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After practice, Kinsey is truthfully and utterly drained. Every muscle in her body feels tense, causing her legs to shake jerkily as she drags herself, along with her bulky duffel bag, to her car. The undersides of the black NIKE slides on her feet, embroidered with a shiny white checkmark, scrape against the concrete pavement as she continues trudging over to the shiny red car in sight. The dried sweat adds a thick layer to every part of her skin. Her dirty blonde hair is actually dirty, sitting atop her head in an extremely messy bundle with a sheen look to it as sweat consumes most of it. The sun still shines brightly adding to the greasy look of her hair as it's only been two hours after school was let out.

How hard Kinsey practiced within those two hours genuinely confused the rest of the team, considering the fact that they have a game in less than four hours. Practice before games were only meant as a way of making sure that everyone knew the plays and their positions. Everyone jogged most of the plays during practice but Kinsey couldn't stand doing that shit. The blonde sprinted each and every play just as she would during a game. She sees it as building up muscle memory while the rest of the team just called it extra, but what else is new when it comes to Kinsey. That's how she became captain.

Kinsey continues her seemingly lonesome trek.

"Kins, wait up," James hollers from behind, jogging with his pale face flushed red and the bags on his shoulders bouncing up and down as the straps desperately clutch onto his broad shoulders for dear life.

Kinsey doesn't bother to turn around. "You need to hurry the fuck up!" She yells, almost in a whining tone as she currently feels her calves pulsing. The image of a potential ice bath soothes her mentally as the pain courses through her.

James starts jogging like a toddler would when having a fit. He drags his own rubber slides across the pavement lazily instead of picking up each foot. His head lulling back as he expels a whiny grunt.

"If you don't shut up, I will leave you," Kinsey warns as she finally gets to her car. I'm not in the mood for this shit. She unlocks the car using the small remote on her keychain and pulls open the driver's side door before dropping herself into the seat and hurling her duffel bag into the back seat.

She quickly sticks the key in, to activate the engine, and then immediately turns on the air conditioning since the blazing sun isn't helping her condition at the moment. And some people don't think climate change is real.

The blonde pulls the door shut and yanks the seatbelt over her body, clicking it into the buckle. Her hand then grips around the gear, pulling it out of park. The vehicle slowly inches backward as a result.

With no words, she looks up at the rearview mirror to spot her best-friend starting to sprint towards her car now. She smiles in a sly haze as she turns the driving wheel to curve the car out of the parking spot. She makes sure to avoid the huge ass boy that looks as though he is crying with the unreal amount of sweat dripping down his face.

She's just trying to fuck with him, not kill him.

After she backs out, she puts the car into drive, allowing it to slowly drift forward, away from James.

"Kins!" The muffled scream from the outside of the car causes her to burst into laughter. She looks up into the mirror to see her best friend with a pained expression on his face and his hair pulled back to show his big ass forehead.

She steps on the brake, causing the car to suddenly stop. She hangs her wrist on the wheel and leans back into her seat as she waits patiently for James to catch up.

Soon after, James appears on the passenger side and yanks the door open to plop himself down into the seat, "R-Real funny," he breathes out heavily.

"You seem a little out of shape. Fucking every living thing on the planet is wearing you out?"

James sends her a glare, "Fuck you," he spits, looking completely done as he tiredly allows his entire body to fuse into the leather seat.

Kinsey shrugs, "You know when I say something, I mean it," Kinsey replies, smirking at her best friend through the rearview mirror before putting the car into drive again and speeding off.

The exhaustion in James seems to gradually dissolve as he looks over at his best friend with a fond smile forming on his face.

"Y'know," James pauses, tilting his head over at Kinsey, "I miss my best friend. I think she might've finally ditched me for someone else," he says, sending Kinsey a side glance.

Kinsey slaps his chest with the back of her hand, "Shut up. Your bitch-ass should know that would never happen," she assures with her hand on the wheel and her eyes glued to the road ahead.

"I don't know?" James starts, "I think I'm getting replaced by some goth new girl."

Kinsey huffs exasperatedly, knowing where he's going with this. "She's not goth," Kinsey breathes out in a more serious tone.

"Then what is she? Emo?"

"No," Kinsey shakes her head, "Just don't fucking call her anything."

James looks at Kinsey oddly, with his eyes squinted. "When did you start caring about what I called people, especially someone that you barely know?"

Kinsey's body becomes tenser than it already has been since starting this conversation. What the fuck is he getting at right now?

"What, you jealous?" Kinsey jokes, turning her head over at James.

Now it's time for James to tense. "No," he rapidly declares, "I'm just pointing out how much it feels like you've changed ever since this girl started going here. You bailed on our plans all week just to what- work on a project, you could care less about, with her?" James looks over at Kinsey with a brow raised, "That's enough to have you ditch your actual friend?"

Kinsey's eyes rapidly blink at all of this. Her jaw clenches as she runs her tongue over her dry lips, keeping her mouth shut. Does he really feel this way?

