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The Hiding Game Ch. 01

By: fieryjen



"I'm going to hate this," I announced to Marisol while we quickly got dressed in the girls' locker room. We were the last two girls in there, having had to search for our clothes which had been hidden by some of the other girls as a practical joke. Marisol was on the verge of crying because she would most likely be late for her job. I wasn't taking the delay quite so hard, but I felt sorry for her and understood when she stormed out as soon as she was dressed instead of waiting for me. I finished up alone, pulling my hair out of the ponytail and packing my bag. 

I wasn't quite sure what had possessed me to think that PE as my last class of the day would be a good idea. The class was favored by athletes and cheerleaders because of afternoon practices, and being surrounded by girls who either ignored me or gave me a hard time wasn't really my dream. Having Marisol there with me was a bit of help, since it meant that neither of us felt too alone. Today had been the first time they had actually played a joke on us, but the schoolyear was just starting, and the looks and comments we were given in class were bad enough.

I gingerly brushed off my jeans once more, trying to get rid of the dust they had collected while sitting on top of the east wall lockers. My t-shirt had huge spots of water on it, probably from a leaky sink, but they would dry quickly in the heat outside. Glancing around once more to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, I closed my locker and picked up my bag. It was past three thirty, so all the athletes should be out at practice already, assuring that I wouldn't have any nasty run-ins. I was by no means the school outcast – although I occasionally did feel that way – but Glenn Valley High School just had such a high reputation of athletic excellence that not being an athlete seemed like a pretty bad idea to most people. Everyone was hoping that we would set a new record in state championships this year, and the athletes capable of such a feat were worshipped like Gods. There were three, first Alicia Miller, who was a cross country and track runner and also captain of the girls basketball team. Lindsey Anderson was the best softball player we had, and even in the fall when she was a football cheerleader, she was already celebrated. The third, Seth Marshall, was already being called the best athlete our high school had ever had. Having played in the football varsity for all three previous years of high school, he was now starting his second year as a team captain and, according to the local paper, determined to lead the team to a state championship. Even I hadn't missed a football game in the last three years, although it usually meant sitting on the edge of the bleachers all by myself. I didn't like to admit to myself that I had a bit of a crush on him, but then again, so had about eighty percent of the female population of the school. Sometimes, I thought, you really had to wonder why in the world the powers-that-be didn't give out looks and talent on a more equal basis. 

When I finally left the locker room, I ran into Audra, one of the girls I had been friends with the previous year. She had made the dance team for this year and had taken that as her cue to become an insufferable bitch, especially towards Marisol and me. She was carrying her pom pons and obviously on her way to practice, and all the acknowledgement she gave me was a look at my white shirt and the parts where it became see-through because of the water on it. I rolled my eyes at her and walked off in the opposite direction, towards the back of the school. If I went out the front door, I would have to walk past the whole dance team in their practice spot – the school's foyer – and that wasn't a picnic even without a wet shirt. The back door I was wanting to sneak out of wasn't used except maybe by football players on their way out to practice, and they would all be out on the field by now. 

Crossing through a freshman hallway and past the artrooms, I decided to take the longer route past the gym so I could take a drink out of the water fountain. The hallway I was in was a senior hallway, seemingly deserted as I walked through it. When I had almost reached the drinking fountain though, the door at the hallway's end opened and Seth Marshall walked towards me, or rather, the fountain. 

The blood came rushing into my face and I carefully stepped back. Athletes first, was our school's inofficial drinking fountain policy, which I didn't dare break. With a short look at me and a mumbled "Excuse me," Seth bent over the fountain and drank, giving me some time to compose myself and start breathing again. I made sure my hair looked alright should he cast a second glance at me, and I also enjoyed the few seconds he was so close to me and I could stare at his perfect body without fear of being teased about it. 

He finally stopped drinking, wiped his mouth and straightened his body, and suddenly he was looking at me. Not just glancing this time either, but taking in my blushing face, my wet shirt, and I don't know what else there was to notice about me at that moment. I wasn't quite sure where to point my eyes. Staring back at him was not an option, so I chose the drinking fountain as my place of interest, wondering faintly how red my cheeks might be by this point. 

"You okay?" he finally asked, actually sounding a bit concerned. I would have appreciated his question more if I hadn't been too preoccupied with the fact that this was the first time he had ever talked to me. I managed to nod and smile shakily, looking up into his green eyes for a splitsecond. 

"Your shirt is... wet," he pointed out, and I plucked at the spots in question. 

"I know. I dropped it in... in the shower, after gym class." I mentally cursed my voice for shaking as much as it was. 

"You'll be okay though?"

He still hadn't moved from his position at the drinking fountain, and I noticed he was trying not to look at my chest. I tried to remember what bra I was wearing, and figured that it was probably a dark one that showed though the wet shirt. I wasn't stupid enough to look down and check if this was true, but nodded at his second question. 

He finally pushed himself away from the fountain and gave me one more polite nod before turning around and leaving towards the football field. It was a few seconds before I dared to move, finally taking a drink at the fountain. My breath went ridiculously fast. I could feel my racing heartbeat catch up with it when I wiped my mouth and glanced down, realizing my guess had been right and my dark purple bra was showing under the white material clinging to it. I spent a few seconds contemplating if me having a fairly big chest was a good thing or a bad thing in this case, then I took a deep breath and walked towards the door, hoping I wouldn't meet anyone walking home before my shirt had dried in the late summer heat. 

I spent most of the afternoon on my bed, fantasizing. The more I thought about it, the more embarrassing I found the whole situation, but the simple fact that Seth Marshall had talked to me made me absurdly happy. I considered calling Marisol and telling her about the incident, but resolved to keep my happy thoughts to myself for a bit longer. I knew I was being silly and fangirlish. Still, spending a whole afternoon picturing Glenn Valley High School's football God at the drinking fountain didn't seem like such a bad thing to me. 

Finally, my mom managed to get me out of my happy trance and forced me to start my homework. I had quite a heavy classload this year and knew that I couldn't afford to fall behind with anything this early in the schoolyear. But even with that in mind it was hard for me to concentrate and to get Seth's picture out of my head. 

I wore a black shirt with my usual jeans at school the next day, just to make sure I wouldn't be flashing people my bra again. I left my house twenty minutes early, and before classes started, I went to see my guidance counsellor, Mrs Jameson, to ask if there was a chance I could switch my PE class to another period. That turned out to be a mistake, since she not only considered my request an annoyance but flat out refused it. Mrs Jameson could be a real bitch when caught on the wrong day, and she must have decided to take some of the frustration out on me when she asked me instead if I would mind switching my Senior English class to fourth period. 

"Why?" I asked her, and she pointed out that first period English was maxed out beyond capacity, while there were way too many free spots in fourth period English. 

"So I'm looking for volunteers," she told me, "to keep numbers even."

"I'm not volunteering," I protested. "I don't like first period study halls, and that's what you want to switch it with. And I'm happy where I'm at."

"Well, I have to move someone," Mrs Jamison insisted. "I'd rather you would just let me switch you now, instead of making me do it later. I really don't appreciate your lack of cooperation, Jenna."

I had no idea how the hell I had gotten on her bad side so quickly, but I knew that she was not beyond making her threat a reality, even if she was supposed to pick students randomly. Faced with not really having a choice, I agreed to let her switch my fourth period study hall for the less popular English class, and walked out of her office with the feeling that this could not be the prelude to a good day. 

I met Marisol by her locker, and she hurriedly apologized for leaving me alone in the PE locker room the day before. I waved it off, telling her not to worry about it and recounted how I had just gotten screwed over by Mrs Jamison. 

"So I'm off to fucking study hall now," I sighed, and she told me she was sorry, hugging me and promising me I could rant more fully in Art class, which we had together sixth period. Making a short stop by my own locker, I collected whatever I thought I could waste time with and went in the direction of Sophomore hallway. Study halls took place in the old lunchroom at the far end of that hallway, and it had apparently served that purpose until our school building had been extended on the north side about six years ago. 

Upon entering the gloomy looking room, I gave away the "add" slip Mrs Jamison had outfitted me with and went to sit down at the far end of the room. Not many people had arrived yet, and the few that had were napping with their heads buried in their arms. Miss Larsen, the quiet young teacher who supervised this study hall, had probably already given up on trying to wake people. 

Even when the bulk of students arrived between the first and the second bell, the room lost nothing of it's gloomy, tired atmosphere. Most students here were only in this study hall because they liked to sleep in for another hour, and those who were not still yawned once in a while and were not particularly animated. The yellowish, dim lighting in this room was not helping either. I sighed when the school building started to quiet down, a sign that classes had started, and tried to decide on what to do, when suddenly, another student came in bearing a late slip, and I forgot all about the dreaded study hall. 

It was Seth, wearing sweats, looking exhausted and tired, a book under his arm and his short brown hair sticking up wet. I couldn't believe my luck. He looked irresistible to me, and I couldn't help following him with my eyes as he sat down a few tables away from me. Because we had real tables in this room with six people each on it, I was able to enjoy the fact that his back wasn't turned towards me and I could watch his face if I was careful not to be too obvious. Seth was chatting with some friends for a moment before Miss Larsen asked them to quiet down, then he took his book and notes and started to read. I figured I should start working on something as well and opened a book at random. 

For a long time, the room was quiet except for the occasional coughing and shifting. I glanced up every couple of sentences, taking in Seth who was still just sitting there reading, resting his head on his arm. Once, I looked up to find him returning my glance, and he gave me a barely visible smile. His eyes rested on me for a few more seconds before moving elsewhere, leaving me with a nice warm feeling in my stomach. He had probably just now recognized me from our run-in yesterday, I figured, and went back to my reading and occasional glancing up.

Study Hall went over quickly this way, and I cast a last wishful glance at Seth's back as I packed my things with the bell. I forced myself to snap out of my dreamy state and made my way to my first actual class. 


I spent the next week or so doing nothing but staring and pretend-reading during first period study hall. It worked out just fine since I did not have any homework to do anyway. However, any attempts, if you could call them that, to get his attention again failed miserably. Usually they only consisted of me looking at him and hoping for the best. I had also started to wear tighter, more revealing tops under my t-shirts when I left the house in the morning, but I had never gotten the courage to actually take off my shirt before class and attend study hall while violating the dress code. Our school wasn't too strict about enforcing it, but I wasn't quite sure if wearing something sexy wouldn't just backfire and make me look stupid. In a way, I did realize how silly I was acting, but it also gave me a couple of cheap thrills to think about what might happen if I actually did get his attention one of these days. 

The opportunity came the next Tuesday. I had overslept by just a couple of minutes – my mom had noticed and woken me up – and I had just missed the second bell, meaning I had to get a late slip from the office. I was wearing my usual sheer white top under grey t-shirt, but once again could not convince myself to ditch the shirt, especially when I was coming into study hall late. As soon as I had the slip of paper, I hurried down sophomore hallway and almost crashed into Seth who was just exiting the room. I dropped my late slip in surprise and apologized at the same time he did. He had his books with him, meaning he would probably not return, which made me slightly sad to see him go. 

"Sorry," he said again and moved around me, continuing his walk down the hallway. I picked up my late slip and entered the room.

Miss Larsen was sitting at her desk taking attendance, a small bundle of hall passes and notes in front of her. I added my late slip to the mess while staring down at the other papers, moved by curiosity as to where Seth had gone. This was made easier by Miss Larsen taking her time to react to my presence, and finally I saw the small pink sheet that had "Seth Marshall" and "Art Room" on it. When Miss Larsen finally smiled up at me and thanked me for the late slip, I was already set on my idea. 

"Miss Larsen, I'm a bit behind in my art class, and Mrs Walsh was supposed to give me a hall pass but I forgot to stop by before class. Do you think you could still let me go?"

That, together with my innocent worried face did the trick easily, since Miss Larsen was so young and easygoing. She agreed after reminding me to have a slip ready next time and dismissed me. I almost skipped away, hurriedly opening the door and walking back down sophomore hallway in the direction of the art room. I wasn't sure if Mrs Welsh actually had class or not right now, but she liked me and I was sure that she wouldn't object to me drawing away in one of the empty rooms. When I passed by my own locker on the way, I decided that it was finally time for me to stop being such a pussy about my clothes, and took off my shirt, stuffing it into my locker with my shaking hands. Then I took a look into my small mirror, made sure I looked okay with the short top on, smoothened my hair and took a deep breath. Then, I took the last few steps towards the art room and entered it. 

Seth was the only person in it, and he turned his head and looked at me as I came through the door. 

"Hi," I said, smiling shyly, and walked past him into the storage room to retrieve my sketchbook. He was sitting on a windowsill, legs resting on a chair, working something in his hands that looked like a small patch of clay. When I had found my sketchbook and a pencil, I hesitated for a moment before walking back out. Where the hell was the best place to sit? Closer by him, or farther away? I resolved closer was better and started to walk, but halfway through the room I lost my courage and sunk down onto a chair that was on the wall opposite him. Just when I had put my sketchbook down he looked up, and when I opened it he cleared his throat. 

"You can sit over here if you want to. It's kind of boring alone."

Oh dear God. Had he really just asked me to sit with him? 

His green eyes were still looking at me expectantly, so I closed my sketchbook and got up again. Moving to the table by which he was sitting, I gave him a smile and settled down. I was still on the oposite end of the table from him, but I was nervous enough as it was. 

"So what's your name?" he wanted to know while picking up on his clay again. I had just opened my sketchbook again and took my pencil. 

"I'm Jenna." I smiled at him again, but he didn't look up. "What class are you doing this for?"

"What, this?" He looked down at his clay. "Just Sculpture. Fifth period, you know?"

I said something like "I see," and started to draw. I was an easier Art class together with Marisol this year, and Mrs Welsh had decided to start off the class by having us study nature; trees, flowers, animals and such. There were a bunch of roses on one of the other tables and I concentrated on one of them, trying to get it on paper in detail. I put my pencil down for a moment in order to adjust my top – which, in this case, meant pulling it down some so the tops of my breasts became visible until right where my bra started. Then, I continued to draw. 

I thought I noticed him looking up a couple of times, but since I was concentrating on my sketch and didn't dare look up myself, I couldn't be sure. Finally, I looked towards him again and found him sitting in the very same pose he had before, apparently completely unfazed by me and shaping the clay. But then again, the bulge that had started to grow noticably between his legs told another story entirely. 

"And here I thought it takes someone doing a toe touch in order for you to get a hard on," I burst out before I could help it. I most definitely had not meant to say this out loud, and his head shot up in surprise, but then he just chuckled, either at what I said or at the three shades of red I had just acquired. He had a curious look on his face and his green eyes were fixed on me as I smiled at him simply because I didn't know what other face to put on. Finally, he put his clay aside and wiped his hands on a towel. 

"So, maybe you want to do something about it," he told me. It took me a full three seconds to start breathing again and to actually realize the meaning of what he had just said. Then, I threw good measure out of the window and shrugged. 

"What if I do?"

He jumped off the windowsill and grabbed my arm, forcing me to come after him. He pulled me across the room and entered the small, windowless storage room where most art supplies were kept. Then he closed the door and turned towards me with a smile on his face. 

"Why don't you suck my cock for me, Jenna," he said, and that was all it took to get me down on my knees on the hard concrete floor. He opened his pants then, and I grasped his beautiful, big cock with both hands and started to stroke it. He wasn't having any of that though, instead, he grasped a handful of my hair and forced my mouth on his cock.

I started swirling my tongue around the sensitive head right away, loving every minute of this. I was still a fairly innocent girl compared to some others here at the high school, but if I knew one thing it was how to suck cock, and I intended to prove that to Seth. Although I had never sucked a cock this big, I smoothly started to take him in, forcing my lips further and further down his pole. My mouth was stuffed in no time, but his hand in my hair continued pushing me down, so I fought with myself to keep him down there and let him fuck my throat. 


The Hiding Game Ch. 01



He moaned quietly and started to move his hips. I could feel his pubic hair tickling my lips as I continued to suck him, pulling his pants down further so I had access to his balls as well. I grabbed them and massaged them softly with one hand. The other one continued to stroke him as I quickly came up to take a breath. 

"Keep sucking!" he hissed, forcing me back on his cock with both hands. I gagged, but enjoyed his roughness as well. Faster and faster I forced my lips to glide up and down his cock, making him lean against the wall breathing hard. 

"Oh yes... yes, that's it," he groaned and painfully pulled my hair at the same time. I gasped and had to come up for air again, but plunged right back down this time before he could make me. I could tell he was close by the sounds he was making and the way he was breathing, so I ran my tongue teasingly along the underside of his cock before letting up, and then I sucked him hard, making sure to take him as deeply into my throat as I could. 

That did the trick, and with a groan he shot his load down my throat. He held my head close the whole time, shaking in release, and didn't allow me to come up for air at all. The room started to spin around me, which got me strangely excited. Seth came a lot, and when he was finally done and let me up, I could only hold myself up by placing my hands on the floor and closing my eyes since everything went black anyway. 

When I had caught my breath and could see again, I looked up to see him leaning against the wall, still breathing hard and looking down on me. He gave me a smile and held out his hand, and I took it to get up and steady myself. For about a minute, we just stood there and tried to calm down. Then, he pulled up and buttoned his pants. 

"Thanks Jenna," he said, his voice sounding strangely shaky. He wiped the sweat out of his face with his forearm and opened the door to the artroom, walking back in there and starting to wrap up his clay. My throat hurt a little bit and I still wasn't very steady on my feet, but a look at the clock told me that the bell would ring in about two minutes, so it was probably appropriate for me to start packing up as well. I grabbed my sketchbook and put it back at its place in the storage room, and I returned the pencil to its proper pencilholder. Seth was standing by the open door looking at me when I returned.

He was smiling, almost dreamily, and the way he looked at me was something I wouldn't be able to forget for a very long time. 

"You should wear something like that more often," he told me, motioning at my revealing top. "It suits you."

"Thanks." I put my hands behind my back, suddenly feeling shy, and looked up at him. At that moment, the bell rang. 

"See you tomorrow," he smiled and turned, walking out the door. I waited a few seconds, spending the time thanking the powers-that-be for this glorious day, and then made my way to my locker. 



The Hiding Game Ch. 02



During the next three days, Marisol tried her best to figure out what had happened that day that had left me flushed and smiling for the rest of my classes. No matter how much she begged and guessed, she never got very close to the truth and I decided to put off telling her for just a little longer. Keeping this secret made me feel happy and giddy inside, and I wasn't sure if Marisol would believe me in any case. Even I wasn't sure if I hadn't dreamed the whole thing, which seemed likely except for the fact that Seth now gave me a short smile whenever he entered study hall or when he came across me in the hallway. 

Finally, it was Friday, the day of our first football game. The whole school buzzed with excitement when classes started in the morning, and Seth barely managed to enter study hall before everyone started to pile the good luck wishes on him. He just nodded and thanked everyone, but it was almost impossible not to see the excited gleam in his eyes as he sat down. He caught my eye, but instead of just smiling as he had done for the past two days, he gave me a pointed look and motioned for me to come to him. Before I could react though, he got up and walked over to Miss Larsen's desk, talking to her for a few seconds before taking his books and leaving the room. 

I took a deep breath. Nervously, I kept sitting at my table for another minute before getting up as well and walking over to Miss Larsen. Apologizing in a whisper for not having a hall pass again, I begged her to let me go to the artroom, mentioning I would fail my project otherwise. She wasn't happy to let me go, but I knew she felt bad not to, so I just put on a rueful smile and slinked out of the room. 

I ran more than walked to the art room, which was deserted today as well except for Seth, who looked up from his spot on the windowsill when I entered. 

"About time," he remarked, and I shrugged, moving closer when he motioned me to. 

"Hey, remember I don't have every teacher at this school falling at my feet like you do," I reminded him. He smiled at me and sighed. 

"Yeah, it gets pretty bad on fridays. I'm used to it by now, but I still just want to be out on the field instead of with people sucking up to me."

"And what's so bad about sucking?" I wondered out loud with a grin on my face, which he answered while standing up.

"Yeah, what about it?" He grabbed my hand and pulled me close, his lips suddenly just an inch from mine. "You want to give me a bit of good luck for the game, Jenna?"

He had me almost breathless, but I managed to whisper "I'd love to!" before losing it and dragging him towards the storage room. He closed the door as soon as we were inside, shoved me against the wall and kissed me. 

I loved the feeling of his soft lips on mine and opened my mouth a bit, moaning into his while letting his tongue inside. His erection pressed into me almost painfully, and I slowly massaged it with my hand while continuing to kiss him. Our tongues twirled around each other before he pulled away and thrust out his hips, huskily asking me to get to my knees. 

I slid down the wall while clumsily opening his pants and pulling them down. His cock sprang free, already fully erect and glistening with precum. I wrapped my hand around the thick shaft while taking the head between my lips, slowly slicking it up with my spit. My tongue poked and rubbed against the sensitive skin and he already groaned. He pushed forward a bit more and I found my head trapped between him and the bare concrete wall. He pushed further, and I had no way to even back up a little bit as his cock went smoothly into my throat. 

He groaned hard then, pressing his hips against my face, letting me know that I had all of his cock in my mouth. He backed up a little bit then to give me some room to move , and I moved my lips up and down the length of his shaft a few times before coming up to catch my breath. 

He peered down at me, worried. "Are you okay? I'm not slamming your head against the wall, am I?" 

I smiled, leading his cock to my lips once again. "Just fuck my mouth, Seth," I whispered before sucking him inside me. He took that as his cue and, grabbing my hair with both of his hands, proceded to brutally slam inside my mouth. I didn't even care that I couldn't stop gagging, it just felt way too good be sucking his cock again. He thrashed above me, grabbing the edge of a shelf unit to our right to steady himself. 

"Fuck yes," he moaned. "Oh, yes Jenna, I love fucking your mouth!"

I was happy to hear that. I raised my hand and grasped his balls, squeezing them lightly, swallowing hard and sending him over the edge with that. His body shook as his salty cum hit the back of my throat repeatedly, and when it finally ceased we just sat there for a whole minute, his softening cock in my mouth, his hands softly stroking my hair. 

"Thanks," he finally whispered when he withdrew his cock and zipped up. "You're fucking amazing."

"Thank you," I smiled, letting him help me to a standing position. He kissed me again and continued to hold my hands while we were both still calming down. 

"Are you coming to the game?" he finally asked me, and I tilted my head. 

"I come to every game."

"I see." He looked at me, his dark green eyes almost unreadable in the dimness of the storage room. "Well, I'll see you there then."

"You will," I whispered, and he stepped away from me and let my hands go, reaching for the doorhandle. He wiped a small glob of cum from the side of my mouth before we headed outside, causing both of us to smile. 

What little was left of first period I spent back at the old lunchroom. I simply told Miss Larsen I had finished my project and sat down at my table. My head was spinning with the memory of this most recent experience, and I had to take a bit of a timeout to stomach it all, for which study hall was ideal. I opened a book at random and stared at it while my head replayed the scene in the storage room over and over again, putting a subconscious smile on my face. I was trying to ignore the dampness between my legs, but that wasn't exactly easy with all these pictures in my head. 

Finally, the bell rang and I hurriedly left the room and made my way to my locker. Posters in school colors with the football players' names on it were now on the wall, most of them surprisingly ugly. 

"Seriously, what's the point of cheerleaders if they don't even have pretty handwriting?" I asked Marisol when I had reached my locker and found her leaning next to it, waiting for me. I crouched down and started to open it. 

She smiled, somewhat sadly. "You mean except to make sure people like you and me know we're not part of the popular crowd? I have no idea."

I looked up at her sharply. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, looking slightly upset and biting her lip. "I had a run-in with Audra. I'll tell you in Art class. No big deal."

"Are you sure?" I wanted to know while grabbing the book I needed and straightening up again. Marisol nodded. 

"Don't worry about it, it can wait till Art." She waved goodbye as I slammed my locker shut and we both went on our ways.

I did worry though, and I spent a good part of my next three classes and lunch wondering what had happened. When Art class finally came around, Marisol sat down next to me with her lips pressed together and an extremely pale face. She looked even worse than when I'd last talked to her in the hallway, and I turned towards her, sketchbook balancing on my knees. 

"What happened?"

She took a deep breath. "I walked past Audra this morning on my way to class, and she was talking to a couple of the dance girls and a few guys. Josh was one of them."

I knew the Josh she was talking about was the guy she had liked since middle school, always too shy and scared to approach him, and I knew that this wouldn't end well. Audra knew that fact about Marisol.

"I accidentally brushed her elbow, and she looked at me and called me a freak in front of everyone. They laughed, of course. I should have just turned and left, but Josh was there too so I didn't want to look, you know, weak. I turned and said something like ‚look who's talking', which made her mad and she started to yell all these things at me... saying that I'd been stalking Josh, that I was a slut, all this bullshit... none of it was true, except for the Josh thing, and I'm not 'stalking' him in any case. I blushed, of course, and they were all laughing. Josh too." She gulped at the thought. 

"Audra has become such a fucking bitch," I sighed. "I really wish we could teach her a lesson, or just punch her a couple times to get the frustration out."

Marisol turned the corners of her mouth up. "I'd pay for the privilege. But now, I have a question for you, Jenna, and I want you to be honest."

Oh dear. I was really hoping she wouldn't ask what I was thinking she would. 

"What happened first period? That look you had on your face when I talked to you was the same as last time I asked you about this, and I want to know what happened."

My cheeks reddened, and I brushed back my hair self-consciously. "I can't tell you Marisol. I'm really sorry but... you wouldn't believe me in any case."

"I will! I promise Jen, you don't have to give me specifics either, or say names if there was anyone else involved. I just want to know!"

It was too tempting. I knew it would probably cheer her up, and it would make me feel better too to actually share this crazy art-room story with my best friend. I sighed and put my hands over my face, and Marisol knew she had won. Her dark eyes were looking at me intently and she leaned forward. 

"Okay, spill it."

