Todd is holding up his end of the deal, he is busy talking to Brian, but it is clear Brian is more interested in Blythe and Ryan. He’s listening to Todd, but his eyes are on them. He suddenly holds up a finger to Todd and walks over to Gretchen. He whispers something in her ear and rubs her arm. Then, he rejoins Todd and puts his feet back up on the lunch table to continue their conversation. Every time I look at Brian's smug expression I want to punch him.
Gretchen walks over to Blythe’s table and comes up behind Ryan. She starts massaging his shoulders, and then she kisses his neck as she gives Blythe the look of death. I have to give her credit; she isn’t giving up without a fight. She is making it clear that Blythe is infringing on her territory without saying a word. If they were wild animals, she definitely would have attacked. Ryan glances up at her and smiles, oblivious to the non-verbal communication happening behind him. He stands up, grabs Gretchen’s hand, and says bye to Blythe; as soon as his back is to her, Gretchen mouths "back off”. Even I can read her lips from here.
Suddenly, I feel my phone vibrate. I look down and it’s a text from Shane.
Watching something interesting?
I laugh out loud and everyone turns to look at me. "Sorry." I grin and shake my head at Shane.
I text back, Anything not to listen to mr. band practice.
I feel a little bad not telling Shane everything that is going on since he has been so honest with me, but I think the less people who know, the better at this point; at least until after the game.
***
Todd is right, Rebecca gets to practice early and, for once, I am almost happy to see her. At least I know someone on the field will be able to help in Todd's absence.
At the very first water break, coach calls Ryan over to talk about a play they just went over. This is not good since it leaves Brian and Gretchen alone to talk and, of course, Brian isn’t one to let an opportunity pass. He runs up to Gretchen and picks her up from behind. Her feet lift off the ground and I think she assumes it is Ryan since she can't see him. Brian whispers something to her and I can see her facial expression change as soon as she realizes who it is.
"Brian! Put me down," she screams, laughing. As soon as he puts her down she goes to playfully punch him, but he is fast and grabs her arm before it reaches his. He wraps his hand around hers and holds it.
"You don't want to hit the quarterback before the big game," he says it with such a devious smile that it makes my stomach turn over itself.
"You think you are so funny." Gretchen giggles.
"I know I'm funny," Brian responds and there it is again, the smile. The I've-totally-got-you-wrapped-around-my-little-finger-even-though-you-are-my-best-friend’s-girlfriend smile. I swear, I want to hit him for her, but she seems happy. It’s as if she is caught up in a moment and can't get enough of his attention. What is happening?
And what is Rebecca doing? She isn’t helpful at all; she is just letting this all happen. What exactly did Todd tell her? My eyes immediately start to search the field for Ryan, he’s still talking to his coach, but I can tell he is half watching Brian and Gretchen's interaction. Brian and Gretch have always been friends, but this is clearly flirtatious. Ryan finally seems to notice and he looks a little irritated. The one positive is when my brother is frustrated, he plays even better. That's what makes him so good, he doesn't get flustered. Heck, I'm flustered just sitting on the bleachers watching this and she's not even my girlfriend!
Coach calls the entire team back on the field, and thankfully, that is the end of the first water break. Sid comes up from the band’s side of the fence and even she noticed.
"Hey, what's up with Brian and Gretchen?"
"I don't know." I decide to play dumb and try to hide my anger; it’s really the only thing I can do since I don’t want anyone else to know about the situation.
Ryan only plays harder and Brian seems extremely pleased with himself; he practically glides through the rest of practice. I can't wait for Todd to get here and, for the first time, it has nothing to do with seeing him in his uniform. Although that is a nice bonus. It feels like hours, but in reality, it is probably only twenty minutes. Once Todd gets to practice, he keeps Brian more occupied on breaks, so things are back to normal-ish.
