my attempt to gain authority and respect had gone just as poorly as i had expected.

in fact, it hadn't worked at all. and to add to my annoyance, charlie walked with me on my way to my dorm, picking a fight.

"scarlett, what the hell was that?" he asked angrily.

i pressed my lips together, trying to keep my calm,"charlie, i'm just asking for a little respect-"

he laughed,"yeah, like you respected the fact that i'm captain?"

i rolled my eyes, exhausted from all the fighting we had been doing lately,"charlie, i'm tired of this, okay? i know it fucking sucks that coach gave me captain over you," i turned to look at him, hoping to get through,"but it also fucking sucks that, because of you, i'm getting shit on every second of the day."

he let out an exasperated sigh,"how is that my fault? you didn't have to betray me and take my spot."

i laughed, wondering how he didn't realize how insane he sounded,"are you kidding? you don't have a monopoly on the captain spot!"

"i have been the captain of this team for four years!" he yelled back, us coming to a stop on the sidewalk on the side of the road,"i'm the captain of the ducks-"

i scoffed,"i don't see any fucking ducks here, charlie! that's not us, anymore."

he shook his head in disbelief,"oh, and we're what? the warriors?"

i looked at him with wide eyes, wondering if he ever listened to himself talk. he was so stubborn and pig headed, he didn't even realize that he wasn't making any sense.

"that's our team's name!" i exclaimed, throwing my hands up,"we can't be ducks forever, charlie. at some point, you have to grow up."

he stared at me intensely, unable to believe that i had just said that.

but it was the truth, there will be a day where we have to move on with our lives. and maybe that day is today.

he rolled his eyes,"you sound just like coach."

i shrugged,"well, maybe he has a point."

when charlie was a about to respond, a car pulled up to us, and charlie's mom's voice barked,"both of you, in the car. now!"

i knit my eyebrows, confused on what was going on,"ms. conway-"

"get in." she spoke, her tone flinchingly rigid.

charlie and i shared a look, before getting into the car, not speaking a word to each other.

•

we walked into the diner, casey ready to snap our necks, as i asked,"what am i doing here?"

she walked behind the counter,"i did not watch you guys have a screaming match on the sidewalk, for you not to make up. sit down, and leave when you've resolved things."

charlie scoffed,"i don't negotiate with terrorists."

"you're so dramatic." i spat, taking a seat at the counter.

casey tied an apron around her waist,"that doesn't sound like making up to me."

i let a deep breath out of my nostrils, feeling the need to mix advil and alcohol.

"fine," charlie sat down, turning to me, "scarlett, i'm sorry that you're such a snake and you now have to deal with the repercussions of your actions."

i laughed sardonically, knowing that two could play at that game,"charlie, i'm sorry that you're such a little bitch boy, that you can't handle the fact that i got something you wanted."

he sucked his teeth and turned to casey,"is that what you were looking for?"

she nodded,"it's a start. next time, make it sincere."

i narrowed my eyes at charlie,"trust me, it was sincere."

he laughed, shaking his head,"don't act like this is my fault, scarlett. take some responsibility."

i threw my hands up, not following him at all,"charlie, we've been through this already. you said you understood that i didn't have a choice."

he leaned in closer, quirking his eyebrows, "yeah, i lied to you. i was pretending to be cool with it, until you started acting like a total bi-"

"charlie!" casey cut him off, looking absolutely mortified.

he huffed, standing up,"i'm outta here."

i rolled my eyes,"yeah, just run away, charlie. real productive."

he scoffed, continuing to walk,"you're so full of it."

i watched him and walk away and i sighed, resting my elbow on the counter and my head on my hand,"vodka tonic, please."

casey looked at me and laughed,"yeah, right."

i stared at her for a second, feeling completely defeated,"what am i gonna do?"

she frowned, grabbing a piece of pecan pie from the display,"my son can be very... difficult."

i snorted,"that's the understatement of the year," she handed me the plate, along with a fork,"thank you."

"on the house," she smiled kindly,"he'll come to his senses, eventually. i think we both know him well enough to know, he just needs time
to adjust."

i nodded slowly, hoping that was true. charlie seemed like a completely different person. he wasn't the guy i had met during the olympics, and i just wished i knew where he went.

•

adam had invited me to his dorm room, probably expecting we'd actually talk. but that wasn't the case.

i sat on the edge of his bed, my knees drawn to my chest, feeling completely depleted. i wanted to be in a better mood for him, but i just couldn't.

he stared at me with concern,"do you wanna talk about it?"

i shrugged,"it's nothing you haven't heard before."

he sighed,"well, i only invited you here so that we could hook up, and if you're not gonna do that-"

i snorted, hiding my face in my knees,"adam."

he laughed, moving down the bed to sit next to me,"do you want me to beat anyone up?"

i smiled in amusement, shaking my head,"it's fine, i'm dealing."

"really?" he questioned, continuing to joke around,"cause the bags under your eyes are crazy."

i chuckled,"yeah, well, i haven't been sleeping much. i was adopted, so i have huge abandonment issues, because i wasn't given enough human contact as a baby. i guess it feels like the team is abandoning me, which has triggered some sort of...thing."

adam opened his mouth in shock, trying to process what i said,"i was just trying to cheer you up with sardonic humor, i didn't know we'd take this dark turn."

i laughed, resting my head on his shoulder, "yeah, it's okay."

the door opened, and we whipped our heads to see a boy, who i assumed was adam's roommate.

he sucked in his breath,"oh, sorry, man. didn't know you had company."

adam shrugged,"no, don't worry about it, she's not down to do anything, so-"

i hit his shoulder,"shut up," i stood up, walking to the big,"i'm scarlett."

he shook my hand, smiling politely,"scooter. you're on jv right?"

i nodded,"yep, i'm captain."

i had mentally decided, that if charlie wasn't going to accept it, i needed to start doing that myself. i needed to own the title, if i was going to convince others to do the same.

i had been feeling guilty about how i had acquired the name, but since it didn't seem to matter what i did, i might as well get into it.

"that's awesome." he grinned, letting go of my hand.

"scooter, has a crush on julie." adam smirked, exposing the poor boy.

scooter's mouth opened in offense,"shut up, i never said that."

adam shrugged,"you didn't have to."

i smiled, finding his defensiveness cute,"well, you're in luck. julie is one of the only people on the team, who will still talk to me."

he knit his eyebrows,"why aren't they talking to you?"

i let out a breath, not wanting to drop all my baggage on someone i had just met,"um, it's a long story."

he nodded, looking to adam,"well, i just came to find my psych textbook. thought it was in my locker, but then...it wasn't."

adam chuckled, looking around the room,"i didn't know we had a psych textbook."

i gasped, the talking of sociology reminding me of an assignment,"oh, shit. the stanford prison experiment paper is due, isn't it?"

scooter looked at me with wide eyes, nodding slowly,"yeah...twenty thousand words, due tomorrow."

i laced my hands through my hair. i was so distracted with the captain thing, i had completely forgotten about it.

"i-i gotta go." i told them, my heart racing.

"yeah," adam nodded frantically,"you should go."

i snapped my fingers and ran off, knowing i would be getting no sleep tonight.