"Let's hope you miss the shot during tryouts next year." The softball captain says, getting right in my face, puffing her chest to press against mine. "Like you did at state." She says, shoving me. "You're a fucking joke." She says and I finally get tired of her shit, taking her shirt in my fist as I slam her against the lockers.
"Yeah? I'm not the one who struck out at state. You cost the team a state title." I say and she looks away. "Yeah, not so brave now, are you? Without your coward teammates? You're on your own now." I say, slamming her against the lockers again. "Don't fuck with me again. Or it'll be worse." I say, pulling her off the lockers and shoving her to the ground sighing and heading to my class as she lay on the ground crying.
-
"Wait, what?" I ask, looking at my grandfather as I sit in his office.
"Three days suspension." He says and I look at him.
"All my finals start tomorrow, Pops."
"I'm sorry Y/N. Nobody is exempt from the policy."
"The policy that was enacted to protect me?"
"Y/N-"
"I was defending myself, all I did was push her against the lockers, and I get suspended, but they can almost fucking kill me and get away with it."
"Y/N Y/M/N Harris. You watch your language." Gramps says and I huff, getting up and leaving the office and the school building, going to the student parking lot, to my car so I can go home.
"Y/N?" Dad asks as I walk into the house. He's decided to paint the house and instead of paying someone else to do it, he insisted on doing it himself, so he's been home the past couple of days.
"You've got paint on your forehead, dad." I say, pointing to where he's got the paint on myself.
"What are you doing home?"
"Got suspended for defending myself." I say and dad sighs.
"I'll go talk with your grandfather." Dad says and I stop him.
"No, you won't, for two reasons. One, you're covered in paint. And two, I need a couple of days off for a mental break."
"But you have finals tomorrow and the rest of the week."
"I'll take them after the year ends." I say and he sighs, coming and hugging me.
"I'm glad you defended yourself." He says, kissing my forehead. "But come help me paint." He says and I groan.
"Do I have to?"
"Please, honey? It gets lonely out there." Dad says and I whine.
"Fine, let me go change." I say and he grins before leaving the house and I roll my eyes, smiling as I head upstairs to my room to put on some old clothes I don't care about getting dirty or getting paint on. Once I was dressed, I put my hair up in a pony tail before heading out to help.
-
"Hey, hey, Harris." I hear after a while of painting with my dad, and both my father and I turn to see Alex.
"What up, Morgan?" I ask and she walks over.
"You weren't in seventh hour, we all got worried." She says and I sigh.
"Yeah, I got suspended."
"What? Why?"
"I finally stood up for myself against that bitch of a softball captain."
"Jeri?"
"Yeah, her."
"Wow. So you're missing finals."
"Yeah, but I'll go take them on Saturday."
-
"Y/N." Rylie says and I look over at her, standing after I had pulled my socks up my legs. "Take practice, I've got a call." She says and I nod, walking over to the girls.
"So, Rylie had a call, I'm in charge until she gets off the phone. We know what to do, don't we." I say and the girls all nod before heading into the equipment shed to get the balls, bibs and cones. We were still doing summer training, but we were forced onto our practice field by the football team. Tomorrow was Alex's birthday though, but we weren't practicing again until Tuesday. Was I excited for school to start again? Hell no. Was I gonna have to suck it up and do it anyway? Fuck yes. "Alex, warm us up." I say and Alex groans.
"Alright." She says and I let her lead us through whatever warmup she wants us to do.
"Get a quick stretch!" I call out after a bit and stretching as I make sure the girls are actually stretching and not talking, because we all have a bad habit of talking instead of stretching. "Stretch, girls, not just sit and talk." I say and the younger girls sigh, but get back to stretching.
"Let's go again." Alex says after a few minutes and we get back to our pass and move warm up.
-
"Up!" Alex and I both yell out from the sideline where we were getting water, the girls were scrimmaging, and Rylie put us on the same team for some reason. "Drop, drop, drop!" We yell out again, watching as the girl we were yelling at listens, dropping the ball to one of the sophomores on the team, who played Varsity last year, and I sigh.
