Its The Way You Look At Me Ch 02

Courtney was grounded for a week. No phone, no TV, no internet, no going out except for cheer practice. And her parents weren't very happy with me either. I explained as best I could but her dad still wasn't happy with me. He thought his little girl was so innocent and she didn't drink. What a way to find out your daughter was a lush.

Jamie on the other hand, skated by unpunished from the whole thing. I guess she really didn't do anything wrong. She just didn't come home that night since she spent the night with Courtney. She had a pretty legitimate excuse. I did rat her out a little when I told my dad about her being with Erik but she wasn't punished for it.

Not that she ever really got punished for anything anyway. Sometimes I didn't understand how my dad and her dad could be related. My dad was hard on me and used physical punishment on me a lot. I rarely got hit, he was more of a make you exercise until you felt like shit kind of guy. Jamie's dad took a different approach with her. She just got lectured and grounded sometimes. It was probably because she was a girl and I was a guy. Either way we were both pretty good kids and we hardly got into trouble.

"So, how bad did you get in trouble?" Jordan asked as we walked to lunch.

"About an hour's worth," I smiled.

"That's about average," he chuckled.

"I don't know why I got into trouble," I said. "It wasn't like I made Courtney drunk."

Jordan laughed a little. "I may have had something to do with that. I kept egging her on to go shot for shot with me."

"Maybe you should have been in the backyard with me asshole," I joked.

"Sorry if I made you mad Owen," he offered.

"It wasn't your fault," I said. "Courtney does like to drink but she can't handle her liquor. Although, I did tell you to keep an eye on her."

"I tried man. She was pissed off though. She did good......." Jordan's voice faded away as something else caught my attention now.

Erik and Jamie were face to face in a heated argument, most likely about the other night. He was pointing at her and saying something as she stood there and held her arms out and barked something right back. A small crowd was gathered to watch the drama. Jamie and Erik continued on oblivious to them at this point. I started to speed away from Jordan now to get closer to figure out what was going on.

"Shit Owen," Jordan called. "Don't do anything stupid man."

I waved my hand at him as I started to hear Jamie's voice more clearly now. I pushed my through the small crowd until I was in the front row.

"You were a dick," she called to Erik.

"If I'm a dick then you're a bitch," he barked right back.

"You're a fucking idiot Erik," Jamie cried. "I'm not going to stand here and listen to this shit. If you wanted a quick fuck then you should have gone and fucked yourself. Oh wait, you kind of did."

"You fucking cunt," he called.

"Go fuck yourself Erik," she fired right back.

He reached out and grabbed her arm roughly as she tried to walk away. He shook her a little before she flipped her arm around to break free and caught him in the face in the process. He stepped back a half step as the back of her hand caught his face.

"You fucking bitch," he yelled.

He went to grab her arm again as she tried to get away. I lunged in the middle of them both and smacked his arm down before he could reach her. We stood face to face as Jamie hid behind Jordan and I. Erik looked at me then Jordan.

"You leave Jamie alone," I barked and pushed him back a little. "How dare you?"

"You stay the fuck out of this," he barked back and flicked my arm down. "This doesn't concern you."

"It does concern me when you lay hands on my cousin you dumb son of a bitch."

"You don't want to get in the middle of this pretty boy," he quipped. "It would suck if you couldn't play on Friday because I put you in the hospital."

"Ha," I laughed sarcastically. "Not a cold chance in hell. I'd only have to last two seconds before I knock you on your ass you two pump chump."

"You cock sucker," he snapped. "This is my last warning."

"We aren't going to fight," I said firmly. "You turn the fuck around and walk away from Jamie and stay the fuck away from her. Do you hear me?"

"You arrogant prick," he barked. "I warned you."

I saw him go to throw a punch. The rest happened so fast I never saw it coming. In a flash, Erik was ripped back and slammed up against the row of lockers on the other side of the hallway. The crash of his body against the metal sent a loud echo down the hallway. His feet were kicking about a foot off the ground as Shane pressed his forearm into his throat and held him there.

"You heard the man," Shane warned. "He said there wasn't going to be a fight and you are going to walk away."

More people flowed to the hallway to see what was going on. The crowd had attracted more than just students looking to watch a fight by now. A few teachers fought their way through the mass of kids to get to the source of the crowd. Jordan and I both followed Shane to the other side of the hallway now to back him up. Not that he would need it. Shane was a brawler when he needed to be and could handle himself pretty well on his own.

