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“go adam! you’ve got this, baby!”
hailey rolled her eyes as her best friend kim screamed her support for her boyfriend directly in her ear.
she was never overly fond of these school events, what with all the testosterone, but kim made sure to drag her along to this soccer game. it was a friendly game, mostly for practice, but there was nothing friendly about it. cornwall high school has had a rivalry with illyria high school for as long as she can remember; it’d always been talked about in the local news. and now that she was a senior, it still hadn’t changed.
she didn’t know many of the illyria students. all she knew was that her best friend adam (who was also the captain of their soccer team) had an intense rivalry with illyria’s captain, and so she had no choice but to support him and hate illyria’s soccer team too.
it’s friendship; you don’t question it.
“yes baby, GO!”
hailey rolled her eyes again, shoving kim away from her. “shit kim,” she sniggered, “stop screaming in my ear!”
“i’m sorry,” kim replied sheepishly, “but i have to make it loud so he thinks i’m paying attention and actually know what’s going on.”
the girls pass the time by chatting about their latest english essay due this weekend; kim had most of it done already, while hailey merely had her topic picked out. it was then that they heard the tell-tale sounds of a goal. kim straightened instantly, getting ready to jump to her feet and cheer on her team, but was instantly silenced by the sea of red cheering excitedly. player number seven dressed in a red jersey with the name ‘halstead’ had scored a goal against cornwall, and they were most definitely not shy about it.
hailey watched as illyria’s team players gathered together for a group tackle (they literally tackled each other to the ground; seriously, what’s the appeal?). player number seven, who she could now identify as halstead, was smiling proudly, appreciating all the attention from his teammates. she recognized him as the team captain that adam loathed.
adam may hate him (which by extension, means she does too), but she had to admit, he was unfairly attractive. like so much so, that it pained her to actually have to hate him so much. but from what she’s heard from adam, he was a bit of a douchebag; however, adam was a teeny bit biased.
“damn. i’ll be hearing about that later,” kim huffed, eyeing her boyfriend on the field. adam was wearing a royal blue jersey with the number fourteen and even from their distance away, they could pick out his sagging shoulders.
the referee blew the whistle for half time shortly after illyria’s first goal and within seconds, kim was already tugging on hailey’s sleeve. she knew there was no point in fighting the tiny brunette, but she also wanted to check in with adam, since she didn’t get to see him before the game. so, hailey allowed herself be dragged down the bleachers to where her team was hydrating and cooling themselves down.
“hey babe,” adam greeted kim with a cheery smile, much to the ladies’ confusion. “hails, you came!”
kim shared a hesitant look with hailey. “you’re not upset about illyria’s goal?”
adam’s jaw clenched so quickly, hailey would have missed it if she blinked. “there’s still time to turn it around; it’s just a friendly game.”
hailey raised an eyebrow.
“fine. coach voight said i have to ‘be the bigger person’ and ‘set an example’ or we’ll be banned from finals if there’s so much as one fight”
hailey laughed, “there it is.”
she surveyed the crimson team a few feet down and quietly admired how unbelievably attractive they all were. aren’t boys supposed to be awkward and dorky looking in high school? she took notice of the team captain sauntering in their direction with some lackeys. hailey instantly knew it was a recipe for disaster.
“what’s the matter, ruzek?” halstead sniggered with a malicious bite in his tone. “need your groupies to console you before your unavoidable loss?”
immediately, adam threw his water bottle to the ground and charged in their direction. “are you fucking kidding me, halstead?” he snapped, as hailey, kim and a few of his teammates held him back. they cannot afford to get into any more fights.
“who are you calling a groupie?” hailey whirled around and barked at him. if halstead was surprised at her response, he didn’t show it. “now shut the hell up before i go over there and shove my foot up your ass!”
she could hear howls from all around her, including from halstead’s lackeys. the captain himself just smirked as he backed away, and then had the audacity to drop his right eyelid in a wink.
“ugh!” hailey groaned, whirling back around in disgust. “what a dick.”
adam threw an arm around hailey’s shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “thanks for that hails,” he murmured softly, “or else i definitely would’ve punched him and gotten suspended.”
“anytime bro, you know i’ve got you,” hailey replied, bumping fists.
kim smiled fondly in their direction, “wow, how did i get so lucky?”