I took a deep breath and started to whisper. "Okay... well, there's this guy."

"Hot?"

"Very." I felt myself starting to grin at the thought. Marisol noticed it.

"That hot, huh?"

"You have no idea. Anyway..." – and here I made sure that nobody else, especially Mrs Walsh, could hear me – "him and me have sort of been... hooking up in the storage room, right behind you."

Marisol clapped her hand on her mouth and went under the table for a few seconds. I could hear her make a muffled noise, then she was back up, bright red in the face and laughing silently. 

"Are you serious?" she managed to get out, and I just nodded and started to laugh with her. We sat there for a while, silently giggling, until she calmed down. Mrs Walsh was giving us a concerned look, so I grabbed my sketchbook again and we both turned to our work. 

"So, what exactly have you been doing?" Marisol whispered. "And how often?"

"Just the two times you noticed," I whispered back. "And, um, well... I went down on him both times."

"Wow," I heard her say. "Was it good?" 

"Yeah."

"Well," she glanced over at me, "I'm not going to ask you who he is. If you ever want to tell me though... go right ahead. I'll listen."

***

I wore a tight-fitting green shirt to the football game, which earned Marisol's raised eyebrow and the question "So, he'll be there?"

"I hope so," I replied, trying not to give away too much. She was wearing a long, washed out shirt that was green as well, with a fading black "Dragons" on the front. We felt obliged to wear school colors; we wouldn't for any other occasion, but the football games were special. No need to make ourselves feel like even more of a pair of outcasts by wearing something different. 

Amanda Morris and Katie Schoen, two of the varsity cheerleaders, were giving out green and black pom pons to the fans entering the stands. When Katie waved one in my face and screeched "Support the team!", I took it so I'd have something to occupy my time with during the JV game. Marisol and I found our seats, almost all the way up on the bleachers, on the far right. The JV teams were getting ready to play, and I started to ruffle through the green pom pon while glancing around. There were cliques everywhere, even the numerous parents and grandparents seemed to conform to them. Marisol and I didn't really belong to a clique, we just had each other to rely on this year. It sucked, and I envied the security a little bit that even the nerds and the artists had. Far to the left of us I caught a glimpse of Audra sitting with the dance team. They would perform at half time, and I could see them going through the arm movements of their routine while talking to each other. In a way, I understood why Audra had had the desire to be a member of a group, and I wasn't mad at her for trying out for and making the dance team, but for the fact that she felt she had climbed up the social ladder so much that she was obliged to stab her former friends in the back. 

Marisol focussed my attention back on her by hitting my shoulder repeatedly. I turned my head just in time to see her point out to beyong the field. 

"Look, there's the varsity guys. I'm so excited to see Seth Marshall play again!"

I nodded. I was excited about it too, and I felt pretty nervous inside hoping he would do well, but for some reason it was difficult for me to show those emotions. Maybe it was because I had had to keep the things that had happened between us to myself as well, but all I did was nod unenthusiastically and continue to mess up my pom pom with both hands. When I did look over to the varsity players though, I was able to pick out Seth at once and my heart seemed to jump up a couple of inches in my chest. I couldn't resist replaying the scene in the storage room once again in my head, remembering the way he had looked when he had come, and especially the way he had kissed me. I was trying hard not to smile. It was just so incredible that this was the same guy that I had made out with this morning. Well, that I had blown, really, since there hadn't been much reciprocation. I was only mildly surprised that I didn't even really care abut the fact that he was so selfish. 

When the JV players finally left the field and the Varsity entered, Marisol and I started to clap with the rest of the crowd. Until now, I hadn't even tried to figure out whom we were actually playing, but now that I looked closer I could see that the other team was wearing red and black. The Tin Ridge Panthers. They weren't in our conference, but I remembered from the years before that they had a decent team. The Varsity cheerleaders neatly spaced themselves out on the sidelines, and the pep band started to play. 

Marisol and I leaned back, smiling at each other. I knew she was excited, and so was I. 

"Feeling better?" I asked her, referring to what had happened earlier this day. She nodded, rubbing her cheek. 

"I'm just trying to get over Josh, but it's not happening. I don't know how I can just get him out of my head, you know?"

I laughed and pointed at the field. "Pick one!"

They were finally ready for kickoff. Tin Ridge was doing it, and the crowd first clapped, then cheered, then suddenly leapt to its feet when they kicked the ball right to Seth, who caught it and took off. Marisol and I were standing as well, screaming enthusiastically as Seth kept running, too quick to be taken down. We cheered him on all the way to the other end of the field, where he finally dropped. 

"Holy shit!" Marisol screamed while clapping madly. "Touchdown after twelve seconds! That has got to be a fucking record!"

I wasn't sure if it was, but nodded in agreement anyway. We sank back down on the bench as the crowd calmed again, for the moment. This was promising to be an exciting game, and I tossed my pom pon aside, too busy clapping and cheering to hold on to it for the moment. I could see Seth punch the air as he ran back over to his team, and suddenly hoped that he would want to see me again after the game. I had no idea how that was going to work, with Marisol next to me and everyone else around, but my pussy was already tingling with excitement at the mere thought. 

***

We won the game, 28-18, with Seth scoring more than half of our team's points. He was simply amazing. When the crowd started to rise and leave the stands, Marisol jabbed me with her elbow. 

"So, was he here?"

I nodded reluctantly. "Yes. I saw him. Not sure if he saw me too though."

"That's too bad." Marisol gave me a smile. "The guy should ask you out."

"I'm not sure if he's even interested in that," I shrugged. Our row had started to move, and we slowly got up and made our way down the stairs. 

"What, he just wants to screw? I didn't think you'd let anyone use you like that, Jenna."

"Well, this is different."

"What do you mean?"

"I like him."

"That doesn't make any sense, Jenna."

I felt a short, warm tingling sensation somewhere in the general vicinity of my stomach and couldn't help grinning again. "Yes, I know."

"Ah," was all she said in reply, looking confused. Then, we had reached the ground and moved towards the exit, clasping hand so we would not lose each other in the crowd. The football players were still standing around, getting pats on the back and hugs from the cheerleaders. I felt slightly jealous to see how many people Seth was surrounded by, I would have give anything to be able to go over to him and say hi at this moment. But in any case, Marisol was tugging at my hand. We rarely stayed long after the games, not exactly being welcome to the celebrations that involved only football players, cheerleaders and proud parents that were in most cases just as stuck up as their children. 

We had come here from my house where Marisol had parked her car, so that's where I drove us back to. It wasn't that far, just about ten minutes from school. We talked excitedly about the game while driving, and when we arrived at my house, Marisol decided to hang out for a bit longer. We said hi to my mom in the living room, told her by how much we had won, and took two gasses of orange juice upstairs to my room. Here, Marisol let herself fall into my beanbag chair while I leaned back in my bed, a bit disappointed but still pumped up from the game. 

"I'm tired," Marisol yawned after a few seconds, and I smiled at her. 

"Done your homework yet?" 

She shook her head. "No. I'll be up for a while, I suppose. You know that Geometry is really killing me?"

"You know that I took it two years ago. I could help you with it."

"Would you? I mean, we're not that far into it yet and I'm already a bit lost."

She took out her book and we proceeded to look over the homework she had to do, going over all the things she didn't understand. After a few minutes of that, there was a knock on the door. My mother stuck her head in and handed me the phone. 

"For you. Bring it back down when you're done please."

I nodded and took the phone from her. 

"Hello?"

"You need to get yourself a cellphone." 

It was Seth. My heart stopped for a moment, and I could feel myself going pale as I looked over to Marisol. She interpreted my look correctly, and her eyes went wide. 

"I'll get right on that," I said while motioning towards Marisol to be quiet. She nodded. 

"I was wondering if you could meet me back at the high school."

"What, right now?" 

"Yeah. If that works out for you."

"I think so." I must have looked surprised, because Marisol leaned forward at once and tried to catch the other end of the conversation. I shook my head at her and covered the phone with my hand. 

"Good. Wait for me at the back door by the football field. I'll see you there. Bye."

"Bye," I said, and he hung up. Marisol was being driven wild with curiosity, I could tell, and I just grinned at her and threw myself back on the bed. 

"Does he want to meet up with you?" she asked. I nodded. 

"Yes. He told me I should wait for him back at the high school. Is it okay if we continue this whole Geometry session another time?"

"Under one condition," Marisol announced, and I knew what it was before she even opened her mouth again. "I want you to call me when you're back and to tell me everything about it!"




The Hiding Game Ch. 02



"I promise," I told her and grabbed my keys.



The Hiding Game Ch. 03



Seth made me wait for just a couple of minutes before he showed up, wearing his warmups and a t-shirt. He looked hot. I was leaning against the wall by the door, wondering just where the hell he was planning on hooking up this time, since the school was locked and I didn't think the football field was a suitable hiding place. 

"Ever been in the football locker room?" he greeted me, and I shook my head. 

"No. But won't we need a couple of keys for that?"

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and dangled his keychain. "I've got a couple of keys."

"You can't be serious," I said, but he had already stepped past me and was unlocking the door. "Where the hell did you get those?"

"You know where," he smirked, holding the door open for me. "You were the one who mentioned all these people falling at my feet." 

"You're not shy abut asking for favors, huh?"

"Nope." He let the door fall shut and we stood in the dark hallway, illuminated by only the emergency lighting. He grabbed my hand then, and pulled me along to the football locker room. I didn't like the dark at all, but his big, warm hand clasping mine made me feel strangely protected. When he had unlocked the second door, he turned the light on and locked the door again behind us. 

The football locker room wasn't so different from any other locker room, the smell luckily wasn't overwhelming and the only noises were our footsteps and a couple of the showerheads dripping in the back. I had a sudden picture in my head featuring Seth and none of his clothes, and I couldn't wait until I would get to see him fully naked. Still, it was weird. I felt shy around him despite having sucked his cock these two times, and I couldn't bring it over myself to undress, or even kiss him without him taking the initiative first. 

He looked at me then, grinning while unzipping his jacket. "Want to take a shower?" 

"Um..." I blushed. "Okay." I was nervous, but there was no way I was backing out of this. While he shed his jacket and t-shirt, I pulled my green shirt over my head and unbuttoned my pants. Then, I had to stop because I couldn't help looking at his gorgeous upper body, so lean and muscular, almost completely hairless, smooth skin, slightly tanned. I was tempted to bridge the short distance between us to kiss and lick him all over.

He took his pants and socks off too then, standing before me completely naked and waiting for me to do the same. He was already hard. I blushed, stepping out of my pants and standing there in my underwear. He looked me over for a few seconds. 

"Turn around," he finally ordered me, and I complied. He stepped behind me and opened my bra clasp in one swift move, letting my bra drop to the floor and cupping my breasts with both hands. I could feel his warm breath on my shouder, then on my neck right before he kissed it. I was getting turned on now, this whole locker room thing felt so forbidden and sort of risky, but that's what started to excite me, and I understood now why Seth had decided to bring me here. My nipples were already hard, and he played with them for a little bit before finally letting his hands glide further down and hooking his thumbs into my panties. He pulled them down, letting me step out of them and giving me some time to kick off my shoes and socks by walking over to the showers. He turned one of them on, testing the temperature before stepping under it, and motioning for me to join him. 

We were kissing as soon as I got there, his lips pressing onto mine and his tongue sweeping inside my mouth at once. I was pressing myself against him, my nipples brushing his chest and my pussy grinding against his cock. He cupped my ass, moaning while he continued to kiss me, the water running down our bodies and spraying into my face. I had to close my eyes because of it, but it was an interesting sensation not to see anything when he pulled away from me and lowered his lips to my breasts. I moaned when his teeth tugged on my nipples, and I could feel that I wasn't only getting wet on the outside. I was so horny that my clit was tingling almost painfully, and my hands wandered down and wrapped themselves around his cock. He was rock hard, and I was really looking forward to have him inside me. When his lips left my breast, I opened my eyes again to find him grinning at me. 

He spun me around then, making sure I had my legs spread and my hands steadily against the wall. I gasped when I first felt the head of his cock between my legs, finding its way in the slippery wetness. His hands grasped my hips, and he started to slide inside me, first slowly, but then I moaned and he thrust the rest of the way impatiently, pausing when he was all the way inside me and taking a few quick, shallow breaths. 

I hadn't been fucked in a while, and he felt so good it was driving me crazy. His big cock was stretching me out, and I was arching my back, pressing back against him. Seth pulled out and slammed back inside me, still holding on to my hips while I was grasping the wall as best as I could. He kept going, moans escaping him whenever his balls slapped my clit, and I could feel my legs beginning to shake. Still, he felt so good that I didn't want him to stop for anything. 

His hands left my hips then, and while still fucking me steadily, they started to glide over my body, first cupping my breasts, then stroking my stomach. Finally, one hand went down between my legs and started to caress my clit while the other grasped my ass, his thumb slowly penetrating my asshole. 

The sensation was too much for me, and my legs gave way. I gasped as I went down, my hands sliding along the wall and my body shaking. His cock slipped out of me and he caught me just before I hit the floor. He started to apologize almost at once, stroking my hair. 

"No... no," I gasped, trying to get his attention to what I was saying. "I'm sorry. I'm just exhausted. I didn't want you to stop."

"Can you get up?" His green eyes looked at me concerned, and I nodded. He helped me stand up, keeping his arms around me to keep me steady. My arms were around his neck, and I couldn't help kissing him right there. He let me, pushing me against the wall in the process, and lifting me up slightly, putting one arm under my ass and keeping the other one on my back. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and his cock slid back inside me smoothly. We both gasped, and he held the both of us up while continuing to fuck me, face to face this time. He was even able to take one hand off me, to slide it down and caress my clit. He knew what he was doing and I pressed my head back against the wall and closed my eyes once again, feeling my orgasm approach. 

He was fucking me as hard as it was possible in this position, lifting my body up and letting it slam back down onto his cock, and I wasn't able to do anything but dig my fingernails into his back as I started to come. I moaned, letting my head sink against his shoulder while my pussy clenched around him, and shuddering, held him as close as I could. He was making more noises now as well, short gasps every time I clenched, and a slight moan every time I raked one of my nails across his back. 

"Can I come inside you?" he asked me, whispering into my ear. I nodded, too spent to speak, and he started to shoot his cum just a second later. I could feel as his cock twitched, his arms shaking and his lips searching for and locking with mine. I pulled away and opened my eyes to take in his face while he was orgasming, and I found he looked beautiful. His mouth was relaxed, slightly open, his eyelids fluttered while the water dripped off them. He finally broke into a slight smile and opened his eyes, carefully easing me down at the same time. 

We sat on the tiles for a while, letting the water wash over us. We weren't touching, just sitting there next to each other until I stretched out my hand to caress his shoulder. He smiled at me and grasped my hand with his. 

"We should probably leave."

"Yeah," I agreed, but neither of us moved. It was so relaxing and peaceful to sit there, no sound but that of the water, just looking at each other. He kept my hand in his, and when I looked at him, my heart seemed to pick up where it had left mid orgasm, beating rapidly in my chest. I felt absurdly happy, and I realized that maybe a bit more had just gone on in this locker room than simply some sex. 

***

I was surprisingly calm on Monday morning, considering the events of the Friday before. I decided to wear one of my tighter tops to school since Seth had indicated he liked that, and I got dressed still smiling remembering three nights ago. I couldn't wait to see him again today. He had actually brought me to my car in the dark, empty parking lot after we had finally managed to tear ourselves away from sitting in the shower together. When we were saying our goodbyes, he had simply whispered a "See you on Monday" into my ear, kissed me on the lips once more and turned to go. I had talked to Marisol on the phone later, curled up under my covers, and told her as much as I could without giving away anything of Seth's identity. 

***

The next week was absolute hell. 

I had been expecting Seth to have a desire to meet up with me again soon, or at least smile at me once in a while in study hall. Neither happened. He seemed determined to ignore me completely, and I didn't have the guts to walk up to him and ask if he was planning to continue fucking me. I kept my hopes up until Wednesday, when I broke down in Art class and in a whisper confessed to Marisol that "the guy" hadn't made any contact in five days and that it made me feel shitty. She responded by taking me to Dairy Queen after school, treating me to a huge sundae and moaning along with me about the evils of this world in general and boys in particular, just like a best friend should do it, without prodding about Seth's identity. But it helped only temporarily. As soon as I was back in study hall the next day and my eyes fell on Seth's hot body, the feelings of longing, impatience and horniness hit again. I couldn't seem to help thinking of the hot fuck we had had in the shower throughout the day, and by the time I got home in the afternoon, my panties were soaked. 

I wasn't sure what to say when Marisol called me at night and asked about the football game the next day. It was an away game, not too far a drive, but for the first time in four years, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go. To see Seth at his best, to cheer him on and to watch the cheerleaders and most females on the premises drool over him. To watch him from afar and not know if I'd ever touch him again. I really didn't feel like it, and I told Marisol as much.

"So he plays football," she said, and it definitely wasn't a question. I flinched slightly under my blanket, toying nervously with its edges. 

"Don't, Mari."

"Sorry. I'll stop. We should go to sleep anyway, and I will see you tomorrow hon."

"Yes," I sighed, and we said our goodbyes and hung up. I switched off my bedside lamp and spent a long time staring into the dark, wondering if I could stand it to see Seth day by day for the rest of the year without ever touching him again. Would I finally get so desperate that I would find the courage to confront him, or would I suffer in silence and find a different outlet for my pent-up sexual energy? Neither alternative sounded particularly appealing, and I could nothing but hope that Seth got his act together and decided that fucking me hadn't been so bad after all. 

***

Things on Friday were just as I had left them on Thursday, which was pretty bleak. I busied myself in study hall and tried not to look up too often, because no matter where my eyes started out at, they inevitably seemed to end up at the same spot every time I lifted them from my book. In Art class I was consoled by Marisol once more, while we were both sitting there staring at the leaves we were supposed to be drawing. It was cloudy and grey outside, we were expecting rain for the afternoon, and the weather made us feel gloomy. 

"We need to do something this weekend," Marisol declared. "Something to take our mind of these stupid guy troubles. Any ideas?"

I shrugged. "Movie? Slumber party? Girly makeovers?"

"Let me just call my best friends, the dance team," grinned Marisol. "Seriously though, we should set Sunday aside for something."

"Sure, my exciting social life will just have to sit out for a day," I sighed dramatically. "If you're really nice to me, I might find the time to bake a cake."

Sunday afternoon turned out to be quite fun, and just what I had needed. I didn't end up baking the cake I had jokingly talked about, but I did make some cinnamon cookies that went well with Marisol's tea. We spent an hour and a half watching a movie before we decided that it sucked too much to keep watching, then we discussed the football team's performance in the first game that we had missed during out time as high schoolers. They had won, and from what we had heard people talk about, Seth had broken some kind of school record in the process. Finally, we moved up to Marisol's room and sat on her bed, listening to music. 

"You know," Marisol said, staring up at the ceiling of her room contemplatively, "I really hope that there's something like Karma. It would almost be worth all this high school bullshit."

I turned my head and looked at her. Her big brown eyes were glittering with wetness, and I hoped she wouldn't start crying. It always sucks to see your best friend cry. 

"Are you talking about Josh and Audra, or about people in general?"

She shrugged. "Both, I think. I'm sad about Josh, but I'm also frustrated with this ridiculous social status deal. He'd never ask me out even if he did like me, because people wouldn't accept someone like him going out with someone like me. It's stupid."

I swallowed when I was suddenly reminded of my own problems. Was Seth ignoring me for the same reasons, because he didn't want people to find out what he was doing with me? 

"And in any case," Marisol continued, "they've made me feel bad enough, the bunch of them, so I don't regret wishing that their lives will suck. It's the least that the powers up there can do for me."

I grinned. "And on the off chance that Josh does ask you out, are you going to take that back?"

She looked over to me and gave me a crooked smile. "Sure, what the hell. The sad thing is that to me, that's worth four years of torture right there."

***

Now, I was walking through Sophomore hallway once again, carrying my English book under one arm and considering Marisol's definition of "torture", when I suddenly felt a hand pressing a piece of paper into mine. I would have said something if I hadn't looked to the left and seen Seth's face, innocence itself, as he let go of my hand and walked past me at a fast pace. I shook my head in disbelief, resisting looking down at the paper until I slipped into my seat in the old lunchroom. People were still congratulating Seth on his stellar performance at the game, and only when Miss Larsen quieted everyone down I dared take out the note. I flattened it on top of my English book and read: Can you wait for me by the back door after practice? There was a hastily scrawled 6:30 pm, as if he had only later realized that maybe not everyone in the school knew when football practice ended. I did happen to know that the official ending to the practice was at six, and the half hour might well be a precaution on his part so we wouldn't get caught. 

Why does he risk getting caught anyway? I wondered to myself. Why the hell didn't he just fuck me in the safety of his own home, or car, or mine? Why the hell didn't he just fuck one of the cheerleaders in the first place? Most of them were more than willing, from what I'd heard. I could only assume that he got a couple of thrills off of this hiding game we were playing. 

I looked up and straight into his eyes. He had been watching me while I read. His eyebrows lifted questioningly, and I gave him a short nod and a smile, which he returned with one of his own. Then we both lowered our heads back to our respective books. 

A day of school had never stretched out so long for me before. Classes went by so painfully slowly that I felt compelled to take some extremely long bathroom breaks and draw stick figures along the margins of my notebook. Most of them were in positions so obvious that I erased them right away, for fear of anyone else glancing over and noticing them. My eraser had worn down almost all the way by the time I packed up my things and crossed the hallway for my PE class. I was a little early and was surprised to notice the smiling faces of some of the cheerleaders upon entering the locker room, giggling gleefully while changing into their tight PE outfits. The second thing was Marisol, in a weeping heap in the back corner. I was by her side in a second, pushing one of the other girls aside who pushed back indignantly. When I put my hand on Marisol's shoulder, she looked up at me and I gasped at the dark bruise hat had started to form around one of her eyes, letting it swell shut, and her cut, bloody lip. 

"Jesus Christ Marisol, what happened?"

"Later," it came over her trembling lips. "Told Basset. Says I can't skip PE."

It took me a moment to understand what she was saying. "You mean Coach Basset saw you like this? And he said you still had to attend class? What an asshole!"

Marisol nodded, her brown eyes cast towards the floor, and I started to get extremely pissed off. Being biased as a teacher or coach was one thing. But telling a girl that had obviousy been punched in the face to come to class anyway was downright hazing, and I stood up resolutely. 

"Don't move. I'll be right back."

For lack of anything else, I wet my PE shirt with cold water at the sink and pressed it into Marisol's hands before storming off into the direction of the boys PE locker room. Coach Basset had a small office there, and I was intending to give him a piece of my mind. I puched the door open and stormed into the locker room with no regard for the few boys who yelped and covered themselves with various articles of clothing upon seeing me. Most others were just mildly amused, and one said "What the hell?" in an astonished tone, but Coach Basset has glimpsed me through the little window in his office door, and stormed outside. He was a lean and tall man, young enough to be physically fit, but old enough to have quite a bit of authority.

"What in the world are you doing?" he snapped at me, and I snapped right back. "Standing up for my friend. You're making her go to class despite the fact that she's obviously been punched. What's that supposed to be for?"

"Your friend has nothing but a scratch, my dear, and that's not a good enough reason to cut class. If she's not feeling well she's welcome to get a pass from me later and go see the nurse. Now I'd appreciate it if you could let these boys finish changing in peace so they can get to their classes." 

He turned to go, but I wasn't moving. 

"My friend has a cut lip and a black eye, and I don't know what your definition of a scratch is, but she's in pain and needs those taken care of now, and without getting an unexcused absence from you."

He turned to face me again. "Listen here, missy..."

But then, one of the boys behing me cut in. "Coach, this is ridiculous. Let her take her friend to the nurse."

I tensed. I hadn't even noticed Seth in the room when I had come in, but his voice and the authority with which he so naturally spoke were unmistakable. He was basically giving Coach Basset an order. The Coach just looked over my shoulder for a second, then he slumped a bit and looked back at me. 

"Fine," he spat. "Don't let it happen again, or else." Those last words were an empty threat, and I knew he only spoke them to save face. Looking mad, he strode back into his office and slammed the door shut. When I turned, some of the boys hastily covered themselves again, but I wasn't looking at them, only at the tall figure of Seth who was standing close to the door, looking back at me for a moment. Then, he slammed his locker shut, grabbed his backpack and turned in one fluid motion, walking out the door. I blinked once and finally realized that the boys were getting impatient and I needed to move. 




The Hiding Game Ch. 03



I was worried on my way back to the girls' locker room. Maybe I had only imagined it, but Seth had seemed upset when he had walked out of the locker room. I hoped I hadn't pissed him off too badly. 

I tapped Marisol on the shoulder once more when I arrived back in the corner she was sitting in. Most girls had arrived and finished changing by now, and more than one gave the both of us a strange look. Marisol looked up at me, and I started to pull her to her feet. 

"Get up sweetie. We're going to see the nurse."



The Hiding Game Ch. 04



Later, we were both sitting on Marisol's kitchen table, bent over her Geometry book. She was still looking quite pityful, but no longer in major pain, only gingerly fingering the area around her eye every so often. When I had driven her home after class – she couldn't drive herself with her eye swollen shut – she had told me in few words what had happened. 

"Amanda Morris. She was just leaving locker room. I was entering. She was running, and we bumped into each other. Didn't apologize. So she hit me."

She hadn't seemed that keen on talking about it – or on talking in general, since her lip was still hurting – so I had swallowed my anger and shut up about it. I had stayed at her house for a while and finished some homework, then she had asked me to do another short Geometry review with her. She had just finished another practice exercise correctly and was finally slamming the book shut. 

"Got it," she announced, in the shorter style of speaking her swollen lips were warranting. "No more now."

"Good," I replied, stretching. "I need to get home." My eyes flicked to the clock, registering that it was six thirty-five. Then I froze.