"Fuck you Shane," Erik managed to cry. "Put me down you fucking douche bag."

"Let him down Shane," Mr. Hutch ordered.

"Yes sir," Shane relented.

He released Erik and let him drop. He slumped to the floor before finding his feet and giving Shane a shove for holding him. Shane just laughed at him before he pushed him up against the row of lockers again and held him.

"Break it up," Mr. Hutch ordered.

"He better not touch me again," Shane warned. "It's starting to piss me off."

"Fuck you Shane," Erik barked defiantly now.

"Really?" Mr. Hutch quipped. "Give it a rest Erik. Shane would crush you."

Shane released him now. Erik fluffed his shirt out so it rested on his body properly.

"What's going on boys?" coach called as he pushed his way to the front.

"We are just settling a little misunderstanding," Shane said calmly.

"You fucking choked me," Erik cried.

"I didn't choke you," Shane laughed. "I restrained you."

"Why is his lip bleeding then?" Mr. Hutch asked.

"Actually, that was me," Jamie spoke. "I hit him."

I glanced at Erik and noticed the corner of his lip was split and blood was trickling out of it.

"Fucking bitch," Erik muttered.

"Watch your mouth fucker," Shane barked and pressed him against the lockers again. "That's a girl you are talking to."

"Easy Shane," coach said calmly. "Take it easy."

"Yeah you oversized douche bag," Erik hissed, still being defiant.

I could see it in Shane's eyes. He really wanted to hit him now but he showed composure and let him free once again.

"Asshole," Erik croaked.

"Hey!" coach called. "Shut the hell up! You and that mouth of yours really gets you into some trouble sometimes."

He looked at Mr. Hutch now. "I got it from here."

"Alright," he relented.

"Clear out," coach boomed. "Get out of the hallway and get to where you are supposed to be going. You five, in my classroom, right now."

We all headed into his room that was right around the corner. He flipped on the lights as we stood in the front of the class and waited on him to chew us all out.

"What happened?" coach asked.

"That bitch hit me," Erik barked first. "Then this jerk slammed me into a locker."

"After you grabbed me Erik," Jamie shouted back. "Look at my arm."

"You called......." Erik started.

"Shut the hell up!" coach boomed.

The room was silent before coach looked hard at Erik.

"The language coming from your mouth towards a girl is unacceptable and you know it. Putting your hands on a girl is even worse. You should know better than that. You're lucky I don't turn Shane loose on you right here right now."

This was about the most fired up I had seen coach in a very long time. He was face to face with Erik and looked like he wanted to hit him himself.

"If I ever, ever hear that you've touched Jamie again, even the slightest touch, I'm going to beat your ass myself. Do you hear me?"

"You can't threaten me," Erik said shocked.

"Oh!" coach roared. "I'm not threatening you Erik. I'm promising you. Get the fuck out of my classroom before I let Shane turn you into a ragdoll."

He quickly scampered out of the room.

"Are you ok Jamie?" he asked calmly.

"I'm ok," she sighed. "He just scared me."

"Let me see your arm sweetie," he said.

She held her arm out as he looked at it. It was red where he grabbed her but it wasn't too bad.

"I'm sorry Jamie," he said.

"It's not too bad," she sighed. "I think we can save it."

He chuckled softly before turning to us. "Boys, I know you guys are looking out for each other. Just be careful when you guys do that kind of stuff. I'll let you slide this time on the administrative side. But the football side, you guys aren't going to slide. Be at practice an hour early so we can figure out a punishment for you guys."

"Yes sir," the three of us replied together.

"Make sure this is the end of it," he sighed. "Go on now, get out of here."

"Yes sir," we all called again.

We quickly scattered from his room and continued on to lunch like we had intended.

"Thanks for having my back Shane," I offered.

"What am I here for?" he laughed. "I hate that fucking guy anyway. I knew he was bad news."

"Thank you Shane," Jamie said sweetly. "You didn't have to do that though. I don't want you guys getting into trouble."

"You know me and trouble," Shane laughed. "They go hand in hand."

We laughed as we reached the lunch line and decided on what we were getting.

"There you are," Courtney said. "I was wondering where you were."

