𝑬𝒖•𝒑𝒉𝒐•𝒓𝒊•𝒂

C H A P T E R S I X

𝐄𝐔𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀
𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊
01x03
part three

                                     The game on friday came by quicker than Karlson wanted. The rest of the week he had spend either hiding from Nate or ignoring his existence completely.

And to his dismay Maddy forced him to come by to the game and cheer them on, since she was the head cheerleader. He couldn't say no sorry,he can't cause her psycho ex was obsessed with him.

To not be alone completely, he dragged Jules and Rue along with him. Jules couldn't shut up talking about Tyler. Rue tried her best to listen to whatever Jules said was Karlson pretending not to care about the game.

It was an intense game, and the blackhawks managed to barely win the game. Nate somehow got a touchdown and the whole school was cheering them on.

Nate pulled his helmet off slowly, breathing hard from the game, hair damp with sweat sticking to his forehead. The crowd around him blurred into background noise while his eyes stayed locked on Karlson like nothing else existed.

"You guys should come with me later." Jules said. "Apparently everybody's going to McKay's—"

"I can't." Karlson interrupted too quickly.

Jules frowned. "Why not?"

"My mom wasn't thrilled that I came here today since I have an exam next week, but Maddy somehow convinced my mom that's why I can't come to the party." Karlson came up with a quick lie.

"I'll see you guys around." He said as he rushed off the bleachers and away from the crowd, the people, literally everyone.

He shoved his hands deeper into his hoodie pocket and kept walking fast across the parking lot.

Just leave, just the get the hell out of here!

Just get in the car, go home and pretend none of this is happening. But even now he could feel it, that horrible awareness crawling across the back of his neck. Like somebody was watching him.

Karlson sped up his steps, when he got yanked backwards behind the dumpster of the school.

It was no one else than Nate who made it impossible for him to escape his embrace. This was the first time since the hall incident that he was so close to him.

Karlson should've known ignoring Nate would make things worse. That shit crawled under Nate's skin like a disease.

The entire week Karlson avoided him, Nate felt himself getting meaner, shorter temper, more aggressive during practice, snapping at teammates for stupid shit, starting fights over literally nothing.

Because every time he looked across the hallway and Karlson walked past him like he didn't exist, something inside him twisted violently.

So by the time Nate saw Karlson leaving the game alone, he didn't even think before following him. Didn't think when he grabbed him. Didn't think when he dragged him behind the dumpster hard enough to nearly throw him off balance.

Because all week Nate had been forced to watch Karlson pretend none of this affected him. Pretend it didn't get inside his head.