luck." His eyes twinkled.
"Sure," I answered, nonchalantly.
His eyes widened in surprise, caught off guard. "Wha-Really?"
"No."
"Damn, why did I have to ask?" he grumbled to himself as he went to the exit.
I gulped. "Ryan!" I stalked toward him. Was I really about to do what I think I was about to do? Fear settled into my stomach as my heartbeat increased. Don't chicken out of this now!
He turned around and I came to a halt in front of him and, getting on my tiptoes, I pressed my lips swiftly to his cheek. "Good luck."
\\\\\
The coach wants to see you," Logan told me after the game. A game they won. It was close, but they still won.
I was puzzled. "Me?" What would he possibly want to talk about? Fear twisted my stomach as different scenarios ran through my mind.
My dad voiced the question I was thinking about aloud. "Why?"
Logan shrugged. Maybe he wanted to put me in my place, because I was rude earlier that evening?
"Where is he?" I asked through the lump in my throat.
"Locker room."
"That seems inappropriate," my dad pipes in.
My cheeks grew hot. "Dad."
"I can assure you that Ryan volunteered to guide her. So, if she'd just close her eyes she should be fine."
Dad didn't seem satisfied at all. "Are you in trouble? Should I come with you?"
"Er, no, just wait here and catch up with Logan. I'll be right back," I promised and went on my way.
When I arrived at the locker room I took a deep breath and covered my eyes with one hand before stepping into the room. A cloud of steam hit me as I took in the smell of sweat, soap and deodorant. The loud noises were overwhelming and the hot air seemed almost unbearable, no idea how the guys could stand this.
For a moment I just stood there, dumbfounded. Know idea how I could find Ryan with closed eyes. But it seemingly helped that I heard several guys shriek, "A girl!"
No shit Sherlock. And thanks for making me even more uncomfortable than I already was!
But at least I got Ryan's attention. "There you are."
"Yep, here I am."
"Bee, I'm standing right in front of you. I think it's safe to open your eyes."
I wasn't convinced. "You sure?"
I felt his hand enclose my wrist , tugging lightly. "Yeah, I'm sure," he reassured me. So, I obeyed. And came face to chest with a half naked Ryan. My eyes widened as I took in his tanned chest.
My eyes skipped over numerous numbers tattooed on the skin over his heart-I made a mental note to ask him about it some day-before they trailed down his chest and over the muscles in his stomach. When I saw how low the towel was wrapped around his hips, exposing the v carved into his lower abdomen, my eyes flew up to his face.
I noticed briefly that his hair was wet before I focused my eyes on his jaw, much too embarrassed to look into his eyes, my cheeks burning. "That's what happens when I trust you," I muttered under my breath, too quiet for him to hear.
"What?"
"Nothing. Can you just take me to the coach?"
He smiled. "Of course. My lady?" He offered me his arm.
I took it and closed my eyes, feeling uneasy. A wave of cologne hit me as we continued on our way, feeling and smelling Ryan more intense.
"One of the guys is having a party at his house," he murmured in my ear, his lips brushing against my ear. My breath got caught in my throat, due to our close proximity. "We could hang out there, if you want to."
A party? Again? My stomach twisted just by thinking about it. "I'd rather not, to be honest," I admitted.
"Okay, so, what's your plan? How do you spend your Friday nights after a game?"
"Usually, I either read or watch some Netflix. A relaxed night just by myself."
"Sounds fantastic. Mind if I join you?" I was pretty sure he was smiling, causing a smile of my own to show.
"Sure, why not-" Suddenly, I collided with something warm and muscle-bound. I gasped, stumbling back. My heart went into panic state, beating, beating, beating hard against my rib cage, startled I tightened my grip on Ryan's arm.
"Hey, watch out!" came Ryan's voice.
"Sorry," said a unfamiliar voice, not sounding sorry at all.
"You okay, Bee?" Ryan asked me.
I nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "Yeah just startled."
"We are almost there," he promised. When we resumed walking he grumbled, "Idiot."
"Ryan, it's okay, really," I reassured him.
He didn't answer, but squeezed my hand. "Here we are," he said after a length of silence passed. "You can open your eyes."
So, I did. I was standing in front of Edward's office door, Ryan standing on my right. "Thanks."
"I'll wait until you're done, to get your innocence out of here without any scratches."
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. "Thanks, but I think when this is over everyone will be gone. Just wait in the parking lot, my dad and the guys will be there."
He nodded and knocked on the door. When the coach yelled a 'come in' he opened the door for me and closed it behind me.
I sighed. Here we go. "You wanted to see me?"
He looked up from the paper on his desk when he heard my voice. "Ah, miss Graham, sit down please." Although he smiled I grew nervous again as I sat down.
"Is there anything wrong, sir?"
His smile only grew. "Not at all, Elizabeth. It's quite the opposite." I knitted my eyebrows in confusion. "Elizabeth, I wanted to see you, because I have a special offer for you." I nodded for him to continue, my nervousness vanishing into thin air. "You see, the boys aren't perfect together. They need a lot of team bonding to become a 'family'," he was throwing my own words back at me.
I don't understand what this has to do with me, I thought.
"But I could tell that the words you said out there hit close to home. And I'm positive that you were a big part in our game tonight."
Still puzzled, I asked, "So, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that they actually listened to you. And that's were my offer comes in. I want you to be part of this team."
"What? What do you mean?" I was lost.
