Dead To Me (slow updates!)

Chapter 7

Clovers POV

I looked around nervously as I made my way out to the football field, pulling self consciously at my shorts. I had to make these tryouts. Track had always been something my dad encouraged, he had run on Derrys track team when he was a teen and now I was determined to do the same.

Some people sat on the turf stretching and talking with there friends as they awaited tryouts to begin, some looked nervous and paced the yard lines. I stood awkwardly by myself, not knowing anyone yet and not wanting to make a fool of myself trying to talk to anyone.

"Alright everybody. Let's get started shall we?" The coach called, a short bald man holding a clipboard. We all gathered around him as he looked through his papers. He called our names one by one to see who had all showed and who hadn't, scratching out the names of the peoples who hadn't made it on time.

He had us line up against the track in groups, racing us and picking out the slowest first. I came in second the first heat, then third. As I waited again for my turn, I bent to the side, stretching out my legs that burned from how hard I had pushed myself. I had to be on this team, and 3rd wasn't gonna cut it, even if dad wasn't there to see.

As I straightened back out I noticed there were students who had gathered in the stands. Some I assumed where there to cheer on there friends, but some just seemed to want an excuse to sit out in the nice weather. Something caught my eye in the far corner of the stands. The boy, the boy from the hallway.

His elbows were rested on his knees, his body bent forward, his eyes locked on me. "Wilcott!" Coach barked, seeming annoyed that I hadn't noticed my group was about to start again. "Sorry. Sorry." I mumbled, hurrying to my place on the track, not knowing what to do I nervously tucked some stray hair behind my ear and looked away from the stranger in the stands, not wanting to make it obvious that I had noticed him.

After what seemed like hours of running the coach had narrowed the team down to what he deemed to be the best of the best he let everyone else leave the field, some hanging there heads sadly as they made there way back to the locker rooms. He gave a speech about how this was going to be one of the best seasons yet, blowing his whistle loudly at the end to release us.

"Wilcott!" He called once again, the sound of being called by my last name foreign and strange to me. I stopped in my tracks, turning to face him nervously. He patted me on the shoulder, a bit to hard I might add. "You impressed me today, Wilcott. Your almost as good as your dad was back in the day." He chuckled. "I expect great things from you kid" he finished. Tussling my hair roughly before he walked away.

Huffing, I smoothed my ponytail back out, smiling to myself as I thought about the fact that he remembered my father, even compared me to him. God I missed him. Sighing I shook the thoughts from my head, still not ready to think about him, not yet. "You're pretty fast." A low voice came from behind me, the sound startling me and making me practically jump out of my skin.

There hallway boy was, backpack hanging off one shoulder as he stood before me. I had to look up a bit to meet his eyes, something I was a bit scared to do after everything I had heard about him. "Uh, thanks." I replied nervously, sitting down on the turf to pull my sneakers off my aching feet.

"What? You scared of me or something?" He questioned, a small smirk playing across his face, as if he wanted me to say I was afraid. I looked up at him once again. "If I was scared of you, don't you think I would have left by now?" I snapped at him, my tone sounding much more rude then I had intended. I had no intentions of being hostile to him, he did after all stand up for me just a few days prior, even if he had assaulted someone in the process.

I wiped the sweat from my four head, glad that I was no longer living in the Californian heat after that tryout. "Just wasn't sure if anyone had tried to warn you yet. You know I have kind of a reputation to uphold." He snickered, seeming to be only half joking. "I've been warned. Just didn't know how much of it was true and how much was teenage bullshit rumors," I shrugged, pulling the ponytail from my now messy hair and running my hands through it as best I could.

"Either way I like to make my own opinions about people." I continued. He readjusted his bag on his shoulder as he chuckled. "and what's your expert opinion so far?" The boy replied. I shrugged once again. "To soon to say really." With that I stood, holding my sneakers by there laces at my side.

A sudden burst of courage swept through me as I took a step closer to the boy. "Did you put that raccoon skull in my locker?" I questioned, my voice coming out much more nervous then I had anticipated. A smirked creeped it's way over his face at my query. "Maybe I did." He shrugged, shoving a large hand down into the pocket of his jeans. I took a long pause, staring up at him as I tried to calculate my next move carefully.

"How'd you know my locker combination? You stalking me?" I interrogated, jabbing my pointer finger accusingly into the boys chest. He stumbled back a bit to dramatically, laughing as he did so at my feeble attempt to intimidate him.

"Calm down, tiger. I didn't take anything, just thought you might enjoy a little welcoming gift." I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. "And you decided on dead animal memorabilia instead of, I don't know, flowers maybe?" I remarked, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm not really a flower type of guy. I like things more... disturbing."