TIP: Listen to the song while reading this chapter!
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"We have asses to kick and pussies to lick!"
Connie shot Alfie a look.
"Pussy," he grinned, pulling her closer to him by the waist. "Singular."
She rolled her eyes before looking at me. "Pummel 'em. Own the State Champs."
"Hell yeah!" I laughed, my eyes absentmindedly roaming around the parking lot outside the stadium and looking for a blue Mustang.
Today was a fucking big day for Mount Valley High, the State Championships. It would serve as our comeback after our absence from the line-up last season.
It was time to steal back our title.
Naturally, everyone from school showed up – except for one person.
"College scouts are crawling all over the place," mentioned Kurt.
The crew were standing right outside the stadium, trying to get some air before we stepped in and prepped up for the game.
"Which one are you gonna pick?" Frisco asked him.
Kurt shrugged. "Not sure, probably Notre Dame."
Alfie nodded to me. "Oz is gonna go for Florida."
I turned back my attention to them.
"Yeah, I'm leaning more towards the Gators."
My best friend grinned at me, and said, "I'll see you out on the field 'cause I'll be taking Florida's offer, too."
I smirked. "Clingy much?"
"You know you can't live without me."
I laughed at that.
"Oho!" Kurt put his fingers between his nose and mouth. "That's how it is, huh? It's on, motherfuckers!" He grabbed Alfie by the neck and gave him a noogie.
"What the fuck, man? Did you even shower? Your armpit stinks!"
We burst out laughing.
I watched as Alfie struggled to be free from the big guy. Kurt just laughed his ass off, clearly enjoying his victim's suffering. With a snicker, Connie stepped beside Frisco but her eyes remained on her boyfriend.
Damn, a shudder just ran through me. I still haven't gotten used to them being together. It must be because I've never seen Alfie as a 'boyfriend' before. Weird as shit.
"I'm gonna miss you crazy mofos," sighed Frisco, with a sad smile.
"Don't worry, Frisco," said Connie, putting an arm around his neck. "I'll still be around. No fancy university for me," she added, winking at him playfully.
Frisco smiled at her, no hint of malice in his eyes. It was like he never had any feelings for her. Either he was able to move on that fast or the geek was fucking good at masking his emotions.
"Why not?" he asked Connie.
"Fancy schmancy," she snorted.
"Which college, then?"
"I was planning to go to a community college for a couple of years. But that was before my brother decided to go pro and started earning a shit ton of money. So now I'm thinking of going to Rutgers. Near, and low-key."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Right, Rutgers is low-key."
Placing a hand on her hip, she countered, "As compared to University of Florida and Notre Dame and just about any other Ivy Leagues out there? Um, yeah it is."
"Holy shit."
All heads turned to Alfie. He was staring wide-eyed at a distance, before his eyes locked with mine and he nodded to the direction of the parking lot.
My eyes followed where he was pointing at and – The fuck?
I blinked, even rubbed my eyes for good measure. But nope, still there. I couldn't fucking believe it. Lo and behold, my family was here.
At least, Annabelle and Clyde were.
What, did they think I was dying or something?
I felt someone shove me from behind. Before I could glare to whoever the fuck pushed me, my siblings were right in front in my face.
"Did someone die?" was the first thing I asked.
Annabelle hid her snort of laughter behind her perfectly manicured fingers. Clyde, on the other hand, flashed me his usual deceiving smile.
"We're here to cheer you on, little brother."
I looked at him skeptically. "Riiight."
"Where's your cute girlfriend?" asked my sister, looking around.
I caught a hint of uneasiness in her eyes, while her body shifted like this place didn't bring too much happy memories. To anyone, they wouldn't notice a damn thing. But I've been close enough to Annabelle to tell whenever her tough façade cracked.
The fact that she endured whatever the hell it was that made her uneasy, just to see me . . . Well, that was kinda sweet.
My eyes traveled to the people climbing out of their parked cars and heading to the entrance of the stadium, taking my time before I had to answer my sister.
When I looked back at her, I finally spoke.
"We broke up."
My sister's eyes snapped to me accusingly. "What did you do, you little twerp?"
Clyde kept quiet as he continued to watch me. I sighed and rubbed my face, not in the mood to talk about it.
"She wanted some space," I said lamely, wishing to hell she'd drop it.
"You know," started Annabelle, shifting her feet, "I heard about how she clung to you that night."
My eyes flew to Clyde, who stared back at me with an indifferent face. Of course, he just had to tell our sister. The fucker couldn't keep anything to himself.
Annabelle stepped forward. "She didn't stay back like she was disgusted by you. As a matter of fact, I heard it was as though you were her lifeline."
I didn't answer. I had nothing to say.
"Chin up," ordered Clyde. "She'll come back to you."
I eyed him. "All of a sudden, you approve of her?"
The corner of his mouth turned up. "It's not sudden. It took time. But I realized she was the only one who managed to bring out the man in you." He shrugged. "I have to respect her for that," he added, slapping my shoulder.
"And Diana?"
"Truth? I highly doubt it." He flashed me a knowing smile. "But since when did her opinion stop you?"
A crooked smile stretched across my face.
"Anyway," exclaimed Annabelle, clapping her hands once like the cheerleader she used to be, "let's head inside and watch the game – You better win, Oz."
I grinned at her.