"You look like shit." Rylie says, coming over and filling her Gatorade bottle with water.
"Thanks." I say, putting my hands on my hips.
"You'd think that since you haven't stopped training since last season, you'd be in peak condition." Rylie says and I sigh. "Plus we've been at this for a month."
"I'm getting there. Don't worry about me."
"I am worried about you, kid, you were the fittest on the team last season, and now you can barely make it through a practice without dying." Rylie says and I groan. "You're not pregnant are you?" She asks and I choke on my spit.
"What the?"
"I have to ask."
"No, I'm not pregnant, Rylie. I've been with the same girl since last year. I don't mess with male genitalia." I say and Rylie laughs.
"Alright. Well, feel free to stay after practice to get back in shape if you'd like." She says and I nod.
-
"Hey, my folks are hosting this birthday dinner for me tonight, because tomorrow night will just be family time, they want to invite you and your dad."
"I can't, I have a date with Jade." I say and Alex shrugs.
"Bring Jade with you." She says and I raise a brow at her. "Don't give me that look. Bring Jade, stuff your faces, and then go do whatever it was you two had planned." Alex says and I nod.
"Yeah, I'll go let her know."
-
Jade agreed to come to Alex's birthday dinner, so we went back to the Morgan household, and celebrated with them and my dad, and the soccer team before we headed out on our date. The part we actually anticipated.
"You and Alex seem to be on good terms lately." Jade comments as we lay on the hood of my car, looking at the stars.
"We spend most of every day together, J." I say, pulling my girlfriend close to me. "Soccer from after breakfast until after practice, every day, you're not jealous, are you?" I ask and Jade sighs.
"I'm not jealous, just...apprehensive of the new friendship the two of you have forged. She goes from bully to best friend in less than a year?"
"I just needed to let her in, and vise versa."
"Okay, I'll drop it, but only because I can see that you trust Alex, and trust isn't something you handle lightly." Jade says, and I kiss the top of her head.
"You're the only girl in my world, Jade."
"I lo-Uh. I lost track of the time, what time is it?" Jade asks, so I check my watch.
"11."
"My dad said 10:30." Jade says, and we scramble to get off the car and into it so I could drive her home, when we got there, her dad was waiting on the porch with a scowl. "I'm so sorry, dad. We went to a friend's birthday dinner, and then went on our actual date, and just forgot to check the time."
"You really like her, eh, J?" Her dad asks, looking me in the eye, so I keep eye contact. Neutral eye contact.
"Yeah, Dad. I really like her."" Jade says, taking my hand and kissing my cheek.
"Go inside and get ready for bed." Jade's dad says, and Jade nods, kissing my cheek again before disappearing inside. "So, Ms. Soccer star," her dad says as soon as Jade is inside. "Do you like my daughter?" He asks, and I nod.
"Very much, sir."
"I would hope so, my little girl is smitten with you, you're all she talks about."
"The feeling is mutual. She's all I can think about most days."
"What do you and my daughter do on your dates?"
"Uh, well, we usually go get something to eat somewhere, and then we either go to the movies, the arcade, or the Look Out."
"The Look Out? You take my daughter to the Look Out?"
"Yes, but all we do is talk and look at the city and stars. I promise your daughter's virginity is very much in tact, sir. Sex isn't my goal with your daughter."
"What are your intentions then?"
"To make her happy, make her laugh, smile, to show her what it feels like to be treated right. To love her. To be part of the reason that she looks back on her high school days, and smiles."
"Anything else?"
"I know that this relationship might not last, so I'm not going to say I want to marry her."
"Why not?"
"This is my first relationship. Those usually don't last. I'll take every day I can get as her girlfriend, and run with it, but I know I've made mistakes and I'll make more, and one day, I'll make too many, or we'll agree that we should split, however it ends, just know I didn't come into this relationship to hurt or use your daughter. I really like her, and I'll be here as long as she'll have me. Have a good night, sir." I say before turning and walking back to my car, getting in and driving home.
-
"Let's go, let's go, let's go! Pick it up ladies!" Rylie encourages as we do fitness.
