Leaving The Friendzone

Chapter 2: Volleyball

"So he saw your bra?!" Taylor asks shutting her locker. I reach for my knee and wrist protectors and slide them on.

"Yes! Oh my god, I went bright red." 

"Really?" 

"Well, yes."

"Why?"

"Because he's like a brother to me. How would you feel if Trevor saw yours?"

"Nuh-uh. There's a big difference between Cory and a brother."

"What?"

"If you don't make a move on him soon, someone else will."

I open my mouth to protest, but Coach Matheson blows her whistle. I quickly reach into my locker and pull out my white jersey and wiggle it on over my sports bra, picking up my clothes and throwing them in my locker, shutting it with a crash. The team makes it's way onto the court and waits for the game to start.

After 45 minutes of playing, Coach gets a call, and heads out early.

I hear loud whistles and cheers coming from the top of the stands. I turn around to see Cory and his buddies watching us amusedly. "You're all a bunch of perverts." I hear my teammate Jackie holler.

"Cor-yyy!" I yell warningly. This should be fun. They want to watch us, I'll give them something to watch. I hear a chorus of "ohhs," "damns," and "shits." coming from his direction. I start to stomp up the steps toward him. Once I'm a few meters away, I hear one of his friends half-whisper, "Look who's pissed his girlfriend off..." When I'm close enough to reach out and grab him, I look him in the eye and turn away from him, looking his friend in the eye. "You," I say, looking him in the eye. "Shut the hell up." He raises an eyebrow at me. I turn back to Cory. "Playtime's over." I say, grabbing his arm and letting my nails sink into his bicep. "Ouch, Ella, your nails are digging into my arm." He says, attempting to peel my fingers away. As we're walking away, I hear one of his friends mumble, "Looks like someone's PMS-ing..." I grin and look over at Cory, who's shaking his head slowly with his eyes shut. I release my grip on his arm and turn around slowly while saying, "Yeah... PMS sucks... do you want to know something that sucks about being a guy?" I say, looking down at the ground and pretending to squish a bug with the ball of my foot. "Try that again and find out." I threaten, walking back to Cory. "Let's go." I say, shoving him toward the stairs. I seat him at an aisle seat in the first row while we finish the last 10 minutes of practise. He sits there silently, evaluating the marks on his arm every now and again. I hear the buzzer go off, signaling the end of practise. The other girls run off to the change rooms while I walk over to Cory, who is still sitting there. I take up the seat next to him. "Why do you even hang out with that asshole?" I ask. 

"I don't. He's Neil's cousin. Sorry about him. Total dick-head, I agree." He states.

"So, what do I get for my bad-assery award?" I ask, banging my heels together. 

"I'll tell you what you can get.. Some peroxide for my arm." He states, holding his arm out for me to see. "Oh, quit being such a baby." I say, shoving his hand away. 

 "Are you coming or not?" I hear Tristan yell.

"Yeah, gimme a sec!" I yell back. "Gotta go. See you back at the car." I say, giving him a pat on the cheek, before running to the change rooms.