She gave me kiss and took my hand as Jordan stood next to me and pulled a drink from the ice bucket. Courtney glared at him as he looked at her and gave his shit eating grin. I shook my head at the whole thing. Jordan got her drunk but she didn't have to drink. Now she was pissed off at him again. She had it in for him since her and I started dating. They had a love hate relationship that I tried to stay out of since I liked them both.

We went through the line in silence until we reached the table again. We all took a seat and started eating lunch.

"Thank you Owen," Jamie said as she sat across from me.

"Not a problem," I said. "You looked like you needed some help."

She just smiled as Courtney glared at her too. It was starting to piss me off that she was pissed off all the time at the two people who I liked the most. I tried to forget about it and let it go. Lunch was rather quiet after that. It was just Bobby yapping about Friday night after I had left the party.

Practice wasn't what I had expected. Coach just had us sit in his office and watch some film from the last game. Then he let us do what little homework we had before the real practice started. I was thankful for that since I was still sore from Saturday and the punishment my dad had given me.

The week went by quickly and without further incident. Friday night came quickly. Shane did his thing to get the team pumped up again before leading them out onto the field. I took my time as usual and headed out last. We warmed up and got ready for the game.

I passed a few to Jordan before we stood there and talked about the other team again. Shane came up behind him and gave him a big bear hug.

"Watch it you big fucking moose," Jordan laughed.

"Not every day a guy like me can catch a guy like you," he joked. "Fucking cheetah."

"Geez," I laughed. "You sound like Bobby now."

"Who sounds like me?" Bobby questioned.

"Nobody," I laughed.

"So what do you think about them?" Jordan asked about the other team.

"Charlie says they are going to be tough," I smiled.

"And you're listening to crazy Charlie?" Shane laughed.

"I didn't say I was listening, that's just what he said."

"Your dad didn't scout them?" Jordan questioned.

"He did," I smiled. "Nothing to worry about. Take away the run and they won't be able to move the ball."

"That's all you Shane," Bobby said.

"I got it fat boy," Shane smiled. "You just worry about them cheese burgers."

"I already had two," Bobby laughed.

I couldn't help but laugh before looking at Jordan. "Go long then I'm done."

"I'm going to cover you," Shane teased.

"This might be my easiest touchdown tonight," Jordan teased right back.

I tossed the ball to Bobby and stood back in the shotgun. Jordan lined up close to Bobby with Shane standing right up on him. I gave my head a turn to the inside then back to the outside. Jordan smiled and understood just what I wanted.

Bobby snapped me the ball as Jordan shoved Shane off of him then turned inside. Shane quickly scrambled to follow him as Jordan turned back to the outside. He pulled away from Shane easily as he tried to scramble and catch back up. I let it fly softly as Jordan caught it and held it out behind him to tease Shane as he chased him. I left them to bull shit in the end zone as I trotted to mid field to say my piece before finding the bench again.

"You look relaxed tonight," Jamie said.

"I have nothing to be worried about," I smiled. "I've got you here cheering me on."

Her white teeth filled her grin and she smiled at me. She just leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss to my cheek. "Good luck anyway Owen. Even if you don't need it."

"Thanks Jamie," I said.

We went out and won the coin toss. We took the ball and ran it out to the thirty five. Four plays later we scored on a pass from me to Jordan as he cut across the middle of the end zone. They took the ball and scored after a long but quick drive to even the score at seven.

That was all they did after that. We scored a few more times in the first half with a good mix of run and pass. The defense played very well after that opening drive and didn't allow them past mid field. We went into the locker room at halftime leading 35 to 7.

The third started with the defense making a big play and giving us the ball back after Shane made a big hit on their quarterback. He fumbled the ball as Shane scrambled on the ground to get the ball. Once the pile cleared off, Shane stood with the ball in his hands and held it high in the air to show our home crowd that he had it. They roared as he jumped around and kept them pumped.

"Let's go big or go home," I said to Jordan.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"Let's see how he's playing you before I decide," I smiled.

We headed onto the field and lined up after I gave the play for a simple hand off. I scanned the line and saw that Jordan's guy was playing him tight. I knew if Jordan burnt him off the line he would be free down the sideline. I pulled from under center and checked the play.

"Eagle eye," I called.

Bobby leaned back and got my check before he started pointing to get the line to change the blocks. I held my arms out wide for Jordan to give him the check. I turned towards Wade and gave him the same check. I glanced at Jordan and saw his hand shaking so he knew what I wanted.

