"Ash is mad," Gillian said the minute she was in conversation distance. I looked past Sierra to see the talkative defender pushing through the crowd. "And you are dead." She squeezed through the last couple of people blocking her way.

I slammed my locker shut and groaned. "Good afternoon to you too."

"Why is Ash mad?" Sierra asked, looking between us. Her eyebrows drew together, but her lips were amused. "What did you do?"

"Who says I did anything?" I stuck my tongue out at her, zipping my bag.

Gillian smirked and said cheekily, "She got detention!" She laughed as a couple passerby's eyed us.

I punched her shoulder. "Why don't you say that a little louder," I hissed lowly. She opened her mouth wide and I jumped to clamp my hand over it. "It's not that big of a deal."

She rolled her eyes, her irritating smirk still on her lips. "Mhm, okay. Tell that to Ashley."

I picked up my bag and threw it over my shoulder. "Screw her. She can bite my butt."

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I glared at my friends already knowing who was behind me. "Thanks for giving me a heads up," I grumbled.

Gil shrugged. "I told you to tell her." Sierra just shook her head and motioned for Gil to give Ashley and I some space. Gillian complied after sending me more than enough teasing pokes. As much as I wanted to strangle her, I wished her and Sierra had stayed close by. I needed all the support I could get.

The minute they were far enough away, Ash stepped closer. She stared at me and everything she wanted to say seemed to be as visible through her eyes as it would be written on paper.

"It was a joke." I said, breaking the silence. "And you know how Ms. Simon is! She hates me and is always trying to . . ."

Her expression grew sterner, causing me to trail off timidly. "You shouldn't be fooling around."

"I don't," I argued. "The detention's nothing. Really. She gave it for no reason." I turned towards my friends, but the senior forced me to face her again. I groaned, "I got to go."

"I'm talking to you. Don't be rude."

"I heard you." I shrugged her hand off. "I'm gonna be late, and then you'll be the one getting me in trouble."

She narrowed her eyes at me. She took another step closer, her mouth inches from my ear. Her hand gripped my bicep. To any passerby's, it was obvious I was in for it. "Watch your attitude," she warned in a voice that made my stomach flip. "This discussion isn't over." My face felt hot knowing that everyone knew what Ash was capable of doing to me.

I swallowed and regained my confidence. With a huff, I pulled away. She didn't grab me, but her eyes kept me pinned to my spot. "Do you need a trip to the bathroom?"

I blushed, looking around to make sure no one heard her threat. "No," I snapped.

She raised her eyebrows.

"No ma'am," I murmured, looking at the floor. A rush of childish embarrassment flooded my cheeks.

She stepped back, her lips pursed into a straight line. "I'll see you later." She turned to join the other four seniors waiting down the hall. She paused and looked back at me. "Behave."

"Yes ma'am," I murmured.

She ruffled my hair and walked away. I grumbled, fixing the mess she made. I turned in the opposite direction and met up with Gillian and Sierra. "What'd she say?" Gillian immediately asked.

Before I could answer, a voice called out, "What are you playing now that you're a badass? Left bench?" A couple football players, dressed in their jerseys and jeans, were huddled up across the hall. The speaker, Donnie Bitler, was amongst them.

I immediately stopped walking. "Just because you play left bench doesn't mean I will," I said bitterly. Sierra tugged on my sleeve to keep me moving, but I ignored her. I couldn't pass up putting an arrogant, privileged boy in his place.

Haden, Donnie's partner in crime, smirked. "You better use your manners, Malcolm. Wouldn't want you to get a beating. Wait, you already are," he said coolly. The boys around him whooped and hollered, but he wasn't fazed. He lazily leaned against the lockers and eyed me challengingly.

"Sorry, you're voice is like muffled. Maybe if you got your head out of your ass, I could hear you better," I growled.

Gillian and Sierra laughed. The football players oohed, making Haden frown angrily. Donnie stepped in. "What about you, Malcolm? You're not special because you use your ass as a hat."

I rolled my eyes. Sierra whispered that we should get going or we'd be late. I glanced at my watch. She was right. Gillian obviously didn't care because she snapped loudly, "Don't embarrass yourself, Bitler."

Haden stood up straight. "At least we don't embarrass ourselves on the field. You guys suck."

