prologue - detention and dinosaurs
"No phones. No ipods. No apple watches. No talking. No kissing. No sexual procedures" Mrs. Laine stared me in the eyes.
"I'm the only one here" I sighed.
"Don't talk back to me" Mrs. Laine sneered. "I'll be right back. Follow the rules and don't shut the door. You'll be locked in here until the custodial staff gets here and they were already sent home for the day"
Let me tell you something. I absolutely hate my gym teacher and she hates me right back. How do I know? Well she singled me out and gave me detention, my first detention ever, for using my phone while 3 other girls were also using their cell phones.
I get that having my phone out in class is against the rules but I was the only one who got detention. If the three girls, athletes nevertheless, got detention too then I wouldn't be so annoyed. All I was trying to do was mute the dumb group chat Laurel added me to. I'm sorry I didn't want my butt vibrating while I was doing lunges.
I still have no idea why it was blowing up like that. I would check but I didn't want Mrs. Laine coming back and giving me another hour of detention.
So instead I just sat in the comfortable sofa and drew. Drawing was always one of my favorite things to do. Ever since I was 8 years old and found my first set of sketching pencils. I wasn't the type of girl that liked to go to parties or sleep all day or spend all day on social media. So I spent most of my free time drawing. I drew mostly anything. Real people, cartoon characters, original characters, landscapes etc. My father loved my artwork. Especially the drawings I've made of my mother after her death when I was 15.
I had just finished the outline of the charmander I was sketching when I heard voices coming from the hallway. Two, I recognised as Kevin and Devin Preston. Captain and Quarterback of the Eastview high football team and my old childhood friends.
I sighed uncomfortably. I didn't have any bad feelings towards them. I just didn't want to deal with them. They weren't the same people I was friends with in middle school. They had a bit of a.... player-ish reputation. Not that I judged. I just don't think they talked to any girls unless they are trying to get in their pants. But they're also the type of people who wouldn't flat out ignore me and since I'm the only other person in the library...
"Calm down bro. It's just a detention" A new voice joined in.
It seemed familiar but I couldn't place it with a name or face. It was deeper than I remembered...
"It's your first day back. Do you want mom and dad to send you back to that boarding school?" Kevin said.
God... Marc Preston was back from that boarding school already? Couldn't his parents keep him there until the end of this year? Why would they do this? Marc Preston was nothing but trouble.
"Eh it wasn't that bad" Marc laughed as he came into my line of vision.
He looked... older then I remember. Well, obviously he would be older. The last time I saw him, he was 13. Now he's at least 18. His jet black hair was slightly grown out and tossled around. His jawline matched his older brothers, sharp and defined. It looked like his ears had gauges in them and he had an eyebrow piercing now. I couldn't see his eyes from here but I'm sure they're the same pale blue I remember.
He was taller. Probably 6'0. He wasn't as muscular as Kevin and Devin. Probably because he was too reckless to be on the football team. He was lean. His outfit consisted of converse, a band tee, dark jeans and an old jacket. God. What did he think this was? 2006?
Right as I was about to stick my head back in my sketch book and hope they wouldn't notice me - my phone rang. And I instantly regretted letting Wyatt change his ringtone to that Hannah Montana song Best Of Both Worlds.
Three pairs of piercing blue eyes snapped towards me and I instantly felt stupid because I was staring.
Kevin and Devin's eyebrows went down as they tried to remember who I was. Great, they couldn't even be bothered to remember my name. But Marc's face broke out into a huge grin.
"Thea! Baby! It's been so long! Really? Hannah Montana? Well look at you, you look like you should be in one of those disney after-school specials" Marc teased as he made his way towards me.
"Well, Marc. You look like you should be arguing with your parents outside of Hot Topic because this-" You gestured to his attire. "isn't a phase"
Marc's eyebrows went straight up at my response. I bet he wasn't expecting that to come out of my mouth. Last time he saw me I was a chubby, timid 13 year old girl who couldn't think straight around him.
"Still drawing I see! What is this? Some sort of dinosaur?" Marc snatched my sketch book out of my hands. "You always liked dinosaurs"
I glared at him for poking fun at my irrational childhood fear of dinosaurs. Obviously that had gone away but it still annoyed me.
"Leave her alone Marc" Kevin sighed.
"Shut up, Kevin. You didn't even recognise her until I said her name" Marc flipped through my sketch book. "Can you answer that thick Thea? Hannah Montana isn't really my jam"
"Don't call me that" I hissed as I picked up my phone. "What do you want Wyatt?"
"Snappy much? I'm outside to pick you up like the great older brother I am and you're not here" Wyatt sassed.
"God I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you I had-"
"Is that my man Wyatt? Let me say Hi" Marc tried to grab my phone and I pulled away. I did not want to be that close to Marc Preston.
"Is that Marc Preston? Are you with Marc Preston right now? I always knew you two were going to hook up-"
"Wyatt. That is not what's happening" I cringed. "I have detention. I'm coming out now"
"You didn't let me say Hi" Marc whined and I grabbed my book out of his hands.
