A/N- Here's a trailer I made for this book. Please watch it and enjoy! I hope you like it!

Chapter 23

I parked my bike in the school's parking lot next to a few cars. The place was isolated, the only people roaming around being either from the soccer team or the janitors. I hopped off my bike and took my helmet off, then walked inside the building mindlessly. I glanced at the time on my phone and noticed there were only two minutes left until 4 o'clock, yet I didn't fasten my pace. 

Once I reached the field, several pairs of eyes turned to me.

"Looks like the star finally showed up," Mr. Coach said sarcastically before turning to face me.

"Sorry, I tried to make it on time, but I couldn't find it in me," I said in mock sorrow and he rolled his eyes at me.

"You're only late by three minutes, so that's alright," he said, before turning to the rest of the team. "As some of you may know, Amelia is here to replace Gregory in the meantime. Now, I don't want you to treat her any differently just because she's a girl. Some of you are well aware of her skills and I wouldn't go easy on her if I were you. Now, if there are any problems that she might cause, I'll take care of that personally."

"How can we be sure of that?" one of the guys asked.

"I'll take her apart and deal with her myself if necessary," he said, and I raised an eyebrow at this.

"Damn, Mr. Coach. First you stalk me and get my phone number without my consent and now the sexual innuendos? Don't make me report you for pedophilia," I retorted, and some boys snickered.

"I'm not a pedophile, and, as far as I know, you're legal," he said, and the boys stared at him with their mouths hanging open.

"Are you flirting with me?" I asked in bewilderment, not quite believing my ears.

"No, I'm just following your lead," he said with a shrug of his shoulders and my eyebrows shot up in amusement. Looks like Mr. Coach here is full of surprises. "Now, get in place. The practice will begin in one minute!"

Everyone scattered around and made two different teams. A boy jogged towards each of us and handed us either a red or green team practice vest, and to my luck, I got the red one. I looked around at the members of the red team and noticed that Oscar and Raymond were in red as well. They noticed me, and one grinned and waved at me while the other glared daggers at me. It didn't take a genius to guess which of the two was glaring.

Mr. Coach blew his whistle, and the practice began. 

People ran around either in defense or offense, falling on their butts or kicking the ball. I swiftly stole the ball from the opponent team and kicked it toward the net, skillfully evading them.  One of my teammates screamed at me, showing me that he was free, and I eyed the rest of the players. Seeing that I had a free shot to the guy, I kicked the ball toward him in a successful pass. The guy kicked the ball toward the net, the goalie missing the ball by an inch. 

Mr. Coach stared at the game in front of him, noting things down. 

The game continued on like this, my team winning by nearly ten points. Once I made another goal, the whistle was heard, signaling the end of the game. My team screamed in victory, rushing toward me with huge grins on their faces. Some of them raised their hands to give me high fives, while others gave me a friendly pat on the back.

"Take a ten-minute break, drink some water, and rest," Mr. Coach ordered, and everyone scattered around. Someone handed me a towel and I gladly accepted it, wiping away the sweat on my face and neck. 

The screeching of tires was heard from a distance as I grabbed a bottle of water and took a huge gulp. Somebody screamed my name, causing me to turn around in curiosity. 

Before I could figure out what was happening, a soccer ball made contact with my face.

"Amelia!" some guys shouted as I fell backward, my hand instantly shooting up to touch my now bleeding nose. Someone roughly grabbed me by the front of my shirt, pulling me upwards harshly. I opened my eyes to come face to face with Gregory, his eyes digging holes into mine. I ignored the pain in my nose and clenched my jaw, getting up to my feet instantly as he held my shirt. 

Before anything could happen, he was pulled back, his hands letting go of my shirt instantly.

"Are you serious, coach? Are you seriously letting her take my place?" he asked in bewilderment as three guys held him back. 

The coach was quickly by my side, handing me a napkin, before turning to Gregory. "What are you doing here, Gregory? You are not allowed in this soccer field until I allow you to," Mr. Coach said, his tone firm.

"I don't give a damn," Gregory seethed, struggling against the other guy's hold. "I'm not just going to sit back and watch as she steals everything from me!"

"You either tone it down or I'll have to take drastic measures with you," Mr. Coach warned, and something in his voice told me he wasn't kidding.

"Come on, she can't be any better than me!" Gregory protested. "How good can she be?"

"Good enough to give her team a victory of 13 to 4!" Mr. Coach exclaimed, and Gregory's mouth opened a bit at this.

"That's impossible!" Gregory spat, looking over to the Three Musketeers for confirmation. They didn't say anything, silently confirming that what the coach said was true. He clenched his jaw, finally being able to set himself free, and stood his ground. 

I watched the exchange in amusement, wiping the blood off my nose. 

He practically growled and pushed past others, but not before turning around and pointing an accusing finger at me. "This is not over yet, Amelia."

