Note: All characters and settings are purely fictional. If there are any similarities to real people or places, it is merely coincidental. The plot was written by me and not copied from any other writer.
During warm-up, Hayden scraped his leg. It wasn't anything major for Coach to bench him, but it was something. It was a foreshadowing of how the rest of this day was going to unfold. Tatum was feeling a bit feverish, but he was still going to play. It was like the entire team got infected with something the moment we came on the field. It was a bit worrisome, but I couldn't think negatively. We had a game to win. So, I helped Tatum lift the spirits of the team with our chant after Coach ran down our plays.
Everything was good. The first half of the game was perfect. We were leading. Hayden was hanging in strong. Tatum seemed to be pushing through his sickness. Our defense was strong, especially after those training sessions with Rylee's brother. Things were looking good for Devenport. During halftime, Rylee came up to me. Usually, Coach doesn't let others interfere with our game, but he understands the effect Rylee has on me. He gives her a minute to talk to me.
"Looking good, O," Rylee compliments her pom-poms are in her hands. I smile and peck her cheeks in gratitude. I try not to hug her because I'm sweaty, and I don't want to ruin her uniform. Well, not when she still had a performance to do.
"Ry, let's go!" Mikah shouts on cue. Rylee smiles at me before running towards Mikah. I return to Coach and listen to his new plan for tackling the last half of the game. Hayden pats me on the back in encouragement because I'm going to have to push myself to pull off the play. I'm high on my favorite drug, Rylee, so I feel invincible. As I said, Devenport was looking good for securing another win.
As we returned to the field after half time, I locked eyes with the one person I never expected to see. I chuckle in disbelief. No, I laughed incredulously. There was no way. As if the universe wanted to fuck with my mind, Hayden freezes next to me to confirm everything.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" I say in disbelief.
Hayden frowns, "Out of all the mother fuckers in the world to see right now!" Seeing both Hayden and I brings a smirk to his face. He puts on his helmet and proceeds to his teammates.
"Don't even trip, O. This is your arena. Let's do what we do best." Hayden pats me on the shoulder, and I nod in agreement. He was right. This was my arena. I put on my helmet and jog on the field. I didn't let his presence get to me. Why would I? I had everything I wanted now. So, I kept my head in the game, and I ran the plays flawlessly. We stayed in the lead, but Trevdale still had the opportunity to take the game from us.
As the last few seconds of the third quarter ran down, I'm setting off to throw the ball to Tay, but I'm tackled hard. The hit takes the wind out of me. My body hits the grass hard, and I can feel the aches forming in my body.
"Gibbs tackles Bradshaw. What an excellent tackle from Trevdale's Defensive End!" The announcer roars throughout the field. Gibbs? The sound of his name triggers me. No wonder that tackle hurts more than it should. It came from that egotistical prick. Hayden helps me up. The Trevdale player takes off his helmet, and he is wearing that annoying smirk he donned three years ago.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Hayden and Theo. I see you two losers still hangout." Both Hayden and I huff slightly at him. He was still a lowlife. Three years did nothing for him.
"Nice seeing you too, Preston. You haven't changed one bit," Hayden mocked.
Preston laughs, "You're right. I haven't." Preston looks at me. His smile widens. "I know someone who has though. I see Rylee Scott got fine as hell since middle school. I wonder what those lips tas-" Preston continues, but the idea of him kissing her infuriates me. I lunge for him, but Hayden grabs me before I punch him.
"He ain't worth it, O," Hayden shouts, trying to calm me down. Players from each team start to notice, and a few make their way towards us.
"Typical Theo. You were always quick to fight, but can't ever speak up. Just a mute punk-ass rich boy." Preston taunts further. I'm so angry, I'm trying to pull away from Hayden to punch the shit out of him.
"We got a problem here, Preston?" A Trevdale player asks, coming up to our faces.
"Do we?" Tatum and Garrett ask, rolling up to the side of him. A few other players appeared, and it was a full stare down. I could care less about the other players. I wanted to sock the shit out of Preston for disrespecting my girl.
"Nah, no problem. Just catching up with a few old classmates is all." Preston says. He pushes his teammates away from us. Hayden's grip on me slackens. Tatum and the others also ease up a bit. I hear the crowd a bit concerned about the gathering. Coach is shouting for us to huddle in. Preston turns slightly but pauses as if he forgot something. Taking precaution, Hayden adds pressure to his grip on me.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Did you know I was here first?" He asks, smirking at me. That was it. I lost all sense of control and lunged at him, breaking Hayden's grip.
"You son of a bitch!" I growl as I went after him, but Tatum and Garret caught me in time. They pulled me away from Preston who was now laughing at me. The sound of his laugh infuriated me more. I tried pulling away from Tatum and Garret's grasp, but it was a failed attempt.
"Let me at that son of a bitch!" I snarl, trying to pry away from them to wipe the grass with Preston's face.
"Relax, O!" Tatum shouts. He starts grips me and starts shouting in my face, "You're going to cause us the game if you fight that asshole!"
"I don't care. That asshole talked about my girl," I fumed, attempting to pry Tatum's' hands-off my jersey. Tatum clutches me tighter and shakes me.
"You think Rylee wants to date a loser who causes us a game because he couldn't handle some dick talking shit about her on the field? Rylee is a Devenport cheerleader! We win first and handle shit later. Get it together, O!" Tatum rants.
