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1440 Words
The grin on his face disappeared instantly.
For a moment, he just stared at the name written on the envelope.
Noah Carter.
I frowned.
Why did he suddenly look so annoyed?
"Of all people..." he muttered.
"What?" His eyes snapped to mine.
"Of all the guys in this school, you pick Noah Carter?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Why do you care?"
"I don't."
"Then give me my letter back." He ignored me.
"Do you even know how many girls he's dated?" I crossed my arms.
"Sounds like you're describing yourself." A laugh escaped him.
"Please. At least I'm honest about it."
"Oh, because that's so much better."
"You know what?" He pointed at me with the envelope.
"Your mother specifically asked me to make sure you focused on your studies this year." I blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Is this a joke?"
"No."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I'm serious."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"First of all, why would my mother ask you that?"
"Because our parents are friends."
"Unfortunately." His jaw tightened.
"Secondly, you're not my babysitter."
"I never said I wanted the job."
"Good. Then quit." I lunged for the envelope.
Xander instantly lifted it higher. Way higher. Curse his stupid height.
"Give it back!"
"No."
"Xander!"
"No." I jumped.
But I missed.
Jumped again.
Still missed.
The i***t was enjoying this.
His grin slowly returned "Oh my God, you're tiny."
"I hate you."
"The feeling's mutual." I charged at him.
He sidestepped.
I nearly crashed into a locker.
He laughed.
Actually I laughed.
I wanted to commit murder.
"Give me the letter!"
"Say please."
"Die."
"Close enough." I lunged again.
This time I managed to grab his wrist.
For one glorious second, I thought I had won.
Then the locker room doors burst open.
The entire football team walked in.
Every single one of them walked in and the room fell silent.
Dead silent.
I froze.
Xander froze.
The football players froze.
Then their eyes slowly traveled between us.
Me clutching Xander's wrist.
Xander standing shirtless.
Both of us flushed.
Standing far too close together.
My hair was a mess from our fall.
His jersey was half hanging off his shoulder.
And the pink envelope was crumpled between us.
Oh My God.
"No freaking way." The silence shattered instantly.
The team exploded.
"Dude!"
"LET'S GO, CAPTAIN!"
"I KNEW IT!"
"About time!" My soul left my body.
"No!" I shouted. "It's not what it looks like!"
That only made them louder.
One player actually started clapping.
Another wolf-whistled.
A third looked genuinely impressed.
Xander groaned.
"You idiots—"
"Locker room romance?" someone yelled.
"I've seen enough!" The laughter doubled.
Then my eyes landed on Noah.
And suddenly everything became ten times worse.
Because Noah Carter was standing right there.
Watching. His brows were furrowed in confusion.
His gaze moved from me...
To Xander...
To the envelope.
Then back to me.
I wanted the earth to split open and swallow me whole.
Immediately.
Forever.
"Amelia?" Noah said.
My face burned.
I couldn't even look at him.
This was not how he was supposed to notice me.
Not after months of crushing on him.
Not while I was standing in the boys' locker room looking like I'd just been caught doing something illegal.
One of the players slung an arm around Xander's shoulders.
"Damn, Captain."
Another player laughed.
"You couldn't even wait until after practice?"
The room erupted.
Again.
I buried my face in my hands.
Kill me.
Actually kill me.
Meanwhile, Xander's expression darkened.
His eyes flicked toward Noah.
Then toward the laughing team.
Then toward me.
And suddenly, a very dangerous smile appeared on his face.
The kind of smile that always meant trouble.
The kind of smile that usually ended with me regretting my existence.
"Oh no," I whispered.
Because whatever Xander Hayes was thinking I was absolutely not going to like it.
"And what exactly is going on here?"
The voice cut through the locker room like a knife.
Every single person froze.
My soul practically left my body.
Slowly, painfully slowly, I turned around.
Coach Reynolds stood in the doorway.
Arms crossed.
Expression unreadable.
Uh-oh.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
The entire football team suddenly found the floor fascinating.
Coach's eyes swept across the room.
The laughing players.
Me.
Xander.
The envelope.
The suspiciously small distance between us.
His jaw tightened.
"Office. Now."
The room collectively winced.
