Chapter Ten

Jace

I hurdled the guy William laid out and clutched the football close to my chest.

My legs burned as I turned on the speed. I zeroed in on the goal. Fifty yards to go. From my left, Ryan, the second stringer from the scrimmage team, charged at me. He was a fast sophomore. He might be a problem.

I juked left, then quick-stepped to the right. The second before impact, I spun, holding the ball to my chest with both hands.

"Shit!" Ryan flopped to the ground, having totally missed me.

"Go Jace! Go!" the cheerleaders screamed from the sideline.

It was just a scrimmage game, but the cheerleaders had shown up to practice some of their cheers, too, so it almost seemed like a real game.

My blood felt like it was on fire, coursing through me like raging rapids. On my right, another second-stringer was making an effort to catch me. He wouldn't.

I veered left. The crack of two helmets clashing behind me told me one of my teammates took down someone who might have stopped me.

Come on, Jace. You got this!

I pumped my free arm as I sped toward the goal. Ten yards. Only ten more yards and we'd nail this scrimmage.

My legs burned.
My lungs screamed for air.
My heart hammered.

This was what it was all about. Right here. Besides writing, football was my escape. My friends, my teammates, the cheering... On this field I could be open; I could be me. Fast. Powerful. Athletic.

If only I could be this open with my writing.

From the left, out of nowhere, someone leaped at me. I jumped up, narrowly clearing him, then tucked. I flipped over one revolution, then my feet landed on the ground and I fell into a somersault.

"Yes!"

Kyle landed on top of me, screaming. Beckett and Joel were next. Dang, you would have thought this was the final game in the state tournament for how happy they were.

Kyle grabbed my face mask, pulled my head forward slightly, then knocked his helmet against mine and yelled, "Dude! That was epic!" He fisted his hands in my jersey and hoisted me to my feet.

The team crowded around, even the scrimmage team, which was mostly JV players with a few varsity players thrown in there to make it more of a game. It helped us practice some of the new plays Coach had us learn, though, so it was great.

Gretchen and Harlow worked their way through my sweaty teammates, cheering and celebrating. The next thing I knew, Gretchen had her arm around me. "Nice job, Jace."

I shifted, trying to ease away from her, but there wasn't much room. What the heck was she doing clinging to me like that?

"You guys are ready to face off with Woodhaven this Friday!" Coach clapped and waved us to the sidelines.

That gave me the chance to escape Gretchen's clutches.

We circled him as he talked strategy. What caught my eye, though, was a flash of pink just past Coach's shoulder.

Beside the bleachers, where some of the students normally hung out and watched practices, McKenna and that guy Ernie she was always hanging out with stood, side by side. She wore her standard-issue black jeans and shirt— hell, even her nails were black, but that hair. So bright pink, it went completely against the dark colors she wore.

But even from here I could see her big, wide eyes. I couldn't see the color from this far off, but I knew those sea-green orbs were watching us. Maybe even me.

"Right, Jace?" Coach yelled.

"Yes sir!" I whipped my focus back to him.

"Get your head in the game." He knocked my helmet. He was right, though. My thoughts were going to McKenna way more than they ever had before. I'd known her forever, but didn't really know her. Not until she saved my ass. She was like the reluctant hero in a story: she'd stepped up but totally ragged on about it like it was this big inconvenience.

It had actually been pretty fun hanging with her at the hot dog place last night. And then when I had to help get her car started... She was so cute when she'd pounded on the wheel.

Maybe she'd be working there today, too. I could stop by and see her after practice. She'd probably laugh in my face at the thought of hanging with me, as friends. Not to mention, I'd get so much shit from pretty much everyone I hung around. Which totally sucked. I shouldn't care, right? But for some ridiculous reason, I did.

Then, when the KOS thing happened, I started to see her in a different light.

Kyle shoved me toward the bench where our gear bags were. "Dude. Wicked awesome catch."

"Thanks, man."

"What's with the space cadet shit? You zoned during Coach's big speech."

"Nothing."

"Dad ragging on you again?"

More like I can't get McKenna Storm out of my mind.

I coughed into a closed fist to cover up my awkward pause.

"Yep. Gets old. The coach from Parkside called Coach again. They might have a partial scholarship for me. Dad won't hear about it, though. He wants me to go to the business program at UW-Madison."

"UW-Parkside is an awesome school."

I nodded. I needed to man up and tell Dad how it was going to be. But, since he was paying for part of my college, what would that look like? What if he refused to pay for me to go to Parkside? A pit formed in my stomach. Even with a partial scholarship, I'd have to take out major loans to cover the rest. Would playing football for four more years be worth that much debt?

We made it to the bench where our stuff was and I glanced around. McKenna was still standing beside the bleachers. I gave her a nod and she flinched, turning toward Ernie. She slugged him in the chest and I heard his chuckle all the way over here.