Yeah, she has been spending a good amount of time with Jade within the past week but she's never seen it as something that's been interfering with her life. She's been doing all the things that she has to do: Going to football, doing her homework, and going home.

She hasn't really noticed much of what's been going on in her life besides all that. It's hard to when a certain girl seems to be constantly on your mind. You kind of forget about everything else.

Shit, I sound fucking sick.

All her thoughts have been on Jade, Jade, and Jade, to the point where she's been causally pushing her best friend off to the side. How did she get here? Wasn't she supposed to completely ignore this girl and act like her existence never happened? What happened to that?

Now, it seems like she just can't get Jade out of her head. Even if Jade's not with her, she's always wondering what the brunette's up to, who she's with, or if she is simply... okay.

This can't be healthy.

Kinsey has never considered the prospect of being bisexual, but she has never denied it either. She's always just assumed that she was straight but what if that's not the case? She's never had a boyfriend or anything serious for that matter. She's only fucked guys whenever she's felt like it and she has been satisfied, never questioning anything in regards to her sexuality. But, the crazy thing is that ever since Jade's come into the picture her thoughts haven't been so straight.

In addition to that, she doesn't only just want to fuck Jade the same way she does with guys. She actually wants to know more about her.

Ew, all of this shit is confusing.

"What do you want me to say to make you feel better?" Kinsey demands, raising her right arm up in frustration before slapping it back down on her thigh while she continues to drive with her left arm. Her frustration rooted in her hesitance to actually tell her best friend about the conflict brewing within her.

James huffs and his eyes wander over to the window, "Maybe not bail on me every time."

Kinsey's never seen James so annoyed. He is usually a cheerful, optimistic prick but now he seems to be a jealous, annoying prick bothered by the fact that Kinsey has been spending some more time with the new girl?

Of course, there have been instances like this before, especially when they got to middle school and dudes actually started to ask Kinsey out. They were often stupid instances that would end in Kinsey pacifying James' worries by playing video games with him the next day.

Oddly, Kinsey doesn't have the feeling that video games will make this go away.

Kinsey is slightly irked at this point, "You just want me to go to parties with you so I can drive your trashy drunk self home."

James' vexation remains mostly visible in his face while his body is comfortably lounged in the seat, "You really think that's what I'm annoyed about?"

"I mean that's all that we've been doing lately. You only invite me to go to parties with you just so you can drink and have me drive you home. I don't even understand why you drink so damn much, it's not like you're a fucking divorced thirty-year-old man."

Once the words stumble out of Kinsey's mouth, she freezes. Coincidentally, she arrives in front of James' home at the same time.

James' eyes widen, taken aback by Kinsey's words. His normally smiling face is blank as he intensely stares into her eyes and tightens his lips in disappointment.

Kinsey knows that she just fucked up. She finds herself unable to speak as the brief hurt that flashes in his eyes, send daggers through her chest.

Shit.

She knows that James' mother recently divorced his father almost three months ago, which ultimately resulted in his father developing a drinking issue. Even though it's been a while, the wounds are still open for James, as well as, Kinsey.

The Henderson's were almost like her second family growing up, so finding out that they were falling apart, killed her too.

Of course, she wasn't thinking of that when she said such a thing but she can't deny how insensitive it came out.

He breaks eye contact with Kinsey and gathers his belongings, quickly stepping out of the car. He says nothing as he goes to shut the door.

"James-"

The door shuts in her face. Kinsey's eyes invert in thought as she glares at the dashboard in front of her. She is confused about how they got to this point with a simple conversation. How did I manage to fuck up this bad?

The same question and multiple possible answers run through Kinsey's mind as she drives home. Her thoughts so much in a jumble that when she shuts off the engine in the driveway of her home, she yearns for something... someone to get her mind off of it.

The blonde hurriedly grabs her bags from the car and walks up the concrete walkway leading to her front door. She unlocks the door slowly and solemnly walks into the home. She stalks down the hall, lugging her bags along with her.

"Hey, sweetheart!" Mrs. Scott expels cheerfully all the way from the kitchen.

"Hey," Kinsey replies downtrodden and uninterested with her head down.

Mrs. Scott continues, "Dr. Khalif said that she can do Thursdays now," she informs.

Kinsey simply nods at the information she doesn't care about at the moment, continuing to walk, disregarding her mother in the kitchen.

"We're gonna head over to the game after dad gets home from work. You don't wanna change your mind and ride with us, instead?"

"No," Kinsey bluntly says as she climbs up the stairs.

Mrs. Scott nods, accepting her daughter's bluntness. She's become accustomed to her daughter's abrasive attitude. It's a part of who she's become and Mrs. Scott is able to accept that, especially after what happened.

She solemnly looks down at the cutting board as memories flush in. Guilt filling her in slowly as she gives up on cutting and hangs her head low, pressing both of her hands against the kitchen counter in abrupt sorrow.

