/ Romance / Keeping Score / Chapter 2: We used to be friends

공유

Chapter 2: We used to be friends

작가: Tawdra Kandle
last update 최신 업데이트: 2022-11-24 14:32:25
QUINN

"Some people think they're so much better than the rest of us. So much smarter."

The voice behind me was all too familiar. A mix of apprehension and annoyance flooded my mind. Trish Dawson. Perfect. Just who I needed to deal with today.

Clenching my jaw and kept walking. I'd learned through painful experience that ignoring girls like Trish was the only way to deal with them. It didn't make them stop, and it definitely didn't make me feel better, but pretending they didn't exist let me hold onto some dignity.

"Hey, queer queen. I'm talking to you." She was closer to me than I'd thought, and so I wasn't ready when she reached around and knocked the notebooks out of my arms.

I felt my face go hot as I stopped to pick up the books. This wasn't my first experiencing with being bullied; I figured they'd laugh and move away. But this time, they didn't. Trish and the other three girls formed a small, tight circle around me, all of them smirking.

"What's the matter, queen? Clumsy today?" Original insults weren't Trish's strong suit. She'd been calling me queen or queer queen since freshman year. I guessed in her limited intellect, Quinn didn't lend itself to anything more demeaning.

I began to stand up, all of my stuff in one hand, but another of the girls shoved at my shoulder, pushing me back.

"We didn't like what you wrote about the cheer squad. You need to stop saying stuff like that."

I affected an expression of shock. "Really? You can read? Wow, let me go alert the media. I think we just found our headline for next week's paper."

Trish's eyes narrowed. "Listen, bitch-"

"No, you listen." I stared back at her. "It's an editorial. My opinion. I can write what I want."

Trish's face took on an ugly sneer. "No one cares what you think. So maybe you should-"

"Leave her alone."

Leo. Now my heart was pounding in earnest. He stood on the other side of Trish, his muscled arms folded over his broad chest. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

Kylie, Trish's right-hand minion, glanced at him. "This isn't any of your business, Leo. We've got it covered. Run along."

"Quinn's a friend of mine, and she didn't do anything to you. So yeah, it's my business." He pushed between Trish and Kylie, grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. The girls were still surrounding us, but all I could think was Leo is holding my hand. His palm was pressed against mine, warm and so full of strength I wanted to cry.

Trish glared at me, one finely-arched eyebrow raised. I knew that look; it meant we'll finish this later. Fabulous.

She and her posse turned and stalked away, still giggling. But I didn't even spare them a glance, because I couldn't tear my eyes away from my hand in Leo's. My fingers were completely enveloped in his grasp. He was saying something, but I was too preoccupied by the buzzing in my ears to pay attention.

"Quinn, what was that all about?" He repeated himself, frowning, and let go of my hand. I felt immediately bereft and had to stop myself from reaching toward him.

"Um, it was nothing." I took a step back away from Leo. "Stupid cheerleaders."

His forehead creased, and I realized I was talking crap about girls who were probably his friends now. Maybe more than friends. God only knew what he'd done with some of them; I'd heard stories about football parties and what happened there. I was only too aware of the rumors that were whispered about Leo and his prowess off the field. I only hoped he hadn't hooked up with Trish. I could handle anything but that.

"What were they talking about? What did you write to set them off?"

Now annoyance flared, almost overshadowing the want surging through my veins. It was typical of Leo these days; he'd never assume I was blameless. It had to be me who'd written something wrong.

Plus, this confirmed something I'd suspected-that Leo didn't read my articles. He gave my work at the school paper great lip-service, but now I knew the truth.

"Maybe if you read the school newspaper now and then, you'd know. I guess this means you don't make it a priority to read my editorials."

"I don't read anything but school stuff during football season." He shook his head. "No time. So what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." I hissed out the words. Of course, it was my fault that those bitches were threatened by me. Leo would see it that way. Once upon a time, he would've stuck up for me no matter what, but those days were in the past. "I wrote an opinion piece about the special treatment the cheerleaders get. It's nothing that everyone else in the school isn't thinking. Guess some of them obviously didn't like it. No biggie."

