needy ; jack gilinsky

14

jack gilinsky

"thank you." vanessa blake flashes me a flirty smile as she takes my spare jersey from my hands, heading out towards the exit. i watch her until she leaves, in which i hadn't noticed meredith's presence.

"really? the sophomore?" she asks, approaching me in her cheer gear.

i shrug, "she was the last one without a jersey."

"wrong," she says. "i'm the last one. have to ask sam now."

"i thought you were asking him in the first place."

"you're always my first choice, jack." she murmurs, hugging herself.

i break eye contact with her, taking a sly step back. "sorry, i guess. see you outside."

"can we grab dinner afterwards?"

"i have to go home." i inform, though now i'd felt relieved for the excuse.

"breakfast in the morning?"

"i'm spending the day with the guys." another excuse i was glad for.

she frowns, "i just want to work on the english project."

"we can work on it in class."

she eyes me, before letting out a small laugh. "i'll stop now, then. thank you for making me feel pathetic."

my eyebrows pull together, "that's not my intention. i'm...busy."

"are you mad at me, or something?"

are you dense, meredith? "look, i have a lot going on right now. school, parents, relationships— everything."

she sighs, "i know. and i want to be with you through it all. i just want you to know i'm here."

"i know." trust me.

"okay." she caves. "lunch on sunday then? to work on the project, seriously."

i'd grown angrier by the second, and i concealed as much as i could. however, my passive aggressiveness had shown inevitably, "maybe..i don't know."

"that's a yes in my book." she shrugs, a smile spreading on her lips. "good luck tonight, if you even get to play."

"thanks." i say, watching her turn to go in the pathway as vanessa.

after a while, the team had finally made our way out to the field. my first instinct was to look at the stands. amara had always stood in the same spot, whether it was for practice, games, or during the summer when we'd come here at night to mess around.

as anticipated, her presence was nowhere to be found. bri had stood beside johnson, and they'd looked incomplete without her. everything looked incomplete without her.

"everyone gather together!" i make my way to the team, where our coach stood in center. he'd gone over initial plays, placement, and then my name came from his mouth. "you'll be benched for now, gilinsky."

i felt sam's smirk beside me, a sudden rage of anger running through my veins. "why?"

"why?" he mocks with a laugh. "you haven't showed up, that's why. go sit."

nate gives me a pat as we pass by, and i find myself beside our usual freshman bench warmer. "tough week?" he asks. i hum in response, scooting slightly away from him.

when i'd gotten a chance, i called over my coach. "put me in at second quarter, at least. i studied the plays this week, plus i came for the warmups today."