The Champion

Lucanis Romano's POV

My jaw was throbbing. My brain paused as I stared in confusion, unable to say a word, as this beautiful girl in front of me added insult to injury with her words. I don't know what came over me. The moment I saw her talking to Benji, so relaxed, and Benji looking so happy...Something inside me felt like it was on fire. I didn't even mean to say those things or smack her hand away, but my brain and mouth just...ran away. 

As she walked away, I couldn't help but follow her with my eyes, blinking like my eyeballs were dry. "What the fuck, Lucanis?" Benji said, his tone a blend of confusion and anger. It took me a minute to gather myself, but when I did, I looked at Benji and opened my mouth to speak, no words coming out. A moment or two later, I finally found my voice, "I don't know...I was going to introduce myself, but my body just...Happened?" I questioned, looking at Benji as if he had the answer to my situation. 

My best friend sighed, shaking his head. "Well, whatever happened, Arte Jones is going to make your life hell, my friend" I didn't care. "Arte Jones?" I asked, my heart thumping heavily in my chest. Benji turned to look at me as we started to walk into the school, his eyes narrowed on me. "Yeah. Arte Jones. She's the mystery I've been trying to figure out since I've known her. But a friendly warning, she has a boyfriend. Cole Bianchi, Captain of the football team," Benji warned me, his eyes still narrowed on me. 

I pursed my lips, nodding. When I'd made it to my locker, I noticed her again. How had I never noticed her before? Her friend asked about her knuckles, and my heart dropped at the thought of her being hurt. I started walking toward her before even thinking about it, and then her words hit me lack a ton of bricks. 

Damn, she knew where to cut you. Regardless, I continued my approach. Benji must have thought I was angry and wanted to confront her, because he grabbed my arm and started pulling me back, telling me to calm down. He said I brought it on myself. 

He's not wrong. For some reason, it's like my body is malfunctioning. "I'm not-" I was about to explain that I wasn't angry, but stopped when I saw her close her locker and get dragged away by her friend. I sighed, letting Benji pull me back. "That ticket for tonight..." I mumbled to Benji as I grabbed my water bottle from my backpack, shoving my backpack inside the locker. "Yeah? I mean, if you don't want to go, man, I can give the ticket to someone else. The place fills up and sells out super quick when AJ is racing." He shrugged. 

"No! No...I-I want it. I'll go," I mumbled, clearing my throat. Damn, I said no too fast and way too loud. Benji was looking at me like I'd come down with something contagious. 

The day went by agonisingly slowly. All I could think about were those blue eyes, the shiny black hair with white pieces at the front, the flawlessly milky skin, that defined jaw...And my jaw that she punched. I sighed in defeat. She was one of the first females who didn't swarm me or look at me with lust or ulterior motives in her eyes. Just a genuine introduction. 

Josh, a member of my ice hockey team, nudged me "Cap, are you good? You've been zoning out and sighing for a while now. You're not sick, are you?" I shook my head, waving my hand, "No, just thinking. I've got...something on my mind," I muttered, resting my chin on my palm. 

The bell, signifying lunch, didn't even register in my mind. It was Josh who had to shake me to get my attention. "Oh, sorry. I'll meet you guys there, I'm going to my locker quickly," I said and got up, my chair scraping against the floor. I walked out of the classroom as fast as I could, and soon, I was standing at my locker with my forehead pressed against it. I needed to get my head in it; championships were coming up at the end of the year, and I couldn't afford to be distracted. Not only for me, but for my team too. 

When I made my way to the ice rink, I took a deep breath and then pushed the doors open. My eyes immediately landed on my team, huddled around the bench. As I got closer, that's when I realised it was her. Arte Jones. 

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

My heart was going ten to a dozen, but seeing how much skin she was showing while surrounded by my guys had that familiar fire raging inside me again. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of her, rubbing salt in the wound and sneering like she was my worst enemy. Josh tried to correct me, but she cut him off, telling him I was irrelevant. It stung, for sure. Then, along came her friend, and yet again, my body just happened. 

Her friend waved me off, telling me that Arte was her Captain. Captain of what? Was she a cheerleader?

Before my thoughts could get deeper, Arte instructed her friend to get changed, and in the meantime, she pushed through me and climbed onto the ice. Seeing her skate was mesmerising. It was as if the ice was under her every command, following her every move and whim. 

