Three hours, on a bus full of loud, conceited athletes and cheerleaders, next to a boy who won't let up and insists you spend the night 'shaking the sheets' may as well be an eternity.

To say I'm relieved when we finally pull up in front of the Ridgeview Happy Hotel, would be an understatement. I don't waste any time getting out of my seat and moving towards the doors so that I can escape the sex crazed maniac that's about to have no further use for his favourite appendage.

Once the bags are unloaded, we're given a long speech about student conduct, no sneaking out, no girls sneaking into boys room and vice versa. The entire speech is received with eye rolls and subtle scoffing because it's likely that everyone's already made plans for after lights out.

Coach informs us that we're free to spend a little down time in our rooms - mixing is allowed during day light because apparently teenagers only have sex at when it's dark - and then we're to start getting ready for the match. There's no pep rally tonight and I'm relieved because after that trip, I don't know that I have it in me to extend my preppy personality any longer than necessary.

We're given our key cards and then disperse to find our rooms for the night.

"Bus for St. Louis leaves at six!" Coach calls as we head into the hotel. "If you're late, you'll be left behind! I don't care."

My room is on the third floor and I'm sharing with Melissa Lenon. She's a base and for good reason. She's all muscle. Her Latino heritage gives her a caramel complexion and dark features. She's beautiful, albeit a little intimidating but I haven't had any negative encounters with her.

"Can I have the window bed?" She walks past and dumps her duffle bag on said bed. "Thanks."

I don't bother arguing because it doesn't matter to me in the slightest which bed I get. The room is spacious enough to allow free movement for both of us. The beds are single sized, one is situated under the window at the far end of the room and the other is tucked in the left corner, with the head on the same wall as the door. There's a small set of drawers and a bathroom on the right. 

We've definitely stayed in worse before.

"By the way," Melissa sits on the edge of her bed and pulls her legs up into a crisscrossed position, "I'm supposed to be like getting friendly with you and getting the details on you and Dray."

My face must display a fair amount of the confusion that I'm feeling because Melissa rolls her eyes and shrugs in a way that makes me believe she's equally as baffled by the task.

"Emily's orders. Honestly I don't care who you fucking and who you ain't."

"Well you can report back to her that there is absolutely no" - I create finger quotations - "fucking, going on with Dray and I."

"Why not?" she scoffs. "That boy is fine."

"We're just friends." I hop on my own bed and mirror her sitting position. Melissa claims not to care and it would appear that she doesn't have any interest in following Emily's instructions, but I'm still not about to go into too much detail.

Not that there's any detail to get into.

"Just friends." She makes a psssh sound with her lips. "That's what they all say."

"I'm not interested in him that way," I continue to deny.

"You a lesbian?" She eyes me with a cocked brow. "Because that boy could turn a straight man. Hell, I'm a lesbian and I'd sleep with Dray."

"Let's not give him too much credit," I mumble. "And no I'm not a lesbian. Like I said. He's just my friend."

"Hmm," she shrugs, busying herself with her cellphone, "whatever. I'll let Emily know you're good. I got your back. Even if you do get freaky with him. I like you. You're a little quiet and weird. But you're like one of those quiet chicks that have big balls. I respect that."

Melissa's personality isn't surprising to me. I know how outspoken and rowdy she can be but the conversation has still instilled a whirlwind effect and I feel as though I need some air.

I like her though. Even more so now that I know she's not team Emily like half of the other girls under this roof. I could have been paired with someone far worse tonight.

"I'm gonna go for a walk." I get off the bed and slide my phone into my pocket before I walk out of the room.

"Cheer," a familiar voice sings out from behind me. "Neighbours huh."

I turn around and smile at Dray who's leaning against his door frame. I'm not sure that he was the best person to bump into while I'm attempting to clear my head but I start walking towards him anyway.

However I stop dead in my tracks when Becca comes slinking out of his room, not bothering to look in my direction as she darts up the corridor in the opposite direction.

"Ugh. You're shameless." I turn around and head the way I'd originally been going. Much to my disappointment, but not a surprise, Drayton soon falls into step beside me.

"Why is that?"

"We've been here for like twenty minutes and you've already got someone into bed."

"For your information," he grips my arm and stops us both from walking any further, "I didn't sleep with her. She's not my type. And even if I did. So what? You've got a healthy sex life. Why shouldn't I? Didn't you say something about double standards when we first started talking?"

"You're right," I sigh with a tinge of embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Forget it. That was way out of line."

"You jealous cheer?" I look up from the ground to find him regarding me with a smug expression.

"Get your head out of your ass Drayton," I snap. "Not everyone is obsessed with you."

"And here I was thinking that I'd made some progress with the loner." He spreads his arms wide and steps back. "But no, you're still a bitter bitch."

"Screw you asshole."

I turn around and storm towards the staircase, not wanting to wait for the elevator, because that would mean standing in this corridor with him for longer than I want to be.

I walk around the complex grounds, revelling in the fresh air and warm sunshine. Summer is over but it's still T-shirt weather out and about.

