Chương 40: Enraged Sport

Inside the locker room, the Coach sounds his whistle while his players get dressed for practice.

"All right, listen up." Larch pivots away from his locker. His eyes land on Churro and Crimson over on the other side. Gazing into the distance, Crimson seems oddly far away.

"Thanks to the latest pink eye outbreak, thank you Greenberg, these players have earned a spot on First Line, though on a probationary basis. And I mean probationary." Churro moves up front, waiting impatiently to hear his own name.

"Rodriguez, Taylor and..." He climbs onto the bench; his hands balled into fists.

"Oh, for the love of crap. I can't even read my own handwriting. What is that? An S?" Churro gives a firm nod.

"No. No, I think it's a B. Yeah, that's definitely a B." He sinks back down.

"So that's Rodriguez, Taylor and Bilinski." Churro springs right back up, shouting in celebration.

"Bilinski, quiet down. And one more thing. Starting now, we're making the move to Co-Captains. Nice going, Croft." The room falls into total silence. Every gaze lands on Crimson.

"Larch, none of this takes anything from you. This is about merging distinct strengths into a single unit. Your unit together with Croft's unit. Forming one large unit. Croft, from now on it's you and Larch. Teammates clap Crimson on the back, offering their congratulations. He glances at Churro, his friend beaming back at him.

"All right, get your asses on the field!" While the team pours out, Churro throws an arm around Crimson, who seems strangely thrown by the announcement.

"Can you believe this? You're a Captain. I'm First Line. I'm First freaking Line!" On their way out, neither of them spots the handful of less-than-thrilled teammates crowding around Larch, among them a certain brown-noser by the name of brain.

"Don't believe for a second that we're just going to drop this. He won't be doing much Co-Captaining from a hospital bed." Danny jumped in, "Right, since apparently nobody outscores him." Fed up, he strides past them while the rest of the lax Players look toward Larch.

"Relax, man. We've got this handled." Crimson and Churro make their way out to the lacrosse field for practice.

"What's the use? It's only a dumb title. And back there, the jealousy was so thick I could almost smell it. Feels like the full moon cranked everything up to ten." Crimson tosses his lacrosse stick to Churro, scans the area, and catches sight of Scara sitting nearby in the bleachers. He takes off.

"I love you, you're my best friend in the entire world." Churro remarked, taking in the scene. Crimson fires an ice-cold glare his way. Then he heads for the bleachers, where Scara is chatting with a few girlfriends. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story." Scara? Got a second to talk?" She looks down at him, smiling.

"Naturally. Is this about that other night? You're looking for someone to confide in?" She descends, trailing after him, leaving the crowd behind. He guides her beneath the bleachers, where the shadows gather.

"There's just one thing I have to ask you. She draws nearer, waiting while Crimson wrestles with his words. *"Does Willow still have feelings for me?" The step she took forward turns into a step back. She inhales audibly; a breath steeped in disappointment.

"Naturally, she still has feelings for you. As a friend. Only a friend." Scara gives a nod. Crimson lays a trembling hand against the underside of the bleachers. As though he might need something to keep himself upright.

"If you want my opinion, and naturally, nobody ever does, she made a huge mistake. I mean the kind of regret you carry for life. Ask me how I'd know. Because I'm aware you shut us in that place to keep us safe. Because I understand that when someone puts his life on the line for you, gratitude is what you owe him." Crimson raises his gaze to meet hers, and something new and unmistakably menacing lurks in his eyes. With his lower teeth peeking out between his lips, the look is almost beastlike.

"So, are you grateful?" His hand slips away from the bench as he edges nearer.

"I suspect you'd be quite shocked by just how grateful I really am. Truth be told, Crimson..." Up comes her hand, grazing his shirt, her fingers brushing softly over his chest.

"My gratitude runs so deep, I'm not even sure how to put all of it into words." Her face draws close to his, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"But I could give it a try..." She presses her lips to his. His mouth parts against hers while her fingers rake down his chest. He clutches at her in return, drawing her against him, hands grasping greedily. There is nothing tender in it. As though he could shift from kissing her to ripping her throat out without so much as a blink. Out on the field, Churro gnaws anxiously at the laces of his lacrosse stick. He spins around the moment Crimson strolls back to rejoin the practice.

"Hey. What just occurred?" Crimson pivots back around, Churro 's plea apparently wiped from his mind. Did you bring it up with her? Did anything come out of her mouth? Did she mention having feelings for me? Are you hinting that she's into me?" It was his buddy who posed the question.

"Yep. Yep, she's got feelings for you. Truth is, she's completely head over heels for you." While Crimson turns aside, a thrilled Churro fails entirely to catch the slowly darkening look spreading across his closest friend's face. The Coach's whistle cuts through the air, launching the first offensive player into a drill. Crimson and Churro stand in line, awaiting their turn.

"You are doing alright, man?" Crimson stays silent, his gloves writhing around the stick.

"I get that we just got good news and everything, but there's still seven hours until the full moon..." The whistle sounds for the following play. Crimson's turn. The Coach hurls the ball, and Crimson lunges for it. Darting quickly, twirling his stick to trap the ball close, two players slam into Crimson, crashing against him with needless savagery. He crashes to the earth, his stick skittering off to one side.

"Seems like not everyone's a fan of your new position, Croft." From behind the row of other players, Churro watches as Crimson springs instantly back onto his feet with an acrobatic kip up.

"Next!" Yet before anyone else can move up, Crimson slashes his lacrosse stick across the space ahead of him. With his teeth bared beneath the helmet, he strides back to the front of the line.

"That's the attitude. Go earn it, Croft! Go earn it!" He sends the ball ricocheting off the ground. Crimson seizes it and charges straight at the two long stick defenders. He barrels through them like a battering ram. Guarding the goal, Danny advances to halt the attack, but Crimson spins and drives his elbow into Danny's helmet, flinging him tumbling through the air. Danny collapses with a choked cry of agony. He slams into the ground, his helmet cracking against the dirt.

Coach sounds the whistle as the other players surge forward. Larch pushes past everyone, panicked for his friend. Over at the bleachers, Scara rises to her feet.

"Was that Danny?" Climbing down, she rushes onto the field, where Churro is dragging Crimson away from the swelling crowd.

"What in the world is the matter with you? You just knocked Danny to the ground. Everybody's fond of Danny. So that means everyone will end up despising you."

"I couldn't care less." They glance back and see Danny gradually pushing himself up while an EMT hurries over. The shattered front plate of his helmet is pulled off, exposing blood streaming from his nose. Crimson jerks his head back the moment the scent of blood hits him. The edges of his mouth curve into a grin that is more than a little wicked. All at once, he caught Churro's expression.

"What?" He pushes his way through, making for the school. Churro shifts his gaze back to the cluster of people gathered around Danny. Scara moves over to stand beside Larch.

"Is he all right?"

"Looks like he's just got a bloody..." His voice fades as he stares at her.

"What?" She inquired"Your lipstick." Pulling out a small compact, she peers into the mirror and notices her lipstick is a touch smudged.

"Oh. Wonder how that came about." Larch looks on as she wipes away the smudge with her thumb.

"Yeah. I wonder..." He's unaware that another person has caught the exchange... Churro. His gaze fixed on Scara.