Part 18 - The Confrontation

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"What are you looking at?" Jamie asked, not taking his eyes away from the players emerging from under the stands as we patiently waited for the much anticipated game to begin.

I paused, looking at Jack and Michel laughing together in the stands. "Nothing." And I turned to continue watching the players.

"Have you just seen Jack and Michel?" Jamie asked.

"Yep. Did you know they were coming?" I asked.

"Nope."

"What's the matter Jamie?" I said, seeing that his face had gone stone cold.

"After the semis, I had an argument with Jack, and then I saw..."

"What?" I said, suddenly getting anxious.

"Her and...Michel...he kissed her."

"WHAT?" I said, leaning forward in my seat in disbelief.

"Yeah."

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Halfway through the game, words could not describe my boredom. I tried to hide it, but it didn't exactly help that Hawkstone were playing terribly - it was 3-0 to the opposing side. I couldn't help feeling guilty though - I was supposed to be having fun with Jamie, but he seemed completely captivated by the game.

At half time, I left Jamie to go buy some snacks. Whilst grabbing a bar of chocolate, I saw Michel and Jack with a group of fans wanting autographs from the famous footballer's son crowding round him. Trying to avoid them at all costs, I ended up circling the sweets and chocolate aisle for about 10 minutes before heading over to the checkout desk.

Whilst paying, the shop assistant went to get some change from the back of the store, and I was left awkwardly at the desk with Jack and Michel queuing behind me. I looked at them and nodded my head once with a smile which they both returned awkwardly.

"Your dad's playing well." I said, trying to make conversation, so it wouldn't be too awkward at school.

"Yeah." Michel said with a smile before an awkward pause.

"Why didn't you tell Jamie you were coming?" I directed this question at Jack, trying not to sound patronizing.

"I didn't think he cared what I did." Jack said.

"Did something happen between you two?" I said, slightly confused as to why Jack was upset.

"Yeah, after the semis." she took a deep breath. "He said that it was mine and Michel's fault we lost the semis."

Jamie hadn't told me that bit.

"What? Of course it wasn't." I said, trying to be reassuring.

"How would you two know? You weren't even supporting the team! You were off with Jamie somewhere for the whole game." Jack said.

"So this is what this is really about." I said, rolling my eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Michel said, coming to Jack's defense.

"Yeah." Jack said. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think I haven't noticed? You, getting jealous every single time me and Jamie are together! All the while you're off kissing Michel!" I said laughing in disbelief, and I felt no regret - I was done with her.

They looked at each other for a moment before the shop assistant returned. I paid before uttering a 'thank you' and leaving to get back to Jamie, promising myself I wouldn't mention anything to Jamie.

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About 10 minutes before the end of the game, after checking my watch a dozen times, I finally looked up when a shout from the crowd grabbed my attention: Raymondo Bernard had been fouled.

He looked like he was hurt and I glimpsed Michel running from the player's enclosure at the top of the stands.

"He went in with two feet, that's a straight red!" Jamie yelled, and I nodded like I knew what I was talking about.

"What does this mean for Michel?" I asked nervously, a pang of guilt for having a go at him and Jack earlier came over me.

"I dunno. His dad was only at Hawkstone till the end of the season." Jamie replied.

"What, you think he'll move back to France?" I said in surprise. No Michel meant more space on the football team, but I couldn't think about that - his dad could be injured.

After the game, me and Jamie walked home together, both aware of what the other was thinking about.

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JAMIE'S POV

The day after the game at school, Jack's absence hung over all of us as we ate lunch. Boggy said she had been in form tutor in the morning, but now she'd disappeared.

I was determined to not speak of our argument after the semis to anyone, least of all Bella, who had seen enough of my temper over the last few weeks.

Indira came bouncing over to us, obviously desperate to spread gossip; I didn't expect it would be about Jack though - it was never about Jack.

"Have you heard?" She said, applying a layer of lip gloss.

"No but i'm guessing you're going to tell us." Bella said, raising her eyebrows in fake anticipation.

Indira sat down next to her, readying herself to tell the story.

"Basically, I was there when Jack got a message from Michel, saying that they were flying back to France and leaving her forever." Indira said, trying to sound as serious as possible.

Bella frowned. "I'm pretty sure he didn't say that, Indie."

"Maybe not, but it was close enough." she stood up. "Anyway, Jack's bunked off to go see him before he goes."

My mouth dropped open. "Jack? No way!"

"I can almost believe it's true seeing as Indira was there." Boggy said, and it took me a moment to realise what he had said.

"You told her to go!?" I nearly shouted at Indira.

"Yeah, alright calm down Jamie. He loves her, so I just told her to say goodbye!" Indira came to her own defense as no one else was.

"Just told her to say goodbye?" I repeated in disbelief. "Even I've never bunked off."

"I did once." Bella said surprisingly. She said it so casually whilst grabbing a drink that she could have just been saying she'd once gone for a walk.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." She squinted into the distance as if trying to remember the details. "It was like, a play at a school and I didn't want to do it, so I just hid in a cafe behind school." Again, she said it so casually. "Didn't even get caught." She added.

Everyone's eyes seemed to widen, but I couldn't help smiling - this was a side of Bella I hadn't even known existed before the school break-in a few weeks ago.

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By the end of lunch, Jack still hadn't returned and I was starting to worry. Whilst waking to Geography, I glimpsed the exact person Jack was trying to find: Michel.

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