pinky promise - jamie tartt

‟ THANK YOU, ZAVA „

˗ˏˋ 'ˎ˗

Tate was pretty sure Jamie was going to say I told you so the moment he got a chance to speak to her.

Because Zava was already proving to be a fucking headache for her.

There had been a signing party for Zava that morning, and he hadn't shown up. And after fifteen minutes of Higgins attempting to stall—which had followed two hours of just waiting for him—the signing party had been called off and Tate had retreated to the locker room with the rest of the team.

"What if he thought our stadium was ugly so he changed his mind about playing here?"

"Dani, he's not going to do that." Tate tried to comfort her friend, but Roy shot her a pointed look that told her he thought Zava very well might. "I mean, he signed a contract already, at least."

"Do you think he got lost?" Zoreaux asked, and Tate shrugged, unsure how she became the one fielding all the questions instead of either of the coaches.

"Guys, the answer is very simple." Jan Maas offered, and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth in anticipation for what he was about to say. "It is obvious that Zava just does not want to play for us."

Tate groaned as the boys began shouting protests and arguing with Jan for speaking what could actually be the truth. She glanced at Jamie, who sat at his new stall, the locker room having been slightly rearranged to make room for Zava's whole corner.

'I told you so,' Jamie mouthed to her over the chaos of the room, and Tate extended her middle finger towards him as she stepped out of the heels Keeley had managed to convince her to wear. Her feet ached in them, but both Keeley and Jamie had pointed out how hot she looked.

But Zava hadn't shown up to the event held in his name, so it was practically pointless for her to wear them any longer than she already had.

"Hey, did Zava come through here?" Ted asked, finally walking into the locker room after meeting with Rebecca in her office. The chaos died down instantly, and everyone turned to face Ted expectantly.

"What? He's here? You saw him?" Isaac asked, standing from his spot at his locker.

"Yeah, he was upstairs just a second ago." Ted confirmed, sending the boys into another fit of excitement that their idol and new teammate had actually shown up.

Tate twisted to face Jamie again, sending him a smug look that only deepened his pout. Beard had told her about the comparison of Jamie to Ted's mom's Precious Moments figurines—or in Roy's words, a fragile little bitch—and hated to agree with them.

"Okay, maybe we should all just split up and go—" Ted interrupted himself as the door to the locker room opened, and in walked Zava himself.

Silence fell over the room, and Tate's brows rose in disbelief at how quickly the boys all essentially became stunned children.

Zava crossed through the locker room, navigating through the adoring mass of starstruck Richmond players, touching shoulders and nodding to Roy, who actually nodded back. Tate glanced at Jamie, hoping to share her amusement with him but not wholly surprised to find him scowling.

"He's like an angel," Dani whispered, and from her spot beside him, Tate could hear him clearly. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning too obviously.

"Why are you downgrading him? He is clearly a god."

"He's a person, you fools." Tate whispered back, Jan Maas's comment earning a roll of her eyes. She wasn't anti-Zava, like Jamie, but she thought it was important that they kept some perspective. Plus, she was certain Jamie would get pouty with her if she showed any sign of admiring Zava.