forever yours • adam banks

chapter eight

adam

This week has been hell.

The only thing that's kept me sane is Ella, even though we haven't talked much since Sunday.

It starts with the JV vs. Blake Bears game. Of course I'm going to be there to support my friends, whether I'm on the team or not. The rest of the team wears their letterman jackets, but I choose to go with a red crewneck that has "Warriors" written across the top in black writing, with the symbol of the warrior in the middle. I don't want to rub it in to my friends anymore than my teammates already have.

I sit in front of Rick and Cole, each being with their girlfriend. When the Ducks come out, I obviously start cheering and clapping for them. However, I'm quickly stopped by Rick. The goals start to pile on, with Charlie scoring a hat trick. I stand up and clap for his first goal, with a huge smile on my face. But my smile is gone just as quickly as it forms, because Rick quickly pushes me back down into my seat.

For the first two periods, I just smile to myself and clap as each goal is scored. I'm so proud of my friends.

But then, the third period happens.

The crowd's mood quickly decreases every time Blake comes back. Rick won't stop making fun of the Ducks, so I tune him out as best as I can. Once the game is over, I make my way into our locker room to get myself ready for our own game. I'm the only one in there for a few minutes, so I try to focus on getting myself prepared to play. I can't let Rick's comments get to me too, so I try my best to just think about performing well. After all, my dad is coming.

The good news - I play way better than I thought I was going to. I score and get two assists. I'll take it, but I know I can do better.

The bad news - the locker room is covered in ice when we walk back in and our stuff is completely frozen. I'm really concerned, and I see Cole gesture to Rick, telling him to look at the ceiling. We all turn around, to see "VARSITY SUCKS ICE!" written in what looks like shaving cream.

"Ducks." Rick spits out, before turning around and punching his locker, shattering his frozen letterman. Since I'm standing right next to him, his sudden burst of anger causes me to flinch pretty badly, and Scooter has to pat me on the back a few times to calm me down.

Saturday is just a normal day of practice and training, so that brings us to Sunday, when Ella and I talk. I know that telling her I don't want a relationship right now is not what I actually want, but right now it's for the best.

On Monday, I make my way over to Charlie's locker after English. We walk to lunch together every day, and we usually meet at Charlie's locker since his is closer to the cafeteria.

"Hey Conway!" I call out, smiling as I see the brunette turn my way.

He shoots me a nasty glare, slamming his locker shut and starts speeding down the hallway.

I run to catch up with him, not sure why he's acting so weird. "Woah dude, what's your problem?"

"I don't know, why don't you go ask your varsity buddies?" he asks bitterly.

Oh no, what did they do now? Why can't they just leave my friends alone?

"What do you mean?"