"Oh, shit!"

"What's wrong?" Marisol asked. Actually, she was trying not to move her lips too much, so it sounded more like "Hot's rong?" I wasn't minding that much at the moment, though. 

"Se-, I mean, the guy I'm seeing. He wanted to meet me five minutes ago."

Marisol's one brown eye that wasn't swollen shut seemed to widen in realization. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "So sorry. Didn't mean to keep you."

"It's alright, I just forgot." I stood up, almost angry with myself. "I better go, with any luck he'll stick around for a bit."

"Call later!" Marisol awkwardly yelled after me and waved. 

***

He really was still there, leaning against the wall by the back door, just like I had been the last time we'd met here. He was the only person still there, the school was deserted otherwise. My heart sank when I saw his face, he didn't look particularly happy. When he looked up and saw me, however, he gave me a wry little smile. 

"And here I thought you'd stood me up."

"I'm really sorry." I walked closer, until I stood right in front of him. "I was with my friend Marisol. I lost track of the time."

"Was that the one who got punched?" he asked, lightly rubbing his neck. I nodded. 

"I hope she's feeling better," he offered, then turned and started to walk along the side of the building. „Come on."

I hadn't expected to walk around outside with him and was surprised when he lead me along the side of the school for quite a bit, until we came to a halt by a shadowy indent in the brick wall. 

"Think you can get up there?"

It took me a second to discover the rusty iron ladder that was hidden in the shadows, leading up the side of the building. It was weldet to the wall, one of those old fire escape ladders that were too dangerous to still be used. I looked at Seth.

"Are you kidding me? This leads to the roof." 

"It does." He gave me a grin, and for the first time I got the genuine feeling that he was, after all, not mad at me. 

"You're crazy," I proclaimed, but stepped closer anyway, my hands grasping the lowest rung, which was at about the same height as my chest. Seth stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around me, lifting me up until I could grasp a higher rung and pull myself up. My feet finally found a place to stand, and I crawled up the rest of the ladder at surprising speed. The rust was scatching at my hands, but I didn't want Seth to think I was whiny. He was coming up the ladder right behind me. 

"Damnit, I forgot to tell you to wear a skirt," I heard him mumble, and grinned. When I had finally reached the roof, I pulled myself over the edge and turned to find him do the same, only much more elegantly than I had. When I looked around, I felt a bit queasy since the only thing separating me from a thirty foot fall was a small rim around the edge of the roof that didn't even reach the middle of my shins. Seth lead the way and sat down close to a corner, pulling off his shirt and spreading it on the floor before motioning me to make myself comfortable on it. 

"Thanks," I said, quite touched by his gallantry, and sat. 

For a few seconds, I just stared at the footbal field, which was just visible from here. Seth wasn't making any attempts to kiss or otherwise touch me, so I cleared my throat.

"Thanks for helping me earlier today," I offered. 

He shrugged, staring off into the distance. "'s okay." 

"Are you mad at me?" I asked bluntly. He turned towards me and gave me another one of those wry smiles. 

"No. I was a bit irritated earlier, but then I realized I was just being ridiculous. I'm sorry, I've just had a really shitty day. A shitty week, really."

The thought of him having a bad day constricted my chest for a moment. I hadn't even considered the fact that he might have bad days too, silly as that may sound. I got up from his shirt and moved behind him. Kneeling, I started to massage his tense, heavily muscled neck and shoulders. My fingers dug into his flesh and he gave a short moan of pleasure, which made me smile. I used my knuckles now to apply more pressure and moved deeper. The moment my hands abandoned his neck, my mouth started to kiss a trail down his spine. He shuddered. I tried my best to figure out where his most tense areas were and to pay special attention to them, and he seemed to like it. My hands stopped massaging him for a moment and went around his chest until my fingers reached his nipples. I played with them for a bit while my tongue went back up to his neck and trailed wet, lazy circles over his skin. 

He tossed his head to one side and gave me access to his throat. I leaned forward and started licking, sucking the skin at the edge of his jaw and softly pulling it in between my teeth. He seemed to love it. I took my time, nibbling my way to his ear and back, and by the end of it his breath was going short and he was giving me soft moans. 

I pulled back and put my hands on his shoulders once again, rubbing them until I felt them relax. I let go of him for a moment and stood up to go get his shirt that was still lying there. I spread it out behind him and pulled him back onto it by his shoulders. As I moved around to sit in front of him, I noticed that he had his eyes closed, content to let me do whatever I felt like. 

I kissed his mouth and then licked another trail, this time from his chin all the way down his chest and to the drawstring of his shorts. I circled his bellybutton with my tongue while my hands worked on getting his pants down, and I noticed that his breath was still going fast. Finally, I succeeded and his semi-erect cock came free. 

A low groan escaped his throat when I leaned forward and took him into my mouth. He was rapidly getting into this, and by the time I took a deep breath and led him smoothly into my throat, he was hard as a rock. His hips came off the floor when I swallowed, my throat muscles massaging his sensitive rod. I pulled back up after a few seconds and swirled my tongue around him, and I was surprised when his hands came down to grab me by the hair and lifted me off his cock. 

"Please," was all he said.

"Please what?" I asked, confused. 

"Please fuck me."

"Oh." I had quite the view from the edge of the roof, and I wasn't really alright with the fact that people might be able to see me up here if they bothered to look up. Especially while I was busy riding Seth's cock. On the other hand, I didn't want to deny him, and I was quite horny myself, so I finally brought my hands down to unbutton my pants. 

"This is going to hurt," I sighed, appraisingly looking at the harsh texture of the roof. Nevertheless, as soon as I had my jeans and underwear pulled off, I crawled on top of him, knees on either side, and sank down onto his cock. 

I let out a loud moan. I had forgotten how big he was, how much he filled me out. My eyes locked with his lovely green ones as I started to move my hips, creating an exquisite friction between us. My arms were placed on his chest and his were grabbing my hips, helping me keep the rhythm we had just established. Tiny, pointy stones were digging into my knees where they touched the ground, but the pleasure soon outweighed the discomfort. Every time I plunged back down and let Seth penetrate me anew I felt a jolt of pleasure rush through me, and I was surprised to notice that after only about a minute, I was alrady close to coming. 

"Holy shit!" I gasped as he suddenly raised his hips off the ground and subsequently slid into me much deeper on the next thrust. He had his eyes closed and his mouth open, gasping for breath. I found myself milking his cock even harder, clenching my pussy as much as possible, my goal to bring him to the edge with me. 

It worked. He lost it just as the world around me began to fade out. I could feel his cum hitting the walls of my cunt and his hands grab my hips so hard he seemed to be holding on for dear life, all while fireworks were exploding inside my own body. Finally, I slumped over and tried to catch my breath, using his chest as a pillow. His arms wrapped around me and held me there, and only when we'd both caught out breath and he had gone soft and slipped out of me did he let me go. We both got dressed again, cleaning up as well as we could, but then continued to lie there and cuddle on the rooftop, looking up at the rapidly darkening sky. 

"I have a funny question," I murmured close to his ear. He smiled sleepily. 

"Ask."

"Is there a member of the cheerleading squad that you haven't screwed?"

I could feel his chest heave when he gave a short, amused chuckle and then his face screwed up in thought. 

"Actually," he said after a few seconds, mildly surprised by his own realization, "there isn't. At least not in the varsity squad. For most of them it's been a while though."

"Hah," I said triumphantly. 

"What in the world do you mean by that?"

"I just won an old bet with Marisol. Not that I can tell her that, of course."

He chuckled again. "That's an interesting bet to make."

"Well, what can I say. We were fed up with the cheerleaders, as always, and we figured they were sluts. Only Marisol thought that Anita Ryan was pretty sincere about that Catholic virgin thing she has going on. I was sceptical."

"Nah, Anita is actually pretty easy. All we had to do was promise her that it wouldn't get back to her mom, and she was sucking off half the team in a heartbeat."

"Why doesn't that surprise me," I sighed. He stroked my back and kissed my temple. 

"I'm sorry. I've slept with a lot of dumb sluts. Does it bother you?"

My heart stopped for a moment, and I choked on the answer. Had he just hinted that I had some sort of claim on him? And more, that for him I wasn't just one of these ‚dumb sluts' he was talking about? My thoughts were spinning wildly, and I hoped that he had meant it the way I had understood it. 

"N-no," I finally managed to say. "It doesn't bother me."

"Good."

We lay there for a while longer, not talking. I enjoyed the fact that he was so close to me, that I could feel every single breath he drew, and that he was protective enough to give me as much bodywarmth as he could when I shivered in the now much cooler breeze. It was still light outside, but the sun had gone down a while ago. 

"We should leave," he finally whispered into my ear and kissed it afterwards. I nodded and reluctantly lifted my head off his chest where it had rested comfortably. I half rolled, half dragged myself off his warm body and stood, watching him do the same before he took my hand and led me back to the rusty ladder. He went down first, warning me before my feet left the last rung and catching me safely in his arms when I let myself fall the rest of the distance towards the ground. I felt a bit as if I was dreaming when I looked up to him at that point, so protected and safe in his arms. He gave me a short kiss and put an arm around my shoulders to escort me to my car.

"By the way," he said when we crossed the parking lot, "next time we need to talk, or, well... ." He grinned. "What I mean is, next time you have to leave study hall, just tell Miss Larsen you're going to the bathroom. It's much easier than this art room business."

"I will," I said and turned towards him when we had reached my car. "Thanks," I told him, and he took my face into his hands and kissed me. Deeply, slowly, his tongue explored my mouth, dancing with my own, and when he threatened to pull away I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close again. He hugged me tighter, crushing me against his chest and my lips against his. I moaned when he slowly sucked and rubbed on my tongue with his, then gasped when he playfully bit my lip. Finally, we were out of breath and came apart. 

"I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled while I still gasped for breath, and opened my car door for me. I got in, but not before kissing his cheek and giving him a smile. He returned it, making me feel absurdly happy for a moment, but also getting me thinking what the hell was actually going on between the two of us. For some reason, I didn't want to ask him outright, but once again, I was confused as to what Seth actually wanted and why he thought that playing the hiding game was necessary. 

***

The next day found me glancing up to the school roof once I left my car and walked to the entrance, grinning cheerfully when thoughts of the events of last night entered my mind once again. Not that I'd been able to think about anything else until I had finally gone to sleep the night before. Marisol had called me right after I had woken up and informed me that she wouldn't be coming to school this day – her mother had basically given her some time off, and Marisol was glad she would have a day to have her face heal up a bit before she had to face the crowds at school again. 

The day passed relatively uneventful. I had eye contact with Seth more often than not during study hall, even though he tried to be careful about not being caught looking at me. I missed Marisol during Art class, where I had nobody to chat with, and I definitely wasn't looking forward to PE without her by my side. I entered the locker room for my last class with a disgusted feeling in the pit of my stomach, and that feeling only got worse when Amanda Morris pushed past me.

"Bitch," I hissed, but entirely too loud. 

„What?" she asked, turning abruptly and attempting to stare me down. I was tempted to avert my eyes, but when I remembered Marisol's black eye I curled my hands into fists and was prepared to defend myself, should she decide to punch me as well. Fuck you, I thought, staring back at her. I fucked the captain of your precious football team not twenty-four hours ago, you bitch. I wish I could slam that one in your face.

"I said ‚Bitch'," I repeated, and her eyes went wide when she realized I wasn't going to back down. "You punched Marisol, you cunt." 

I decided a split second later that provoking her this much probably wasn't the best idea, but she just stood there, frozen for a moment, apparently digesting what I had said. Then she turned around in a flash of blond hair and was gone. She slammed the door on her way out and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Maybe she would just decide I must be insane and leave me alone. 

I was hoping this and similar things all the way through PE class, until I was back in the locker room and changing out of my sweaty clothes. The cheerleaders were giving me looks, but I figured that this was just the normal level of annoyed disgust they had with Marisol and me. I was breathing easier when I pushed open the door and walked out into the hallway, but then I screamed as someone suddenly grabbed me by the hair and dragged me right back into the locker room. 

I turned and twisted to face my attacker, but I didn't manage before my arm was violenty twisted, and then suddenly a whole group of girls was surrounding me closely. 

"You idiot," Amanda hissed and stepped in front of me. "I don't know why you fucking bitches all suddenly think you can get away with this behavior, but I'll give you a black eye just like that other little whore." She swung at me, but I blocked her arm with my free one. Someone grabbed it and twisted it behind my back as well, and Amanda's next punch hit. I managed to avert my face so that it hit my cheekbone instead of my eye, but it still hurt like hell and brought tears to my eyes. I blinked them away, just as Amanda kicked me in the stomach, and I doubled over as my vision went black, painfully aware that my arms were still being held when my shoulders were strained in an entirely unhealthy way, making me scream. I retched right afterwards, when my stomach let me know that it objected to this kind of treatment. "Get her under the shower," someone giggled, and the whole bunch of girls around me grabbed a hold of me and moved me, dragging me by my arms, my shirt and my hair. A shower was turned on in the back and I was thrown into it with a group effort, hit the opposite wall and slid down the same. It hurt like hell, but I just kept my eyes closed and hoped that none of these bitches, including Amanda, wanted to get themselves wet. 

"Don't you forget this, you stupid slut!" I heard Amanda yell out and then, something smacked into my head. It made the splitting ache worse and I felt myself slump against the wall, on the edge of consciousness. A few girls giggled and talked excitedly. Something else smacked into my head with just the same sound, and I could hear the voices fading. 

I hadn't really taken any serious damage if you didn't count the green and purple bruise on my cheek and the small bumps on my head where Amanda had hit me with my gym shoes. She was a softball player and had thrown them with quite the speed. My stomach had recovered quickly and had been fine by the time I had regained consciousness under the freezing cold shower. Once I had gotten home, I had told my mother I had fallen, and had her take me to the hospital just to make sure my head was okay, which it was. Later, I had called Marisol and told her what happened, and she had harped on me for being this stupid but at the same time had been touched because I had stood up for her. I had even prepared myself for sniding comments from Amanda and some of the cheerleaders during the next day of school.

What I hadn't prepared myself for was Seth's shocked look when he had caught sight of my bruise, and his abrupt jerking of the head indicating that he needed to talk to me before he got up and had Miss Larsen give him a hall pass. I waited until he had gone before getting up myself and telling her I had to go to the bathroom. She let me.

I hadn't gotten very far before Seth came towards me out of nowhere, grabbed me and pulled me into a tiny room that turned out to be a storage room for football equipment. Of course he'd know about it. I was willing to bet that it had also been locked just a few minutes ago. 

"What the hell happened?" he asked harshly, grasping my chin so he could take a better look at my face in the dim light. 

"Seth, I'm okay," I protested, trying to wrench out of his grip. He wouldn't let me, but his eyes bore into mine. I had never seen him so aggravated – not counting on the football field – and he scared me a bit, so I grabbed his arms and tried to break his grip once more. 

"I'm serious Jenna." His jaw was clenched and his hand was shaking slightly. "Tell me who did this to you. I'll fucking kill them."

"Seth, you're hurting me," I gasped, and his face softened at once. 

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, letting go of me, and I slumped against him. He hugged me tightly to him, making me whince. 




The Hiding Game Ch. 04



"What?" he asked, alarmed. 

"Nothing, just my shoulders. They had my arms twisted behind my back, and then I doubled over after a punch in the stomach and my shoulders overstretched. It still hurts."

He tensed. "They? Who the hell is ‚they'?"

"They, as in Amanda Morris with a bunch of other bitches. I provoked her. She's the one that punched Marisol, so I was mad."

He held me a bit more carefully now, kissing my hair and stroking my back at the same time. I relaxed into him and felt safe once more. 

"She'll still pay," he said, softly this time. "She's not getting away with hurting you." 

I pressed myself closer to him, inhaling his delirious scent and feeling his slow, steady heartbeat through his shirt. I was close enough to feel his cock stir when I accidentally squirmed a bit, and I looked up at him with a teasing smile. 

"Poor baby, am I making you horny?"

"Yes," he replied quite huskily. "And trust me, if we had the time you'd be on your knees right now, but unfortunately, we don't. You need to get back to study hall before Miss Larsen thinks you drowned in the toilet bowl."

"I know," I sighed. "Being in your arms just feels so good." 

"So does holding you. I want to see you later, if that's okay."

"When?" 

"After practice."

"I can't. I have to babysit for my neighbors starting at six."

"Damn. I don't have any time before that."

I looked up at him, regretful. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, but tomorrow, you're mine." He smiled down at me and pressed another kiss onto my lips, then let go of me and carefully opened the door. We went back to study hall without incident, and I sat down in my chair glowing. 

I must confess that I didn't think Seth might act on the threats he had made. It was cute of him to be concerned, but given our curious relationship, I thought it would stop at that. When Amanda was called to the office during third period, I knew it had nothing to do with the incident involving me or Marisol. We hadn't complained to anyone because we knew that nothing would come of it. 

But when I had just gotten into my seat in Art class, Marisol stormed in with her cheeks glowing and a huge smile on her face.

"Did you hear?" she asked me, siding into her seat next to mine. „Amanda Morris just got kicked out of cheerleading."

I stared. "Did you hear why?" I wanted to know, not quite sure what to think of this recent development."

"That's the thing," Marisol replied. "Nobody knows why, apparently she doesn't really know herself. It's strange, but I was right – there is such a thing called Karma."

Yes, I thought, dumbfounded. And in this case, Karma is apparently called Seth.



The Hiding Game Ch. 05



I didn't catch a glimpse of Seth again that day, but when I was at my neighbors' house at night and the twins were finally in bed, I curled up on the couch and considered the situation, and the questions that were still nagging. If Seth had really managed to get back at Amanda for me – and I assumed that it had been him – did it mean that he really cared about me? He had seemed sincere when we had last talked, and angry at the thought that anyone might have hurt me. But why had he ignored me for a whole week prior to this one? It didn't make sense to me, and I intended to ask him when I next talked to him. 

***

I almost refused to believe my eyes when it happened all over again the next day. I sat in study hall and stared him down for the whole class period, trying to get a reaction out of him. He had pointedly turned his face away when he had entered the room, taken out a book and started to read, and only once, towards the end of the class, did he look up at me. I could see that he wasn't mad, but he had a rather haunted look on his face. He had black circles under his eyes and his face was pale. The moment his eyes locked with mine, I understood that the look he gave me was one of apology, and when he finally lowered his head again, lips pressed together, I knew that this was all I was likely to get. 

***

The situation didn't change in the next few days. On Thursday night, I was babysitting the twins again when Marisol called me there to tell me that Amanda Morris had been suspended from school. 

"It's so strange!" she insisted, not noticing my lack of reaction to the news. "Nobody knows why it happened, just like when she was kicked out of cheerleading. Not that I'm not happy about it, but it's weird."

I agreed with that, but for a different reason. Did Seth think he could make me feel better by extracting revenge on Amanda? What the hell was he thinking? 

"Have you made up your mind if we're going to go to the football game tomorrow?" Marisol inquired. I knew she wanted to go, and I also knew that she would stick by me and not go if I decided not to. I sighed. 

"I'm not sure. I'll tell you later, if that's okay."

"Sure. I have to take a shower, I'l call you back in a little while. I just thought you'd like to know about Amanda too."

I agreed it was most exciting that we suddenly had Karma, and we hung up. I was feeling confused about this recent development, but that wasn't anything new. I just didn't understand Seth's motives, and I wished he would tell me what was going on with him. Did he succumb to some sort of social pressure? Was he trying not to hurt me? Neither really made sense. 

A headful of red curls bouncing adorably just below my line of sight brought me back to reality. I straightened up and looked around the side of the recliner that obscured my view. The little girl skipped past it and bounced onto the couch next to me. I yawned involuntarily and looked down at her. 

"Sarah, what are you doing? You're supposed to be in bed, sweetie."

She tilted her head and pointed her hazel eyes at me. "I can't find my bear. I think Jason took it."

"Don't accuse him without proof, let's go look for it first, okay?" I lifted her up into my arms, something I had done a million times before, but which was getting more and more difficult as she got older. I knew Sarah wasn't going to sleep without her bear, but I also didn't want her to start a screaming match with her twin brother. We turned the light in her room on and searched it together, Sarah crawling around under her bed while I looked in other likely spots. Finally, the phone rang again and I told Sarah to keep looking while I went and picked it up. 

I almost dropped it again when I heard Seth's voice. 

"Hi."

"Where did you even get this number?" was the first thing I managed to blurt out. He didn't seem irritated by that. 

"Your mom gave it to me when I called your house. I need to talk to you."

"Okay."

"Is it okay if I come over?" 

"What, here? Now?" His silence told me that that was what he had meant, and I considered it. The twins' parents had never had a problem with me having a friend over while babysitting, as long as it wasn't more than one and we weren't loud. "I suppose. Do you know how to get here?"

"I think so. I'll see you in a few minutes."

I hung up and shook my head. This boy was confusing. 

Back in her room, Sarah still hadn't found her bear, so I finally went into Jason's room and asked her brother about the stuffed animal's whereabouts. Jason, however, seemed to be honest about not knowing where the animal was, so I gritted my teeth and started to search the other rooms of the house where the twins had played earlier. I really wanted the two of them in bed before Seth got here, to make matters easier. I was relieved when the bear finally turned up under a couch cushion, and Sarah made no objections to being tucked back into her bed once she had it in her arms. I had barely closed the door to her room when I heard a knock on the front door. 

I was touched by the fact that Seth had been considerate enough not to ring the doorbell, but once I opened the door and looked at him I realized that things between us weren't alright again yet. He was wearing jeans and a baggy sweater in which even his big frame seemed somewhat lost, his arms were crossed before his chest and he was avoiding eye contact. 

"Come in," I asked him and he followed me into the living room without a word. I checked once more in the corridor to make sure the doors to both twins' rooms were closed, then I went back to him and sat down on the couch, next to him, but not so close that our bodies would touch in any way. 

"So?" I asked. 

He sighed and leaned back, turning his head to look into my eyes for the first time in days. "I'm sorry I haven't talked to you. It's... the situation is kind of complicated."

"You were involved with those things that happened to Amanda Morris, right?" I asked bluntly. He raised his eyebrows.

"Not the suspension. That was her own stupid fault. But I told you I wouldn't let her get away with that shit."

"Oh." I felt strangely relieved. But still, there were a bunch of other questions I needed answered. "Seth, I don't understand the way you act. It's confusing and it hurts."

"I know. I'm sorry." He sighed and put his head in his hands. "I told you it's complicated, I just... I can't tell you. Please. I really don't want to hurt you. I just can't let anyone know about this, and some people started to ask questions." 

"So you decided just to cool it for a few days."

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. The first time it happened, I figured I'd just end it, but you're... ." He shook his head and shrugged helplessly. "I just want you and I can't help it." He looked up at me again, an honest, sad look in his eyes, and I simply melted. 

Somehow, my lips ended up on his and his body on top of mine on the couch. I could smell the scent again that I'd missed so much over the previous days, and my heartbeat accelerated as he pressed me down onto the couch. Our tongues duelled wildly while one of his hands grasped my hair, and the other one slid smoothly under my shirt. Both of my arms went around his neck before I came to my senses again and steadily pushed him away from me. 

"I'm sorry," I told him, taking a deep breath. "The twins haven't gone back to sleep yet, they might come out here if anything else is wrong, and we'd probably get too loud in any case. I can't risk it."

He slumped somewhat, but didn't argue. He withdrew his hands and, after a moment of consideration, settled with putting his arm around my shoulders and letting me rest against him comfortably. I sighed and enjoyed being so close to him once again. 

We sat there like this for quite a while, both staring straight ahead, lost in our own thoughts. I contemplated how to bring up the subject of our relationship, or more precisely how he envisioned continuing it, but I felt strangely tongue-tied. I was more relaxed than I had been in the past few days, glad that he was at least talking to me again and that he had admitted he still wanted me. 

Seth seemed to find the silence a bit unsettling as well, because he took a deep breath after a few minutes and then reached for the remote. 

"Do you mind?" he asked, while already pressing the button, and I shook my head. He changed the channel twice before he found the news, then settled back and watched. I stared blankly at the screen, rather disinterested, and after a little while my eyelids started to drop. 

"Wake me up if I fall asleep," I asked him, and he promptly shifted his body so I could be more comfortable. 

"You're not supposed to stop me, not help!" I voiced a mumbled protest, my head starting to slip down his chest, and he laughed as I dropped down into his lap. 

"Stupid boy," I grumbled, and he shifted again, making me raise my head rather quickly. "I'm, um... just going to assume that you're still very happy to see me."

"Nah, it's just the damn flashlight," he sighed, making me smile, and led my hand to his crotch. I hesitated for just a moment, then started stroking him. 

"They should be asleep now." At least, I hoped so, but the fact that Seth bowed his head and kissed me deeply made my head spin just a little and I ignored all of the What if's. I grasped the back of his head and held him close, still stroking him, and he let his hand glide over my chest, cupping my breasts through my t-shirt. After a few seconds, he had me raise my arms so he could pull the shirt over my head, which made me slightly nervous. It was one thing to make out on the couch fully clothed – to be caught in the act by the twins or their parents, naked, was something else entirely. 

Seth pressed me down onto the couch and rolled himself on top of me, while he made sure to press his crotch against me. I slung my legs around his waist while he got rid of his sweater, then he sank fully down on top of me and I could feel the warmth of his body close to mine. He kissed me again, slowly and deeply, while his hand tangled itself in my hair. When our lips finally separated, I smiled dreamily at him. I was glad to be back in his arms, no matter how strange and irritating his behavior had been. 

I grasped his shoulders and held him close, but Seth had other plans. He raised himself slightly to gain access to my pants, then grimaced. 

"You really, really need to start wearing skirts girl."

"Any other wishes?" I asked while he fumbled with the button, and he nodded. 

"Yes. A cellphone. I've mentioned that before."

