Second Chance At Love

Different Person.

Brynn

I pull out my phone once I make it in line and text Cgc that I'm here already. We planned to meet at 6:15, fifteen minutes after his practice was over, but he's still not here. I don't think much about it since I did get here a couple of minutes earlier. I tap my foot against the ground as I text back in the family group chat. My brother is talking about coming down for Thanksgiving break even if it's only a few days off and he attends college all the way in Boston.

Mom: Ripley, you're crazy.

Rip: mother, do you not want me to come home?

Dad: Nope.

I laugh at this, my dad obviously joking.

Mom: I do, but don't waste your money on flights this soon, honey. You'll be home a couple of weeks after for winter break.

"Oh, yeah. Cgc Scott didn't bomb it, thankfully," one of the guys in front of me says, catching my attention. I pretend I'm still engulfed in my phone as messages continue to come through. "Dude, he's been doing good this season. Even last season," another guy with curly red hair says. "I know, I just take any opportunity to shit on him, you know me," the first guy replies. I make a face at that but they don't notice since their backs are to me. "It's always the pretty boys with the nastiest attitudes," the blonde girl with them says, sighing.

"He's a piece of shit, yeah. But it's alright guys, he's winning us a fucking championship this year," the ginger says. The first guy snorts, "If he doesn't choke like last year." The other two groan at that. "Maybe we should accept another championship loss just to see the guy miserable again," the blonde laughs. I roll my eyes. Why are they being dicks? I'm one hundred percent sure that none of these three idiots has ever spoken one word to Cgc in their life.

I do remember what Valdez and even one of my teammates said about Cgc and how he's not a good guy. Valdez thinks he's a good guy, he just made me aware that others don't share the same opinion as him. I didn't believe their - Valdez or my teammates - stories. And I don't believe these people in front of me now. They're being nasty and I wish I was confident enough to interject and tell them to fuck off.

"Nooo. Fuck that. The guys a douchebag but I don't hate him that much that I'd risk us winning the National Championship game," the redhead says. You losers aren't winning anything, the football team is. My jaw tightens as they all laugh again. Fuck this. Right as I turn to leave, my body collides with another. I stumble back a bit, bumping into one of the guys from the group. Cgc catches my arm before I'm able to go back enough to fall on my ass. "Whoa, there," he says. I turn around and the group of three look at me, their eyes widened. "Sorry, man. My friends a little clumsy," Cgc smiles, patting my head.

The three of them say nothing, instead, look at me with their eyes still widened. They know I was behind them this whole time that they talked about Cgc. He came at the worst and best time. He doesn't pay attention to them any further after that, looking back at me. "Where were you going?" he asks. "Uh, nowhere," I reply, trying my best to shake off the anger coursing through me. "You were about to lose your space in line," he whispers, slithering himself in next to me.

I hadn't even realized the long line behind me. There are three more people to order ahead of us too. I glance down at my phone which I didn't drop surprisingly. My brother Ripley decided to still come to Oak Hill for Thanksgiving despite my mom telling him not to. That makes me feel a little bit better as I slip my phone away into my back pocket. "You alright? You're a little tense," Cgc's light blue eyes fill with something close to worry. I nod quickly and offer a smile too. "Sorry, family group chat was having me feel a little dizzy from all the texts coming through," I chuckle.