Kinsey steps into her room and shuts the door behind her.

The first thing she does is grab her phone from the side pocket of the duffel bag. She turns it on presses her thumb on the circular button before sliding her fingers across the screen.

She slides and swipes until she spots the contact: my bitch.

Kinsey initially created the contact name after she texted Jade for the first time. This being after they kissed for the first time, which caused Kinsey to realize how much influence she had over the timid new girl. She never bothered to change it since she simply thought it was funny, but now she sees that the name is holding more weight than it originally had.

Her chest suddenly does this weird thing where it feels like her heart is gonna burst out of it as a result of it beating so fast. The feeling is kind of exhilarating but it's a nuisance at the same time since it's a feeling she's only recently started feeling because Jade's come into the picture. Why do I let her make me feel this way?

This annoyance doesn't prevent her from tapping on the name though.

It rings and rings, until...

"H-Hello?"

"Hey," Kinsey almost whispers in a casual tone as the ends of her lips slowly draw upwards into a smile.

"Where's the arrogant, 'did you miss me?'"Jade questions, mocking the deeper tone of Kinsey's voice.

"I didn't want to be too arrogant. You've been dogging me about that shit all week, so I thought I'd hold it back a little." Kinsey unconsciously smirks after the words fall out of her mouth.

"Wow, how considerate. You're actually deciding to take my advice, something must be wrong," Jade boldly expresses.

"Nothing's wrong," Kinsey shakes her head, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. The lower position of the bed allowing her to sit down, with legs wide open, and her elbows resting on both knees as she continues to hold the phone up to her industrial-pierced ear.

Jade isn't buying the bullshit. She can hear it in Kinsey's voice. There's not that honeyed confident tone in it. It's a little soft, mellow even.

"You sure? You sound a little tired, "Jade pressures in a less accusatory manner.

Oddly, once Jade says that Kinsey can start to feel the fatigue roll throughout her body almost in a wave. The overall weariness she's been feeling, started a couple of weeks ago since she's been taking her schoolwork seriously, almost not sleeping until 2 or 3 in the morning to finish up assignments after football.

Yeah, she's been feeling a little light-headed and overall sleepy but that's nothing that she can't push past. She tries to ignore the way her calves suddenly start to pulse and the way her neck starts tensing up. I could really use that ice bath now.

"I'm fine," Kinsey says lowly.

She doesn't hear anything on the other end of the phone. "Ay, when did you start caring about me? That's not how this relationship works," Kinsey informs, trying to lift the mood.

"I don't," Jade replies strongly, "It's just common courtesy to ask if people are doing alright," Jade ends in an annoyed huff.

Kinsey can visualize the brunette licking her bottom lip at this very moment. She's always bad at lying. "You sure about that?"

"Yes, abso-fucking-lutety," Jade scoffs through the phone.

Kinsey rolls her eyes at how hard she tries to play hardcore, "That's a new one," Kinsey comments, "Anyways, that's a bit unfortunate to hear, considering I couldn't stop thinking about you today."

"W-Why?" Jade squeaks as her voice cracks. She coughs it out, making it all the more obvious.

Kinsey stifles a laugh, "Well... I just couldn't stop thinking about how fucking annoying and bratty you are. It's like I could literally hear your squeaky, naggy voice in my head all day."

"Fuck you," Jade replies solidly, "You're the one that always ends up calling me when you're so-called, bored."

Kinsey can't deny that fact. Within this past week, she's found herself itching at every opportunity to call Jade. There was no solid reason for doing so, apart from the fact that she simply liked hearing Jade's voice. Something about the brunette's naturally soft-spoken, honey-like voice comforts her.

"You're right."

"Of course, I'm right."

Kinsey laughs a little, "Why don't you come to the game tonight?"

Kinsey knows what her the answer will be, but gives it a try anyway.

"No," Jade immediately shuts down.

Kinsey frowns at this, "Why not?"

"I'm not one for sports. I don't even know how football works."

"You don't have to. Just come for me," Kinsey reasons, conceitedly.

"You never fucking learn. Anyways, that's cute and all, but that's not happening. I have stuff to do."

"What kind of stuff?" Kinsey challenges.

"Just stuff," Jade emphasizes.

"Come on," Kinsey playfully whines, "You can come and be like my own personal cheerleader."

"Okay, I'd rather drop dead than be seen in that tacky ass uniform."

"It'd look cute on you, though. That short ass skirt and that crop top would lo-, "

The line cuts.

Kinsey tilts her head back as she lets out a deep, ugly laugh.

This is usually how phone calls between them played out. Kinsey would call Jade randomly and talk about random shit until Kinsey's aggressive flirting reached a point where Jade had to end the call to run away from it.

Strangely, this cycle continues to occur since Jade always seems to pick up whenever Kinsey calls.