My cheeks heated up as I watched her. I'd totally busted her scoping me out, hadn't I?

"Look at super freak Goth Girl." Kyle pointed at McKenna. "So what, she rams into you, losing her notebook, and she's suddenly interested in football players?"

"Yeah," Beckett said. "She never watches practices or hangs out with anyone but that Ernie kid."

She hadn't always been that way. But they were right. She kept everyone, except her best friend, out of her bubble as she called it. She'd started doing that in the sixth or seventh grade.

"You read that story everyone's talking about?" Kyle asked Beckett.

"Hell no. It's a romance book!"

"Screw that," Joel said. "I totally checked it out." "What?" Kyle pointed at Joel. "You romance-reading wuss. No wonder you ride the bench."

"Fuck you, man." He glared at Kyle. "Wanted to see what the girls keep going on about."

A huge lump formed in my throat and my palms suddenly felt sweaty.

"Yeah, there are some wicked-ass sword fights, though," Joel added. Kyle shook his head as he tossed his bag onto his shoulder. "I mean, and the dragon? Epic."

"There's a dragon in it?" Kyle asked, looking mildly interested.

I suppressed a chuckle as I started making my way back toward the school. Earlier today I'd heard a group of girls talking about the latest installment I'd posted today and they were totally swooning. One girl had even drawn the main character on the front of her notebook.

"McKenna!" someone yelled, and I looked up.

Three girls, one of them Gretchen's lackey, Trinity, stormed toward McKenna. She flinched, then grabbed Ernie's arm. Two more guys, a few from the theater club and even Sophia, the miss-perfect student council president, rushed her as well.

"From Goth Girl to Golden Girl," Kyle said, shaking his head. "I think we've entered an alternate reality."

"She's not so bad," I said, analyzing them for their reaction.

Kyle grimaced. "It's not so much bad, it's—"

"Weird," Beckett said. "I mean, dude. So weird. She probably bites the heads off chickens and howls at the moon."

"Or has bats hanging from the ceiling of her bedroom."

Joel slapped Kyle on the back. "Ohhh, but you know she's got hardware on her tongue. That shit feels so good when they—"

I backhanded Joel in the shoulder.

"Holy shit! You've got a crush on Goth Girl?" Joel pointed at me and laughed. "That's why you were at her locker, wasn't it? And why she showed up at practice today." Kyle and Beckett eyed me as we walked.

"Yo, Kyle," Matthew Halliday shouted from the sidewalk near the parking lot. "Friday night. After the game. Kegger at my place."

"We're there!" Kyle pointed at him and laughed.

I wouldn't be. Matthew Halliday was a dick. Treated girls like crap. Yeah, sure, he could play hockey with the best of them, but he was an ass. So was his buddy Todd.

I threw a glance over my shoulder to see McKenna hustling toward her car with a trail of people following her.

"McKenna. McKenna. What are you doing next with Masrin? She's a total freak show!" someone shouted.

"And Prince Havenspark. Does he kiss that one servant girl? Oh, they're totally going to hook up!"'

I smiled at the excitement KOS was getting, but it also kicked me in the gut to see McKenna getting thrown into the limelight, something she always seemed to avoid.

"The hottest girls at this school read that damn story, though." Kyle came up beside me, watching the crowd chasing after McKenna. "Maybe I should read that shit. Might help me find someone to hook up with this weekend."

"Even that wouldn't help you get a girl." Joel flicked his ear and took off.

Kyle roared and chased after him along with Beckett. I hung back, watching McKenna. She and Ernie made it to her car. Hopefully the thing would start. Wonder if she got that battery fixed.

I shook my head. I needed to stop thinking about her so much. She didn't want anything to do with me and I'd get hammered by my friends so badly if I pursued her.

"Hey Jace." Gretchen stepped into my line of sight as I was approaching the door to the school.

"What's up?" I reached for the door, so not in the mood to deal with the queen bee of the school.

"Not much, just admiring the view." She gave me a suggestive wink before sashaying away.

She was nothing but trouble.

If she found out I was the author of KOS, she'd be all over me. Even worse, if she knew that I was thinking about McKenna as much as I was...she'd rip both of us apart.

Yep. I needed to steer clear of the girl.

No. I needed to steer clear of McKenna, for both our sakes. 

*******

Happy Saturday, Lovelies! 

How's everyone doing? I hope everyone is safe and living their best weekend life! 

LynnRush is living her best life in the desert and I'm so jealous of her view! 

Look!

We got snow! LOL! I'll have to get a pic and post tomorrow!

I've gotta jet! Let me know what you thought of chapter ten in a comment below!

All votes, comments, etc. are always appreciated! 

Kelly Anne xoxo