Love and Fandoms (7 page)
Authors: CJ Zane
"Is he still
playing?" Mandy asked.
"Yeah,"
Kareem said, the pride in his voice whenever he talked about his brother
evident. "He's the starting center fielder and lead-off hitter for the
Dayton Dragons, the single-A team for the Reds. He'll most likely get invited
to the major league spring training next season, and if he plays as well as he
can, thanks to his raw speed, he has an outside chance of making the big league
roster."
"That's
cool," Mandy said, while Allyssa said, "Yeah, awesome." Wyatt
simply nodded, as he already knew the story.
"So what I'm
saying, besides bragging about my brother, is that I love watching sports. I'm
just not very good at them. But that's okay. My dad realized long ago that I
wasn't going to be the next Kareem Abdul-Jabar. Well, technically, I could
change my last name to Abdul-Jabar, but I'd still stink at basketball."
Mandy laughed at that, while he and Allyssa, who'd heard that joke many times
before, rolled their eyes.
"I don't have
a story to match that," Allyssa said. "I enjoy the fun and school
spirit."
Mandy looked at
him. "Do you just put up with it for Kareem?"
"I wouldn't
care if he didn't, but I like going. The strategy behind the game is
interesting."
"My boy's
being modest. If he put his mind to it, he could be a great coach. He's a
natural at reading teams and situations."
Wyatt felt his
face heat up, and he mumbled, "If you look at it like a puzzle, it's
pretty easy."
Both Allyssa and
Mandy smiled at him with what looked like pride in their eyes. He understood it
from Allyssa, since they were going out now, even if they only had one date
lined up, but what was it doing in Mandy's eyes? He was reading this all wrong,
right? That wasn't pride, but simple politeness. That was all he could see that
fit.
"Well,
anyway, we'll be there," Allyssa said. "And you and Alex are more
than welcome to join us after the game wherever Wyatt decides to take me."
She gave him an eyebrow wiggle while she said it, and he realized the date
really would be more than just the football game. That was fine; he really did
like spending time with her, and he liked ice cream, too.
"I
wish," Mandy said with a frown. "Alex has been talking about a keg
party after the game. I hate those. A bunch of people getting drunk and acting
stupid isn't my idea of fun. Maybe if Alex wasn't one of those idiots …"
She looked down at
her hands on the table, and her bottom lip quivered. He wished he could go over
and comfort her. Not like he'd have the guts to do it, even if it was just the
two of them, but he doubly couldn't do it now with Allyssa here. She wasn't his
actual girlfriend yet, but no doubt she would be in the not too distant future.
It only took a few
seconds for Mandy to pull herself together. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bring
everyone down. Maybe we should get to studying."
MANDY
That Friday night,
Mandy and Luci sat in the stands with a group of her soccer teammates and some
of their boyfriends. Alex and the rest of the Orange Grove Stingers were going
up against the Yorba Rancheros, and the crowd was rocking. Literally at times,
as the bleachers were shaking beneath the excitement.
Yorba had the ball
for only the second time, and they were already down 16-0. Even more
impressive, there were still ten minutes left in the twelve minute-long 1st
quarter. The opening play of the game had been an 80-yard touchdown pass from
Alex, and the second touchdown had only taken two plays: a 30-yard pass,
followed by a 40-yard scramble by Alex. He had also run both two-point
conversions in himself. So not only was the Yorba defense unable to defend
against his throwing arm, but they couldn't tackle him, either. The last couple
of years, Coach Kraft liked to keep the starters in for the entire first half
of the game in blowouts, but if this kept up, Alex might not play much past the
first quarter.
Jill, one of her
soccer friends, leaned over. "I know it's not college competition, but he
looks like he could be starting at Michigan right now."
"The coach
told him that if their junior quarterback goes pro after this season, Alex will
almost certainly be the starter next year. He has to earn it during summer
practice, but that shouldn't be a problem."
"That's so
cool," Vanessa, another friend and teammate, said.
