𝑯𝒆𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒉 | ᴹᴰᴳᶜ

TRACK THREE: I Hate Myself for Loving You

I was sitting next to Logan at the lunch table when I felt him pull my hair.

"Ow! What the hell is wro-" I noticed the sticker in his hand that read 'Star Girl' and glanced back up at him. "Where'd you get that?"

"It was stuck in your hair." He answered, passing it over. "Oh, uh," I took it from him. "Thanks." I took the blue paper ring off my ring and extended it to him. "Peace offering?" "Sure." He responded with a small smile and laugh, taking it.

I stuck it to my shirt for now so I could put it back on my headboard when I got home. I covered nearly half of it with stickers already. Dad brings me a small stack of them every week from the hospital.

Evan let out a sigh as he tried to make an announcement to the cafeteria. When he failed, he took Nick's lunch tray and dropped it onto the ground, and stood up on the table.

"My pudding." Nick stated, looking at his discarded tray.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Evan. You probably know me from the viral video of my mom yelling at Coach T and my friend Delilah punching him." He said, causing everyone to start laughing. "Yeah, I'll admit it is a good watch. But the thing is everything she said was true." He looked around the room.

"I used to be duck. It was awesome being part of the cool kids, sitting at the cool table. But I always felt like I was hanging on, trying to prove I could be a part of that, but not anymore. Because I've realized The Ducks aren't the center of the universe." He explained.

"The second I was cut from the team, they cut me from their lives. But in a way, I'm happy I was cut. Because now we're starting a new team. Just me, Delilah, Nick, and Logan. And all we need is a few more players. It's gonna be different. We may not win a lot, but we are gonna have each other's backs. So, does anyone want to join?" He asked but received no replies. "Is there anyone who understands a little bit of what I'm trying to say?" He asked. The girl from yesterday stood up.

"I'm in. I've never played hockey, but I think I might have an inner rage that really needs an outlet," She said. "I also own nunchucks. "Do not bring those to practice." Evan told her. I saw Maya stand up.

"I get it. I always feel like I'm hanging on. It's exhausting, constantly being nervous and trying to fit in with this group. So I want to join you." She said. "I mean, can I? Is that okay, or-" She asked the "leader" of the group.

"Very okay. Bye-Bye." She answered. Maya walked over to our table, and I began to bounce my leg up and down nervously. She sat next to me with a smile, and my heart began beating so fast, I thought I'd have a heart attack.

"Hey Sam," Evan said, turning around. "I dare you to join our hockey team." He pointed to him.

"Somebody dares you to do something. You gotta do it, right? I'm there." He answered. "All right, we just need one more player." Evan told everyone. Evan's former teammate stood up.

"And I'm... Just gonna throw this Gatorade bottle away. So, not with ya." She said, making The Ducks laugh as she chucked the bottle. But the guy Nick and Evan went to see caught it.

"That's not cool. What you said has moved me. I will be your wall." He told Evan. "Thank you, Koob13!" He replied.

They made their ways to our table and sat down. I noticed the girl from yesterday had a cool bracelet on. It was silver and had star charms on it. "Hey, Magic The Gathering," I said. She turned her head and looked at me. "I'll trade you my lunch for your silver bracelet." "That doesn't seem like a fair tra-" "Just give me the bracelet!" I exclaimed. She was quick to remove it and pass it over. I slid across my tray and put the bracelet on my right wrist.