Chapter Two - Cinderella's Dilemma

It reeked of deodorant and sweat.

God! How did these guys not have breathing problems? I wondered as I tiptoed inside, holding my breath until I eventually realized I had to inhale at some point in order to survive.

The water was running, which meant somebody was taking a shower. Somebody equalled Sean.

My nerves gradually rose while my pace slowed to the point where I was just standing like a pole in the middle of the changing room. If somebody walked in right then, I'd be labelled the school creep.

There was a curtain separating the shower from the bench and locker area and it wasn't until I saw an outline on it that I started to hyperventilate. He was there. Taking a shower. Naked. Well, duh! With a thin curtain separating us.

Even though it was just an outline, it brought on regret. This was wrong.

How would I feel if I were naked in the girls' room and some random dude sneaked in to talk to me? I'd probably be so creeped out; I'd try to get a restraining order.

I should've said no to Meera right away. This was a stupid idea.

Just as I began to back away, my eyes landed on the bench. A jersey with a very familiar number was lying on it. The same number I always looked for on the football field. Number Five. Sean's number.

My hands went up to my chest in awe and I started weighing my options. I could go out and everything would go back to the way it was or I could actually talk to him and change things for myself, maybe for worse but that was a 50/50 possibility.

I had a habit of imagining the worst-case scenario whenever I was on the fence about something and if it turned out to be something I could live with, I went ahead with it.

In this case, the worst-case scenario I could envision was Sean realizing what a pathetic little coward I was to not have the guts to talk to him in person in front of others, yet was desperate enough to sneak into the boys' changing room.

Why couldn't I just approach him like a normal person in the hallway or cafeteria?

Shut it, Becks. If you could pluck up the courage to talk to him, you would've done that a long time ago. Just go for it.

Without thinking twice, I cleared my throat loudly to catch his attention.

Nothing.

The water? Still running. My hands? Now shaking.

Okay! Maybe that's a message from the universe. Run away while I still can.

I'm out, I thought as I started to retreat but ended up stepping and tripping over something. A loud yelp escaped my mouth as I desperately tried to get a hold of something. As I fell, my hand closed around a poor water bottle sitting on the bench, minding its own business until it was smacked off it by me. I landed on the floor with a thud, followed by the thud of the bottle as it rolled over to the lockers.

"Ow," I groaned, rubbing my back.

The water stopped.

"Who's that?"

My eyes snapped to the curtain. His outline slowly grew bigger as he came forward. When his hand fell around the curtain to yank it aside, I lost it.

"No!" I screamed. "No! Don't come out."

His hand froze and after a moment, it creeped back inside.

"A girl?" His voice was barely audible like it was said to himself but came out loud accidentally. "Who's that?"

Shit! Shit! Shit!

I looked around me, panicked. What could possibly save me from this inevitable embarrassment? Bench? Nah can't do much. Lockers? I couldn't fit in one. Stupid. Door? Too far, too late.

"I heard you, you know?" he called again in that deep voice of his and my heart picked up. "Who is it?"

You called this upon yourself, Becks. Now deal with it.

"Um... Hi," I muttered.

The silence became very loud and I could bet he could hear my heart thumping inside my chest.

"Are you lost?"

"N-no no! I'm not lost." I chewed on my lower lip, suddenly feeling very, very stupid. "I know I have no business being here and this is gonna sound crazy but I just came here to... talk."

"About what?"

"Uh..."

It wasn't until a quarterback named Sean Villin came into my life that I finally understood the meaning of cat getting your tongue. I was practically speechless...or embarrassed. Or both. Definitely both.

"About...football."

"Football?"

"About you. I mean, about how foot you are at goodball." I bit down on my tongue, cringing and resisting the urge to smack myself. "I mean, how good you are at football. That's what I wanted to say. Yes! That's what I came here for. To tell you that you were amazing out there. On the field, I mean."

I realized my face had heated up as I was speaking. Hell, it was burning hot. I could feel my embarrassment.

I wanted to run away.

A low chuckle erupted from inside. I never really believed in music therapy but I was starting to believe that certain sounds could actually calm a person. It was the sound of his laugh for me. I don't know how it suddenly made me ease up and smile and in that exact moment, I wished I could see his face as he laughed like that because of me.