I was shocked to see her execute moves used in ice hockey, so perfectly too, as if she'd been doing them since she came out of the womb. It was a flawless execution and delivery. I started to think that she was probably better than I, too. "See, Cap. Not an ice bunny. Jones is the Captain of the female ice hockey team. She's also the Captain of the female swim team and football team." I stared at Josh like he'd grown two heads. "How does she keep up with all that?" He smirked at me and replied with 'she's perfect'. I didn't understand, but it didn't seem like he'd say anymore. 

We all forgot that we were here to practice, too and instead just watched the girl. Arte was fantastic on the ice and a great leader, commanding and caring. She observed her friend harshly, but there was affection behind that harshness. It was obvious Arte wanted the girl to improve. She dished out criticism when it was needed but also compliments when it called for them. She wasn't hot or cold, just consistent. 

We all watched for a long time, the bell making me jump. I was so invested in those two that it felt as though no time had passed at all, when in fact my whole dinner time had come and gone. When I saw Arte making her way toward me, I knew I had to apologise. 

However, when it came down to it, the look she gave me quickly silenced me, my bones clattering together like they'd been doused with ice water. The mouth on this girl was sharper than any knife, and when she walked away, I had this feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. A feeling that told me I'd regret my actions. 

At the end of the school day, I climbed into the driver's seat of my car, absent-minded as I waited for Benji. My fingers thrummed against the steering wheel. I wanted to think, to focus on something - anything - but it was as if the process of thought within my brain had just halted. 

When Benji climbed into the passenger seat, I flinched. He frowned at me, closing the door and staring for a minute. "Dude...You've been out of it and jumpy since the morning. You're just...Weird today. What's up?" I frowned at him, reaching up a hand and awkwardly scratching the back of my neck as my mouth opened...Closed and then opened...Closed again. 

I opened it a final time, avoiding Benji's gaze "Why is she such a mystery?" I knew it was a bit vague, but judging by the amusement in Benji's eyes, I knew he was aware of why I was in turmoil. He clipped his seat belt in, a grin slowly creeping onto his face. "I don't have the answer to that, and neither do you. We never will, probably. She's got this...Pull. She draws people to her, supernaturals and humans alike.  The pull is different for everyone, though," He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Then, he began to pry the phone case off, making me raise an eyebrow. 

Inside the case was a small Polaroid picture. Benji handed it to me gently and I took it, flipping it over and raking my eyes over the people in the picture. I recognised Benji immediately - I'd been to his house and saw the pictures of him as a child all over the place - but didn't recognise the other children. 

Benji pointed to a little girl, the smallest of the bunch. She had rose-pink hair with coral highlights that was styled in low pigtails. She was petite and fragile. Her facial features were delicate and finely wrought as if she had been carefully crafted. She was wearing a style I knew well, due to my younger sister's interest in it - Lolita. Puffy pink dress covered in white bows and lace, knee-high pink socks and white dolly shoes. In her left hand was a teddy bear. I knew this girl; I'd seen her before. It was hard to miss her because she was so unique. She stood out like a sore thumb, but I didn't know her name. 

Next to her was a boy with spiked red hair and a cheeky grin, scruffy shorts that were covered in dirt and grass stains, no shirt and a football under his foot. I knew this guy, too, our teams often clashed in the halls, though he never participated unless it was to be a mediator. His name is...George, I think. Beside him is a girl who looks like a female version of him, her face impassive as she stared at whoever was taking the picture. That's George's twin sister, Margot. She was wearing a white summer dress that she didn't seem to like all that much, and was just as barefoot as George. 

Next to Margot, sitting on the floor was a small boy who looked just as fragile as the girl with pink hair, but he was definitely taller than her. He had white hair with a black streak at the front and a small smile. He was dressed in a formal white shirt and navy shorts with braces attached to them that hooked over his shoulders, knee-high navy socks and lace-up, smart-looking shoes. What stood out about him to me the most was his golden eyes. They were beautiful, even in a Polaroid; it seemed as though they could capture the essence of a person's soul. 

Finally, staring down at the white haired boy with a soft smile, was a girl with raven-black hair that had two white pieces at the front that framed her face. She looked like a tomboy - Shorts that were as dirty as George's, a baggy black t-shirt that had no end of grass stains and a baseball cap that sat backwards on her head. Her eyes were mismatched - Light blue and gold. I frowned, confused. 

