Chapter 7

ROCCO

I was breathing hard, panicky, as I drove. God, he was a fucking asshole. Fuck.

Imagine what my parents would think if they knew I kissed him. Oh wait - they would probably send me to conversion therapy or something - I had no idea how they would react and I didn't want to find out.

It's not like I had never gone behind my parent's backs - they didn't know I was in a gang, for starters.

But this was a guy, and not to mention Jax Wilson. The guy with the worst reputation in the school. Last year, a rumour had gone around that Wilson had stabbed another guy over a fight about a girl. He smoked all the time. He hardly came to school - and if he did, he spent most of his time in detention.

To be fair, I'd spent a reasonable amount of time in detention as well - which my parents didn't know about either. Being in a gang meant you had to live up to their standards - like, don't do your homework. That's fucking weird. Don't be bullied, be the bully. Annoy teachers - what, are you a pussy or something?

But deep down, I wasn't like the rest of the Wolverines. I mean - none of them knew where I lived, for example. Not many people at school did - apart from Wilson. I can't believe he remembered - it's been a while.

I'd probably get kicked from the Wolverines if they knew that I lived in Frostwood Drive - people who lived in Frostwood Drive didn't join gangs. That's just not how it worked.  They also didn't know about my straight A record - Wolverines didn't have straight A records. But neither did Cobras - apart from Jax Wilson.

I'd stumbled upon his files one time I was clearing out some stuff in detention - A after A after A.

I was shocked at the time. How can you get straight A's but hardly turn up to school and are constantly pissing off the teachers?

So I'd spied on him - looking over his shoulder in Chemistry class - and his page was filled with actual chemical equations, diagrams and actually correct answers. Albeit, there were dicks - lots of dicks - but actual notes covered most of his pages.

So I did what any sane guy would do - spread the word that he was smart around the Juniors, so all the people who kissed his ass and worshipped him would have excuses to ask him to tutor them. He'd say no, of course, but it was amusing to irritate him.

While I was out of school, I'd had twenty something missed calls from other Wolverines, asking where I was. They'd probably think I had been kidnapped or killed by Cobras - not impossible, considering their history. I hadn't even been in the gang very long. With the Wolverines, surprisingly, I had found a loyal and supportive community, who always had my back - apart from if I was being "too smart". They didn't like that - mainly just because it made the gang look weak or something to some dumb people. So I purposely got detentions to keep up the Wolverines's image of "troublemakers".

Then something occurred to me.

Mallory.

-----

Mallory and I were not like normal couples. We'd known each other forever, and had dated on and off for a long time as well. She was my best friend.

But we had an understanding.

I "went out" with Mallory to lessen the hoards of girls who would constantly hit on me - some still did, but most of them were scared of her. I also did it to maintain an image  - if I had a girlfriend, that was it. No one was wondering over who my next fling would be or something, or starting rumours which I just didn't have the patience for.

Mallory "went out" with me (well this time anyway) to make her ex, Dylan - also Wilson's right hand man -  jealous. If you asked me, it wasn't working, but Mallory said it was and I did what she said.

There was another thing too. Mallory was pansexual - and having a boyfriend meant that her parents didn't ask awkward questions. They were devoutly religious.

We'd never kissed, or had sex - even the thought of having sex with her made me feel nauseous. It would be like having sex with my sister.

But kissing Wilson - I had completely forgotten I had a "girlfriend" and with fair reason, I thought. Too much had happened.

But I hadn't even been in contact with Mallory this whole week - she'd left me a bunch of angry voice mails which I hadn't answered.

Well, guess it was time to reply to them now.

She picked up after the first few rings. "You motherfucker! " She yelled.

I grimaced. "Hi Mal."

"Why have you been avoiding me? You think you can hide? Tell me what happened! "

I sighed, and silence ensued on the line.

"Mal..." I trailed off. "Can you come over, please? "

------

Mallory's mouth hung open as she sprawled across my bed, her already short uniform skirt riding up her thighs. She was Japanese, Chinese, and Indonesian, with shoulder length newly orange hair so bright it was glowing. "You cheated on me! " she squealed, cackling. "You piece of shit! Oh my god. With who?"

I should have been prepared for this question. "I... uh...um. I don't know."

Her brow creased. "What the hell do you mean you don't know?"

I cleared my throat. "I... don't know her name."

Her mouth closed and she nodded. "Well, nothing new. Hey, I have some news though. So, you know that my party that you couldn't go to a while back? So Jax Wilson got super drunk and came into my room while me and Stefan were making out. He was wasted, like fully. He started mumbling about you and how you were really stupid - just the usual stuff you guys say about each other. Then he left. I got pretty drunk after that and passed out in bed. Then - oh my god it was so weird - I woke up as he got in bed beside me - still super wasted and probably like high. I was too far gone to react - but I should have - who knows what he could've done. But then again, his brain was like destroyed and he couldn't even move. I kind of wish we hadn't been so drunk - we might've hooked up if we were more sober. He's so fucking hot even if he's a dick."

Just the sound of his name sent a shock through me, never mind the rest. "Oh. Wow."

Mallory waited like she thought I should have more of a reaction. So I said "That's disgusting, Mallory. I hope you threw those sheets out,"

She snorted. " I didn't, actually. I kept them so I can have his DNA if I need it - from like skin and stuff. Oh, and also because he smells good."

I gave her a disgusted look. Little did she know - I knew that.

------

My socks were damp with sweat as I pulled them off. I rubbed the cooling sweat off of my brow with my towel, lifting my drink bottle to my lips with my other hand.

I looked around the room at my team mates getting changed, slapping each other on the back, laughing, and conversing loudly about gameplay and girls - two topics which made up a large percentage of all our conversations. A sudden thought flickered into life in my mind - what if my team mates found out I had kissed a guy? How would they react to that? Would any of them be homophobes, or in the very least would they not want to get dressed in front of me? Fuck. I shook my head quickly. Why should I be apprehensive about homophobes? I wasn't gay.

Across the room from me, my coach was talking to someone  I couldn't see - the lockers blocking my line of vision. I put my bottle down and hung my towel around my neck. I reached into my bag for a granola bar. After throwing the scrunched wrapper into my duffel bag, I ate the bar slowly, checking my phone for messages.

TWO MISSED CALLS FROM MOM

My brow furrowed. Huh. I told her I had practice on this morning - I'll call her back later.

Our coach cleared his throat. I looked up from my phone as the changing room went quiet - and my jaw dropped.

"Hey boys, this is - oh, I'm sure you know him. " Our coach, a large bald man with grey hair and biceps we could only dream of grinned at us. "He's going to be joining the team this season! Hope you boys make him feel welcome and all that shit - I know you will. "

Almost involuntary, I stood quickly. Laughter rippled throughout the room - the guys knew all about it.

"Oh, and this is our Captain, Rocco Denver! Mate, I'm sure you know him as well - "

"Coach, " I hissed between gritted teeth, "the football season is about to start! We don't have time for a new - "

"Exactly, Denver. The season is about to start - meaning it hasn't started yet. " Coach frowned. "This isn't like you - "

"What about trials?" I growled, almost desperately. "You don't even know if he's good - "

Coach cut me off again, glaring. "I played with his old man back in the day, and if he's anything like that - well, let's just say he might give you a run for your money as Captain. "

I am speechless with rage. I can simply gape, hands fisted at my sides as my furious eyes meet Jax Wilson's from where he stands beside Coach, hands in his pockets.

I almost expect him to smile, to gloat. But he just stands there, lazy but still glittering eyes on me. He doesn't say a thing.

He doesn't have to.

---