Loving Kinnick (Rewritten)

That Is A Subtle Way Of Calling Me A Liar

Kinnick's fight was in a few days. I still didn't have an answer for him. He made it his priority to ask, and I wasn't sure why he wanted me to go so badly. I am sure he had a ton of fans, so he probably didn't need this one. Plus, the last time someone begged me to go somewhere, my boyfriend drugged me, amongst other things, and my mom died, so I wasn't in a hurry to get involved with anything. I wasn't rushing to trust anybody either.

The fear of being misled and taken advantage of again scarred me so profoundly, I struggled to see the good in anybody. It is something I have been working on, but trust doesn't develop overnight. I turned to Luke, driving me to school, and realized that I had nobody anymore except The Stephens and my dad. Maybe that is all I need anyway.

He bit into the fourth breakfast sandwich he ordered from the fast-food drive-thru and continued to drum at the wheel as he pulled into a parking space. I wondered what class would be like today when the blue-eyed boy next to me saw the blue-eyed boxer. Surely there would be mild bickering and intense stare-downs, but only from Luke's side because Kinnick didn't care about him. He wasn't at all bothered by the football player.

As we slid out of his truck, I watched Luke toss his wrapper back onto his seat before his door slammed shut. He knew how much I hated his inability to stay clean. My mom always loved having a clean house. The wood always smelled like lemons and was wiped free of any dust. The walls were free of fingerprints, and she consistently vacuumed. If it didn't smell like cinnamon or vanilla, our home wasn't home.

I pulled back open the passenger door before reaching for the cheeseburger wrapped. Luke's loud groaning came from in front of me. He hated my need to pick up after everybody, but I couldn't help how mom brought me up. Plus, it was never a negative thing to be clean.

"You are ridiculous," he watched me shove the wrapper into the paper bag.

My left shoulder tipped upward as I flipped my hair off of my shoulder. "At least I pick up after myself."

Before we made it to the entrance doors, I saw the man, who I'd only known for a short time, and my breath hitched. He wore a jean jacket over his black hoodie and a matching set of joggers. I didn't need to see underneath the black cap on his head to know it was Kinnick. The way he carried himself was a dead giveaway.

His back stayed straight as if he were on high alert all of the time. His fists were balled in his pant pockets because he stayed ready for a fight, and I saw the snake tattoo he had on his collarbone creeping out of his hoodie. Nobody else had that. Nobody else looked like him.

Then his head turned back as if he knew he was being watched. I wasn't sure he saw me standing so many feet away, so I brought up my hand and gave him a small wave. The moment his eye dropped into a wink, it was the only confirmation I needed.

"What is that?" Luke spoke up beside me.

I almost forgot we were walking together. "Huh?"

"That," he nodded in Kinnick's direction. "What is going on between you two?"

"Nothing," I blinked. "We are friendly."

"You are friendly with the most unfriendly person."

"He isn't unfriendly to me," I shrugged.

Luke grumbled. "Yet."

As we stepped through the doors, I lost sight of the boxer. My goal was to make it to class, but somebody tugged on my sweater with other ideas. I couldn't stop the fear engulfing my body, even at the gentle awareness. My head snapped to see Kinnick standing next to me with the slightest smile on his face.

Luke's sneakers skid across the laminate tile below us. I could feel the rage in his body as it radiated around me. It still made me wonder why such a simple altercation at a football game would cause a long line of hatred between them. Well, I guess I would ask Luke that, not so much Kinnick. Kinnick acted as if he couldn't see Luke standing beside me. It was as if he truly didn't care about him or the way he acted.