Chapter 30

Chapter Twenty-Seven
Keep An Eye Out
Friday came along faster than I expected. That meant it was game day.
I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious as I thought about the Herbrooke boys visiting our school. After everything I had heard about them along with witnessed from one of them, I had a feeling something bad was going to happen tonight.
I decided I wasn't going to go to the game.
With my bad luck, it was bound for something bad to break out and the last thing I needed was one of our boys getting into another fight because of me.
My plan was nearly a success.
Keyword: nearly.
Luke ended up making sure he didn't leave my side because he knew I was planning on dipping.
"You are officially my new good luck charm which means you have to come." He told me. "You can't sit out because of them, they won't hurt you. I promise, princess."
"I'm not afraid they'll hurt me. I'm afraid one of you guys will get hurt because of me." I explained to him.
"Why would you cause us to get hurt?" Luke questioned. "We're going to call a truce and even if we do end up fighting someone from Herbrooke, whether it be because of you or not, they would've deserved it."
I tried to argue with him but Luke was an incredibly difficult person to argue with so you could guess that arguing with him failed and I ended up at the bleachers with Joy, Jade and Ezra.
"Did they make the truce?" I asked softly, not sure if I wanted to get into this conversation.
"Yup," Jade answered, a small smile on her lips as she watched the boys warm up on the field before the game started. "I talked to Charlie before he got on the field. He said they all shook on it."
"So that's it?" I raised my eyebrows, not buying it. "They're going to be civil now? After, what- three years of rivalry?"
Joy shrugged, "Kai said Herbrooke seems as firm on it as our guys do. No reason to continue a stupid clash. They agreed to keep it all on the field - soccer, and soccer only."
My eyebrows pulled together as I looked between the two girls, "That sounds too... easy. They just dropped it?"
Ezra eyes were narrowed as he listened in, sipping on his Coca-Cola. He seemed just as skeptical as I was.
Jade sighed, "I don't know. I didn't get a chance to talk to Charlie long but he seemed pretty glad."
"Maybe the Herbrooke guys were tired of fighting just like we are." Joy shrugged, paying more attention to the boys on the field than she was to the conversation.
"They don't exactly seem like guys who would just drop the duel and walk away." Ezra finally spoke up, eyes still narrowed. I agreed with that.
Jade shrugged, "Well I guess they agreed to the truce. It's better this way - it all get's left in the past and we can all move on without having to look over our shoulders."
"Ou! It's starting!" Joy smiled happily as she spotted her man on the field.
I didn't feel as convinced as they were but I dropped the subject since it didn't seem like we could do much about it now anyways.
I still felt like we should keep an eye out but I also didn't know the Herbrooke guys as well as Jade and Joy so maybe they were right.
Yeah, I guess they were. It's not like I could do anything else at this point anyways.
The first half of the game had started. We were already winning, one ahead of Herbrooke.
I watched as Noah moved fluidly, dribbling the ball. He lunged towards the left, making it look as real as possible when he swiftly cut to the right, tricking a Herbrooke player who went for a side tackle on the complete opposite side of where Noah was.
The ball moved with his feet as if they were connected. He drew his leg back as if he were cocking a gun. Noah's food contacted the ball and flew across the grass, right into the lower left corner of the net.
The whole crowd who was part of Grove High went up as they cheered him on loudly.
Herbrooke had almost gotten a goal but Kai who was goalie jumped up and blocked the ball from getting into the net.
It was half-time and we were winning 1-0. Joy and Jade had left the bleachers to go see Charlie and Kai. I looked over to see Ezra talking to some other students.
I had to go to the bathroom but stopped when I remembered everyone saying I should stick with someone at all times. Seeing as all three people I was with were occupied, I got up and left the crowd and the bleachers.
There was the truce that had been made along with the fact that this was my school and the Herbrooke guys would only be in the change rooms if they were inside so it seemed like a safe bet to assume I'd be able to make it to the washroom on my own. Plus, I didn't need a babysitter.
I jogged down the bleachers and headed back in towards the school.
I was walking down the empty and dim hallway since most of the lights were off by now.