Brian is still paying more attention to Gretchen than usual, though. He keeps smiling at her after every big play and it is almost like validating how good he is both on and off the field when she smiles back. Since the plays usually involve Ryan, he misses most of the smile exchanges, but Todd definitely notices. I know because he keeps making eye contact with me up in the bleachers. We both know that this isn’t good. It seems like Gretchen is not only falling for it, but enjoying it. Although Shane and Sid seem to be oblivious through the rest of practice, so at least it isn’t as obvious as we think it is.
As Todd is walking off the field, our eyes connect and he shrugs his shoulders as if to say, “I have no idea what's happening”. I couldn't agree more. I take a deep breath for what feels like the first time since practice started. Something in me knows this is probably only the beginning and things are going to get worse before they get better; if they ever get better. I have a feeling Todd is going to call or text me tonight which is the only real silver lining in this whole thing.
***
My phone rings as soon as we get home, and seeing Todd's name on my screen makes my heart skip a beat. I run up to my room as fast as I can to answer it and try not to sound out of breath.
"Hey, Todd." I half hold my breath so I don’t sound like a crazy person.
"Hi, Ash! You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just… working out.” It’s the only excuse I can come up with without admitting I’m winded from running up the stairs super fast. So lame!
“Oh, Okay, cool.” He sounds surprised. “So what happened today before I got to practice? Rebecca said Brian was doing some flirting, but nothing major." Thankfully, he gets right to the point and doesn’t ask any "work out" questions.
"Really? That's what she said?" I ask in shock, finally catching my breath.
"Yeah. Why what did you see?"
"What exactly did you tell her?" I ask, ignoring his question.
"Not much. I just said to keep an eye on Brian and to keep Gretchen occupied as much as possible."
"So you didn’t tell her about Blythe and Ryan or Brian's lie?"
"No. I wasn't sure it bought us anything and I don't think Gretch has said anything to her, either, which is surprising."
"Yeah, I was wondering how much she told her. I'm not sure that Gretchen not telling her best friend is a good thing."
"I know, I was thinking the same thing. What happened before I got there?"
"It wasn't so much what Brian did, but how he did it; he was so openly flirtatious, I think Ryan even noticed. Coach called Ryan back to talk about a play during the first water break and Brian took full advantage."
“Sucks I couldn’t be there or it wouldn’t have happened.” I can hear the disappointment in his voice.
“Todd, you can’t be with him every second.” I try to get him to realize his plan might have some flaws.
“After Ryan left today, I talked to Brian and asked if everything was okay with Gretchen. He didn’t budge. He totally stuck with his story from yesterday. I don’t get it. His head seems like it’s in the right place for the game, but then he does that at practice in front of everyone, especially Ryan; it's like he wants him to see.“
"Well, we gave Gretchen a ride home and everything seemed fine. She was her normal, clingy self." Todd laughs, not only is he gorgeous, but he always gets my jokes.
"I'm going to try to talk to Brian again tomorrow. Don't say anything to Ryan yet, but let me know if he says anything to you."
"You do the same." I suddenly realize I am having a real conversation with Todd again and I have to bite my lip to stop from smiling. Hearing his voice through my phone sends bursts of joy through my entire body.
"Who
are you talking to?" I hear Sid ask in the background. Ok so my bursts of joy are quickly interrupted.
"No one," Todd quickly responds. "Rebecca," he adds, hoping that will satisfy her.
"Did she buy it?"
"I think so." He lowers his voice and I can tell he is walking away from her. "Okay, I better go."
"K, see you tomorrow." I’m sad our conversation is over, but so excited we even had a conversation!
***
There are only two days left until the big game and I am getting used to talking to Todd; I feel like my insides are, too. My stomach still does cartwheels whenever I see him, but I think I've almost got the blushing under control.
Unfortunately, he is still holding hands with RTS down the hall. As I open my locker to switch out books, I see him break away from her and start walking in my direction.
"Hey, Ash." Just the sound of his voice makes me melt and I love when he says "Ash"; it sure beats "kiddo."