"Well, you only get one," I told him while raising my hips, and he pulled down both jeans and underwear in one motion, moving lower so he could also take off my socks. I squeaked quietly and sat up. I felt exposed all of a sudden, a feeling I didn't like, and Seth seemed to realize that. He grabbed the fleece blanket that sat on top of the recliner and lovingly wrapped me in it. Then, he took off his own pants, and was suddenly completely naked. 

"Hey," I said when I noticed the missing underwear. "Were you hoping to get lucky or something?"

He laughed and sat next to me, and I gave him a corner of the blanket to share. "Believe it or not, this is entirely coincidental."

"Yeah, sure," I smiled and tilted my head, giving his semi-erect cock a look. "Want me to do something about that?"

He nodded, but before I could lower my head, he reached around me and unclasped my bra expertly with one hand. I let it drop to the floor before sinking on my knees and grasping his cock with both hands. 

It was a slow, tender blowjob. I licked and circled him with my tongue forever before I finally took him into my mouth, sliding down and back up slowly. Seth sighed in pleasure and leaned back, one hand lazily tangled in my hair, the other arm stretched out across the sofa. I didn't increase the pace, and he didn't push, but simply closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. I tried to be versatile, to suck, nibble, lick and kiss at intervals, coming up to relax my jaw every once in a while. Seth only gave a soft sigh every time I slid my lips back down, but finally, he stopped me with his hand under my chin. 

"Come back up, babe. I want to fuck you."

I let him pull me onto the couch, where he moved on top of me and pulled the blanket over both of us. I felt a little more secure that way, even though it wouldn't help a lot if we were indeed caught by anyone. The leather of the couch felt cold on my skin and I was grateful for the bodywarmth Seth gave me. He eased my legs apart with his knee, briefly brushed my clit and pussy with his finger, checking for moisture, and then he carefully slid inside me. 

I exhaled slowly and grasped his shoulders once more as he sheathed himself, all the way on the first thrust, pressing his hips against mine so hard it hurt. 

"Jesus," I whispered, shuddering, and my nails dug into his flesh. Seth groaned and started to pull out, then thrust again. It felt exquisite, and I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the act, not trying to reach orgasm but simply lost in the sensation of his bodyweight pressing down on me, of his arms holding me and of his cock slowly and steadily sliding into and out of my pussy. 

He showered my face with tender kisses, making me smile with my eyes still closed. After a while, he settled for nibbling at my neck, then stroking my hair with one hand. I enjoyed all of his caressing immensely.

"Promise you'll wear a skirt tomorrow?"

"Hm?" I opened my eyes, unsure if I had misunderstood the question. But he repeated it, a half-smile on his face, not interrupting the slow-motion penetration. I sighed and then gave a light nod. 

"Good. You have lovely legs, you know."

"Thanks," I mumbled and pulled him down for a long kiss. When we separated again, I continued: "But that doesn't mean I'm wild about showing them to all of Glenn Valley. I'm assuming you're not going to accept anything more than knee length?"

"The shortest one you have," he answered, and his pace increased suddenly, showing me how much the idea excited him. 

"I'll get in trouble," I sighed, and met his faster thrusts with my body. He kissed me again, now breathing heavily.

"Not if I can help it."

"Damn you," I mumbled, freshly out of excuses, but I was also turned on by the idea of the way Seth would look at me in study hall. I didn't truly care very much about other people's reaction; it wasn't like my reputation needed protecting. 

"I'm assuming that means I win." Seth smiled down at me, small beads of sweat now forming on his forehead. He was still thrusting at the increased pace, and although I didn't have more than a warm, tingly feeling in my stomach, I could tell he was getting close. He stopped for a moment, trying to hold back and catch his breath, but I shook my head. 

"Go ahead, it's fine." I tenderly wiped the sweat from his face and encouraged him to go on. I was enjoying this tender moment enough without wanting to orgasm, and I didn't want to deny him the pleasure. He looked at me doubtfully for a moment, then closed his eyes and penetrated me once again.

It didn't take long after that. I watched his face as he came, which was starting to become one of my favorite things. He just looked so peaceful while he came, a look of complete and utter bliss on his face while I could feel the rhythmic pulsating of his cock inside me as he spent himself. He finally gasped and collapsed on top of me, mindful enough to rest part of his weight on his arms and legs instead of me. 

He slid next to me after a while and we spooned, kissing and talking about meaningless things. Seth vented some of his frustration with the members of the football team, and I told him about the sleeping twins, and my various adventures babysitting them. I wasn't sure if Seth even cared, but somehow, that didn't seem to be the point. 

We eventually decided it was time to get dressed again, as I wasn't sure exactly when my neighbors would be back. I felt a slight sense of relief as I slipped back into my pants; simply because I had been tense this whole time that one or the other redheaded child would come walking into the living room. I'd never abused my responsibility like this and felt a little guilty. But the thought was wiped from my mind as soon as Seth, standing in front of the door already, took me in his arms and kissed me goodbye.

"So, am I going to... see you tomorrow?" I wanted to know, and he grinned down at me bemusedly. 

"Oh, definitely. As a matter of fact, I already have something in mind." 



The Hiding Game Ch. 06



The next day greeted me with pouring rain. 

I could smell the wet but warm air when I was still in the kitchen eating breakfast, and when I walked out to my car later, my hair was dripping within seconds. It was the first non-sunny day in a very long time, and I cursed my luck at promising Seth what I had just yesterday. I had not dared walk around in a skirt in front of my mother, with the weather being as it was, she would have declared me crazy. Instead, I wore jeans and changed into the dark blue, well above knee length skirt in the car. 

Marisol raised an eyebrow at me when she met me in the parking lot. I just shrugged my shoulders, but there was no time for explanations as the rain was still going strong and my coat was slowly soaking through. I wouldn't have known what to say in any case. 

The droplets of water finding their way onto my skin in various ways made me shudder. Marisol didn't seem to feel any more comfortable than I did, so we started towards the entrance amongst the other students that were just arriving. A large group of boys running on one side of the parking lot caught my attention. The football team was apparently finishing their morning workout a little late, and the students stood aside respectfully and waited in the pouring rain as the players, all soaked to the skin, cut through the crowd at the front doors. Seth was one of the first, his grey t-shirt and black shorts clinging tightly to his toned body, water dripping from his short hair and running down his face and neck. His eyes met mine for a split second before he turned and stepped through the door. When he lowered his head, despite his exhausted expression, I could see a slight smile on his lips. The bastard knew exactly how irresistible he looked. 

When all of the football team has finally gone through the doors, Marisol and I were able to make our way inside the building and to our lockers. The humidity inside was insanely high, and my top started clinging to my skin, assisted by the wetness seeping out of my hair after I took off my coat and shook it out. I wasn't happy at the thought of putting the wet thing into my locker with my books and notebooks, but there weren't really any good alternatives. I said goodbye to Marisol soon after, when the first bell had already rung, and made my way to study hall. 

The old lunchroom had always been a rather cold place, and a stream of cool air hit me when I entered, making me shudder and causing my nipples to harden within seconds. Just when I sat down in my spot, the second bell rung and the last student – Seth – entered the room. He hadn't changed his clothes or even toweled his hair, and he was leaving a trail of water wherever he went, since his running shoes also seemed to have soaked up a good portion of water. He seemed completely unconcerned with that, however. He didn't even sit down, but asked Miss Larsen right away for permission to go and change, which struck me as strange. I knew that if he had stayed in the locker room to change, he could have gotten out of receiving a tardy easily. When Seth turned and left the room, he didn't look up, but he did raise his eyebrows slightly, and I knew that sign was meant for me. 

Shuddering, but excited, I walked up to the desk. 

"Miss Larsen, may I go to the bathroom and dry my hair?"

Miss Larsen frowned and looked across the room, not happy with my request. "If I let you go, every girl will want to."

"I get sick easily," I explained to her. "My mother won't be happy if my grades suffer because I catch a bad cold." I sneezed for good measure. 

"Fine," she sighed, and gave me a hall pass. 

I was out in the hall not a second later. I wasn't quite sure where Seth wanted to meet with me, but considering where he had ambushed me the last time, I made my way in the direction of the equipment storage room. He wasn't around there though, and the room itself was locked, so I kept walking around, hoping I hadn't misread his sign. 

When I turned a corner, he was standing there leaning against the wall, incidentally next to the drinking fountain where he had talked to me for the first time. I let my eyes roam over his delicious body for a few seconds, so clearly on display because of the wet clothes clinging to it. His eyes lit up when he saw me, but instead of waiting for me, he pushed himself off the wall and made his way to the door at the end of the hallway. 

"Are you crazy?" I hissed, and he gave me a dark look. When I came a few steps closer, he simply grabbed me by the hand and opened the door, pulling me out into the pouring rain. 

I screamed when we started running over the grass, half in giddiness, half because it was just so damn wet outside. I almost slipped and stumbled a few times, but Seth mercilessly pulled me further, through the warm, dense rain. I looked back at the school and was suddenly very glad that there weren't any windows on this side of the building, with the locker rooms and gym being on this end. If we were lucky, maybe we wouldn't get in trouble.

I was completely and utterly soaked by the time we got to the football field. My white and blue shirt was completely see-through now, and my skirt was a wet mess clinging to and wrapping itself around my legs. The only dry parts of me were my feet, protected by my socks and my black boots. I was shaking, but at the same time, it was kind of too late to care. Seth turned around to look at me while running, grinning like a little kid, and after a moment of considering to bite his head off, I smiled back. 

The area under the bleachers was Seth's destination. The bleachers themselves lessened the rain, but didn't shield us from it completely, and the water still dripped down upon us aplenty. I was shaking by the time we got there, because while this was a warmer than average day, it was still cold enough to freeze when completely soaked. 

"I will fucking kill –" I started, but by then Seth had pressed me against one of the metal beams and was kissing me hard. His hands were roaming around my cotton-clad body while I huddled against him for warmth and tasted rain on his lips, and when he pulled away and stared at me hungrily, I couldn't help but admire the sharp curves of his muscular body that the clinging shirt emphasized. He was giving my own body a very similar look. 

"Jesus Jen," he said huskily, and we were kissing again, this time to the feeling of two hands worming their way up my skirt. Seth worked furiously to free me of my clingy panties, which were wet mostly because of the rain, but not entirely. When he finally managed, he pulled them down to my knees and then cupped my ass, pulling me against him and letting me notice that he was most impressively hard. I threw my arms around his neck and held him close while toying with his tongue. I was still shaking, not only cold but also excited. 

Finally, he nodded towards the metal beam I was leaning against. "Think you can hold yourself up?"

When I shrugged and nodded, he spun me around and had me place my hands against the beam. My skirt was flipped up and he entered me just a second later, his cock a strangely hot and hard sensation. I gasped and pushed back at him while he held my hips steady with his hands, his cock in me feeling truly hot compared with my freezing skin. His right hand wandered across my back, and a second later I could feel his thumb pressing lightly into my asshole. I could remember that he had done this before, and I was curious if he was more interested in that area than he had let on so far. In any case, the sensation felt great and I threw back my head and moaned as he started fucking me hard. 

I was so aroused that I knew from the start it wouldn't take long for me to start coming. I felt hypersensitive to the exquisite friction his cock caused inside me, and I matched his aggressive thrusting to get more. His hard lower belly slapped against my ass every time, causing my body to shake and me to issue small gasps. He took his other hand from my hip as well after some time, leaving me to offer resistance to his powerful slamming inside me alone. Instead, he tangled his fingers in my wet hair and pulled ever so slightly, almost teasing, but then increased the pull to make me bite my lip in pain and pleasure. 

I screamed his name when I was on the edge, eyes closed tightly and my whole body shuddering with the hot and cold sensations, the water dripping onto my back and the hand on my ass keeping my back arched. He increased his pace, until I felt he could go no faster, groaning with pleasure. He seemed to know exactly when I would peak, because I could hear him moan in desperation as he tried to hold back and wait for me. His last thrust pushed me over the edge, and for a while I could feel nothing but sensations, wave after hot wave of ultimate pleasure making my body shudder, while the droplets of rain cooled it down and Seth spent himself inside me. 

We remained in the same position for almost a minute afterwards, too spent to even move. My hands still grasped the metal beam to hold me up, my head had sunk down between them and water ran down it and dropped off my chin, nose and forehead. Seth's hands supported my hips, but I could feel them shake as well. 

Finally, he pulled out of me, and my legs just gave way, letting me sink to the ground. It was dirty, wet and slightly muddy, but my clothes would have to be washed and dried anyway. Seth sank down next to me and put his arms around me, kissing my forehead and holding me close. I closed my eyes and huddled close to him, wanting to share what warmth he gave me. I was reminded of the first time we had fucked in the shower, the water was coming down at us just the same, only this time we were sitting in the mud under the bleachers, and I was starting to really freeze instead of being comfortably warm. 

"So, what do you propose I do now?" I asked him after a while. He gently rubbed the cold skin of my arm and smiled at me. 

"How about you just take the day off? Or at least a few hours. I can go change really quick and drive you home, so you can warm up and get some new clothes on."

"Hmm." The idea of spending time with him that wasn't sex or after-sex cuddling sounded tempting. I hadn't yet reached a decision when Seth straightened up, and extended a hand to help me get up as well. I used the opportunity to pull my panties back up, which felt disgusting, because they were now just as rain-drenched as the rest of my clothes.

"Either way, we need to get out of the rain."

Not running this time, he led me to the lonely shed a short distance from the football field that was Glenn Valley High School's weight room. The old weight room, in the main building, had been converted to a classroom quite a few years ago, to host the increasing number of students attending Glenn Valley. The shed itself was deserted, but unlocked, and Seth placed me on a bench to wait while he got me a few towels and turned up the heat in the already fairly warm room. When he was sure I would be comfortable, he asked me to wait, kissed me once more and then left the shed, crossing the grass to the school building's back entrance once again. 

I leaned back against the wall and smiled. Despite the fact that I felt gross and wet, this little encounter had been quite exciting, and my pussy was still tingling. I closed my eyes, leaned back against the wall and peeled my clinging skirt off my thigh, so I could put my hands under it and get rid of my disgustingly wet underwear. After I had bundled it up at my feet, my hand slipped back under my skirt almost automatically, teasing my clit as I relived the scene that had just happened in my mind. Warm pleasure began to run through my body once again, and I enjoyed myself, head thrown back, while I waited. 

Seth took his sweet time. I was close to orgasm when I heard an amused chuckle, and I opened my eyes and jumped when I saw Seth kneel right in front of me, picking up my panties off the floor. 

"Look what I found!"

"Very funny," I muttered and closed my legs, flipping my skirt down hastily and trying to ignore the protest of my aching clit. Seth only shook his head. 

"What would you have done if I'd been a coach?"

"Blushed?" I offered, and he laughed, while he pressed my knees apart again and pushed my skirt back up. I moaned in anticipation and gasped when the tip of his tongue first touched my clit. He licked over it rapidly several times, causing my hips to grind against his face because it felt so good. My hand grasped what it could of his short hair and held his head close as he licked his way up and back down my entire slit, using long, broad strokes. 

"Don't draw it out," I begged him, too eager to orgasm to be patient. He obeyed, sucking my clit into his mouth, where he flicked it with his tongue over and over again while sucking hard, making it swell even more. I moaned and begged in the same breath, cheeks flushed and both of my hands now buried in his hair, my nails probably hurting his scalp. Two of his fingers plunged into my wet hole and started fucking me rapidly, which, along with the stimulation of his tongue, was all it took to push me over the edge.

I tried to keep my voice down when I came this time, I really tried. But I couldn't help it when a loud, drawn-out scream escaped me as my hips bucked in release. Seth eagerly licked up my wetness until I calmed down again, but even then he occasionally gave my clit a teasing lick, until I pulled his head away from my lap. He withdrew his fingers and stood up while I straightened my skirt. My clothes and hair weren't dripping anymore, but still rather damp and clinging to my skin uncomfortably. 

"That was fun," he noted, smiling, and helped me stand up as well while he wiped his face of my juices. "We should get going though, I don't want to take a risk."

I barely kept myself from laughing out loud. "A risk? Says the guy who just took me out of study hall and ran across half the school to have sex under the bleachers? If you don't want to get caught or arouse suspicion, I suggest re-evaluating your definition of risk there, Seth." He only shrugged, half embarrassed, and handed me a dark blue hoodie he had brought. I put it on over my shirt and noticed at once that it smelled pleasantly like Seth. He had changed as well, into warmups and his regular, dry shoes. 

We left the weight room holding hands, and made our way to the street behind it at a fast pace. We had to cross a fence that surrounded the general area of the football field and baseball diamond, which was slippery with the rain. Seth gallantly helped me across, then jumped over it himself. He had moved his car, which was what had taken him so long to get back to me, and I assumed that he just didn't want to be seen with me in the student parking lot. 

His car was a fairly used-looking, dark blue Ford Taurus, and I was pleasantly surprised at how clean he kept it inside. There was the occasional empty Powerade bottle lying around, but I didn't have to wade through knee-deep mess in order to climb into the passenger seat. Seth started the car in a hurry, presumably to get the heat going, which I was thankful for. Neither of us spoke when he started to drive.

By the time we got to my house, the inside of the car hadn't yet warmed up as much as I would have liked, and I was eager to get inside. Seth didn't waste any time either; he was out of the car and by my side in a moment. I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally opened the door and stepped inside, looking around. My mother was at work, of course, and I was supremely glad that she couldn't see me in my soaked clothes right now. I hadn't lied to Miss Larsen when I had told her that I got colds easily, and my mother would have killed me for being this irresponsible about my health. I recalled a conversation with her just a few weeks earlier, when she had, despite the blazing heat outside, remarked that it was about time to get the sweaters out again. I had laughed at her then, because we had had record temperatures that week, and I had been so hot in school that I didn't even want to contemplate the thought of wearing a sweater. 

It was somewhat startling to notice that that particular conversation had taken place in a time before I had ever even exchanged a single word with Seth Marshall. I turned around. There he was, just entering the room, and I suddenly realized how strange a sight it was to see him standing there. Glenn Valley's football god, the one I had had a crush on since my freshman year. We had sat next to each other in English class, although I doubted he even remembered it. He had asked around the class for a pencil once, towards the beginning of the school year, and his sweet smile when I had presented him with one had been sufficient to get me to announce to my friends that I was in love. Then they had pulled him out of the JV football squad and placed him on Varsity midseason, because the team badly needed him, and it was the first time ever in Glenn Valley history a freshman had played in a Varsity game. They had won their first game of the season with him, and he had been the talk of the entire school the day after, showered with gifts and compliments and requests for a homecoming date. It hadn't taken long for him to switch seats in English, over to where the JV cheerleaders were sitting. He may as well have moved across the continent, as effectively as he was out of my reach after that had happened. 

But yet, here he was, pretty much exactly three years later, looking sexy as hell while doing nothing but standing around, eyes darting around my kitchen while I was staring at him dreamily.

"You got extra blankets?" he asked, and I snapped out of my admiration. I nodded and made my way to the hallway closet to grab a few. When I got back, Seth was looking around the kitchen cupboards with interest, making a noise of triumph when he found the cocoa mix. 

"You don't mind, do you?" he asked, grabbing two packages and slamming the cupboard shut. I shook my head, and he turned to look at me more closely for the first time since we had left the school. His green eyes wandered from the hem of my skirt to my chest, then he looked into my eyes and smiled. 

"Strip," he ordered me, causing me to raise my eyebrows at him. When I didn't move, he dropped the cocoa on the counter and came over to me. His hand grabbed the zipper of his hoodie and pulled it down, then he pushed the fabric over my shoulders and down my arms. 

"Do I have to do everything myself around here?" he asked mock-grumbling, dropping the hoodie, and I obligingly started to shed my damp shirt. I was getting cold again anyway, and the prospect of hot cocoa and a warm blanket was enticing. My shirt joined the pile of clothes on the floor, and the skirt did as well a few seconds later. Satisfied, Seth wrapped one of the blankets around me, rubbed my damp skin for a few seconds, and then went back to his task of making hot cocoa. 

I sat down on the kitchen table and watched him prepare two coffee mugs with the steaming liquid. Considering my thoughts from earlier, it just seemed so surreal to me. I had gotten used to his presence and to the fact that he talked to me over the last few weeks, but this was just weird nonetheless. I followed the movements of his arms with interest, noticing the graceful and very precise way he did everything. Finally, he turned and handed me one of the mugs, which I took gratefully. 

"Let's go to the living room," I proposed, and he raised his eyebrows. 

"How about your room?"

I grimaced, remembering how my room wasn't altogether tidy, and he laughed. "Okay, fine. Let's go to the living room, but I do want to see your room later." 

"Great." I stood up and led him through the hallway to our small living room, which fit only a couch, a tiny table, the tv and a narrow cupboard in which we stored movies and snacks. Since we were only two people in the household, the small space suited us just fine, and I hoped Seth didn't have a problem with the fact that we weren't exactly rich. I had no idea how well off he was, but our high school was mostly populated by students from middle to upper middle class families, and he seemed to fit right in with those. 




The Hiding Game Ch. 06



"It's nice," Seth assured me and flopped down on the couch in an instant after putting his half-emptied cup on the table. He held his arms out for me, and I joined him, cuddling against him while his hands found their way under my blanket. Before I could even react, he had snapped open my bra clasp and was cupping my breast, causing me to take a deep, surprised breath. 

"Goodness you're fast."

"I am." He used one hand to turn my head towards him and kissed me, first my lips, then teasingly my nose and my forehead. I sighed and leaned my forehead against him, relaxing. His hand snaked around to my neck and started to rub it gently, and I closed my eyes in pleasure. 

"Still cold?" he asked me, but I only shook my head and urged him to continue what he was doing. I kept my eyes closed and relaxed fully against him, sighing.

"Why me?" I asked him suddenly, opening my eyes again, and raised my head to look up at him. His eyes met mine, and he seemed slightly startled by the question. 

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Why me, out of all these girls at the school that you could be with? Or why not just keep fucking the cheerleaders, since that seems a whole lot easier than sneaking around with me?" I swallowed after I said it, realizing that I was being very blunt. 

He gave me a look that I couldn't quite interpret. His hand withdrew from my neck and he moved away from me slightly, so he could get a better look at me. He chewed on his lower lip and his eyes moved across my face, while I stared at him questioningly, holding my breath. 

"Do I have to answer that right now?" he asked. It wasn't the reaction I had hoped for, but I simply shrugged and pulled him closer again.

"That's fine. I was just wondering." 

"Okay." He kissed me once more, but then let go of me and lay down next to me. I turned so that I could put my head and arm on his chest to be comfortable, and he put an arm around me. We lay like this for a while, not talking, and I enjoyed just feeling his chest expand and contract with each breath under me. The rain was still drumming against the windows, although it had lessened, and the effect was a very cozy atmosphere. 

"Why did you ask me that just now?" he suddenly wanted to know. I raised my head slowly to look up at him. I wasn't sure if there was a dignified way to answer that question, so I just barreled out with the blunt truth. 

"I'm wondering because you're the most popular person in this entire goddamn school, whereas for me, the definition of a good day is not getting teased or harassed or made feel completely worthless. Because you're upsetting all of this precariously build high school social structure by simply talking to me, and sometimes I feel like I'm starring in She's All That, only nobody told me about it."

It had come out sharper than I intended, and I was relieved when he simply grinned down at me instead of being offended. 

"If you're going to compare me to Freddie Prince Jr, I may have to dump you."

"I'm serious!" I jabbed him in the ribs as well as I could from my lying position, which succeeded a little too well, making him yelp. I hadn't intended that and made it up to him by kissing him deeply and rubbing my tongue tenderly on his. When our lips separated, he looked down at me thoughtfully.

"I see," was all he said, and then he was quiet for a long while. I lay my head back down on his chest, letting him stroke my hair as we both looked out the window. The rain was picking up again. Its monotone drumming against the window was making me sleepy as well. I grimaced at the thought of going back out there, even if just to pick up my car, still at the high school. 

"Marisol will be worried about me," I mumbled. Seth's hand paused for a second, then he continued stroking my hair.

"Have you two been friends long?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Since sixth grade, when she moved here. She's the closest friend I've ever had... along with Audra Hart, until last year. She turned traitor when she joined the dance team." I yawned heartily.

"Audra Hart," I heard Seth repeat blankly, and even though he looked like he had just heard her name for the very first time, I looked up at him in sudden horror as a random thought struck me.

"You didn't... she... you... ."

"What?" He was confused for a moment, until he could interpret the look in my eyes. "Oh, hell no. I don't even think I know her. I don't really pay a whole lot of attention to the dance team."

"Good," I mumbled, and snuggled closer to him. "Wouldn't have liked that thought a whole lot." I yawned again, and Seth peered down at me.

"Are you going to go to sleep on me?" 

"Mhm," I said and closed my eyes.



The Hiding Game Ch. 07



I woke sometime later, sweating and shaking, to the sound of rain outside that had now gotten considerably softer, and to the feeling of a swelling orgasm originating between my thighs. There was not much I could do, except arch my back in pleasure and enjoy the feeling of fingers plunging inside me at a fast pace – into both my holes, I noticed with weak surprise - and of a tongue flicking over my clit over and over again. I groaned, hard. My hands grasped the armrest of the couch just in time as my skin flushed from the heat inside me and my body bucked in wild pleasure. 

"Yes," I moaned, not just once, but over and over again, as little explosions went off inside me, building anticipation for the big one that followed them. When it finally came, I arched my back so hard I actually ended up sitting, grasping with my hands frantically for something to hold on to and found a shirt, which they clenched around. I threw my head from left to right and back, the heat in my face getting even stronger when the fiery waves radiated out from my lower body. My legs shook as they subsided slowly, and I was so weak I didn't manage to do anything but let myself sink back down onto the couch, panting. 