While Yorba's
offense was on the field, they caught up on their first week of school. She had
classes with some of the girls, and they all had Sports Conditioning sixth
period, but none of that really gave time for proper chats and gossip sessions.
As they talked, she kept one eye on the game and the other on the lookout for
Wyatt. She tried to tell herself she wanted to see Kareem and Allyssa, too, but
that was a lie. Yes, it'd be a bonus, but Wyatt was her true goal. She
shouldn't think like that, especially now that he officially had Allyssa, to
say nothing of her being with Alex.
But Alex really
had been a jerk lately. They'd talked a little bit today, as opposed to the
nothing yesterday, but it hadn't been anything important. They needed to have a
serious discussion about his recent behavior, but she didn't know how to bring
it up. That was so unlike them. In years passed, she'd have no trouble talking
to him about anything. Were they drifting apart? That had to be it, right? But
if that were the case, would his touches still absolutely melt her? As always,
she couldn't get enough of his embraces, his kisses. If it weren't for that,
she might actually consider breaking up with him. But her body, possibly her
soul, said no way.
Maybe the move to
Michigan would do him good, get him back to his normal self. She could tell
herself that as much as she wanted, but Michigan was where this all started.
She sighed, tried to push it from her mind for the time being, and simply enjoy
the game and her friends.
The buzz of the
crowd turned her attention back to the field. The Yorba team had to punt, and
the Orange Grove kick returner ran the ball all the way to the Yorba 30-yard
line, only tripped up by a lucky diving tackle from the punter. Alex and the
offense zipped onto the field, ready to strike again.
He took the snap
and sprinted to his left. The defensive front couldn't catch him as he turned
up field towards the end zone. One of the Yorba defensive backs stood between
Alex and another touchdown, but instead of gliding out of bounds or trying to
spin away, he dipped his shoulder and ran the defensive player over. The kid,
half Alex's size, dropped without so much as slowing him down. He sauntered
into the end zone for another score. Mandy and the rest of the crowd leapt to
their feet, cheering the play.
A moment later,
the teams lined up for the two-point conversion attempt. Alex took the snap and
again coasted to his left. All eleven Yorba defensemen rushed at him. Instead
of bowling through them for the score, he turned and fired the pigskin to his
right. A receiver, all alone in the corner of the end zone, had no choice but
to catch the ball headed for the numbers on his chest. With only five minutes
gone in the first quarter, Alex and Orange Grove lead 24-0.
WYATT
Wyatt sat between
Allyssa and Kareem in the far end of the stands, away from the majority of the
crowd. At the end of the first quarter, they were up 56-0. Alex had been
responsible for all seven touchdowns and two-point conversions, either with his
arm or legs. As good as he'd been last season, he looked ten times better this
year. There wasn't even much strategy to figure out. Basically it was let Alex
do whatever he wanted, and the Yorba team could do nothing to even slow him
down.
On the first play
of the second quarter, the Yorba running back fumbled at the fifty yard line,
and it was recovered by the Orange Grove defense. Instead of watching Alex and
the first-string trot out, the second-string offense took the field.
"Those guys
will probably get more playing time than the first unit this year," Kareem
said. "Heck, we'll likely see the third-stringers every second half."
"You guys
should have joined the team," Allyssa said, a twinkle in her eye. "You'd
have gotten plenty of playing time."
"Ha!"
Kareem responded. "Think of all the side bets in the stands on which one
of us got carted off the field on a stretcher first."
"I don't
think I'd survive the first practice," Wyatt said.
"My two manly
men heroes," Allyssa said with a laugh.
"You knew
what you were getting when you decided to hang out with us," Kareem said.
