Kyle closed his eyes and let the water from the shower pound his face, trying to wipe out the memory of the team's terrible practice. They were two weeks away from their next game and he'd never sucked so much. Though seeing all the crap on his mind, it was a wonder he could focus enough not to trip over his own feet.

After his last encounter with Cecily, he'd texted to ask how she was since he still had no idea if they were still on a break or still together or whatnot.

She'd told him to drop dead, and that was the end of that. He hadn't run into her at school anymore and he made no effort to see her. She probably expected him to start chasing her. Maybe later.

Between homework, basketball practice and band rehearsals, Kyle had barely managed to find three days a week to dedicate to Kay's training. She was okay with it, said she'd have time for homework and her truck and thanked him for his time. Which was really weird. Kay had started acting very formal towards him and they didn't talk much anymore.

She drove her mom's car to his place, focused on her workout, then left. And for some reason, it hurt. They'd decided they'd start on other things after Kay was fully caught up with her school work. Apparently, after a whole week, she still wasn't.

And then there were the whispers and rumors sweeping the school, focusing on Kay's conflict with Cecily and why Cecily hadn't done anything about it yet. Kyle was a little tense about that, too. Kay was keeping him away, so he had no way of knowing if Cecily was giving her a hard time.

A crappy situation had turned to shit very fast. And there was one more thing he'd been putting off and Chucho wasn't going to wait much longer.

Feeling completely drained, Kyle turned off the shower and stepped out to get dressed. He could hear the boys laughing in the changing room and he couldn't blame them. With a sigh, he stepped out to face them.

Joey was still in the shower, so only Pierce, Logan and Malcom sat huddled together on a bench, giggling like schoolgirls. They stopped the moment they saw him.

"It's okay, guys. I know I completely sucked, so let me have it," Kyle said, heading for his locker.

"Nah, Cap, you're just having a bad day. It was bound to happen to you sooner or later," Pierce said, waving his hand airily.

Kyle raised his eyebrows at him skeptically. Bad day was putting it mildly.

"We mean it, Kyle," Malcom said, getting up and clasping Kyle's shoulder. "You were off for one day. We're not worried. You always pull your shit together and deliver."

Kyle nodded and stuffed his equipment in the locker. If Malcom said it, he believed it. Malcom was the only one of them who wanted to go pro, so basketball was the most important thing to him. "Okay, then why did you fall eerily quiet when I walked in?"

The guys shared a knowing look, then Logan took a deep breath. "We were just discussing one of those things you're not interested in."

"Maybe he is," Malcom said.

"No way man, he's going out with Cecily," Pierce interjected.

"Maybe he wants to place a bet and offer moral support," Malcom insisted. "I'd love me some moral support."

This sounded weird as hell and Kyle got an extremely bad feeling in his gut. "What's up?"

"There's a bet amongst the guys in school about who's going to stamp Kathy Dickens' V card. Lots of cash involved and fun to be had. I'm running."

"So am I," Logan piped in. "Though it's hard going against Malcom. When he sets his eyes on a chick, he gets her."

Kyle's brain seemed to jam as he watched the boys discuss the chances of the participants. He knew what stamping a V card meant and it gave him a horrible feeling. "Who are we talking about again?"

"Kathy, man. Tall, blonde, hot."

Kyle stared stupidly, hoping against hope that his suspicion was wrong, that they weren't talking about who he thought they were.

"Come on!" Logan laughed. "That Royce guy's ex? The guy who almost killed himself on that moped. Weren't you the one who saved his ass?"

Unfortunately, yes he was. Which meant they were really talking about...

"Kay?" No. Oh, no, no, no. "Kay's name is Kathy?"

What the hell was wrong with him? He'd been friends with her for months and he didn't even know her name? And why was he focusing on that instead of the real issue? These guys were racing each other to sleep with her!

The guys stared at him for a moment then started laughing.

"Call her whatever you like," Pierce said. "My money's on Malcom. No offense, Logan."

Logan shrugged noncommittally and Malcom puffed up his chest. Kyle felt a sudden impulse to break their legs, but he unfortunately still needed them on the team.

"Seriously? Leave the girl alone," he tried to sound mature and disdainful, but he was sure his voice was strangled by panic. This was the last thing Kay needed right now.

"Told you he'd get all moralizing," Pierce said wisely.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. These assholes weren't going to listen to sense. Not to mention every other horny prick in school. But he had to do something to get Kay out of this. For now, he just shrugged and turned away as if he couldn't care less, his brain fuming, trying to find a solution.

"Damn, I'm glad you're going out with Cecily. I'd hate having to go against you." Malcom laughed.

And there it was. The most stupid and yet efficient solution he could think of.

"You are," Kyle heard himself say.