"Come on, ladies, we've got this! Through the cone!" I call out before taking my turn on the speed ladder. It was a fitness day today, and most of us were complaining because we were out of shape, especially the softball girls. We've been back at practice after our 4th of July break, for a week now, and I was starting to shape up again. I figured out that all the fighting training I've been doing over the off season is what knocked me on my ass when we were first coming back. Not enough sprints. Not enough soccer, just boxing and MMA Training. I let the loss get to my head, but this season, I'm going to let up on myself. I'm not gonna focus so much on winning the game, and focus more on playing it and having fun with it, but keep holding my teammates to as high a standard that I now hold myself at. The off-season was eyeopening. I had some ups, I had some downs, but in the end, those most important to me we're the ones who were there for me when I had my dark hours. I had a mental breakdown about a month and a half after losing state, and I was clinically diagnosed with Anxiety and Depression. I also had a month where I just wanted to kill myself. I almost did, but Alex was right there to talk some sense into me. A year later, when we lost state again, and I broke again, Alex was there to pick up the pieces. I had less to lose that time than the first time.
-
"I can't do it!" I shouted out, tears falling as I stood in front of Alex. It had been two months since we lost state for the second year in a row, and Jade had just told me she cheated on me.
"Yes you can." Alex said, and I shook my head, just sobbing.
"I'm not good enough, Alex! Don't you see? I'm not good enough to do something as simple as win a state title for the team. I wasn't enough for my girlfriend. What's the point?" I asked, and Alex sighed, looking at me with worried blue eyes.
"Y/N..."
"What's the point, Alex!" I shouted, and she flinched. "I'm nothing!"
-
Alex
-
"I'm nothing!" Y/N shouted, pulling out a handgun.
"Y/N..." I tried again, now terrified. "Put the gun down."
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's the ticket."
"To what?"
"To my peace." Y/N said, sniffling as she put the gun to her head.
"Y/N. Don't do this." I said, tears brimming my eyes. "Please." I begged.
"Why the hell not?"
"Because, you've got such a bright future. I just know you do."
"I was supposed to win state for you and the team." Y/N cried out. "What good am I if I can't win a silly little high school competition? What kind of future do I have if I cant complete a task as simple as winning state?" Y/N asked, glaring at me. "Huh?!" She shouted, and I flinched again.
"Not everything is about winning state, Y/N."
"Jade cheated on me, Alex. She promised she'd never hurt me. Am I just that easy to stab in the back?" Y/N asked and I sighed, taking a step toward her. "Don't—Alex."
Y/N said and I stopped. "If you take another step closer, I'll pull the trigger."
"What good will that do? Your dad has lost so much already. Your grandpa, too. Do you really want to add to their suffering?"
"I'm just a burden."
"No! You're not! You are those men's world. Y/N, just because you think that your world is ending, doesn't mean you need to end theirs. You're the reason why your father isn't a sad, empty shell of himself. The reason behind your grandfather's ferocity when it comes to bullying at school."
"Stop lying to me."
"I'm not lying, Y/N."
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Why are you doing this?!"
"Because! I fucking love you, Y/N! I'm in love with you and I have been since that day you held me and told me a story to calm me down during our first lockdown drill." I said and Y/N's demeanor changed. With wet cheeks, she removed the gun from her temple, took the bullet from the chamber and removed the magazine from its place after turning the safety on. "There we go. You have no idea just how many lives you've changed, Y/N, and how many you'd shatter if you killed yourself. Pain is temporary, death is forever." I said, and Y/N dropped the weapon before dropping to her knees, sobbing, and I was right there to catch her as she fell, swaying with her in my arms as she sobbed into my chest, her arms wrapped around me, her hands clutching my shirt in fists behind my back as she clung onto me for dear life.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Y/N sobbed out, the sobs violently shaking her fit body, I just held her close and shushed her as I played with her hair. "I'm so sorry."
"Stop apologizing. You're okay. I'm okay, it's okay. It'll all be okay." I said and Y/N looked up at me.
"You said you love me." She said and I grinned.