Wyatt gave a laugh
of his own, but it was sort of a distracted one. Kareem, to his left, sat their
normal distance apart, a good foot or so away. Plenty of room. Allyssa,
however, sat so close to him that he didn't know how they weren't touching. His
instincts told him to put his arm around her shoulder, but he wasn't sure if
that was proper etiquette for a first date. Did this even count as a first
date? Kareem was here, after all. Shouldn't it only be the two of them? Maybe
it'd be easier at the ice cream parlor. Mandy wouldn't be there, even if he
hadn't spotted her tonight. He shouldn't be, but he found himself discreetly
scanning the crowd for her every few minutes. Luckily he hadn't been caught,
and told himself to stop before Allyssa noticed.
The second-team
running back scampered twelve yards, and the public address announcer said his
name was Brandon Barnes.
"Brandon?"
Kareem said. "No, we'll call him Bucky." That was after the
character, Bucky Barnes, in the Captain America comics.
Wyatt laughed,
while Allyssa rolled her eyes. "So original with the nicknames."
"Hey, it's
not my fault. Anyone with the last name Barnes should be called Bucky. I think
it's a law. Or it should be, anyway. Maybe it'll get voted on next election.
Don't shoot the messenger."
"Thor help us
all if you're ever elected to some sort of office," Allyssa said. "It's
anyone's guess what crazy things you'll try to push through."
Wyatt chuckled and
nudged her shoulder with his, which she gave right back to him. They looked
each other in the eyes and held the gaze for a few seconds until both blushed
and turned back to the game. This was the time to put an arm around her, but he
chickened out. Again. Instead he glanced back towards the center of the crowd
to see if he could find Mandy. He couldn't.
On the next snap,
the quarterback again handed the ball to Barnes, who ran right up the middle,
untouched, and sprinted for a 38-yard touchdown. They leaped to their feet with
the rest of the crowd, but Wyatt had no doubt they were the only three who
shouted, "Go, Bucky!" Luckily there was so much noise that no one was
able to hear their geekiness.
Without Alex in
the game, Coach Kraft, the team's head coach, sent out the kicking team.
"And there go the cheerleaders," Allyssa said as the girls ran from
their spot on the track surrounding the field to behind the goalpost.
"Let me
guess," Kareem said. "You have a problem with the cheerleaders."
"Actually,
no, not in general."
"But?"
"Well, I
mean, some of them let it go to their heads, and …" She broke out a pretty
accurate Gollum from Lord of the Rings impression. "We hates them."
Wyatt couldn't
help himself. He threw out his best Smeagol (another Lord of the Rings
character) impression. "No. Theys is our friendses."
She scrunched her
face up to say something else, but lost it and spit out laughter. Kareem and
Wyatt joined her. When they calmed down a bit, she said, "I wasn't
expecting that. That was awesome."
"Your Gollum
was spot on," he said.
Kareem shook his
head. "You two are huge geeks. You realize that, right?"
"I'm
surprised you didn't drop in some Elvish or Dwarvish," Allyssa said.
"You guys
didn't give me a chance."
"That's what
I thought," Allyssa said. "So is this our Friday nights? Giving
players geeky nicknames and holding conversations as characters from different
fandoms?"
"Yeah,"
Kareem said. "That and watching Captain Michigan and his underlings wipe
the snot out of the various other poor football teams."
"You have a
problem with that?" Wyatt asked her, and then, without thinking, wrapped
his arm around her shoulder.
They both froze
for a second, and then she leaned against him. "Nope," she mumbled,
laying her head on his shoulder.
Kareem gave him a
discreet thumbs-up and mouthed, "Nice." On the field, the Yorba
quarterback threw an interception, which the Stingers second-string defense ran
back for a touchdown.
MANDY
Mandy sat in the
passenger seat of Luci's car as they headed to the keg party. They talked
mostly about the game, which ended 100-0. It had been 84-0 at the end of the
first half, and Coach Kraft inserted Alex back in for the first two possessions
of the second. Another couple of quick touchdowns and two-point conversions
brought the score to an even 100. After that, Coach Kraft put out the
third-team offense and basically ran out the clock. The Yorba team also looked
like they wanted to go home, as they ran safe plays that kept the official game
clock moving. It worked for both teams in the end, as there was no more
scoring.
