Alleyway BxB

XXXII (Plan)

MONDAY, 29 OCTOBER
NATHAN COVINGTON

There were five days left until the game, and there was a strong shift in the air that morning. The familiar purple ambience in the house had suddenly split into colonies of blue and red. The usual friendly nature between the two schools had crumbled into chaos at the breakfast table. Even Antonio had joined in—to support Monarch of course.

Over the meal, due to the surplus of Monarch students in the house, majority voted to kick Beaumont out, but they had decided to take Matt with them as collateral. The argument would have escalated too if Rosina and Marcella hadn't stepped in with the threat of bathroom, dish, and laundry duty.

I hated the thought of not seeing Matt for the rest of the week, especially after the events of last night, but maybe it was a good thing. He could take a break from all the family drama, and I could finally get my head back into the game. And I still haven't got around to reading whatever was in the journal.

I only had four days to prepare for the game against Beaumont, and just from working out with Aiden and Lorenzo over the weeks, I knew they were strong. They could run faster than the Beaumont team last season; but it was no problem, we were just the same, the only difference was that I had finally taken over as quarterback, instead of staying as a linebacker. Ryder and I pushed the team to be far better than what it was last year, and I was confident we could win.

Ryder popped in from seemingly nowhere, forced a bottle of water into my hands. "I haven't seen you take one break at all today. Aren't you the one who normally yells at us about staying hydrated?" He grabbed me by the back of the shirt and dragged me to a bench—not far from where Cameron and a few other boys lifted weights. "Good to see you're focused again. Last night was tough."

"I have to be." I took a hefty swig of the water, almost groaned at how refreshing the coolness felt amidst the heat of my work out. "Now that I know the faces under the helmets, my desire to win is at an all-time high. I told Marcello we'd win too."

Everything was fine between Aiden and I... but I couldn't shake the need to see him get tackled by Ryder or Carter. Anyone on my defense team, really.

"Glad to see you and Cello survived. The school doesn't think you did though. I heard some gossip."

I only shrugged. When did they not talk about Marcello and I? "As long as no one tries to replace me, I'm fine."

I heard the gossip too from the cheerleaders before first period. It was mainly Blaine and whoever she could hook into her tale, the rest were more concerned than curious. Good thing too. Half of the cheerleaders were my dates after all. My only issue with the dance was the idea of matching. I'd have to wear the pride flag to match all six girls. And I didn't think Marcello had a suit for that.

I looked to Ryder, and he had zoned out as he stared at Carter running on the treadmill. "Any dates for the dance?" I prodded him in the side with an elbow.

He only scoffed. "Not everyone can pull half the cheerleading squad with a single question, Nathan."

"Doesn't have to be a girl, Ry," I winked. "Take Lorenzo. You both share something in common."

"We're linebackers?" He questioned, bored in his expression.

I shrugged. "I was thinking more about your crushes on Matt, but that works too." It was a mess over at Beaumont's side and Aiden thought it would be hilarious to fill me in on all the drama.

Immediately, I braced myself for impact just in time to be tackled to the floor. We landed on the padding on the gym floor. A slight shade of beet red invaded his olive complexion as he pinned me down, and I only chortled at the scowl on his face.