Between two kops

Chapter twelve

Steven

I walked through a meadow covered in gorgeous yellow and purple flowers, swaying gently along the thick grass to the rhythm of the wind. The sun was slowly sinking behind a distant hill, spilling warm, purple hues across the restless sky. Christina was right beside me, wearing a stunning light blue dress with a deep slit down the chest. We weren't rushing. We just walked casually side by side, as if time between us no longer existed at all. As if the entire universe had suddenly stopped and granted us all the time in the world, just for the two of us.

That meadow simply had no end. Wherever I turned my eyes, the greenery stretched endlessly into the distance. A quiet, surreal, and pure dimension filled with an indescribable beauty and a deep peace that I had never felt before in my dark, miserable life.

Every flower had its own distinct, intense scent. I bent down, pulled the root of a wild meadow sage out of the dry soil, and brought it to my nose. The smell of fresh grass, mixed with the slight bitterness of earth and sticky resin, instantly filled my lungs. I picked a few more sturdy stems and skillfully crafted a medium sized bouquet. The purple blossoms gently caught the light under my rough fingers, while bees persistently chased after the open petals.

I turned toward Christina with a soft smile. But she was gone. She had simply evaporated in a split second, like fog.

In that moment, my heart skipped a beat violently and slammed right into my throat. Where the f**k did she disappear to now?

"Christina?" I spoke much quieter than I intended, my voice cracking with sudden fear.

I turned around panic stricken, faster and faster, in a futile hope of catching a glimpse of her somewhere close again. The meadow was still there, identical, infinite, and perfectly beautiful... but damn empty without her.

"Christina!" I yelled much louder now, feeling a chill run through me. There was no answer, only the wind continuing to coldly wave the grass.

"Christinaaaa!"

Then I opened my eyes abruptly to find Ksenija shaking me by the shoulder, trying to wake me up. Shit... was I squirming and talking in my sleep again? I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up on the double bed. I leaned my pillow against the cold wall and rested my back against it, while Ksenija watched my every move in complete silence.

"Didn't help?" she asked in a quiet, groggy, slightly raspy voice.

"No. It's even worse, bro..." I said honestly.

I blindly fumbled around on the nightstand until I finally found my phone. I turned on the screen and checked the time. Fuck... six thirty. I'm going to be late for stupid school again.

I jumped out of bed like a bat out of hell and furiously started picking up scattered clothes off the floor. Hers and mine, mixed together from last night's round of s*x, lay strewn across the floor everywhere. At that moment, a quick flash of memories from last night and how aggressively I satisfied her while Christina was in my head slashed through my thoughts like a blade. There was no f*****g time for a shower. I just threw item after item onto myself, nervously and in an unseen hurry, nearly wiping out on the floor while shoving my leg into my jeans.

Meanwhile, Ksenija remained lying unclothed, barely half covered by a thin sheet, as if deliberately tempting me to get back into bed and play another round of rough s*x. She knew damn well that even in that rush, my eyes would keep drifting back to her. And they did drift, I'll admit. Wandering over her body, taking me back to the past in a split second, to our first time. Back then, we were just insecure kids, kids lost in all of this and in this city... She was curious, wanting to try everything, and me... I didn't even blink. I immediately did what had to be done.

Her body today really wasn't the same as before. Once petite, overly skinny, kinda boyish when we were younger, she was now seriously shaped. Feminine in every f*****g sense. Every line in its place, and those tight clothes she usually rocked dangerously highlighted those female curves of hers. Who would've thought, bro, that a girl could naturally turn into such a beauty, one that any man would want all to himself.

"f**k it, I gotta dash to school," I muttered, grabbing my backpack and hoodie.

"Take care, Stev," she called out calmly from the pillow.

I picked up the last piece of clothing off the floor and literally sprinted out of the apartment. As I ran down the stairs, I realized I had completely lost track of time. School today, then the derby, derby madness in the stands afterward... I have a million things to finish and survive before tonight. And instead of staying focused and getting my s**t together, I'm wasting time lounging around in Ksenija's bed.

I burst into the schoolyard almost running. I can't remember the last time I rushed like this to get to bullshit classes. The hallways were already half empty, everyone had long entered their classrooms, and the bell was just about to ring. My footsteps echoed off the floor as I hurried past closed cabinet doors, trying to catch at least a normal breath and think up a convincing excuse for being late along the way.

