The Trench

Halsey is completely stunned and scared. Her hands are shaking at the sight of him. Memories from last night and that morning are swirling in front of her eyes, making her very nervous.

Nathan approaches the deck and stops right in front of her. Halsey feels like a tiny mouse in front of a giant as he looks down at her.

“Your friend joined the team today,” he states. “Did you know?”

Halsey fervently nods her head. Her heart is beating too fast and for a wild moment, she’s afraid that he’ll kiss her again. What if he does?

“Tell him to quit,” Nathan orders. Halsey slightly looks up, surprised by his demand.

“Tell him to quit the team and I’ll tell my friends to lay off you,” he offers. “Lydia’s the one who wrecked your locker, right? I’ll tell her to stop if you tell your friend to quit the team.”

“No.”

Nathan blinks in surprise. Even Halsey is shocked by her own audacity but she couldn’t stop herself from saying it out loud.

“What did you say?” He whispers in a dangerous tone.

“I-I won’t tell Lincoln to quit,” she stammers. “H-He loves basketball and I won’t take that away from him.”

Nathan doesn’t say anything for a while. Suddenly, he yanks the guitar from Halsey’s hands.

“H-Hey!” She protests as he holds the guitar above her head, out of her reach. “Please, give it back-”

SPLASH!

He casually throws it into the water much to Halsey’s chagrin.

“Why did you do that?” She cries.

“If you want it, then go and get it,” he taunts her in a steely tone. “Hurry up. The lake is quite deep.”

Halsey is on the verge of tears. The guitar is floating in the lake, going towards the deep trench. Nathan is grinning at her helpless state. Halsey is in a dilemma but she has no other option left.

She sprints towards the lake and jumps right into it.

“What an idiot,” Nathan mutters. “Wasting her time over a mere guitar.”

He’s about to leave when he notices that the girl is coughing and splashing in the water. She’s drowning!

“F*ck!” He snarls and rips open his shirt before jumping into the water.

Halsey is wheezing as the water fills her lungs. She cannot swim but she tries to edge towards the guitar which keeps on slipping away from her. The deep water is pulling her into its midst and she cannot breathe. Her glasses also float away and her vision goes blurry. In that state, she manages to hold the guitar but the force is too much for her.

Am I going to die? She thinks as she is pulled deeper into the trench.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grab her and forcefully wrench her out of the grasps of the fiendish water. Still keeping her grasp on the guitar, she lets her savior pull her out of the water.

As soon as they reach the shore, Halsey throws up all the water she swallowed.

“ARE YOU F*CKING MAD?” Nathan yells at her. His dark hair is wet and he’s shirtless.

Both of them are completely wet and cold. Halsey’s uniform is sticking to her body, her hair drenched. She cannot see anything properly because her vision is blurry.

“Why the hell would you just jump into the water for a worthless guitar?” He shouts at her.

Halsey mumbles something which is incomprehensible.

“Just speak up would ya?” Nathan snaps.

“It’s Charlotte’s guitar,” Halsey whispers. “She sold it to someone. That money is her hard work.”

She looks up at him, her doe-like eyes teary. “I can’t let her hard work go to waste.”

For a moment, Nathan is taken aback by her. It’s hard to tell since she’s always wearing big glasses but she has really pretty eyes. If Nathan wasn’t pissed, he’d think that she’s cute too. Her cheeks are a little puffy and red but it only makes her look more innocent which is rare to find.

He also cannot help staring at the way her wet clothes are hugging her slender figure…

He clears his throat. Part of him wants to scold the girl more for her carelessness but the other part knows that it’s his fault.

“Fine!” He sneers. “Just pick it up and leave! I’ve had enough of you for a week! I’m in a bad mood anyway.”

Halsey reaches for the guitar and slowly stands up. She’s still unable to see clearly and starts to head for a random direction.

“Oi!” Nathan grabs and pulls her towards him. Halsey is startled by his action and falls on his chest. To her embarrassment, he’s shirtless! She can feel his hard chest and quickly pulls her hand away.

“Do you wanna die? That’s the lake!” He shouts at her.

“I…I…”

“Can’t you see?” He demands.

Halsey shakes her head.

“I can’t see well without my glasses,” she mumbles, making him groan.

“You’re really a handful, aren’t ya?”

Halsey frowns a little. Who was the one who threw the guitar in the lake?

The retort comes to her lips but she bites it back, not wanting to anger him more.

“There are spare clothes in my car,” he informs her. “And a towel too. I use them for basketball practice but you see, I couldn’t attend today coz of your boyfriend.”

“Friend,” Halsey mutters.

“Whatever! I’ll stand guard. You can change.”

Halsey hesitates and shakes her head. Change in Nathan’s car? That’s embarrassing!

“Do you wanna walk around the town looking like that?” he scoffs.

She looks down at her poor clothes which are completely wet.

“Just change!” Nathan scowls at her. Halsey is crestfallen. There really is no other way.

She slowly follows Nathan towards his car. He hands her his jersey, jacket and shorts along with a towel and she gets into the car. Thankfully, the windows are tinted so it’ll be hard for anyone to spot her from afar.

Nathan stands outside the car, trying not to think about how pretty the girl looked without her glasses. He never noticed her but now that he has, it’s hard to forget. He stands outside, idly scrolling through his social media to take his mind off the pathetic girl.

He pauses at the picture of Coach Nelson who posted a picture with the new recruits for the team. His eyes narrow on Lincoln.

“Damn this guy!” He mutters under his breath.

If only there was a way to get back at him…

Then it hits him.

Halsey.

“Ummm…”

Halsey knocks on the window. Nathan turns around to find her in his jacket and jersey, looking meek and flustered.

“Can you please drop me off at home?” She requests him. “I need to get my spare glasses.”

Nathan debates with himself for a while. This girl can be his only way to get rid of Lincoln for once and for all.

“Fine,” he agrees.