Something True (11 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

Darla

“Okay, so there are four downs, which means the offense has four chances to get ten yards.”

I took a sip of hot chocolate as I looked over the tiny diagram of a football field on Wallace’s iPad, letting one of the mini marshmallows melt on my tongue. I hardly ever ate anything sweet, and this stuff was like heaven in a Styrofoam mug. We were sitting at the picnic tables near Havemill High School’s refreshment stand, which was, like, half the size of Lake Carmody’s. It was manned by a bunch of face-painted freshmen, who were doing some kind of choreographed dance behind the counter and shrieking with laughter every ten seconds while I tried to concentrate.

Somewhere inside the school, getting his football gear on, was Orion. I hadn’t spoken to him since our tiff earlier, but I was going to corner him after the game and apologize. And before then, I was going to cheer my heart out for him to show him how much I cared.

Which I did. And I also knew I couldn’t win homecoming without him. Not that I’d be mentioning that part.

“But on the fourth down, they usually kick it away.” I put my cup down and rubbed my hands together between my legs to chase off the chill. “Why? Why not use all the downs you’ve got?”

“It really depends where you are on the field and how many yards you’d need to get for a first down. If you’re way back here, of course you’re going to punt it,” Wallace said, pointing at the 20 on the image, “because if you try for the first down and don’t get it, then your opponent has awesome field position.”

“Why?” I asked.

Wallace closed in on the twenty yard line by swiping his fingers across the screen. “Because if you don’t get the first down, the other team automatically gets the ball, and look how close they’d be to a touchdown.”

“Oh! Okay.” I took another sip of hot chocolate. “So if you punt it all the way down here, they have to go across the whole field to get a touchdown,” I said, stabbing at the far end zone.

Wallace’s face lit up, and for a second he looked exactly as he had back in fifth grade when he was cute and hyper, constantly spouting facts because he was just so excited that he had learned them.

“Exactly!” he said. “Now, what are your other options on fourth down?” he asked, leaning his chest into the edge of the table.

“You can either go for the first down, which I guess you’d only do if you had less than a yard or were really close to a touchdown or there was hardly any time left.”

“Good. Or?” Wallace prompted me.

“Or you can . . .” The word was on the tip of my tongue. I looked out across the field, where both our team and the opposing team were running onto the field for warm-up. The yellow goalposts rose up against the darkening sky. “You can kick a field goal!”

“Yes! You’ve got it!” Wallace lifted a hand and I high-fived him, even though I knew that was totally dorky. It seemed appropriate, considering we were talking sports. I pushed myself up and did a hip-waggling dance, enjoying my moment. Orion was going to be so psyched that I could actually have a conversation about this.

“How many points for a field goal?” Wallace quizzed me, watching my moves with a smirk.

“
Trois!
” I said, holding up three fingers.

“And for a touchdown?”

“
Sept!
No! That was a trick question!” I said, pointing at him. “You get six, but then one if you kick the extra point and two if you go for the two-point thingie.”

Wallace laughed. “That thingie would be called a conversion.”

“And you
also
get two points for a safety!” I announced, then stopped dancing. “Which I still don’t understand.”

“But you’re getting there.” Wallace folded his iPad into its cover and stood up as a long whistle sounded down on the field. “Before you know it, you’ll be a football savant.”

“Booyah,” I said, and reached out my fist. Wallace looked surprised. This was our move. Something we used to do whenever we made a breakthrough studying.

“Come on! Don’t leave me hanging!” I said.

He tilted his head and touched his fist to mine, then we both exploded them, bringing them back over our shoulders. I giggled and held his gaze for a long moment, feeling nostalgic. I wondered what life would have been like if Veronica had never taken an interest in me. If I’d stayed Darbot the Geek for the last four years. Would I even be at a football game right now? Would Wallace and I have been friends nonstop since middle school?

“Thanks, Wallace,” I said, reaching for my flimsy mug. “It was really nice of you to meet me here so early and do this.”