"That's a first," he admitted.

"What? Someone telling you that you were amazing? I'm not gonna believe that."

"Of course not." There was a hint of pride in his voice and I could picture a perfect smirk on that perfect face. "I've been told by many girls that I'm amazing." A wave of jealousy rushed over me. "But none of them have ever sneaked into the boys' changing room to tell me that. That's a first."

I blushed, asking shyly, "well, do you like it?"

His hand fell on the curtain again and I suddenly tensed up; I hadn't heard him put any clothes on. But all he did was point towards the bench and my eyes fell on the towel lying next to his jersey.

"I'd get it myself but I'm not sure you want me to flash you. I am sure you'll appreciate the view though."

Oh boy! Was that an invitation?

Shut up, Becks.

I could feel my blush deepening. My face was on fire and I was really thankful for the curtain between us. I didn't want him to see how easy I was when it came to him.

"Um, of course." I quickly grabbed the towel and handed it to him. His arm was dripping wet and I took a few seconds to admire his packed forearm until he pulled it back inside.

"What's your name?" he asked.

I opened my mouth like the lovestruck fool I was and almost blurted my name. But right then, I pictured him telling the entire football team and then the whole school finding out that Rebekah Andrews sneaked into the boys' changing room to meet Sean. Talk about trust issues.

"Come on," he said, clearly noticing my hesitation. "You obviously know mine. It's only fair you tell me yours."

I licked my lips. What was wrong with me? Why was I acting like he was asking me for nudes? It was just my name.

And he could've easily taken a peek outside. Was he respecting my boundaries? Of course he was. I called him Prince Charming for a reason.

"What if I tell you that I came here to ask you out?"

There! If he liked the sound of that, I would give him my name. If not, I could easily disappear like a needle in haystack and start afresh with him.

Silence

Oh no! I've said too much, too soon. It wasn't that bad when I knew I could just run away and catch him later. I started to back away.

"You're brave. I dig that."

Panic! Panic! Panic!

It sounded like consolation before turning someone down. Good thing I didn't give him my name, I thought as I began to pull the door open.

"Wanna grab coffee after school?"

Wait, what?

My jaw dropped. Did I just score a date with Sean freaking Villin? Oh my God!

My lips stretched into a big grin. "Sure!"

I broke into a little happy dance right there, careful to not squeal in excitement. I didn't want him to know how madly elated I was over getting something as basic as coffee with him.

"Can I step out now? It's kind of hot in here from the shower."

I bet.

I inhaled slowly. This was happening. This was really happening!

Wait! But what if he changes his mind after looking at me? I didn't consider myself unattractive but what if he didn't find me attractive enough? I know! I know! Overthinking at its finest.

"Ye—"

My phone rang loudly and, in a haste, I hit answer even before seeing the contact.

"Becks!" Meera's voice rang in my ears. "Get out! Now! The football players are about twenty steps away from turning into the changing room corridor and you know how fast they walk. Jeez!"

"Shit!" I ran towards the door, throwing a look back at the curtain. Why couldn't I have two more minutes with him? Or even thirty seconds more?

Right then, I understood Cinderella's dilemma.

"I gotta go. Sorry."

"What? Wait—" He must've stepped out but I'd already slammed the door shut in a hurry and ran down the hallway. Just as I ducked behind a wall and took a peek back, the football players turned into the corridor and in about three giant leaps, they were at the changing room door. They did walk fast.

I sighed in relief.

Somebody tapped on my shoulder and I spun around with a shriek.

"It's me. Relax! Did they see you?" Meera asked with wide eyes.

"It was close but no."

"Oh, thank God!" She exhaled in relief, shutting her eyes. "How did it go?"

At this, my lips pulled back into a wide, foolish grin. "So good."

"Tell. Me. Everything."

"I'm buying us coffee first."

*****

"Aw!" Meera puckered her lips into a pout as she listened to me going on and on about how magical the encounter was and how Sean's voice was even sexier up close.

"Well, it wasn't one of the thousand lovey dovey ways I'd imagined him asking me out and 'wanna get coffee?' doesn't exactly sound very Prince charmish, but it was something, right? Heck! It was everything."

