Storm, Meet Raine

The Tourney.

HER.

"Welcome to South Carolina." There was pure excitement in our coach's eyes. He lived for times like these, moments where he could go to championships like this. The ones that win it all. The bus passes the state sign. I awe over the picture of a crescent moon above a tree.

"Got any connections in this state?" I take a glove from my backpack, and throw it across the aisle to where Carson sat, slumped against the window, fast asleep. He jerks awake, then looks down at my hot pink glove with a glare. He flashes his middle finger at me, and then pushes the glove through the small opening of the window. I gasp, watching the fabric get sucked up by the wind. "You're a monster," I mouth, now realizing he has headphones on underneath his hood.

Ryker chuckles beside me. "A grumpy little thing he is when he's sleepy." I agree for sure. There aren't very many times when you disturb his sleep, though when you do, he's quick to snap at you. I smile, watching him lean back against the window, eyes fluttering closed. "You don't know his championship series schedule yet."

"Care to share?" If I have to deal with his dickish personality more while we're on this trip, we might not make it out as a couple. Ryker digs into the backpack that's dividing our bus seat, searching for my snacks. "Hey!" I reach for the granola bar he managed to snatch out, but he moves back away from me faster than I could grab it.

He flashes a grin at me, showing his teeth. I'm kind of sad that his teeth are actually nice without the hunk of metal that I met him with in his mouth. I'm going to have to ask Kennedy what exactly went on for her to make him take them out. Ryker gives a glance at Carson before spilling the beans. "He sleeps as much as he can before games because once we start, he's not going to get much of it."

"Why not?"

"Adrenaline, and wanting to be the best. He stays up late practicing, and wakes up early to practice."

I catch myself frowning, thinking of where he'd be if we didn't run into each other that day. Would he have been playing pro right now? Or would a different injury have come up because he was never fated to play professionally? I feel god awful about it, but I have to remember that it was an accident, though it still sucks that it happened. "He's not mad at you anymore, don't worry about it."

I cover my eyes with my hands. "Can you stop that!" The readings, they're so creepy. "Go read someone else."

"No one else likes it."

"And you think I do?" I raise my voice, my eyes still hiding behind my hands, though I hear his laughter loud and clear. I put my hand back down after sensing he wasn't staring at me, and lay my head on his shoulder. "You smell like lemons." I turn my nose to his shirt, inhaling the fresh citrusy scent from what seems to be his skin, not his shirt. I brush my nose against his bicep.

"Saw Kennedy one last time," his voice was soft, but lit with an affection that made me smile. Guess he rolled around in her bed for quite a while, picking up whatever and everything that she had to offer him. He's so sick in love, it's insane, though he likes to keep it confined. I'm sure Carson gets a lot more of the Ryker that's in love with his sister than I do.

"Are you excited about all of this?" I ask him, referring to the tournament we were driving straight into. It was going to be an interesting couple of weeks, full of games and rooming with these two boys, but I'm ready for whatever is coming for us.

"Hell yes," I lean away from him, resting my back against the side of the bus near the window, watching as he nods his head, hair swooshing to his forehead. He rips open the granola bar package and bites just over half of it, saying with a full mouth, "It's a good outlet for me, whenever I do get to play...are you?"