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Hey @amsterdam_.1996, thank you for the very cool poster! I'm liking the forbidden games

Chapter 31: Smile and Scowl

After Luke and Kaden left the theater room, the mathletes swarmed me. They had a million questions as to why Luke Dawson was dragging a junior mathlete out of practice.

I gave the five second summary, "Kaden bought a basketball player jersey and it's the same jersey that was used to intimidate me. I don't know or what he wants but-"

"He bought that jersey for his girlfriend," Toby said, confused, "His new girlfriend I mean. Not you."

Oh. My. God.

With that explanation, I ran out of the auditorium, shielding myself from the million more questions the mathletes fired out.

It's. Not. Kaden.

I ran down the empty hallway. The sun was streaming in through the windows and bounced off the metal lockers. 

I skidded on the linoleum floor as I tried to make a sharp turn for the exit. I ran as fast as I could towards the front entrance and got there just in time to see it happen.

"Please don't! Stop!" I yelled.

I was a second too late. 

Luke punched him. And it created a movie sound effect. His arm moved fast and an oof came out of my mouth as I witnessed the impact.

Kaden keeled over, clutching onto his stomach, crying out loud. He stumbled on his tip toes, before falling over.

I ran onto the grass where they were and crouched down next to Kaden, who was rolling around in the fetal position. 

Austin and Chad stepped back to give us space. 

I tried to help Kaden, but he swiped my hands away. His face was a pinkish blue and he was groaning.

"Why did you do that?! I told you not to hit him!" I yelled at Luke.

Luke looked down at Kaden without any pity.

Austin tried to make me feel better, "At least he didn't hit the face..."

"Unfortunately," Chad commented. "So is that it, then? I came all this way to watch you end Kaden and this is it?"

Kaden cried out for help. My eyes were locked firmly on Luke. Violence is not the answer, and I was not OK with how Luke just attacked a fellow student.

"I won't hit him while he's down," Luke said, glancing at his knuckles to see if they were red at all. "But if he gets up..."

"Then you still won't touch him," I told the boys.

Do they not see what's wrong with this situation?  I dislike Kaden more than any of them but this is not the solution.

I was crouching beside him as he rocked back and forth. I pressed my hands against the damp grass beside me to try to calm my nerves.

"He didn't deserve it!" I said even louder, "Even if he was the blackmailer, which he isn't by the way, beating him up isn't the answer!"

"What do you mean, he isn't the blackmailer?" Luke asked. 

I explained, "He bought the jersey for his girlfriend." 

"Which one?"

Good question, Luke. I wish I had asked that. 

While Kaden and I were still together, he was also seeing Kelly and Julia - and he continued to see them after we broke up. He was the kind of person who simply did not understand the word 'faithful.'

I looked down at Kaden and nudged him, "Which one, Kaden?"

"Ju- hu- lia."

Julia. My former best friend.

"Go figure," Austin looked disappointed, "This isn't much of a mystery."

After my very public fall out with Julia at the Laughing Heads bar, and the subsequent bar fight, everyone and their mother knew that story.

That's exactly why I doubted it. Julia had done me dirty in such a public way... would she cross the line into criminal?

I didn't trust Kaden, that's for damn sure. So why should I trust what he says? 

Out of his two girlfriends (there could be more), I was more suspicious of Kelly. At Chad's circus party, I had spoken to Kelly just before my necklace went missing.

"Not Julia. The jersey was stolen from her," Kaden wheezed, still in pain, "I gave it to Julia, but she lost it. Please let me go."

"He might be covering for her," I said.

Kaden squeezed his eyes shut before he opened them to glare at me. I think this was the moment he realized I was really over him.

I'm not covering for Kaden, now or ever. And I won't believe a word that comes out of his dirty mouth. 

I may not have wanted Luke to beat him up, but that's because I don't want Luke to get in trouble. I cared about Luke, not Kaden.

"Are we not going to ask why these dweebs are buying basketball jerseys?" Chad asked, "Where are you planning to wear that?"

