Bus trip to Westmere

“Alright! Shut up! Shut up!” Derek Marotta shouted from the front of the bus.

Everyone began to quieten as they all paid attention to what he had to say.

“Before we get there, let’s just take a section to appreciate that our quarterback and captain of the team is fucking back tonight!!!” he shouted, “Get around our boy, Bryce Walker!”

Marotta slapped Bryce’s shoulder who was sitting right in front of him as everyone on the bus got rowdy in response, clapping and chanting.

Bryce got half way out of his seat to raise his hand towards the rest of the bus behind him, “Let’s fuck these bitches up!! Eagles football!!”

For Mark, he was happy that Bryce was finally well enough to play again. His leg injury in the car accident was all Mark’s fault and their relationship had never been the same since then.

He leaned back in his seat, sitting next to his cousin Jackson. They were both excited just to get out on the field and leave their problems behind them.

“You talked to Miranda at all since Tuesday?” he asked Jackson.

The brown hair boy shook his head, not saying too much about it. Mark didn’t feel the need to intrigue any further, he knew the feeling he was going through and understood why he wouldn’t want to get into any details about it.

For the hour bus ride, Mark threw on his headphones to listen to his pre-game playlist to get him in the zone for the match. It was a minor tradition that he now had before games, even if it didn’t work entirely well every week.

While attempting to focus on the match ahead, Mark noticed he didn’t have complete privacy on the bus.

Just a few isles in front of them, on the left side of the bus, Justin Martin, the scrawny brown haired boy was turning his head every minute or so, taking a look at Mark. At first he thought it was just a coincidence but after the fourth time he had done it in the space of five minutes, he realised that the jock was looking at him directly every time.

He couldn’t quite see who he was sitting next to but above the seat, Mark could see the back of his head, his blonde hair standing out. To the best of his understanding, it was most likely Leo Lennox, the other one of Dixon’s close friends.

The way he was being watched the entire drive made him uneasy and anxious. Finding out that Jess had let the cat out of the bag while teaching Dixon a lesson now had him on his toes. If he had told his friends, Mark’s and Jackson’s safety may be in a bit of jeopardy.

As he tried to ignore them, Mark looked down at his phone to see a couple of text messages from Winter.

Winter: Good luck tonight x

Winter: Sorry I can’t make it, too cold for me !

Mark: Thanks! Trust me, it’s cool

He was about to put his phone away but leaning over to look further down the bus, Mark thought he’d share with Winter the concerns he had.

Mark: Might be paranoid but I think Dixon told his crew about us

Winter: Why’s that?

Mark: Leo and Justin keep staring at me on the bus, think they know

Winter: Well shit…

Mark: Yep :/

Winter: Make sure to be careful, don’t get caught alone anywhere and get back safely tonight

Mark: I’ll be ok

Mark: Don’t think they’d try anything here when we’re playing on the same team

Winter: True… but you never know

Her words rung true with him, Mark and Jackson couldn’t predict what any of Dixon’s friends would try to keep the boys from speaking out. They didn’t know how far they were willing to go to protect Dixon.

Mark put down his phone, doubts clouding his mind.