"Damn," said Seth softly, raising himself up from his spot between my legs, and withdrawing his fingers carefully. "You can let go of my shirt now," he added, and I willed my fingers to unclench. My arms promptly fell to my sides. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, coming up to lie beside me. I managed to nod weakly, and smile at him. After I had recovered for a few minutes, I was actually able to talk.

"Holy hell," I whispered, making Seth laugh. 

"That good?" 

"Yes. Where did you learn that? No, don't answer that," I added after a second's worth of further consideration. He only laughed some more. 

"I'm sorry. It was damn tempting, with you asleep so innocently." He kissed me, sweeping his tongue into my mouth playfully for a few seconds and letting me taste myself. The he sat up. "I need to wash my hands," he explained, and vanished towards the door I was pointing to. 

I lay back for a few minutes while he cleaned himself up. It had been pleasant enough to be awoken by oral sex, but it had also left me weak in the knees and with my head spinning. When Seth came back, my head still felt fuzzy, but I had recovered enough to sit up and kiss him thoroughly when he came to sit beside me. He put his arms around me, kissing the top of my head lovingly. 

"We should probably leave pretty soon," he noticed, and I looked around for a clock. 

"What time is it?"

"About sixth period, I think," he replied, looking at his watch. 

"You let me sleep for that long?" 

"You looked like you needed it, sleeping beauty," he told me and ran one hand through my hair. "I'll try my best to keep you out of trouble for skipping, I promise."

"Please do. My mom will kill me slowly and painfully if she finds out."

Seth laughed and stood up, pulling me with him from the couch. "I can't let her do that," he sighed and smiled at me rather ruefully, "I couldn't stand to see you suffer. A quick and painless death would be much easier on my psyche."

I boxed him in the ribs, but he took the blow without even changing his facial expression. When I tried again, he caught my arm and twisted away, bringing my arm behind my back in the process. I was smart enough not to try resisting his death grip, but sighed theatrically and relaxed my muscles. 

"I give up, idiot," I announced, rather unimpressed by his maneuver. Seth continued to hold me tight, however, and brought his lips with a series of quick kisses from my neck to my mouth as I turned my head to meet him. 

"Hmmm," I said in reaction to his soft lips, and finally he let me go and I was able to put my arms around his neck while we kissed. Playful at first, our kisses quickly grew more intense as I slid my tongue past his lips and he met it passionately with his own. His hands slid down to cup my ass, squeezing it. I did nothing but to hold on to him and grind my hips against his growing erection. The kiss was loving and intense and it lasted until I pulled away with some effort. 

"No time," I reminded him. He let out an exaggerated sigh and threw his arms up in the air in exasperation. 

"You know, it would make much more sense if you just stayed here and pretended to be sick for the rest of the day. If we both get back to school at the same time people might get suspicious, and they're going to ask questions."

I didn't like this at all. "You're making me miss an entire day of school, Seth! I have AP classes; I can't just skip them randomly. I'm going to have a hell of a time catching up."

"Oh, big deal." He rolled his eyes, and I almost slapped him. 

"Look, I don't care what you think. I'm sure you've got your football scholarship to wherever covered already. I depend a bit more on my GPA, and in any case, you're being a jerk right now! Stop it!"

"Okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He took a deep breath and sat down on the couch. I didn't join him, but looked down on him menacingly. The look in my eyes actually seemed to have some effect, because he ducked his head and looked up at me like a little boy who had just been caught trying to steal cookies. I stayed cold, however. 

"I'd appreciate it if you stopped thinking about only yourself once in a while."

"I said I'm sorry!" Seth replied aggressively, losing the little boy look. I opened my mouth to answer, but promptly sneezed. 

"Damn. Don't get sick on me." Seth stood up and put the blanket from the couch around my shoulders, while I simply stood there, glowering at him. I sneezed again.

"This. Is all. Your fault." I told him through clenched teeth, while he pressed the box of Kleenex into my hands. 

"I'm sorry. For the tenth time. Now lie down and rest, I'll get your car and your books."

"Whatever." I was pissed off now and ready to let him feel it. He only sighed though, and pushed me down onto the couch. He hesitated for a moment, maybe considering if he should kiss me goodbye, but then left the room without another word. I could hear the door shut a few moments later, and lay back onto the couch with a frown. My head did hurt, and Seth was probably right about me staying in bed. I just couldn't get over my annoyance with him, and I didn't plan on being any nicer to him when he got back. 

***

As a matter of fact, Seth never did come back to see me. I waited for a while, finally fell asleep again on the couch, and awoke to the sound of the doorbell ringing up a storm. I wrapped myself in the blanket, cursing because my head spun as I sat up, and went to answer it. 

It was Marisol, soaked from head to toe. She squeezed past me, trying to get inside as fast as possible, and I stepped aside a full three seconds too late.

"Is it still raining?" I asked stupidly. She gave me a look that made me shrink several inches while she removed her wet shoes. I helped her, holding her steady when she almost lost her balance. 

When I noticed how badly she was shaking, I ran to get another blanket from the hallway closet and came back to find her wrapped in the one that Seth had left on a chair. I put the second blanket around her as well, and we went to sit down on the couch in the living room, where the scolding started.

"I'm really mad at you, you know!" Marisol's eyes were dangerously narrowed, her lips shaking from the cold. "What the hell were you thinking, Jenna? You just vanish from school and leave all your things there, and you don't even sign out so I couldn't ask the office staff where you had gone without probably getting you in even more trouble than you're already in!"

"I'm sorry!" Now it was my turn to apologize, I thought bitterly, and even this was something Seth should be responsible for. "I... I got sick, okay."

"So sick you couldn't even sign out or tell anyone? And so sick you just forgot your car in the parking lot? I don't think so, Jenna!"

"I'm sorry!" I screamed it this time and Marisol was so surprised by this that her mouth hung open for a moment. I buried my face in my hands and tried my best to ignore the sudden urge to cry. 

"Jenna," Marisol said suddenly very softly, putting an arm around me. "Look. I'm worried about you. You haven't been yourself lately, not going to the football games, keeping secrets from me, now skipping school. This guy you've been fooling around with really seems to wreak havoc on you."

I opened my mouth to defend myself, then closed it again when I realized something. I hadn't been about to defend my own actions, but Seth's. He was influencing me, maybe not meaning to, but the simple fact that I had such a crush on him made me cut him a lot of slack. 

I sighed and leaned back on the couch. 

"You're right," I said, defeated. "You're totally right, and I'm sorry. I suck."

"This isn't exactly the conclusion I was going for, but it's a start," Marisol told me and gave me a quick hug. "Will you tell me what happened today then?"

I nodded and gave her a quick summary of the events or the morning, once again leaving out details such as Seth's identity and what he had done to me on the very couch Marisol and me were now sitting on. I finished up by describing the disagreement we had had, and Marisol shook her head continuously during that part.

"What an ass," she commented. "Doesn't he know how important school is, especially for you?"

"Well, now he does," I shrugged, then sighed. "I don't even think he really meant to be mean about it, he just never made an effort to see things from my point of view. See, there I go defending him again." I banged the back of my head against the wall behind me in frustration. 

"You're lovestruck," Marisol diagnosed. 

"Yes, well, is there a cure, Dr. Marisol?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said without humor. "First of all, don't talk to him – and don't fuck him either, for crying out loud – until he apologizes. The way he treated you today makes me want to hit him on the nose, and I would if I knew who he was."

I lowered my eyes, chewing on my lip. "Okay."

"And then," she sighed, "I assume that I won't be able to convince you to stop seeing him? I mean with all this hiding and secrecy he insists on, he seems so shifty. I don't trust him." 

"I know," I said. "Believe me, I wish just as much as you that he could just be honest with me. I've asked him. He's just..." I smiled despite myself. "He can be so damn sweet, you know."

"And I'm recognizing the dreamy look on your face," Marisol stated and got up. "Alright, therapy session is over. I'm raiding your freezer for some ice cream, and when I get back, I want to hear details about this sex in the rain you had!" 

***

When I brought Marisol to the door much later, I noticed that my car was parked on the other side of the street. My books were inside, and after some searching, I found my keys in our mailbox. Not exactly the most romantic thing Seth could have done, but at least he had returned my car like he had promised. I carried my books inside and proceeded to study, after finding a handwritten list in my notebook that detailed the homework I needed to do and what I had missed in class. Sitting on the couch once more, wrapped in my blanket and drinking more hot cocoa, I found myself forgiving him rather quickly as I relived the experiences of the day once more. Missing classes or not, it had hands down been the most exciting sex I had ever had, even considering details such as muddy, sticky clothes and the cold I had apparently caught. 

***

The weather wasn't any better the next day. It had cooled down a bit, so the humidity wasn't as bothersome, but it was still raining persistently and the football game promised to be a muddy mess. Marisol said pretty much exactly that when we were on the way to our lockers just after the first bell, and I nodded in agreement. 

"But we're still going," she told me, giving me a menacing look. "I will not miss another football game because you're heartbroken."

"I promise," I smiled, and turned towards my locker. Then I froze.

There was a puddle of unidentifiable colorless liquid just before my feet, whose origin appeared to be my locker. I stared at it with a feeling of dread.

"Oh, no." I said. "I think I am going to go on a killing spree if this is what I think it is."

Marisol had paled as well, and we both grimaced when the foul smell of the liquid finally entered our noses. My sense of smell wasn't at its strongest because of the cold I had caught, but even so the smell was almost too much for me to bear. I stepped forward, careful to avoid touching the stuff, and stretched out my hand to open the locker door. Next to me, Marisol retched. 

"It smells like someone stuffed a dead skunk into your locker!"

I silently agreed with her, and, turning the dial, prepared myself for the worst. When the door opened, however, no animal corpse fell at my feet. In fact, nothing seemed out of place in my locker at all, despite the liquid in which my books and belongings were liberally covered. It smelled worse than ten skunks at once, and I turned my head to escape the worst of the smell. Behind me, people giggled and made disgusted noises, and many made their way past me and Marisol pressed against the opposite wall. 

"Close it," Marisol instructed me, pulling at my arm. "We need to go report this."

I nodded, thankful for her taking charge, and slammed the metal door shut. Marisol led me all the way to the main office, where we explained the situation to one of the secretaries. The woman, one of the stern senior office workers, wasted no time sending Marisol to her class – the second bell had just rung. After that, she spent the next twenty minutes attempting to recruit one of the younger office aides to help clean my locker. I was sitting there the entire time, wishing futilely that this had been just a normal day and I could have sat in study hall right now, like usual. Instead I was dreading returning to my locker to clean out one of the most unpleasant smells I had ever encountered. 

Finally, a blond woman in her thirties, named Carolyn, had been successfully bullied into accompanying me back to my locker, equipped with a trash bag and several cleaning supplies. She gave me a friendly smile – the first one of the day, making me like her for that alone – and let me lead the way back to the hallway where my locker was. The smell had spread quite a bit in the last twenty minutes, and we both approached the locker while covering our mouth and nose with our hands. 

"Nasty!" Carolyn noted and handed me a pair of rubber gloves. "I think I know what this is. Called Skunk Juice, my dad used it going hunting when I was younger, to mask his smell."

"Well, at least all the deer won't know my locker's approaching," I said, my voice dripping with false cheerfulness. I was trying my hardest not to cry, I didn't want whoever had orchestrated this to succeed in getting me to do that. I opened the locker once more, while Carolyn liberally spread paper towels over where the liquid had dripped onto the floor. I nearly winced when the full dose of the smell slapped me in the face, and began the task of extracting book by book from the locker, wiping them off. Carolyn examined the locker door and wiped off the excess juice on it. 

"It looks like whoever did this sprayed it through the air vents," she noted, pointing out that they were coated from both sides. "Got any enemies?"

"Plenty," I sighed. "But not anyone I've offended terribly lately." 

"Your teachers should have leftover books you can trade in for those," Carolyn noted. "We'll have to ask someone who knows more about skunk juice if the smell evaporates away a sufficient amount of time, otherwise we might as well throw away your old books right now."

"Yes," I said. I blinked away tears once more when I got to my notebooks – those weren't easily replaceable. Carolyn put the first one I handed her in a separate bag. 

"Take those home, and let them air-dry. Outside, if you can. After that you should be able to make copies of them."

I appreciated the solid grasp she had on this problem, it was rather calming. When I reached for my last notebook, which had been leaning against the wall, I noticed a green piece of paper that was stuck in there that certainly wasn't mine. Its edges were soaked, but otherwise it appeared unharmed, shielded by the notebook. I reached for it and turned it in my hand. There was no name on it. 

While Carolyn used something very citrus-smelling to clean the locker door, I unfolded the paper and saw that it was a short letter addressed to me. I looked for a signature that wasn't there, then looked at the first few words and recognized the writing. Seth's. It was an apology. I stuffed the letter into my pocked, intending to read it later, and then turned back to the contents of my locker. Most of what was still in there would just have to be thrown away, such as the pictures I had taped to the back and the extra t-shirt I had kept there ever since the incident with the wet clothes at the beginning of the school year. 

When the locker was completely empty, Carolyn wiped it out with the citrus cleaning spray. She used so much that I felt like I would never need vitamin C again, but at least the skunk smell was masked a little. She also sprayed some air freshener throughout the entire hallway, then encouraged me to leave my newly emptied locker open to air out while we went and stored the things of mine that we hadn't thrown away in the office. 

"Take a deep breath Jenna," Carolyn advised me just as the bell rung for second period, and patted my shoulder. "You'll be fine."

It entered my mind that Carolyn was possibly the first nice person to ever have worked at Glenn Valley High's office. I thanked her for all of her help and grabbed my books – the ones that I had brought from home this morning and that were still clean – and headed off to my second class. 

***

Seth's letter was probably one of the most unorthodox written apologies I had ever read. 

Dear Jenna, it read.

I'm a total idiot. Please meet me at the back door by the locker rooms an hour after the game. I'll bring ice cream.

I sighed and folded the paper back up for what was probably the one hundredth time. I'll bring ice cream. What the hell did that mean? Was this code for something, or was he actually serious?

"What are you reading?" Marisol asked, and I hastily stuffed the piece of paper back in my pocket, looking up to see if anyone else had noticed. Most people around me were staring at the field, however, where an exceptionally boring JV game was going on. 


"Does it say 'I explode if anyone but Jenna reads me?'" Marisol asked, looking slightly hurt, and I immediately felt guilty.

"I'm sorry. It's a letter from, you know, him."

"Yes, I know." She sighed. "Has he apologized yet?"

"Technically, no, but I have a feeling he's about to."

"He better be."

I nodded. At the same moment, people started to clap, and I realized that the game was finally over. 

"What's the score, zero both?" I asked. Marisol shook her head. "No, six us, zero them."

"Oh. I must have missed the single most exciting moment of the game."

"You didn't miss a thing. It was yawn-worthy."

Marisol was certainly right about that. It had been one of the most uneventful games I had ever seen, partially due to the fact that the field was muddy and slowed the players down considerably. The other reason for this was that our JV was simply not that good. 

"We really need to win that state title this year," Marisol told me, expressing my thoughts. "We'll have a bunch of great players graduate, including Seth Marshall of course, and the ones that will move up from JV play like crap. And then of course, it's our last year too, so it would be great to see that happen."




The Hiding Game Ch. 07



Just when she said that, we felt raindrops landing on our skin, and the crowd groaned. Marisol and I had come prepared, and we opened our umbrellas and huddled together under the blanket she had brought. It was rather cozy. The rain only intensified as the varsity players entered the field, and we knew that this was going to be a mud massacre. The JV had left the field a mess, and the fresh rain was making it worse. I looked down and was able to make out Seth, wearing number 28 as always. He was jumping up and down, probably to keep himself warm. 

"He's so hot," I heard Marisol mumble next to me. I nodded my agreement, lost in my thoughts, then I turned to her hastily. 

"Wait, who?"

"Jason Henderfort."

"You think?" I peered at the large full back standing amidst the players, not seeing anything special. "He's not ugly, I'll give you that."

"You were the one that told me to get over Josh," Marisol reminded me. "This is me trying."

I nodded in approval and took another look at the Senior.

"You could certainly do worse," I sanctioned her choice. 



The game was even dirtier that I had imagined. Players were sliding all over the place, and the running was painful to watch since members of both times often slipped without being tackled. Still, Glenn Valley's players did well enough, and Seth especially managed to make a few brilliant plays, using the slippery, muddy field to his advantage more than once. By the time the game was over, he, like the other players, was covered in dirt from head to toe, but smiling at the decent resultant score of seventeen to six. Marisol and I were applauding. We had wedged the umbrella in between out bodies, since it was still raining.

"Didn't you miss it?" Marisol asked me when the players were leaving the field. She was referring to us not attending the previous two games, and I nodded. 

"It won't happen again," I promised her, and she gave me a cheerful smile. 

"What do you want to do now? We could go to my house." She frowned when a thought struck her. "Or are you going on a secret date with the mysterious mystery man again?"

I smiled. "Yes, actually. We'll be wearing black and hiding in the shadows, and maybe I'll get him to take off his mask one of these days." I steered her in the direction of her car, away from the celebrating crowd. Marisol giggled, then jabbed me in the ribs. 

"Be serious. Are you meeting him? With all your talk about him apologizing, I figured you might."

I nodded. "Yes, I'm meeting him. In an hour, actually, so I'll probably just wait here and be bored and look like I have no friends. Unless you'd like to wait with me, that is."

Marisol was quick to decide. "Definitely, but we're getting food first if that's the case." She pulled me backwards, in the direction of the concession stand. "And you're paying."

"I'm paying," I agreed, letting her drag me along.



The Hiding Game Ch. 08



"Sorry I made you wait."

I shrugged, looking up at Seth, who was looming over me in a thick, warm-looking black coat. It had gotten fairly dark by now, and I hadn't seen him approach. 

"I suppose it's fair. I've done it to you."

"But you weren't trying to make up for your fuck-ups at the time." He smiled a little ruefully and offered me his hand. I took it, pulling myself into a standing position. Seth looked at me for a few seconds with regret on his face.

"Your voice sounds awful," he told me, biting his lip. "That's my fault, too. I'm so sorry Jenna." He took out his keys and proceeded to unlock the back door by which I had sat waiting. It was dry under the overhang, but even so I was freezing and even a little stiff after fourty minutes of waiting. It helped when Seth put an arm around me to warm me.

It was warmer inside the school building, but I still couldn't keep from shivering. Seth grabbed my hand and pulled me along the dark, deserted hallway, past the locker rooms and deeper into the building. Where the hell was he taking me?

"I figured something nostalgic might work in my favor," he explained over his shoulder as we crossed the commons and entered yet another hallway that was only illuminated by the emergency lighting. I almost laughed out loud when he stopped in front of the artroom and took out his keys again. 

"Nice."

"Isn't it?" He smiled, inviting me to enter the room ahead of him, which I did. I groped for the light switch, but he caught my wrists and shook his head. 

"The windows," he explained as he crossed the room and started to pull down the blinds. "If someone sees light in here, they're going to assume a break-in." 

"Which this technically is," I pointed out.

"Nah, we're just making use of their facilities." Seth had closed the last of the blinds, leaving us in pitch-black darkness. A second later, I heard the clicking sound of a lighter, and then could see him light something with the flame. 

"Damn. You brought candles?" 

He looked up at me. "I thought we had agreed that I fucked up."

"I'm still impressed." I walked over to the table by which he was now standing, placing candles on the chairs. When I came close to him, he slipped one arm around my waist before carefully setting down the last candle. 

"So do you forgive me then?" Seth wanted to know. I sighed and looked up at him. 

"Yes, I forgive you," I said simply, and he bent to kiss me. His lips landed on mine, soft and demanding at once, and before I knew it he was pressing me against the table, both arms around me. When I suddenly felt something hard, edgy and cold press against me, I yelped and broke the kiss.

"Holy crap, what the hell is that?"

He stepped back, startled, but then grinned and reached into one of the front pockets of his coat.

"I almost forgot about this. Here."

He pressed something cold into my hands, and I couldn't help staring at it for a number of seconds. 

"Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream. You were actually serious?"

"Isn't this how girls handle all of their problems?" He shrugged and gave me a half-smile. "I figured it couldn't hurt." He was finally getting around to taking off his coat, throwing it carelessly onto the next table. 

"It's fine," I assured him. "Did you want to talk about your feelings next thing?"

I could hear his laugh as he pulled his sweater over his head. "Not really," he told me, approaching again and reaching for the zipper of my raincoat. "At least not while you're still dressed."

This was the first time I'd been with him that I would have preferred not to take my clothes off. There were still issues between us that I wanted to address, and I wasn't going to be able to do it while we were making out. I raised my hands and stopped his by grasping them, but not before my coat had come off. 

He looked at me, with dawning realization. 

"You're still mad." It was a statement, not a question. 

"Not mad," I corrected him. "Maybe a little annoyed with you."

He let his hands sink to his sides and leaned back against the table. "Oh."

"I really am impressed with what you did," I said, gesturing towards the candles and the ice cream. "But I honestly wanted some time just to talk to you."

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding sincere. He leaned forward again and softly stroked my hair with one hand. "You're making it kind of hard is all, Jenna."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he raised his hands, indicating he hadn't meant offense. 

"I'm not saying it's your fault, it's just, when I see you... ." He touched my hair again, gently twirling it with his fingers, and suddenly I wanted to be closer to him. "Your hair is so silky, and you look at me with that sweet, soft look in your eyes, and all I want to do is to kiss you. And I -" He stopped himself, looking towards the floor. 

"And you what?" I asked, closing the distance between our bodies. He immediately slipped one hand around my waist, grasping a fistful of my hair with the other and directing my mouth towards his for a kiss. His lips were soft, yet demanding, and I moaned softly into his mouth when his hold on my hair tightened. 

"God, Jenna," he whispered into my ear after breaking the kiss, "you make me so hard."

I was sold. Screw talking, we could do that later. I pressed myself against him, feeling for myself what he had just announced. His hands were wandering, from my hair down my back, cupping my ass and then burying themselves in my hair again. His mouth found mine once more and he kissed me intensely, his tongue teasing mine. His body was warm and solid against me. 

"I'm going to get you sick," I whispered in between kisses, but he ignored the warning. 

"So I'll get sick," he whispered back. "I can play ball with a cold."

I laughed at that and ran my hands through his hair, teasing. "You're not going to brush this off as easily if it actually happens."

"Maybe not," he said in between small kisses on my throat that made me squirm for more, "but it's worth it."

"You're too good at sweet-talking," I sighed, letting his hands undress me. He actually took his time about it, running his fingers over the skin of my back as he lifted my sweater. His lips placed small kisses on my jawline and then stopped as he pulled the sweater over my head. It landed somewhere in the vicinity of the next table; apparently Seth wasn't worried about accuracy, only about avoiding the candles when flinging my clothes away. When he turned, I could see a large, dark bruise on his shoulder blade. 

"Damn, how did that happen? Get in a fight?" I stretched out my hand to touch the bruise, tracing its outline. Seth sighed and turned back, grinning wryly. 

"Just a hard practice. Coach wants us to be tough."

"So he beats you up?" 

"No," he laughed. "But we do a gazillion tackling drills. Shit happens."

"That's what they say," I shrugged. I did realize that football wasn't the world's tamest sport, but I still didn't like the thought of him getting hurt.

"Cold?" he asked when he noticed me shivering. When I nodded, he hugged me protectively. His skin was amazingly warm and smooth, and I snuggled against him. 

"Hmmm," I said. He laughed and rubbed my back with his hands. 

"I can feel your nipples," he told me, wedging one hand in between us and pinching my breast through my bra. "I think I like it when you're cold."

"Yes, well, I don't," I informed him and squirmed when he pinched me again. His smile grew bigger and he kissed me.

"I'll warm you up in a second," he promised, and unclasped my bra with one hand at the same time that his other reached for my pants. I squeaked in slight surprise, but let him proceed, only shivering some more when he made me step out of my pants and underwear. 

"You want to try something different this time?" Seth asked. I couldn't help but look at him suspiciously. 

"What exactly do you have in mind?" I wanted to know, while he slightly parted my thighs with his. The grin on his face did not seem to bode well, and I sucked in a sharp breath when his hands reached around me and parted the globes of my ass. 

"No," I told him, backing off. "No way in hell."

"Damn," he said, not looking too terribly disappointed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I said sharply. "I thought you wanted make-up sex."

"Yeah, well," he said and closed the distance between us again. "I figured I'd ask."

"Someone should have told you that you have horrible timing," I told him, but let him take me in his arms once more. He gave a slight laugh and started to kiss me again. 

"I'm sorry Jenna," he mumbled, lips against my cheek. "The thought is just so damn tempting, you know. But it's fine. There are quite a few other things I want to do to you."

"Like what?" 

"Lay back." He coaxed me in the direction of the table, laying his coat out for me. It was thick and comfortable, and as he eased me down onto it, I actually felt myself relax somewhat. My legs dangled freely over the edge of the table. 

"What are you doing?" I asked, but a second later I saw in his hands the shirt he had just discarded. 

"Relax," he said, laying it over my eyes and tying it at the sleeves. I shifted, a bit uncomfortable, while he started to rub my shoulders. 

"Seth, I'm not sure this is a good idea."

He kissed me softly. "Do you trust me?"

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly, giving him pause. I felt his hands freeze atop my shoulders, then he removed them.

"Look, Jenna," he said after a moment. "I know... I realize I haven't really done anything to earn your trust. I wish things could be different. But they're not, and I'm sorry if the way I've acted has hurt you. I really am. You deserve a lot better than me, really."

I opened my mouth to reply, but he lay one finger across it. 

"Just let me get this out, please. I've screwed up quite a lot lately, and I feel pretty damn horrible about it. I don't want to lose you, Jenna, because I..."

I could feel his hands touch my shoulders again, tightening on them. Because you what? I thought, but he didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he sighed and started to rub my shoulders again. 

"I don't want things to be this way between us," he said more softly. "But I don't have a choice."