Donnie's grin was curled evilly. "You know why you guys can't play shit?" He made direct eye contact with me. "Because your head captain is a bitch, and everyone in this school knows it."

There it was. I exploded, charging at him full speed. Right before I reached him, strong arms hugged my waist. "Let go!" I screamed. "Let go! I'm gonna kill him!" There was no way it was Gillian or Sierra. My fingertips brushed his shirt before I was dragged into a nearby bathroom. I was finally let go onto the disgusting tile floor. I stood up and eyed my captor.

"Sarah," I spat.

She bopped my head. "What were you thinking?"

I rubbed the side of my noggin. "They were being assholes."

She turned the faucet on and splashed me. I ducked away, but she still managed to get water on my sweatshirt. "Really?" I groaned.

"You'll get whooped if you're not careful about that mouth," she warned. Her expression quickly went from serious to teasing.

"You would know." I stuck my tongue out at her. Sarah was always getting told off for her mouth.

She hit my head and scowled, "Oh, shut up." I grinned smugly. Seeing this, she added, "At least I'm not the one getting a beating."

This time, it was my turn to scowl.

"Aww, are chu embarrassed?" She mocked in a baby voice. She wrapped her arms around me, but I pushed her away. Seeing that I was genuinely upset, her joking demeanor dropped. "What's wrong, stinker? Talk to me." She sat against the wall When I hesitated, she smiled softly. "I don't have all day."

I sat beside her stiffly, still sour about whatever it was putting me in a bad mood. I wasn't really sure what it was, but I knew I didn't like it. She rolled her eyes and pulled me closer. I immediately buried my head into her shoulder.

"Jade's taking care of them."

"I don't care about them." I snapped, my voice muffled in her shoulder.

"Then what? I can't help if I don't know what's going on."

I shift my head and played with her hoodie strings silently.

Wrapping my hair around her finger, she said. "Come on. You can tell me."

"Ash is mad at me," I mumbled.

She laughed. "Doesn't take a genius to figure that one out."

I huffed and tried to get up, but Sarah just held me tighter. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she chuckled but managed to get serious again. "You know she only gets mad because she cares."

"She doesn't need to get mad." I whined insistently and half heartedly kicked the ground with my heel.

Sarah tilted her head like her brain was being weighed down by thought. "I don't think mad is the right word." She tapped her fingers against my thigh the way she always does when she's thinking hard. "She's more of disappointed that you chose to behave one way instead of another."

I huffed. "I can behave whatever way I wanna. It has nothing to do with her." She chuckled. I narrowed my eyes at her. "What's so funny?"

"You're just such a baby."

I pulled away, pouting angrily. "Am not." Then, I pointed at her. "You're only a year older than me."

"Almost two," she supplied. "What I mean is, you're still just a kid. You don't think about certain things. Like, for example, you're behavior is a reflection of the girls' soccer program, of our coaches, of our captains, and Ashley. . ." She paused to find the right words. "Serving in loco parentis."

I rolled my eyes. "Ashley doesn't care what other people think," I argued exasperatedly.

"Think about it this way. You're a young, impressionable child." When she pinched my cheeks, I pushed her hands away. She continued, "People are gonna judge the way Ash rubs off on you. If people get concerned, Ashley's emancipation is risked and so is you're situation with your dad."

I blinked. Her words sunk in and suddenly the weight of the world was on my shoulders. In an attempt to push that feeling away, I scrunched my face up and muttered, "Well then she can stop caring."

"No one likes being punished, kid. It's gonna suck," she said sympathetically. "But don't say things you don't mean because you're upset. If you had said that to her, she'd be hurt pretty bad, stinker."

I stared at the floor guiltily. "I didn't mean that when I said it. It-it just came out."

She pinched my side and stood us up. "I know. Let's get you to class. Yeah?"

I nodded as she swung her arm over my shoulder. I clasped her hand in between both of mine, forcing her to hold me tighter and closer. She chattered excitedly about something all the way to my class, but I didn't hear a word. All I could think about was Ashley and how I could make or break both of our arrangements.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading. Votes and comments mean the world to me *wink* *wink*. Haha but seriously I love when people read my stuff so don't be afraid to message me because I get super bored and want to talk to and meet more people.