VIOLET

Chapter 4

Violet

Claudia stood outside, trying her best to look inconspicuous. She wore sunglasses, a baggy soccer jersey, and bootcut black leggings with some beat-up vans. She was a little shorter than me, and she was blessed with an ample chest and had a small waist and thin legs. I could tell guys were looking at her, but she stood with an air of obliviousness.

I was never ashamed of my own body, but I didn't like being stared at. My body was problematic, as I struggled to find pants that fit my thicker thighs and butt, but also fit my small waist. My chest has also been the same size for years, and sometimes I felt insecure about it. But I also knew that I was lucky to fit into most shirts.

I was wearing the jersey that Wil gave me yesterday. I tucked in the blue and red jersey into some high waisted black jeans and wore some white therapeutic Sketchers. No, I didn't have messed up feet and yes the shoes were chunky and all white, but was it a crime to be walking on clouds?

"Claudia!" I called, waving my hand. I trotted over, watching as she turned and waved back

"Lets go lets go lets go!" She said giddily. "I brought my glasses so people won't see me staring."

"That's not creepy at all," I laughed, following her inside the stadium entrance.

It was tall and made out of red brick. We walked through a tunnel which surrounded us in soft echoes. When we came out, the light was bright and I squinted, adjusting to the sun's rays.

The first thing I saw was green, lush grass. Then the buzzer, which was huge and said 'home' and 'visitor'. The time said we had 10 minutes before the match started. Benches lined the stands, which were metal and most likely spicy hot. Good thing I wore pants, I was not burning my legs on metal today.

And then I realized why Claudia was so excited to come. Sweaty guys- scratch that- men, were warming up. They yelled at each other to pass the ball as they mock-played. They moved quickly, some lifted up their shirts to wipe their sweaty faces. The slight catch of muscular skin was like something in a movie.

I looked away quickly, looking for Claudia. I saw her walking quickly, like a little hermit, to the far end of the bleachers. She looked like a woman on a mission, as if she had calculated the perfect spots and was determined to take it. 

I tried catching up, looking down at the field occasionally to see little benches on the sidelines of the field.  There were orange water jugs and loose clothing everywhere. Some duffle bags and cleats also laid around. 

The back of a familiar head had me slowing down. 

"Wil?" I called, and his little egg head turned around. He wore khaki shorts and a university polo. He waved at me with a hand that was holding a white towel. 

I stopped, coming closer to the railing. I leaned over and folded my arms on the metal railing, looking down at him with a smile. I felt my hair fall past my ear, and I tried pushing it back so that I could see him. "Is the other team any good?"

He walked closer, squinting his eyes up at me. His glasses were reflecting the sun, and I squinted a little at the shine. "They're pretty good, it's a game to see who will go to state."

I whistled, raising my eyebrows in surprise. "Is that Callan guy here?"

"He sure is, thank goodness. He got into a little trouble last night at the bar, but Coach knows how much this game means." As Wil talked, he turned and looked occasionally at the field. Was he waiting for someone to come up?

"Why are you holding that towel?" I nodded at the white cloth.

"Oh, this?" He gave a hopeless smile. "It's for whoever on the team needs it. It never hurts to be helpful!"

A short laugh escaped me. Of course, he would say that...

"Yo! Towel boy!" 

We both turned our attention to the-

Shit.

His hair was pulled back with a pink headband, revealing more of his sharply structured face and thick eyebrows. He was glistening with sweat, his brows furrowed in exhaustion as he jogged over. 

Not a girl in this world could deny his beauty. 

His uniform moved with the ripples of his lean muscles, and he ran like he was floating. Effortlessly.

I sucked in a breath, tensing up as I prepared for him to recognize me.

"Oh- Callan!" Wil stuttered, quickly offering him the towel.

Callan?

Callan?!

I watched as he swiped the towel away from Wil's thin hands. He wiped his forehead with it, slowly revealing his face as he moved the towel to his neck. 

His eyes met mine, and they suddenly became dark and dangerous. I stood my ground, staring back at him in defiance. He wouldn't scare me, and he damn well wouldn't say anything with everyone around.

"Callan!" I heard a girl scream behind me, our stare down broken. People started slowly coming to the railing. A girl smushed me, pushing me to the side as she reached out down to him.

I rolled my eyes at their rudeness.

"I guess I'll catch you later, Wil." I gave him a weak smile as he looked up. I caught Callan's eyes flicker over to me, and I held my breath.

Don't say anything, asshole. Just let me leave.

Wil waved weakly back at me, but whatever he said was drowned out by the increasing number of fangirls.

I quickly turned back to the stands, trying to find Claudia.

I found her in the middle of all the bleachers, on the third row from the bottom. She was sitting with her feet on the seat ahead of her, making her knees higher so she could rest her elbows on them.

"Hey," She waved. "I saved you a seat."

"Thanks," I sighed, feeling my mood decline. Suddenly, gazing at hot, sweaty boys didn't seem as exciting anymore.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Claudia said worriedly, putting her glasses up on her head and turning to me.

"More like an asshole who is on the team and lives next to me," I said, defeated. Her mouth rounded into an 'O' as she nodded.

"Yeah, I hate it when that happens." 

I laughed, " What, has it happened to you?"

She wiggled her eyebrows at me and flipped her sunglasses down, turning to look at the field. "Not yet. But when it does, I'm gonna be ready."

"Oh really?" I teased. "What is Claudia's magical plan?"

"Blackmail with dirty secrets," She said mischievously, and I snorted.

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows his 'dirty secrets'," I say, lifting my feet to rest on the bench in front of me, mimicking Claudia's position. 

"What makes him an asshole, anyway?" Claudia chuckled, turning her head to look at me. I saw my reflection in her big sunglasses. I looked worried.

"He mocked me for not being able to open a door and then he checked me out." I sneered, still feeling angry.

Claudia turned her head so quickly I thought it would snap. "Oooh, he must like you," 

"Absolutely not," I said immediately, shaking my head. The buzzer sounded, interrupting our conversation and letting everyone know that the game was about to start. 

"We'll talk about this later," Claudia said, sliding her glasses down her nose to give me a pointed look.

I rolled my eyes playfully, turning my attention to the game.

Callan was standing in the middle of the field, a foot on the soccer ball. He looked up at the stands and gave a brilliant smile. To everyone and no one. The crowd went wild.

I shook my head again. Absolutely not.

*

I've been sitting for so long my butt hurts.

Have a great day y'all~