My Superhero

Chapter 23

Everyone is seated in Francis' silver car, which is just big enough to fit everyone. As the shortest, I sit in the middle, with Lucas and Ben's knees touching either side. By default, Beth is in the front passenger seat.

We go to a fast-food drive-thru, and I have my eye on the classic cheeseburger with fries and a soda to wash it all down. Francis dislikes the stench left in his car, so we hang on until we reach the school. While, I slither my hands into the bag and nibble a few fries, clinging to the salty taste that is dissolving on my tongue.

Before we go to the football pitch, we sit on a grass area and munch down on our tasty meals. Lucas is always kind enough to give me the last few of his fries, and I never refuse. I love fries too much.

We try to do something new every few weeks that each of us enjoys. We go to a football game for Ben, video game night for Francis, role-play fantasy for Lucas (sometimes we sit and watch, then participate), and board games for Beth. For me, I like to watch movies of any type, and I let them choose.

The seating area around the football field starts to get busy, and we find our seats, which have a great view from all directions. Looking down at the field, I see Gemma warming up with her cheerleader squad. They tease the boys by stretching every limb of their bodies for them to get a good look at their backsides.

Since it's a chilly night, my khaki jacket keeps me warm, and my hair covers my ears with my hat. My hands are tucked into my warm lining pockets, and my back arched against the cold plastic chair.

This will be the first time I've seen Kyle since last night, and his remarks about disliking football have baffled me. He has more potential than anyone I've seen in the pro leagues. Then, I remember his warmth when I cried about missing my dad.

'I heard she's asked about four different Beth's in the school, about this women you....' Beth speaks, and I glare at her, telling her not to refer to me as a woman when there are people around us. '...I mean the woman that Kyle supposedly cheated with.'

'What did they say?'

'All of them said they didn't bring a cousin to the party, but Beth Rodgers said that her friend Hollie saw him with the mysterious woman, and they were "getting cosy".' She sips her drink through a straw, and her hypnotic eyes fixed on me as though I hadn't spilt the beans.

'I can assure you, nothing of that sort happened.' I whispered.

'You really going to keep this quiet, aren't you?'

'As long as it takes....' I say, '....Once this year is over, and we're off to college.'

'So you're just going to mope for the rest of your life about him?'

'Like you said, we're not in the same crowd. So why change it?'

'Ok, but have you thought about my suggestion?' I looked at her, unsure what she meant, 'Going on a date with Lucas.'

I roll my eyes, 'I told you, I'm not into him like that. It's not fair.'

'But yet, you seem to be fine randevúing with someone else's.'

'Shhh! Beth.'

'What? I didn't give anything away.'

I sigh and fiddle with my fingernails.

'Look,' Beth continues, 'all I'm saying is, maybe being with someone different might take your mind off it. Who knows, it might turn out to be something good.'

She'll never understand that night with Kyle will always be one of my favourites and something I'll want to remember. And if I want to mope about for three months, six months or a year, then so be it. Staying in this town is holding me back because everything around here reminds me of him. Once I leave, it should be easy to move on. So I hope.

The commentator speaks, echoing the stadium, and the cheerleaders take their positions.

Good for me, as I don't want to talk about this anymore.

All the boys drool as the pretty little girls dance their socks off in school colour pom-poms, mini skirts, and crop tops.

My mom thought I'd make a good cheerleader, which was the funniest joke I'd ever heard. To my surprise, she was a cheerleader in school and thought it would run in the genes, but no. I obviously did not inherit her athletic ability. Taking two flights of stairs tires me out. I think I've pulled a hamstring just taking this seat tonight.

The crowd wait for the opponents' team to make their entrance, as everyone boos and hisses as they enter our land without our permission. Afterwards, the announcer changes the crowd spirit and is fired up with the mascot on the sidelines, enticing them.

"Who are we?" The announcer speaks.

"We're the Kings". The crowd responds, and I hear the boys shouting.

"What will we do?"

"The knights will slay the dragons". The crowd responds again, and this time Beth joins in.

"And who's land are they on?"

Beth gives me two nudges, forcing me to join, and I give in - Why not?

"This is our land!". We scream.

The roaring noise gets louder when the players run on, holding their helmets and waving to us. Kyle is the fifth player, wearing his white jersey with the number nine in blue lettering on the back, which is my lucky number. His hair is perfectly shaped, and the bulky shoulder pads and blue shorts suit him well.

Last night comes back to me and his warmth and honesty when he opened up his wounds. My heart pinches what he said in our science class together,

"I felt like myself".

For the last few days, I've seen Kyle, the boy I used to know, has been resurfacing and reaching out to me. I watch every move he makes on the field, and my lips crave for him again.

He ruffles his hair with his fingertips and joins one of the lads in a quick throw. With his mighty strength and the concentration in his dazzling eyes, he launches the round shape to his partner.

Why isn't my heart and mind like a switch that I can flick off? Turn off every feeling of affection when I see or think about him.

Suddenly, my eyes fly over to Gemma, like she is gossiping about something. I wonder if she saw it? I hope not because I've been doing a good job of avoiding being the punchbag.

They huddle in a circle, discussing their tactics for tonight's game. They then make a hound noise and proceed to their starting positions. Kyle runs to the side I'm sitting on and views the area. I think he's making eye contact with me, and he waves. I cast a sidelong look to see if it was for anyone else. He smiles as I return his wave. He never says hello to me at his games, and my love for him grew three times more.

No, I told myself that I wouldn't fall for him anymore.

The helmet covers his face and turns to the pitch.

'What was that about?' Beth asks and wiggles her eyebrows.

'You tell me.' I acted confused.

'Then why is your face red?'

I touch my cheeks and feel the heat from them, 'I'm not.' and pull the collar up on my jacket to hide away the shame. Beth giggles and she is teasing me. 'We're lab partners at the moment, so he's acting friendly.'

'Sure.' She says sarcastically. 'Did anything happen?'

'No!' I snapped and get defensive.

The whistle goes, and the game starts.