"He's right. Ry wouldn't want you losing this game. You know she wouldn't," Hayden agrees. I calm down.
"I didn't want you to think you were disappointing any of us if we lost the game."
The memory of her speaking to me on the bus flashes through my head, and I bow my head. I nod slowly in agreement with Tatum and Hayden. Hayden relaxes and releases me. Rylee is a Tiger. Tigers win. If I botch this game because of Preston, I wouldn't be able to face Rylee.
"Get your head in the game, O. We got a game to win," Tatum advises before heading to Coach. Hayden pats me on the shoulder. I inhale deeply. I need to focus on the game. Fuck that asshole. He was trying to get in my head using Rylee. I clench my fist in frustration. How dare he use Rylee to psyche me out?
The last quarter of the game was a game-changer for me. Usually, I played with a motivated vigor stimulated by a desire to be better. But this quarter brought out a fire in me to not just be better, but to show everyone why I was better than Preston Gibbs. And, I was. In so many ways, I was better than him. Throughout my life, I knew I was blessed. There were very few things I desired, and fewer I envied. The one thing Preston always had on me was confidence. He was a confident prick, and it annoyed me. Then, he became the very thing Rylee desired, and it angered me. But today, I wanted to show him exactly how much I grew from that self-conscious little boy I was.
So, I passed the ball like my life depended on it. I dodged tackles, and I ran like fire was at the bottom of my feet. And when we scored the last touchdown with the clock on forty-five seconds, I tasted the victory from the sweat draining down my face. As the clock winded down to the last second, I celebrated with my teammates on another victory.
Tatum started the chant, and I celebrated as if we had just won the championship game. We were a few games away from playoffs, but this victory was just as big. I couldn't wait for the bus ride home. I wanted to hold Rylee the entire time. I wanted to kiss her for being my center. I wanted to thank her. I just wanted to be with her.
Coach calls us in for a moment to go over a few things and I'm itching to getaway. I want to be with my woman not listening to our flaws in the game we just won. But, I hold it in. It wouldn't be very sportsmanlike to leave my team hanging just to fulfill my selfish desires. It takes about twenty minutes before I can rush off to find Rylee. I'm sprinting like a mad man.
I'm in the right place when I spot Mikah laughing at a few of the other cheerleaders. Her eyes are wandering out in the field. I sum it up to her waiting on Hayden. They weren't official, but something tells me, they weren't far from it. I look around the area and smile when my eyes catch a glimpse of her wild curly hair. I was a few seconds sort of running up to her when the crowd clears. The scene seemed to be happening in slow motion how much air it took out of me.
Rylee was there, smiling. No, she was laughing. She was laughing at the very guy I almost fucked up a few moments ago. He plays with her hair, and she playfully hits him on the chest. They're flirting. I huff in disbelief. What was this? Again? We were in a rerun of this bullshit?
Preston leans in and hugs her, and I lose the last drop of restraint. My feet react before my mind could process anything. I pull him off Rylee and punch him straight to the floor.
"Theo, no!" Rylee screams, trying to hold me back. Preston wipes the blood from the side of his mouth and smirks.
"Always quick to fight, Theo. Ever tried using your words?"
"No point in using them on assholes like you," I respond, pulling away from Rylee to punch him again.
"Stop it, Theo! Preston didn't do anything wrong!" Rylee screams, and I standstill. I'm certain the color drained from my body. Again. We were here again. And once again, Rylee Scott broke my heart.
"He did nothing wrong? Is that it?" I whisper, not daring to look at her. I notice the crowd of people surrounding us. I clench my fist and shut my eyes in hopes to appease my anger, but it does nothing. I can see the memory of Rylee hugging Preston, and I clench my jaw.
"Yes. It's stupid. I don't like guys who use violence instead of reason." She explains. No, she doesn't like me. In a competition between Preston and me, Rylee has a favorite. It wasn't me back then and it, sure enough, isn't me now. After everything, I thought something would have changed. I thought I could have made her feel the same way I felt about her. Or stirred her heart enough for her to side with me for once or to at least ask why I did what I did. But, I guess not.
I open my eyes and turn around to see her. She's standing there glaring at me. If I wasn't so angry, I would have found her to be sexy as hell, but the thought of seeing her in that way upsets me further. Why was I the only one with these feelings? Was she my punishment? Being in love with a girl who could never love me back, was that it? I hold back the tears. I couldn't cry. Men don't cry, so I've been told. But, it's the one thing I want to do at this moment.
I look at her, fist clenched, eyes locked onto her, "You always have to remind me how much I'm not good enough for you, huh?"
Her body stiffens before she whimpers, "What?"
"I get it now. Three years and I finally accept it. Thanks for reminding me, Scott."
"What are you talking about, Theo? What's going on?" Her voice softens, and it breaks my heart further. But, that aggravates me more. I am such an idiot when it comes to Rylee Scott but not anymore. I didn't need a third time to understand I was never going to be what she wanted.
"We're done. This between us, it's done," my voice low, loud, and rumbling. It came out sharper than I intended but genuine to the way I was feeling. I walked away from her and the crowd. I didn't care about how it made us looked. I didn't care about her calling after me. I wanted to get out of here and away from Rylee Scott. I wanted nothing to do with her. This time I'm going to kick her out of my life, for good.