Bad Player

Chapter 1

She's gorgeous.
I study her movements and admire her beauty.
My head tells me to just kiss her already but i cant, she hates me.
Im in biology, sitting next to the window. I have my chin resting on the palm of my hand and im tapping my pen on my desk, clearly not paying attention to anything mr widener is saying. My leg is bouncing on the stool and i can hear the birds chirping.
God i love her.
McKinley Dawson.
The only girl i have ever fallen in love with, the only girl i want to be with, the only girl who steals my attention from anything else thats going on in the room.
She sits in the front row  on the other side of the room, near the door. She sits next to a girl named Leah but i dont think they talk very much.
She is amazing.
The way her long, silky, chocolaty dark brown hair falls on her shoulders and reaches her lower back. The way her winter blue eyes sparkle in the sun, shining through the window. Her eyes are so deep, i could stare into them forever. Her perfect freckles that dot her cheeks. The way her mouth curves when she smiles. The angelic sound of her voice when she speaks.
I love her. 
I watch as one of the boys, sitting behind her taps her on the shoulder. She spins in her chair and her hair moves like waves in  the ocean. The boy hands her a folded piece of paper, most likely a note. She unfolds it and reads it to herself, i focused on her eyes moving as she reads the words. She looks up at the boy and smiles, it was her big, teethy  smile, the one that makes my heart pound. Her face goes red, she turns around a writes something on the note, folds it back up and hands it back to the boy.
The boy has light brown hair and brown eyes, boring.
He reads the note and looks up at her, smiles.
Stupid boy.
The bell rings and im broken from my stare, the sound of stools scraping the floor and backpacks zipping up fills the room. I sling my black backpack over my shoulder and grab my phone.
"Don't forget to do your homework." Mr widener repeated, before sitting down at his desk and turning to his computer. I see McKinley leaving the room and i speed up to catch up with her.
"What was that?" I ask her, i shove my phone in my pocket and run my hand through my hair.
She looks up at me and rolls her eyes.
"What was what?" She asks, her voice sharp. I could tell she wasnt very happy to talk to me but my heart is bouncing with joy just to hear her voice.
"The piece of paper." I explain. I look down at her but shes looking straight ahead.
"None of your business." She states, she turns the corner and i follow her. "Can you go away?"
"Im offended" i nagged. She put in her locker combination and i leaned against the blue lockers next to hers. She swings her locker open and purposely tries to hit me in the face with the door.
"Good." She grumbled, she grabbed a white spiral notebook with stickers on the front and slammed the locker door shut. She held the notebook in her elbow and pulled her phone out of her pocket with the other hand. "Can you please go away?" She repeats, she doesnt look at me when she speaks.
Her thumbs dance around on her phone screen. I wonder what shes typing. Maybe shes texting her friends about how much she loves me and dreams of being with me and cuddling in my big strong arms- nope. Shut up wade, stop being so delusional. She hates you. She taps the screen once more then turns her phone off and shoves it in the back pocket of her ripped jeans.
Her jeans fit her perfectly.
She glances up at me through her eyebrows and sighs. "What?" She asks, she adjusts her grey backpack straps on her shoulders .
"Nothing" i smile. I stand up from the lockers, i lose my balance for a second but regain it quickly, i hope she didnt notice.
McKinley looks behind me and smiles, i look over my left shoulder to see Lydia walking up behind me. She glances at me and looks me up and down.
Lydia looks at McKinley, widens her eyes and side eyes me. McKinley shrugs. Are they talking with their eyes? I heard some girls do that. Lydia probably just said that im hot and that me and McKinley should get together. I smile at the thought. Lydia wraps her arm around McKinley's arm, she salutes to me before walking down the hall to their next class.
Lydia has long blonde hair that reaches her middle back and green eyes. She's a little bit shorter than McKinley but still tall for a girl. She hates me too, i dont know what i did for these gorgeous girls to hate me so much- never mind, thats a lie. I know exactly what i did and i regret it.
The bell rings meaning i have one minute left of passing period to get to class.
Shit.
Im going to be late for hockey practice!
I rush down the hall, swerving past short freshman's and pushing my way through groups of people talking.
Excuse me. Sorry. Coming through.
I swing open the big blue double doors that lead into the cafeteria, smells like someone who just had Taco Bell took a shit in here and forgot to clean it up like it always does.
I pass through the cafeteria and turn another corner before i slam into someone.
"Im sorry, are you ok-" i cut myself off. "Ben?"
He laughs. "Heyyy! Long time no see, brotha" he says in his strong accent. He swings his arm over my shoulders, almost pulling me down.
A nervous laugh escapes my gritted teeth.
Benjamin southers.
My old best friend from 5th grade. He moved to Australia for 8th grade to sophomore year and i guess now he's back.
McKinley is not going to be happy. In 5th grade through 7th grade Ben bullied her, i never knew why though. I would watch him beat her up and say rude things to her, i didnt do anything about it.
That's my biggest regret and why she hates me. I didnt continue bullying her after Ben moved and im really happy i didnt. The day he moved was the first time i had seen her smile in 3 years.
"Yeah i guess" i hesitated. I could feel my face go hot.
"Is McKinley still around?" He asked, looking around.
I freeze. He going to bully her again.
I dont respond.
"You still do hockey?" I ask, changing the subject.
He pulls his arm off of my shoulders. "Yeah but not for this school, im on a different team. Maybe ill see you on the ice."
I nod.
The bell rings for the end of passing period.
"See you around, brotha" Ben says, he slaps me on the chest as he walks past.
I can feel my stomach knot as i walk to hockey practice.
Hopefully Ben and McKinley dont have any classes together.
I swallow the guilt down my throat as i walk into the boys locker room.
When i walk in, everyone is huddled in a corner looking at something.
"Yo wade! Over here" my best friend, ajax, says as he waves me over.
"Whats going on?" I ask, putting my stuff down on the bench and look over everyone's shoulder.
"There's a Rollie police" Ajax explained in a baby voice. Adam, a guy on the team, was holding it in his hand. It was all curled up, hiding away from everything.
I wish i could do that.
I laugh. "You guys are pathetic" i put my hand on Ajax's shoulder and he side eyes me. "Guess who i just ran into though" i say changing the subject.
"Who?" Ajax asks, everyone is looking at me now and not paying any attention to the Rollie pollie that just escaped adam's hand.
"Ben southers." I announce.
"Alright everyone, get your skates on!" The coach demands as he walks out of his small office holding a clip board.
"He's back? Why?" Adam asks, looking at me as he unzips his duffel bag.
"I dont know, he asked if McKinley was still around." I explain.
The room goes silent, everyone on the team knows i like her and that Ben used to bully her.
"What did you say?" Ajax asks, hesitantly, breaking the silence.
"I didnt answer him, i just asked if he still played hockey" I continued. I grab my skates out of my black hockey bag and pull of my shoes without untying them.
"Is he going to bully her again?" Cole, another boy on the team, asks as he ties his skates.
"Probably.." i trail off. I look down at my skates as i tie them, realizing that she is going to have to go through all of that torture again.
I have to protect her.