I'm not oblivious to the fact that I could have handled that entire conversation with a lot more tact. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions or put him down for something he didn't even do. I've never been that way before and it's frustrating that I'd lashed out.

I suppose it'd be stupid to carry on denying the fact that I was a little jealous. Even admitting that to myself makes me feel nauseous. Dray is free to do whatever and whoever he pleases without me acting like an unstable wreck.

The fact that I find Drayton attractive isn't news to me. I always have. But I hadn't expected it to cause such irrational reactions from myself and I know I should be mad at Drayton for the way he spoke to me. But in all honesty the anger is becoming self-directed. Could it be more than just a physical attraction...? Could it be fee-

"No no no," I mutter to myself. "Nope. That's not it."

• • •

At some point I'd gone back to the hotel room, I'd obviously showered, changed into uniform, boarded the bus and arrived at the St. Louis school. But I've been in another mind, the people and activity surrounding me is alive and exuberant yet I feel like a shell that's simply existing amongst it.

There are too many thoughts plaguing my mind, too much confusion and a little sadness at the argument that had gone down between Dray and I. Despite the fact that I always put my everything into performances, I know that tonight's cheering is mediocre.

"Dallas!" Emily hisses near the end of half time break. "You are being so damn sloppy tonight!"

"Sorry," I mumble.

"Excuse me?"

"I said sorry Emily. Shit!" She recoils as I throw my hands in the air. "Leave me alone. I'll step it up okay."

"Fine," she mutters under her breath before she traipses away. I'm in the mood for very little right now and her pestering is not high on my tolerable list.

Drayton watches me from his bench seat twenty feet away, studying me with that intense look of his that makes me want to disappear inside myself. It's impossible to tell if he's still angry or not but I may just find out because he stands up and starts heading towards me.

"You're not a bitter bitch," he simply declares, leaning on the wire fence that separates the field from the bleachers. I think this is his way of apologising but it does little to cure my mood.

"I am actually." I shrug. "You hit the nail on the head."

"Why do you always have to argue with everything I say?"

"Because I'm bit-"

I let the sentence fade away when the sight of an opposition member catches my attention. It's the creep from last weekend's party, standing about thirty feet away with an unwavering glower.

Of course he's here. He's friends with Ben and I knew that Ben played for this team, in fact he's probably been on the field this entire time but I haven't noticed and I certainly hadn't put it together that creep would be here too.

Drayton furrows his brows as he takes in my silence and likely obvious fear. There's no reason to be afraid, he can't hurt me here, but seeing him watch me with so much hatred makes my skin crawl. Dray slowly turns his head to the side and when his eyes no doubt find and recognise him, his body becomes rigid as he straightens up.

"That's him isn't it?" he growls, turning back to face me, the dark and terrifying fury taking up residence in his eyes once again.

"So what?" I feign indifference, not wanting him to know how much that creeps piercing eyes actually petrifies me.

The bell to signal our break being over sounds out through the field and the creep disappears. Drayton's jaw twitches as he grinds his teeth and pulls on his helmet. The change in his demeanour is causing alarm bells to ring but I ignore them because I can't believe that Dray would do anything stupid at a game.

Without another word he jogs on to the field, his shoulders are tense and as he takes up his position his focus seems to be on one person and one person only.

"What'd you say to him?" Melissa asks with a bewildered tone when I step back into formation with the rest of the girls.

"Uh, nothing."

The whistle blows and the ball quickly ends up in the hands of the opposition, who takes off up the field in hopes of scoring a touchdown, he weaves through our players but is intercepted and lobs the ball to number nine. It's caught by the opposition again, except this time he barely gets the chance to take a step forward before Drayton dives headfirst into his stomach, throwing him to the ground with a brutal force.

The crowd gasps, getting to their feet. The chatter and hum of the people in the stands continues to surround us but there's a definite prickle of suspense that doesn't last more than a second before number nine is back on his feet, ripping his helmet off.

It's the creep. Drayton quickly mirrors his action, throwing his helmet off and receiving a hit to the jaw before the headgear even hits the ground. Within seconds, a full-blown fight has broken out. Drayton leans back and avoids another blow to the face, he quickly goes on the offence and punches him square in the nose, causing him to fall to the ground. Members from either team rush forward but no one steps in.

I've been frozen in place, watching with horror as Drayton continues to pummel his face. It's probably a terrible idea to get involved but my feet do the thinking for me and run fast towards the scuffle. My eyes stay focused on Drayton's large form, dominating the fight with little struggle. I push through everyone and notice coach beelining towards us from the opposite direction.

"Drayton!" I scream as the two of them end up back on their feet. Creep gives Drayton a solid punch in the abdomen but it barely causes him to flinch. Before Drayton can respond I step in front of him, he briefly glances in my direction but his eyes are back on his target as he restlessly shifts his weight. "Stop! What are you doing?! You're gonna get suspended!"

"Ugh this nasty bitch," a creep scoffs from behind me. "Makes sense now."