"Everyone
should be happy," Luci said. "Maybe Alex won't get too drunk, and the
Pigs won't start a fight."
Mandy let out a
humorless laugh. "That would be something. I'm guessing the chance of
either of those happening is about as high as Yorba's final score." She
sighed. "I wish we didn't have to go. I hate these things."
"Yeah.
They're about as much fun as my left foot."
"Your left
foot?" Mandy said with a laugh.
"It's not
very fun to be on the receiving end of it, is it?"
"As your
sparing partner, I can attest to that being true. I'm guessing Johnny would also
agree."
"You know it.
I still can't believe how polite the little monster has been since the
incident. Not only to Ricky, but to everyone. He didn't even get into any
trouble this week at school. That may be a first."
"Good for
him. Maybe all he ever needed was a swift kick to the gut. And the reading material
your mom's been feeding him."
"Hopefully
it's that and he's not biding his time for a big blow up. I wouldn't put it
past him. Anyway, we could always skip this and go get some ice cream or catch
a movie or something."
"I promised
Alex. Not that he'll care. Maybe we could stay a few minutes until he's well on
his way to getting wasted, and then leave. We might be able to catch up to
Wyatt, Kareem, and Allyssa Shaw. Sounds like they planned on going to get ice
cream after the game. Did I tell you Wyatt asked her out?"
"Allyssa
Shaw? I didn't know you knew her."
"She joined
our study group. I think it was to get closer to Wyatt. She obviously likes him
a lot. She and Kareem had to basically force him to ask her out, but that's for
the best." She tried to give a light laugh, and hoped none of her jealousy
shone through. Not that she had any reason to be jealous, she kept reminding
herself, but if it showed, Luci would notice.
"I don't know
her well, but she does seem like a great match for him. Almost as good as
you."
Mandy's eyes shot
wide open, and she turned to Luci to see a huge grin on her face. "No,
what do you mean? There's nothing between us. Besides, I'm very happy with
Alex. Or I will be once we talk about our problems." But her stomach felt
fuzzy just thinking about Wyatt. Was she really that transparent? Hopefully
only to Luci.
"I know. I
didn't say anything different. You two go back a long way is all. Anyway, I'm
happy for him. He and Allyssa will make a cute couple. And if you want to go
hang out with them tonight, I'm all in. Besides, I wouldn't mind getting with
Kareem. Underneath that geeky exterior, he's still totally geeky, but he's also
pretty hot." She nudged Mandy. "Like Wyatt. Who you protest too much
about." She gave an evil laugh.
Mandy rolled her
eyes. "Drop it. But you're out of luck with Kareem. He has an almost
girlfriend in his church group."
"Actually, he
doesn't. He thinks he does, but I know her side of the story."
"Wait, what?
How?"
Before Luci could
answer, she grumbled something under her breath. Mandy saw bright headlights
shining in the rearview mirror and both side mirrors. She turned in her seat
and recognized Alex's truck gaining fast on them. Sure, it might be someone
else, as the glare of the lights made it hard to see, but she knew. She
recognized the roar of the engine. Great. Not even drunk and he was already
acting like an idiot. They needed to have their talk sooner rather than later.
"Your
boyfriend," Luci said as he sped up and passed them. "I should have
known." Alex and the Pigs waved obnoxiously. A few seconds later, Luci
pulled into the driveway right behind his truck. They were the last ones in, so
as long as no one blocked the driveway from the street, they had a clear shot
out.
"Let's get
this over with," Mandy said.
"I agree. But
isn't it funny? Most people go to a party to have fun."
"Parties were
more fun when they were cake and ice cream rather than beer and drugs and
whatever."
They got out of
the car as Alex and the Pigs climbed down from his truck. Mandy went around the
front to meet him. She was about to tease him on his driving and how Luci
didn't appreciate him coming up on them so fast, but before she could get any
words out, he grabbed her and planted a rough kiss. She had a feeling he was
marking her as his property, and that should have pissed her off, but, wow, it
felt good. His tongue intruded into her mouth, and it was all she could do to
kiss back. In the back of her mind, she heard the Pigs hooting and hollering.
