Son of Fire

Chapter Five.

The three had somehow managed to get onto the team. Albeit the bench, but still. The coach didn't seem to care that they were from the Isle. Just that they had the talent for the game. It did feel wierd to Josh, having someone look at you as just a person, and not a villain. The only other two who did that was Ben and Audrey. And Audrey only saw it in Josh, and not the others. But he guessed it made sense. There was bad blood between them. But Josh was an orphan, he had no connection to any of the suffering from the previous generations.

Josh was sat on a bench around the locker area. Watching everyone give him the stink eyes. As if he was a disease. But he feels hands on his shoulder and he instinctively grab the and pull them over him, and he is shocked and appauled with himself. It was Audrey.

"Audrey, I am so sorry!" Josh says but then he saw Audrey's face. It wasn't fear. But sorrow. As if she didn't blame him for the reaction.

"I... Its okay. I guess I should of known. You living on the Isle" She says softly and Josh holds his hand out  to help her up. She took it and sat next to him, their legs softly touching. A feeling that made Josh nearly blush.

"I... If you don't mind me asking. What was it like on the Isle?" She asked sheepishly and Josh let out a large sigh.

"It wasn't good. Espically for me I'll admit. Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos had their gang. And they were highly feared. And they had most of the turf in their possession on the Isle. The other was Uma and her pirate crew. They were the two main gangs. But, I was never part of that. They asked, but I refused. I just didn't want others to rely on me. So I looked out for myself. But, its a harsh life. Constantly under threat. I've been stabbed five times. Been beaten to a pulp god knows how many. But I survived. I always do. And they would normally make it so you never had a fighting chance. So I've always had to have be on guard"Josh explains and Audrey's mouth drops in horror to hear. Unshed tears threatening to come out

"Oh my god. I.... I never knew. Oh my god, I'm so sorry you went through that alone." She says as she tries to fight back tears falling down her face. "Didn't anyone try to help you?" She asked.

"Mal had offered me to join her gang. They all did. But I could never bring myself to do it. It was too hard to let them rely on me. I couldn't even keep a parent." Josh chuckled.

"Do... Do you have scars?" She asked cautiously, as if she was worried she was pushing too much.

"Yeah."

"Can I see them?"Josh looked at her, and then nods as he lifts up his shirt. Two large scars ran across his left waist, one across his whole stomach, and two on either shoulder. He then felt Audrey's had softly run across the ones on his waist.

"That feels fresh" She said and looked up at him.

"Only healed last week. Two guys tried to mug me. One had a knife. Should of seen it" Josh, shrugged. "Carlos is pretty talented with this type of stuff. He patched me up" He said. Before anything else was said, Audrey launched herself and wrapped him into a tight hug. Josh was surprised. He didn't expect this reaction. More of a running away from him. But no. She was showing him affection. And it seemed genuine. Not fake. It was wierd, he always expected her to not given him the time of day.

But being wrong in this instance wasn't all bad. Or at all. It actually felt really good.

"What did you want me for anyway?" Josh asked as the two eventually pull away from the hug.

"Oh. I just wanted to say congratulations for getting onto the Tourney team. You know I'll be cheering for you when you get on the field" She says rather flirty. Josh raised an eyebrow and laughs.