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WARNING: CURSING, CRINGY TEEN LOVE
Author's Note: So this turned into way more than 100-500 words, but I feel like it was kind of necessary. I hope you like it regardless of its length.
This game meant everything to the girl's basketball team and the boy's basketball was not going to take that from them. Elizabeth was sure of that. She was not going to let Christian's smug face come to her after their defeat.
Elizabeth
The soles of shoes squeaked on the planked gym floor and the girls ran back and forth across the gym. This was the typical routine for the girl's volleyball team, where they would run across the gym, practicing assists, blocks, and attacks. But these few practices had been different for Elizabeth; she had been rivals with Christian since he pushed her down, on the playground in the 2nd grade. Knowing that she would be competing against him gave her a burning rage that encouraged her to work harder during these seemingly pointless exercises.
Within five minutes of the practice, sweat was dripping down Elizabeth's forehead. Her legs burned from the stretching of her muscles. It was exhilarating. She felt on fire; but, strangely enough, she felt like she could hold the world by herself, or her team, in this case.
In the one moment of silence, besides heavy breathing, the gym doors burst open and the boys' volleyball team found their way in. A flame of rage billowed up inside Elizabeth as she locked eyes with Christian. She scowled at him; but, he merely smiled at her. How could he? Didn't he know that the girls were practicing here and he couldn't just invade their space?
Elizabeth got up from her squatted position and walked over to Christian, a scowl still planted on her face. "What the heck are you doing here?", she confronted "What does it look like?", he smirked. Elizabeth's wrath deepened. "It looks like you are annoying me and interrupting our practice", she said. "Actually, you are interrupting our practice; we rented out the gym for today," he said, passing a ball to one of his teammates. Elizabeth stared at him blankly. The girls' volleyball team always used this space for their practices on Wednesdays; everybody knew that. So why would he ruin it and rent out the space? What a jerk! "You know we always practice here on Wednesdays, why would you rent it out?!", she yelled, "Because I am tired of practicing outside; now it's your turn" he declared, shooting her a dirty look. Elizabeth was dumbfounded. Would Christian really be cruel to take away their space because he didn't want to sweat?
This brought a smile to Elizabeth's face. If Christian and his team couldn't handle a little bit of sweat and sunlight, then they couldn't handle the girls' intensity of the court, simple as that. "Fine, if you're too much of a baby to handle the sun, then the girls and I would be more than happy to take the outside, since you're such a princess about it", she leered. Pushing Christian's buttons was one of Elizabeth's favorite activities and it was easy, considering his only moral was to be as manly as possible. Christian's mood changed in an instant. With that, Christian and his team were back outside, and the girls' had the comfort of the gym back to themselves. Elizabeth smiled to herself; she was already on her way to beating Christian.
School was Elizabeth's least favorite thing. Her English and Chemistry grades were just fine and she wasn't doing terribly in Math either. It was her History class that made her dread coming to school. Not only was her History teacher the worst teacher in the entire school, but it was also her first hour class. If you thought that was bad; just wait. What makes it even worse for Elizabeth was the fact that Christian was also in her class. Christian always did whatever he could to get her into trouble or get a rise out of her. It was infuriating and very difficult for her to ignore him. But, surprisingly, Christian hadn't done anything to her yet.
Christian had been sitting at his desk, slumped over, merely gazing at her. However, every time she would meet his glance; he would quickly look away, as if he didn't want her to know that he was looking for her. It puzzled Elizabeth; but she thought nothing of it, especially because Christian wasn't bothering her.
Elizabeth noticed one other thing about Christian and because of her heart, she instantly grew worried. Christian's face was red. Why was his face red? Was he sick If he is sick, then why is he at school? Elizabeth finally said something, "Are you sick or...?", she asked warily. "What- no, why would you think that?", he stammered, growing more red by the minute. Elizabeth's eyes narrowed; something was up and she knew it, though she didn't know what it was. "What's wrong, you aren't annoying the shit out of me and it's weird" she whispered, just out of the teacher's ear. "I just don't feel like it.." Christian said, Elizabeth's eyes widened. That caught her off guard. Christian always seemed to be up her ass in one way or another, so for him to say that he didn't feel like annoying her was very surprising.
"Hey, shut up over there!", Mr. Bowell yelled. Mr. Bowell was the worst History teacher in the history of History and it seemed like he knew it. Mr. Bowell was also very open about his life and it made the setting of the classroom very uncomfortable. He shared his medical conditions, what his kids were doing, and everything else that didn't need to be shared. Most often, the class period was spent with him talking about things that weren't History-related. This often led to Elizabeth failing the unit tests because he didn't teach half of the content that was on it. Elizabeth currently had a C- in the class and she needed to get it up before her mom killed her, quite literally.
Elizabeth and Christian quit their conversation. Despite Mr. Bowell yelling at them, it didn't stop Christian from staring at Elizabeth. It was starting to irritate Elizabeth, but she was not risking getting in trouble again. Mr. Bowell had already kicked her and Christian out of class too many times. One more time and she was bound to be suspended; something that she didn't need before the big competition.
Christian
This feeling that reigned over Christian's mind and body was something completely new and unusual to him. Christian had read plenty of romance novels and watched too many rom-coms to know what he was feeling. But, he was upset that it had to be Elizabeth that he was crushing on. Christian was pretty popular and there were a few girls that were obviously crushing on him; so, why couldn't he like one of them. Why did it have to be his rival?