She probably should have pushed him away to shut them up, but she couldn't. His
mouth on hers, his arms around her body, felt so right. She wished they could
stay like that all night, and moaned her disappointment when he pulled away. He
noticed and gave her one of his drop-dead sexy smiles. She reached forward and
gave him another quick kiss.
"Hey, babe.
Nice to see you." The Pigs again cheered, and she heard them high-five
each other. Ugh. They really were pigs.
"Hi, Alex.
Nice game tonight." She patted his chest.
"Damn right,
good game," one of the Pigs said.
"Damn good
game," chimed in another.
"Yeah, you
did okay," Luci said, giving him a wink, which was too much subtlety for
the third Pig.
"Hey, fuck
you, bitch!"
Luci laughed at
him, but Mandy saw her shift into a fighting stance. Crud. The Pigs weren't
even drunk yet.
"Tyler, chill
out," Alex said. "Use your fucking head. She was kidding." He
stepped over and gave Luci a hug.
"Sorry, Alex,"
he said. She couldn't help but notice he apologized to Alex and not Luci.
They started towards
the party, and Alex glanced back at her. "Stay close, babe." She and
Luci gave each other a look. They hadn't even gone in yet, and it was already a
memorable night. They burst out in laughter when Alex hollered, "Time to
get our drink on!" She figured it was better to laugh at that than cry.
The Pigs cheered him on.
As they walked in,
it was like any other keg party she'd ever been to. The music was too loud,
everyone clutched red cups as they either bumped and grinded to the music or
stood along the edge of the room and watched the action. It was easy enough to
tell it was still early as most people weren't yet mixing, there were no wild
make-out sessions going on in any of the corners of the room, and the beer
stench hadn't yet permeated everything. Alex accepted hugs, high-fives, and
shoulder-slaps from everyone they passed, and she got her share, too. She
couldn't help but feel a burst of pride; Alex had certainly played well enough
tonight to earn this attention.
They headed
towards the kitchen, no doubt where the keg was, and on the way, someone handed
him some pills.
Oh, no-no-no
. She wasn't going to say anything about the
beer, even though she didn't want him drinking it, but she sure wasn't going to
allow him to take some unknown drugs.
"Put those
down, Alex," she called. He'd reached the kitchen, away from the loudest
of the noise, so he heard.
"Chill out,
babe. It's a party."
"You don't
even know what they are. They could be anything."
Alex shrugged and
went to the keg to pull himself a beer. The Pigs nudged her away, and instead
of telling them to knock it off, he laughed. Luci tensed up next to her, ready
to throw down for the second time in less than five minutes.
"Alex! Think
of your future. You don't want to hurt your career before you've even
started."
He popped one of
the pills and washed it down with a big swig of beer. "Did you see me
tonight? Did it look like my performance was hurt at all?"
She turned to
Luci, who had relaxed a bit, but still had the steel look of a fight in her
eyes. "Let's go," she said with a quick nod to the front door.
"Aw, come on,
babe. Stick around. One of these might be Viagra." The Pigs went nuts on
that one, cheering Alex as if he were a king comedian. He wore a huge grin, but
there was no smile in his eyes. He meant for it to hurt her, and it did. She
grabbed Luci's arm and made for the front door. As she picked her way through
the crowd, she did everything she could to hide her tears.
WYATT
He, Allyssa, and
Kareem sat at a table outside Creamy's Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt. Kareem had
a double scoop in a waffle cone, one of chocolate chip cookie dough and the
other cookies and cream. Wyatt and Allyssa shared one of Creamy's signature
banana splits, which had three scoops of their award-winning vanilla ice cream
laced with veins of chocolate and strawberry sauce. That was topped with hot
fudge, warm caramel, chopped peanuts, whipped cream, and a cherry, which he let
Allyssa have. When she popped it in her mouth, he had the intense urge to lean
over and try to steal it with his tongue. He had a feeling she wouldn't mind,
but he held back. Even if he had been able to will himself to do it, Kareem
wouldn't appreciate the public display. He'd already complained about feeling
like a third wheel despite both he and Allyssa telling him to not worry.
