Chapter 21- Everyone Has A Breaking Point

Chapter 21 - Everyone Has A Breaking Point

Asher's POV

I believe that the stupidest rule in the world, - OK I'm exaggerating, the stupidest rule at Jefferson High- is that you must attend school in order to go to practice, or play that night's game. Ridiculous really. Because here I am in school, sick, so sick that it should be mandatory to skip school. It's one of those damn awful colds where you feel like complete shit. Your nose is stuffed up and you're sneezing every goddam five minutes. You're coughing so hard that you might cough up a lung. You're eyes randomly start to water, and all you want to do is stuff your face in a pillow, throw the covers over your head, and sleep as if you were dead.

Thank God for drugs.

Seriously though, after the fight my mom and I had about me ditching school- school was already in session for an hour and a half- she threw me some might drugs and told me to chug them down and I was to go to school or else my grounding sentence would be extended.

Yeah, I was grounded for the whole drinking thing at the Taylor thanksgiving. My mom is damn strict on that kind of stuff. I'm telling you there must be a secret room in this house because I can't find my laptop or Xbox anywhere! I'm not allowed to watch TV and I have a list of chores to do every weekend. I feel like a freaking house wife! She told me I'm lucky I even get to keep my phone and car keys.

Nevertheless, I still went to school because I really didn't want to tick my mom off any further, but damn those drugs work! I especially wanted to play this game because it was our last game until the championships. I needed to have my head in the game! I couldn't half ass this.

Good news: We were 13-3. We were doing pretty amazing.

Bad News: We were playing Newman High. The toughest team in the league.

School seemed to go by slower because I was so eager to play tonight's game. It wasn't until last period, physics, when I felt the urge to skip class, but I knew I couldn't because of the test we had to take. When Ty and I walked in we sat at our usual lab tables. Ty sat behind me because Kimmy always sat next to me in this class. This is what I was dreading all day too. Having Kimmy up my ass about our argument.

So I tried to keep a conversation with Ty, in hopes that it'd last until the test and I wouldn't need to talk to Kimmy. Sadly mistaken because when Ty got fixated with something on his phone it left Kimmy with the opportunity to turn around and talk.

"What's up?" She asks, resting her head in her hand and looking up to me.

"Wow, you're talking to me." I drone, looking over to Mrs. Clemens to see if she was ready to pass out the test.

I see Kimmy rolling her eyes and taking a deep breath, "Like I said before Asher I didn't say all those things to stop being friends with you. Yes I'm going to talk to you but if you're going to be rude every time then I'm not even sure it worth to make the effort."

I fiddled with my pen for a minute until Mrs. Clemens started to pass around the test. We sat in that class for forty five minutes taking the damn test that we just learned about yesterday. When everyone was done and we passed it in the bell rang signaling school was over. I found Spencer waiting outside of the class room for Kimmy, since Tyler and I were the last to leave somehow. He grabbed her hand and asked her how she felt about the test and to my surprise she actually told him she felt good about it.

Now that's either a lie to cover up the fact that Kimmy is struggling in physics or somehow she actually knew what she was doing. Either way I still think she was lying to the bastard.

"Hey, you guys are playing a game tonight, right?" Spencer asks Ty and I who got stuck walking behind the two of them.

"Yeah, Newman High. It's away though." Ty tells Spencer. I can honestly say I have never seen Spencer and Tyler speak in public or in school. Ok, maybe like once or twice, but it wasn't that much.

"Seven o'clock?" Spencer confirms.

"Yeah." Ty answers looking back down on his phone.

"You planning on going tonight?" Kimmy asks, looking up to Spencer.

"Yeah I thought I might stay a while. Everyone here hates Newman High so you know they're going to try to make it a good game." Spencer explains to her.

"Is that the team from last year who tee-peed your bus?" Kimmy asks turning to us looking at me mostly.

"Yeah, but we got them back." I confirm, shrugging my shoulders.

"Yeah, trashed their locker room and drew some very descriptive pictures in their showers." Tyler explained further with a hyena laugh.

"You guys are sick." Kimmy mumbles, a small grin shadowing her face. Tyler and I headed straight to the locker rooms. Usually we have an hour practice before games.

"So what's with you and Kim?" Ty asks, as we jog down the stairs that lead to the locker rooms.