Silence filled the changing room as everyone stared at him.

"Um, so you're in?" Malcom asked warily.

"I already was." What the fuck? Shut up, shut up now! "So you're all too late."

More staring and awkward silence.

"So you're saying..." Logan said warily.

Kyle let out an exasperated sight. "I'm saying you don't have a V card to stamp. And if any of you even come close to her, I'll break your legs. In the most affectionate way."

"You're doing Kathy." Malcom's tone was annoyingly skeptical.

"Yes."

Congratulations, you fucking idiot! Kiss your friendship with Kay goodbye. Kyle turned away again, his hands shaking, trying to figure out how his mouth could lose control like that. He could still fix this. Laugh and admit the lie, play it off as a joke. But the dejected look on their faces showed the game was over before it started and he wanted to keep it that way. Maybe it was better for Kay to punch him and end their friendship than get date raped.

"Is she any good?" Logan asked.

Kyle whipped around so fast, everyone jumped back. "None of your business."

"She must be if you're cheating on Cecily with her," Logan muttered.

"I never said Cecily and I were exclusive," Kyle's mouth said, pouring more stupid words out into the world. Why couldn't he just shut up?

"Oh, thank God." Pierce let out a breath of relief.

Deathly silence. For a moment, Kyle just gawked at him before his words finally sunk in. In two strides,  he reached Pierce and pushed him into the lockers, squeezing his shoulder tightly.

"What did you just say?"

Pierce's eyes were so wide, it was a wonder they weren't popping out of his head. He shook his head to deny the accusation. "Nothing, man. Just that I'm happy you're not a cheater."

"Bullshit. Are you sleeping with Cecily?" It sucked that he even had to ask that question, but he needed to see if Pierce was lying or not.

"Of course not, man, of course not." He let out a nervous laugh that proved beyond any doubt that he was indeed sleeping with Cecily. Apparently they really had been on a proper break, no matter how much she claimed she'd missed him.

Exhaustion settled over Kyle and he released Pierce. There it was, further proof that he was having a terrible day and that he'd been an idiot to think Cecily would settle for their weird relationship. A girl like Cecily was high maintenance and needed attention. He'd hardly given her any, focused on himself as he was.

You selfish bastard, this is all your fault.

Even if the break initiative had come from her, it was obvious he'd been the reason.

"Besides, don't be a hypocrite," Pierce said in a much braver voice. "If you're screwing around, she has the right to do the same."

"Mmhmm," Kyle mumbled, turning away from them.

Except he wasn't screwing around. Should he even confront Cecily about it? Try to fix the relationship? Was it worth the effort when he didn't love her?

Kay's words rang in his head. He was wasting his time. And speaking of which... He pulled his phone out to text her: Where are you?

Kay: Heading for my locker then home. Why?

Kyle: Wait for me at your locker. We need to talk. It's urgent. DON'T leave.

Ignoring the guys, he spun around and headed for the door. Joey had come out, too, and threw him a concerned glance, but said nothing. All the better. He had no idea what was going on anymore.

🧩🧩🧩

"They're at it again," Kelly whispered.

Kay raised her face from her phone and glanced over her shoulder. Yup, there they were, Lucy and Mia, Cecily's lap dogs tailing her like they had for the past week. Kay had no idea what they were after. They probably wanted to dig up some dirt on her. Unfortunately for them and Cecily, her dirt had been neatly displayed in front of the whole school, so she had absolutely nothing to hide.

"Want me to tell them to screw off?" Kelly offered.

Kay glanced at Kyle's message on more time. It's urgent. Don't leave. He'd actually spelled don't in capitals. Even from the text she could tell he was anxious and she wondered what had happened.

Normally, she'd ignore the bimbo squadron, but if she wanted to see Kyle, Cecily's slaves shouldn't be around.

"I got this." She stopped in the middle of the hall and swung to face them. "Okay, you can stop following me now."

They both looked affronted and flipped their long manes of hair over their shoulders at the same time. Honestly, they were like a pair of twins sharing the same brain. Not that they looked alike. Mia was black and Lucy was as blonde as they came.

"Hmpf, as if!" Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, bitch, what makes you think you're important enough to follow around?" Mia added.

"Oh, I don't know, probably because you've been doing it for the past week. Now shoo!"

Both girls rolled their eyes some more and strutted away on their four-inch stiletto heels. Kay resumed her way to her locker, wondering if that had been enough to do the trick. Kelly seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Give me your shirt," she said.

Kay complied and gave Kelly her checkered shirt while Kelly passed over her denim one. Kelly winked, pulled her hair up in a ponytail and hurried in the opposite direction. Kay let her hair down and glanced over her shoulder. Lucy and Mia came out of an empty classroom and started off after Kelly.