Leo ran a hand through his hair, his go-to gesture when he was exasperated. "Mia, are you crazy? That's not exactly the way to make friends."

Pain sliced through me. Leo rarely used his special nickname for me anymore, and hearing him say it-his voice husky-reminded me of how far apart we'd drifted. And now he was giving me advice on finding friends? What kind of loser did he think I was?

"Gee, thanks, Leo. This is all good information. Funny, though. I didn't know I needed help making friends. I used to have some really good ones, once upon a time."" The words were laced with sarcasm.

Leo winced. "I'm still your friend, Quinn, you know that. But couldn't you try a little harder? I mean, with other people? Sometimes you have to play the game to get along in the world."

The truth was right there in his voice. I was an embarrassment to him. Poor Quinn, the geeky girl who just couldn't seem to find her own circle. The girl who reminded Leo of a part of him he'd turned his back on when football and popularity became more important. The impact of what he was saying hurt, and I lashed out in response.

"The people I'd want for my friends wouldn't expect me to be a phony. They would accept me for who I am." I leaned forward a little, just to make sure he heard me.

"You don't think I do?" Leo looked stricken, as though what I'd said was some huge revelation.

Anger bubbled up inside me. I was sick of the whole thing. Sick of mooning after this boy, sick of the pain of losing my best friend. Sick of him pretending nothing had changed, when everyone else in the world knew that it had. I took another step back and spoke in a low voice.

"I don't know, Leo. Do you even know who I am anymore?"

Before he could respond, I wheeled around and started walking away as fast as I could. I knew he wouldn't follow me, though in my fantasy world, Leo did chase after me, grab me by the arm and push me up against the wall between two sets of lockers. What happened next in my daydreams was something I couldn't bear to think about just now.

"Hey, wait up, Quinn!" It wasn't Leo calling me-big surprise-but I slowed anyway, turning at Gia Capri jogged up. "What the hell is going on?"

My eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean? I'm heading to the newspaper office." Gia and I were both on staff at the paper; it was how we'd gotten to know each other.

She gave me round eyes. "I just overheard Trish Dawson talking all kind of shit about you. She was practically spitting like a cat-and Leo Taylor was mentioned, too. What did you do?"

This was the second time I'd been asked this question within a few minutes, and it didn't improve my mood.

"She was pissed about the editorial. Big surprise. She'll get over it." I hesitated before going on. "Leo happened to overhear us. He got in her face about picking on me, so that's why you heard his name, too."

"Eeek. What a bitch." Gia slung an arm around me. "But at least you had a hot guy stick up for you. Got to count that as a win."

"Maybe." Gia hadn't known me back when Nate, Leo and I were best friends. She'd gone to a different elementary school, and we'd only met in high school. I wondered if anyone but me remembered when we'd been the inseparable trio.

"Let's go vent to Jake about all this. He lives for this power to the press shit, you know? If you tell him Trish Dawson harassed you, he'll probably organize a protest rally by tonight."

I snorted. "Because that's what I need. A protest." Shaking my head, I hugged my notebooks to my chest. "Okay, let's go. I need to talk with Ms. Nelson about next week's columns, anyway."

When we turned into the small corner classroom that housed the newspaper office, Jake Donavan was sitting at a desk, his eyes fastened on the computer screen. He glanced up at us with a smile.

"Hey, Q! We're getting lots of response on your cheerleader editorial. Want to read some of the comments?"

Gritting my teeth, I slid a chair out from beneath the long, cluttered counter that went all the way around the room and dropped into it, letting my head sag against the back of the seat as my eyes closed. Gia hopped up to perch on the counter, facing me, her legs swinging.

"Quinn just got an up-close and personal comment on that piece, thanks. We thought you should know."