She chuckled. "Can you blame the guy? You totally caught him off guard."

"I did." I grinned.

We were currently at our favourite coffeeshop which was only a few blocks away from school. It was the usual hangout for our trio—me, Meera and Cheryl.

The three of us had been inseparable since we met long before we could even remember. I think it was in Daycare. That's what our moms told us. Earlier, it used to be just the three of us but ever since sophomore year when Cheryl started dating Mack, a senior, the four of us began hanging out together.

And this was our go-to spot.

I considered it my comfort place. The moment I'd pushed open the glass double doors, an involuntary smile had formed on my lips at the distinct smell of the place—the soothing aroma of coffee mixed with chocolate and cinnamon, and some other things I couldn't exactly put my nose on. But more than anything, I think it was the place itself—its walls, furniture and the people. It always had the same reviving and calming effect on me.

Now I was proud to say that it wasn't the only thing that had this effect on me. Sean's voice could do that too.

I leaned back in my seat and stretched my arms forward, stifling a yawn. "How long will our order take?"

"A while. They're running on less staff and lots of orders."

"I miss the times when not many people knew about this place." I pouted, looking around. "And they don't even do those karaoke nights anymore. They used to be fun."

"Right? It's like they grew up and now everything's about money and profit." She scrunched her nose.

One of my fondest childhood memories was making a beeline for this place right after school with my friends. We used to talk about our crushes and other girl stuff while enjoying our milkshakes. Then one of us would get up and grab the karaoke mic.

I still remember the day Cheryl wanted to sing for the first time. The moment she started singing, Meera's milkshake flew out of her nose because she made the loudest snort ever.

And since I was recording Cheryl, I happened to have captured that moment on video and was proud to admit that it was preserved in my phone under 'Meera's top embarrassing moments'. And needless to say, that was Cheryl's first and last attempt at singing karaoke, or singing for that matter.

Meera let out a low whistle as she eyed something behind me. "Check that out."

Just as she said that, a loud commotion broke into the coffeeshop, announcing a noisy group. I turned around to find the entire football team walking in.

My heart picked up when I saw Sean enter after a few people and look around for an empty spot big enough to seat the entire team.

Not here not here please.

"Over there." One of the guys pointed towards three empty tables in the other end of the room and they all headed that way. I sighed in relief.

This coffeeshop was the closest to our school that served nice food so it was no surprise that the entire football team was hanging out here after practice.

"Random dare?" Meera asked out of nowhere and I turned my head to her slowly, glaring.

"I've had my fill of your random dares, thanks!"

She smirked. "It worked, didn't it?"

My scowl inadvertently wiped off and a smile formed on my lips. Then I let out a dreamy sigh because that's what that encounter still felt like, a dream. "Yes."

"Then let me remind you that you're not going out with him until you actually introduce yourself to him in person. You know, when there isn't a curtain between you guys?"

"I know that."

"Hear out my dare, then." Her eyes held a spark of mischief. What was she up to now?

"Fine."

"I dare you to make out with Chad Wesley over there. He's totally got the hots for you." She motioned her chin towards football players. Chad was the one with curly blond hair, currently sipping on a vanilla milkshake.

"Why would I do that?"

"To play a game, Becks. After making out with Chad, say something like 'sorry. It was just a dare. Hope you guys don't mind.' Then you leave their table, leaving Sean and the rest of the guys curious and not to mention, interested," she said the last word with a wiggle of her brows. "And when you introduce yourself to Sean later today, he's gonna be on cloud nine because he's already got a date with the girl who half the football team wants. It'll feed his ego and guys are driven by it, trust me. And before you know it, he's crazy about you."

I blinked.

"I honestly cannot tell if that is the worst plan I've ever heard or the best one."

She pressed her lips together pensively. "Neither can I. I speak without thinking sometimes, you know it. I made it up as I spoke."

I glanced over at Sean, instantly deciding. "First, I'm not even bold enough to do that. Second, things are already going my way. This sounds like something that'll mess it all up. For all I know, they'll just laugh at me, call me crazy and blacklist me. Bye bye, Sean."

"On second thought, I second that."

"Good." I tapped my fingers on the table, then asked after a moment, "Chad's got the hots for me?"

