Life in Search ✔️

4 ~ Fine

"New guy, you know what that means!" A voice shouts as I enter the locker room for the second time today.

I'm not prepared for the swarm of guys that charge me, shoving me around in a small circle as they hoot and holler. My mind blanks, panic taking over. A rougher hit has my hand balling up out of habit.

A clear voice cuts through the chaos, "Easy, guys, we just got a new QB. Let's not break him."

Sage forces everyone away, giving me a second to clear my head. Quickly I find my locker, changing to hide the slight shake of my hands. It wasn't a big deal, Ashton, just a little rough housing. God, I used to live for that sort of stuff, what happened?

Anger management happened. Nothing makes you more self-aware of your habits than talking to someone about it twice a week. That and sending a kid to the hospital, my mind hasn't really been in the same place since.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Sage asks as I close my locker. 

His voice is quiet, but I can't help getting embarrassed, "Totally fine."

He's eyes me over, hesitantly nodding. "Okay, I think coach wanted you to get down to the field as soon as possible."

The excuse sounds fake, but I need to get out of here, too many people for me to relax. Grabbing my stuff, I hurry out, momentarily forgetting where the exit is. As the sun warms my face, I'm hounded by one thought. Why am I doing this?

Teams and I don't get along. People and I don't get along unless they're someone I can flirt with and even then, limited conversation is needed. I should've gone home after school. Correction, I should've left before first period.

Yet, here I am, walking down to the field with a helmet in hand. I could wait it out, sneak back in, grab my keys and go home when nobody's looking but that would make gym really awkward tomorrow. Sage seems pretty cool; I don't want to be completely alone.

My thoughts continue to spin countless escapes, the very weak confidence I've gained wavering by the second. I'm distracted, however, by a specific person stretching by a light post, her hair flying in the wind.

Scarlett watches me, an impressed look on her face as she takes in the compression top and pants. A tank top was definitely a good idea today. Oh yeah, I knew it was only a matter of time.

"Enjoying the show, Sweetheart?" I taunt, a smirk naturally working its way onto my face. This is going to be fun.

She crosses her arms over her chest, popping her hip out defiantly. "Nope. I was just wondering why you have your football stuff when we're about to play the first round of state?"

This won't be easy, dropping my gear down I fiddle with a football, something tells me I'll be here for a minute or two. "Last I checked, your team just lost its starting quarterback and coach begged me to play." Literally, I've never seen a grown man so desperate in my life and that includes my Father begging for extra drug money. 

Scarlett winces and I can't help but wonder if she knew the guy. Taking advantage of her silence my eyes rake over her body. A white shirt that's so big it almost covers the red bottoms peeking out from underneath. Tan skin that momentarily distracts my focus, god I need to get laid.

The constant motion of tossing the football in the air gets me back on focus, she's in a cheer uniform. I know this school is weirder than most, but don't you usually have to have a personality to do something like that? 

"You don't really strike me as the cheerleader type." I admit, the edgy vibe was more along the feeling I was getting. I caught sight of a few sketches on her notebook during several of the five classes we share together.