My stomach dropped.
"Coach, I can explain—"
"Office."
"But—"
"Now."
Yep.
I was dead.
Absolutely dead.
I shot Xander a murderous glare.
This was all his fault.
He noticed.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"Because I'm about to be expelled."
"You aren't getting expelled."
"You don't know that."
"Trust me."
"I don't."
For once, he didn't have a comeback.
Coach cleared his throat.
The sound alone nearly gave me a heart attack.
"Move."
Neither of us argued after that.
The walk to the coach's office was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life.
Students stared.
Whispered.
Pointed.
Phones appeared.
Somebody actually waved at us.
I considered faking my own death.
Twice.
By the time we reached the office, my anxiety had climbed to life-threatening levels.
Coach walked inside first.
Xander and I followed.
The door shut behind us.
Click.
That sound felt very final.
I sat down.
Xander sat beside me.
For once, neither of us spoke.
Coach remained silent.
That was somehow worse.
Then he sighed heavily.
A tired sigh.
The kind adults made when teenagers disappointed them.
I braced for impact.
The lecture.
The suspension.
The phone calls home.
Instead, Coach reached for his laptop.
My confusion grew.
Without saying a word, he turned the screen toward us.
A video was playing.
At first, I didn't understand what I was looking at.
Then my blood turned to ice.
The locker room.
Me.
Xander.
The chase.
The fall.
The accidental collision.
Everything.
Every.
Single.
Thing.
"Oh my God."
My voice came out as a whisper.
Beside me, Xander sat up straighter.
"What the hell?"
The video continued.
It showed me grabbing his jersey.
Both of us crashing to the floor.
Then that horrible moment when we landed on top of each other.
The clip ended there.
Thank God.
But the damage was already done.
I stared at the screen in horror.
"No."
Coach pinched the bridge of his nose.
"That's not even the worst part."
My stomach dropped.
"What do you mean?"
Coach turned the laptop back around.
The numbers underneath the video were terrifying.
Views.
Comments.
Shares.
Thousands of them.
My jaw nearly hit the floor.
"What?"
Xander leaned forward.
His eyes widened.
"No way."
Coach clicked another tab.
The school forum appeared.
Post after post after post.
CAPTAIN HAYES CAUGHT WITH SCHOLARSHIP GIRL?
LOCKER ROOM HOOKUP???
ARE THEY SECRETLY DATING?
SCHOOL'S MOST UNLIKELY COUPLE?
My face burned so hot I thought I might spontaneously combust.
"No."
I shook my head.
"No, no, no."
This couldn't be happening.
It had happened less than an hour ago.
How was it already everywhere?
Coach folded his hands.
"Someone recorded the entire thing through the locker room doorway and uploaded it."
I wanted to scream.
Xander looked equally horrified.
"This is insane."
"It gets worse," Coach said.
I almost cried.
"Worse?"
Coach nodded.
Then he looked directly at Xander.
"The school board has already contacted me."
Silence.
Xander's expression darkened.
"What does the board have to do with this?"
Coach's face became serious.
Very serious.
"The board believes this behavior is inappropriate for a team captain."
The color drained from Xander's face.
Oh.
Oh no.
I knew that look.
Football wasn't just football to Xander.
It was everything.
His future.
His scholarship offers.
His entire plan after graduation.
Coach continued.
"If this situation isn't handled carefully, you could lose your captaincy."
The room fell silent.
For the first time since I'd met him, Xander Hayes looked genuinely shaken.
Then Coach turned toward me.
And somehow things got even worse.
"Amelia."
My heart stopped.
"Yes?"
"The scholarship committee has seen the video too."
I felt sick.
Actually sick.
"And?"
The coach's expression softened slightly.
"They're questioning whether this kind of publicity reflects well on a scholarship representative."
The room started spinning.
My scholarship.
The thing I'd worked my entire life for.
The thing my family couldn't afford to lose.
Gone.
Just because of one stupid letter.
One stupid fall.
One stupid football captain.
I slowly turned toward Xander.
He turned toward me.
For the first time all day, neither of us looked angry.
We looked terrified.
Because suddenly this wasn't about embarrassment anymore.
It was about everything we stood to lose.
- Writer