I sighed and swung my head to look at Jake, just barely opening my eyes.

He frowned at me. "What happened?"

I gave a grunt and rolled my shoulders. "I had a run-in with Trish. Let's just say her response was decidedly in the against column. She's not a happy camper."

"Shit." He spun his chair around to face me. "When you say run-in, do you mean she spewed venom at you, or ...she didn't, like, actually get physical, did she?"

I quirked at eyebrow at him. "Are you worried about me, or are you intrigued by the idea of a chick fight?"

Gia hooted. "You took the words right out of my mouth, Quinn."

Jake laughed. "Your opinion of the male of the species could use some work, Q. Of course, I was just concerned about you." His lips curved up into a wicked smile. "But if you want to tell me how she pushed you down, and then you pulled her hair, please. Feel free."

"Perv." I crumpled up a sheet of newsprint and tossed it at him. "Sorry, but it didn't get that involved. She knocked my books down, and then she and her goonies stood over me while I was trying to pick them up. I guess she might've gone further if-" I stopped abruptly, and Jake waved his hand in a go-on gesture.

"If?"

"If Leo Taylor hadn't been there to save the day," Gia sang. "Our very own football hero sent the bitches running."

I glared at Gia. "Not quite. He stepped in, and they left. Not without a subtle warning that we weren't quite finished, but you know them. There's not much long-term memory there. Trish will forget all about me the next time she has to memorize another cheer routine."

"You're probably not wrong. But still ...if she gives you trouble, say something to Ms. Nelson. She'll take care of it."

I propped my feet on the counter desk, nudging Gia out of the way. "Ms. Nelson always tells us that genuine journalism can sometimes make people edgy, and we need to be prepared to deal with the fallout. Right?"

"Sure, but Q, this is a high school newspaper, not the Washington Post. No one expects you to put your safety on the line for the sake of an editorial."

A new voice from the doorway of the newspaper office made Jake, Gia and me jerk our attention in that direction.

"Why would you be putting your safety on the line?"

이 책을 계속 무료로 읽어보세요.
QR 코드를 스캔하여 앱을 다운로드하세요

최신 챕터

  • Keeping Score   Chapter 131: Days of You and Me

    QUINNThe party was in full swing, with music blaring and the dance floor crowded. I was sitting on Leo's lap, with his arms circling my waist as we chatted with Zelda and Tucker. "Hey, did you see that?" Zelda nodded toward the crush of dancing couples. On the very edge, Gia was slow dancing with Tate Durham. She stared up into his face as he murmured to her, and I glanced back at Zelda with raised brows. "When did that happen?" I'd spent quite a bit of time lately with Zelda and Gia, who were both my bridesmaids, but Gia hadn't mentioned anything about Tate Durham. I didn't even realize she knew him, although thinking back, they must've met at Carolina, when we used to go see Leo and Matt."Got me. But they look mighty cozy.""She deserves a little happiness. And Tate's a good guy." Leo, who had been talking to Tucker about how brutal mini-camp had been this year, picked up on my last words. He followed my gaze to Gia and Tate and smirked. "Well, it's about time." "Hey.

  • Keeping Score   Chapter 130: The best choice I ever made

    QUINNThanks to the security team that we'd hired to keep the media and the curious public at bay, I could only barely see the people lining the perimeter of the roped-off section of the beach. I knew they were there, but it was okay; today of all days, I wanted to share all of my happiness with everyone and anyone. Behind me, the folding chairs that had been arranged on the portable wooden floor-and who knew they had such things!-were filled with our loved ones. We had quite a crowd, for what we'd both termed a small, intimate wedding, but then we were very blessed with both friends and family. My mother sat in the front row, flanked by Joe and Lisa on one side and Mark and Sheri on the other. Leo and I had dispensed with the silly idea of the bride's side and groom's side. We shared so many friends that making them choose which one of us to support would have been crazy. And our parents had decreed early on that they were all going to sit together, forming a united front. The