Meanwhile on Jade's end, unbeknownst to Kinsey, Jade already made plans on going to the game tonight. She just couldn't find it in herself to give Kinsey the satisfaction of simply getting her way. The girl has everything going for her so Jade's made it her mission to be the one thing she can't get to do her bidding.

Before she was rudely interrupted by Kinsey's call, Jade was actually busy doing stuff.

But to be honest, she wasn't being interrupted from anything important. She had already completed all of her homework so she ended up writing some poetry in the little brown leather journal she keeps around. Jade would never show anyone her poetry being that it was simply horrible, but she enjoyed writing it nonetheless. It started out as a corny way of releasing all her pent-up teenage angst on paper, but now she's found herself taking a liking to the art as a whole.

She started to write as the empty silence of the house became too unbearable at times. Of course, the brunette could often thrive at being alone longer than most people, that is just all a part of being an introvert, but even introverts get tired of being alone. Writing made her feel less alone.

Once Kinsey called, Jade couldn't suppress her initial excitement. No matter how much she hates to admit it, hearing Kinsey's voice kind of calms her anxieties of being home alone often.

She hates that she picks up every damn time but those regrets seem to become outweighed by the pleasure she gets whenever Kinsey's smooth and deep voice rings through the speakers of the phone. It's almost like she can't resist.

Jade stuffs the mechanical pencil she was using, inside the journal, bookmarking the page she was just writing on. She closes the book and pulls the elastic band over the entirety of it, emphasizing the lump created by the pencil in it.

The brunette tosses the book into the drawer by her bed and grabs her phone atop the dresser table before going to lie on her bed as she waits patiently for Lucia to pick her up so that they can grab something to eat before the game. The brunette lies on her stomach with her feet hanging over the edge of her bed. After showering the dirty school feeling off right when she got home, she decided to stay in the same outfit she wore to school today, liking it a bit too much to change out of it.

Lucia begged her all week about joining her at the game tonight and Jade knew that she wouldn't stop bugging her about it, so she ended up giving in. She realizes that she's been doing a lot of that lately, but she couldn't resist once food came into the picture. Food is her kryptonite and when Lucia offered to take her out to eat, she ended up ultimately sealing the deal.

Jade's eyes sharply glance up towards the top of her phone as it buzzes and a text pops up.

Lucia

I'm outside!

Jade sighs at this, slowly lifting herself from the bed. She can't deny how nervous she is about going since she's never really been to one of these things, voluntarily. The last time she went to a game being that Melanie forced her to.

The idea of being around large crowds of adrenaline-driven people doesn't really get Jade's motors going. In actuality, it does the opposite, it makes her tense. Hopefully, I'm not fucking myself over.

________

The sight of round-shouldered boys running around really doesn't get Jade going. The excitement on her face is nonexistent as the game commences with a kick-off from the opposing team. The ball flies far up in the sky, leading all the various spectators to eye the thing in amazement as if it is a UFO. Jade doesn't bother, finding the overall objective of this sport meaningless. Of course, she doesn't know the specifics of the sport but she was somewhat encouraged to do her own research on the basic goal of this game, finding it all the more meaningless.

The ball basically falls into the hands of player number 24, which Jade knows is that Ramen Noodle head kid. She remembers seeing him with that jersey hung over his shoulder while waiting for Kinsey after practice one-time last week.

He basically cradles the oddly shaped rubber in his arms as if it were a baby before zooming down the field. This action automatically elicits a roar of cheers and anticipation from the crowd surrounding Jade. Some spectators stand up around her, engulfing the brunette in whole with their enthusiasm.

Even Jade is a little taken aback by the sight, never expecting that big of a dude to move that fast.

After Antonio fails to reach the touchdown zone and the play is over, Jade gets bored again. Her attention span for sports being way less than her attention span for reading. I wish I brought my book.

The brunette is currently sitting on the first set of benches closest to the school building with her strawberry blonde counterpart sitting to her right. The benches weren't enough it seemed as some people are forced to stand around and under the bleachers as a means of getting some sort of view of the game.

Jade still doesn't understand the hype, but she can respect people's preferences. After all, she's the girl that chooses to wear all-black on a daily basis and read books for fun.

She is in no place to judge.

The brunette looks over at Lucia as another play is in the works. "When did you become a fan of football?" Jade almost yells, trying to make her voice heard over the sudden cheers of the people as something "amazing" just happened on the field.

She is curious as to why Lucia, of all people, would be so eager to come to this game, especially seeing that the start of it isn't that captivating.

"I'm not," Lucia smiles at Jade, "I just come here to watch the cute guys," Lucia maintains her bright smile before looking mindlessly back at the field, most likely with no clue as to what is going on.

"You can't even see their faces," Jade informs.

"Aha! That's where you're wrong Jadeypoo. You can see their cute butts and their muscles. Plus, you can flirt with them after the game," Lucia specifies, using her brightly pink manicured fingers to illustrate all her words.

Jade rolls her eyes and looks forward to the field with a sharp focus. She better not poke my eyes out will those long-ass claws.