In order, Benji listed each child "Me, Lillian, George, Margot, Apollo and Artemis", He said, looking at the picture fondly. "I recognise you and the other three. But who are these last two kids?" It seemed like a stupid question, given that the last girl was so familiar. "You know Artemis. Arte. Her full first name is Artemis, though no one uses it. I think she prefers it that way. Apollo is her twin brother; he's ten minutes younger than her. He was always pretty delicate, almost cried as much as Lillian did," Benji said with a chuckle. 

So, her name is actually Artemis...Artemis...I liked the way her name sounded in my head. "One day, Apollo just stopped coming around. After that, Arte was never as bubbly as she used to be. She tried, but we all knew it was an act. I think as kids, we all assumed that he died. He was frail and sickly looking, after all. Not so much he'd just die suddenly, though, but no mention of Apollo has ever been spoken out loud since then. A year and a half later, Arte left. Told us she was going to spend time with her Grandparents abroad for a while. We all continued to hang out, but we never forgot Arte. She came back when she was thirteen, just randomly showed up and literally said 'yo', waving to us with a blank face. Imagine our surprise" 

My eyebrows furrowed for a minute, staring at the picture. I gently handed it back to Benji "All of us became friends through Arte. All of our parents loved her, and we loved her. As we got older, her absence was palpable. When she came back, that's when we really noticed the pull. We were the first to be pulled into her orbit, but we won't be the last. Observe her, the people around her. The way she acts and the way they act, the things she says and the things they say. You'll see what I'm talking about," he said, clipping the phone case back onto his phone. 

"Her eyes are blue", I said. He nodded, looking at me like the answer was obvious, and it was. Arte Jones wore contact lenses.

I turned the key in the ignition, absent-mindedly driving us both through muscle memory alone. When I snapped out of it, I was sitting on my sofa, my dad waving a hand in front of my face, "You're really out of it, huh?" I sighed, raising my hands and rubbing them down my face. My mother narrowed her eyes, a mischievous grin plastering her lips "It's a girl~" She cooed, and I stiffened. 

That was my cue! I sprang up and quickly left the living room, bolting upstairs and to my room. I realised what time it was when my attention was drawn to the ticking clock on my nightstand. If I want to make it on time, I need to leave now. 

I practically tore off what I was wearing and threw open my wardrobe doors, grabbing a grey hoodie and the matching joggers from the drawer below. I was practically out of my bedroom door while putting my shoes on, very nearly falling on my face. I could hear my sister asking what the rush was, but as soon as my shoes were on, I was down the stairs so fast that I'd skipped a few, yelled bye and was in my car. 

I put the postal code for the venue in my satnav and then raised an eyebrow, "A race track?" I mumbled to myself. The car purred to life, and I was gone, wondering why the postal code that Benji sent me was for a race track. Surely Arte Jones wasn't about to get in a race car, right?

When I arrived, the place was packed. It was so hard to find a parking space, but when I did, I rushed off and forgot to lock my car. I had to turn back around to lock it and then set off again, panting the whole time. At the entrance, there was a bar that stopped people from pushing through, and a slot for a ticket next to it, an electronic scanner above that. The entrance was empty and I was obviously late, but how late I wasn't aware. I pulled out my phone and scanned the ticket that Benji had sent me, a beep of acknowledgement spurring me through the bars. 

What Benji hadn't told me was where he'd be sitting. So now I'm standing, looking around, like an absolute lemon. A firm grip on my shoulder made me jump. I turned to see Benji grinning at me, amusement swimming in his eyes as if he knew I'd turn up and he was waiting for me. 

I followed him to the seats, seeing the entire basketball team and younger children with them. "Brother, where did you go?" A little girl posed the question to Benji. "To pick this guy up," he said, rustling her hair. "Luca, this is my sister, Angelica. She's eight, obsessed with AJ" I had no idea who AJ was, but I nodded my head, giving the girl a little wave. She smiled at me and then turned toward another girl beside her, the two giggling. 

Benji and I slipped into our seats and I sighed the moment my ass was down, the tension leaving my body. "You're lucky. The race was delayed a little bit because AJ wasn't ready. But she's just come out, that's her there" I followed his finger and saw a slim, curvy figure dressed in a black race suit with white accents. Her helmet and boots matched. She seemed to be admiring the car.