As I rounded the last corner of the hallway, right next to the stairs, someone suddenly grabbed me roughly by the shoulder from behind. I whipped around on instinct and found Nick. Behind him stood Michael and some third guy from our class. They surrounded me in a second, cut off my path, and literally dragged me into the boys' bathroom, slamming the door shut behind us.

"You and I still haven't settled our score, bro," Nick said, with that slimy, arrogant smirk of his.

Michael and that other guy instantly grabbed my shoulders firmly and yanked me backward. My back slammed hard against the cold tiles, damp and soaked in that stale, unpleasant smell of old soap and chlorine.

"Is that why you brought your dogs? You don't have the balls to face me one on one?" I spat the words in his face, pure rage burning in my eyes.

"Hey! I'm talking, you shut up and listen! Is that clear?!" Nick snarled, getting right up in my face.

"Aw, buddy... look at you all fired up..." I laughed, more out of defiance and provocation than any actual humor.

That set him off more than anything else. He lost control. In the next split second, his fist slammed violently straight into my gut. All the air instantly burst from my lungs. Then another blow to the exact same spot, and another. My body reflexively contorted with every fresh surge of pain, but it never even crossed my mind to let out the slightest sound in front of these clowns. I tried to wriggle my arms out of their grip, but those two held me way too tight, pinned against the wall.

"You won't even go near Christina anymore, let alone speak a single f*****g word to her! Is that clear to you, gypsy?!"

I looked him dead in those rich boy eyes of his, despite the pain tearing up my insides.

"Or what?"

"I'll f*****g ruin your life, Steven! You won't know what hit you!"

His threat honestly carried zero weight like he, in that twisted head of his, thought it did. My life was already a f*****g mess, already completely ruined to begin with. What else, what the f**k, could he even take from me? Nothing, bro. Those little threats over Christina... Seriously? If I want to, I'll lay her without a problem, whenever the mood strikes me. This rich piece of s**t definitely isn't going to forbid me from doing that. The guy seriously deluded himself into thinking he owns the whole world, that everything revolves around him and his damned money.

They finally let go of me. My legs buckled and I just collapsed onto the dirty tile floor, gasping for air like I'd just surfaced from the bottom of a pool. I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breathing somehow. Slowly... I took a deep breath in through my nose, then let it out through my mouth. Everything became a fraction easier, and that sharp pain in my stomach began to settle into a dull echo. Those three scumbags were already long gone out of the bathroom, relaxed, as if nothing had happened thirty seconds ago.

Nick... you seriously f****d up if you think you won this s**t. No, bro... This is just the official start of the war, a war that I'll end up winning. Remember that.

I gathered all my remaining strength and somehow pushed myself up off the floor. Every f*****g movement sliced deep inside me like a razor blade. I walked over to the sink and turned the tap all the way on. Cold water ran down my face as I washed up frantically, trying to pull myself together somehow before stepping into the classroom. My eyes dropped to my gut as I nervously pulled up my hoodie and black shirt. A large, dark bruise was already spreading across my skin.

"f**k's sake..." I muttered angrily under my breath, looking at myself in the mirror. Was it really that hard? He's going to pay me back for this, the scumbag, sooner or later.

I walked out of the bathroom and at the absolute last possible second, practically sneaking right behind the teacher's back, I entered the already packed classroom. Nick and that pathetic crew of his were already sitting in their seats. Their eyes locked onto me in a second, with that same dirty, victorious smirk on their faces.

Keep laughing. He who laughs last... laughs best.

I walked to the back desk and took my seat next to Christina. My hand uncontrollably, reflexively slid to my gut, over that fresh mark under my shirt, right where the pain throbbed the hardest. I clenched my teeth to the breaking point and stared straight at the chalkboard, pretending everything was in perfect order.

"And you, young man? Why are you late to my class?" the history teacher asked, not looking up as she arranged her notes and books on the desk.

Fuck, bro. She caught me sneaking behind her back after all.

"The principal held me up in the office, Ms. I had to turn in some registration papers to him..." I said completely calm and cold blooded, firing off the first lie that popped into my head.