I got back under Bobby and took the snap. I didn't even look towards Jordan at first as I dropped back and got my feet set. I continued to watch Wade as he ran an up and in. The safety slide over to his side as I turned and saw Jordan had a step on his guy. I threaded the needle and zipped a pass in front of him and inside the other safety that was helping over the top.

Jordan caught it and hit the brakes to dodge the safety. Once he was out of the way Jordan hit the gas again and quickly pulled away from the corner that was covering him. He ran into the end zone and jumped around once he scored again.

"Owen," coach smiled. "Nothing like kicking a guy while he is down is there?"

"Go big or go home," I offered.

"I guess so," he laughed.

We ended up scoring two more times that quarter as our defense kept them from scoring. By the time the fourth quarter came around we had a 56 to 7 lead and we were on the move again. Coach had decided that he had seen enough from me, Jordan, Wade, Mack, and some of the other starters so he pulled us and let the bench get some time in the game.

The game ended with us winning 70 to 7. We were now moving on to the regional semifinal game. I found Courtney as I trotted off the field.

"Good job tonight baby," she smiled.

"Sometimes they come easy," I offered.

"What are you going to do tonight?" she questioned.

"Jordan and I are going to head out somewhere."

"You're going out without me?" she asked.

"You know we celebrate after we win."

"Fine," she sighed.

"What? Am I not supposed to go out without you?"

"Do whatever makes you happy Owen. At least Jamie won't interrupt us tonight. You can just hang out with her."

"I might just do that," I quipped. "I will talk to you later Courtney."

I left and headed into the locker room to get the speech from coach before he let us get cleaned up. After we showered I went home and made sure it was ok for me to be out tonight. I went to pick up Jamie then I called Jordan to see where we were going.

"Dude," Jordan cheered. I knew this was going to be good by the tone of his voice. "Old man Williams' is out of town and my parents are keeping an eye on the house for him."

"Ok," I said.

"We can head over there and hang out at his house. He has a fridge full of beer and some harder stuff in the cabinet."

"You don't have to tell me twice," I said. "I will be there in a few minutes then."

"Where are we going?" Jamie questioned.

"Old man Williams'," I smiled.

"Sounds fun," she smiled back.

We pulled into the place a few minutes later and found Jordan and Kelly in the detached garage next to the house. Jamie and I grabbed a chair and sat down. Jordan was already handing me a beer before my ass even hit the chair. Kelly found the old radio and turned it on to play some tunes in the background. I found my can of dip and took out a big pinch as I listened to Jordan gloat about scoring three times tonight.

I finished my first beer as Bobby pulled in with his girl Trish.

"It's about time you got here," I sighed. "I'm about tired of listening to Jordan gloat about his damn touchdowns tonight."

"Don't hate," Jordan laughed. "Just because you didn't score tonight doesn't mean you have to hate on me."

"Just remember there pal," I laughed. "Without me you wouldn't have scored at all tonight."

"This is true," Jordan said holding his can up. "Cheers to that."

We all held our beers up before taking a drink.

"Maybe you still can score tonight," Bobby joked. "When is Courtney getting here?"

"She's not," I said. "She got in trouble last week."

"Oh," Bobby sighed. "Sorry Owen."

"I'm probably going to have more fun tonight without her here anyway," I offered.

They laughed as the gravel crunched on the driveway indicating we had another visitor. Shane strolled from his truck with Mia at his side. A few minutes later Mack stopped by flying solo. Wade and his girl showed up about ten minutes after that. We spent a few hours shooting the shit and having a good time.

"Fuck," I gasped. "I'm out." I tossed my empty dip can on the ground.

"Have another beer," Jordan suggested and tossed one my way.

"I guess I have to now," I laughed. I popped the top and took a sip.

"I really need a dip though," I sighed. "I'm going to walk to the store up the street and get another can."

"I'll go with you," Jamie offered.

"I need one too," Shane said.

"Let's go," I said.

"I could use a snack," Bobby said smiling. We could only laugh at him.

"We are going to head off," Wade said. "I have to get her home anyway."

"Yeah, I've got to get up early and mow grass with my dad," Mack said. "I'm out."

"Fuck," Jordan hissed. "I guess I'm going with you guys to the store then."