The Girl in Cleats

⚽️Chapter 13⚽️

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP* 

Ugh, Monday. How I hate you. I slap my hand around trying to find my alarm clock so I can shut that stupid thing off. I finally find it after many painful slaps and press the 'off' button.

I sit up and rub my eyes. Today is gonna be a boring, no good day. I push myself off the bed and get ready for the day.
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"I told you to stay away from Cameron!" Kaitlyn screams.

Remember when I said today was gonna be boring. Hah, well I lied.

~Five minutes earlier~

I open my locker door and dump the load of books in. I sigh, attempting to stack the books neatly.

"Hey, Kiera. Can we talk?"

My head snaps up to see Cameron leaning against the locker next to me.

"Um... Yea totally. What do you what to talk about?" I say grabbing my Geography textbook.

"It's kinda, well... Private." He whispers the last word.

My mouth forms into an 'o' as I realize it's not just about homework. I wonder what he has to say? I nod my head and look into his eyes.

"Cool, I can take you home after school and we can do homework there and talk?" He says as more of a question than a statement. I just nod my head and say, "Sounds great! Talk to you then!"

His lips tug upward and he walks away waving. Before he turns around though, he runs into a table and papers fly everywhere. His face turns bright red and he starts mumbling "I'm sorry" and "I'm so clumsy."

I try to hide my laugh with my hand so he doesn't feel embarrassed. Although I know he already is.

I shake my head, closing my locker. But as soon as I turn around, there's Kaitlyn, fuming. She looks delighted to see me. Note the sarcasm. 

~Present time~

"I told you to stay away from Cameron!" She screams.

"Kaitlyn, you cannot choose who I hang out with." I say slowly, trying to contain my anger.

"Oh really? You wanna test me? Watch this, dumb girl." And with that, she slaps my face. Every head is turned my direction after the sound of hand hitting flesh echoes throughout the hallway. I can still feel the exact place where she put every single finger.

"You did not just do that." I say, my anger starting to boil.

"Oh yes, honey. I did. And I'll do it again, watch me." She brings her hand up again and I cringe, waiting for the blow. I'm not sure why I don't fight back. My body is paralyzed- I can't do anything. Everything is in slow motion.

I close my eyes just as her hand is right next to my face. But it doesn't hit. Instead, nothing happens at all.

I squint one eye open and there's Dustin, holding her back. I open both eyes and stand up straighter. Dustin throws her hand down and turns to me, inspecting my face.

"Kiera, are you ok?" He says, his voice laced with worry.

I hold a hand to the side of my face where she hit it and nod, looking into his calm green eyes. I find so much comfort there.

I feel a hug from behind so I turn around. Alexis. She's always there for me when I need her. I hug her back and look at Dustin. He looks kinda sad. I motion him over with my hand and his cute little face lights up like a puppy that just got a new toy.

We all stand there in our group hug, when I realize everyone is still watching. I clear my throat and look around. Kaitlyn is gone, what a surprise.
Alexis takes me to the bathroom and I'm shocked when Dustin comes right in after us.

"This is a girls' bathroom." I whisper.

"Yea I know that. Alex checked and it's just us." He whispers back.

I look over at Alex. She's wetting a towel, her face serious. Her long dirty blonde hair falls over her shoulders. I don't understand why everyone likes Kaitlyn so much, Alex is beautiful, caring, and smart. If I could pick, I'd choose her to be "the goddess of beauty" any day.

Alex walks up to me and flips her hair over her shoulder so it's not in her face. She inspects the side of my face with her bright blue eyes.

I wince when she pressures the towel to my face. "I'm sorry" she says softly. Alex gets in these moods where she is the gentlest person alive. Usually she's extremely bold and outgoing.

I look over at Dustin who's leaning against the sink, his arms crossed.

"Dustin, are you ok?" I ask softly.

He looks at me, his green eyes full of regret.

"I just wish I could've been there sooner." He says, shaking his head.

I walk over to him, taking the towel off and give him a giant hug. "It's ok, I'm fine." I say into his shoulder.

"You are now, but what's going to stop her from doing it again?" He asks.

I sigh and say, "I don't know, next time I'll stand up for myself, ok?" I look up at him.

"Ok. But I'm gonna stay around you a lot and bug you." He says, giving my shoulder a nudge. I laugh, he's acting like an older brother.

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"Do you know the answer to number 26?" Cameron asks me.

We're sitting on my bed, books lying in random places. I have a bowl of popcorn for a snack.

"I'm not even there yet! Slow down!" I say, throwing popcorn at him.

"What? I'm sorry you're so slow. Wait- no I'm not." He says, eating the popcorn I threw at him.

"You're so rude." I say rolling my eyes.

"You're so rude" Cameron says in a high pitched voice, mocking me. I roll my eyes again.

"Didn't you want to talk to me?" I say, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

"Yea." He says slowly.

"And?" I say, urging him to continue. 

He takes a deep breath. "I- I like you. A lot..."

Fudge.
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