"Oh yeah," Lucia breathes out in understanding, "I forgot. You're not looking at the guys," Lucia adds with a mischievous smirk, still keeping her focus on the field.

Jade can only send a blazing glare at the side of her face before looking around cautiously to see if anyone around them is bothering to pay attention to the two completely opposite characters sitting next to one another. Jade lets it go and turns her gaze back to the field to have her eyes immediately fall onto a shorter player with a number "7" etched on their back.

Her eyes stay fixated on the player as she slowly scans up and down their figure. Her ass doesn't look too bad in those pants.

Damn, Lucia might have a point.

"You literally do this right in front of my face and expect me not to say anything," Lucia comments, sassily resting her chin in her hand as she gives the brunette a look of disbelief.

"What?" Jade snaps her head over in confusion after being snapped out of her little daze.

"You're obviously staring at her like some fucking pervert. You better get a grip on yourself and ask her out already or just keep wallowing in your own self-pity," Lucia says sternly.

"What are you talking about? What makes you think I want to. I only told you we kissed once and that was by accident," Jade snaps, focusing her gaze back into the field where another tackle occurred between two players.

"Mhmm, sure. Keep lying to yourself, Jade. If that was the case then you wouldn't be watching her like you're willing to risk it all to marry her and have her kids," Lucia adds, rolling her eyes before looking at the field again.

Jade is genuinely at a loss for words. Her jaw slacks as her mind tries to decipher the English language again, trying to find a response to what just came out of Lucia's mouth.

Could she be right?

No, that's fucking crazy. You could never ask her out.

Despite shutting down the idea, thoughts and scenarios of asking Kinsey out fill Jade's imagination one after the other as the game goes on.

Her eyes draw back to player number 7.

Jade becomes so entranced by the player that time seems to fly by just as fast as player number 7 is running.

This continues on for the next two quarters. Player number 7 runs a lot and Jade just watches her every move.

The first quarter wasn't much since there were no touchdowns, but several tackles. Tackles that made Jade cringe every time since she still couldn't understand how people could just sacrifice their bodies in order to crash into another human being. The idea of football boggled her mind but she still didn't take her eyes away from the field since she was silently cheering for one player in particular.

By the second quarter, Jade was reaching the point of stress. Every close call involving player number 7 made her flinch. The tackles involving Kinsey sent her into momentary fits of concern until the blonde would get back onto her feet. At this point, Jade had become fully entrenched in the game as she sat on the edge of her seat, noticing that by the looks of things, the home team wasn't doing well. Jade didn't really know everything about football, but what she did know was that the score shouldn't be: Home - 0; Away - 12.

It has finally reached half-time and Jade is tired. She never knew that watching a game could be so exhausting. The referee blows the whistle for the beginning of the half-time break. The Kingsman Bounty players start, defeatedly, rambling over to their benches as their helmets come off simultaneously. All of the boys are sweat-ridden and dispirited in their appearance.

Even their own captain is just as downtrodden with her messy bun hanging loosely against her back after her helmet is pulled off. Her shoulders are broadened by the shoulder pads and her jersey is covered in a lot of grass and dirt. Her bleak appearance is apparent as her eyes droop down a little and the corners of her lips follow the natural pull of gravity.

Jade can almost feel the blonde's energy from the bench and she can't help but feel like someone just punched her in the stomach. She's never seen Kinsey like this. It's like her fatigue is finally showing and Jade seems to be the only one that is able to see it.

There are literal bags under her eyes and a red tint on her cheeks as the sweat drips off her face.

Everyone else is focused on other things while Jade is solely focused on the blonde that is just too hard on herself. Jade's gaze becomes heavy enough to catch Kinsey's attention as the blonde looks up at the benches after squirting water down her throat.

She zones in on those piercing brown hazel eyes that always seem to make her melt. Her hardened look softens once she recognizes Jade. Her eyes almost brighten and become less droopy as her lips form an almost timid smile.

The smile is so small but it's enough to have Jade smiling back before rolling her eyes playfully.

It seems as if the two are having a conversation without even talking.

Kinsey's brows raise at Jade and the brunette responds by shrugging her shoulders with both of her hands at her sides, gripping the metal bench underneath her, as if saying 'what' at the blonde's sudden confusion.

Kinsey looks down at the grass and smiles as she licks her bottom lip. She came.

It may sound fucking corny, but as the thought of Jade being here cements in Kinsey's mind, a sudden burst of determination flushes throughout her body. I finally got to see that smile today.

The blonde ridiculously smiles to herself before jerking her head back and squirting some more water down her throat, gurgling it in her mouth before spitting it out onto the grass. She then grabs for her helmet on the bench and slips it on, securing her hair back in and patting it safely atop her head.

She jogs over to the huddle already made by the huge, protein-fueled machines. She squeezes herself into the congregation of boys and starts assembling her plans to 'win this and demolish those motherfuckers'.Her words exactly.