Chad nudged Kaden with the tip of his white shoe.

Kaden groaned, "Julia wanted to host a basketball themed party after one of your games. We didn't think anyone would sell their jerseys, but Toby asked one of the players and they agreed."

I glanced at Luke.

"They're not going to know what hit them," Luke mumbled, not believing how stupid his team had been. 

It sounded like he was going to turn next practice's 'warm-up' into a 'wipe-out'.

And Austin playfully commented, "Will Millie let you?"

I smiled. My no violence speech had at least been heard by one of the boys. 

**

The mathletes had slowly appeared at the entrance of the school to stare at Kaden rolling around at Luke's feet.

I know Luke had wanted to cause more pain, but he had humiliated Kaden enough. One punch and the guy had completely crumbled.

"Don't touch him again," I muttered to Luke, grabbing onto his arm.

It was more of a symbolic gesture, since I couldn't physically stop him. Luke stood over Kaden and his shadow cast darkness over the boy. 

"You heard her," Luke growled, unforgiving. "Go."

Kaden scrambled to his feet and hobbled, still bending over his hurting stomach. He reached the mathletes and fell into them. 

They were all staring at Luke as if he was the hulk. Kaden had been partially idolized amongst our little crew. That's how he was able to turn them all against me after we broke up. He took all my friends away from me, except for Jul-

Yeah, all my friends.

Now, he had been reduced to a dribbling mess in front of them.

Luke walked towards me and draped his arm over my shoulder. He gently squeezed me with his thumb and index finger, and, with his other hand, he waved at the onlooking mathletes.

"Are you enjoying this?" I asked, as we watched the mathletes retreat back into school.

Luke turned towards me and that cold aggression he had used on Kaden was now gone.  He was like a different person; warm and charismatic.  Even his eyes looked lighter as he stared down at me with his playful smile.

"I am, Millie," he answered honestly. "That one's been on my bucket list."

**

It took ten more minutes before the boys finally convinced me to return to my car. There was still a giant question mark over who the blackmailer was, but signs were pointing to Julia.

"She could've lied to him about losing the jersey," Luke said, "She knows that the first thing we'd do is come after the thief."

"You think Julia faked a party to convince him to buy a jersey from the team?" Austin asked Luke.

If Julia and I had been friends, if that party existed... I would've come wearing one of Luke's jerseys. I don't know why I thought that. Maybe because I'm proud of my boyfriend.

"Sounds like the worst idea for a party. Who would've gone to that?" Chad sighed.

Unlike Chad, we don't all have petting zoos in our back garden and party planners on speed dial.

"It sounds like a lot of effort," I said, still not convinced about the Julia story, "It would've been easier for her to sneak into the boy's locker room and take a dirty jersey instead. Or to not use a jersey at all. I would've been freaked out enough with dead cat's blood on my door."

"You think it was opportunistic?" Luke asked me, curious why I wasn't buying the Julia story. It felt like such a natural end to him.

"Speaking of all this dead cat saga," Austin changed subject, "How did your date with that girl go? The one you brought to Roger's funeral?"

"Oh yeah. Not good," Chad replied, "She's allergic to shellfish and I'm not ready for that kind of sacrifice."

I stared at them, surprised by how quickly they dipped in and out of subjects. 

Luke noticed my reaction and got us going, "Millie and I are heading out now, but let's catch up tomorrow."

**

We took my car home and mutually decided that I would drive. Luke knew he was in the doghouse and the way he looked at me, made it so hard to stay angry at him.

His blue puppy dog eyes made me melt like warm butter. Ugh, I was hungry.

"You can get expelled for this," I told him, as I turned onto the main road.

Luke could easily get suspended or expelled for punching Kaden like that.

"That's why I took him off school property," he answered.

OK. I hadn't thought of that.

"Don't you feel bad about punching a guy who didn't deserve it?" I asked.