Drayton doesn't respond, he doesn't blink or swear or threaten him, he just grips either side of my waist, picks me up and all but tosses me to the side before he tackles the creep down again and hits him so hard that the sound makes my tummy turn.

"LAHEY!" Coach finally breaks through the useless onlookers who did absolutely nothing to try and prevent this shit show from taking place and rips Drayton back by his shirt. "GET OFF THE FIELD! NOW!"

Drayton holds his hands up in surrender, but his eyes stay on the bloody mess of a boy who lays on the ground, groaning in pain. I can't take my gaze off Dray as he breathes rapidly, disgust written all over his features and absolutely no sign of remorse as he takes one last look at the creep before he turns around and walks towards the tunnel.

When the buzz has died down and the creep, whose name I now know is Keegan, has been taken off the field and given medical assistance, the game continues. Despite losing our star quarterback, we still win the match. I do my best to seem enthusiastic and high spirited, but all I want to do is find Drayton and ask what the hell he'd been thinking. But when we finally get back on the bus to return to the hotel, he's not here. Coach soon informs me that he'd taken a car back to the hotel and would be facing disciplinary measures when we get to school on Monday.

The pent up anxiety is killing me, I feel like hours have passed since the fight, that each second is ticking by at a snail's pace while I agonisingly wait to find him. Unfortunately when we arrive back at the hotel, coach orders everyone straight to their rooms. It seems as though Dray's little bust up has negatively affected everyone.

Truthfully I'm not entirely sure how I feel about what happened. There's a certain satisfaction that I feel when I think about that dick head getting a little bit of justice dished his way.

I'm not typically a fan of violence, it doesn't upset me, it's just not my go-to. But I'm not mad, I'm not disgusted. Something tells me that he'd done it for me and I can't help but find it a little-

"That was hot," Melissa interrupts my thoughts as she comes out of the bathroom. I'm laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, resigned to the fact that I won't get to talk to Dray until tomorrow. 

"He totally kicked that guy's ass and don't even try tell me that it had nothing to do with you girl."

"I have no idea what it was about," I tell her, feigning as much ignorance as I can.

"Mhmm sure you don't." I glance over to the mirror where she's coating her lashes in mascara. She's wearing a tight black cocktail dress and a pair of stilettos. "I'll keep playing your game. I know you and that boy doing something though."

"Are you going out?" I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

"The whole squad is." She turns and assesses her figure in the mirror. "There's a live gig at this basement bar tonight. And I think a bunch of people are drinking at this lake nearby. You wanna come?"

"Na." I lay back down and continue to count the spots on the ceiling. "I'm just gonna chill here. I've had enough drama for one day."

"Okay," she shrugs, "suit yourself. Ima find me a hot chica."

She picks up her little clutch from the side table drawer and walks towards the door, opening it a crack and peering out to ensure the coast is clear before she tiptoes out and shuts the door behind her.

While I may not be a party animal and the nightlife doesn't call me the way it does some people, I can't deny that I feel a little bit of regret. Perhaps letting my hair down is exactly what I need. There's no one here that I'd want to go out on the town with though.

Well almost no one.

A crazy idea forms behind my eyes and I know that it's stupid, it's irresponsible and I should definitely not pursue it. But I can't seem to stop myself from standing up and finding something cute to wear.

I want to do something. I want to have fun and be a little reckless and I know that there's only one person who can help with that. So I change into a pair of skinny jeans, cropped long sleeve top.

I put on a little makeup and fluff my hair before I follow Melissa's lead and sneak out of the room.

My hand hovers over Drayton's door as I ask myself - for the thousandth time - if this is a good idea. Typically I'd decide against it. But tonight I don't want to be typical. I watched Drayton beat someone's face in, in my honour and that fact has sparked the need for adventure.

Deciding to bite the bullet, I rap the door with white tight knuckles and then wait with a pounding heart for approximately three seconds before the door opens and Dray answers with a scowl and no shirt on.

"Oh," his features soften when he realises it's me, "Dallas, hey. Uh look" - he sighs with exasperation - "if you're here about earlier, I don't wanna talk ab-"

"I'm not!" I interrupt him. "I mean, I do want to talk about it at some point. But not right now."

"Oh," he fixes me with a puzzled look, leaning against the door frame with folded arms, "what's up then?"

"At the risk of getting you in even more trouble than you already are," I take a deep breath and continue before I can talk myself out of this entire thing again, "I wanna go out, I wanna have some fun and I want your expertise to make that happen."

He straightens up, leaning away from the door jam with a surprised expression. "You want me" - he points at his chest - "to help you have fun tonight?"

"Ugh," I groan with heated cheeks. "You're right. Terrible idea. Never mind! Forget I came."

I start to head back to my room when he grips my wrist, turning me around and flashing a sly smile that makes me a little breathless with anticipation.

"Just let me get a shirt on."

• • •

What's gonna go doooown. Fun or fail ?? Hahah.
Thanks for almost 6k reads you bomb ass people.

So much love. Until next time x