In the third quarter, the game completely switched up as the home team's plays started becoming more fluid and cohesive. The ball seemed to always fall into their hands, mostly Kinsey's, as she swiveled through big heaps of oversized linebackers. Her fast feet and smaller body size allowed her to move by in a breeze. The sudden turn of events most definitely got the, once disappointed, crowd back on their feet and screaming. Jade didn't know if it was the screams that almost made her lose hearing in one ear or the rattling of the benches from their stomps that made her brain all muffled, but the more she watched the game, the more... proud she became?

A part of her became impassioned by seeing, Kinsey specifically, succeed. Her sudden interest in the game possibly being due to her intense gaze on Kinsey's every move.

By the start of the fourth quarter, the conclusion of the game was already set as Kingsman Bounty was in the lead by 21 points due to a couple of lucky touchdowns and field goals. Now, there were only a couple seconds left of the game so people from the crowd naturally started dispersing and departing.

Jade is pretty satisfied with how the game went. She's sort of found a new understanding for the sport she never understood one bit before this day.

The final whistle blows and the players on both sides freeze in their various positions throughout the field. They all, almost robotically, line up at the opposite ends of the field and walk across the line of scrimmage to give "friendly" high-fives that were mostly coupled with cuss words and apathetic repetitions of "Good game", until they reached the end of the line to where the players immediately dispersed and went their separate ways.

"You ready to go?" Jade asks, turning over to her strawberry-blonde friend.

"Um, no. I got to get to flirting. This is my moment to shine," she pauses looking out into the field with her finger on her chin as if thoughtfully deciding on what toy to take off a shelf, "That Antonio dude is kind of hot."

"I wanna go home," Jade blatantly replies in a monotone voice.

"And that you will, but after I talk to him for a couple minutes," Lucia smiles cutely at her non-smiling friend.

Jade rolls her eyes, "I'm going to the bathroom. Where's the closest one?" She asks apathetically.

"The one in the gym locker rooms is open," Lucia offhandedly says before she slides down and hops off the metal bench.

Jade nods and follows, simply stepping off of the bench, unlike her extremely bubbly friend.

She's glad that she at least knows where the gym locker rooms are. To be honest, it's taken her a while to figure out where everything was in this school even though it's pretty small.

Jade walks down the same concrete walkway she uses every day when going to the car loop. Now, she walks the opposite way towards the school. The entrance to the girl's locker room is on the side of the school so she's thankful that she doesn't have to walk through the school to get to the bathroom.

She finds the grey steel door and pulls it open, struggling a bit with how heavy it is. Once the door is open, a dim yellow light perforates through. Jade knows that the lights are motion-censored so she doesn't pay any mind to it as she continues to walk in, unbothered.

Unbothered, until she sees a half-naked girl in her black sports bra with silver nylon football pants on.

"Oh shit," Jade hisses, backing away slowly as she averts her eyes downward to the rough square tiles that make up the locker room floor.

"You've never seen skin before?"

"I'm being considerate," Jade defends, eyes refusing to look at Kinsey's. She then decides to use her hand as a makeshift shield above her eyes that are still focused on the ground.

The blonde smirks at this and expertly lunges over the wooden bench by the lockers to slowly creep up to the brunette too busy looking at the floor to notice.

The door finishes it's creaky and painfully slow close, causing the faint light from the floodlights outside to be no longer seen.

Kinsey teasingly stalks up to the brunette in confidence with her arms respectfully clasped together behind her back. She finally gets close enough to the brunette, still smirking, and places her index finger under her chin.

Jade's eyes immediately bulge once she feels the touch. She's still looking at the floor, knowing that she can never resist when the blonde does some shit like this. No, no, no, Jade repeats internally as her eyes draw up, catching a glimpse of Kinsey's chiseled abs so close for the first time. They're real.

Kinsey lifts Jade's chin upwards so that her beaming brown eyes are forced into hers.

Once Kinsey falls upon those brown hazel orbs, she instantly melts. Ugh, she's so fucking cute. Why does she have to be so cute?

Jade's almost puppy-like eyes stick onto Kinsey as if waiting for her command. Jade feels so pathetic as she feels no sense of self-control at the moment. A large part of her wanting that to be Kinsey's job.

To take control.

To make the first move.

"So, you weren't coming to the game?" Kinsey whispers on the tip of her tongue with her finger still supporting Jade's chin.

"I didn't plan on coming," Jade lies in almost a disappointed tone. She is truly disappointed at how she managed to get herself into such a tempting situation. She can't take the intensity of the blue eyes piercing into her, leading her to look off to the side.

"What made you change your mind then?" Kinsey says, inching closer to closer, backing Jade up against the same door the brunette used to get herself into this situation in the first place.

Jade's boots make hefty, thudding sounds as she takes unpredictable and hesitant backward steps.

Jade then does the only thing she knows when in such an uncomfortable situation: She acts tough.