"I wouldn't expect any less from you," added Clyde.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that.
"Of course."
Without saying goodbye, they turned their backs on me and made their way to the bleachers inside. Before they entered the stadium, I called after them.
"Hey, guys!"
Both of them stopped and turned to me.
"Thanks for coming."
Annabelle's expression softened in the slightest bit, while Clyde only smirked as if he already knew that.
"Good luck, Oz."
* * *
The first drop of rain hit my nose.
I looked down, staring dully at the grass.
We just won State fucking Championships. We were on our way to the Nationals again. We final had our shot at this after missing out last year.
So why the fuck don't I feel victorious?
Was I happy? Hell yeah. Did I feel like celebrating? No. Because in the midst of all this triumph, there was still something missing.
Or rather, someone.
I closed my eyes, took a deep and slow breath as I raised my face towards the sky, welcoming the feel of raindrops. I listened to the slow pour of rain as it hit the now empty field. It was calming as shit.
What if Halo never came back to me? Should I start accepting the fact that she might never come around? Should I accept the fact that she wouldn't be any part of my future anymore?
Well, that fucking hurts.
That was when I heard it. The splashes of water, the sound of feet hitting the wet ground as someone ran nearer.
I quickly turned around, and my whole body stilled.
She slowed down when she realized I saw her. With her knuckles growing whiter with her grip on my umbrella, she took a wary step forward. Our eyes locked with each other's gazes, neither refusing to look away.
I've missed looking into those beautiful purple wonders – so goddamn much.
She stopped when she was only a foot away from me. Looking up, she bit her lip and raised her umbrella so I wasn't getting wetter than I already was.
I felt like my heart squeezed at the gesture.
"Hi," she greeted in a whisper.
"Hi," I replied quietly.
She looked around the now empty stadium, before smiling sheepishly at me.
"Looks like I missed the game."
I shook my head. "I'm still here."
She stared up at me with hopeful eyes. All I saw was my Halo, the hilarious girl I met at the party, the girl who never let anything bring her down, the girl I fell head over fucking sneakers in love with.
"It's not too late, then?"
God, I wanna kiss her.
"It's never too late."
She bit her lip again.
Neither of us spoke anymore, neither wanting to break the spell. I took that chance to study her face. She looked flushed, like she rushed her way here.
Did she run?
I was breathing hard, praying to all that was holy that this wasn't just a dream. It would really fucking kill me if this wasn't real.
I mean, I'm still wearing my jersey for fuck's sake. I also don't recall passing out during the game or falling asleep in the locker room.
This must be real then, right?
I wasn't sure how long we stood there staring at each other but at some point, she finally broke eye contact to pull out something from her pocket. Then, she reached out to grab my hands. I could swear I felt a fucking tingle down my arm the moment our skins touched.
Fuck, I'm turning mushy over this shit.
She placed a cold metal substance on my palm. I blinked when I saw that it was the purple crystal necklace she lost that first night at the party. I noticed she didn't pull her hand away. I looked up at her, my brows slight furrowed in confusion.
Why?
As if she could read my mind, the corner of her lips turned up in the smallest and shyest smile I've ever seen on her.
"Good," she said.
Damn. It seriously took all of me not to grab her face and plant one on her.
"Because no one else will have me," she continued, with a smile playing on her lips as she repeated my own words back to me. She took a step forward, almost closing the gap between us. "Only you, Oz."
A grin stretched out on my face.
"This is my heart," she whispered, nodding to the crystal on my hand. "Unless you give it back, you will always have my heart – you will always have me."
Fuck it.
Giving in to the urge, I snaked a hand on her neck and pulled her to me so I could kiss her. She gladly returned the kiss, opening her mouth and making me turn the kiss deeper.
At some point, the umbrella was forgotten and fell to the ground. We gave zero fucks. It had been too fucking long since I was able to touch my girl like this. I sure as hell was gonna savor this as long as I fucking could.
"You don't mind if I keep it forever, do you?" I murmured against her lips.
"You can keep it for as long as you want."
"Which will be for fucking eternity."
She giggled into my mouth. I pulled back to stare at her. She gave me a full grin, her purple eyes twinkling in delight.
There's my Halo.
"I love you," I said softly.
"Always?"
"To the universe and beyond, baby."
She burst out laughing, which was music to my ears.
"You're turning into a dork, too."
"Only for you," I said, before giving her another kiss.
Now I can celebrate.
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THE END
I honestly don't know what to say. I feel like crying. It's been a long and hard journey with Oz's story. It was such a big challenge for me, writing this book. First, the entire thing is in a guy's POV. Second, you've met Oz. You know how much of a complex human being he is. I literally had to prep myself up before I start writing a new chapter. But I survived (thanks to the huge help of @LadyAireen's keen beta-reading skills)!
I have to admit, of all the books I've ever written, Cruel Me is my proudest achievement. It captured that raw emotion from my deepest core, which my other books doesn't have. I dunno, maybe it's just me. Haha :D
And now, I thank YOU. Thank YOU for reading Oz's story. Thank YOU for seeing through all his bullshit. Thank YOU for finishing this book (no matter how cruel it got to be). Thank YOU for being there for Oz when the others weren't. Thank YOU for loving Halo. Thank YOU for always standing by the crew's side. Most of all, thank YOU for trusting me and believing that I could pull this off. :)