"He did deserve it," Luke disagreed. "He deserved it long before we found the jersey on your door."

I often forget how Luke carries my burdens with him. I had told him about my heartbreak back when we were co-counselors at summer camp. He remembered almost everything I've ever told him.

"Besides, now I know what your ex looks like," Luke smirked, "And I'm not worried."

He leaned back in his seat and I couldn't help but smile. Luke knew just what to say to get me going.  

And I knew that he never doubted himself. Luke was a confident guy with more girls chasing him than a swarm of fruit flies after an overripe grape. That's a weird example.

We drove in silence until we reached a red traffic light. I slowed the car down and waited.

Luke was not going to let me finish this car ride in anger. He looked over at me and smiled at my scowl. I noticed his smile and that made me scowl even more, which made his smile widen.

"Stop it!"

"Why? What's making you so grumpy?" he laughed.

"You punched a guy!" I exclaimed, turning to face him. "You can't go around hitting people! We live in a civilized world and you're wrong for resorting to violence like that!"

"I barely touched him."

"You almost knocked him out!"

"But that isn't my fault," Luke said, putting the blame entirely on Kaden's lack of 'stamina'.

"Millie," Luke tried to appease me, "I don't know a single guy who wouldn't do what I just did. He messed around with you and all these other girls. He can't go around doing that... And I also thought he murdered a cat."

The traffic light had turned green and I concentrated on the road. Luke waited for me to continue.

"I think you're a smart and athletic guy," I started off, "So I don't think you need to lower yourself to becoming brutish. This whole macho, over-protective, over-defensive vibe isn't what I thought we were about."

He laughed. He laughed. 

"You are the most protective girlfriend I've ever had. Think of Bianca and Jamie-" He noticed my expression and decided that this was not an argument he wanted to take on right now. "Let me give you a more positive example. You rode a motorbike into a street fight to protect me."

I glanced over at his handsome face and didn't have much to respond with. I swear at the beginning of this argument I had a point. But he had a way with words and he was trying very hard to appease me.

My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten anything in a long time.

"Want to stop off for food first?" I asked.

He suggested a restaurant nearby and we made a detour there. 

As I pulled up outside the restaurant, Luke leaned over the car seat, surprising me. He grabbed my jaw with his thumb and index finger and tilted my head towards him. 

He kissed me, parting my lips so we could deepen the kiss. Our eyes were closed and I brought my hand up to his strong jawline, tracing it all the way to his chin. 

"I'm hungry," he whispered, as his fingers traced from my collarbone further down my shirt.

"Let's eat quickly then," I broke apart and unbuckled my car seat.

"That's not what I meant."

**

Luke and I walked into the restaurant and as we waited for our table, his hand gently took hold of mine. 

The soft expressions of his voice soothed me. The waitress led us to our table and I noticed him seem serious for a moment, as if he was thinking about today.

He sat opposite me and I glanced at his tousled hair, thick to my touch. He raised a hand to the cape of his neck and he looked at me, a secret about to spill. 

I can tell when he wanted to tell me something. There was a pregnant pause between us, as his eyes darkened, and his lips parted.  

But then it evaporated.  And I knew there was something I had missed.

"Menus?" the waitress offered us two.

Luke thanked her and flipped it open to the Mains page. 

"You texted me about a cat?" he asked.

"Oh! Yeah," I said, "I met the owner today. It turns out Roger is actually Winnifred." 

"Roger's a female?" Luke said, "How did we miss that?"

It really has been a long day.

And it wasn't even over yet. I had no idea that in a few hours, we would be checking in at a hospital.

A/N: Oohoo I couldn't resist putting that last sentence in there. If you thought the drama was over, it is just getting starrrted!

Please vote if you liked the chapter and follow me on Instagram @NatalieInACorner for genuine character responses, chapter updates, life updates or just to say hi. 

Next chapter's going to be a long one!  I'll post on Tuesday.  I'm going into that 2 chapters a week grind. You've convinced me

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