"Goodbye Marc. I hope I never see you again. Bye boys" I waved and went towards the door. That's all I could do because of the three idiots that I grew up with.
"You idiots!" I growled.
"Woah! What did we do?" Devin asked wide-eyed.
"You closed the doors!"
"So? Just open them!" Kevin furrowed his eyebrows.
"Have you guys never been in the library?" I asked and they shook their heads. "Oh my god"
"Is there a problem other than my brothers don't like books?" Marc smirked.
"Yeah. When the door shuts, it gets jammed. As you can see, we're stuck in here until Mrs. Laine comes to check on us. Too bad she's screwing Coach Ortega in the sports office right now" I hissed and he burst out laughing.
"How do you know that?"
"Everyone knows they're hooking up" Kevin sighed. "How are we going to get out of here?"
We sat around thinking for a few minutes before I remembered something.
"Wyatt?" I said when he picked up the phone.
"Yes? Are you calling to tell me that you're done sucking face with Marc"
"I'm not-" I stopped when I saw the triplets staring at me. "We got locked in the library. Which window is the one you used to sneak out of?"
"The one all the way in the back. But it can only be opened from the outside" Wyatt said.
"Well can you come open it" I asked.
"It depends. Am I going to find hickies all over Marc-"
"Wyatt I am going to stab you with a fork" I growled.
"I'm coming. Calm down"
"Tst. Tst. Tst. Thick Thea always with a fork in reach" Marc laughed.
"Bro-" I cut Devin off.
"M-Marc Preston always w-with his weak r-remarks" I smirked when Marc glared at me. He hated when people brought up the stutter he used to have.
"Screw you" Marc glared at his brothers who were laughing at him.
I started making my way to the back of the library where Wyatt said the window was. The triplets followed behind me.
"How is Wyatt? Haven't seen him since he graduated" Kevin asked.
"He's fine. He's trying to get his business degree on some online college" I said awkwardly. Why can't they just, ya know, not talk to me?
We finally reached the window and I could see Wyatt taking his sweet time to get here. He had a huge boyish grin on his face and his light brown hair looked like he just woke up. He probably did just wake up, since he was still in his pajamas.
"Oh. This-" He pointed at the four of us. "I'm not okay with"
"Excuse me?" I squinted at him.
"I was okay with just one brother but all of them? That could ruin-"
"Open the god damn window" I growled.
"Calm down Tee" Wyatt snorted as he unlatched the window and pushed it open. "That's as far as it'll open"
I was the first one to squeeze through the tiny opening. I had to get away from them.
"She's a little flexible huh?" I heard Marc whisper to Devin and he hummed in agreement.
I bit back the snarky remark I wanted to say because I didn't want to let Wyatt know that they were talking about me like that.
"And she has been birthed!" Wyatt exclaimed as I stood up straight.
Marc was the next one to slip out. It was neither graceful nor quick. It took him 5 minutes to contort his tall body in ways so he wouldn't hurt himself.
"Fuckin' hell" Marc breathed as he stood up next to me. "I don't think they're gonna fit"
"So how are we going to get out?" Kevin asked.
"Marc and Thea could go get a teacher" Wyatt suggested.
"Um no" I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm going home and watching Netflix"
"Then you're going to get an extra hour for skipping" Wyatt grinned.
"How are they going to know?" I rolled my eyes.
"Well Marc would go and get a teacher, they'd fix the door and find those two. And you wouldn't be there" Wyatt snorted.
"Ya know. I hate you. So much. Why are you my brother?" I frowned. "You're waiting till I'm let out. C'mon"
I started tredging towards the front of the school with Marc in tow.
"So how's your life been Thea?" Marc asked and I groaned.
"Perfect up until you got here"
"Awe don't act like you didn't miss me" Marc fell in sync with my steps. "So I guess you're not friends with my brothers anymore?"
"Nope" I popped my 'p.'
"Yeah as soon as I saw you I knew they probably bedded you already-"
"I didn't sleep with them!" I hissed with wide-eyes.
"Really?" He asked looking genuinely surprised.
"Yes really" I glared and sped up.
"Huh that's weird" Marc hummed. "So I'm guessing you're a virgin?"
"Marc I really hate you" I sighed as we walked in the front doors.
"I love you too baby girl" He said with a grin and I crinkled my nose.
"Can I help you two?" Officer Lyla, the school security officer asked.
"We had detention in the library and the door shut" I smiled politely.
"How did you get out?" She asked.
"The window" Marc said. "My brothers are still in there and they aren't going to be able to fit through it"
"Oh okay. Let me just call the custodians. They're going to have to take the door off. We should have gotten that thing fixed ages ago. Just wait here" Officer Lyla walked behind her desk to get her walkie-talkie.
"Ya know" Marc whispered in my ear. "It's probably going to take them a while, we could go in that closet if you wanna- ow stop hitting me Thea! It was a joke!"
The universe must love playing sick jokes on me.
a u t h o r s n o t e
I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of The Preston Playboys!
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