"I mean that it'd be a great advantage to have you on the team. But not as a player. I'd like you to get to know all of them on a personal level. As a friend. Also, and that's the most important thing, I want you to come to every practice and watch them with great concentration. I want you to see who can't work together and I want you to sit down with both parties and sort that conflict out."
"Wait. You want me to settle disputes between team members?"
"Yes, but you're not allowed to take sides."
"Great, so I'm Switzerland."
That seemed to make him smile even wider. "Exactly. So, what do you think?"
I was caught off guard by his proposal. If someone had told me a week ago that I would have this conversation with the football coach I would have laughed in their face. "I-I don't know," I admitted. This would be exhausting. And I'd have to listen to all of their problems, which wasn't something I didn't want to do, because I'd really like to help them, but so many problems? They would transfer to another burden I have to carry.
But you could help them!
"If it'd influence your decision in any way than I'd tell you that this wouldn't look bad on a college application," he tried to pursue me, but I already made up my mind.
"When do I start?"
\\\\\
"Crazy, Stupid, Love?"
"Nah, Transformers?"
"Ugh, no, I've seen those to damn often in my life. I got enough of Shia La Beouf to last me a lifetime."
"Hey, leave Shia out of this. Speaking of, how about Eagle Eye?"
"Never heard of it before, but because you said speaking of I assume Shia La Beouf is in it?"
"Yeah."
"Oh. Then that's a no."
"Ugh, it can't be this hard to pick a movie."
He looked at his watch. "Believe it or not we've been discussing this for the last 25 minutes."
"Okay, you know what, I'm preparing the popcorn and you're logging into Netflix. Maybe you come across something good," I left the living room and entered the kitchen. After my conversation with coach Edwards I had gone to the parking lot to meet up with everyone. When I had told them the news they were mainly excited and only partly surprised.
When I had asked dad if Ryan could come over he was actually glad I asked, because he had to pick up mom from work and take her to some restaurant. So, we'd be alone for some time.
As I popped the popcorn in the microwave I took two glasses out of the cupboard. "Hey, Ryan, you want something to drink?!" I filled my glass with iced tea.
"Sure!"
"Iced tea?!"
"That'd be great! Thanks!"
Hm, strange, I thought as I filled the second glass with the sweet liquid, I don't think I've ever heard Ryan say 'thank you' before. I entered the living room with one glass in each hand and the bowl of popcorn awkwardly balancing on both my arms. "A little help would be nice."
He jumped to his feet when he saw me, grabbing the bowl from me and placing it on the coffee table.
Ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you it's safe to let go of the breath you've been holding, the popcorn is out of harm's way. I repeat, the popcorn is out of harm's way!
"You could have just asked you know. You didn't have to get the popcorn in danger."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. What's done is done." Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "So, you found anything good yet?"
He shook his head, scrolling through the various movie covers. "Not yet."
And then one specific movie caught my eye. "Wait." I stilled his arm. "Is that FLIPPED?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Oh my gosh, I've heard such amazing things about it. Can we watch it, please? Please?" When he opened his mouth, probably to decline it, I started to pout. His eyes flew to my lips. "Please?" I asked, my voice sounding childlike and vulnerable. When his eyes found mine I furrowed my brows to seem sad and desperate.
And it worked. "Fine. What is it about?"
"It's about two eight-graders, they are both total opposites from one another, but still develop feelings for each other." He stared at me, an unreadable expression on his face. "It's not lame, I promise."
He shook his head, but I couldn't tell if it was because of me or because he wanted to shake a thought from his mind. Suddenly, he faced me. "Pinky promise?" he asked, a ghost of a smile on his lips as held up one pinky.
The question caused me to grin. I looped my finger through his. "Pinky promise."
Ryan's POV
It's not lame, she said. I promise, she said.
But she still managed to fall asleep half way through. I wrapped my arms around her sleeping form and carried her bridal-style to the stairs. Half way through her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Wait, my laptop," she murmured, her eyes drooping, her voice small. I didn't know why she needed it now. But I went back to get it anyways.
Her eyes were closed again when we arrived in her room, subconsciously snuggling into me. I put her gently down on the bed, careful not to wake her, and pulled the sheets around her. But her eyes fluttered open again. "Ryan?"
"Shh, it's okay. Go back to sleep, Bee."
But she seemingly refused to do so as she sat up. "What happened? How did it end?" she rubbed at her eyes. She was truly adorable when she was sleepy.
"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I never saw the end."
"Okay." She opened her laptop.
"Bee, what are you doing?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed.
"We have to watch the ending," she explained, determined.
"Bee, it's late. You're tired." She waved me off, yawning and starting the movie where we ended. She curled up in a ball, patting the space next to her. I obeyed and laid down next to her.
She'll fall asleep again, I thought as I watched the movie. And minutes later my assumption was confirmed when she snuggled into my chest, sleeping. I didn't want to disturb her again, not when she looked so peaceful. So, instead, I continued to watch the movie until I, too, drifted off.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey guys
I'm truly sorry for the long wait. It took forever to write this chapter, mainly because there was a lot going on in my life. And I wasn't feeling like myself for quite some time. Every time I'd pick up a pen to write I just couldn't.
So, yeah, tell me what you think about the chappy.
Did you like the speeches I threw in there?
And how about Liz and Logan finally making up? Do you think she'll start to forgive him soon or will there be more trouble awaiting in the next chapters?
I'm sorry if there are some weird mistakes or repeated words or anything, but I was really tired when I wrote the last part of it.
Anyways
Please comment/vote?
Hugs and kisses
Kathy