Christian had started liking Elizabeth a few months ago; but, he was pretty good at hiding it. However, now his feelings were beginning to show. This was not good. If Elizabeth caught onto his feelings, he would appear weak and it would ruin the competition that was just around the corner. He had to control his feelings, even if Elizabeth never found out. If he let his feelings control him, he would purposely lose the big game and let down his team.
Christian felt motivated to keep his feelings locked tight from Elizabeth and even himself. But there was a hint of sadness, knowing that he could never tell her how he felt. Christian had dreamed of what it would be like if they were rivals. But, that was a fantasy that could never be a reality, unfortunately.
Christian dreamed of Elizabeth and him meeting under different circumstances; maybe they met by bumping into each other in the hallway or maybe they met at the local coffee shop and asked about each other's order. But, instead, they met, and instead of being friends, they became rivals. Though Christian knew that it was partially his fault, he felt that Elizabeth kept this vengeance going. That didn't stop his heart from wanting her though. He didn't know what it was about her, but there was something about her that he, not only admired, but, also, loved.
If only their relationship wasn't like this.
Elizabeth
The weeks flew by as the big game drew near. Elizabeth's heart pounded with anticipation. Her and her team had been preparing for this game since it had been put on the schedule; but, one couldn't help feeling nervous as it grew closer. Lately, however, Elizabeth has been having a problem with Christian. It wasn't like their typical quarrels either.
Her heart pounded every time Christian did so much and she was starting to think that it wasn't because of the competition coming up. What was this feeling that she was experiencing?
A horrid thought came to her mind. There was no way? Was she in love with Christian? Elizabeth was horrified. He had been her rival since the second grade and it had stayed that way. So, what has changed? Elizabeth wasn't sure; now she was trying to think of any other reason on why she was feeling this way, anything but love. But, it was hopeless. The only reasonable cause that came to mind was love
Elizabeth couldn't let this get to her head; she needed to focus on her and her team. She had no time for romance. This competition was the most important thing right now.
The big game was finally here!
Elizabeth's heart raced with anticipation both from the game and the sight of Christian. No, she couldn't let those feelings overwhelm her.
The crowds around her cheered in an uproar as her and her team entered the packed gym. The girls smiled at the people around them and waved at their friends and family in the seats. Soon enough, the girls were running to their part of the gym. Soon enough, the boys' volleyball team entered the gym and the crowd went into an uproar, once more. Elizabeth blushed as she saw Christian with his side-swept hair and grey uniform. She turned away and started talking with her teammates. "Alright guys! This is the big game that we have been preparing for...", "Are we going to let the boys take this victory from us?!" she asked furiously. The girls screamed "NO!" in unison. The girls cheered in excitement and soon enough, the game began.
The game began in favor of the boys and Elizabeth was not happy. She felt at fault for her team starting off so badly. She blamed her feelings on Christian for it. She had to admit that she felt bad for each spike and point she scored because it meant that Christian and his team would be closer to losing. It hurt her heart, but it was far from hurting her pride. That was what she decided to focus on; if she could focus on how prideful she felt, she may be able to survive this game and win it, without ever thinking about Christian. That was how this had to go.
Christian
The girls' volleyball team was on a roll halfway through the game. They kept spiking and scoring and the boys' volleyball team was seriously failing at their wall blocks. It was almost hopeless; but Christian had an idea. He was one of the most popular boys in school, so if he could just use his charm on some of the girls, it may help the odds of the game.
Christian wasn't focused on one girl in particular; he focused on the main group, since they were all bunched up on their side of the court. When the majority of the girls were looking his way, he winked at them and gave them a seductive grin. The girls squealed with joy and began crowding their team captain, Elizabeth. Elizabeth's face looked dumbfounded and starstruck.
Christian listened into what the girls were saying to Elizabeth and realized that he had made a great mistake. The girls thought the wink was specifically for Elizabeth. Christian blushed furiously, yet his heart still sank bitterly. What if Elizabeth was able to catch onto his feelings from that? There was no possible way that she had feelings for him. It was impossible. He had just ruined, not only, his future relationship with Elizabeth, but also his reputation. Imagine what people would say when they found out that a rival was in love with a rival. It would be a scandal!
Oh my god. Elizabeth did not just witness Christian wink at her and grin. That had to have been for someone else. Maybe it was for one of her teammates or one of the girls in the crowd. Elizabeth grew pink. Did this mean that he liked her as well. There was just no way to tell. Though he brain wanted to tell her that it was for someone else; her heart just couldn't bear the thought. She hoped it was for her; she wanted it to be for her, so badly.
It began to take a toll on her and she noticed that her performance was suffering. Elizabeth was upset with herself; she had convinced herself that she wouldn't let her heart get in the way; but it was suddenly taking control of everything. Elizabeth felt that she wanted to cry about her feelings; but, she still had a game to play, and she wanted to win more than anything.
The game ended with the boys' volleyball team defeating the girls' volleyball team. Elizabeth was crushed. She didn't know how she would face Christian and his smug face. She had been craving the defeated look on Christian's face but it ended with nothing in her favor. She wanted to cry and tear the hair out of every boy on that team. She might have a chance at that, because Christian was walking over to her. But, to her surprise, he didn't have a devilish grin on her face like she had expected. He looked kind of bashful. A suspicious look spread across her face. What the heck?
Christian walked over to her and stood in front of her, looking down at his feet. "If you're here to taunt me, I don't need it, I-", her speech was cut off by Christian's lips on hers. Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise.
Who cares about how the game went? This was truly all Elizabeth wanted. She just wanted the rivalry to be over and for them to come to a mutual understanding. This was more than she had expected though and she was happy with that. She had come to realize that she loved Christian. All along, she had loved Christian.
The End221Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1qcrWSoFA
