by Becca Steele
I rolled my eyes. “Just because I haven’t been to any games before, doesn’t mean I don’t like football. It’s more…not wanting to be around people, I suppose.”
“Get ready to be taken out of your comfort zone, then.” She said the words that Lena had repeated to me over and over, and it made me smile.
“I’m ready. That’s why I’m here.” I undid my jacket, because it was actually not so cold under the floodlights, sandwiched between the girls. “Actually, I lied when I said I know about football. I mean, I watch the international games, but I have no clue about the rules. Especially the offside rule. No idea how that works.”
“No one has any idea how that works,” Anastasia muttered next to me, then laughed.
“As long as you cheer when our team scores a goal, you’ll be fine.” Imogen gave me a reassuring smile. I relaxed into my seat as the girls conversed quietly, actually making an effort to include me, and I was surprised to realise that I was actually having a good time.
“Selfie,” Anastasia suddenly announced, and I automatically shrank back in my seat. “Stop hiding. You’re in this.” She gave me a severe look, then a tiny smile. “We do it before every game. It’s tradition. If we stopped now and the team lost, it would be our fault.”
“Superstitious, much?” Emmeline piped up, vocalising my exact thoughts.
“We can’t take that risk,” Anastasia said. “Anyway, smile!” She held her phone out, and we all leaned in together as she snapped a photo. “Mind if I tag you?”
“N-no,” I managed to say. Anastasia Egerton taking selfies with me? Had I been dropped into some parallel universe?
“Done,” she said a couple of minutes later. “While I’m on here…” Her fingers flew over her phone screen, swiping across to my profile. “I see you’ve been hanging out with Cassius Drummond. If you ever feel like introducing us, I’d owe you one.” She gave me a bright smile, flashing her teeth.
“Is this why you invited me? Because of Cassius?” I stared at her suspiciously.
“No. No it wasn’t.” Her immediate, emphatic denial made me feel a little better, although I still couldn’t quite suppress the twinge of uncertainty. “He’s just…”
“Insanely hot? The sexiest man to ever roam the streets of Alstone?” Imogen supplied.
“Exactly.” Anastasia nodded in agreement. “Have you seen him?”
“He’s gorgeous,” Emmeline added.
“Okay, okay, I get it.” I laughed.
Whatever anyone else was about to say was forgotten as the stands started filling up around us. Music blared through the speakers around the stadium, and the atmosphere became electric, buzzing with anticipation. I realised I was actually excited about this. Why had I avoided coming for so long?
“I didn’t realise so many people would be here.” I stared around me, at the almost full stands. Even the stands across the other side of the football pitch, where the away team fans sat, was full.
“It’s not always this busy. But this is the championship quarter-finals, and Highnam Academy are kind of our biggest rivals, I guess, so everyone wants to be here.” Imogen flashed me a grin, then turned to greet another girl who had sat down behind us.
“I see that.” Pulling out my phone, I took a couple of photos to send to Lena, then sat back, waiting for the players to make an appearance. My nerves returned, as thoughts of Carter invaded my mind.
Someone dropped into the seat next to Imogen, and I turned when I felt, rather than heard, her small gasp of surprise. Xavier had taken the empty seat, and he sprawled out in it, his long legs taking up all the space in the aisle. He and Imogen stared at one another in silence for a moment, and although I couldn’t see her face, I could see his gaze grow softer as he looked at her.
Breaking their connection, he looked around her to me. “You made it. Now for the finishing touches…” He reached down to the bag at his feet that I hadn’t noticed until that point and pulled out a bundle of fabric which he handed to me. “Put this on.”
I stared at him, confused. “Huh?”
“You want to match the rest of us or not?” He gave me a huge grin, and I unfolded the fabric to find a football shirt in the team colours.
“I have to wear this?”
“You don’t have to, but we’re all in the team colours. See?” Imogen pointed to herself, then to Anastasia, and I realised they were wearing black and green, the school team colours.