"Why not?" I whispered. He sighed once more, his lips finding mine, then he removed the makeshift blindfold and lifted me up until I was sitting on the table. He wrapped his arms around me from behind, holding me close.

"Damn it, Jenna," was all he said. 

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I just stared at one of the flickering candles, lost in confusing thoughts. I didn't understand Seth, his actions, or his motivations. But still, he was asking for another chance, and while he had hurt me, I wondered if I would ever be able to refuse him. I had grown closer to him in the past month, not just seeing the God of Glenn Valley football anymore, but a little more of the real him. Or what he had me believe was the real him. 

I had strong feelings for him, I didn't have a problem admitting that to myself. At the same time, I didn't think it was possible to talk about love when I couldn't even be sure that I really knew the person I might love. But then again, how would I ever be able to find out if I pushed him away?

"Alright," I said, leaning back against him. "Go ahead."

He kissed me again, carefully easing me down onto the table. 

"Thank you," he said, kissing me and replacing the shirt over my eyes once more. "Just relax."

I tried, concentrating on my breathing. I could hear him get up and do something, although I couldn't fully identify the noises. Then, he was back. I shivered when I suddenly felt his tongue circle my nipples, leaving wet trails on my skin. His teeth closed around one nipple and tugged, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make me arch my back for more. His hands glid lower, leisurely following the curves of my body. Then he moved upwards, and his lips found my throat. I sighed in appreciation when he covered every inch of skin there with tiny kisses and licks of his tongue. Then he pulled away, leaving me there wishing for more.

I gasped when something icy cold toughed my nipple, and then moved lower, down the curve of my breast and across my stomach. My body was suddenly tense. A second later, Seth's tongue was there, warming the skin again and licking up the cold liquid. He moved up to kiss my lips, and I could taste mint on his tongue as he did. I had completely forgotten about the damn ice cream. 

I squeaked when his hand started to rub my clit, then moved my legs apart when I realized that ice cream was not involved in this part of his little game. 

"Good girl," he whispered, kissing my jaw and throat some more and making me moan. He let go of me for several seconds. His hands were on my thighs again after that, gently pushing them even further apart, and suddenly he licked my pussy in one broad stroke, his tongue freezing cold. 

I let out a scream and reflexively tightened my stomach muscles, sitting up in the process. My hands grasped bushels of his short hair and I attempted to drag him away from his position, half protesting, half giggling, but he wouldn't budge. When I tried to push myself away from him, he simply took a firm grasp on my ass and held me closer to his mouth. I could feel him laugh quietly as his tongue explored me further, warming up rapidly as it circled my clit.

"Oh damn that feels good," I muttered and let myself sink down to the table again. Seth muttered something along the lines of "Told you", but his voice was muffled by his activity quite effectively, and so all I cared about were the enjoyable vibrations that his voice produced. I moaned once more when he finally used his fingers as well and pushed three of them inside me at once. I was wet enough for them, and I raised my hips in pleasure when he started to finger-fuck me, still licking and sucking my clit. I felt heat radiate out from my entire body, my breathing quick and uneven and my pussy aching for his cock. 

He finally moved back up, kissing me. I could taste mint and pussy in his mouth, and I wrapped my legs around him in an effort to pull him closer. He kissed a trail to my ear, tugging at the lobe with his teeth. 

"You want this, don't you?" he whispered, and I could only nod, straining against him. 

A sound escaped my mouth when I could feel his cock sliding in between my legs, parting my wet folds and rubbing against my clit. I was so slick that there was barely any friction, but I still whimpered whenever the head of his cock passed through my slit. 

He pulled back then, breaking the hold of my legs around his waist. I felt him shift, and then I could feel the stream of air as he softly blew his breath on my clit. I whimpered some more, my hips pushing upwards without my consent as my clit pulsed in pleasure. 

"You like that?" he asked, and I groaned in answer.

He blew on my clit some more, teasing me mercilessly. I gasped for breath, and finally managed to articulate my desire through trembling lips.

"Fuck me! Now!"

I heard him chuckle again, but he obligingly moved back up, covering my body with his. I groaned as the head of his cock speared my pussy, as always widening me deliciously. I clung to him as he started to fuck me. He thrust into me deliberately slowly at first, but quickened his pace as both of us got caught up in the act, moaning and panting. I had a tight hold on his shoulders, squeezing my eyes shut behind the blindfold. My pussy twitched and tightened around him. 

"Jenna," he finally groaned. "I'm gonna.. I just can't hold back, I... ."

His words had an immediate effect on me, and I felt the warmth of my upcoming orgasm spread through my lower belly. At the same time, I could feel him erupt inside me, groaning as he did. On his last thrust, I started to come, whimpering and writhing beneath him. It felt wonderful. My body was on fire for what was probably only seconds, but felt like several minutes. 

Seth held me in a close hug and stroked my hair until I had cooled down a little. He tugged on the shirt until it came away from my eyes, then kissed me, smiling. 

"You okay?" he asked, and I nodded weakly. 

"That was nice," I whispered. 

He grinned even broader as he helped me sit up. For several minutes, we sat there and cooled down, not talking at all. I looked up when Seth finally broke the silence. 

"I'm sorry about that ice cream thing, if you didn't like it. I know that probably didn't help with all those trust issues, so..."

"No," I interrupted him. "The ice cream was fine. It was fun." I smiled at him and leaned against him. "And I do trust you."

"Good." He relaxed visibly. "I really have no desire to fuck up even more with you."

"Just be honest," I told him. "About whatever you can be, at least."

He kissed my temple and slid off the table, collecting his clothes and handing me mine. 

"I promise I will be." 

***

I didn't talk to Marisol until the next night, when we were over at her house, laying on her bed in our pyjamas. Saturday had been spent watching movies together and discussing topics such as what the next year would hold. I still hadn't settled on which college I wanted to attend, and I wasn't enthusiastic about any of the places Mrs Jameson, the guidance counsellor, had forced me to apply to. But once we had both brushed our teeth and changed, Marisol had demanded a play-by play recollection of my Friday evening, and I had given it to her. Now she was sighing, and leaning back against the pillow. 

"So?" I asked. "What's the verdict?"

"It sounds, it sounds..." She sighed once more. "It sounds hot as hell, Jenna. I'm jealous here."

"Sorry," I said, feeling slightly guilty about not having asked her about her new project, Jason Henderfort, recently. I knew that when Marisol had a crush, she just had to talk about it. 

"No, that's okay. I'll just live through you," Marisol said, shrugging. "I'm still not completely warmed up to your mystery guy, but he sounds like he's amazing in bed. Or... on the art room table."

"Yup," I agreed. 

"And he really promised you honesty? That's a step forward, at least."

I nodded in agreement. I was still torn between my feelings for Seth and my natural scepticism, and I really hoped that his actions in the future would put an end to my doubt. I didn't think I could take much more of his evasiveness. 

"Homecoming's next week," Marisol mentioned casually. I raised one eyebrow at her, and she held up her hands defensively. 

"Hey, I'm just saying. If he's ready for honesty, he should be ready to be seen with you in public." 

I chewed my lip in thought, considering her statement. 

"So you think I should ask him, then."

She nodded emphatically. 

"Yes, damn it. At least one of us needs to have a date!"

The mere thought of Seth leading me out onto some dancefloor was terribly cliched, but at the same time, it gave my stomach butterflies. I knew he probably wouldn't be happy about the idea of us going to the dance together, but at the same time, this was a making or breaking point for me. If he didn't have a very good reason to refuse me, I'd probably never understand what made him tick. 

"I'll consider it," I told her and snuggled deeper into the pillow. 



The Hiding Game Ch. 09



Homecoming week had taken over Glenn Valley High School to the point of obnoxiousness when I went to class on Monday morning. Crappy posters were hanging everywhere, all lockers had been decorated with green bows, and even the cafeteria would be serving green Gatorade with every meal so we could really get into the homecoming spirit. It all made me feel very much like punching someone. I had planned to pass a note to Seth during study hall, indicating that I wanted to see him, but when we casually passed each other in the hallway before first hour, it was him who pressed a piece of paper into my hands. I waited to unfold it until I had actually sat down in study hall and the bell had rung. 

Come see me in the art room, his note said, without any further explanation or a signature. Seth hadn't shown up in study hall, and Miss Larsen was mulling over the attendance sheet, possibly considering whether to mark him tardy or not. I gave her a smile when she noticed me standing in front of her, and asked her for a pass to the restroom. 

"You know, you've been doing this rather a lot lately," she told me, trying to be stern. 

"I have a UTI," I lied, trying to look like I was in a moderate amount of pain. "I can ask my doctor to write a note for you if you don't believe me."

"No, don't bother," Miss Larsen shook her head and smiled back at me. "I was just wondering."

I nodded and went on my way. I was nervous as I walked the hallways, clenching my hands into fists repeatedly. I was about to ask the school's football god to the homecoming dance. Crazy! 

Standing in front of the art room, I took a deep breath before pushing open the door. Seth sat in there, on the windowsill, sketching something. He looked up and gave me a quick smile when I entered and let the door fall shut behind me. 

"Good morning," I greeted. He moved to one side of the windowsill to give me space to sit as well, and I climbed next to him. We were silent for a couple of minutes, and there was no sound except for the ticking of the clock and the slight scratching of Seth's pencil. 

"I like this spot," I finally told him. "Do you always sit here?"

He nodded, continuing his sketch. "Yeah. When the sun is up, the light is fantastic."

"I imagine." I moved closer, causing him to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. "I didn't know students were allowed to sit up here."

He suddenly looked a bit embarrassed. "Well... technically they aren't."

I smiled when I got the picture. Mrs Walsh was making an exception for him, of course. As much as I tried, I couldn't be annoyed with him for all the little favors everyone at school did for him. If he had been demanding better grades or used his popularity to get himself out of real trouble, then I might have changed my mind, but Seth earned his grades and was an overall "good guy". I had been a participant in most of his illegal activities, which involved nothing but sneaking into the school after hours to have sex. A rather victimless crime, I found.

"Who is that?" I asked when I turned my attention to his drawing. The pencil sketch was of a woman with long, lightly colored hair, dark eyes and a beautiful, oval face. Seth was putting the finishing touches on her lips, and he took a deep breath before answering my question. 

"My mom," he said, putting the pencil down and studying the drawing for a moment. I put my head on his shoulder. 

"She's beautiful," I told him.

"Is she?" Seth stared at the sketch as if he was unsure of that fact. "I don't remember if this is how she looks."

"Oh." I couldn't hide my surprise. "I didn't know... what happened to her?"

"She left," he replied, putting his sketch pad away. "When I was ten."

I wasn't sure what was the appropriate thing to say. It certainly wasn't the right time to ask him for the circumstances, or to compare stories. My dad had left me and my mother as well, but I had only been four years old, so I didn't remember him at all. 

"I'm sorry," I finally whispered and kissed his cheek. He gave me a single nod, acknowledging my words. I finally decided to change the topic. 

"So, were you planning on going to the dance?" I asked, trying to sound casual. Seth looked down at his hands holding the pencil and nodded. 

"Alone?" I tried to keep the nervousness out of my voice, but I wasn't quite sure if I had managed. Now, he was definitely avoiding me, lowering his eyes and turning his head away. 

"No," I heard him say quietly. I felt suddenly very cold. 

"Who are you going with?"

"Anita Ryan," he replied, still very quietly. 

"Did she ask you, or did you...?" I couldn't keep my voice from shaking any longer. I was upset. 

"I asked her," he said.

"When?"

"Last Thursday."

I looked up at the back of his head disbelievingly. 

"That's the day we... that's when it rained so badly!"

He nodded slowly.

"So after you fucked me under the bleachers and gave me a cold in the process, you had nothing better to do than to go back to school and ask some cheerleader out?"

He turned to look at me then, lips pressed together. 

"I did promise you honesty, didn't I?" he said, sounding bitter. "I knew I couldn't go with you, so..."

"Why not? Why not, Seth, why do you insist on hurting me like that? The only good reason I can see you keeping this a secret is because you're embarrassed of me. Or how many other girls are you sleeping with that can't know about me?" I was yelling now, and my hands were shaking.

He grasped my wrists and forced me to look at him. 

"Nobody!" he yelled. "I'm not sleeping with anyone else, Jenna. Please, damn it, I'm just trying to protect you!" He was clearly trying to salvage what he could, but I'd finally had enough. I pulled my hands away from him, forcing him to let go.

"I'm sick of your bullshit, Seth," I told him, turned around and left the room.

***

"So it's over," I told Marisol later. She was sitting next to me, shading the outline of an apple she had just sketched. I was still too upset to draw any if the fruit that was stacked on the center table, instead stabbing my pencil at my paper. Marisol touched my arm comfortingly. 

"For what it's worth, he's a complete ass," she told me. "And I don't think I ever want you to tell me his name, because I'd have to show up on his doorstep and punch him, or something of the sort."

I smiled, cheering up when I imagined Marisol actually punching Seth. 

"Well, looks like I won't be going to the dance after all," I sighed. "Just as well; it's not like I actually own a decent dress." 

"Yes you do," Marisol disagreed. "The one we bought last year. I was with you, remember?"

"Oh." I did remember. "When we wanted to go to the homecoming dance, and then we chickened out? I figured this year would work out pretty much the same."

"I think we should go this time," Marisol said. "We're seniors now, and we've never been. It's really pretty sad."

Just then, the intercom crackled and one of their office aides could be heard: "Attention students. We've tallied the votes, and this year's nominees for Homecoming Queen are-" 

There was a pause, during which I turned to Marisol. 

"We voted?"

"During first hour," she told me. "When you were busy breaking up."

"Well damn," I said. "I completely missed out on a chance to vote for myself. And for you!"

"So, that makes one vote for the both of us instead of two," Marisol shrugged. 

"We're going to look downright unpopular!"

"I know!"

We grinned at each other, just as the office aide finally continued, probably just now having found the list of names she was going to read. "Alicia Miller, Katie Schoen, Anita Ryan, and Lindsay Anderson."

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Anita Ryan?

"You've got to be kidding me."

Marisol looked at me, moderately surprised by my reaction. 

"What's the deal, Jenna? Those are pretty much the names we'd expect."

"The nominees for Homecoming King are-" There was another pause, during which Marisol and I gave each other looks. 

"I'd just be too easy to have the list right in front of you while starting to talk," she sighed. I gave her nothing more than a slight nod and a shaky smile. The fact that Seth and I had broken up – if you could even call it that – was so freshly in my mind, and it hurt me even more to have the fact thrown back in my face every few minutes. 

"Seth Marshall, Jacob Gordon, Mike Stahl and Rick Cantelloni."

There was slight applause throughout the art room, and I looked up at Mike Stahl, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room, on a table full of cross country and track people. He was a long distance runner, wiry and red-haired, and usually not too mean-spirited. He was letting his friends shake his hand, all the while complaining jokingly that he didn't really have a chance against the likes of Seth. I turned to Marisol.

"I want to go home," I told her sadly, and put my forehead on the table. 

***

I didn't end up leaving school before classes were over, much as I wanted to. Twice I passed Seth in the hallway, my heart slamming against my chest every time. He averted his eyes both times, looking just as unhappy as I felt. I tried to be glad that he wasn't taking things any better than I was, but all I felt was a deep, choking sadness that wouldn't pass. 

Marisol stopped by my house in the late afternoon. She was carrying two large plastic bags, one of which she dropped onto my bed once we had gotten to my room. 

"I come bearing gifts," she announced. "It's your mystery guy breakup kit."

"My what?" I opened the bag, curious as to what she meant by this, and sighed. 

"Mari, you're too cute." I pulled out the rainbow-colored care bears shirt she had gotten me and unfolded it. "Aw, Tenderheart Bear."

"I know he's your favorite," Marisol smiled. "Well... I know you maybe love Cozyheart Penguin a bit more, but they didn't have that shirt."

The shirt was so corny, but at the same time, I found it incredibly touching that Marisol had gone through the trouble of getting it just to cheer me up. And this wasn't all yet.

"Strapless, backless bra thingies. The hell?"

I pulled the form-fitting, cushiony adhesives out of their wrapping, and looked to Marisol, who grinned.

"For your dress," she explained. "We are going to that dance, sister. I'm going to be stubborn about it this year. Especially since I'm having this feeling we may not be going to Friday's game."

"Fine." I smiled slightly. "I don't feel too good about it, but I won't argue. I'm pretty sure my only alternative is sitting at home and moping while thinking of him at the dance with another girl."

"That's the spirit... well, it's a start, anyway," Marisol said, lightly punching my arm in encouragement. "Keep unpacking."

I reached into the bag again and this time actually laughed out loud when I recognized a cheap romance novel, complete with kitschy cover. Next came a gigantic Hershey's Kiss. The last item in the bag was a large bottle of tropical passionfruit body lotion. It was lovely. 

"Thanks," I whispered, really touched by Marisol's thoughtfulness and support. I hugged her, and she squeezed me in return.

"I can't let that stupid idiot guy get you down," she told me. "And just so you know, I got myself a care bears t-shirt too. I know we're not much for the dress up days crap, but we can wear this one for twin day."

"I was planning to dress up as my own evil twin, actually." 

Marisol giggled at that. 

"You should wear it underneath another shirt, at least, when you go to school. You know, so you have a care bear near when something happens. I daresay this week won't be the most fun for you."

***

Marisol's prediction about homecoming week was definitely correct, not that it took much to figure that out. The next few days went past in a blur, and all I remembered was me trying to avoid Seth in study hall, me trying to avoid Seth in the hallways, me trying to avoid Seth in my thoughts. Study hall sucked especially badly, since he sat right in my line of vision. It was the same torture every day, me trying and failing miserably to concentrate on my homework. I ignored the stupid, theme-y dress-up days, refusing to attend school dressed in pj's or a toga. 

On Thursday, Marisol and I did decide to dress up as care-bear loving twins, and she gave me a supporting hug just before she sent me off to study hall. This day was different, however, because just after Miss Larsen had taken the attendance, Carolyn the friendly office aide entered the room and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. 

"I need all seniors from this study hall in the commons please. Leave your belongings in the room and follow me."

Wondering what the hell was going on now, I got up from my seat along with the other seniors in the room. Once we were all assembled in the commons, the segregation started – athletes in one corner, and everyone who wasn't in the other. I rolled my eyes when Coach Bassett immediately waved any and all varsity letter winners over to where he was standing. I was left with a small group of non-athletes crowding around Carolyn, who affectionately patted my arm. 

"How are you, Jenna?" she asked, and I shrugged, unsure of whether to lie. 

Miserable, I wanted to tell her, but instead I said: "Fine. What's this all about?"

"Well," Carolyn said, "the varsity athletes are building the bonfire, like every year. They think they have to keep the rest of you busy too."

I rolled my eyes once more. This was pretty much what I'd come to expect from Glenn Valley High School over the years. I frowned when the school's janitor appeared next to Carolyn.

"So, what do we get to do? Polish their shoes?"

"Something like that," Carolyn admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed. "Mr Smock here has requested help cleaning up some student desks. Most of you will be doing that. Jenna, and you two," she pointed, "come with me."

I knew she thought she was doing me a favor by saving me from having to scrape dried gum off desks, and I though so too. But when I saw who we'd be working with instead, I about had a heart attack. 

"Everyone, this is Christoph Marshall. He'll need your help readying some football equipment for tomorrow's game."

The family resemblance between Seth and his father wasn't the strongest I'd ever seen, but it was definitely there. Where Seth had deep green eyes, his father had expressive blue ones, and I knew that Seth's facial structure had to resemble his mother's for the most part. But they had the exact same color hair, the same strong jaw line, and the same massive, muscular football player build. I'd known that many of the football players' parents had volunteered to help out for the homecoming game, but I hadn't realized that Seth's dad would be among them. 

"Good morning," Christoph said, sounding fairly cheerful. "Sorry we're robbing you of your morning nap here, folks. I'll need two of you to go and spray everything in the equipment closet next to the lunch room with this." He pressed a bottle of disinfectant into the hands of the boy next to me. "Here's the key as well. One of you should come with me and help me carry some stuff."

"I'll do it," I volunteered before I could stop myself. It was an idiotic move, but the thought of maybe finding out if his dad knew why Seth acted the way he did was pretty tempting. Christoph simply smiled at me and waved for me to follow him, out of the school building and towards the weight room 

"What's your name?" he asked me while we were walking towards it.

"Jenna," I replied. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Marshall."

"Christoph will do. Likewise," he said, nodding in my direction. "Do you know my son?"

"Yeah, a little," I told him, wondering to myself if there was anyone in the entire school who didn't know Seth Marshall. "We had English together my freshman year, and we're in the same study hall."

"I see." He was silent for a minute or two, while I struggled to find a way to work Seth's behavior into the conversation. Everything I came up with sounded weird and creepy. 

"You know yet what you're going to do next year?" Christoph finally asked me, and I shook my head. 

"Yeah, my son had the hardest time deciding on a school," he said. "It's between UNLV or Oregon State for him now."

I hadn't known that. Those were pretty good schools for him to play football at, and if he had been offered at scholarship from both of them, that was a huge accomplishment. I couldn't help feeling happy for him, as much as I told myself that I didn't care. 

"That's great," I said sincerely, not daring to say any more. Chistoph smiled proudly. 

"He's a good kid, you know. And he's got a lot of talent."

"Oh, I know," I agreed. 

"Do you watch any games?"

"I do," I nodded emphatically. He took out the key to the weight room when we had arrived in front of it, unlocking the door. Once inside, he pointed me in the direction of the pile of worn work-out clothes in a corner, while he went and gathered up something else in the other room. It was a pretty gross thing to carry an armful of worn, sweated through athlete's clothing, but I could suffer through this if it maybe helped me to figure out Seth. 

"So," I continued when we were walking back to the school, "how has senior year been going for Seth?" This was as close as I was going to get to asking what the hell was wrong with the boy. 

"Good, from what he's been telling me," Christoph answered. "It's just football and schoolwork for him, nothing else. How it should be, if you're trying to get a big scholarship. I've been on him to get his grades up a bit, and he's done pretty well with that."

"Great," I said, chewing my lips while I considered that bit of information. Only football and schoolwork? Apparently Christoph wasn't too well informed about his son's extracurricular activities.

We passed a row of athletes carrying firewood on our way back to the school. Coach Bassett was leading them, his face red, and I heard him repeatedly yelling, "No firecrackers!" 

I grinned involuntarily. Every year, the bonfire builders managed to hide a gazillion explosives within the mountain of firewood, one of the few athletic traditions I actually approved of. It was pretty fun to attend the lighting of the fire just to watch the administration get more and more pissed after each explosion. 

My smile fell when Seth crossed our path, giving a nod to his dad and me a short look that was so dark and cold I almost took a step away from him. He apparently was less than happy to see me talk to Christoph. I wasn't sure what his problem was, since his dad seemed to be altogether clueless about anything not to do with football and schoolwork. 

I followed Christoph to the varsity locker rooms, where he had me dump the clothes and sort them into darks and whites. During that activity, I kept wondering whether I found this or scraping gum less desirable, and when the bell rung at the end of the hour, I still hadn't made up my mind. 



The Hiding Game Ch. 10



I hated nothing quite as much as pep assemblies. The entire student body was herded into the gymnasium like cattle, and we all missed class just so the school's athletes could get yet another demonstration of how awesome they were, and celebrate themselves some more. Our gym, although large, had trouble fitting the entire school, so a mad dash for the available bleacher space ensued. Whoever didn't grab a seat on time had to stand. 

I sat at the end of one row of bleachers with Marisol, and the both of us suffered through the assembly together. The cheerleaders were still as annoying as always, hopefully cheering and dancing their way straight to hell. The dance team took the floor as well, and they did two dance routines in between badly acted, unfunny skits and the only thing that the cheerleaders were actually good at, which was stunting. I occupied myself with staring daggers at Anita Ryan, who was a perfectly cute, conservative looking blond girl with incredibly long legs. I couldn't help imagine these legs wrapped around Seth, and my jealousy flared even more when I realized that the vision in my mind had, in fact, taken place at one point. He'd admitted that to me that one evening on the school roof, and much as I appreciated that he had at least been honest with me, at the moment I wished he'd never told me. 

"Do you realize that if we win today, we're in the playoffs for sure?" Marisol asked, jabbing me slightly in the ribs. I jumped, interrupting my thoughts and nodding at her. She sighed and gave me a look. 

"Sorry Jenna. I know he's probably right over there, and I know it sucks."

I nodded, avoiding to glance over at the front of the opposite rows of bleachers, where the entire football team sat, wearing their jerseys. Marisol patted my arm comfortingly. 

"You need to take your mind off him," she said. "What do you say, ten bucks on Anita Ryan for Homecoming Queen?"

"Katie Schoen," I said. "I'd rather have her win." If Anita Ryan did win this one, I was going to be sick. 

With that thought freshly in my mind, I watched as the Homecoming King and Queen candidates were made to line up in the front of the gym. Mike Stahl, the long distance runner, looked strangely out of place in between the three bulky football players in their jerseys. I stared at him just to avoid staring at Seth instead. There was only so long I could force my eyes to remain at one spot, however, and finally they did wander. 

Seth looked almost too casual. He had his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans, and I could see the tenseness on his face. Either he was taking the whole Homecoming King business a lot more serious than I thought he would, or he was in fact still troubled by our break-up. At the other end of the line, Anita Ryan stood ready for the crowning ceremony, her smile so fake I wanted to punch her. Next to her were the two other cheerleaders in the court, Katie Schoen and Lindsay Anderson. Alicia Miller, our resident star track athlete, was standing off to the other side of the girls. I pretty much despised all four of them, but had decided that Katie Schoen was probably the least out of all these evils. Now, all I could do was pray. 

"This needs to be over soon," Marisol whispered when Principal Parrish took the microphone and started to praise the various accomplishments of the Homecoming court members. "Oh, who the fuck cares? It's not like we've never heard of them."