Wallace smiled. It was a nice smile. I kind of liked the way his one front tooth sort of overlapped the other just a touch. “Anytime. Seriously.”

On impulse I reached in for a hug. Wallace hugged me back with one arm, and I felt a tiny flutter of something. It was like muscle memory. My body remembered this, what it was like to be close to him.

Then someone nearby cleared her throat in a very familiar and kind of aggressive way. I turned around, sloshing chocolate over the rim of the cup. Sure enough, Veronica was standing three feet behind me. She looked down at the chocolate puddle between us like it was acid.

“Hey, V!” I trilled, feeling as if I’d just stepped on a land mine. One false move and I was vapor.

“D.” Her voice was low, serious, sarcastic. Yeah. She could do that with one letter.

“I’m gonna head over and meet up with the rest of the boosters.” Wallace gathered his stuff, his head suddenly bowed so low you’d think the queen had just shown up and he was nothing but a lowly serf.

Which, let’s face it, was basically the deal.

“Um, okay. See you over there.”

As soon as he was gone, Veronica stepped over the chocolate splatter and faced me, toe-to-toe. “What. Was that?”

“Nothing,” I said, putting my hot chocolate down and reaching for my Tory Burch bag. I felt a pang realizing I’d have to abandon the rest of my drink if I didn’t want to sit through Veronica’s endless comments on sugar and calories. “Wallace was just trying to explain football to me so I can understand what Orion’s talking about after the game.”

Veronica’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Because from where I was standing, it looked more like flirting than explaining.”

“What?” My face burned like I’d had a bad reaction to a chemical peel. “No. He wasn’t flirting.”

Veronica rolled her eyes and walked past me. She was wearing four-inch platforms and towered over me in my kitten heels.

“Please. Wall-E was flirting with you, and you were totally flirting back. I know a good flirt when I see one.”

She paused and turned to face me, her eyes flicking over my outfit. “And what are you wearing? I thought we made a plan.”

My heart fluttered nervously. We
had
made a plan, but this time, I was the one who’d decided to go “caz,” as she would say.

“It’s a football game,” I said, crossing my arms over my cable-knit sweater, which I’d paired with skinny jeans. Veronica had worn the silk knickers, white tank, and faux-fur crop vest we’d agreed on, and she looked . . . cold. “I figured it was better to be comfortable.”

“If that’s the kind of look your new boy toy likes,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“V. We were
not
flirting. I swear.”

“Please. You go ahead and hang out with the riffraff if you want,” she said, wiggling her fingers in the general direction of the bleachers. “Then you’ll have
no
shot at queen.”

She turned around again, her blond hair flying, and strode across the asphalt toward the visiting bleachers. I was so stunned, it took me a second to move. Had Veronica just said what I thought she’d said? I mean, not in so many words, but it was implied . . .

Holy crap. Veronica Vine
was
threatened by me!

Gripping my bag to my side, I jogged to catch up. The Havemill band chose that moment to march around the corner toward the field, and we had to stop to let them go by in all their tasseled and big-hatted glory.

I hid a smile behind my hand, trying as hard as I could to flatten it out, to turn my lips down. I bit my tongue, I pinched my side, I brought my heel down on my own toes, but nothing worked. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning.

“What’s wrong with you?” Veronica asked as the last bass drum marched on by. “Your face is all weird.”

“Is it?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

Veronica Vine was threatened by me. The formerly dorky Darbot the Geek. Veronica Vine thought I could beat her.

“Never mind.” Veronica rolled her eyes again and checked her phone. “Come on. Mariah and Kenna are saving us seats with the seniors.”

“But I’m supposed to sit with the boosters,” I said, matching her steps.

“Whatever. It’s your social suicide.”

Then she strode off ahead of me, her chin held high, as if I wasn’t even there. Which, for that one moment, was fine by me. Because it meant I could smile as much as I wanted.

If Veronica thought I had a shot at queen, then it had to be true. She’d never felt threatened by anyone in her life. But I couldn’t sit back and rest on my laurels, whatever that expression meant. Now was the time to get really serious about campaigning. I had to figure out a way to step up my game, and I knew exactly who to go to if I wanted to brainstorm ideas.