“not sure,” adam quipped, “because we definitely got the short end of the stick.”
he doesn’t move fast enough when kim aims a punch at his gut.
the game ended 2-0 with illyria taking the win. it was a tense finale, but everyone left the field in one piece and ready to blow off steam in other ways. a cornwall student was throwing a party in their house (re: mansion) and both teams were invited out of respect.
it was honestly a recipe for disaster but hailey just wanted to get drunk.
so, when she arrived, she headed straight for the kitchen (re: bar) and grabbed a bottle of tequila; that should keep her busy for a bit. she already knew kim would be spending most of her time with adam, but it was alright because hailey respected that and she honestly liked being a free spirit at parties. she could mingle with whoever she wanted and drink as much as her little heart desired.
she noticed illyria’s students celebrated their victory in a respectful manner, which was surprising to all. it seemed as if both team players were getting along, and that was highly unusual and unexpected; but then again, everyone was drinking and having a great time.
this included hailey, who was already three quarters through her bottle of tequila.
she decided to venture throughout the house and look for familiar faces. she spotted adam and kim dominating at the beer pong table; she watched as kim sank the winning cup and adam wrapped her up in a spinning hug.
they’re absolutely adorable, hailey thinks as she takes another sip.
“hey!” she heard a soft voice from her right side and turned to see a latina girl with a friendly smile. “sorry to interrupt, my name’s vanessa!”
hailey shot her a tispy smile in greeting. “hailey,” she replied, shaking her outstretched hand. “you don’t go to cornwall, do you?”
vanessa shook her head. “no, i’m a student at illyria,” she explained, “my boyfriend is on the team and i saw what happened at half time. i just wanted to apologize.”
hailey blinked in surprise. “oh,” she mumbled dumbly, “it’s alright. i’m pretty good at dealing with ignorant assholes.” she doesn't think she said anything wrong until she sees vanessa’s awkward smile. “oh no, was your boyfriend the ignorant asshole i told off?”
oh god, she’s so tispy right now.
“no, no,” vanessa laughed, “i’m dating kevin atwater, he’s the goalie.”
hailey breathed out a sigh of relief. “oh thank god.”
“that ignorant asshole was jay halstead. but i promise you, he really is the sweetest!”
hailey’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “i wonder why i didn’t get that vibe at all?”
vanessa laughed, stealing a glance behind hailey. “he really is,” she rushed, “and i’m so sorry but he’s coming over right now.”
in response, hailey whirled around to see jay, with another young man built like a machine. hailey understood why he was the goalie.
“hey babe,” he greeted vanessa, kissing her on the cheek. he quickly turned his attention to hailey and shot her a friendly smile (why were they all so nice? she’s supposed to hate them!).
she smiled back politely, and her eyes flickered to jay. he doesn’t seem to recognize her until he makes eye contact and realization dawns his features. “oh hey! i know you!”
hailey rolled her eyes, because just one short conversation with jay, and she remembered why she disliked illyria’s students. “and i’m leaving,” she responded in a clipped tone. “it was nice to meet you! we should hang out some time,” she directed to vanessa, and shot her and kevin a warm smile before moving along.
she continued to wander the premises, finding an isolated corner behind the pool. it was a small garden and she was admiring it, while trying not to trip and fall. she wouldn’t consider herself drunk yet, but she was definitely tipsy.
“hey blondie,” she heard a deep rumble from behind her. “what are you drinking?”
hailey whirled around (much too fast apparently) because the figure from behind grabbed her forearm to keep her upright. she didn’t recognize who he was, but she noticed the illyria keychain hanging out of his jacket pocket.
“thanks,” she mumbled breathily, moving uncomfortably away from the unknown man. the corner she was in was mostly deserted, but there were still a few people around. she kept her face calm and passive.
his eyes dart down to the bottle in her hands. “may i?”
she glanced down at the tequila bottle and thrusted it in his direction. if he wanted it, he could have it because she was definitely not taking it back after some stranger helped himself to it. “yeah, take it. it’s all yours,” she replied, shooting him a small smile. “i should probably go find my friends…”
“oh, don’t leave yet, baby,” he insisted in a gravelly voice. “we’re just getting started.” hailey was starting to feel slightly uneasy. “or we could get out of here, go somewhere quieter; start our own party.”
now hailey was starting to get pissed off.
“no, thank you,” she pushed away from him to try and place some distance between them. she didn’t know who he was, and he was getting much too close for comfort. “i have to go.”
the stranger latched onto her wrist with an iron tight grip; hailey’s eyes widened. “you’re not leaving,” he emphasized in a menacing tone. “you don’t just lead someone on like that and leave!”
“excuse me?” hailey snapped angrily, attempting to rip her arm away from his grasp. “what the fuck? i literally just met you!”
the unfamiliar stranger still didn’t let up. “you mean you didn’t come out here to a deserted corner so i would follow you?”
hailey’s eyebrows narrowed at the stupidity of that statement. “of course, i fucking didn’t! now let go of my arm, i’m leaving!” when he didn’t let go, she huffed in frustration. “i’m fucking serious, let me go!”
it felt like she was trapped in a game. she could see the stranger’s eyes and the unhinged glint in them, and she could feel his grip tightening ever so slightly. she was positive she could just throw her knee up and nail him in the groin to make a quick escape, but she found it ridiculous that it would have to get to that point.
her mysterious stranger seemed to find this amusing, because he was smirking like all hell; hailey wanted to throw up.
she noticed he was starting to inch forward, and she could feel her brain starting to shut down. she could feel the panic bubbling in the pit of her stomach and all she could do was thrash wildly in hopes she could let go of his grasp.