She smirked. "Totally. I saw him checking you out during math last year."

"He's not bad but..." I blinked innocently. "I'm spoken for."

She snorted.

"Shut up." I laughed. "I don't even wanna hear it."

"Spoken for," she mimicked me. "Damn, girl! At least let him buy you dinner first."

"Yeah, yeah I know."

A loud chuckle erupted from the guys' table and I found myself listening closely, wondering if it was my Prince Charming.

I low-key wasn't liking the fact that Sean was here because as soothing as his voice was, apparently his presence wasn't. And I wanted all the calm to prep myself before talking to him in person.

Pretending to look at the counter behind me, I cut a glance at him. He was busy talking to the guys about something with elaborate hand gestures and wide eyes. A little smile fell on my lips. I really conquered something today. Would he recognize me if he heard my voice?

"That looks ours," Meera said and I noticed our order on the counter. "Will you get it?"

Sean's table was right next to the counter. My throat tightened and I realized I'd involuntarily gulped. Dammit, Becks! It's high time you put on your big girl pants.

"Sure." I got up on shaky feet and Meera raised a brow before exhaling disappointedly. I deadpanned. "Don't tell me you noticed that."

"You literally just swayed."

"I'm good." Taking in a deep breath, I leisurely waltzed towards the counter, watching Sean chat with the guys while sipping on his vanilla milkshake and occasionally popping a fry in his mouth.

Times like these reminded me he was just a normal guy and I could easily approach him but then he would go and score an effortless touchdown or smile so brightly, his blue eyes would literally light up like stars. That's when he would go back to being the Prince Charming who owned my heart and I would go back to being a nervous wreck around him.

The universe must've had some wicked plans for me because just as I was a few feet away from the counter, he set his milkshake down and got up, still laughing at something his teammate was saying. But as his laugh grew closer and deeper, my pace mechanically slowed. Oh God!

Is this the moment where we finally meet? Where he recognizes me?

And just like that, he headed for the bathroom in the back and both my excitement and distress were over. I found myself thanking my lucky stars and looked back at Meera with a sly smile and mouthed, "that was close."

"Lucky bitch," she mouthed back with a shake of her head.

Chuckling out of relief, I flipped around to march up to the counter with a new surge of confidence but just as quickly as it had come, it was ripped away when I crashed into something very hard. A surprised yelp escaped my mouth as I stumbled back a few steps, suddenly feeling a gush of hot liquid soaking through my t-shirt.

What the hell just happened?

I'd always considered myself tough. So, naturally, I hated admitting that the impact had me shaking on the inside like a little baby getting startled by a balloon bursting. It was almost like getting smacked in the face out of nowhere. That's how it felt bumping into, what I now realized as I looked up, a very hard chest.

For God's sake! What did they stuff in there? Steel?

"What the fuck!" echoed a snarl.

"I'm so sorry," I said quickly as the burning pain on my stomach hogged all my attention. There was a huge coffee stain on my clothes. "Shit!" I quickly peeled the soaked t-shirt away from my skin. Oh no! Please don't leave a burn.

"Are you fucking blind?"

"Excuse me? I just said sor—" My words were left hanging once I looked up at who I'd bumped into and instead, a scowl formed on my lips.

So much for thanking my lucky stars.

It was Matt Williams.

Why do I hate that name or the face that comes with it?

Let's see. He was one of the foremost stuck-up, high school assholes who thought the world revolved around him and he could have everything his own way.

Or maybe it was the fact that he wasn't just a conceited, self-centred jerk but also a bully. He bullied my older brother in middle school until someone came to his rescue. Don't ask how he managed to bully someone older than him. He just did.

Immorality wasn't subjected to age after all.

But all that was, of course, a long time ago and once he gave up the bullying, befriended some popular kids and got into the football team, he became the talk of the school and everyone just forgot about it like it never happened.

But not me.

People say hate is a strong word but what I felt for him demeaned it. Disgust, maybe, should cover it.

I loathed him.

And he loathed me too. The equation couldn't get any simpler.

So, we always steered clear of each other. Until now, unfortunately.

"Seriously?" I grimaced, aggressively wiping down at the coffee stain on my t-shirt like it was going to make a difference, besides letting me show my frustration. "First day of school and I bump into you. If that doesn't doom me for my whole junior year, I don't know what can."

