Romance Me

Me? Love Her? Ha! - Part Three

"Hike!"

Cody's grip unconsciously crushed the water container as he sat on the bench, watching his teammates scrimmage. Just moments ago, Coach Brown had pulled him aside, saying that if he didn't get his "sodden girlish emotions tied in a bow and thrown out the window," he would be off the team.

The air seemed to sizzle at the wrath of Cody's menacing glare. It wasn't his fault that his life got spun on its head! It wasn't his fault that some stupid Danny boy waltzed into his classroom and ripped everything apart!

A growl emerged from his throat, and he dropped the water, burying his hands into the dark waves of his hair. Cody had never faced such emotional turmoil in his life - and now that he had it, he didn't know how to deal with it. However, he was determined not to let it get the best of him. He would control it, no matter how long it lasted or how hot it burned. But - as his friends and Coach could see - he was reaching his limit, and he didn't know how long he could hold it in.

The piercing whistle sounded, signifying the end of practice, and his friends stopped. Scarce murmurs hummed throughout the field as the players made their way to the locker rooms, heading for their bags, their waters, and (hopefully) their showers. Cody continued sitting, his thumbs rubbing against each other as he stared into the distance. He sighed.

Two months.

It had been two months since Daniel Cross had walked into the classroom. For a couple days, Cody had hope that everything would be normal. Sure, Lynn had begun to wean off the clingy-ness - and sure, Daniel continued his creepily close friendship with her. They began to hang out often: sitting together during lunch, messing up on physics labs together, making math projects explode together (long story), and Cody even spotted Daniel walking her home a couple of times. It was odd and unsettling, but...

The jock forced his head to nod.

He had enjoyed it. It was a break. A nice respite from his usual chaos.

But then...it didn't stop. It got worse. He was becoming clingy with her. Cody would turn to find Daniel standing too close, or stroking her hair, or smirking at her with that blasted flirtatious smolder. Most frustrating is that she didn't even rebuke him! It was like she was absolutely clueless to his advances!

Even more frustrating than that was the boy's utter defiance against Cody - as if he was an opponent competing for Lynn's affections. Which was totally not true. Yet for some reason, this "Danny" believed it. He would purposely go out of his way to distract Lynn from conversing with Cody, or saying 'hi' to him, or even smiling at him. Heck, the model had even gotten in the habit of intercepting Lynn's morning hugs! It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

Anyways, it had gone too far. So Cody decided it was time he gave the boy a little heads-up...

"Hey."

The blonde head froze, turning down to find a large hand gripping his forearm with a not-so-much restrained force. Then he looked up, facing Cody with a casual gaze.

"Hey what?" he replied.

"I've got something in the back I need help with. It will only take a few minutes."

Daniel stared at him for a moment, his face unreadable, then he suddenly offered a condescending smirk.

"Of course. I'll keep your girlish strength a secret."

The hand's force increased into a vise. The boy didn't flinch. Instead he turned, facing a girl a few desks down whose brows were furrowed dramatically as she struggled to add the exact amount of Chloride. Suddenly her solution began to bubble, spilling onto the desk beneath, and she panicked, her legs dashing to get the paper towels.