Medusa (A Fairytale Green FanFic)

Chapter 6: Ripped

The scent of stale sweat permeated the air, and clouds of axe attempted to conceal the distinctly disgusting smell of teenaged boys who had yet to learn how to actually manage hygiene; it failed miserably.

Wrinkling my nose as I pushed my way through hoards of guys in various stages of undress for gym, I made my way to the back of the locker room to claim a locker as far away from them as possible. With a lock clasped in my hand and a small sports tote in the other, Brennan followed me as I laid claim to two free lockers side by side.

Shitty rap echoed in the air, and a bunch of guys tried to sing along, but they had neither the voice, life-experience, or swagger to accomplish it, instead sounding like the babbling, cringy infants they were. Half couldn't keep up, and though a couple could, they couldn't keep a beat to save their lives or match tone.

Rolling my eyes at Brennan, who simply grinned back at me, I pulled my shirt off from over my head and folded it neatly before placing it on the bench. Toeing my boots off, I placed them at the bottom of the locker before peeling my jeans from my legs.

Swapping my regular clothes for the gym strip, I quickly got dressed in the tank top and basketball shorts.

"Yeah, the party is going to be epic," someone was saying, and I tried tuning him out, but for some reason, I was paying attention. "The parents will be away. It'll be right after the fight, and then straight to my house on the beach."

"Yours will be the first party of the year, Chase," someone else chimed in.

"I got some buddies who are 21, so we'll get a keg, but we'll also get some other stuff," Chase said, nodding with a grin that made me want to just slap him. It didn't even have to be a hard slap. He just had an exceptionally slap-able face, and his comments about Ella in class made my blood boil. I just needed the smallest excuse to cave his stupid face in.

He caught my eye and gave me a wink.

"Stone," Brennan said quietly. "Don't give him attention. He's just trying to get to you."

"I fucking know," I said through gritted teeth.

"Who knows," Chase said in a louder voice. "Maybe I'll get lucky."

Hitting his shoulder with mine, I watched in silent satisfaction as he stumbled into his locker. He forced a laugh as he looked back at his friends.

Leaving the change rooms to the bathroom portion, I stood off to the side as I started breathing deeply. Brennan said nothing as I gained control of myself again. After a moment of breathing hard in and out through my nose, I nodded curtly, and removed my hand from the porcelain sink where my fingers had curled around the edge.

The sound of the rest of the boys leaving made my furious heart sound much louder in the empty space. The sound of cheering could be heard from the gym, and Brennan nudged me.

"You good?" Brennan asked after a few moments. "We're missing class."

"Mm."

Straightening up, we bumped fists and left the changing rooms. My eyes immediately sought my green light, but she was not where she was supposed to be. Instead of with the rest of the class, who was simultaneously stretching and chatting, she was seated on the bleachers with Lana.

Class was not in session yet, so the cheering couldn't have been from a skilled play. My mouth went dry as I took in Ella's gym uniform. It was definitely not to code.

Eyes travelling over her, my teeth clicked with how aggressively my mouth snapped shut. Eyes darting around the room, I could see at least half of the guys were eyeing her up. Her stomach was fully on display even as she curled up over herself.