  • Keeping Score   Chapter 129: We earned this happily ever after

    QUINNWe'd been waiting in the empty, echoing corridor outside the locker room for twenty minutes. The guard had kindly but firmly told us that we couldn't go any further, but after Ellie had cajoled him, he'd promised to give us any update he heard and to talk to the trainer about letting us in as soon as it was possible. People swooshed through the hall, to and fro, but none of them showed us the least bit interest. A couple of reporters straggled down, but a non-life-threatening injury to a second year player who was only just beginning to show his strength wasn't exactly breaking news. I tried not to be bitter about that, thinking of all the times the press had hounded us about stupid stuff since Leo had been in college. One of the journalists was live streaming the game on his phone, with the volume pumped. Apparently the Rebels had made the extra point after Leo's touchdown, but New York had come back to score ten points after that-a fast touch down and then a field goal. Th

  • Keeping Score   Chapter 128: Number 22 is down

    QUINN"There's my boy!" Joe clapped his hands and whistled as the Rebels took the field for their first possession in the second half. We were up by two field goals, but with a team like New York, that wasn't quite a comfortable margin. "I told him we wanted to see him score today." Lisa nudged me. "Both times, it's happened when we weren't at the game. It's starting to give me a complex."I laughed. "I missed one of them, since it was on the road. So don't take it personally." Down on the field, the center snapped the ball into Gideon's hands. The quarterback stutter-stepped backwards, looking for an open receiver and then fired a pass downfield to a wide receiver, who caught the ball and took off. The crowd jumped to its collective feet, cheering him on. He made it to the twenty-eight-yard line before he was forced out of bounds by a New York player. We sat back down as the chains moved, and Joe patted my back. "This is going to be it, this next play. You watch. I've got a

  • Keeping Score   Chapter 127: Family reunion

    QUINN"I never knew it got so cold down south." Lisa Taylor wrapped her scarf a little more securely around her face. "I'm glad I remembered my gloves."On the other side of me, her husband leaned over. "Well, it is December, Lisa. You can't expect beach weather. Virginia isn't that far south."I bit my lip and tried not to laugh. Leo's parents had been down here for the last three days, visiting on what Joe called a 'pre-wedding mini-vacation' and what Lisa referred to as 'Joe's attempt to keep me from killing people'. Although they never really argued, they sniped at each other all the time, which made it less than fun to be around them. Apparently, being the parents of the groom was almost as stressful as being the bride's family. Simon had called us last week, griping about the tensions between Justine's parents and his own."You've got to take them off my hands for a little while, Leo. Please, I'm begging you." Neither of us had ever heard Simon sound so desperate. "All of the

  • Keeping Score   Chapter 126: This is our time

    LEOThe past and present jumbled for a moment in my mind. I had a sudden flash of memory, the feel of those legs wrapped around my back as I sank down into her, the weight of her breasts in my hands, the taste of her ...it was all so vivid and so immediate that I gave myself a little pinch to make sure she was really here now, and that I wasn't in the middle of some psychedelic mind trip. Then she smiled at me and spoke, her voice low and teasing, and I knew this was real. "Are you going to say something, or are you going to just lay there gaping at me? You're kind of freaking me out. I'm starting to worry that you're second-guessing the whole forever thing.""Babe. Never." I sat up and crooked my finger. "Come here. I'd go to you, but I seem to have lost the feeling in my legs."Quinn took a few steps closer to me, just beyond my reach. "You know, I realized something while I was getting changed.""Oh, yeah? What's that?" My eyes were glued to her fingers playing with the hem of

더보기
좋은 소설을 무료로 찾아 읽어보세요
GoodNovel 앱에서 수많은 인기 소설을 무료로 즐기세요! 마음에 드는 책을 다운로드하고, 언제 어디서나 편하게 읽을 수 있습니다
앱에서 책을 무료로 읽어보세요
앱에서 읽으려면 QR 코드를 스캔하세요.
DMCA.com Protection Status