Endure

T E N

I paused, lifting my hands off of Tom for a second before pressing down again.

"You're the one who's supposed to report me. Loughts won't shut up about it." Tom nodded at Ben before inhaling sharply when I held down his other ankle. "He says I'm lucky you haven't reported me yet 'cause I could get in trouble for what I did to you."

I glanced at Ben who was listening intently to us, then looked back at Tom. I took in a deep breath. "Just tell me if you reported him."

"I didn't report anyone!" He looked me in the eye. "Do you think I'm an idiot??"

I knitted my eyebrows at him.

He paused. "Wait. No. Don't answer that. I know I'm dumb, okay?" He grimaced as I pressed against his ankles and his voice became strained, "But I'm not stupid."

Ben let out a dry laugh next to us.

I pressed down on his other ankle and gave him a bored look.

"I'm serious, Maddie! I didn't report anyone or anything like that! I didn't. I promise you I didn't." He winced as I put more pressure on his ankle. "There—There's no way I could go and report something. Especially after what I did to you."

I looked up at him and he met my gaze.

"And flex!!" Charlie called out and the whole class groaned.

"This isn't about that." I flexed Tom's foot back and he scrunched his face up. "I'm asking you about a different report."

"What report?!" he exclaimed lowly before furrowing his eyebrows. "Wait, is this about that guy who scammed me with the ticket? What's his name?" He turned to Ben. "That creepy guy from the gym?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not him."

"I don't know who else I would even report then!" he exclaimed before wincing. "I don't know who you're talking about, Maddie, but I swear I didn't report anyone. I have never reported a single person ever. I didn't even report that jerk for scamming me."

I knitted my eyebrows. "Why?"

"I can't! I-I can't just go report that or anything else cause then they'll get me involved and I can't have that happen. Not when they can easily dig up dirt on on me."

"Have they?"

"No." He let out a shaky breath. "So far, no. Loughts and I are just waiting for the day Coach calls us in for a talk or something. Just ask him." He nodded to Ben next to him.

I kept my eyes on Tom and raised an eyebrow at him. "And you're scared?"

He chuckled. "Yeah--"

"Too bad," I quipped with a smile before moving onto his other foot and flexing it back.

"Ahh!" he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Feel that discomfort. Own that discomfort," Charlie advised the class in a calm tone as he walked past us.

Tom took in a sharp breath as he held the stretch. He then looked up at me. "Can we make a deal?"

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously?"

"If I hold this stretch, will you not report me?"

"You mean if you hold the same exact stretch that everyone else here is holding?" I nodded to the class, also stretching. "You're not special." I let out a dry laugh and shook my head at him. "Point your toes!" I told the class.

Tom let out a huff yet followed my instructions.

It took everything within me to bite back my smile.

He already told me everything that I wanted to know, but now I got him exactly where I wanted him. Tom Williams was the one struggling this time, pleading for my mercy. It had been the other way around for so long. There was no way I was going to let him go that easily. Especially now when he's been wearing a bright orange tutu this entire time.