all too well, n.nelson

𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲🍂

        BETHANY SMILED LIKE AN IDIOT WALKING THROUGH THE CORRIDORS. Her nerves getting the better of her as she made her way to form, knowing Nick would be waiting. There he was, grinning like a little kid, eyes lit up, waiting for Bethany.

        "Hi." He greeted her, like he always did. Bethany set her bag down then sat down in the space next to him.

       "Hi." She said back smiling. They both smiled sheepishly at each other and then looked away, then at the same moment, looked back at each other. They chuckled in unison, and that was how they spent the entire class. Sneaking smitten glances at each other. And at lunch, Bethany approached the art room. Maybe she'd find Charlie waiting for her, or maybe she'd be alone. Mr. Ajay came walking out of the room with his lunch in hand.

"There's a boy in there, waiting for you." He gestured to the art room.

"Oh?" Bethany asked.

"I don't know who he is, but he reminds me of a puppy." Mr. Ajay scoffed, Bethany chuckled. Nick was waiting for her.

"He's.. Uhm... On the rugby team." Bethany shrugged, the teacher nodded. "I joined the rugby team." She added, smirking and looking down.

"Of course you did. Well, don't get crumbs on my floor." Mr. Ajay said back before walking away. Bethany stepped into the art room and saw Nick waiting for her with his own lunch.

"Hi." Nick smiled at her, Bethany set her lunch down next to his and took the seat next to him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Bethany replied, practically abandoning her lunch to hug him. Nick was surprised at the way she threw her arms around him, but he didn't care and hugged her back.

"I missed you." Nick said simply, holding Bethany. The scent of her lavender hair wash lingering when she pulled away.

"We just saw each other in form, like, four hours ago." Bethany giggled. "But I missed you too." She added.

"Are you sure your friends don't mind you're eating lunch with me?" Nick asked, reaching for Bethany's hand. She let his big hands wrap around hers.

"Nah, they'll be alright. Besides, I'm here to give you tips on how to be a pro at Mario Kart." Bethany teased, Nick pretended to be hurt and slapped a hand on his chest.

"Oh, really? So that's how you're going to be?" Nick asked, dropping her hand and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Maybe." Bethany shrugged crossed her own arms. The couple laughed and then joined hands again.

"Feels nice to be able to ditch my friends for once. All they want to do at lunch is just sit on the field and chuck stuff at people." Nick shook his head at the thought.

"Oh yes, I know. They chuck stuff at Charlie and I's table all the time." Bethany said, Nicks smile faded quickly to a frown.

"Wait, they do?" He asked her, suddenly looking concerned. "I didn't even notice..."

"Always have, maybe you just never noticed. I mean Harry and I are practically enemies..." Bethany trailed off.

"No, I knew that. I remember when you would walk by in the mornings he'd always shout really mean things at you. One time, I remember that you told him to piss off and stuck your middle finger up at him as you walked away. I thought that was pretty cool. Bothered Harry for days." Nick chuckled lightly at the memory. "You're not like my friends." Bethany nodded, smiling. "Are we even allowed to eat in here?"

"Charlie and I were always welcome in here. Especially when the bullying got really bad. He was the only teacher who really cared." Bethany shrugged, stating it simply.

"Well, he was giving me an odd look before you got here." Nick said back.

"He probably thought you were Ben here for Charlie. He was shocked when I said you were waiting for me. Probably still thinks I'm with Sarah, even though he knows how she made me feel." Bethany replied, giving Nick a sad smile. Nicks face fell a little.

"I'm sorry for how she made you feel. I want you to know that I would never make you feel like that, or say what she said to you. And I wont ever try to do what Ben did either." Nick stated, his eyes sad but his tone was genuine. Bethany sucked in a breath, her emotions getting the better of her. Nick pulled her into a hug again. "Hey, are we still on for going to the rehabilitation center to see your dad after rugby practice?" Nick asked, pulling away.

"Oh, I forgot I asked you to go with... But yeah, still on." Bethany replied. The duo talked more, Nick ate his lunch but Bethany didn't touch hers, Nick noticed.

"Did you forget you had lunch?" Nick pointed to the bag of food, he watched Bethany swallow dryly and lick her lips.

"Oh, Charlie's mum packed it. But I had a big breakfast so I'll probably just eat it later." Bethany shrugged, leaving Nick still puzzled. But he shook it off and soon the bell was ringing for the next class.

;

"Go on! Tackle her, you won't hurt her." Mrs. Singh shouted at the boys. They ran through tackling drills, and so far, the boys hesitated every time when they needed to tackle Bethany. Every time, she dodged around them with the ball and scored. It was an advantage to say the least, but at some point she'd need to feel the pain of a real tackle.

"Harry! Tackle her!" A boy shouted. Nick watched with panic as Bethany locked eyes with him. Harry hesitated for less than a second and ran at Bethany full force, she decided to let him hit her. If she wanted the pain to be less of a shock at a real match. The impact knocked the wind from Bethany's lungs as she hit the grass.

"Fuck." She panted out squinting up at Harry above her. He smirked, took the ball, and ran away laughing.

"Good tackle, Greene!" Mrs. Singh praised, the boys cheered him on.

"Beth, are you okay?" Nick ran to her side, helping her sit up. She winced.

"I'm bloody brilliant, thanks Nick." Bethany said through fruited teeth, Nick suppressed a laugh at her sarcasm.

"You alright, Stark?" Mrs. Singh called over to the girl on the grass. Bethany sent her coach a thumbs up as Nick pulled her up.

         "I cant breathe." Bethany winced again, squinting at the boys farther down the field.

       "Harry's a good tackler." Nick shrugged as they jogged back to the team.

      "I'm sure he's been waiting to do that." Bethany said back, rolling her eyes.

        "Get back in there, Stark!" Mrs. Singh shouted at the red head, with a sigh, Bethany ran for the boys again.

"This is gonna hurt tomorrow." Bethany remarked before chasing after Harry. Nick watched her admirably, if anyone was looking at him, they'd be able to see the heart eyes this boy had for Bethany Stark.