"What you mean?" I ask, pushing the door open.

"I mean you were being an ass and I've never heard you being an ass to your beloved Kimmy." He explains, walking up to his gym locker and grabbing his stuff.

"She just wants me to back off because she's in a relationship with Spencer." I mumble, pulling my gym back out and riffling through to find my workout gear.

"What's so wrong with that? It's not like you two were ever in a relationship to start." Ty says, shrugging his shoulders. "To me it doesn't sound like she doesn't want to be friends. Sounds like she wants to spend a little more time with her boyfriend."

"Yeah, and I hate everything about that." I say with a sour laugh.

"Look on the bright side, more time with me, more time with that hot blond chick you've been talking to-"

"Are you talking about Kate?" I interrupted.

"Yeah, the one in our math class, right? I've never known Kim has a hot friend." Ty snickers, stripping out of his clothes to throw on something else.

"Why don't you just freaking ask the girl out, King? You're practically drooling." I chuckle, smelling my Under Amour shirt before putting it on.

"Because I don't date." He stated simply. "A good looking guy like me should not be limited to one girl."

"Suit yourself, but don't think you're going to get anything from her." I tell him, knowing Kate isn't that type of girl either.

"Yeah I figured. Any friend of Kim's is probably too pure and boring, but she's a feisty one." He winks. Throwing all his stuff back into the locker.

*****

After the hour of practice the usual plan is to hang out at Ty's house until the game. Well, I had other fucking plans. You see, when I got out of practice good ole Katie Morris decided to wait around- actually she was probably after school for year book but I don't care. She didn't leave me be either until she was so sure that I was going over Kim's.

I really loath her. She's right. Now don't ever fucking tell her I think that.

"You're an ass by the way. So go make up for that." Kate shouts, walking back to her car that she left running.

"What did I do now?" I ask, throwing my duffle in the trunk.

"She was only trying to be a good friend to you in physics, you didn't have to be rude." She reminds me, like I wasn't thinking about that during the whole work out.

"She told you?" I see her nodding her head, grimacing, "Figures." I scoff, I shouldn't be shocked.

"Just give her the space she needs, Ash. Sooner or later, she'll figure it out on her own. She's smart, but she can be a little blond." She says as encouragement, sending me a wink.

"Yo, what's up blondie?" Tyler shouts, pulling up in his car and sticking his head out the window, "Want to come back to my place and hang out?"

"Is Tyler King asking a girl out on a date?" I tease. I know people, I know, that's really not a date, but I can bust the guys balls now and then.

"Jerk off man." He scolded, flipping me a finger.

"If you admit you just asked me out then I'll go over your house." She plays along in the tease, winking back to me and a small laugh.

"Not even in hell, blondie. You're hot and all, but you don't have game." Ty remarks, flipping me the bird again.

"That's what you think." She responds back, flipping her hair over her shoulders and walking back around her car, "Bye Ash." She say, sending me a wave, "Be good." She warns, opening her car door.

I chuckle, giving her one last wave and thanking her when she tells me good luck in my game tonight. She drives away and Ty sticks around, staring at me. "What's wrong, moron? Regretting something?"

He sticks up his favorite finger again, using both hands and waving them around to prove his point to me, "I really hate you. Honest to fu-"

"You almost had it. Oo, you got to be quicker than that!" I laugh, shaking my head as I got into my car, "Soiled it! Soiled it!"

"Stop watching goddamn cartoons with your sisters." He growls, "Am I going to beat your ass in Madden or what?"

"You mean Iam going to beat your ass in Madden." I corrected, opening my car door with a laugh.

"Oh we'll see about that!" He shouts, driving off. I follow him back to his house, forgetting that I was going to talk to Kimmy, but the more I thought about it the more it just didn't seem to matter. Kate said to give her space, well whatever we're doing right now is space enough if you think about.

*****

We were down 14-21. I was pulled out of the first half and I'm still fucking pissed. Ever since Newman scored their third touch and got their damn field goal Coach pulled me out! I get it that I haven't been playing my A game, and to be honest it doesn't feel like it either. I know I screwed up a couple of times, but coach! Put me in the damn game again or we're going to lose! Coach doesn't understand that though.

"Coach put me in the game." I order again, standing next to him.