Orion and his teammates stood in a huddle at the sidelines, his last name
FLOROS
in big blue letters on the back of his jersey. I strode down the track toward the team, then passed them right by and jogged up the steps to the bleachers.

“Wallace,” I said, dropping down on the bench next to him. “It’s time to kick this thing up a notch.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Orion

We were down by six with one minute left in the game, lined up on Havemill’s thirty-two yard line. Coach hadn’t used the wildcat yet tonight, and if there was ever a time to do it, it was now. He called a time-out, and the whistle blew. We walked over to the sidelines, pads squeaking, breath panting. My chest pads had shifted somewhere in the last few plays, and something was sticking into my ribs. I yanked on the pads as I glanced up at the stands.

Darla was there. Right smack in the middle of the boosters. Even after that stupid fight we’d had yesterday. The fight I had totally turned around on her because she’d completely caught me checking out True.

I was such an asshole. And there she was, cheering for me. And guess who was nowhere to be found? True Olympia. Hadn’t been there all game. I mean, WTF? She was supposed to be my booster.

“Bring it in, guys. Bring it in,” Coach said as we gathered around him near the bench. He looked right at me, and my heart basically stopped. This was it. I knew it. “Floros, it’s all you,” he said. “We’re gonna snap it to you and you’re gonna take it upfield. Marrott, you line up in the wide receiver slot.”

“Got it, Coach,” Peter said.

“Granger, you’d best block number fifty-five like Floros here is carrying your mama across the line, you got me?”

“Yes, sir,” Donnie Granger said, giving me a confident nod.

“All right, then. Let’s win this thing,” Coach said. “Hands in.”

We piled our hands in the middle of the circle. My heart was pounding, like, a mile a second. The whole game rested on my shoulders. It was on me.

“Win on three. Ready?” Coach said. “One, two, three!”

“Win!” the team shouted.

The stands went crazy. Almost everyone was on their feet. As I turned toward the field again, I saw Darla, jumping up and down between Claudia and Wallace. My jaw clenched. I was about to be the hero of this game. And True wasn’t going to be here to see it.

“Sonofabitch,” I said through my teeth.

Why couldn’t I get that girl out of my head? The hottest chick in the junior class was right there in the stands, practically dancing with nerves for me, and I was thinking about a random person who couldn’t even be bothered to show up.

“You all right, dude?” Peter asked me.

“M’fine,” I grumbled. “Let’s do this.”

Peter and Donnie exchanged a look but didn’t say anything to me as we lined up in the wildcat. The defense noticed my position and started to shout to one another in confusion, which was kind of the point. Donnie, who was the center, counted off and snapped the ball and just like that, it was in my hands. I gritted my teeth, put my shoulders down, and ran straight ahead. There was nothing but bodies ahead of me. I was about to crash into another wall, like I hadn’t had enough of that feeling lately. But at the last second, Donnie shoved his man aside and I saw a hole. It was a small opening, but I turned sideways and slid through, jumping over someone’s ankle and dodging an outstretched arm. Suddenly I was in the clear. Seeing nothing but the goal line ahead of me, I turned on the speed. Dirt flew up behind my cleats. My ragged breathing filled my helmet.

“Go!” the crowd screamed as one. “Go! Go! Go!”

On the scoreboard, the seconds ticked down. Forty-five, forty-four, forty-three. I crossed the goal line with exactly forty-one seconds left in the game and threw my hands in the air. The fans went nuts. My teammates swarmed me.

I looked over at the crowd while my friends slapped my shoulders and rubbed my helmet and shouted my name. Darla blew me a kiss, and I lifted the ball in the air for her.

That was it. I decided right then and there. I was done playing. I was done flirting. I wasn’t going to be that guy. Everything in my life was golden until I let True Olympia infiltrate my thoughts, but that was over. I had an amazing girlfriend. A girlfriend who was here for me. From here on out, I was only about her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

True

Inside his private bathroom, I touched a swab drenched with alcohol to Hephaestus’s cut. He winced and so did I.