"I thought about it and realized that I just had to see you lose tonight. I was hoping that it'd maybe make you less pretentious than you already are," Jade spits, sharply directing her eyes back into Kinsey's with a newfound intensity.

Kinsey's eyes darken. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, babe. Seems like you didn't get what you wanted since y'know, I won," Kinsey whispers, jutting her face closer to Jade's.

Jade reaches her final step backward, forcing her back against the freezing cold door. She's now stuck in the trap that is Kinsey Scott.

The blonde, at a leisurely pace, presses her body against the brunette as they maintain such fierce eye contact with one another.

Jade breathes out shakily as she feels Kinsey's upper body press against her own, to the point, that she can feel the rhythms of each breathe Kinsey is taking.

"I-I-," Jade mutters, desperately trying to regulate her breathing amidst their close proximity.

Kinsey's finger that lingers beneath the brunette's chin goes to join the rest of her hand in caressing the side of Jade's face. Internally, the blonde is in shock at how soft her skin is and how good it feels to be able to touch her in this way. She feels her own mess of butterflies in her stomach as her hard stare softens, while her eyes continue to fixate on the breathtakingly attractive girl in front of her.

Her heated touch against Jade's cold, chilled skin sets the brunette ablaze as well. Suddenly, Jade is willing to be engulfed by the fire that is Kinsey in this very moment, no matter fucking what.

"Mhmm, that's what I thought," Kinsey murmurs, lips dangerously close to Jade's. The brunette's eyes close shut in panic, but her parted lips exhibit the opposite as she clutches onto the side of her bottom lip with her teeth, almost teasingly.

I'll give it to her this time, Kinsey thinks before smirking and ultimately leaning in.

Their lips touch and then latch almost, simultaneously, like puzzle pieces.

Jade is caught off guard initially, but once she feels Kinsey's demanding lips roughly meet hers, her worries suddenly fizz up and disappear.

The connection of both of their softer lips sends a crazy buzzing throughout both of their bodies, causing them to react in their respective, but animalistic manners.

Kinsey's fingers gradually travel up and intertwine into Jade's wavy mess of brown hair. She then gently pulls Jade's head forward, selfishly fighting for more friction between their lips.

Jade's hands naturally find their way around the exposed and barren skin of the blonde's hips. Her smaller fingers grip into the flesh like dough, greedily pulling Kinsey in closer to her body almost as if trying to satisfy an itch. In this case, an itch for touch as she selfishly fights for more friction between their bodies.

The two girls pull each other in as their lips do most of the work. The kiss deepens as Kinsey maneuvers Jade's head to tilt off the side as she slowly grazes her tongue against the soft, plumpy bottom lip that Jade was teasing her with earlier.

Naturally, Jade's lips part, giving Kinsey the ability to force her tongue into her mouth.

Jade suddenly bounces on the tips of her toes and lets out a muffled moan, in shock, as Kinsey's tongue starts to intervene with her breathing, filling the entirety of her mouth. It's a good kind of restriction though. Her eyes remain shut tight as she further indulgences in Kinsey's dominance.

She's most definitely done this before.

Jade's never had a kiss like this before. Feeling Kinsey's tongue fill her mouth sends shock waves throughout her body as she tries to keep up with kissing the girl back.

Kinsey takes a moment to laugh as she notices Jade's behavior, removing her tongue for a moment. Kinsey laughs into the kiss before completely backing away, leading Jade to partially whine at her detachment. Kinsey stares at the brunette in fondness before going back in, latching harshly onto her bottom lip with her teeth before slowly stringing the lip out and abruptly releasing it from in between her teeth.

To be considerate, she decides to add a soft peck to the brunette's newly swollen lips.

She eyes the lips she just devoured, in temptation, before looking up at Jade again.

The brunette's lips remain hanging open with her bottom lip looking red and puffy. Her eyes remain shut and her head still tilted back.

She's acting like I just gave her a fucking orgasm, Kinsey notes as she watches the girl.

Kinsey chuckles at this, "Earth to Jade," she jokes, snapping a finger in front of the brunette that still has her eyes shut as if she is stuck in a dreamland that she doesn't want to leave.

Jade's eyes flash open and once she sees Kinsey, her face feels on fire. Fuck, why'd I let her do that?

"You want some more?" Kinsey teases, inching closer to Jade.

"Fuck off," Jade immediately responds, playfully pushing Kinsey back with both of her hands. "You s-stink anyways. G-Go do whatever the fuck you were doing before I got here," she demands sternly, still timid in her tone as she motions to shoo the blonde away.

"That's 3 for 3 at this point. I can't believe I let you kiss me without taking me to dinner first," Kinsey remarks.

Jade scoffs, crossing her arms, "I've literally run out of 'fuck you's' to give you."

"Just so you know, I didn't forget about what you said last week," Kinsey adds, raising a brow at Jade.

