Chapter Three - Defining Moment

I hate him.

I hate him.

I hate him.

Just the thought of him was enough for my brain to produce a string of nasty curses.

"Asshole!" I said under my breath as I dampened a few tissues under the faucet to easily get rid of the coffee stickiness on my stomach. I'd lost count of the many, many not so pleasant names I'd called him since I'd left the coffeeshop.

"You've got a burn," Cheryl said while passing me the extra t-shirt she thankfully had in her locker for emergencies.

"Yeah, but I'm glad I'm not the only one."

Meera shook her head at me through the mirror. She was currently propped against the bathroom wall, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You can do better, Chris," I mocked Matt. "He made it sound like something's wrong with me. Now, I don't care what Chris or anyone else thinks of me. It's just Sean. What if Matt spreads false rumours about me and I become the football team's inside joke and Sean never dates me?"

"His loss." Cheryl shrugged, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "He doesn't deserve you if he loses interest over stupid rumours anyway."

Meera pointed finger guns at her. "Exactly! But there's just a teensy bit of hurdle there; he's got to take an interest before he can lose it."

"I have a resolution," I reminded her.

"And?"

Well, right. And what? Just having a resolution was going to magically fulfil it? If that were the case, resolutions wouldn't have such a bad reputation.

"And an upcoming introduction." I smiled.

"And that brings me to the end of our story, Cheryl..." she continued, turning her head towards Cheryl. "...then Sean stepped out of the bathroom and our Becks here, who was seconds away from biting off her enemy's head, did a complete 180 and stormed out of that place like a scaredy cat."

Cheryl's lips twisted in disappointment. "What the hell, Becks?"

"What else was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know? Maybe land a few punches on that unbelievably flawless face."

I deadpanned. "I should call Mack and let him hear about this."

She gave me a sly grin. "I'm just being honest, okay? He doesn't look bad."

"Cheryl, you're my friend. You're not supposed to praise my enemy's looks right after I've just had a crappy run-in with him, no matter how..." I paused, unable to use that word for him without cringing. "...hot you find him."

"It's not just me. The other day, Meera totally agreed."

I flipped around to my best friend to confirm her betrayal. Meera's jaw had dropped as she looked between me and Cheryl. She appeared to be coming up with something for damage control but realized it was too late and finally sighed.

"I only said he's okay."

I gasped.

"But after what happened today, I take it back. He's an asshole. Becks! Becks! Listen to me." Her eyes went wide as I started to unzip my backpack. "I'm sorry, okay? Please!"

"Too late." I pulled out my crackers and shoved all remaining four in my mouth at once. We were supposed to share that.

She could cry right there as she watched me aim the wrapper in the bin before her head snapped to Cheryl. "Look what you've done."

She rolled her eyes. "I still don't get why you guys like them so much. They're not even healthy."

"That's why we like them," she argued. "They make up for all the veggies my mom makes me eat."

I completely agreed with her. If Mrs. Brooke tried to increase my vegetable intake any further, I would lose my shit.

Cheryl's phone buzzed on the counter and she carefully hit answer with her pinky since she had just squirted some hair serum on her hands.

"Where are you, babe?" Mack's voice filled the bathroom the moment she picked up. "You missed the principal's speech."

"No loss there, babe." She shrugged as she began combing her fingers through her hair.

"How long before you make it here? I'm saving you a seat right next to me. Too bad all the back rows were full. We got a thing for them, right?" His voice turned playful towards the end.

"Uh huh?" She eyed us, turning a little red in the face as her hands picked up pace in her hair so she could grab her phone. Meera and I wiggled our brows at her.

"We have got to have one of those movie nights from last week again. The things you—"

"Mack, stop." She clicked on the screen several times to get it off speaker but her hands were a bit oily.

"Wh... What's wrong—"

"Hey, Macky. I hope you're saving us seats too," Meera said out loud, popping an M&M in her mouth. She made sure I knew I was not getting any when she eyed me cautiously while tucking the remaining in her backpack.