The only thing that mattered was making it sound convincing enough without stuttering so the woman would buy the story right away.

Nick Petrović glanced at me sideways from the corner of his eye, self satisfied, as if he actually hadn't expected me to keep quiet about the whole thing and cover for them. He's hilarious. I've never been a snitch in my life, nor will I ever become one, even if they beat me to death. That's a matter of the ultras code.

"What happened to you?" Christina asked softly, almost inaudibly from my left side.

I flinched. Is it really that obvious on me? I tried every way possible to keep a straight face and complete composure, to reveal absolutely nothing to her.

"Nothing. What exactly are you driving at, princess?"

"Nick? He did something to you, didn't he?" Her voice was dead quiet, but tense to the snapping point. You could clearly see in her eyes that she already knew everything. Or at least had a serious hunch about what happened five minutes ago in the bathroom.

"Nah. I already told you, the principal held me up over some papers. Chill out a bit, princess," I snapped at her in a half whisper, keeping my eyes glued to the board.

"Hey, quiet back there!" the teacher barked, shooting a glare at us.

"Children, today we are learning about the Great Migration of the Serbs in 1690."

She picked up a half used piece of white chalk and stood before the board, tapping it against the wood. "The first migration of the Serbs was led personally by Patriarch Arsenije III Čarnojević..."

The teacher slowly began dictating the lesson, but clearly even that warning wasn't enough for Christina to shut up and stop grilling me with questions. I turned my head slightly toward her, wondering to myself where all this sudden curiosity about my life came from.

"You didn't show up to school at all yesterday?" she chimed in again, doodling with a pen in her notebook.

"Did you miss me that much, huh?"

"No, why would I miss you, Steven?" she said, but her voice faltered slightly.

"Well, I don't know... Maybe because you're crazy about me," I winked at her provocatively like that, and she turned red as a beet in a split second.

"Keep dreaming, jerk," she muttered through her teeth and rolled those sweet little eyes of hers, trying to hide that I hit the bullseye.

I laughed quietly at her explosive reaction, and instantly accepted the challenge in my head to prove her wrong. To show her she can't lie to me.

"Are you really a hundred percent sure about what you're saying, Christina?"

My left hand slipped completely unnoticed onto the other side of the desk, straight onto her soft, warm thigh. She was wearing those tight jeans full of ripped holes, so my fingers landed directly on her bare skin. She looked at me in total surprise, but didn't say a single word, nor did she move away. My hand stayed there, steady and confident, as if it had belonged in that exact spot from day one.

Christina sat up abruptly in her chair, freezing completely, as if desperately trying to hold onto the control that was uncontrollably slipping away in the wrong direction. But that wide eyed look of hers betrayed her a hundred percent. I just knew. I could feel it under my palm, that she actually liked my hand being there, and that this whole thing was getting to her, no matter how hard she tried to hide it from me.

"What are you... What are you doing?" she whispered barely above a breath, without any real strength in her voice, as her breathing turned shallow.

I leaned in extremely close to her, close enough that she could clearly feel my warm breath against her neck. Then I spoke softly right into her ear, just loud enough for her and no one else in the classroom to hear.

"Exactly what you imagine in the dark at night, princess..."

She didn't answer me right away. She just stared at me hypnotized, dropped her gaze for a split second down to my hand still squeezing her skin through the ripped holes, and then locked eyes with me again. Stop resisting already, girl... We both know damn well you want this.

"I'm definitely not imagining you, Steven!"

"Then why is my hand still sitting on your thigh? You're lying, princess. I can see it in your eyes."

"No, I'm not! Take your hand off me!"

She swatted weakly at my hand and threw a killer glare my way. Ha, I just wonder how much longer she's going to act like some tough chick when her eyes say otherwise.

"Hey, you two in the back! I already warned you once about talking. Christina, Steven, both of you stand up!" the history teacher's voice suddenly echoed.

In that moment, Nick whipped his whole body around toward us like a bat out of hell. Pure rage was literally oozing from his eyes, his face contorted. His jaw was clenched so tight the muscles stood out on his face, and his look was pure, lethal poison. Naturally, he didn't like the fact that I totally brushed off all those mobster threats of his from the bathroom. I just gave him that same cold blooded, provocative, and arrogant smirk back. On purpose, purely to get under his skin even more and throw him off balance.