Matt raised a brow in a silent I beg your pardon? before setting down his coffee or whatever was left of it on a nearby table and facing me squarely.

"I'm not sure if you can tell but I'm not thrilled to see you either," he retorted. "It's not like I dig seeing your face this early in the morning, or any other time of the day in fact. So, next time, you better watch where you're going, Andrews."

I scoffed. "Trust me, that's the plan if the outcome is this unpleasant." I pointed between us.

His eyes narrowed for a quick second. "In that case, what are you still doing here? Get out of my face." Each word was said with so much emphasis and disgust as if just looking at me was making his skin crawl and I suddenly had a flashback from middle school.

All these years, avoiding each other, I'd forgotten how rude and spiteful he could get.

"Gladly," I clapped back. "It's not like I'm enjoying standing here and chatting with an asshole like you."

A deep scowl formed on his face and I had another flashback from middle school. The feeling of utter bliss upon riling him up with my insults was something I hadn't tasted in a while too.

With a sense of self satisfaction, I started to walk past him towards the counter but he stepped in front of me to block my way, a clear V sitting between his eyebrows as he watched me with a fiery glare.

"You ran into me. You ruined my morning, which I know was done on purpose. And I'm the asshole?"

I noticed his clothes. His white t-shirt was bearing a similar stain as mine, only bigger. He wasn't even attempting to pull it away from his body like me. I could bet it was hurting like a bitch but of course, he was too manly to show.

"That's right." I gave him my sweetest smile. "And about you thinking I did this on purpose, honestly, I wouldn't have minded ruining your day intentionally and if given the chance, I'd do it again, only will be a bit more careful about my own clothes, you know?"

With a jerk of my hand, I pointed down at my t-shirt, mouthing a duh, which only deepened his scowl.

"No, I don't know really. You don't have enough brains for that. You probably just saw me getting my coffee and thought 'let's go mess it up'. I bet that..." He pointed at my clothes. "...caught you off guard."

"Please," I scoffed. "I'm not petty like you. Trust me, if I wanted to ruin your day, I wouldn't mess with your coffee. I would simply kick you in the balls and get it over—" I stopped abruptly, my eyes becoming a little wide upon my words. "Oh wait! My bad. You don't have any." I pouted for exaggeration.

A few of the guys next to us sniggered and that's when I realized we'd caught their attention. I smirked at Matt, expecting him to falter after I'd embarrassed him in front of his buddies but there wasn't a hint of agitation on his face.

Instead, his deep brown eyes bored into mine like they were silently studying me and as if he'd arrived to a conclusion, a little smirk formed on his lips. And that's when I started to sweat just a little. His scowl hadn't been half as worrying. What was he thinking?

"Oh yeah?" he asked in a much calmer tone than I'd expected after that insult. "How would you know?"

One of the jocks hooted. "Oh! She'd know."

I faltered for a moment, then bounced back like the smart ass I was. "Doesn't take a genius to figure out the obvious."

"And you're obviously not one. You're one of those dumb chicks who go about their day living in their own little world, making stupid mistakes and not even owning up to them. Let me break it to you, it's not cute."

A few guys chuckled again. Clearly, this was a biased fight.

"Listen," I snapped, stepping up to him without even bothering to mask my irritation. "Not like I owe you an explanation, but bumping into you wasn't intentional, especially when it involved you being in my ten feet radius. I'd rather jump off a cliff than be anywhere near you willingly, capiche?"

Throwing him a spiteful glare, I stepped on the side to walk away but he blocked my way yet again. His eyes weren't on me anymore, instead they were directed straight ahead, over my head like he was sick of looking at me and when he finally snapped them down to my face, the annoyance in them had multiplied.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Getting out of your face, like you put it not more than a minute ago. Do you have a memory problem?"

"You really think I'll just let you slip away after all this? You're gonna pay, Andrews."

Something about the way he said that made me want to back up and just...what? Hide, Becks? but I crossed my arms over my chest and held my chin up, showing him that I wasn't afraid of him.

"Pay?" I tested the word. "What are you gonna do? Bully me? This isn't middle school anymore."