"Huh—Oh!" He chuckled. "You guys! Of course, I'm saving you seats. Show up before you miss something good."

"How nice of you to assume there's anything good about this welcome back assembly," Cheryl said nonchalantly as she washed her hands and grabbed her backpack.

"Well, you're right. I guess I should've skipped it too."

"Don't worry. We, on the other hand, have some very interesting news," she said that while smirking at me, referring to my resolution and morning encounter with Sean.

Mack had a lot to catch up on and this was just the first day of school.

*****

"Target locked," Meera whispered, subtly pointing her chin towards Sean at his locker, shoving in some books.

"I can see."

"No sightings of his buddies," she reported, eyeing the perimeter like she was an actual spy.

I inhaled. "Ashley?"

"Nowhere to be seen. Introduction sentence ready?"

"Ready."

Hey, Sean. I'm Rebekah. It was nice talking to you in the changing room this morning. What do you think about grabbing that coffee after school? Any place in mind?

"Target steady. Proceed."

He was still sorting through his locker, perhaps looking for something.

"You're making me nervous and I don't even know why. I mean, it was so easy to talk to him earlier. I didn't stutter or choke on air like I thought I would. It's gonna be fine."

"Yes yes." She patted my shoulder a little impatiently. "Now proceed."

Our phones buzzed at the same time.

Cheryl: Keeping Ashley busy in the cafeteria talking about makeup. Can't hold her for long. She keeps using her phone.

Now that I noticed, every few seconds, Sean had to keep fetching his phone out of his pocket. Then he would shake his head with a scowl and put it back.

"Go, Becks." Meera nodded. "Now or never. Godspeed!"

I can do this.

My lips stretched into my practice smile as I started towards him. But maybe universe had wicked plans for me yet again because he shut his locker and started walking. In the other direction.

"Oh no!" I heard Meera behind me. "Target moving. Run!"

"Where?"

"After him, Becks, dammit!"

"Right right!"

He turned left into another corridor. Did I mention these football jocks walked faster than I could freaking run? Was it the long legs? Or were they just natural show-offs? I sprinted after him and just as I made a turn into the corridor—

Splash

I stepped into the janitor's bucket.

He was mopping the floor about five feet away, cleaning what looked like spilled orange juice. The splash made him look up. First his jaw dropped, then he scowled and finally groaned out loud, "come on!"

His name was Keith and he was in his mid-forties. The last time I saw him before summer break, he had hair. Now he was bald and when he frowned, the wrinkles on his forehead became more prominent. To make my situation worse, he also had this habit of pouting whenever he was pissed at some student for creating a mess. That's exactly what he was doing and instead of cringing about having my foot in dirty water, I was holding back a laugh.

I finally let out a nervous chuckle, much better than a hearty laugh. "I'm so sorry."

"What is wrong with you kids?" He extended his arms sideways for exaggeration, the dripping mop in one hand which left a few orange droplets on the dry floor.

"Jeez!" He quickly pulled it back and looked up at me. With a sigh, he shook his head before going back to mopping.

"I'm sorry," I said again as I pulled my foot out. I was wearing white sneakers for God's sake. They had an orange tint now.

Somewhere behind me echoed what sounded like a forehead slap and I assumed Meera had caught up.

"Come on, Becks," she drawled.

I had just stared to walk away when she said, "you might wanna dip the other one too so they look the same."

Keith's head snapped up immediately and he held his palm up as a warning.

"I won't. Relax," I said quickly.

He actually did relax and went back to mopping like he wasn't just about to blow a fuse a second ago.

"This is unbelievable," I said under my breath as I walked past Meera.

"But not surprising." She chuckled.

"Ha ha."

"Target lost. But we'll have another chance."

I doubted that now. It was like the universe was against me. It was probably just not my day.

*****

After school, Ashley got into Sean's car. They said something to each other, he smiled and right before he could drive off, Ashley put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, laughing. I mimicked her laugh in my head.

