Antagonym

Chapter 27

The sky was the same muddy grey as the day old snow on the ground, only prevalent in small piles on the edges of sidewalks. The cold air nipped at my skin but I barely felt it, I was too lost in the moment to feel it. Even the wind was avoiding my body, the rest of the crowd and the four six foot men around me taking the brunt of the forces at one time or another. It was loud but not loud enough that I couldn't hear the person next to me. The early morning sun wasn't visible but you could see the bright light shining behind the grey clouds, illuminating the city like a covered lamp.

There was a bright smile on my face as I snapped a picture of Axel's sweatshirt and posted it to my Instagram. If there was one thing about having a famous brother and sister in law, it was that it made you popular by default. Sylvia's various campaigns, success as a coach, sex appeal, and both her and her husbands Olympic greatness made it so they had millions of followers. As a result, I got some of that buzz but I wasn't complaining.

My attention turned to Sylvia as she handed me a black coffee, wearing the navy woman's march shirt with three women's profiles on the front. The sign in her hand was definitely my favorite though. It was so quintessentially her and it was perfect. 'If I wanted the government in my womb I'd fuck a senator'. If that wasn't a role model, then I don't know what was.

My own shirt was a black sweatshirt like Axel's with 'my body my choice' printed in white blocking on the front. I had to admit that I was looking very goth in my leather jacket and black ripped jeans. Lord know Beck and I had a thing for black ripped jeans, because we had both ended up wearing them with our black vans. I swear we were the same person. It was almost annoying how often we saw each other on campus and just thought 'god damn I should have worn something else'. Granted, half of our apparel was the same Quinnipiac hockey shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, etc.

I was about to take a sip of the scalding liquid when Seb plucked it from my hands, probably burning his own throat as he gulped it down. "Dick," I muttered, glaring at my best friend as he handed it back, the warmth radiating through my fingers. Beck and Seb were wearing pink bandanas around their necks, with Finn and Axel wearing them in their hair and Sylvia and I on our thighs.

"You love me," Sebastian retorted, crossing his arms.

"At this point Danny's version of 'I love you' is cursing you out," Finn quipped, taking a sip of his green tea. I don't know how I was related to someone that couldn't do coffee. That fact never ceased to amaze me.

"Does that mean I should text mom that I love her?" I asked teasingly to which Beck elbowed my ribs with a glare, not finding my joke that funny considering how horrible our relationship actually was.

Regardless, Finn snorted but Sylvia elbowed her husband aggressively too. "You two are fucking incorrigible," she muttered to herself. Her warm brown eyes shifted to Beck. "It's not to late to haul ass out of here. Seb and Axel had the same option, now they're stuck with the shit show that is the Riley siblings."

Beck let out a throaty laugh while Finn rolled his eyes. "I think I'll stick around. Worse comes to worst I get to watch the shit show." Pft. As if my life wasn't already a shit show. That's fucking adorable, Beckett.

"You're definitely in for a ride then," Sylvia huffed sarcastically. Finn and Axel has already lost interest, instead wandering to look at a sculpture a few feet away from our little group. "Children. I swear I have three of them," Sylvia muttered to herself before going to follow her husband. I couldn't help but smile. Sylvia could act like the adult all she wanted, but we all knew Finn was the responsible one in their relationship. They really were a match made in heaven.

I took a sip of my coffee, the hot liquid warming my insides on this freezing winter morning. I had already been up for hours, but the coffee still made me feel better. As soon as it left my lips the brown cup with the white plastic lid was taken from my small hands again, instead Beck was the one who took it this time. "You both owe me a coffee sometime in the near future," I announced, crossing my arms and watching Beck's strong neck as the drank my coffee before handing it back to me with a taunting smirk.

"Or you could let me take you to dinner, sweet talk you a little bit, maybe end up in my bed by the end of the night," Beck's voice dropped a little, taking a step closer to me so I had to look up at him to see his face. Sebastian slipped away to follow the others when he saw what was happening, deciding to stay out of the twisted love triangle between Beck, hockey, and myself. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I found myself staring at Beck's sapphire ones instead. "I'm quite a fan of those noises you make, especially when I'm causing them."

"Hitting on me at a women's march is a very bold move, Sampson."

"Well like the shirt says," Beck said, gesturing at his grey T-shirt with black lettering. "'A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle'. You don't need it for anything, but you might have a little more fun if you use it once and a while. If anything, I'm trying to pick up a strong, independent woman."

"You're a smooth talker, Sampson. But we both know it can't happen so you might as well stop trying."

"Can't happen?" He raised an eyebrow. I could guarantee that if we weren't in public this would be where Beck grabbed my hips and held me against his body. He might even have tried to kiss me, but right now he just stood there, looking down at me with a smirk on his face and his hands casually in his pockets. "Because a lot of things can happen behind closed doors without people knowing about them."

"And I know a lot of things that can happen behind closed doors and still see the light of day."

Beck's lips were tight as he responded monotonically but not unkindly. "If that is what you want, then so be it. Just remember that you were the one who kissed me the first time at that concert."

I couldn't even respond before he turned and walked away, off to find his new best friend, aka my brother.

This is what rejection felt like but I had no one to blame but myself.