"You said Arte was competing tonight, so where is she?" I asked. Obviously, I'd asked a little too loudly because practically everyone - even the kids - in the group turned to look at me with shock on their faces. Benji cackled loudly, some strangers around us looking, trying to see what was so funny. "Wow, you haven't figured it out yet!" That was all he said, Angelica filling in the blanks while her brother laughed up his lungs at my expense. 'Arte IS AJ.' She rolled her eyes at me as my lips parted, my jaw hanging just a bit. 

I slowly turned my head toward the track to see Arte getting in the car. Before I knew it, the race had started. The drivers were off, but my attention was wholly on Arte. "Why is she participating in such a dangerous sport? She's the captain of the football team, swim team and ice hockey team. Surely she's too swamped to be participating in extreme sports, too?" I asked with a twang of irritation. Benji leaned forward, his eyes sparkling as he watched the race. 

"Like I said, Arte is a mystery. But one thing I do know is that racing is something just for her that she picked herself. Don't get me wrong, she likes the other stuff. But racing is more of a passion. The pure bliss on her face when she removes her helmet is refreshing to see" I scoffed inwardly, playfully. My mind had conjured a joke: 'There are other expressions she can make?'

However, my leg bounced the whole race. My anxiety was sky high for Arte being in that car, racing around the track like a maniac. Every break, every turn, every overtake...My heart plummeted. Up and down, up and down. For a moment, twenty seconds before the finish line, I thought I'd have a heart attack. Arte swerved to avoid a racer that was trying to knock her off the track. I genuinely thought this was it. That she was going to tumble off the track in a ball of flames. 

To my surprise, the one tumbling off the track wasn't her, but the one trying to push her off. Moments later, her car roared as it zoomed like lightning over the finish line. The crowd was in uproar, everyone on their feet. I blinked a few times and then stood up, my mouth bending into an ecstatic smile as I watched Arte jump out of the car, tear her helmet off her head - her raven hair falling in a silky curtain that coated her back - throw the helmet to the floor and then hold her arms up. Her face was a mix of bliss and thrill. Benji was right; this was just for her. A passion unrelated to anything else. 

"Come on, kids, let's go see our champion!" Benji bellowed, the kids cheering and shouting, rushing to get out of the stands. I turned to him with a frown, "Can we do that?", "Of course. Arte would be upset if we didn't. She and the kids have grown quite close." I don't think I can imagine Arte around young children. Maybe it's the interactions she's had with me, but that scowling face and that glare aren't very...Child-friendly. 

Nonetheless, I followed behind the group. When they got to the front, a small boy, maybe a year or two old, waved frantically from the shoulders of one of the players. "Mami, mami!" I halted in my tracks, eyes wide as Arte turned to the voice and then began to run over, reaching up on her tip-toes and peeling the little boy from the player's shoulders. She set the boy on one of her own shoulders, holding him under the armpit with one hand and the other raised in the air in victory. People snapped pictures, and Arte had the largest grin on her face among everyone here, except for that little boy. 

When she pulled him down from her shoulder, she put him on her hip, leaning in and brushing her nose against the little boy's cutely. Almost on instinct, I grabbed Benji's shoulder and swung him around to face me, my eyes still as wide as plates. "Arte has a son?" Benji was perplexed for a moment before it sank in. "OHH. No, no. Damien isn't Arte's son. But she's the closest thing to a mother that he's known. Damien's mother abandoned him on Lennox's doorstep and just vanished. Arte is pretty close with the players, so when she found out, she immediately took Lennox shopping, helped him with his school work, and has been helping with Damien ever since. She's also the person who named him. Lennox doesn't have any family - as far as he's aware, he's an orphan." I breathed a sigh of relief. 

But it did melt my heart. I wonder how Arte's folks reacted to that situation, if they even know. As if reading my mind, Benji turned around to face Arte once more "They know. Lennox and Damien are the only ones to have met Arte's family. However, he refuses to talk about them. Says that if Arte wants us to know, she'll tell us. But, Arte will be Arte. Under all that fake ice, she's a bleeding heart. Wanted Damien to have family, so Damien knows Arte's parents as his grandparents. I wouldn't be surprised if Arte ends up adopting that kid when she turns 18," Benji mumbled the last part, but I picked up on it. 

The kids crowded around Arte after she nodded for them to be let in. Arte kneeled down, letting the cameras flash over and over, capturing group and solo pictures alike over and over and over. Even children who were strangers to her who approached afterwards with their family for pictures, she let them through and fulfilled all their requests. What a contrast from the way she is at school!

I couldn't help thinking that perhaps this was the real her...