It was bad, it was cruel and it was heartbreaking. How could universe do this to me?

Not like I could blame Sean for not waiting for me after school. He probably thought some girl was just messing with him or she chickened out.

"Tough luck." Mack swatted my shoulder and patted down at the empty spot next to him on the hood of his car. I heaved myself up and sat down.

"Worst luck."

"Want me to buy you crackers?" he offered.

"You'd really do that?"

"No. But I thought you might cheer up just thinking about someone buying you crackers."

I elbowed him in the ribs and he burst out laughing.

"I still don't see why you can't just let me introduce you to him. He's a buddy of mine."

Mack could pull some strings because he knew the football team well. He used to play until last year when he had to stop because of a knee injury. It had healed now but he just decided to let football go.

"Wouldn't that immediately land me in the friendzone?" I rolled my eyes. "You're like my big bro and guys seem to be careful around the people their friends care about."

"Wow, you've calculated every possibility, haven't you?" He fished out a pack of gum from his pocket and offered me. I took one and immediately appreciated the sweet flavour in my sour life.

"Of course I have. It's Sean."

"But is it so hard to get out of the friendzone? I mean, I did."

"Please," I scoffed. "Cheryl had been crushing on you since ninth grade. Friendzone was the beginning of your relationship. For mine, it'll be the dead end."

He clicked his tongue. "It's true what they say. People create their own problems."

"What? So, I'm not supposed to have a crush on someone now?"

"No. You're supposed to grow some balls and tell them how you feel. If they feel the same, you guys date. If they don't, move on. Big deal."

"Easier said than done. What about humiliation if he doesn't feel the same?"

"Deal with it."

"Oh, is that why you had to down half a bottle of tequila to grow a pair before asking Cheryl out?"

"Get off my car, Andrews."

I chuckled, spotting Meera and Cheryl finally walking up to us. They had to use the bathroom before leaving so Mack and I decided to wait in the parking lot.

"Hey, babe. Sorry we kept you waiting." Cheryl playfully tiptoed towards him and poked a finger in his chest. Must be their thing, I thought.

"It's alright." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer. She gave him a peck on the cheek and started to pull away but he didn't let go of her. "What is it that I just heard about you crushing on me since ninth grade?"

Her jaw dropped and she threw me a look of betrayal.

"Sorry," I mouthed at her, stifling a smile.

"You're telling me we wasted a whole year?" His arms locked around her.

She grinned at him, shrugging. "You should've asked me out sooner."

"I wish I did," he whispered in her ear loud enough for us to hear and started to leave kisses on her face, making her chuckle.

"Okay!" I jumped off the hood. "I'm getting out of here before it gets PG-13. Let's go, Meera?"

We were going to drive back home in her car. Usually, we just rode with Mack but since I had to see the football practice, Meera was the early morning designated driver. There was no way Mack was waking up that early. I sometimes thought it was part of the reason why he let football go.

"PG-13?" Mack laughed. "Aw her poor virgin eyes. And that is why you don't have Sean yet."

I gasped. "I hope you choke on your gum while making out with my best friend."

Cheryl's lips pursed in thought, then she shrugged like meh it wouldn't be so bad.

"Hey! Listen, Becks," he called after me. "You wanna do something next week?"

"Like what?" I exchanged a confused look with Cheryl but she had no idea either.

"Like something crazy at the next assembly. Something that lands you in the spotlight and hopefully, in the eyes of your prince charming?"

"What?" My heart suddenly picked up.

"Theatre? I know the drama club VP."

"What's the part?"

"Tree."

I deadpanned.

Meera burst out laughing. "Oh my God! I just got a second grade flashback when they made her play a tree and she couldn't even do that right, started walking between the play."

I smiled sarcastically at Meera, then directed it towards Mack. "How can becoming a tree in a play possibly land me in the—"

That's when I saw the laugh he was holding back and I narrowed my eyes. "Ha ha very funny, Mack. Look at Becks. She's so desperate for Sean's attention, she'll do anything."