"I'll call you when I need you, Knight. Now sit your ass back down." He orders, keeping his eyes on their field and chewing his gum obnoxiously.

I look over to the other coach, Coach Phil, who is much chiller than Coach Dave, who seems to have a rod up his ass most of the time. He shrugs his shoulders, and nods back to the bench.

Are you freaking kidding me!

Coach Dave called for a time out. Everyone from the field and from the bench huddled up. "Alright, when you reach the forty, Jameson I want you tuck it. Roberts, watch number thirty-three, I want you to take him down. When you hit the twenty run it. Got me?"

"Coach why isn't Knight in?" Tyler asks, still trying to catch his breath somewhat. He glance at me questionably and I just roll my eyes shaking my head.

"Eagles on three. Come on, bring it in." Coach Dave ignores, sticking his hand in the middle.

"One two three Eagles!"

"Coach, can we have Knight go in for Duff? He's not doing shit and Knight could do a whole lot more." Dylan says, waiting for everyone to leave.

"Get on the field, Roberts." Coach shouts, pointing back to the field.

I groan, kicking the turf. The stands behind us, away bleachers, aren't as fill compared to at home. But I spotted some people, Katie, for one whom stood next to Kimmy, who stood next to Spencer. I pointed to Kate, motioning for her to come closer. I'm playing bad and I could only think of one thing.

"What's going on?" She asks, curious as she narrows her blue eyes at me through the chain link fence. "You didn't go over her house, by the way!"

"You told me to have a good game!" I accuse, point right to her and ignoring the other half of the sentence.

"Yeah, doesn't seem to be such a good game." She agrees, grabbing a small camera from her bag and sliding over to take pictures.

"I want you to take it back. You bestowed bad luck on me!" I blame.

"No I didn't!" She shouts.

"Yes you did now tell me to have a shitty game." I order her, looking over my shoulder quickly.

"It's not going to work, reversing it." She doubts, shaking her head.

"Just do it!" I tell her.

"Fine I hope you have a shitty game and that you suck. Better?" She comments, "You have some explain to do." She continues.

"Crawl out of my ass." I mention, turning back to the field, "Coach put me in."

"Knight you dropped three perfectly thrown passes. You think I'm going to let you back in? No!" Coach Dave shouts, looking at me like I'm crazy, "Your head isn't in the game, son. Until you fix your mojo you're not playing in my game!"

"Coach I've worked it out, just put me back it, dammit!" I promise him.

I wait until formation, stare at Coach until he calls Duff off the field and puts me in. Smart man, I've always known. "Stick with the plan, Knight!" Coach shouts as I run onto the field. Since I already knew the plan I didn't have to call a huddle.

Mayer faked the pass to King. King ran, until Mayer threw it to me, and just as it touched the tips of my fingers the person that was supposed to protect me fell to the ground and his tackler grabbed me by the ankle just as I was about to take off.

I swear that shit would have been called if that wasn't the end of the second half. I heard Coach yelling from the side line and that wasn't a good sign. I didn't want to get up from the ground but I knew I had to or else they were going to send the medic out here and I didn't want that drama.

King gave me a hand up, telling me it wasn't my fault. Coach made me feel otherwise. "Knight! You drop that damn ball again!"

"Coach-" I tried arguing, but he wasn't having it.

"Coach it really wasn't his fault." King helped argue as well.

"I'm sorry coach it was my fault. Seventy-five took me down and played dirty with Knight." Kennedy helped as well. This was all just coach giving me a hard time. Blaming me for losing this game.

"Warm ups. Now!" He orders, pointing off. I groaned, throwing my helmet under the bench. Something still didn't feel right. I could have escaped that guy's grasp easily by shaking him off or side stepping him. Instead I just choose to be taken down that easily.

Stupid Kate and her good luck, shitty luck, whatever kind of luck. I glared at her while stretching my calves. She finally noticed, walking down closer to the fence, "What now?" She snaps, "I already told you to have a shitty game."

"Well that didn't work." I groan, slowly walking on my toes and stretching down. She followed slowly watching and snapping a picture.

"Well maybe your mind is distracted by something else. You know, that thing you did do earlier." She reminds me, turning around to take a picture of some spirted people.

"Shut up." I grumble, turning and doing the same thing back down.