"Let's not talk about it for a while, alright? I want to get you better before we try anything." I said, and her face fell, so I took her chin in between my index finger and thumb. "Just in case things get rough. I don't want you to hurt yourself over relationship problems." I said and Y/N finally met my eyes. "I'm always going to be there for you, Y/N Harris. Okay? I'm not going anywhere." I said and she grinned at me, nodding, and putting her head on my shoulder as her quiet crying continues, slowly easing into little hiccups accompanied by sniffles.
"Thank you, Alex." Y/N said after a while of us just sitting in silence. "You saved my life tonight."
"I'll do it again everyday for the rest of my life if I have to." I said and she grinned.
"Can I at least get a kiss?" Y/N asked and I chuckled.
"For an angel such as yourself? Yes." I said, cupping her face and delicately pulling her into a soft, slow, tender kiss that doesn't last long until her father comes into the room behind us, clearing his throat, so I look over at him to see him offer me a grateful grin.
-
Right now, Y/N and I were sitting across from each other in the training room, getting our ankles taped. It was the first game of our final season as Lady Brahmas, and for once, Y/N was smiling at me, instead of watching the trainer tape her ankle with a furrowed brow. Her and I weren't together. She's not suffering as bad as she was with her depression, but she just wants to focus on school and soccer for now, we weren't not together either though. It was complicated.
"What else?" A sophomore student trainer asks, and I look at him.
"Oh, Uh, can I have my socks back?" I ask, since Y/N came in and took my socks off of my feet before getting on her table. He nods and takes the socks when Y/N hands them over. When I had my socks, I hopped down and slid my feet into my slides.
"Hey." Y/N says, and I look up at her. "Wait for me." She says, and I nod, going and waiting by the door for her, just admiring her. She wasn't that merely fit sophomore that she was when we rebuilt our friendship, she had grown a couple of inches, tallest on the team, and with the boxing and MMA she's mixed into her soccer workouts, she's just glorious.
"You're drooling." Alexis says, walking past me, and I look at her. "Just ask her out."
"Who's she asking out?" Y/N asks, walking over to us, and I push Alexis away.
"Nobody." I say and Y/N nods, so I walk out of the field house with her, and over to the bench, where we sit down, put our shin guards on, put our socks on, and our cleats before getting up. Y/N heads to the field to warm up, while I head to the locker room to pee, and as I'm drying my hands after washing them, the bathroom door opens, and I look over to see Y/N coming in.
"So who was Alexis talking about earlier?" She asks, leaning against the door, which she locked.
"You." I say, throwing the wet paper towel away. "She caught me staring and said to ask you out." I say, and Y/N raises a brow.
"And?"
"You said you wanted to focus on sports and studies." I say, and she nods, coming over to me, grabbing my hips and pulling me close. Involuntarily, I gasp as our bodies press together. This isn't the first time we've been this close, we've been caught like this plenty a time. By Rylie, by Alexis, by her dad, by my dad, by my mom, my sisters, her grandpa, at school and at home, on the same day, but we aren't together, just, y'know, experiencing life.
"That I do." Y/N mumbles, leaning in close, brushing her lips against mine, and I gasp again, going to kiss her, but whimper as she pulls back. "What's going through your head?" She asks, running a hand up my back, and I groan.
"Your lips, preferably." I mumble and she hums, giving me a chaste kiss, pulling back completely. I huff, and Y/N winks at me.
"As long as you aren't wanting to take me out, we're all good." She says, and I sigh, watching as she leaves, I wait a few minutes to rid my mind of the images of chasing Y/N down, grabbing her by the jersey and kissing her in front of everyone at the game, and the one image of me slapping Y/N for being such a tease, before heading out to join the team in warming up.
After the game, which we won, I was just pulling my socks off when I see Y/N smile brightly, and I grin, turning when I hear someone running, smiling when I see her baby cousin running to her. Her little cousin kept the baby, and she's turning 3 this year.
"Hi, baby!" Y/N says, pulling the toddler into a hug, and I smile at the sight. I think I felt my ovaries explode if I'm being honest.