“But you’re not wearing an actual football shirt, though,” I pointed out.
“That doesn’t matter. Just put it on over your jumper. It’ll probably be really big on you,” Xavier told me. As they looked at me expectantly, I sighed.
“Okay, I’ll put—” Lifting the shirt, I noticed the huge number 7 on the back. “Hang on, this is Carter’s number, isn’t it?”
Xavier gave me a suspiciously innocent look, then shrugged. “That was all I could get hold of on short notice, sorry.”
I wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not, but I pulled the shirt over my head, knowing that they wouldn’t let me get away with not wearing it, and there was no way I was going to cause a scene. Xavier was right, it was huge on me. It was the team’s winter shirt as well, meaning it had long sleeves, which I could at least pull down over my cold hands. Even though I shouldn’t allow myself to hope for anything after Carter’s silence all week, I couldn’t help the nervous, excited feeling fluttering in my belly at the thought of me wearing a shirt with his number on.
And then, there he was. The music cut out and a voice was announcing the teams, and they filed onto the pitch, Carter leading the way for Alstone High, the captain’s armband on his bicep. My stomach flipped, and I couldn’t look away. He didn’t look at me, not once, and I couldn’t help my disappointment, but I reminded myself that it was only to be expected.
The pre-game stuff passed in a blur, as my whole focus shrank to Carter. I watched as the teams shook hands, and my eyes stayed on Carter, watching as he made his way down the line of players with practiced efficiency. The coin toss came next, and then suddenly, the whistle was being blown and the game was starting.
Cheers, whistles, boos, shouts—the whole stadium was a cacophony of noise. I found myself actually getting into the game, my eyes glued to the action. When Carter passed the ball to Kian, who sent it flying to Preston in a perfect arc, I held my breath. The ball seemed to hang in mid-air for a moment, before Preston booted it straight into the goal. I flew out of my seat with a scream, along with the other Alstone High students and supporters in the stands, jumping and cheering. Anastasia turned to me and actually pulled me into a hug, all breathless excitement, and I froze for a minute, then hugged her back, shocked.
At half-time, both teams disappeared, and I sat back in my seat.
“How are you enjoying your first school football game?” Imogen smiled at me as she opened a bottle of Coke.
“I’m… It’s fun. I want to do it again.” I was surprised to find that I meant it. Even though everything had gone wrong with Carter, I still wanted to come back. The atmosphere, the feel of being part of something—everyone around me all on the same side, willing our team to score a goal, all of us experiencing the highs and lows together—it was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.
“The players are good to look at, too. Aren’t they?” She smirked at me. “Got your eye on any one in particular?”
“No.” Both she and Anastasia laughed at my emphatic denial, clearly not believing me. Thankfully they decided to stop tormenting me, and the conversation turned to Anastasia’s upcoming birthday.
The second half was tense as Highnam Academy scored a goal almost as soon as the whistle blew, making the score 1-1. We had to win this. When did I start thinking of the team as a “we”? Guess I’d found my school spirit.
The clock seemed to count down so slowly as the game neared the end. Time slowed to a crawl. The referee blew the whistle, and the voice over the speakers announced there would be two minute
s of added time. This was it. The whole ground was silent as Carter took up position on the side of the pitch for a free kick. I held my breath as he stepped back, then ran and sent the ball flying in a perfect arc, straight towards Kian. Kian seemed to leap into the air and headed it straight into the goal.
The stadium erupted in cheers and whistles, and as the team celebrated, I found myself cheering along with them, standing, clapping until my hands hurt. We just had to get through another forty seconds, and then we would have the win.
Three blasts of the whistle sounded, signalling the end of the game. Alstone High had done it.
I couldn’t stop smiling. Then Imogen elbowed me, hard, and my head shot around to her in surprise.
Carter, she mouthed.
I turned back to the pitch, and there he was. Now he was looking at me.
Only me.