"Tell me about it," I sighed. "I want to get home and watch a movie and fall asleep." Marisol gave me a look.

"That early?"

"I like sleeping. I'm not sad when I sleep."

She patted my hand. "You can stay at my place, if you like."

"Sure. If you want." I was aware how evasive that sounded, and forced myself to smile. "It'd be nice Mari. I'm sorry, I know I've been a pain in the ass friend lately."

Marisol shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining. Ooh, look! Finally!" She elbowed me when there was movement, and we could see two cheesy crowns sparkle on two pillows. The crowning ceremony itself was refreshingly short, with the crowns being picked up one after the other by Principal Parrish. The first one was placed squarely on Seth's head, which caused the gym to applaud and cheer wildly. I shook my head when I looked at him once more, my head suddenly clearing. Dating the Homecoming King? What the fuck kind of fantasy land had I been living in? 

When the second, much more delicate crown was places onto Katie Schoen's head, I thanked the powers that be for the intervention. There was a little bit less applause for Katie, who seemed genuinely surprised by the honor. It endeared her to me a little bit, but when she stretched out her hand for Seth's that was lost again right away. The two of them bowed several times, and I tried my best not to look like I wanted to shoot myself. 

"Mari," I said," we need to leave."

***

I'd rationalized the decision not to attend the football game a thousand times to myself. It would hurt me to see Seth on the field, and I knew damn well that the football players and cheerleaders were going to have some sort of sex orgy after. It happened every year if we won the homecoming game. 

I was still asking myself what the hell we were doing when we approached the field, on which the game had been in progress for a while. It was the homecoming game after all, and this would have been the first time in four years we didn't attend it. I was still refusing to step close enough to actually see what was going on, but Marisol, who wasn't suffering from any such scruples, had approached the field and the crowd and was now returning, her face pale. 

"Uh," she said. "That's not good."

I had been pacing, but now I stopped in my tracks. 

"What?"

"The score is seven-fourteen."

"Are you serious? That's impossible! Munster is not that good." That did, however, explain the disgruntled faces of the tailgaters I could see from here. I put my hands on my head, feeling disconcerted. 

"From what I gathered..." Marisol shrugged. "Seth Marshall just isn't on his game today. Maybe he's sick. Cantelloni is picking up his slack, but he can't carry the team like Marshall does."

"I guess not," I mumbled, for lack of anything meaningful to say. We were hoping like everyone else that Glenn Valley would win the state championship this year – and if we lost this one, we might not even be going. My feelings for Seth aside, this score made me nervous. 

"Do you want to stay?" Marisol asked, and I considered. Did I want to see our football team lose at home? Certainly not. Did I want to watch Seth play? Hell, I preferred not to look at him at all, if possible. But still, Marisol looked so nervous that I couldn't bring myself to make her leave with me, and if I was honest with myself, I had to admit that if I left now, I would just spend the rest of the afternoon worrying and speculating about the outcome of the game. 

"We can stay," I finally said, resigned, and sat down in the grass to stare at the football field from afar. 

***

We lost the game 13-21. The mood was downright hostile after the game, and Marisol and I decided to leave when the first fight broke out near the field. Glenn Valley was used to winning, and Munster was simply gloating with glee about having beaten the favored team. The mood was dark as hell, and we wanted no part of any fights, physical or otherwise. 

I spent the night at her house again. Having someone to talk to helped me not to think about Seth, which meant I could fall asleep easier. Marisol did her job well; she chatted about her parents, about the weather, about how she'd asked for new bed sheets for her birthday – anything to keep my mind away from Seth. 

The next day, we spent most of the day watching movies and baking cookies, and finally, at about five o' clock, we began to get ready for the Homecoming Dance. I had promised Marisol that we'd go, after all. Neither of us had actually attended a school dance before, but while we weren't sure what to expect, we were pretty enthusiastic in out preparations. I showered first, and by the time Marisol was done I had already lotioned myself all over, painted my nails with clear polish, and put on an oversized sleeping shirt of Marisol's so that my wet hair wouldn't drip all over my skin. I was busy blow-drying my hair when she walked out in a towel and grabbed her own lotion, sniffing my neck as she walked by.

"That passionfruit stuff I gave you does smell pretty awesome, doesn't it?" 

I nodded. "You're welcome to use it." 

Marisol grinned triumphantly. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear." She traded lotions and looked me up and down, frowning. 

"I can do your hair," she offered. "Unless you've already got a plan."

"I don't." I was actually very relieved to hear her say that. I never wore my hair any differently than open or in a simple ponytail, and anything more complicated than that was lost on me. 

Marisol nodded, satisfied. "In case you didn't realize, I plan on parading you around and making sure everyone realizes what a hot and awesome chick you are. And also making sure one certain person realizes that he screwed up big time by being such a prick to you."

I smiled and stretched out my arms. We hugged for a few brief seconds, then Marisol went back to the bathroom to lotion and I finished my blow-drying. 

I did in fact have to use the strapless, backless bra cups that Marisol had bought me. My dress had the thinnest of straps over my shoulders, and almost my entire back was exposed in it. That didn't leave me much choice when it came to undergarments. The dress itself was sleek and silver-gray satin, fairly simple, which was the way I liked it. Marisol's dress was a bit more extravagant, red with black, embroidered vines. I had helped her pick it out, and I thought that the colors suited her wonderfully. 

We were ready to go by seven thirty, hair freshly pinned up and lips shiny with gloss. Marisol had volunteered to drive, so she was wearing her sneakers, which looked a bit silly with the elegant dress. She had her heels in a plastic bag that she threw in the back of her car before getting in herself.

"So, are we sure this is a good idea?" I asked while she started the car. It was too late to back out now, but I was starting to feel a slight tingle in the general vicinity of my stomach. I knew Seth was going to be at the dance with Anita, and I wasn't sure if I could stand seeing them together. 

"It'll be fine," Marisol assured me. "You can do this, Jenna. We'll have fun, and if you need a moment in the bathroom or something, give me a signal."

"Like what?"

"Uh, I don't know. Fan yourself and say you're hot." 

"You do realize that I'm going to look ridiculous, right?"

Marisol grinned wryly. "That's okay. Better ridiculous than pathetic."

***

We arrived fashionably late at the high school, and after Marisol changed her shoes in the parking lot and we both slipped out of our coats, we marched towards the front entrance arm in arm, both slightly nervous. There was a table set up behind the large entrance doors, at which parent chaperones were selling the tickets. Marisol and I walked up to them, smiling. We had plans for this occasion, and they included getting in for cheap. 

"One couple," I told them, and they stared incredulously. 

"But... you're..." said one of the mothers. We both raised our eyebrows at them, daring them to call our bluff. The other woman at the table elbowed the first, who reached for the money box. 

"We'll kiss if you want us to," Marisol told them, sounding serious. "But to be honest, I think that's harassment."

I almost lost it right there. Somehow, I managed to pay for our tickets and walk inside, still holding hands with Marisol, but once we were out of sight, we both started giggling. 

"Wow," I told Marisol. "You're crazy. Would you really have kissed me?"

She shrugged. "I probably would have raised hell and screamed harassment, but that almost would have been worth it. That couples-are-cheap policy is bullshit anyway."

We high-fived and made our way further into the school, until we arrived in the commons area. Here, the lights were dimmed and couples were already moving on the dance floor. Along the wall, parent and teacher chaperones stood guard, watching the students and making sure no groping or making out was going on. I recognized Christoph Marshall next to Coach Bassett, and Seth's dad gave me a short nod and a smile upon seeing me. 

"So what now?" I asked Marisol. We were standing there watching the dancers, and maybe I was just imagining the funny looks, but I felt out of place. "Want to leave?"

"No way!" Marisol pulled me along the wall, and it took me a moment to realize that she was targeting the table with the alcohol-free punch bowls. While walking, my eyes darted around nervously, expecting to spot Seth and his date any moment. But they didn't seem to be around, and I was undeniably glad about that. 

I let yet another cheerleader mom hand me a plastic cup of punch. Marisol took one as well, and for a few minutes we simply stood back and sipped our punch, taking in our surroundings and being happy that nobody had harassed us yet. Standing near the chaperones proved to be a pretty good tactic. 

"So," Marisol said after some time. "You think we'll have the guts to dance to one of these songs?"

"You want to go all lesbian couple on me again, or do you mean by ourselves?"

Marisol laughed. "I don't think it's a good idea to give the rumor mill more fodder than we already have. I actually meant by ourselves, although I wouldn't mind trying to pick up that hot guy over at the snacks table."

I grinned and looked over to where she was pointing. There were indeed quite a few guys, apparently without dates, standing around the table talking – some of them not bad-looking. I downed my punch and threw the used cup into one of the trash bags. 

"Would you mind if I went to the bathroom first?"

Marisol shook her head. "Not at all, go ahead. I'm not coming with you though. Rumor mill and all." 

I laughed and left her, shaking my head until I had reached the edge of the commons. Another chaperone was standing in the only dimly illuminated hallway, making sure of my intentions before he let me pass. This wouldn't deter anyone truly intent on creating mischief, but it was a precaution the organizers of the dance were required to take. I walked past classroom and rows of lockers on my way to the girls' bathroom, but when I turned the corner, I stopped abruptly, my heart slamming against my chest. 

Seth was standing only a few feet away from the bathroom door, leaning against the wall. He looked so good in his dress pants and dark blue shirt that it was simply unfair. He raised his head when he heard the sound of my steps, and I saw him tense up when he recognized me. One of his eyes was bruised and slightly swollen, and the injury looked fresh. It was probably a remnant of the fight that had broken out after the game we had lost, but my heart clenched tight when I saw it nonetheless.

I hesitated. I was torn between simply greeting him, showing him the cold shoulder, and throwing myself into his arms. Finally, I decided on the first option and started to move again, but when I was almost past him I chickened out and kept moving towards the bathroom door, head low and jaws clenched. 

"You look beautiful."

I turned back when I heard him say that. He was looking at me, sadly, and I was suddenly at a loss for words. My heart felt like it was being torn out through my chest. 

"Thank you," I finally whispered, my throat dry. Then I turned and fled into the bathroom without looking back at him, passing Anita just as I entered. I locked myself into a stall and just stood there for a few minutes, trying to compose myself. My hands were shaking and I felt something pulling inside me that I tried my best to ignore. I balled up a wad of toiled paper just so I could tear it to pieces. The process, strangely enough, calmed me quite a bit. When the feeling had passed, I walked out in front of the mirror and made sure I looked presentable, running my hands through the few strands of my hair that Marisol had left hanging down to frame my face. The little bit of make-up I was wearing wasn't smeared, so I just washed my hands with some cool water and made my way back to the dance, intent on finding Marisol and getting the hell out of here. 

I didn't see her right away when I entered the commons again, my eyes still having to adjust to the dim light from the glare of the bathroom. But when I finally did see Marisol, my eyes widened in surprise. She had, in fact, managed to chat up one of the guys from over at the snacks table and was now animatedly talking to him. I recognized the way she moved her hands behind her back as if shy that she was excited, and apparently really liked him. 

"Well damn," I sighed, considering what my options were now. I didn't want to intrude on Marisol when she was having a good time, especially with my own petty emotional problems. 

"Jenna?"

I turned to find Christoph Marshall standing next to me. I smiled at him, and he waved me to follow him into another hallway, where the music wasn't quite as loud. I walked after him, confused.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you," he asked. I shrugged.

"Sure. About what?"

"About Seth." He looked back at the commons, then jerked his head in the opposite direction. "Here, walk with me. I know he's not too keen on people knowing about his personal business."

"Oh." I wondered what Christoph had found out, and if I was in fact the personal business he was referring to. Reluctantly, I followed him through the dark hallway. 

"I've been worried about him," Christoph told me while walking. "He hasn't been himself lately. He's been moody, and then losing that game..." he shook his head, then let out a sigh. "I hope you don't mind me asking this, Jenna, but were you, or are you, by any chance... involved... with him?"

So he had figured it out. I bit my lip for a moment, figuring it wouldn't hurt to tell Christoph the truth. He seemed genuinely concerned. 

"I... was," I said, suddenly choked up, and Christoph peered down at me, looking worried. 

"Are you okay? Here." He opened the emergency door at the end of the hallway and fresh, cold air washed over me. I thanked him, and we stood by the door for a moment. I could see the football field a few hundred yards from here, and I smiled bitterly. 

"So, you and him," Christoph finally said. I nodded.

"But not anymore?"

I shook my head. "We broke up, if you could call it that. You might have noticed he's here with another girl."

"Yes, I noticed. One of the cheerleaders. But I also noticed the way he looked at you when you came in. He positively fled the room." Christoph stepped forward, out of the door, and waved me to follow him once more. It felt surprisingly good to walk outside, even though it was getting rather cold and I was only wearing my dress. I took a few deep breaths. This conversation was upsetting me more than I had anticipated. 

"I'm sorry if he hurt you," Christoph offered. "I've been trying to figure out what's wrong with him. I don't know why he didn't tell me about you."

I shrugged. "He kept it a secret from pretty much everyone. He never told me why, but I think he just didn't want to be seen with me. I don't know. I'm still a little sore over it."

"I'm sorry about that too." Christoph sighed. "See, here's the thing with Seth. He has been on different medications ever since his mom left. He didn't take her leaving well. He's been getting gradually more depressed and manic ever since. A few months ago the doctor decided to try a new combination of meds, and I think it's been making him loopy."




The Hiding Game Ch. 10



I paused for a second, digesting that bit of information. "He never told me about any medication he was taking."

"No one knew, except for me and Dr. McMullen. He has always been ashamed of it." Christoph sighed once more, staring into the dark. We had been walking further and further away from the school, and somehow, our path had led us back to the building that was now the weight room. I considered every aspect of Seth's behavior anew in light of everything Christoph had just told me, chewing my lower lip. I would never have guessed that the boy was heavily medicated. 

Christoph was meanwhile busy unlocking the weight room door. I frowned when I realized it. 

"What are you doing?"

"I need to check something. Sorry about the interruption."

"No problem." I found that weird, but followed Christoph inside anyway. He did not hit the light switch, but walked straight to the back of the room. I could only see him as a silhouette, illuminated by the moonlight that came in through the windows. 

"What is it you need to check?"

"Football players like to smuggle alcohol to the dance," he explained. 

"And they hide it in the weight room?" I frowned. 

"Yeah," I heard Christoph's answer. I backed up towards the door, suddenly feeling a bit queasy. I did not like the darkness.

"Is it alright if I wait outside?" I asked, while he tampered with one of the machines. I heard one of the metal pins falling to the floor, and the noise gave me goosebumps. 

"Certainly," came his answer. I turned and walked towards the door, but I had only taken two steps when I suddenly felt movement behind me, and then my head suddenly exploded with pain and I saw nothing but blackness and stars. I screamed as I fell forward, into the door, feeling something wet and sticky run down my face and neck as I broke my fall with my hands.

"If you can make it," Christoph said, looming above me, and then my mind was swallowed by the darkness.



The Hiding Game Ch. 11



I awoke several times, only dimly, and only long enough to realize that I was being raped. My body felt heavy and numb, and there was no way for me to move effectively. When I started to struggle, a hand would grab my throat and choke me back into unconsciousness. 

He talked the entire time, although I was barely able to hear any of it. The fourth or fifth time I regained consciousness, I tried to remain as still as I could, taking deep breaths and trying to think, to find a way to get away from him. His voice entered my thoughts then, much as I tried to shut him out, and I heard him dimly, as if through a fog. 

...really thought you could take him away like that? You thought you were going to own him, that I wouldn't stop you from using him, you malicious witch? All I have to do is bury you, in a field somewhere, and you'll be wiped from his mind. You won't be able to distract him anymore with your tricks, you won't keep him from having the career he deserves. The one I deserve...

I groaned when the feeling slowly started to return to my body. It started with the excrucuating pain I felt between my legs, where he was assaulting me, and I wished desperately that I could go numb again. When I weakly lifted my arms against him, he slapped my face and pinned me, squelching my resistance. 

I needed help. I closed my eyes and started praying for Marisol, or simply for someone to come looking for me, and I clung to the one desperate wish while dozens of other thoughts flooded through my mind. I was out of earshot of anyone that might be looking for me. Nobody had seen where I'd gone. Nobody would care, except perhaps Marisol, and she was busy having a good time. Nobody would care even if she was alarmed and trying to find me. 

I heard him spit, and felt something hit the side of my face at the same time. His saliva ran down my cheek, along with the tears I hadn't realized I was crying. He spit again, and I only weakly managed to turn my face away. 

Seth. His picture entered my mind, and I held on to it. I remembered, very suddenly, one sentence he had yelled in the art room, when we had broken up. 

I'm just trying to protect you. 

Was this what he had been trying to protect me from? Had he known this was going to happen? Why hadn't he told me? 

I opened my eyes again when I heard a single noise, the tiniest fragment of a voice that wasn't mine or his. I thought at first that I had imagined it, but when I felt him tense up above me, I knew I hadn't.

I screamed at the top of my lungs. It took only a second for him to put his hand over my mouth, muffling the sound, but still I continued to scream, to kick, desperate to make enough noise for someone to find me. I dimly realized that this was likely to be my only chance. 

Someone turned the doorknob. I was flooded with relief for a second, until I realized that the door wasn't opening, that he had locked it. I heard the sound of impact, and the shaking of the door, as if someone was throwing their entire weight against it. 

I was punched in the face and fought hard not to lose consciousness. His body shifted, and I could feel him withdraw from me, scrambling, I didn't know for what. I was dimly aware that my life was quite possibly in danger, and with all the strength I had left I turned onto my belly and started to crawl. 

Then the window exploded into a million tiny pieces. I was showered with glass, and I closed my eyes reflexively, but I could see that someone was there. There was a scream of rage, whose I couldn't tell, and then there were more voices, more silhouettes climbing in through the window. I heard the sound of a sudden fight, and the sickening crunch as a nose broke.

Someone had the brilliant idea of flipping the light switch. 

I closed my eyes once more as the bright light flooded the room, shielding my face as much as my sluggish body would allow me to. There was something wrong with my vision; even with the lights on I could see nothing but blurry shapes. 

"Holy shit!" someone male exclaimed, and suddenly there were hands touching me, carefully rolling me over onto my back. I struggled, I didn't want to be seen by all those people. 

"Leave her!"

I almost sobbed with relief when the hands let go of me and instead, I was lifted gently into a sitting position and Seth took me in his arms. I clung to him, inhaling his familiar scent as he held me comfortingly. 

"Cantelloni, you got a cellphone on you, right? Call the police, right now. Hanson, get that door unlocked."

The football player hesitated. "Seth, your dad..."

"Just make sure he doesn't get away." Seth's voice was suddenly icy cold, and I shuddered involuntarily. I felt him stroking my hair, brushing tiny pieces of glass away, but he stopped suddenly. 

"You're bleeding... I didn't..." He held me further away to look at me, apparently for the first time taking in the full extend of my injuries. 

"Shit. Cantelloni, you need to call an ambulance too!"

This was when I started to sob. I wasn't sure if it was shock, exhaustion, the cold, or a mixture of all these things that made me cry uncontrollably, my tears staining Seth's shirt. He held me tightly once more, whispering comforting words into my ear. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision, but the tears were only making it worse. 

"Door's unlocked," Hanson reported, and I could feel more cold air enter the room as he opened it. Someone put a coat around me.

"You want to get her out of here?" asked another football player, and Seth gave me a questioning look. I nodded. The motion made me feel sick. I couldn't see Christoph at the moment, because Seth was blocking the sight -- no doubt purposely -- but I still wanted to be as far away from him as possible. I felt like he could attack me again at any moment, and it freaked me out even more. 

"Can you put your arms around me?" Seth asked me gently, and I tried. My arms shook, and they felt heavy as lead, but I managed to clumsily lock them around Seth's neck. He put one arm across my back, the other under my knees, and lifted me without any apparent effort. I pressed myself against him as much as I could. One of the football players made sure the coat covered me, and Hanson held the door open so Seth could carry me outside. 

What had happened hadn't stayed a secret, I realized when Seth started walking across the grass. There were some students out here; I could hear their upset voices. They were probably the usual drama queens. I could also hear adult voices, trying to calm down the students. Seth came to a sudden stop, and I buried my face in his shoulder. I did not want to face anyone just now. 

"Mr Parrish, she needs to lie down. Can we use the nurse's office until the ambulance arrives?"

I was hearing the question through a haze, and I realized that I was on the verge of losing consciousness again. I fought stubbornly, blinking my eyes and focussing on regaining my vision once more. 

Not much stayed in my mind over the course of the next few minutes. I recognized the emergency lighting of a hallway through the blurriness, then there was darkness, and the next thing I noticed was the inviting, white sheet of the bed in the nurse's office that Seth lowered me onto. A pillow was pushed under my head, and I could feel myself shaking as I was covered with a thick white blanket. I heard Principal Parrish enter the room, talking to someone and sounding rather shocked. 

"How exactly did this happen?" he asked, and before either of us could answer the question he continued: "Is the police on the way?"

Seth confirmed this. Just then, I heard sirens in the distance. I could hear steps leaving the room again, and Seth moved to sit down next to me. 

"They'll take care of you, Jenna," he told me, grasping my hand. "It's going to be okay." I could feel his hand shake just as badly as mine, and when I looked up at his blurred face, I noticed for the first time that he was as pale as the sheet I was lying on. I tried to reach for him, but my arm wouldn't lift. 

"I'm so cold," I whispered. I did in fact feel like I had just been submerged in a tub of ice water, and Seth bent over me, brushing my cheek. I couldn't feel his touch. 

I never realized that I slipped into unconsciousness again, but the next thing I noticed was people crowding around me, then they were gone, then I was being touched, and a female voice gently said my name over and over. 

"Yes," I finally managed to get across my lips. The light was still harsh, but different, it was giving me a headache, and still I couldn't see anything but faint movement, and patches of color. 

"Jenna, my name is Karyn Johnson. I'm a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital. Can you understand me?"

"Yes," I whispered again, the simple act taking a large amount of my energy. 

"Jenna, I'm here to document your injuries and collect evidence. Do you remember what happened to you?" 

I shuddered involuntarily and nodded. The movement made my head explode in pain, and I winced and closed my eyes, which were useless anyway. 

"Is it okay with you if I take pictures of your injuries, Jenna?"

Having learned this time, I kept my head completely still and instead whispered "Yes" another time. 

"There is a female officer of the law outside who will be with us in just a moment," Karyn informed me. I heard the clicking of a camera, repeatedly. 

"I'm going to have to cut open your dress," Karyn explained, and I opened my mouth to protest. Just in time, I realized that my dress was ruined anyway, and for some strange reason this brought tears to my eyes. I felt the fabric being tugged at, and I heard the metal sound of the scissors as she cut the dress apart at the side, and then gently pulled it away from under me. I immediately moved my hands to cover myself, noticing that only one of the bra adhesives Marisol had given me was still in place. My panties were gone. 

I heard the door open and close just then, and the fact that I couldn't see and was laying naked on a bed made the fact this much more unsettling. I was covered in a blanket just a second after this, and then the new woman introduced herself as Officer Marquez. 

The next hour or so was not pleasant. I couldn't tell how long it was really taking, only guess. I was photographed repeatedly, and my pubic area was combed for several minutes, the nurse collecting anything loose. They took hair of mine as well, and scraped my fingernails for evidence. 

The swab was the worst. Officer Marquez held my hand when I had to spread my legs apart, leaving me horribly vulnerable, and when I had to lie completely still to someone touching me there. I started crying again quietly at that point, overwhelmed by the feelings of dread and shame. The procedure was finished with a blood sample taken from my arm, so they could test for any sexually transmitted diseases. 

Throughout the entire time, Officer Marquez talked to me, asking me about details of the rape and confirming what people at the school had reported. I didn't want to talk about any of it, just to push it all to the very back of my mind and never think about it again. I wasn't much use anyway, since I could only speak a few sentences at a time without going crazy with pain. 

I was finally covered in a real, thicker blanket, and allowed to rest for a few moments. I was so exhausted that I didn't even consider if it was a good idea to sleep, but simply did. 

***

When I woke up, I was in a different room. I knew this because the light was different, much softer and dimmed, and when I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, I was actually able to see more than blurry outlines for once. It appeared to be a private room, my bed was the only one in it, but when I looked more closely, I could see another person sitting on a chair by the door. 

"Mari?" I whispered, and she jumped. 

"Jenna, you're awake!" 

I winced at the shrillness of her voice, and she immediately whispered an apology and came closer, sitting by the side of the bed. 

"Hi," I said, for lack of anything better coming to my mind. 

"Hi Jenna," she said. She was pale, and her dark eyes looked more worried than I had ever seen them. 

"How are you?" I asked her, moving my hand to grasp hers, and she gave me a slight smile. 

"Doesn't matter. I'd ask you how you are doing, but somehow I don't think that's a good question right now."

It wasn't, I realized. In order to honestly tell her, I would have to figure that out for myself first, and I truly didn't want to. Instead, I tried to raise my hand to feel my head, which was throbbing. 

"What... what did they...?"

Marisol gently caught my clumsily moving hand and placed it back on the blanket. 

"You have stitches there. You probably shouldn't touch them. Your scalp was pretty split open."

"Oh." I refused to think about this too much. "What time is it?" I asked Marisol instead, and she checked her watch.

"About three twenty-five. Middle of the night."

"Oh," I said. I'd been here for quite a while then. From the way Marisol looked, I figured she had been too, and I asked her about it.

"God, Jenna," she said. "It was the scariest thing I've ever been through. One minute I was talking to Jon and having a good time and wondering where the heck you'd wandered off to, and the next moment all I know is there were girls hysterically crying rape and the police driving up, and next thing Audra suddenly offers me a ride to the hospital and I sit in a waiting room between Rick Cantelloni and Seth Marshall, who tells me that his dad did this to you."

