The Renegades

Chapter 22

"How should I ask Marley to homecoming?" Hunter asks. He's in the locker room after practice with Wesley and Landon. Homecoming is Friday night since the Renegades don't have a game. Ruby High has been exploding with homecoming proposals all week, everyone trying to get a date before the dance.

"Are you doing it at school?" Landon asks.

"Are you sure she wants you to ask her?" Wesley asks.

"Of course she wants me to ask her; why would you ask that?" In all honesty, Hunter knows why Wesley asked that. He's been asking himself that since all the homecoming hype began. Since Coach Dickson had that talk with him in his office, Hunter's been questioning a lot of things. "I feel like she wants something big."

"I think Bean would kill me if I did anything big," Wesley says.

Landon gives Wesley a confused look, scrunching his eyebrows together. "Sabina's going to homecoming?"

Wesley shrugs. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Because she hates being in places with kids from school, so school dances are pretty much her arch enemy," Landon explains.

Wesley hadn't even thought that she wouldn't want to go. Everyone goes to homecoming. Even parents and teachers vie for spots as chaperones for homecoming. He'd just assumed that Sabina'd go.

"You think she'll say no if I ask her?" Wesley has the entire thing planned out, but now Landon's got him freaked out. He doesn't want to ask and have her say no, but he also doesn't want to ask and have her say yes just to make him happy and drag her into something she doesn't want to do. He's feeling like there's no way for him to win in the situation.

Landon shrugs and closes his locker. He sits down on the bench in the middle of the aisle to tie his sneakers onto his feet. "If anything can make her go, it's you."

Hunter takes his athletic cup and throws it at Wesley.

Wesley looks at the cup resting by his feet. "Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? You don't just throw cups at dudes."

"I needed help, and you made it all about you!" Hunter exclaims. Wesley puts his hands up in surrender. "Landon, what're you doing for Rae?"

"Nothing," he says. Wesley and Hunter both look at him like he's crazy. "We're dating. We know we're going together. Why do I have to ask her in some big way? She even said she doesn't want me to."

"I have three questions. One, how did you get Rae to start dating you? Two, how did you get Rae to keep dating you? And three, are you really that dumb?" Wesley asks.

Hunter just shakes his head. "It's a trap, dude. It's one of those female mind games."

"So she told me she didn't want anything big because she actually wants something big?" Landon questions.

"Yes!" Wesley and Hunter shout in unison.

"Well, you two clearly are no help to me because y'all don't have your own shit figured out," Hunter says. "I'm just going to ask my mom." He knows his mom will know. Moms always know. "See y'all later."

Hunter walks away. As he passes Coach Dickson's office, he notices that the door is open. He walks past it, but then he stops and turns back around. He walks into the office.

"What's up, Vargas?" Coach Dickson asks.

"I wanted to make sure it'd be okay with you if I asked Marley to homecoming," Hunter says. He kind of hopes Coach Dickson says no. He kind of hopes their last talk was a fluke and that Coach Dickson is actually super strict and will murder him in his sleep for dating Marley.