Pride

Chapter 4- Chase

"Did you have anything to do with this?" I hiss to Levi after the coaches dismiss us. He smirks a little.

"I didn't come up with the idea, but I intend to fully utilize this. And I think it could be pretty good for getting you and Jordan to actually be in the same room without almost starting World War III, because you'll be like, together, but not necessarily talking. Tolerating each others' presence. Working together for once in your lives. Teamwork makes the dream work, and all that."

"And in this case, the dream is torturing me?"

"No, the dream is keeping you and Jordan on the teams so we can win games and keep up morale. And we're all going to have to start thinking about university soon- I'm sure neither of you want to put anything in that realm of possibility at risk."

"I mean, you're not wrong for that part. But how is putting Werewolf and I in the same room for more time than necessary going to achieve that?"

"If it keeps you from getting kicked off the team-"

"But it might not. We'll probably start fighting the second we have to work on something together."

"That's why Nathan and I are going to be there. To prevent you from killing each other."

I huff a little. "This punishment is the worst. I can't believe I'm going to have to spend time with him outside of school. That's going to interfere with everything! I already have basketball practice- when am I going to see Ashley? How about my family, what will they think? This whole thing is absolutely ridiculous. Are they even allowed to do this? They're forcing us to give up our entire lives!"

"Technically, you're doing it voluntarily. To stay on the team."

I scowl at him. "Shut up."

He smirks. "Look on the bright side. At least you don't have morning detention too, like Jordan does."

That's a small consolation. Jordan still has it worse than I do, at least for next week. It's not much of an improvement for my own situation, but at least it's something. "I still hate this whole idea."

"Alright, well, there's nothing much you can do, unless you're going to drop basketball. So just enjoy the weekend- possibly your last free weekend until school ends."

I glower. "Is there a party tonight? I need to go to a party tonight."

Levi grins. "Don't worry. I've got you covered."

Hours later, we pull up to someone's house. I don't really care whose, just so long as they're not a werefan and they have a lot of alcohol. Levi, despite being a horrible person lately, is my DD, which is nice because I really wasn't planning on going home sober. It's also reassuring to know he'll be able to prevent me from doing anything stupid- for example, Ashley is out with a couple of friends tonight, and he promised her that he'd make sure I didn't randomly start making out with any other girls (truth or dare, spin the bottle, and seven minutes in heaven are all in the realm of acceptable. Ashley is a really chill girlfriend. Sometimes I'm not sure if she actually wants to be exclusive at all, but I don't feel the need to bring it up).

"Ready?"

I nod without looking at Levi and get out of the car. I recognize the music- this person is definitely on team-basketball. Good.

We go inside and are greeted as heroes, essentially. The song changes to 'We Are The Champions', which automatically puts a smirk on my face, and someone shoves a drink into my hand. I down nearly the entire thing in one go, which earns a round of cheers from the surrounding crowd.

Levi and I eventually get into the kitchen, where some guy who does not look sober starts checking Levi out, which he just rolls his eyes at. I refill my drink, glancing from Levi to the guy, and Levi just raises an eyebrow at me, as though saying 'Really?'. I take that to mean he's not interested and don't feel guilty for dragging him away.

We wander through the house (I've nearly downed my drink again by now, and it's starting to take effect- finally). Eventually, a girl comes and grabs my wrist. She leans in to yell in my ear over the pounding music, and I can smell the alcohol in her breath.

"We're going to play seven minutes in heaven! Wanna join?"

I glance at Levi, who has assumed that we're being invited to some game and nods, so I allow her to drag me by my wrist to a room. A bedroom, unsurprisingly. Because closets.

There's a small group sitting in a circle, with a bottle in the middle. Someone states the rules and explains that two people will be chosen spin-the-bottle style, and those two people have to go into the closet for seven minutes, during which everyone else will probably theorize about what's going on. Then they're let out, and the cycle starts again.

Levi and I take our seats in the circle, and I scan the faces of everyone sitting. One or two girls I might not mind... I spot a cute guy and nudge Levi, smirking. He follows my gaze and rolls his eyes at me, but the corner of his mouth has quirked up a bit, which means he probably wouldn't be opposed to being chosen with that guy.

The same person who read the rules spins the bottle (to decide who'll go first) and, coincidentally, it lands on the cute guy who I just pointed out to Levi. I glance at him, grinning, and he rolls his eyes at me again.

Cute Guy spins the bottle, and it starts slowing just as it comes to Levi- but we're playing on carpet, and it ends up stopping on me instead. Levi smirks widely, and I make a face at him as I stand up and go to the walk-in closet with Cute Guy. He's eyeing me like he's not quite sure what to think as he closes the door behind us, flicking the light on.

"You're straight," he comments pretty much as soon as the door is closed. "You have a girlfriend. You could have refused."

I shrug. "That'd defeat the point of the game. And my girlfriend doesn't care who I kiss during games like this."

His eyebrow quirks up a little, before his face settles into a mild smirk. I feel a little twinge in my gut as I hold his gaze. He is cute- I've gotten used to noticing cute guys so I can point them out to Levi. His hair is kind of messy, and his eyes are big and mischievous.

"So you play games like this a lot?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure I'd say a lot. I usually do when I go to parties." Which probably won't be happening too often anymore, because I'm going to be spending all my free time with Werewolf from now on. I force the thought back and focus on Cute Guy again.

He's smirking a little more now, and I get that twinge in my stomach again. He seems a little closer now, or maybe I'm just drunk and imagining it.

"Have you ever kissed a boy before?"

I get a bit of a funny feeling in my stomach at his tone. I try to shrug. "Maybe. I don't keep track."

"Would you be opposed to it?"

I focus on his lips, which suddenly look extremely tempting. "If I was, I wouldn't be playing this game."

He's got my back against the wall now. He's tall- about my height, which is impressive for someone who isn't on the basketball team (or football, as far as I know). He's still smirking as he moves even closer, a moment before pressing his lips to mine. My pulse spikes a little bit as he pushes our mouths together, and I push back. He lets me shove my tongue into his mouth, and I'm satisfied with my dominance, before I realize that he's holding my hands by my wrists above my head.

I tug against his grasp a little bit, testing, but his grip is firm. His other hand trails down my back, and the fact that he's holding my hands above my head makes it feel more exciting. I explore his mouth with my tongue while his hand roams my body. I let him for a few moments more, feeling like I'm being set on fire, before yanking my arms out of his grasp and grabbing him by the waist, reversing our positions so I can hold him against the wall instead. He groans a little, and the sound-

The door opens, and everyone in the circle looks shocked as I sit back down. Levi raises his eyebrows at me. I shrug, but I can't shake that feeling, like I'm on fire- and I want to kiss him again.

What do you think? Is Chase really as straight as he previously thought? What about Ashley? What do you think this will mean for their relationship? How do you expect Levi to react?

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