Seth. I wondered how he was doing, how he was taking this.

"Is he still here?" I asked, and Marisol bit her lip. 

"Yeah," she said reluctantly. "He's still in the waiting area, along with a bunch of other people. I'm afraid I sort of told him to go to hell, after he told me about his dad. I was just so pissed, about this bunch of cheerleaders sitting there crying like they'd been your best friends for years. You know they wouldn't even care if the football players weren't here, and they're only here for Seth's support, not yours."

She sighed. "So I told them to go to hell, and Seth in particular. I felt bad afterwards, but there you go. Not like he's going to care."

I smiled weakly. "He just might, you know." 

"I tried calling your mom," Marisol reported, changing the topic, "and so did the hospital. We left messages, but we haven't been able to get a hold of her. I'll let you know as soon as we do."

I nodded. "Okay," I said, my voice shaky. Marisol looked at my face, alarmed. 

"Damn Jenna, I'm horrible. You just woke up a minute ago, and here I go rambling about phonecalls and cheerleaders. I'm so sorry. You need your rest."

"Don't go yet," I asked her, reaching out with my hand. She took it and patted it comfortingly. 

"I'll be back soon, I promise. But they told me to be careful not to wear you out. There's a nurse outside who's going to yell at me if I stay for too long."

"I don't want that," I said, sighing. "Thanks Mari."

She pressed her lips together and hugged me, careful not to move my head. I was amazingly tired after this short conversation, and I shuddered, exhausted. As Marisol left the room, I closed my eyes, and it didn't take long until my mind went blank. 

***

I awoke once more, this time to someone holding my hand comfortingly, stroking the back of it with a thumb. I recognized the warm touch at once and managed a shaky smile as I opened my eyes and saw Seth.

"Hi," I whispered, and he looked up at me at once. 

"Hey," he said. 

He didn't look good. He was still extremely pale, which made his black eye look that much worse, and the lines around his mouth were hard. The look in his bloodshot eyes was one of desperation. 

"What's wrong?" I asked him, and his eyes widened. 

"What's wrong? Oh my fucking God Jenna, are you seriously asking me that?" His lips were trembling, and he shook his head slowly. "He almost killed you, Jenna. That bastard almost killed you, and it's my fucking fault, and I don't know how I can ever ask you to forgive me." He pressed his lips together, shaking his head as if in disbelief. I managed to raise my hand enough to touch his cheek.

"It's okay, Seth," I whispered, even though nothing was further from the truth. He shook his head again, eyes firmly closed, his face showing so much pain. I didn't want to cause him any more, but there were a few questions I needed to know the answer to. 

"How did you know?" I asked. When he opened his eyes and looked at me questioningly, I clarified: "That your dad would... that he'd do something like this."

He lowered his head, looking ashamed. 

"It's happened before," he said, raising his hand when my eyes widened. 

"Not like this. Not this badly. I didn't realize he was capable of hurting you this much."

"What happened?" My voice gave out after the first word, and I whispered the second. I wasn't sure if I was ready for his explanation, but I needed to hear it. Seth grasped my hand again, squeezing it, and told me quietly. 

"I had a girlfriend freshman year. Katlin Meyer. I don't know if you remember her. I already knew that my dad didn't think much of females in general, and I kept it a secret because I was afraid of what he might do -- to me. I never thought he'd touch Katlin, or her family." He paused shortly and took a deep breath before he continued. 

"One evening, I finally told my dad. I was sick of hiding, and so was Katlin, and so I told my dad that I wouldn't let him keep me from seeing her. He locked me in my room and left the house for over three hours, and when he came back he told me that things between me and Katlin were over."

I shuddered. "That's awful. What did he do?"

"I never quite found out," Seth said. "The next time I saw her, she had a bruise on her face and wouldn't talk to me. Her family moved away a week later."

He stared blankly for several seconds, then he slowly shook his head. 

"I've always been a bit scared of him, even as a little boy, but until then I didn't realize that he was actually capable of destroying my life."

My gaze wandered up to the dark bruise around his eye, and I squeezed his hand anew when I realized just how much inner strength it must have taken for him to even live with Christoph. I opened my mouth, reluctantly asking the next question. 

"He beats you, doesn't he?"

Seth's jaw clenched for a moment, then he nodded, very slowly. He lowered his head when I tried to look into his eyes, and I could see his cheeks burning with shame. 

"I could have stopped him," he whispered. "And I never did. I just... I couldn't. He's my dad."

"I know," I said, holding his hand tightly. "Seth, it's okay."

He shook his head mutely. 

"Why did he hit you?" I asked reluctantly. Seth's other hand touched the area around his eye carefully, and he sighed. 

"That one was for losing."

"Losing?" It took me a moment until I realized what he was referring to. "You mean the game?"

He nodded. "He wants me to win. To play perfectly. He wants me to play college ball."

"And you?"

"I want that too. Hell, I love football." He shrugged helplessly. "That's always been his goal for me, because he never made it. My mom got pregnant with me their senior year of high school, and his parents made him get a job, so he could support her. He's never forgiven her for that."

"That's why he doesn't want you to have a girlfriend," I realized, and Seth nodded. 

"Funny enough, he doesn't mind it when I screw around. He says it's hard to prove who's responsible when some cheerleader gets knocked up." He shook his head slowly, staring at his hands. 

"It's the emotional involvement he's got problems with. You know, I never quite figured out what happened to my parents around the time I was born, but for as long as I can remember, they've had nothing but contempt for each other. My dad blames my mom for the way his life turned out. Even more so since she's left. For years after that I wished she'd come back and take me with her."




The Hiding Game Ch. 11



His voice was shaking by the time he spoke the last few words, and I could see a single tear run down his cheek. I stretched out my arms as much as I could, and he hugged me carefully, laying his head on my chest. I heard him sigh, and I raised one hand to stroke his hair. 

"You know," he said, "I was scared as hell when I realized I cared about you."

I closed my eyes. "So that's why you ignored me?"

"Yeah. I just couldn't keep away, and I finally decided that you were worth taking that risk for."

"And the second time you gave me the cold shoulder?"

"My dad noticed I'd been acting differently. He asked me point blank if there was a girl. I was worried he'd poke around at school and figure out who it was. That's also the reason he was suddenly very interested in the girl I'd take to Homecoming." He lifted his head and looked into my eyes then.

"I wanted to take you so, so badly, Jenna," he told me. My vision blurred, but this time, it wasn't because of my head injury. 

We lay there for a while, both crying silently. I was shocked about what he had told me, and my mind replayed the conversation we had had in the art room over and over again. I wished he had told me the truth. But at the same time, I understood why he had felt that he couldn't. 

Finally, Seth held my hand again, squeezing it in comfort. I ran my thumb across the back of his hand and noticed a band-aid across his knuckles.

"What did you do?" I asked, hiccupping, and he raised his head. 

"Punched him. I think I broke his nose." He touched his knuckles with his other hand and sighed. "I was half-crazy with fear when I noticed that you were gone... and that he was, too. When I found you... God, I was so mad. I wanted to kill him. I only stopped when I realized you needed me." 

I managed a weak smile, which he returned just as half-heartedly. Our hands still gripped each other tightly, and I took a breath when I realized that there was one more question that I needed to ask. 

"Are you... are you really on medication? Your dad said..."

Seth nodded. "Mild antidepressants, yeah. Why?"

I closed my eyes, hoping this wouldn't upset him. "Before he... well, he told me you were heavily medicated. I realize that was probably just part of the bullshit he was feeding me, but I thought..."

"It's fine," Seth interrupted, squeezing my hand. "I'm glad you asked, actually. No, I've never been heavily medicated. The medication doesn't affect me at all, for the most part, exscept that it helps me deal with things, and it makes me sick to my stomach sometimes. Barely anyone knows I take it, because it's really none of their business. But I can promise you that it's not what has been affecting my behavior."

"Good," I said, relieved. 

He hugged me, very carefully, and then sighed again.

"I should probably leave. The nurse is going to get really mad if she notices how long I've been in here."

"Okay," I whispered. He carefully wiped the tears from my face, then gave me a sad smile. 

"I hope you can forgive me, Jenna," he said, putting a finger over my mouth when I tried to answer. "Don't say anything right now, please. I'm just saying, that, one day, I hope you can forgive me. Not right now. It's all still much too raw right now."

He stood up and kissed my lips, smiling when I reached out for him once more. 

"Go back to sleep," he told me, and I obediently closed my eyes.



The Hiding Game Ch. 12



"You're like the opposite of a vampire," Marisol philosophized as she entered my room, without knocking. She'd given up on that a while ago, when I'd gotten into the habit of ignoring the noise. 

I rolled over and opened my eyes, blinking into the bright light. The lamps in my room were on despite it still being broad daylight outside, another habit I'd recently picked up. 

"That's what I should start calling you," Marisol said while setting down her bookbag. "Miss Anti-Vampire. How are you?"

"Good," I said, the same lie I'd been repeating for weeks. Marisol promptly raised her eyebrows. 

"Yeah right." 

I reached over and opened her bookbag, taking out the green folder in which she'd collected my worksheets, notes and assignments for the day. She dropped these off at my house after school, and just like every day, I gave her back another folder, this one containing the homework I'd done. 

"Still can't sleep?" Marisol asked, eyeing the lights. I shook my head, the nightmares had started a few days after the rape, and they hadn't stopped since. The only way I was able to get any rest was in some sort of half-sleep state, with my room brightly lit, during which I woke up at least once each hour. I was exhausted as a result, and spent most of my time dozing. I still managed to get my homework done though -- the learning at least provided a distraction. 

"How's school?" I asked in an attempt to be polite, and Marisol sat down on the edge of my bed, sighing.

"Weird. It's been so mellow lately. Everyone is still shocked about what happened, and since you're not there, they're nice to me instead. I don't get hassled at lunch or in PE anymore, they pretty much just leave me alone. It's quite lonely, actually. I miss you."

On one hand, I was sorry to hear that. On the other, my bed had become as much of a refuge as I could make it, and I was unwilling to leave it for very long. So, I just looked apologetic, feeling uncomfortable.

"Audra has been asking about you," Marisol mentioned. "I think she'd like to visit you. She's been much nicer lately. Almost like old times."

"That's nice of her," I said, looking down at my covers distracted, and Marisol sighed. 

"Look, Jenna -- there's no easy way to say this, but you need to come back to school. You can't hide in here forever."

"Why not?" I asked defiantly, even though I knew the answer very well, and Marisol started listing reasons.

"Well first off, teachers aren't going to make accommodations forever. You can't take finals in here. Next semester you'll have two new teachers, and they'll want to know what your face looks like. Your mom will be disappointed if you don't walk across the stage on graduation day. Plus, I'm counting on your vote for prom queen."

Marisol had always been able to make me smile, and she did, infallibly, with her comment. I met her eyes for a moment, both of us looking quite sad, and I shook my head mutely after a few seconds and pulled the covers higher again. 

"Damn it, Jenna," she said. "I can't help you if you won't let me. Please, at least consider it. Just try one day."

"Maybe," I said, knowing my answer already. There were too many horrible memories associated with school now, and I didn't want to set foot inside that building. I was quite content working from home.

"I suppose that's all I can ask for." Marisol got up from the bed, clearly disappointed. I averted my eyes. I felt bad about letting her down. But at the same time, I also wished she'd understand the way I felt about this issue. 

The door closed quietly, and I soundlessly sank back into my pillows, trying to clear my mind of all thoughts. That didn't last long, however, as the door opened once more. 

"Um," Marisol said, sticking her head back in. She looked clearly uncomfortable.

"What?" I said more aggressively than I'd meant to, and she flushed. 

"There's, uh..."

She slid into the room and closed the door, trying not to make any noise. Her eyes seemed unsure. I was confused by her strange behavior and frowned. 

"Um, Seth Marshall is standing out there," she finally said. 

She might as well have punched me in the gut, the effect was the same. I stared blankly for a good ten seconds, trying to figure out why Seth was here. He hadn't made any contact with me at all since the talk we had had in the hospital, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to see him again or have him stay as far away as possible. I'd missed him, but seeing him would remind me of all we'd had, and of what his father had done to me. 

"I can tell him to leave," Marisol offered reluctantly. "I don't much like him of all people coming here. But you do need to face it at some point, Jenna. Better sooner than later."

I wondered dully why everyone kept saying that, and where they had gotten the idea. Thinking about what had happened, going back to school and seeing Seth, all these things would rip open all those wounds again, scar me worse and cause me that much more pain. I couldn't think of anything I'd want to do less.

"You can all go to hell with your damn psychobabble," I said, rolling over and facing the wall. I regretted it the moment I'd said it, but now it was too late. 

"Fine," snapped Marisol, opening the door again. "I'll be on my way."

I could hear the door being slammed a moment later. I pulled my blanket up higher, right below my chin, hoping that I would finally be able to have some peace. It was hard to empty my mind over and over again, since I snapped back to full consciousness with every damn interruption. 

I clenched my teeth when the door opened and closed again, and pressed myself deeper into the pillows. I was rapidly losing my patience. It wasn't that much to ask to just be left alone, I thought. I waited for someone to start talking to me, but there was no sound I could hear except for my own breathing. 

Finally, I turned, the uncertainty if I was alone or not becoming unbearable. Seth was standing there, hands in his pockets, simply looking at me and waiting. I couldn't quite bring myself to look into his eyes. 

"I thought it would be better to give you some time," he finally said. "After we talked... I figured it was for the best to let you think things over, to let you decide..." He broke off, waiting for me to say something, but I didn't. I was too busy trying not to look at him, and trying to fend off the dark memories that my brain couldn't suppress. When I didn't reply, he just kept going. 

"I didn't realize you'd be missing from school for this long. I don't know if I should have come to visit you earlier." He sighed. "Hell, apparently you don't even want to see me now."

I did, but I didn't. I slowly shook my head and turned again, facing the wall. 

"I understand," Seth said. His voice cracked slightly as he said the words. But he still didn't leave. He was silent for a few seconds.

"Marisol or your mom probably told you," he finally said, "that we made the state playoffs. Glenn Valley is pretty excited. We're having lots of extra practices. It'd... It would be nice if you could come to one of the games."

I nodded carefully, not wanting to make any commitments. I wasn't sure why Seth felt the need to make small talk all of a sudden, but before I could consider the matter, I heard Seth sigh deeply. 

"Anyway," he said. "That's all I got. I just wanted to see you. If you ever need me, I'll be there. If you don't... I understand. It's fine. If you're happier that way, I can live with that."

I heard him open the door and suddenly had to blink heavily. 

"I'm sorry, Jenna," he said, and it sounded so final I couldn't stop my eyes from filling with tears.

**********

Marisol was shocked when she entered the room again to find me crying my eyes out, hugging my pillow. I hadn't cried since the first night at the hospital. It felt surprisingly good, despite all the pain I felt. 

"What in the hell just happened?" Marisol asked, eyes wide. "What did he do to you? Do you want me to-" 

Her eyes drifted towards the door, as if she was considering sprinting after Seth and confronting him. But instead, she held one of my hands and handed me a few tissues. 

"Seriously though," she said after I had calmed down a bit. "What did he do to make you cry?"

"We basically broke up," I said, watching her face reflect complete confusion. 

"You... what? Are you making a joke? I can't tell, Jenna, because you haven't been in a mood to joke lately." 

"I'm not joking, Mari." I sighed, realizing that this confession was way overdue. "Look, here it is. Remember the mystery guy?"

"Yeah," said Mari, not getting it. 

"Seth Marshall," I said, watching her expression change ever so slowly. For almost a minute, she said absolutely nothing, simply sitting there with her mouth open as she put together all the pieces of the puzzle in her head. Then she finally spoke, slowly.

"You had sex with the homecoming king?"

I felt a sudden urge to giggle, the first in many days. Leave it to Marisol to cut right to the heart of the matter. 

"Only before he was homecoming king," I said. 

"It still counts," Marisol determined, shaking her head. "You're serious. You and Seth Marshall..."

"Yes," I said. I felt suddenly a lot better, finally having told her the one thing I had kept from her for so long. 

"So, why did you break up?" she finally asked, and my smile faded. "Was it your choice or his?"

"Well, technically," I swallowed hard. "Mine. And you know why that is, so don't even ask."

Marisol was quiet for a moment.

"Did you ever consider that it might be a good idea to work through this with him instead of just pretending to be fine on your own?"

"I'm not pretending to be fine," I sniffed. "If I was, I wouldn't be crying, damn it."

"You're pretending that what's going to make it fine is you barricaded up here in your room for all eternity, and it's not. You need to come back to school, Jenna, you need to face all those things. The longer you wait, the harder it will be."

"I'm not going to school," I said automatically, having heard this talk way too many times. But this time, Marisol wasn't giving in. 

"Yes you are. I'll drag you by the hair tomorrow if I have to."

**********

It didn't actually come down to dragging, but I did my best to delay the inevitable. Marisol had my mom's support on the issue, and both of them were completely unapologetic about taking away my blankets, shouting, and everything else they did to get me to leave my bed and get dressed. I complied while being completely pissed off, sulking while I put on a large sweater and jeans. It was dark, cold and rainy outside, reflecting my mood perfectly. 

"You'll thank me later," Marisol said when she caught a glimpse of my face as I put on my coat. "I know you're mad at me for doing this, but it's for your own good."

"Yeah, right," I said, but followed her out to her car without further protest. 

I was anxious during the drive. I basically hadn't been out of my house in weeks, the only exceptions being the various follow-ups for which my mom had had to drive me to the hospital. The thought of being back among people, especially those who populated Glenn Valley High, made me nauseous. I knew that Marisol was right, that I'd have to face this sooner or later. Still, part of me stubbornly clung to the absurd thought that spending the rest of my life in isolation was completely feasible. 

"I checked with Mrs Jamison," Marisol told me when we entered the student parking lot. "She said it's not a problem if you just want to come to my classes with me today, to get used to being at school again."

That'd be nice," I said quietly. Marisol gave me a smile and squeezed my hand before opening her car door. 

"You'll be fine," she promised me. 

It was a strange feeling to enter Glenn Valley High School again. A large part of me didn't want to set foot in the place. But I followed Marisol without complaints, walking through the halls to her locker. 

It was almost a surreal experience. I had never had so many people look at me before, and I especially hadn't realized how many people here now knew my name. It was being called almost constantly. Some people were simply greeting me, welcoming me back, others were trying to make sure I was who they thought I was, or telling their friends that they'd just spotted me. It appeared I was to be Glenn Valley's primary source of gossip for the day. 

I shrank as much as possible behind the homework folder I had brought. I wasn't used to this amount of attention. I didn't care for it either, especially now. But it seemed that although most people didn't know the exact details of what had happened during the homecoming dance, everyone knew that I had been the victim. Not that this would have been hard to guess, considering the amount of time I had been absent from school, but I hadn't expected everyone to actully be able to put a face to the name Jenna Swanson. 

"This is weird," I said to Marisol while she opened her locker. 

"It's not like it used to be," she agreed, stacking books in her arms. "They don't yell my name through the hallways, but I've had a bunch of people come up to me at lunch and ask about you. Not a clue who most of them were, either."

"What did they want to know?" I asked. 

"If I was your friend. Once I said yes, they usually bombarded me with questions like if it was true that you'd moved across the country, or whether you were really on life support, or something ridiculous like that. Some of them actually asked how you were doing."

"That was nice of them," I said sincerely. 

Marisol only gave me a look that I couldn't quite interpret, and, after shutting her locker, steered me through the hallway to her first class. 

None of Marisol's teachers seemed surprised to find me sitting next to her in class. I was glad, since I was getting enough unwanted attention without any teachers asking me what I was doing in their classroom. The hours before lunch were surprisingly uneventful, even relaxing, once people stopped turning to look at me. I could simply sit there and listen, not having to worry about remembering what was actually being said. 

But when the final bell before lunch rang, I tensed up again. I didn't like the idea of being stared at by a good third of the school's population once again, but unless I wanted to hide and fast for the day, I didn't have much of a choice. 

Marisol seemed to sense my feelings. She gave my arm a reassuring squeeze as we made our way through the hallways once more and finally joined the already long queue to get some lunch. I positioned myself between Marisol and the wall, trying to avoid being seen by everyone else. Naturally, it happened anyway. I could see a few fingers pointing, and people actually turned to look in my direction. The girls behind us were whispering, and I was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second. 

"This sucks," I finally informed Marisol. She nodded and patted my arm. 

"I know. You'll get through it. This is just because it's your first day back. In a few days, they'll stop looking."

I shrugged, watching instead the inevitable reorganization of the lunch queue. The Cross Country team flocked around Alicia Miller, who happened to be furthest ahead in line. A group of cheerleaders inserted themselves randomly in front of two timid freshmen, pushing back the entire line. It happened every day.

"You know, they'd probably let you skip ahead too, if you tried." It wasn't Marisol who said that but Audra, who had quietly appeared next to us. She gave me a timid smile and smoothed her blond locks. 

I gave her a smile in return, but wrinkled my forehead at her proposition. I disliked the fact that everybody else skipped the line, so I wasn't about to do it myself. 

"Hell, worth a try," Marisol shrugged, and before I could protest, she was dragging me along, past the Volleyball girls and a few people from the yearbook staff. 

"Excuse us," Audra chirped, squeezing herself through a bulk of people so we could grab our trays. I could see people opening their mouth to protest, then shut it again as soon as they saw my face. 

"Stop, please!" I hissed, when Audra made an attempt to get us even further ahead. "I'm fine with where we're at."

"Spoilsport," Marisol said good-naturedly, but both girls settled with me in the spot just before the Volleyball team. We had drawn even more looks as the result of this action, and I shrank back behind the both of them, my hands squeezing my tray. 

"Come on, don't be mad," Marisol said. "This is probably our one and only chance at ever doing this."

"Yeah," I said unenthusiastically. I wasn't sure how to tell Marisol that I didn't care for such things as getting ahead in the lunch line or drinking first at the drinking fountain. A few weeks ago, I might have enjoyed having those benefits, but now, they simply were not worth it. I sighed and lowered my head. I didn't care for any of the attention I was getting, and while for Marisol, this might be new and exciting, I wished that things would go back to how they had been before as quickly as possible. All this crap was one of the reasons why I had avoided school over the past few weeks. The other reason of course being- 

It took a few seconds before I noticed that the entire room had suddenly gone strangely silent. When I raised my head, I saw more than half the people in the room openly staring at me. At first, I didn't understand why this was happening, but then I finally saw Seth. 

He was standing on the opposite end of the hall, frozen in place, looking at me. His face was strangely flushed and he looked flustered. I'd never seen him like this before. 

"Jenna?" Audra asked, and she protectively put her arm around me. It wasn't until then that I understood why people were staring. They assumed that for me, Seth was synonymous with his dad. They were expecting me to freak out, or to run, to make some sort of scandalous move they could gossip about, and from the looks of it, Seth was half-expecting me to do the same. 

He was very much uncomfortable, I noticed, and not just with the fact that I was here. I was pretty sure he had never had people react to him the way they were doing now. I wished they wouldn't, either. He had been through a lot, and the look of pain in his eyes made me want to run across the room and comfort him. I wasn't the only one suffering here. 

It took a lot of strength to give him a simple, shaky smile and turn back to the front. Through the corner of my eye, I could see him finally start to move, crossing the room to stand in line with Cantelloni and some of the other football players. They formed a protective ring around him, just as Audra and Marisol were doing for me. Slowly, conversations started up again, and we stepped forward as the line finally moved. 

"Are you okay?" Marisol asked very softly. I shook my head. 

A moment later, we finally got around to picking up silverware and receiving food. 

"Ew," Audra commented, picking up a hot dog. I mirrored her, automatically taking the fruit cup and salad as well, even though I couldn't have had less appetite. 

"We need to talk," I said to Marisol once we had passed the cashier. "Alone. Please."

"Sure," said Marisol, giving Audra an apologetic look. Audra only shrugged and gave me a smile, turning to sit with her team. 

"Where do you want to go?" Marisol asked. "I usually eat over at that table, but if you don't want to be overheard..."

"Art room," I said, and started to walk towards the door. Students weren't allowed to take food out of the lunch room, and especially not into a classroom. Miss Larsen, who was standing watch at the door, however, took one look at me and let us pass. 

"I should have told you he was in my lunch hour," Marisol apologized as we crossed the hallway at a fast pace. "I'm sorry."




The Hiding Game Ch. 12



"It doesn't matter," I lied. I was starting to be calmer, now that we had left the many staring faces behind and I didn't feel like my every move was being watched anymore. We turned a corner and entered the art room, whose occupants were currently at lunch. Setting her tray on a table, Marisol looked at me expectantly. 

"What is it you want to talk about? I mean, I realize that there is a huge amount of stuff that you..."

"Seth," I said, and she stopped mid-sentence. "Everyone thinks I hate him."

"Does it matter?" Marisol asked. "It's not like we've ever given a second thought to what everyone thinks."

"I know." I sat down in a chair opposite her. "But his life sucks too right now. I'm the one getting all the sympathy -- which is freaking me out, by the way -- but he's the one who's had to live with an abusive dad his entire life. He's the one who tried to keep me safe. It's killing me to see him like this, so... so..."

"You miss him, don't you?" Marisol asked quietly. 

I nodded sadly and shredded a piece of lettuce with my fork. I did miss him. I'd gotten to know a sweet, funny, genuinely caring guy over the past few months, and there was little I wanted more than to be with him. 

I can't believe this all happened," I said blankly. "All of it. Everything's changed, and I'm hurt, and he's hurt, and I wish we could comfort each other and just..." I fell silent. 

"Be back together," Marisol finished. 

For a moment, the both of us were silent. She was right, and I knew it, but I also knew that I wasn't ready to come back to him yet. I didn't know whether I'd ever be ready. 

"I'm going to cry," I announced, and promptly did.