Giggling, Kay made her way to her locker. She'd barely reached it when Kyle stormed towards her, his hair still wet, a panicked expression on his face. Before she could ask, he pushed her against the locker and leaned over her to block her from view.

"I totally fucked up," he said.

Kay blinked, trying to pull herself together and focus on his words, not the way water still dripped out of his hair or how nice his cologne smelled. "What are you talking about?"

"Before I tell you, I'm really sorry. It was like word vomit kept spilling out. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She frowned. This was starting to sound scary. "What did you do?"

"I..." He took in a deep breath. It was so weird to see Kyle so agitated. He was usually picture perfect calm. "The guys in school made it sort of a competition to sleep with you."

Kay's jaw hit the ground. "What?"

"I know, stupid. But since they know from dear ole Donnie that you didn't sleep with him, they did the math. I tried to stop it, and I think I did it."

She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. But she should be thanking him for this, not get mad like he seemed to think she would. Which meant the end might not justify the means. "How did you do it?"

Kyle bit his lip and for a moment she got the feeling he'd turn and bolt instead of answering. "I told everyone there was no point, because I'm already doing you."

Kay stared, blinked, stared some more. He should've bolted. She raised her fist and it was halfway to his face when she stopped. He'd shut his eyes, waiting for the hit. A hit he knew he deserved for being a total jackass.

The thing was, he knew he'd screwed up. Word vomit he'd called it. She wasn't an idiot. He'd lied to get her out of trouble. She could see that. And even if his method was stupid, it was also effective. She didn't think many people would want to get on Kyle's bad side.

So she had two options. Either drive the punch home, get a few seconds of satisfaction, then go skulk for a couple of days, feel crappy, and finally forgive him anyway, or skip all that, roll with it and actually have a little fun. Who cared what everyone thought?

Kay lowered her fist. "Okay."

Kyle opened his eyes and pulled back a little in surprise. "Okay?"

"I want to kick your ass, but I won't deny the merits of your idea. You're a big guy, so the chances of getting roofied, tied up and shoved in a trunk have diminished considerably." She took in a big breath. "But if we're going to play this angle, we need to make it believable."

He grinned mischievously at her, and for a moment she almost forgot that she was pissed at him. "You're amazing." Okay, now she really forgot she was pissed. "What exactly do you have in mind?" His tone held a challenge to have fun.

If it was fun he wanted, fun he'd get. Biting back a giggle, Kay wrapped on arm around his waist, pulled him against her, and squeezed his butt with the other hand. She could immediately hear gasps, giggles and chatter breaking out around them. "How's this? Do you think they believe you're doing me now?"

Kyle leaned his forehead against her shoulder, his body shaking with silent laughter. The warmth of his breath, of his body was giving her a high and she liked it. Why not live a little dangerously?

"Yup, they probably do. How about this?"

Before she knew what was going on, his hands were on her thighs and he lifted her off the floor and pressed her against the locker. Yup, that would surely do the trick. It was so hot to get sweeped off her feet. But it was too close, much too personal for a play-pretend game. "I think it's a little too much."

"Yeah, you're right." He pulled back and put her down. "Let's not overdo it. We should plan a strategy."

"We will." She looked at him and bit her lip. She'd been trying so hard to avoid him, keep it professional, no longer cling to him, but after this little stunt, his relationship with Cecily was the least of her worries. And why lie? She'd missed him a lot. It was so hard to ignore him when he obviously wanted to talk. "Want to come over and help me with my truck?"

His smile seemed to light up the entire school. "Yeah, sure. I don't know shit about mechanics, but you can teach me."

Kay smiled back, happy they were finally back to normal. Well, more or less. Kyle put his hand on the small of her back and led her towards the exit.

"By the way, why didn't you tell me I got your name wrong?"

Kay frowned and looked up at him. Seriously? "I thought you were just using a nickname." She punched his shoulder. "You mean you didn't even know my name is Kathy?"

"Told you I was a selfish prick." He looked at her thoughtfully for a second. "Can I not call you Kathy? I think Kay fits you much better."

She laughed. "I think so too, so please, don't ever call me Kathy."

They maneuvered through the crowd with amazing ease, as if they were all parting to let them through. And when Cecily came into view, she realized that they were.

Her arms were folded across her chest, her legs spread wide and she glared at them with murder in her eyes.

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I absolutely loved writing this chapter. It's funny and dramatic and a sign of how much Kay has grown. I'm also leaving you on a cliffhanger, mwahaha!

So, what do you think about Kyle's solution and Kay's response to it? I'm a little concerned about POV too, if it was done well enough, because it feels a little... I don't know, off.

What do you think will happen next?

Thanks sooo much for reading. Don't forget to vote and tell me what you think. Gotta get my creative juices flowing.