Lost in the Game {Brollins}

| Chapter 30 |

The landing wasn't graceful but it wasn't as bad as anticipated.

Colby was used to rough hits and falls and knew how to brace for impact because of his football training, so the pain was mostly averted.

When he opened his eyes—which were closed both in fear of painful impact and as a natural reflex—the first thing he noticed was orange hair cascading around him, as his eyes met with Rebecca's.

Her face was inches apart from his, and her hands were still tightly wrapped around his wrists, from their previous dominance battle. Most of her body was pressed against his, and she was in a similar position to the way she was during their shared dare, only now they were laying on the floor.

The two stared into each other's eyes in silence, and Rebecca felt the pulse of his heartbeat rise on the skin of her fingers. She found her eyes wandering down to his lips for a split second, and when she tried to reconnect them with his, she noticed that his gaze had already followed suit and travelled to her lips. She quickly blinked a few times, refocusing herself before gently easing off of him and standing up, reaching her hand out to help him.

When the two were both back on their feet, Rebecca looked at the clock and decided that as much as she loved the getaway from home, it was definitely time for her to get some fresh air.

She grabbed her things and Colby quickly followed, both walking out of the school unnoticed before Rebecca looked at her phone and responded to the girls when she noticed they sent her pictures of their hangout.

She put her phone in her pocket and looked up, seeing Colby standing in front of her. Before anything else could happen, she turned around and started walking her normal route, "Goodbye, Colby Daniel Lopez."

She heard his laugh and smiled, before catching his response, "Bye, Red."

After a long walk, Rebecca reached her house and went inside, not expecting to meet her mother's angry eyes right as she walked in.

"Where the hell were you?" Her mother stood with crossed arms.

Rebecca just rolled her eyes and walked past her, "Obviously, not at home."

In the span of a few seconds, she was already entirely fed up with her mother. Rebecca knew her mother wasn't going to try to build a relationship with her, and she had no interest in putting in all of the effort. Making her mother just a stranger that lived in the same house as her.

Her mother began screaming at the top of her lungs, but that didn't stop Rebecca from continuing to walk to her room. Eventually, she heard her father begin to yell at her mother in annoyance and Rebecca instantly felt bad now knowing that he was also going to have to deal with her mother's wrath.

She laid in bed, waiting for morning to come so she could leave again.

The next day of school passed and Rebecca invited the girls to go see the game with her.

While they walked over to the bleachers, Ashley drooled over Joseph's shirtless state, "How have you just been friends with him for so long without making a move?!"

"Maybe I have," Rebecca shrugged with a joking laugh when she saw Ashley's jaw hanging, "Maybe we're dating right now."

Ashley stopped dead in her tracks as Pamela and Mercedes giggled, "Rebecca Quin, not funny."

Rebecca laughed slightly, purposely ignoring the use of her full name, as the girls found their spots in the front and the group of three boys walked over after warming up.

Rebecca stood up when she saw Joseph overtake the others and head over to her with open arms. After sharing a hug, Joseph headed over to talk to the other girls and Jonathan moved towards Rebecca.

"Me next." He opened his arms and she hugged him back, rolling her eyes playfully when he ruffled her hair, before heading towards her seat.

"What about mine?" She practically heard the smirk through the words and turned slowly with a raised eyebrow.

She purposely kept her eyes on Colby's, disregarding his shirtless state. Ashley stood up from the bleacher slightly and gently pushed Rebecca's back with her hand, before sitting back down and acting oblivious.

Rebecca's head snapped towards her with an unimpressed look before she walked over to Colby and gave him a hug. He happily reciprocated, and the warmth of his body brought Rebecca more comfort than she wanted it to.

She made sure to make a snide yet joking comment so he didn't get too comfortable, "Great job. Now your sweat is all over me."

Of course, he wasn't one to let a rebuttal slide by him so he leaned closer to her ear, whispering so the others couldn't hear, "Good, I'm marking what's mine."

She let out a dry laugh and rolled her eyes, before sending him a playful shove, "Yeah, I don't think so pretty boy."

The others watched the exchange before the two joined the group and they all talked before the guys were called to start the game. 

After a while of watching the game, from the corner of her eye, Rebecca noticed Mercedes begin to fidget around with her purse strap.

She looked over at Mercedes when she stood up suddenly, "Uh, I-I'm gonna go to the washroom. Be back soon."

With that, she left without another word, and the girls looked at each other with weird glances. Ashely and Pamela, quickly dismissed the situation, focusing back on whatever they were talking about prior. However, Rebecca—true to her nature—couldn't help but think about it more as she watched the players run down the field.

The three watched and made comments, cheered as well as booed, and shared some laughs. Touchdowns were scored, tackles were made, fights broke out, and overall Rebecca wasn't hating it.