Field of Dreams: Year 1

Decisions

Paige's POV:

As soon as Blake shared her past with us, I understood that my cry was useless. There was something I should be more worried about. What would Ava do? What will she do to make our lives a living torture? What is she going to risk to just get her revenge on us? Had her mind already thought of something with the help of which she will get us back? 

These were only a few of the thoughts that flew through my mind for the few seconds of shock after the story Blake told us. I finally understood who Ava was. Someone that was ready to ruin her best friend's life. Someone that didn't want to help to her friend that wasn't in the best condition. Someone that wanted to get revenge for literally telling her the truth. 

I felt everything in myself going up and down. My stomach was already at my feet (from the moment I heard what had happened when Blake was little). Everything felt like it wasn't true. Like it was just a nightmare that was about to end. At the peak. At the worst point. Where everything feels surreal and endlessly scary.

I wasn't the only one getting nervous. When Blake stopped talking, I saw Liv's eyes going wide. I understood what was going through her thoughts was almost the same with mine. She broke the embrace and started going through her things on her bed. She was hurrying to get something. 

"W-where is the bottle?!" she cried out, and I understood what she was searching. No matter what I was feeling at the moment, I stood up and started searching the bottle with Liv's sedatives. We found it, and I hurried to get to the kitchen to fill a glass with water while Liv was opening the bottle, Blake helping her to stop trembling. 

"We'll just avoid them," Blake spoke again, rubbing Liv's back as she slowly laid in her bed. "Not only Ava but her, Ivy, and Mia," she said the last name slowly, but despite the throb I felt in my heart, I just nodded slightly, signaling her it was fine. "And it's going to be okay," she continued. "We will just have to avoid even eye contact with them," she warned. "And keep our eyes opened for everything because we don't know what Ava's plan could be," I nodded again, this time to signal my understanding of the situation. 

                                                                  *** 

"Okay, class," Mr. Nicolas' emotionless gaze and gaze landed on us. "Here's the agenda for today," he pointed to the board. "I'm going to return the exams from last Tuesday to you, and if you want to ask anything, I'll answer every question you may have in the first period," he informed us. "And in the next one, you'll present the projects I assigned you last week," I paled and looked at Liv, who had done the same. We looked up to Blake, who has sensed what had happened, her gaze also to us.

"Please, tell me I'm not the only one that had forgotten about the project," I wanted to see how things were with Liv. 

"Me too," she shook her head. "I was so distracted by the match and everything that happened afterwards..." she shared.

"Same," Blake joined, and I turned to her confused as Mr. Nicolas started giving the tests away.

"You were to the match too?" I asked, not knowing this fact. 

"Yeah, I was at the match," she whispered, trying not to attract any unwanted attention.

"And I was at the match too," we heard a voice that was so familiar to me when talking about Physics but so unfamiliar when talking about football. I turned to face Mr. Nicolas, who gave mine, Liv, and Blake's tests. He walked past us to give the others their exams back.

"What was he talking about?" I asked, totally ignoring the test on my desk. 

"I'll tell you at lunch," Liv winked at me, and I looked down at my test. At last.

"Liv?" I heard Blake. "What's wrong?" I turned to Liv and saw her upset face. She suddenly turned her test to us, and her face lit up. "I got 98%!" she whisper-shouted, and Blake took the test from her hands. 

"No way," she said, going through the three pages the exam consisted of. "Does that mean...?" she didn't finish her thought and gave the test back to its owner. Liv nodded.

"I'm back," she laughed. Okay, I was totally confused. "I thought about it throughout the last month and understood that I wanted to continue with the trainings," she shared, and I understood what they were talking about. "I just couldn't live without them," she smiled. 

"And Paige could learn how to be a referee," Blake just let out. Me and Liv just looked at her, wide-eyed. "What?" she asked sarcastically. "She knows exactly when to become rude in a situation or argument," she revealed her thoughts. "And a referee is always needed," she smiled, and I found myself in the middle of the two staring gazes of two football-obsessed girls.

"What do I have to do if I accept to learn to be a referee?" I asked, feeling that I gave up on their plead. 

"You'll just have to learn the rules of the game. One by one," Liv told me both sounding desperate and sarcastic. 

"Okay," I accepted. "That sounds fine to me," I just shrugged and felt the half embrace of Liv on my body.

"Yay, we're going to spend more time together," I felt the truthfulness in her words. They weren't like what Ava was telling me. Nor Ivy or Mia. Real truthfulness. "Now, we better check those notes we have for the project, or we'll just get bad grades we don't need in our records," she said, and the three of us laughed. We took our notebooks out and started reviewing everything we have done foe this project on the weekend all truths came to light? 

But I was still wondering what there was on that little piece of paper that made Liv go through that panic attack and confusion in Ms. Carter's class and at the match. And what happened with that guy? Pedri?

All of my questions, however, faded away as Mr. Nicolas called our group to present its project first, and I found myself and Liv under the cold until then gaze of Ava that had turned into something I finally understood. That was look filled with wish for vengeance.