"Hey," I say, acting as if this is a normal occurrence when, in reality, it feels like an entire gymnastics team is in my stomach.
"Same plan as yesterday," he says nonchalantly as he runs his fingers through his hair.
"Well, is Rebecca going to do her part today?" I can't hide my anger as I glance down the hall at her.
"I didn't say anything else to her. I don't want to make it a big deal and I don't want anyone else to know, especially since we're not sure what's really going on."
"Good point," I agree. Just then, Shane comes up to his locker and gives Todd this smile I don’t quite understand.
"Hey guys." Shane says, obviously surprised to see us together.
"Hey, Shane!" we both say. Unfortunately, Todd also sees this as his cue to leave.
"I’ll see you at practice later, Shane. Don't tell her what song we're singing. She keeps trying to get it out of me." Todd smiles his beautifully crooked smile as he walks back down the hall to his group of friends.
"Wow, Todd came over to say hi?" Shane asks, as if he is pleased with himself.
"Oh, please, that's so not what happened," I try to lie, unsuccessfully.
"Really? Well, what did happen?" Shane isn’t buying it, but Sid comes over with Simon so he drops it. He definitely gives me a look that says the questioning isn’t over, though.
***
All through lunch, Todd is really good at keeping Brian’s attention away from Gretchen. Ryan and Gretchen are together the entire time, but Ryan is paying more attention to what everyone else at the table is saying. Part of me wants to tell him what Brian is up to so he’ll pay more attention to Gretchen, but I think Todd is right, if Ryan finds out, it’ll be a bigger issue. My brother won’t just let it go; his face yesterday at practice when Brian was openly flirting with Gretchen is proof enough of that. I really hope Todd can stop Brian before Ryan ever has to know.
Practice this afternoon is a bit of a mess. Brian is all over the place; he isn’t listening to the coaches and even when Ryan is wide open, he doesn’t pass to him. When coach pulls him aside, it looks like a heated conversation; both of their arms are flailing and there is definite shouting.
For another twenty minutes, Brian avoids passing the ball even remotely close to Ryan who finally storms up to him in the middle of the field. They both take their helmets off and get right up in each other’s faces.
“What’s going on?” Ryan shouts loud enough for us to hear in the bleachers with his face only inches from Brian's.
“What’s going on with you?” Brian shouts back, stepping even closer to Ryan.
“Nothing, throw me the ball and I’ll make the play. I can’t do anything if you don’t pass it to me,” Ryan shouts and pushes Brian in the chest.
One of the trainers tries to separate them right as Todd is coming out on the field. When he sees what is happening, he goes into a full sprint to get to them. “Guys, break it up. What is going on?” He pushes Ryan back to separate the two of them before the trainer grabs Ryan by the waist and pulls him back further to get more space between them.
Todd is holding Brian back, but he keeps struggling to break free and shouting at Ryan, “I’ll give you the ball when I want to give you the ball.”
“Calm down, Brian. BRIAN!” Todd shouts inches from his face, trying to get his attention to take his focus off Ryan.
Things are unraveling so fast. I realize I’ve been holding my breath this entire time. So much for trying to keep everything under control until after the big game. I look around and the entire field is frozen. Everyone is in shock.
Sid practically trips, she is coming up the bleachers so fast. “What's going on?”
“I don’t know, but it isn’t good.” I say with my eyes locked on the field. That’s the truth. I really don’t know and this definitely is not good. This isn’t about Gretchen; well, at least not directly. Gretchen! I completely forgot about her. I look over and she is frozen like the rest of the field. As soon as both boys are secure, she runs straight to Brian. Todd is still holding him back, but he is struggling to break free.
“Brian. You’ve got to stop. STOP!” She grabs his face to get his attention. “The game is two days away,” she shouts.