“Sorry,” I said.

“It’s okay.”

“No, I mean I’m sorry. About all of this.” I turned around to lean back against the ceramic sink, tossing the swab into the garbage can. “You shouldn’t be getting caught in the middle of my squabbles with Artemis. You probably had a perfectly peaceful life before I got myself banished here.”

Hephaestus eyed me. “Actually, it was kind of nice. Living on the beach, hanging out with the ladies . . . no listening to your constant whining about Orion . . .”

I shoved his arm and he made a fist, about to fake-hit me back, but suddenly his hands dropped. He cocked his head toward his room.

“What?” I asked. “What is it?”

“It’s Harmonia.” He spun his chair around. “She’s calling.”

My heart skipped excitedly as we rushed through the door and past his bed, the ancient floors creaking and groaning beneath us. The intricately decorated metal mirror above his desk glowed. Hephaestus pushed himself out of his chair and touched the frame. Before his butt even hit the seat again, Harmonia had appeared. The sight of her beautiful face brought both a burst of joy and a slice of pain that was almost more than I could bear. Harmonia had been my best friend and confidante throughout my existence. Being banished to Earth without her was its own special form of torture, as was seeing her now but not being able to touch her.

“Eros, Hephaestus, it’s good to see you.” Her auburn hair hung in loose waves over her shoulders, with daisies woven throughout its strands. “I come with a message from the queen.”

Hephaestus and I exchanged an alarmed look.

“So she knows you’re in communication with us?” Hephaestus asked. “That we’ve been speaking behind her back?”

Harmonia’s face was still. Too still. “She knows.”

“Has she threatened you, sister?” I asked, leaning in toward the mirror. “If anything were to happen to you because you helped me—”

“No. In fact, the queen claims she is happy to have a go-between now,” Harmonia replied. “Which is why I am here.”

“Did she summon you?” I asked. “Did you actually see her?”

Harmonia nodded slightly, and something in her eyes shifted. She was scared and trying to hide it. I could feel it in my bones. I knew her better than anyone, and I knew it to be true.

“Yes. She allowed me into her chambers briefly today.” Harmonia licked her pink lips. “She’s sending me to Earth to speak with you on her behalf. To speak with all of you, Artemis and Apollo included.”

I gripped the handle on the back of Hephaestus’s chair. “Harmonia, what is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, my sister,” she said, tucking her chin and looking me in the eye. “Everything will be explained when I get there.”

“And when will that be?” I asked.

“Tomorrow night. You, Hephaestus, Artemis, and Apollo are to meet me at the town square at midnight. Will you come?”

“Of course we will,” I said.

“I’m to see you?” Hephaestus asked, breathless. I could practically feel his nerves jumping like trampoline artists. “In the flesh?”

For the first time, Harmonia smiled. “Yes, my love. The wait is finally over.”

A choking sound escaped Hephaestus’s lips and he convulsed, tears streaming down his face. He stopped himself quickly, bringing the side of his clenched hand to his lips and gamely holding his emotions inside, but I knew it was a battle for him. He had awaited this day for generations. He was about to be reunited with his love.

I was so happy for the two of them, my heart was fit to burst, but there was still that question pinching the back of my mind. Why was Harmonia frightened?

“Harmonia, I—”

She looked behind her suddenly, her hair whipping. “I have to go,” she told us. “But I will see you both tomorrow. I promise, one way or another, I will answer your questions then.”

The mirror fogged over, then cleared, and I was staring at my own reflection. Hephaestus covered his face with both hands and cried. The sight of him, this masculine man curled up in his chair like a weeping child, was more than I could take. I knew he would get ahold of himself well before this meeting with Harmonia, but for now I felt that the only thing to do was to leave him to it. I backed slowly, quietly, out of the room and closed the door.

Alone in the hallway, I blew out a breath. Whatever was bothering Harmonia, she would find a way to tell me when I saw her.