Dark Wolfe

24- For he's a jolly good felon

(Song of the chapter: 'Clout' by Offset & Cardi B)

Evercrest High and Small Creek Academy were the bitterest of rivals, especially when it came to soccer.

Small Creek, which Evercrest students affectionately referred to as Small Dicks, was the closest school to ours in the entire region. Because of this, we were often paired in sports competitions.

The proximity also provided ample opportunity for our schools to play pranks on each other.

Evercrest students argued that Small Dicks – er, Creeks – started the rivalry when they stole our championship trophy. The other side, apparently, believed this feud dated back to preschool years, when one of ours stole one of theirs' tooth fairy money.

The real contention, however, lay in a famous disagreement about Harry Potter where one former Small Creek captain dissed Cedric Diggory.

Probably why he was no longer captain.

Neither side wanted to let that slide. So, as a consensus, we'd decided to settle our dispute by dominating any sport that even remotely resembled Quidditch.

Evercrest High consistently won in baseball and badminton games, while Small Creek squeaked by in football and field hockey, topping our records with just one win.

Currently, though, we were tied in soccer.

Neither school had a winning streak in the game – a different team won per match. But we'd won last time, and if we won this one, we wouldn't just break the tie – we would establish a streak.

There was a lot riding on today, which was why the bleachers around me were filled to the brim. Seats had been reserved for us – well, the Four Horsemen plus one – on the second row facing midfield, giving us a great view of the field.

The sun was already pretty low in the sky, but we still had enough visibility.

Lilith returned from the concession stand then and took the seat beside me. I turned from watching Brandon chat with Coach to look over at her.

My attention immediately snagged on the many boxes of yummy-smelling popcorn she was cradling in her arms. Noticing my gaze, she shifted them around to offer me one.

I easily took it. "Thanks," I mumbled, popping a kernel into my mouth.

"No problem," she chirped, grinning cheerfully. Lilith had outdone herself today– her hair was in pigtails with green and white (Evercrest's colors) extensions, styled to look like pom-poms. Her jersey was also green, and Brandon's name and number shone in glittering white across her torso. She must've bedazzled it herself.

Her make-up, though, was quite dark, with bold black liner and even blacker lipstick. She looked like some preppy goth cheerleader from hell.

And she was still smiling at me.

It wouldn't kill me to smile back... would it? After all, Brandon's preference for Lilith wasn't exactly something I could compete with. I wasn't the one he had a crush on.

So, slowly, I let my lips curve up. I felt my face crack like it was made from plaster, but since it didn't fall off, I considered this whole smiling business a success.

Inwardly, I gave myself a congratulatory pat on the back.

Lilith blinked, her mouth forming an 'O'. Carefully, she edged away, gawking at me like I was dangerous.

I gave up and turned back to the field with my usual scowl.

The game was starting. Excited murmurs circled around me as Jacques and the Small Creek captain met in the middle for the coin toss. I turned to where Brandon stood to see him looking straight at us.