34
I watched, trapped by his gaze as he left his teammates celebrating on the pitch and jogged towards me, right to the edge of the stands. Imogen gave me a small push forwards, until I was right in front of him, just the low barrier separating us. He was all sweaty, breathing hard, his dark hair wet and tousled, his eyes sparking with triumph at the team’s win.
“Nice shirt.” His eyes raked over me, heating my body. “Enjoy the match?” His voice was raspy, probably from shouting instructions to his teammates all game.
I nodded, momentarily unable to speak.
“Good.”
We stood, staring at one another, and I started to feel uncomfortable, aware of people’s attention turning towards us as their team captain stood in front of me. What was this?
“Fuck it,” he muttered, then reached out and lifted me up, over the barrier, and into his arms. My arms and legs automatically went around him, but he held me effortlessly.
“Carter? What—”
His lips were suddenly on mine, and I was gone. I wound my arms more tightly around his neck, kissing him back with everything I had.
“I’m sorry. So sorry. I want you. I want to be with you. Only you.” His words were quiet but spoken with so much intensity that I had no doubt he meant them.
“You want me?”
“So fucking much. If you can forgive me. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m shamelessly hoping you feel the same way about me and want to give me another chance.”
“You’re not ashamed to be seen with me?” I probed, just to make sure.
“I’ve never been ashamed of you. I want you to get any of those thoughts out of your head.” He looked at me intently, the kaleidoscope of browns and golds in his eyes holding me captive. “My… Fuck, Rai. My head was a mess. It took a while for us to be on the same page. That’s if we are still on the same page?”
I let out a shaky breath. “Is this real? Are-are you serious?”
“Baby, look at where we are right now. I just claimed you in the most public way I could think of. If that doesn’t tell you that I’m serious about this, I don’t know what will.”
Good point. “Oh no. Everyone’s watching us, aren’t they?” I buried my face in his shoulder.
He laughed. “Yeah. Watching their team captain kiss the fuck out of his girlfriend.”
Girlfriend? I raised my head, and his expression turned hesitant. He bit his lip. “That’s if you want to be?”
There was no hesitation on my part. Not anymore. “Yes. Yes, I want to be. So much.” Glancing behind me…yep, everyone was staring, I huffed in mock-annoyance. “I guess I’d better get used to the attention, huh? Since my boyfriend is kind of an attention whore.”
“Attention whore?” He lowered me to my feet, grinning. “I can’t even deny it.” Leaning down, his lips skimmed over my ear. “I’m your boyfriend. You’re mine now, little trickster.” Drawing back slightly, he smiled, then slayed me with another kiss.
“I need to get back to the team. Wait for me?” He suddenly looked unsure again, and something about his open vulnerability made my stomach flip.
“I’ll wait.” This time I kissed him.
He gave me another blinding grin, then placed a kiss on the top of my head, before jogging back to his teammates.
I stumbled back across the barrier, almost going flying, but was steadied by Imogen at the last minute. “When Carter wants something, he goes all out.” She grinned at me as I collapsed back into my seat.
“I wish everyone would stop looking at me.” I slumped downwards, but I couldn’t stop my smile. Happiness filled me, as my mind replayed what had just happened between me and Carter.
“Stop hiding. You have to get used to it, now. Don’t worry, everyone will get used to it, and soon enough, something else will become the new gossip,” Anastasia told me.
“Did you know about this? Is this why you brought me here?” I looked between her and Imogen, and Imogen nodded.
“Yes. I knew…not the details, but he asked me to make sure you made it to this game and stayed until the end.”
“Our boy’s got it bad.” Xavier leaned around Imogen with a grin, and my cheeks heated even as my smile widened. I didn’t miss the way his arm was casually leaning on the back of Imogen’s seat, and I made a note to ask her about it at some point. If we were going to be friends, I had to know these things.
Anastasia leaned over to me, catching my attention. “So… Now you and Carter are together, you’re officially invited to my birthday party. If you want to come, that is.”