"Suit yourself." She shrugs, walking back up the bleachers.

Back to where I started King grabbed a football and nodded my head for me to walk further back, "So you and blondie, huh?"

"Maybe? Jealous?" I tease, holding my hands up for him to throw.

His throw was hard, the kind that burned my hands. "Hardly." He scoffs. His throw told me otherwise. I snapped it back to him shaking my head.

"You're insufferable." I chuckle.

"You're a vain jackass. We good?" He questions, throwing the ball one last time to me before the whistle was blown. It was the first game in my senior history that I didn't watch the cheerleaders shake their asses at the half time show. I guess there is something really wrong with me.

I take a deep breath, running my hands through my hair and looking back up at Kate. She's damn right. Kimmy next to her waved her hand and smiled, same with Spencer. I motioned for Kimmy to come down quickly. Maybe I just needed to get it off my chest and I'll feel fine.

"What's going on?" Kimmy asks, standing on the other side of the chain link fence.

It knew it wasn't easy for me to tell her I'd go along with her damn request, and I really didn't want to tell her it. I didn't actually, and I'm a horrible vain person like Tyler said. "Good cookies." I told her, licking my lips.

"Oh, thanks." She mumbles, looking over my shoulder. "Are you going to play?" She asks. I look over my shoulder seeing everyone in the huddle I should be in. It wasn't my turn to be on the field anyways, it was defenses turn.

"Yeah. Just not right now." I tell her nodding my head slowly.

"Well, good luck." She smiles, "I mean, um, maybe I shouldn't have told you that. Katie said you found that messing with your game." She frowns, pressing her lips together. I nod my head, we both don't say a word and it's awkward. She turns to walk away and I punch myself mentally for not being able to open my mouth and say it.

"Wait, I'm, ugh..." I call out, reaching for her but I forgot there was a fence. My fingers grasp the thin link of the fence tightly, as if I were still struggling to hold it back. "The thing between you and Spencer, whatever you told me I... I'll do it."

A small frown on her lips turned to a quick happy grin when she realized what I just promised her. I rested my head on the fence, looking down and taking a deep breath, and seeing my breath could with the cold air. "Thanks Asher." She whispered, standing close to me.

"I feel like you're breaking up with me." I snicker, hardly picking my head up.

"Never." She giggles, "Best friends forever." She promises, holding her pinky out to me. I chuckle at the childish gesture, wrapping my pinky around hers. She kisses her pinky and unravels. She walks back up to her seat, her footsteps tapping on the metal as she walks over each step. I yearned for her hug but I knew that was over too. Not unless I man up.

*****

We still lost 24-36 but I played one hell of a great game the second half. You could say it was because I got that whole Kimmy thing off my chest, but I'm going to say I always play better in the second half.

But get this! So the game ends, right? We're all huddled up, coach saying another word and not beating me for the loss. Kate is behind us taking a photo and we all knew because after one of us looks everyone looks back and makes a funny face at her. However, afterwards is when you're probably going to shit your pants.

So for some reason Kimmy, Kate and Spencer were waiting around. I told them I'd just meet them back at school because we still have to take the bus back. Here's the part you've been waiting for. Kate starts to walk off, ballsy Tyler King throws himself at the fence and starts shouting, "Blondie! Grab a drink with me!"

"Over my dead body." Kate shouts back. Everyone around in hear range starts laughing. What you must know that Tyler is driven by the word 'no'. He will go to all lengths and say anything until he gets a yes.

"Come on." He begs, following her, the chain link separating the two of them.

"It kind of sounds like you're begging for a date with me?" Kate gasps, laughing with Kimmy a few steps behind her.

"Rejected! Rejected! Yeah you just got rejected! RE-JE-CTED, REJECTED!" Kim sang, pretending to be a cheerleader.

"Fuck out." He shouts to her, then looks back at Kate, "What if I am?" He says to Kate, force to stop at the end of the fence.

"Yeah, ok." Kate laughs hysterically with Kimmy. Spencer and I couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I'm serious here. You and me, tonight." He tells her, leaning over the half chain link fence the marked out the perimeter of the football field.

"I'll consider it." She tells him unsurely. He turns to me, fist pumping the air. Yeah, who saw that coming tonight? Or anything bizarre happening tonight.

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