"I'm going to
make Wyatt take me out on a proper date soon, and you won't be invited."
She winked at him
when she said it, and he smiled back, feeling his cheeks heat up. Maybe he
could take her to dinner and a movie as early as tomorrow night. He enjoyed
being with her much more than he anticipated.
They had stopped
at AD Comics before heading over, letting the after-game crowds descend on the
ice cream parlor first. AD stayed open late on both Friday and Saturday nights for
collectable card game players to come in, socialize, and battle. The three of
them didn't bother with the card games, all preferring their games on consoles
and computers, but they did like to occasionally check in for the camaraderie,
as conversations about comics, television, and movies flowed as easily as
whatever game was going on at the moment. Tonight, most of the talk centered on
he and Allyssa dating. Most everyone — a full dozen, counting the two employees
— seemed happy for them, though he did see a few jealous looks. No one offered
anything other than congratulations, though, so it was nice. And afterwards,
when they got to Creamy's, they found their plan had worked. Not only was there
no line to order, but they also claimed this primo table.
They finished
their treats and discussed the football game, school, and comics. Allyssa and
Kareem got into a friendly but heated debate over who would win in a battle
between Wolverine and Batman that ended in a stalemate. Neither asked Wyatt's
opinion, and he didn't offer one. As the argument died down, Mandy and Luci
walked from the parking lot towards Creamy's. He could tell right away that
something was wrong. Mandy's face had that puffy red look of recent tears. What
was going on?
"Mandy,
Luci!" he called, waving them over.
Kareem shot him a
"dude, don't be dumb" look, while Allyssa's face flashed annoyance
for a split second before she smiled. She set her hand over his forearm in a
casual manner.
"Hey
guys," Mandy said, and Luci gave a wave and smile. Yeah, up close there
was no doubt she'd been crying, despite her happy face now.
"What's
wrong?" Allyssa asked.
"Nothing.
It's just … love is hard sometimes." They hung on her words for a few
seconds, waiting for her to expand on that, but she didn't.
He glanced over at
Luci to see if she'd add anything, but he could tell she bit her tongue on the
subject. Instead, she said, "It's nothing a double scoop of mint chocolate
chip won't fix."
"I don't like
some of the guys Alex is hanging out with," Mandy said.
"The
Pigs," Kareem said.
"Yeah. If I can
just wait out this year and get him to Michigan, everything will be
better." The look in her eyes said she didn't believe her own words, but
Wyatt didn't call her on it. "Anyway, let's not talk about that. How's the
date going? I looked for you guys at the game, but couldn't find you."
"We were way
over to the side in the geek and outcast section," Kareem said, earning an
eye roll from Mandy and a laugh from Luci.
"And the
date's going great," Allyssa said, hugging Wyatt's arm. "Nothing
wrong with watching a total dismantling of a football team by another football
team, is there?"
"They were in
midseason form, that's for sure," Mandy said. "We'll leave you three
alone to continue your evening."
They took a step
away when Allyssa said, "No, hang out with us. I'm going to make Wyatt
take me on a real first date, just the two of us, so you're not imposing
tonight."
"Smart,"
Luci said. Mandy smiled and winked at him, which not only put butterflies in
his stomach, but put butterflies in those butterflies' stomachs. He couldn't
keep doing this, letting her affect him. He had Allyssa now, and she was really
cool. Awesomely great.
"You
sure?" Mandy asked.
"Of
course," Allyssa said, nodding towards the empty chairs.
"You might as
well," Kareem said. "I'm already the third wheel. You two can be the
fourth and fifth wheels."