The words were falling out of my mouth before I had a chance to censor them. “Are you really okay with all of this?”
Her brows pulled together, but then her expression smoothed out. “I was a bitch. I know. I just, well, I am a bitch. Apparently.” She laughed humourlessly. “I will admit that I felt…possessive of Carter, I guess, at the beginning. But it’s become clear to me that you both have feelings for each other. I’m not hung up on him or anything. I promise you that.”
My mind raced, going back over what she’d said. “Wait. Those pictures that appeared. Did you have anything to do with those?”
She recoiled as if I’d slapped her. “What?” Her shocked whisper was louder than a shout. “Are you serious? Did someone say it was me?”
“If it wasn’t you, then who?” Icy tendrils of dread prickled my spine. “What about the masked figure? And the money?”
“What are you talking about?” Confusion was followed by worry. “Raine, are you in trouble?”
“Tell us what’s going on.” Xavier’s tone was commanding. He reached over and scooped Imogen into his lap, then sidled across to her empty seat. She leaned back on him, but her gaze was focused on me. Anastasia moved closer, Emmeline occupied talking to one of her friends on the other side of us.
In halting tones, I told them everything. How the money had been stolen and made to look like I’d taken it, and Ana had been the only person other than Carter and the teaching staff who had known about my financial situation at that point; how the masked figure had appeared at the party and tried to grab me; and how someone had managed to take photos of me and Carter through a locked door and post them and deface my locker. By the time I’d finished speaking, my voice was wobbly from trying to hold in the tears.
“Raine.” Ana swallowed hard and placed a tentative hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. I had…I had no idea how bad things were. I know that’s not an excuse. When you came to the table at lunchtime and Carter shot you down, I…I felt really bad. You didn’t deserve to be spoken to that way. I should have said something to Tina. The stuff she said to you…that wasn’t right.”
Imogen interrupted her. “It couldn’t have been Anastasia at the party, anyway. Straight after the spin the bottle game, we were both doing shots with some of our friends, and Ana ended up drinking too much, and I had to take her drunk ass home.”
A cold trickle of fear made its way down my spine.
Xavier pursed his lips, deep in thought. “Okay. I think there’s an explanation for the party photos. Earlier that night, before the spin
the bottle game we, I mean, I was in the office briefly.” I noticed Imogen’s cheeks flush as he spoke. “There’s a window. It’s quite high up, so you might not have noticed it, but anyone could take a photo through there if they climbed up on something. Wouldn’t need to even be anything that big. A crate or something would probably be enough.”
I thought back to the angle of the photos. “You’re right. I don’t know why I never thought of that before. But I don’t know who it could be. Who else would hate me that much?”
Nobody had any answers. Eventually Xavier sighed. “Let’s talk about it more later. You need to go and meet Carter. He’ll kill us if we don’t get you there. He’s got plans for the two of you.”
Suddenly, the fear was replaced with warmth. Excitement coursed through me, and my smile reappeared. “I’d better go and meet him, then.”
35
A combination of relief and exhilaration was filling me, leaving me with a permanent grin. So much of tonight had relied on outside factors—Imogen keeping her word to bring Raine with her, everyone else going along with my plan, and more importantly, Raine actually forgiving me after all the shit I’d put her through.
After I’d seen the picture of Raine with Cassius and pretty much lost it, I’d got to work. My mind flashed back to the most awkward part of the week.
“Dad? I need to speak to you. Both of you, I guess.” My parents stared at me across the table, seemingly taken aback by the serious tone of my voice.
“Speak up, then. What is it? Is this about your grades?” My dad placed the fork on his plate with a clatter.
I shook my head, gritting my teeth and balling my fists, forcing myself not to react. “No. It’s about Raine.”
He raised a brow, leaning forwards slightly as he studied me. My mum dabbed at her mouth with her napkin, glancing between me and my dad, before she gave a short laugh. “I think I see what’s going on here.”