Out of all the things I'd said to him, this was the last one I'd expected to dent his steel exterior.

He was taken aback but it was momentary, blink-and-you-miss-it momentary. Before I knew it, his eyes had darkened with resentment again, sending me a silent message—a warning. I smirked, holding my ground, realizing we'd gone into a stare down.

"I meant pay for the coffee you just spilled on me," he said scornfully.

"Hey, dude. Come on!" One of his football buddies got up. "You're really gonna make a chick pay for your coffee? Let it go. Here, I've got some change."

I opened my mouth to say that I was perfectly capable of paying for it but Matt beat me to it.

"Are you the one who spilled it, Chris?"

"No but—"

"Then sit your ass back down and let me handle this." One side of his mouth lifted into a grimace like I was a spider he wanted to crush. But I knew that's how I looked at him too. These were our involuntary reactions to each other's very existence. "Also, back off. This is not the girl you wanna be impressing, trust me. You can do way better."

My mouth opened slightly, cheeks heating when some of the jocks snickered. My glare soon morphed into a sardonic smile.

"Yeah, you would say that. People tend to speak ill of the things they can't have."

A series of whoas and wolf whistles erupted from the football team. Okay, maybe not a biased fight after all. I took pride in that but Matt didn't react the way I expected him to. The opposite, actually. I thought he'd be somewhat enfeebled by the insult.

But he raised a brow condescendingly and I could've sworn that for a moment, his eyes ran over me, checking me out. He looked almost disgusted as he spoke in a slow and deliberate tone, "can't? Try won't, Becks."

Now that hit a nerve. How dare he call me by the name which was only reserved for friends and family, that is, the people who meant something to me?

"It's Rebekah to you, asshole."

All my courage suddenly vanished when he took a step forward and towered over me. His actions were unpredictable, which is why I suddenly grew a little wary. I wanted to retreat a few steps but my feet stayed rooted to the ground for the sake of my dignity.

"You call me that one more time and I'll show you what a real asshole can do."

"What?" I blinked innocently. "Spew shit? Because that's pretty much what you're doing right now."

Okay. I took it in the literal sense but the hell if I backed down now.

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. While his face didn't give away much, his eyes held a lingering threat and it was the way they gleamed at me, that made me swallow. I prayed to God he couldn't tell that he was slowly sapping my confidence.

He stepped forward and once again, I held my breath as he lowered his face, asking in a dangerously low voice, "what is it, Becks? Are you looking for trouble?"

I inhaled, swallowed my fear one more time and held my chin high. "Even if I am, clearly this isn't the right place. You can't harm a hair on my head."

"On the contrary..." I watched as a slow smirk formed on his lips, which made me tense up. "...you know I can do more than that."

His eyes glimmered with a promise. The promise of making my life hell at school if I didn't fall back.

That was it. If he thought a threat like that could scare me, he was wrong. I was not weak.

So, I did what I had to with the sudden burst of anger. I slammed his chest hard with my palm to push him away from me since he had gotten way too close for my liking and expected him to falter back but he didn't budge. He didn't even so much as blink out of surprise.

"I'm not afraid of you, okay?" I snapped. "So, you can take your threats and shove them up your ass because that's all...you can do about..."

I trailed off at the sight of Sean in the far end of the corridor, stepping out of the bathroom. Oh no!

No! No! No!

I couldn't let this be the first time we met. Not like this. No way!

In a hurry, I shoved my hand in my pocket, grabbed whatever bill I could find and slammed it on Matt's chest. "That should cover it."

I didn't even stop to see the look of satisfaction that must've surely reached his face upon believing that he'd won, as I turned around to flee.

Meera was standing right behind me, glaring at Matt.

"We should go," I whispered hurriedly to which her jaw dropped. "But you just...why can't you—ugh never mind!" She nodded in understanding.

Without looking back, I was out of the coffeeshop and standing next to the car, praying with all my heart that Sean didn't see me at all—contrary to what I always prayed for.

After about thirty seconds, Meera stepped out with both our backpacks, hers on her back while mine on her front like a baby holder and her hands full with our coffees.

"Couldn't leave this behind," she muttered while I held the driver's door open for her and got into the passenger side myself.

"Drive."