It was dark and silent, a completely different atmosphere than how it was all day filled with students during the school time.
I was walking, heading to the restroom when I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't turn around, not thinking much of it. It was probably a janitor, maybe a teacher or another student coming in to head to the bathroom as well.
I wasn't naive so of course I thought of the possibility of running into someone from Herbrooke.
I dismissed the thought when I realized that I chose to come to the opposite end of the school from where the change rooms and field were. The Herbrooke guys wouldn't have seen me or know their way through the school to get here. It was a big school.
The footsteps were at a steady pace and clearly far from me. When they didn't seem to pick up the pace and get closer to me, I let out a breath of relief as I mentally confirmed I was in the clear.
I wasn't afraid of facing the Herbrooke guys. I was afraid that if I were put into that position, I would be outnumber and out-weighed since they were a bunch of buff soccer players and I was just an ordinary girl who threw a good punch.
Just as the unsettling feeling in my stomach had eased, I was shoved against a locker.
I groaned in pain but didn't have a chance to pick myself up off the ground because someone else had done it for me.
My arms were pulled up as someone held me them back, holding me up.
I glanced back trying to get a look at who was holding me hostage but couldn't because their hold on me was too tight for me to even look over my shoulder.
"You fuckers have nothing better to do?" I spat out, laughing bitterly as a Herbrooke player came into vision.
He was wearing their soccer jersey which confirmed that he was one of their guys. His light blonde, almost bleached white hair was cut shortly and made his crystal clear blue eyes stand out even in the dark hallway.
Such a darn pretty face gone to waste. Shame, really.
"Tiffany, right?" He smirked, taking a step closer to me. "You holding her tightly there, Dave? Heard she likes to put up a good fight." He said to the guy who was holding me who I now knew was named Dave.
"She won't get past me. Don't worry, Sebastian." Dave said proudly from behind me, tightening his hold as if he were proving his words.
I held back a wince as his fingers dug into my skin even though I was wearing a hoodie.
"See, with a quick Instagram search we knew we had the right girl." Sebastian, the bleached hair, blue eyed boy said with a bitter-sweet tone and sicking smirk that didn't leave his face for a second. "Taylor told us all about you. Said you were a feisty one."
"You fucking bastards want an ankle bracelet like your buddy, Taylor?" I said through gritted teeth. "How pathetic can you get that you're trying to fight someone half your size?"
"Thanks for admitting you notice the gains, sweetheart." Sebastian sent me a wink.
I tried kicking my legs but he only took a step away so my short legs couldn't reach.
"Not sure you'll be able to get out of this one, hun." Dave said from behind me, his voice low and amused.
"Fuck yourselves." I spat out, my tone cold as I glared at Sebastian but he wasn't fazed, only more and more amused. And then, a lightbulb went off in my head. Not waiting a second, I let out a scorchingly loud scream, hoping that someone would hear because I wasn't sure I'd be able to get out of this one on my own.
"You fucking bitch!" Dave yelled as he clamped a hand over my mouth, shutting me up.
"Taylor said we'd have fun w-"
Sebastian didn't get a chance to finish his statement because Dave let out a yell as I bit down on his hand with all my must. He pulled his hand away while I tasted the saltiness from his blood.
I spit the blood from his hand on the ground as I quickly got out of his hold since he had loosened his hold on me. I bolted down the hall, not glancing over my shoulder for a second to make the best of my free escape.
That's when Sebastian had caught up to me, being the fast soccer player he was I wasn't surprised. He grabbed my waist and pulled me back, shoving me right into Dave who held me with even more strength than before. My arms throbbed in pain like I could already feel the bruises being formed.
"You really like putting up a show, huh?" Sebastian smirked, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at me with a dark look in his eyes. He cracked his knuckles as he laughed out loud, "Guess it's time for someone to put you in your spot."
"Yo-" I didn't get a chance to spit out any more curses as him because the next thing I knew was that his fist was dove right into my stomach, making me bend over but not scream in pain. My stomach was throbbing and almost trembling in pain. The previous bruise from Taylor wasn't gone which made the pain all the worse.