"Well, it's not the first time you've said that to me," I muttered under my breath, throwing the bloody napkin into a trash can.

* * *

I settled my bike in front of the gym, the night sky greeting me as I looked upwards. I decided to give Wesley some company and work out a bit, meaning I could give my new gloves a try. 

As I stepped inside the gym, I looked around at the few people working out. I walked to the counter where I always found Wesley and furrowed my brows when I was greeted by no one. I glanced at the time on my phone and noticed that there was still half an hour left until his shift ended.

A man in his mid-twenties stepped up to me with a friendly smile. 

I looked at him with a questioning gaze and noticed the name tag stuck on his shirt. 

"How may I be of help, Miss...?" he trailed off, waiting for me to say my name.

"Amelia," I said. "Or Lily, however you wish to call me. Just without the 'Miss' part."

"Right then, Lily, how may I be of help?"

"You're new here, aren't you?" I asked, and he gave me a sheepish smile before nodding. "Alright, Paul, do you know where Wesley is?"

"How do you know my—" he started but I stopped him, pointing at his nametag. "Right. Well, Wesley is back at the 'training room'; at least that's what he calls it."

"Why would he be back there?" I asked, more to myself, but Paul answered either way.

"He said something about cleaning the yoga mats or something like that," he explained with a dismissive shrug. "Go ahead, it seems like you know the guy, so let's hope he doesn't kill me later."

I laughed at him and nodded, making my way toward the training room. He gave a smile and walked away, making me furrow my brows in suspicion. As I made my way to the training room, I noticed that the lights were completely off. The door appeared to be locked, so I decided to look around the hallway. Everything was eerily quiet, making me even more suspicious than I already was. 

I turned my back to the door to go and look somewhere else, until a loud crash resounded from behind the door.

My eyes widened in alertness at this, and once I heard a loud curse come from Wesley, I grabbed my pocket knife and flicked it open. I kicked the door open without hesitation and immediately turned the lights on, standing in a fighting stance. 

What I saw next made me freeze in my tracks, shocked.

"Surprise!" people cheered, and I stood still, not knowing how to react. 

I blinked twice, due to the shock, and glanced around the room while putting my knife away. A table filled with snacks and a birthday cake was set up in one of the corners of the room. There was another table on the opposite corner, but this one was filled with drinks and bottles of beers. That was when I noticed Wesley, scowling at a cowering Chase that apparently knocked over a bottle of Corona. 

So that was where the crash came from.

"Happy Birthday, Amelia!" a woman chirped, and when I looked over at her, I noticed that it was Sophia, Chase's mom. I smiled politely at her as she embraced me in a hug before pulling back and giving me a large grin.

I thanked her and looked at the rest of the people. They were cheering with party hats and air horns, and I noticed that at least seventy-five percent of the people were from my school. I barely recognized any of the teenagers scattered around the room, just a few from the soccer team and my friends. 

Izzy rushed over to me and embraced me in a hug once more before dragging me toward the rest of the people. The couple was staring at me, amusement lined on their faces.

Lunch with Kenneth's mom? Did I seriously fall for that?

People came to me, asking to take pictures or to congratulate me. It went on like that for hours; drinking, dancing, and joking around. I must say that I wasn't expecting a mom like Sophia to be that carefree and party going. She even personally gave me drinks, saying that I should enjoy this while it lasted, but to try to not get drunk.

In the middle of chatting with people, a loud static noise resounded throughout the room, making everyone cover their ears. It was followed by a loud booming sound, and sparks flew from where the speakers were, meaning that there was a short circuit. Everybody started panicking, running away from the sparks as soon as possible. Wesley and I rushed into action, quickly unplugging the speakers from the walls to prevent the entire building to shut down.

"Oh, my bad. I accidentally spilled my drink," a familiar voice said from behind us and I gritted my teeth in anger. 

He just didn't know when to stop, did he?

"Gregory," I spat warningly, turning to face him. 

He was giving us a smug smile, holding an almost empty glass in his hands. "I'm glad you still know my name, sweetheart," he said. 

The whole room was quiet, staring at the commotion in front of them. Wesley and I squared our shoulders, ready to charge at him, but he held a hand up to stop us.

"Why are you here?"

"To give you a warning," he said simply, gulping what was left of his drink in one go. 

I raised my eyebrows at that and gave him an amused look. 

He, on the other hand, stayed calm. That meant that his words weren't empty. "You better trad lightly, Clark. Give up and face the consequences. You never know what's coming your way." With that being said, he threw the glass aside and walked out of the room.

 Every pair of eyes followed him as he walked out, and the fire inside me burned brighter than ever.

_________________

[Edited: August 31st, 2020 by michh_44]

That doesn't sound like good news. What could he have planned now? What a way to make an announcement, those speakers must've cost quite a lot. Click on that star and comment your thoughts of this chapter of you wish to ❤