"I'm sorry, Ms... It won't happen again, really," Christina said quietly, lowering her head, trying to talk her way out of this mess.

Honestly, it looked so pathetic to me... Imagine publicly apologizing to someone just for saying two words in class.

The teacher dramatically opened that thick gradebook in front of us and took a deep breath, looking as if she couldn't wait for this opportunity to make our lives as miserable as possible. Just because we decided to exchange a few words instead of copying her boring lesson off the board.

"Christina, you already have pretty poor, shaky grades in my class. Why are you consciously making things worse?" she asked her coldly, looking at her over the rim of her glasses.

I lowered my eyes toward the floor, more out of instinct than because I actually wanted to. Christina's right leg was trembling nervously under the desk, tapping in a panic rhythm. Is she actually freaked out right now? So behind all that arrogant attitude, expensive clothes, and defiance, she's really just a scared, fragile little girl who's terrified of getting punished.

"Ms. She just didn't get the lesson. She asked me to explain the part about the migration..." I cut in all of a sudden, interrupting the woman mid sentence. Honestly, I didn't even know what the f**k was wrong with me in that moment or why I even felt the need to defend Christina and pull her out of the deep end.

All at once, complete, dead silence fell over the entire classroom. Literally everyone present turned around and stared right at me in shock, as if I were an alien. Even though I didn't give a single f**k about their looks, my gaze drifted down to Christina. I noticed her leg had finally stopped trembling nervously under the desk. Only then did a sense of relief hit my chest, the panic was gone...

"And you, Steven? Did you suddenly become her official defense attorney here?" The teacher raised her eyes from the gradebook and locked onto me over her glasses.

"No, Ms. I'm just telling it like it is."

"Hmm..." she muttered as she lazily flipped through those white pages. "Steven, looking at your grades... You don't have many transferred over from your previous school. You're pretty thin."

She made a short, tense pause, as if coming up with the best way to screw us both over. I looked at Christina sideways once more. This time, she was looking straight at me, completely frozen in place, like she was hypnotized. Her hair lay messy over her shoulders, and her chest was heaving under tense, cautious breathing.

"Alright. You will be doing a project assignment together. That way, both of you can fix your grades and resolve the issue."

"Is that really necessary?" I asked the teacher, my face darkening. What f*****g group project, what is this woman talking about...

"It is very much necessary, Steven. Unless you and your desk mate want to spend the entire summer together with me in remedial classes?"

"But, Ms..." Christina tried to squeak something out, totally in shock, but the teacher immediately cut her off with her signature sharp, pissed off tone.

"No buts, Christina! After the bell, both of you stay behind for a few minutes so I can give you the sources and the topic you'll be writing about together."

"You have a deadline of exactly one week to write it, assemble it, and learn it. Naturally, you will work as a team. Otherwise, as I said, both of you are heading to remedial school!"

The sharp expression on the teacher's face was more than enough to let us know there was simply no way out of this. Both of us sat back down defeated and speechless, and for the rest of the period, we didn't utter another single word.

It felt as if an invisible wall had suddenly risen between the two of us at the desk, right where Christina had previously drawn that imaginary line. The pencil line might have been erased, the line formally gone... but that feeling in the air remained. Like a dangerous boundary I consciously shouldn't cross, yet f*****g want to.

On the other side, Nick Petrović. That monkey could barely wait for that bullshit bell to ring at the end of class to pop up right in front of us, literally snatch Christina by the arm, and drag her off to the side, into the very corner of the classroom. Their argument went on for a long time. Even though I wasn't close enough to hear the whole argument, it was obvious from a mile away what it was about.

That jealous bastard definitely lost his mind over this joint assignment. Which translates to, coming over to someone's place, staying up late into the night, just the two of us completely alone face to face. Honestly, to me, none of that felt like a punishment. It felt more like the ideal opportunity to finally figure out and get to know Christina Veljković properly, without any masks. Even though so far she's persistently shown only that arrogant, cold rich girl front, I had a f*****g gut feeling that there was a lot more hiding behind all of it than she allows the world to see.