Playing The Player

:Chapter Nine:

"That's right, run like there's no tomorrow, you little delinquents!"

These kind words of love were uttered by my one and one twin sister. Water was dripping down my face, my hair icy cold, and I struggled to see clearly where I was going as I aimlessly ran, just hoping that it would somehow lead me to dodging the blasts of water.

"Argh," I heard Courtney scream somewhere to my left, "They're such bitches-!"

I started to laugh, but was interrupted as water was shot straight at my face, causing me to take a step backwards and slip on the slick grass. Cheers erupted around me as I rubbed my eyes, wishing it was just over already. It wasn't half as painful as it was humiliating. Laughter rang in my ears as I struggled to get up.

After a few more minutes, I heard Nina call for attention, and the water ceased. Breathing out in relief, I wiped my face on the bottom of my tank top and got up, walking over to Courtney to give her a hand up. She ignored my outstretched hand, marching straight over to the changing rooms without a second look. I knew she wasn't annoyed at me, more at the fact that she had fallen for the cheerleaders' trick.

She hadn't exactly told me outright what had happened between her and the cheerleaders, as to why she hated them so much, but from the little comments she made and the occasional moment where she would get a little sentimental, she tended to spill things, and I had gathered a slightly fuzzy but overall clear image.

In her Sophomore year, she had been dating one of the more popular guys at school - Aran Harris, who also happened to be Blake's best friend. Apparently they had been the It Couple, with her being a popular cheerleader and him being a jock. It was a match made in heaven.

Not.

Turns out, he had been screwing with Brianna Grey behind her back, a major female dog, and none other than Jenna's sister.

After she found out, she had made a grand plan where she would expose Brianna for the female dog she was, Aran the Richard Cranium he was, and keep herself at the top of the social ladder. The only problem was that the entire school thought Brianna and Aran made a better couple than herself and Aran, which of course didn't go down with her too well. Courtney was seen as the female dog, and who cared about Aran being a Richard Cranium when he was part of the It Couple? The cheer squad, especially, had done everything they could to promote this; after all, Brianna Grey was a cheerleader, and something about sisterhood.

Brianna had been forced to move to a private school however, after her parents got wind that she had been caught making out with the janitor (a forty-year old guy with bad body odour) in the janitor's closet, and Aran, after being busted for weed, had been sent off to a boy-scout-like camp.

And that was the entire story, word for word. Well, not exactly. Courtney had actually said the uncensored versions of 'female dog' and 'Richard Cranium', but you know what I meant.

"So girls, we're going to practice the pyramid first; Hayleigh, get the ladder from the side," Nina instructed, without even looking at me.

"Um - Can I get changed first?" I forced myself to ask, my voice slightly chattering as I shivered from the clothes that were soaked with icy water. Sure, it might've been a very sunny day, but who would stay warm when ice-cold water was sprayed out at them?

Nina shot me an innocent look. "Sorry sis, no time. We have to get started."

I gritted my teeth as I made my way to the bleachers, where they had put the equipment earlier.

"Having fun?" Someone asked, a teasing tone in their voice.

I turned my head. I had forgotten Blake was in the football team. "So much fun," I said sarcastically, tossing pom poms out of the way as I reached for the ladder.

"I like that look on you," He mused, casually leaning against the poles.

Still cold and shivering, I came up with the conclusion that right now, the only person here who was entitled to sarcasm was me. "Yeah, me too. Dripping hair, chattering teeth, and freezing."

I looked up to see him smirking. "Not exactly the terms I'd use. More like," He pretended to ponder, "Water plus coloured shirt equals see through and tight."

My jaw dropped as I looked down and realised he was right. Damn it. The singlet top that had been slightly loose when I slipped it on was now sticking to my skin like a second skin, not to mention it being very see through. My cheeks flushed, and I immediately crossed my arms. "Pervert."

He laughed, a deep, husky sort of sound, and I shivered again, except not from coldness this time. "Don't worry sweetheart, I came over here to bring this to you."

It was his hoodie. My eyes confused, I looked at him.

He shrugged, averting his gaze, trying to seem as though it was nothing. "I didn't like the other guys looking at you."

Past his shoulder, I could see the rest of his team, practically staring at me as though I was something to eat. I shuffled uncomfortably and without hesitation, slipped on the jumper. It was long; just passing the hem of my shorts, and immediately, the warmth consumed me. I smiled up at him, touched by his thoughtfulness. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it," He brushed it off, still not looking at me. For some reason, that annoyed me. What was wrong? Did I have something on my face? I touched my face, and the only thing I felt was water. Thankfully, I didn't really wear much make-up, a bit of waterproof eyeliner, a touch of waterproof mascara, and lip balm was the maximum I could stand on a school day. I honestly had no idea why some girls just smeared that stuff on like there was no tomorrow.

I mean, didn't they know that makeup contained things like ambergris and squalene?

I looked around, trying to ignore the awkwardness. Blake refused to look at me, and I frowned. Was I being annoying? "Okay. Um. I should go now. Thanks for, you know, the jumper." I grabbed the ladder, practically tripping over my own feet in my haste to get out of the situation. I knew I was always like this; whenever an awkward or something similar situation came up, my first reaction was to get way out of there. I took a deep breath, and forced my feet to stop moving, facing Blake instead, who was still looking in the other direction.

"Blake. Blake, look at me!" I finally snapped, clicking my fingers in front of his face. Okay, maybe I was being a little harsh, but he was being so rude by ignoring me.

He finally turned to me, something unidentifiable in his eyes. "Yes?"

The indifference hit me hard, and I shrank back. "Nothing," I muttered, turning back to the cheer squad, where I saw Nina not paying attention to me, using her hands to explain something while a few other girls glared at me.

Aaaawkward.

"So I should be getting back," I said, hugging myself. I knew I was getting his jumper all dirty, but it was just so... warm.

Just as I turned my head, he snapped his head towards me. I paused, almost hopefully for a second, before I realised he wasn't going to make an attempt to talk to me.

"Wait, Hayleigh."

I turned back to him, looking at his perfect face. "Yes?" I asked hesitantly.

He looked at me finally, something like disbelief written all over his eyes. Disbelief? That couldn't be right. "It's a nice day. You should enjoy your practise." His lips curved in a half-smile, although for some reason it seemed a little bitter, before sauntering off casually, without another word.

It's a nice day? He was talking about the weather? Blake Carter was talking about the weather. It was almost laughable, really, I thought as I made my way back to Nina, lugging the ladder, If it weren't so true. I looked up at the sky, and almost growled at the clear blue that greeted me.

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Hey you, yes you with the face, you're fucking AMAZING. :)