I hate you | B.E.

3

but when i wake up i see,
you with me.

---

Aurelia entered the gymnasium and walked to her classmates, who were all seated on the bleachers holding their own conversations. She went to the far back benches and took a seat a little bit apart from the others. The class fell silent as the coach began to speak.

"Alright, y'all, listen up!" He clapped his hands together loudly, making her jump slightly.

"This semester, y'all gonna be marked on wrestlin'. Let me make somethin' clear: you pick yer partner," he angrily pointed at them, clearly in a foul mood as usual.

"And I don't care who it is! Understood? Whether y'all short and small or big and tall... y'all sort yourselves out! Now, scram!"

There was a buzz of noise and movement as everyone hurried to find their partners. Since Aurelia was not friends with anyone here, she awkwardly stood aside, waiting until the coach either assigned her to a pair to make a trio, or she was left with whoever remained, not much different than usual. Glancing over at Billie's group, she noticed they were all paired up, standing confidently beside their teammates. Curiously, she scanned the pairs to see who Billie was partnered with, but she was nowhere to be found. That struck her as odd; PE was Billie's favorite class... Not that Aurelia cared or anything like that. Just then, the gymnasium door flew open, with an incredibly enraged Billie storming through.

"You're late!" the coach yelled at her. The class fell silent at his screams, now all staring at Billie.

"I know that!" She snapped back, frustrated. She was in a bad mood, Aurelia noted to herself. He stormed over to Billie to tell her off. She was a little taller than him, making him seem foolish bellowing up at her. Aurelia giggled softly at the sight, but when Billie looked her way and heard her chuckle, her heart sank. Aurelia quickly shut herself down.

"Don't give me attitude, Ms. O'Connell! Go find a damn partner!" The coach yelled up at her. With a sneer on her face, Billie's fury was still easily visible as she trod over to her friend group. However, she discovered they were all partnered up before she got to them. She came to a halt and faced the coach once more. The class resumed their chit-chat, carrying on where they left off with their individual talks.

"Yo, coach! Everyone is already partnered up!" Billie yelled out to him. He looked away from the whiteboard he was writing on and scanned the room. Shaking his head angrily, he murmured to himself. With a long sigh, he put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, flaunting his beer gut.

"Alrighty, who don't got a partner?" He spat at the class.

Aurelia's face turned sallow as her heart raced, feeling as though it might explode in her chest. She didn't dare raise her hand. She stood there, body frozen at the thought—wrestling with Billie? For God knows how many weeks until they got formally assessed...? That would practically be asking for a death sentence. No way was she going to go down that path. Given their disparities in strength, weight, height, and everything else, it seemed like a recipe for disaster.

"Coach, she doesn't have a partner." Somebody pointed at Aurelia. She snapped her head to the snitch, sending them a glare. She felt her face heat up as countless heads turned to look back at her.

She was sure she was about to pass out... But there was no need for that because, across the room, there was a pair of blue eyes looking at her, ready to knock her out. The coach spoke up.

"Fantastic! Billie and Au-rella."

With her fists slightly clenched, Billie looked back at Aurelia, perhaps even more astonished than she was. She opened her mouth to say something, but Aurelia beat her to it, rolling her eyes at the coach's pronunciation of her name, correcting him.