“stop moving!” the stranger hissed, gritting his teeth in frustration.
hailey was five seconds away from kneeing him in the groin and making a run for it when she heard a familiar voice.
“hey o’donnell! what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
the stranger holding onto her arm instantly straightened and hailey felt herself stop moving as well. when she peered around o’donnell, she spotted jay halstead. she let out a nervous breath at seeing a familiar face.
“you better let her go unless you want me to knock you on your ass.”
hailey shoots o’donnell a smirk as she finally rips her arm free of his grasp. she can see the marks he left on her skin and she wants to punch him in the throat.
“we were just having some fun,” o’donnell replied, clearing his throat and meeting jay’s eye-line.
hailey scoffed; she can feel her confidence growing once again now that she feels more comfortable. “having some fun, my ass !” she shouted in retaliation. “you are disgusting, get the hell away from me!”
she watched in satisfaction as he backed away, like a puppy with his tail between his legs.
“this isn’t over,” jay threatened in a low tone; hailey had to strain her ears to hear it. “get out of my sight.”
hailey straightened her clothes angrily; she was annoyed that happened and she was annoyed she wasn’t able to fend off his advances with the same badass energy she tried to exude in everything she did.
“hey, are you alright?”
she nearly forgot about her saviour until he spoke again. he stood a few steps away from her; he seemed hesitant to approach her, maybe because she was just manhandled by some stranger and he didn’t want to startle her.
“yes, i’m fine,” she replied softly. she’s perfectly aware she’s supposed to hate him, but she can’t think of a reason why she should right now. “thank you.”
“please. don’t thank me for that,” he sighed in disgust, “i would do that for anyone. it just isn’t okay.”
there was a comfortable silence present between them, as they just stood there, listening to the distant thumping music. she couldn’t help but notice he looked really good; he was wearing a turquoise t-shirt that emphasized his bright green eyes, and simple denim jeans. she really couldn’t remember why she was supposed to hate him.
“you’re one of ruzek’s friends, right?” he asked, looking to continue the conversation. he still kept his distance, and he was looking at her almost as if he was shy. hailey didn’t believe a good looking guy like that could be shy around anyone.
at the reminder of adam and the rest of her friends, she also remembered how he referred to her earlier. “yeah, i’m one of his groupies,” she teased with a smirk.
“ah, i’m sorry about that,” he apologized, scratching the back of his head with a forced, painful smile. “i tend to say stupid things around pretty girls.”
the smirk hailey was wearing instantly dropped. she’s all good with fun and games when flirting, but as soon as it gets serious and someone shows an interest in her, she shuts down and becomes as socially awkward as they get.
she’s positive she’s going to say something stupid.
“save it for your groupies, halstead.”
there it is.
he doesn’t seem phased, mostly just amused. “i gave them the night off,” he chuckled. “my name’s jay, by the way.”
“hmm?”
“jay halstead.”
“ah yes, you’re my best friend’s rival,” hailey recounted, feigning innocence. “oh, he would absolutely die right now.”
jay smirked, finally moving closer in her direction. “you really think he’d mind if i were talking to you?”
hailey seemed oblivious to his obvious interest in her. he was moving closer, maintaining eye contact and admiring all of her features. “are you kidding? the only reason he didn’t beat your ass earlier is so they didn’t get banned from finals,” she explained, “but clearly i had no problem holding my own when it comes to pretentious, pretty boys.”
“honestly, all i took from that was that you think i’m pretty,” he admitted honestly. “and that you’re a badass.”
hailey’s smile dimmed slightly, remembering the earlier events that transpired.
“hey,” he murmured softly, reaching a tentative hand onto her shoulder. “what happened before was not your fault. i have no doubt in my mind you would have kicked his ass to hell and back. i can’t imagine how you felt, but i’m really glad i was here.”
hailey glanced at his hand on her shoulder, but he didn’t move it. “i’m glad you were here, too.”
his hand gently trails down her arm, to where a large bruise is already forming on her wrist.
“you still haven’t told me your name.”
she sent him a shy smile. “i think you’re going to have to fix me a drink if you want to find out.”
jay’s smiled widened, and hailey momentarily forgot to breathe because he is so damn attractive.
“challenge accepted.”