"Anything else to say, sweetheart?" Sebastian asked as he tilted his head and took a step back so he could get a good look at me.
"Yeah," I coughed out. I spit on the floor and saw blood come out along with the spit. That wasn't a good sign. "You're a fucking sick lowlife who-"
Before I could finish, another punch was thrown into my stomach, blowing all of the wind right out of my lungs. I gasped for breath. I wouldn't be standing up if Dave hadn't been holding onto me with all his might.
"Anything else?" Sebastian taunted, still smirking. "We still got a lot of time before the second half starts. I'm just getting warmed up."
"So much for a fucking truce," I grumbled under my breath as I racked my brain for ideas of what to do. I could barely think because all I could feel was pain swimming through my whole entire body.
"What was that?" Dave asked in a quiet voice, his face so close that I could feel his breath on my ear. "Truce, huh? Got to admit, not a surprising move from you pussies but did you really think we wouldn't want some reprisal after you got one of our best players off the field and with a criminal record?"
I narrowed my eyes at Sebastian- since I couldn't see Dave- who stood there with a gleeful, amused look on his face. "He has a fucking criminal record because he is a criminal!" I snapped, anger boiling inside me. All of these guys were beyond idiotic and low. They weren't the first people I had met like this so it wasn't all that surprising.
Sebastian chuckled, tilting his head left and then right, hearing a small crack on each side. "Keep talking, sweetheart. We're just starting with the fun." And then another blow to my stomach.
It felt like one of my organs just bursted. I buckled over, coughing and groaning in pain as I tried to catch my breath, each blow knocking the wind out of me.
I tried to elbow Dave away but like you'd imagine, it was no use. He was holding me too tightly and pressed right against his chest for me to move. My sore body throbbing in pain and continuing to weaken from the hits coming my way wasn't any more helpful either.
"So what," the words coming out as an exhale. I was breathless as I spoke, looking at Sebastian with narrowed eyes and a cold, cold look. "You're going to keep going, until when? Til an organ bursts? Til you get the last word? What the fuck do you want?"
A smirk grew on Sebastian's face, if it were possible for it to grow any more. "Getting tired, sweetheart? Calling mercy already?"
"Taylor said you put up a fight," Dave laughed. "Not sure I see what he means."
"Kind of outnumbered here, Dave!" I muttered out through gritted teeth, sarcasm seeping through my words.
"This one's got quite the mouth on her, though, Dave." Sebastian drawled, raising his eyebrows in amusement. And then, another punch to my stomach.
Were they trying to kill me?
I was running out of logical thinking and my senses, really.
My breathing was jagged, eyes starting to close as I gasped for air.
"Calling quits already?" Sebastian jeered.
I didn't respond. I couldn't anymore.
As much as I would love to continue telling him off to show him I wasn't weak, I physically couldn't take it anymore.
"Second half's starting soon," Dave said from behind me, speaking directly to Sebastian as if I weren't there. "We should... get going."
My eyes were closed now as my body hung limp, being held up due to Dave. I couldn't see what was happening but I knew Sebastian was looking at me.
"Drop her." He ordered Dave, his voice firm and cold.
Within a second, my body fell enervated right to the ground, Dave not taking more than a second to follow Sebastian's orders.
I couldn't move. I could hardly breath or think or manage to open my eyes. My body was practically shaking in pain.
What I was wondering was WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ALL MY FRIENDS ARE!
It was half time so the guys weren't on the field. They knew I was gone and knew their way through the school so if they all had split up to look for me, why had nobody shown up in all this time?
Where the hell was Noah?
Why my mind drifted to Noah, I had no idea why.
I didn't blame them although it felt like I should. After all, Charlie did specify that someone stays with me if I leave.
It was my fault for leaving on my own thinking I'd be fine so I had nobody but myself and my bad luck to blame.
A kick from one of the two boys was shot at my lifeless body that was sprawled in the dark and quiet hallway.
Then I heard them snickering, muttering some douchey things as they sauntered off like they owned the place.
And that was all before I passed out.