Ryan seems just as surprised as everyone that she chose to run out to Brian first. The trainer is still holding Ryan back, but he is able to break loose. He calmly picks up his helmet and starts walking off the field. Todd lets Brian go now that Gretchen is standing there and he runs over to Ryan. Sid and I just look at each other, speechless, and then look right back towards the action. We don’t want to miss a second.
Whatever Todd says to Ryan, it gets him to go back out on the field and Gretchen is able to talk Brian down. Todd and Ryan finally walk back to where Brian is standing in the middle of the field. Even Gretchen is smart enough to give them space.
“Don’t mess this up. The game is in two days. Scouts are coming to see you play, not fight.” Todd is probably the only person who can talk sense into them at this point. Luckily, they do listen and start playing. They also seem to be more in sync after the blow up. Brian is at least throwing the ball to Ryan, and Ryan is making big plays, as usual.
Once the drama is over, Sid and I both look at each other in shock.
“WHAT. WAS. THAT.” Sid's eyes are twice their normal size.
“I’m not sure, but something is definitely going on.” Honestly, I really don’t know what that was all about, although I have an idea.
When Shane comes up and joins us, he takes one look at our faces and knows something is up. “What happened?”
“Pretty big fight between Ryan and Brian. Todd broke it up,” Sid answers.
“Why, what happened?” Shane probes.
“We don’t know. Something about Brian holding the ball back and not throwing it to Ryan when he was supposed to.” I try to downplay it as much as possible.
“Well, that’s not good,” Shane clearly states the obvious. “Looks like they made up,” he says, right as Brian purposely overthrows the ball, making it impossible for Ryan to catch.
“Yeah, it seems like things are back to normal.” Sid shakes her head and rolls her eyes as she points to the field. Brian and Ryan are both in each other’s faces again.
“You guys are on the same team,” Sid shouts, not that they can hear her. The coach pulls them both to the sidelines, he is not happy. His face is turning bright red and I can see the spit flying out of his mouth as he screams back and forth between both of them. Although, after that "talk", they finally seem to play as if they know the biggest game of their lives is only two days away.
***
Gretchen waits for Ryan to come out of the locker room after practice. She seems upset, but she still looks flawless, even after an hour and a half of cheerleading practice. As soon as Ryan comes out, she runs up to him.
“Are you okay?” She reaches for his hand.
“I’m fine.” He pulls his hand away.
“Listen, I just thought Brian needed more help calming dow
n. I know you can handle anything.” She tries to capture his attention, but he just keeps walking straight ahead without making eye contact.
Finally, he looks down at her and runs his hand over her hair. “Gretch, you don’t need to explain anything to me. I’m fine.” He almost convinces me, he is so sincere, but I can see the anger on his face. Then he looks in my direction. “Ash, let’s go.” He continues walking toward the parking lot. I know that look and I better go or he will definitely leave me here.
“Ryan, can you still give me a ride home?” she asks, intending for only him to hear, but we all do. She is trying to keep up with him as he walks briskly toward the parking lot.
He looks at her and without skipping a beat he says, “Why don’t you go home with Brian? I think he still needs help calming down.”
“Ryan, I want to go home with you.” She steps in front of him to get him to stop walking and he makes eye contact with her again before finally slowing down.
“If that’s what you want.” He shrugs and runs his hands through his hair, which means he is either angry or nervous. Right now, I'd go with angry. He clearly isn’t interested in arguing with her or getting into a deeper conversation in front of everyone.
“It is what I want, Ryan. I love you. Is it what you want?” It seems like she really needs the answer to this question. I know what she means, but she doesn’t actually say Blythe's name. I’ve always known Gretchen isn’t the brightest, but she is continually surprising me. She really knows how to get what she wants. Maybe I’ve underestimated her.
Ryan finally stops walking. “Gretch, I will always give you a ride home.” He gently rests his hands on her jaw and kisses her. I mean, really kisses her. For the first time, I don’t feel awkward. I want Ryan to get whatever he wants and if he wants Gretchen, then that’s what I want for him.
Accidental Crush Page 14