*Standing up for what you believe in may hurt now; not making a stand hurts forever*
(Friday Night)
On Friday night we buried Goslin, our major competition for Conference Champions. Our two running backs scored more than I did, but I could have cared less; it was a big win. At the end I even had some Goslin players pick me up and tell me what a good game I played. When asked about our toughest game though, I told the reporter that it had been Hoover, the smallest school, because they never quit; never stopped giving a 110%.
Our win was also big for another reason; Blair was back for the game. He couldn't play, but he could make commentary and I tried to be polite enough to listen. He clearly despised me and I worried just a bit about what he said on the sidelines when I was playing. At the after party, Blair drank too much and got a bit pissy, but I ended up being thankful because his poor sportsmanship helped me become more solid with the undecided teammates.
Had it not been for the obvious cock-block, I might not have noticed that Amber was with my little cliché of hotties (technically Jamie's little cliché). Her BF, Jack Rollins had gotten hurt on one of the last downs and had to miss the party. Amber was nice; she'd been Emily's friend since the eighth grade, so there was some mutual tolerance between her, Jamie and me.
(Saturday Afternoon)
You would think that in the days of instant communications that people would be more mindful of what they did a little more, especially with camera phones, audio recordings, and text messaging. I received the call shortly before two in the afternoon from Emily that I had to get to her place ASAP. I grabbed Jamie along the way and we're ushered into Emily's family's home. I was the QB -- which appeared to be an all-access pass to any high school girl's bedroom. What was wrong with these people?
Jamie went to Amber while Emily came to me. We had a pretend kiss which had a little more heat than I was used to which made me suspicious. Amber looked like she'd a rough morning. She was whispering with Jamie while Emily pulled me aside and showed me some pics with Jack and some girl I barely knew. They seemed to be having a good time.
About pic five I saw that they were having too good a time. She was in too few clothes, and too drunk, for this to be a situation that ended well. Apparently she was too far gone to get any more pics out after that, but she'd woken up a few hours ago thinking that she and Jack were an item and was texting that to everyone she could think of. I could have heard that train wreck from the next county over.
Right after we got there the counter-text campaign began. Jack was claiming that Gina Orwell was some skank he'd met while buying some beer and she's been all over him. He apologized to Amber and threatened Gina if she didn't quit her delusional attacks and got over herself. How a person with the sole talent of being able to throw a stupid football more than ten yards was supposed to handle this emotional minefield was beyond me.
I started at the beginning (for me):
"Amber, do you want Jack back?" Amber looked at me confused and distraught.
"What do I do?" she muttered.
"Tell the asshole he blew his chance with you," Jamie insisted. "You have friends. Finding another guy to date shouldn't be too hard."
"This close to Homecoming?" Amber all but wailed.
"We'll let you have Craig," Emily promised which surprised the hell out of me. Was I consulted on this major social upheaval -- No.
"Sure," Jamie agreed. "Emily and I will go as a couple." Jamie hid her smirk well.
Amber looked over at me hopefully, "I wouldn't want to get in the way of anything," she protested. I knew what came next. I stepped up and took Amber by her hands and looked into her eyes.
"Amber, would you like to go to Homecoming with me?" Amber looked totally taken off guard.
"I must look like a total mess," she evaded. Her gaze when to Emily's who nodded. Jamie nodded too.
"Okay," Amber said.
"It will be just you and I, unless you have some friends you would like to bring along," I hinted. Amber smiled for the first time I'd seen today. One I got over the attractiveness of Amber's smile did it dawn on me how much I would be on the hit list of every other heterosexual male who didn't have a date to Homecoming (and maybe a few that did). If it mattered at all, I could reconcile myself with the knowledge that Amber was the friend of a friend and nothing more.
(Monday)
Remember what I said about instant communication? By the time I walked in the doors with Emily and Jamie I was back to 'Who is this guy?' Even my scholastic friend didn't know what to make of my latest social blunder. Jack Rollins knew what to do though.
"Craig, what the fuck are you doing?" he snapped at me in the hallway before first period.
"Going to class," was my hopeful reply.
"What the hell are you doing with Amber? Aren't Emily and Jamie enough for you?" he was positively growling now. I was wondering how to best put this.
"Clearly not, besides "... and he shoved me. I rocked into several people and I was suddenly glad Jack hadn't brought an army.
"Jack, Amber dumped you because of those photos," I said as I evaded his next rush, "and I wasn't going with anyone, and she was right there ... and it sort of happened. Can we still be friends?" Wasn't 'can we still be friends' the kiss of death for a relationship?
"Fuck off!" he snarled then stormed off through the crowd. To my classmates credit they all didn't look away like nothing had happened. Some had real sympathy, but I wasn't sure for whom.
(Lunch)
It was all over the school by the time I joined my (now three) ladies. Jack had aimed at getting even with me and Amber and had made the next obvious move. He'd asked Emily to Homecoming, figuring that I'd burned her the way he'd been burned. Emily had been very sweet and polite, but insisted she already had a date.
Jamie had been next his target. She'd been less diplomatic. Jack had made the mistake of making a public display of allowing her to go to Homecoming with him. Jamie had giggled in his face then informed him that she was going with Emily ... plus Amber and me. After that emasculation no girl wanted to touch him.
Jack hadn't been my enemy before this, but he quickly gravitated to Blair's circle. Some of my allies made a point of coming over and talking to me and Amber, giving some good-natured ribbing. In my favor, the Cheer Squad was completely behind me (and Emily and Amber); my geek buddies basked in the peripheral coolness; so I could deal with two pissed off jocks.
(Saturday -- Homecoming)
Our Homecoming game had been against Columbia Creek. They were at the bottom half of the league so they didn't give us too much trouble. They played a fair game so we didn't run up the score. It turned out that our game didn't matter too much because on the same night Panther Hill lost their Homecoming to little Hoover. Consider how rough a game Panther Hill had played with us, we could only cheer Hoover on with all our hearts.
What placed all that back to the corner of my mind was how good Amber looked when I came by to pick her. Jack was an idiot for stepping out on this girl. Her look of uncertainty was tender when she came into the den where I sat with her mother father and little sister. She really didn't know me and now I was in charge of one of the two most important days of her High School life. I had no idea what we would do for Prom.
"Wow," declared as I stood up. "You look stunning." Amber gave a relieved smile then moved to her mother and gave the woman a hug.
"I want you back by eleven," the father instructed me.
