Not-So Prince Charming

New Record

Sweat trickled down my forehead, my whole chest palpitating with heavy breaths as I came to a stop near the end of the track. An aching force rippled it's way through my calves, but I had done it. I had finally beaten my stupid record.

My coach smiled at my from across the field, mere moments before he began jogging over with the rest of my team. "Amazing work, Ari! You were a whole five seconds faster than usual. A brand new record for the school!" I could tell that he was proud, and by the looks of things, my teammates were also overjoyed. Two of them lifted me up, whilst the others embrace me in their arms and cheered like a gaggle of drunken men.

"Yeah, amazing job, we're gonna kick Eastwood High's ass this weekend!' Our goalie - Damien Asrin - smiled, slapping me on the back with his huge, rough hand.

I jolted at the contact, before chuckling softly and looking up at them all. 'Yeah, well I just hope it's good enough,' I said, darting my eyes across the field until I spotted exactly who was looking for.

Rycio. He had waited for me - just like always - but seemed to be engulfed in another book rather than in the world around himself. He had always been far more interested in words than sports. And by the looks of his curly, dusty blonde hair - which was pulled back into a neat little pony tail - he had been focusing for quite a while, and had probably missed my glorious new record

He always pulled his hair back when he was focusing, because it drooped down over his eyes and would stop him from looking ahead. I had told him a million times to cut it or style it more naturally, but he enjoyed the unkept nature of it all, and always brushed aside my helpful comments.

"Hey, Nightbloom, are you even listening to me?" Damien said, running his fingers through his greasy black hair before slapping my back so hard that it knocked the wind out of me.

I coughed and gasped dramatically, feigning an over-exaggerated injury as he backed up and widened his eyes. The rest of the team backed up as well, before I burst out laughing and wiped away a few loose tears.

"Damn, you guys are easier to fool than I thought. Like seriously, you think a little slap is gonna take me down? I'm your top striker for God's sake." I couldn't stop myself from laughing, but soon caught sight of Damien reaching out to grab my shirt.

"A little slap might not, but how about this," he smirked, grabbing onto my sides and tickling me like a goddamn madman.

I crumpled to the floor, my dark brown hair sticking to the sweat on my forehead as two other members of our team leapt in to hold me down. "I yield! I yield!" I pushed out through my laugher, pulling myself up from the floor the very moment they let me go.

Our pot-bellied coach smiled happily at the exchange, before waving his hand and signalling for us to leave. "Run along now, you all need some rest before the match this weekend. And Ari, make sure you eat well, alright?" He made sure to stare at me a little longer than the others.

"Yes sir, I won't let you down," I smiled, lifting my hand up to my forehead in a sarcastic salute before turning to walk away.

Damien grabbed my shoulder. "Hey, you never answered my question," he said, forcing me to wrack my brain for memories of what he had asked me.

"....yes?" I mumbled sheepishly, unaware of what I was agreeing to.

He noticed almost immediately that I was hesitant. "You weren't listening again, we're you?" He laughed and pulled me over to the group where they were discussing some sort of plan. "I'm having a party Friday night, you know, to loosen up before the game. But there's a catch."

"A catch?" I mimicked, staring at our over excited teammates who were roughousing with Elic - one of our defenders, and the youngest boy on the team. They seemed to be teasing him about something, but I couldn't quite make out what it was through their laughter.