What the fuck did I say last week? I say a lot of things. "And what would that be?" Jade questions, raising her brow at the girl before her.

"That you would get something to eat with me tomorrow." Kinsey arrogant smiles at Jade.

"I don't recall," Jade states with false confusion displayed across her face.

"Well I do, kitten."

Jade rolls her eyes. Fuck. "Stop trying to make that tacky ass nickname a thing."

Kinsey laughs a little at her complaint, knowing just how much Jade hates it, especially with the numerous times she's said it within the last week. "You know I'll never let this go, so might as well say yes now," Kinsey shrugs.

Jade roughly breathes out her nose as her eyes avert off to the side before uneasily sliding them back over to the patiently waiting blonde, still barely a few inches away from her.

"Fine, but this is not gonna be a weird date thing," Jade affirms, pointing her finger dead at Kinsey.

"I guess... but why does it matter? Can't two friends just get something to eat? I mean... unless, you want it to be a date?" Kinsey pressures, stepping a little closer to Jade.

Jade is stunned by the questions. They are similar to questions that she's often asked herself and have yet to find an answer to. Why does it matter? Do I want to go on a date with her?

"W-Why does that matter?" Jade replies, answering a question with a question. "I already agreed to go with you anyways," Jade croaks as she tentatively watches Kinsey move closer and closer to her.

"Okay, okay. It won't be a date thing," Kinsey mockingly agrees, but not promising anything. The blonde gets closer to Jade once again. She just has this urge to be closer to Jade. To touch her.

Kinsey restrained herself with that kiss earlier, knowing that she doesn't want herself to fall into something too early, but the selfish side of her is creeping back up and is craving more. That kiss made everything in her feel alright, balanced even, as she forgot about everything going on when she was so focused on Jade.

"With that aside now, I wanna know what's up with you and this outfit today," Kinsey says as she seductively sizes up Jade's entire being with laser eyes, taking in those tan legs all the way up until... the hem of the really, really short skirt.

Every inch of Jade's body burns up as Kinsey's eyes feel like they're spewing hot flames as she shamelessly eyes her up and down. What the fuck is she up to now?

"My eyes are up here?" Jade snides, bending down to catch Kinsey's eyes with her own to direct them back upwards.

Kinsey meets Jade's eyes but her hand casually lands on Jade's hip, pulling their bodies together as she leans beside Jade's ear to gingerly whisper, "I think it's kind of hot. Was it just for me?"

Jade can feel her breathing increase already just at their bodies touching. Control yourself.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? I only dress for myself," Jade derides with a nervous undertone.

Kinsey backs away to look the brunette in the face, "Mhmm, okay." Kinsey doesn't believe that shit at all with how easily Jade succumbs to her advances.

Kinsey now stares at the brunette with a straight face, brows sharp. Jade always finds herself feeling like an ant when in the way of Kinsey's intense, but natural, resting bitch face. Usually, when Jade's around her, Kinsey is all smirks and shit so she isn't used to seeing it often.

"Hey," Jade starts reassuringly, "at least I agreed to go out to lunch with you tomorrow. And just so this is out in the universe, I'm only going because you're paying and I'd be an idiot to deny that."

"I'm paying?" Kinsey questions, genuinely confused. "You sure this isn't a date?"

"I'm leaving," Jade replies coldly, lightly pushing Kinsey back, "By the way, you stink. Go shower or some shit."

"Why'd you come in here, anyway?" Kinsey asks as she starts walking back over to her locker.

"To use the bath-,"

In the middle of Jade's explanation, Kinsey casually starts to pull down her football leggings and Jade swears she sees black lace before slapping her hands over her eyes.

Kinsey starts laughing and continues to strip her clothes off without a care.

"Uhm, I just realized I don't need to pee anymore," Jade replies in a shaky tone as she pivots on her toes to pitifully grapple for the door handle. She misses a few times before grabbing onto it and yanking the door open with all the force in her weak arm. The brunette is happy to be met by the crispy, night air and proceeds to walk out to safety.

After the door shuts behind her, Kinsey can't help but smile like crazy, "She's gonna be mine," she whispers, almost knowingly, smiling like an idiot as she continues undressing.

_________<~>_________

Okay... now you guys can't say I don't feed you well, lol.

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How do you feel about Kinsey and James' quarrel? Do you think James has a reason to feel this way?

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Also, how are you guys feeling about how much closer Kinsey and Jade have gotten? Do you think it was rushed or do you think it's about damn time lol?

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Last question... what'd you think of that kiss?😏 Lol, I really want your feedback on this. I want to know if it sounds too awkward or if it's a little too descriptive because to be honest, there will be way more in the future so buckle up.

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Okay, I'm leaving but I really want to thank you guys for supporting this story. Your comments literally make my day. Even if I don't get a chance to reply to them all, just know I most likely saw your funny comment and laughed my ass off. Don't forget to comment, vote, and give your girl a follow if you'd like. ❤️