"That was mean." Cheryl hit his chest and he laughed. "Sorry."

"Apology not accepted."

*****

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

You can do this, Becks. You've done it before.

Taking in a deep breath, I pushed all doubts to the back of my mind and opened the door. The room was exactly how I desired it to be—empty. And the sound of the water running surged a wave of confidence through me as I furthered inside the room.

Yes, I've got this.

"Hey!" I said plainly to the thin curtain between us.

Just like the day before, the water stopped running and after a few seconds, his outline appeared close to the curtain.

"Hey yourself, stranger."

Hearing his voice brought on relief. Thank God it was Sean again and not some other player. My mind had also played images of me walking into the changing room, finding other players hanging around, me freezing in the doorway and them stopping whatever they were doing to stare up at me blankly, but thankfully, none of that happened.

Clearing my throat, I crossed my arms over my chest, still a little annoyed from yesterday or at least I was trying to stay annoyed. Pathetically enough, hearing his voice was enough to tone that irritation down.

"Planning to flee again?" he asked while wrapping a towel around his waist. I wanted to look away but it wasn't like I could see anything besides his shadow. So, I kept my eyes fixed on his unbelievably shredded outline.

"Hope not."

"So, what is this? Some game? A dare? Did somebody put you up to this?"

I scoffed, a little offended. "No."

Silence fell between us.

Okay, let's not be passive-aggressive, Becks. Can you blame him for thinking that way?

"I risked getting a complete fool made out of myself by coming here just to ask you out. It is not a stupid dare."

Wait a second! It totally was Meera's dare but it wasn't just for fun. I was given that dare because I liked him. This was different.

"In that case, how were you expecting me to find you when you fled like that? It's not like I took a peek." After a second, he murmured something to himself that I didn't catch.

A little smile fought its way to my lips. Was he saying he wanted to find me?

"I know." I sighed. "If I didn't scram right then, I would've been seen by your teammates and I didn't want that."

"I figured."

"But I tried to talk to you in the hallway later and something...came up. Never mind that. Then I waited for you in the parking lot after school and saw you leave with...someone."

I bit down on my lip and stared at the curtain with anticipation. I hadn't just come off as a total stalker, had I?

"Oh."

"So, are you two a thing?" I asked reluctantly. I was sweating already. "Because in that case, I'm just wasting my time—"

"No."

Relief. Happiness.

I punched the air in excitement, mouthing a 'yes' as a big smile reached my lips. Then I tried to sound as casual as possible when I said, "oh okay. That's good."

"I'm going to step out now."

I stopped breathing. My smile faltered a bit and I was nervous again. To top it off, I took a step away from the curtain.

Dammit, Becks. Things will never work this way, I scolded myself and forced my feet to stay rooted to the ground.

Then I inhaled a big breath and released it slowly. "Okay."

His hand fell on the curtain and my breath quickened.

People always had a moment in their lives that they would want to live again and again. It hadn't even happened yet but I knew this was going to be mine. This was going to be ours. Our defining moment. This was it. The beginning of something amazing, I could tell.

The very first time my Prince Charming was going to notice me. Talk to me.

The curtain went halfway and I was grinning already. Desperate, I knew. But that didn't stop me.

"Hey," I greeted, expecting to see his beautiful smile and bright blue eyes, and to hear his deep voice directed straight at me instead of having to sidle up to him in the hallways just to hear it as he talked to other people.

But none of that happened.

He didn't smile or greet me back. His eyes didn't light up. He didn't even look happy to see me. As for me, I didn't get any butterflies in my stomach and those that were there already, died.

I didn't see blue. I saw brown.

Because when the curtain was swept away, I came face to face with a person that was definitely not my Prince Charming. It was the last person—no, the worst person I was expecting to see.

It was my arch-nemesis.

Matthew Williams

"You?" We both snapped at the same time.

Hello, my loves!

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