Chapter 7

Bae’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she watched Archie approach their table, his focus solely on balancing the two steaming cups of coffee. There was a certain charm in his concentration, a kind of authenticity that drew her to him.

He wasn’t like the rest. He was more...normal.

“He’s hot,” A girl remarked, her eyes lingering on Archie with obvious interest.

Her moment of quiet observation was interrupted by the sudden intrusion of a redhead from across the booth. Bae’s attention snapped to the girl, her initial admiration for Archie melted away as she quickly composed herself, her voice taking on a casual tone. 

 “Maybe, I don’t know.” she replied with a slight shrug.

The redhead pressed on, undeterred by Bae’s nonchalant response. “Does he have a girlfriend?” 

“I don’t know...” Bailey’s voice trailed, she had just realized that she knew nothing about his personal life. 

It had been a week already and she was the least proud to admit that she still called him ‘newbie.’

“Incoming.” Archie managed to drop the cups on the table, without spilling any hot liquid. He slumped into the seat opposite Bae, his expression one of relief mixed with exhaustion. 

Bae couldn’t help but smile at his disheveled appearance, a warmth spreading through her chest at the sight of him.

“I like your shirt,” Bae beamed. “Where did you get it?”

“Uh, there’s this thrift store across my street.” Archie’s response was casual, almost dismissive. He diverted the conversation, before Bae could ask another question. “Who was the girl you were talking to?”

“An admirer, you should give her your number.” She lifted the cup to her lips as she observed his discomfort.

Archie ran his fingers through his dark curls, a smile plastered on his face. “Oh”

Bailey studied him like she was one of her test subjects then she blurted out “I mean, you’re quite muscular.”

His face flushed with color as he processed her comment. 

 She couldn’t help but burst into laughter, her fingers tapping on her cup as she struggled to find the right words. “What I meant to say was... Have you ever considered joining the football team?”

Archie glanced at her, a hint of hesitation in his voice. “Yeah, but I don’t want the attention.”

He indeed had thought of joining the football team while he was at Williams but Tommy was on the team as well. He made sure he made his life a torment during practice and so he had to quit. 

“I think you’ll fit in nicely” She said, her head tilted as she tried to imagine him in the uniform. “There’s a tryout after school. You should come, just for fun.”

Archie’s lips twisted thoughtfully, his gaze drifting into his coffee. “Maybe.”

Archie walked onto the field, the heat of the sun beating down on him as he navigated through the stadium. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, a testament to the intensity of the afternoon sun. The stadium stretched out before him.

Faint cheers and chants drift across the field from the direction of the cheerleaders as they rehearsed their routine.

From her position on the cheerleading team, Bae spotted Archie and waved excitedly, gesturing towards the man standing by the pavement. She mouthed to him, urging him to meet with the coach.

As Archie approached the coach, he could feel the tension in the air. The coach’s voice boomed across the field, frustration evident in every word as he addressed the football team.

“Time out!” Coach Davis’s voice boomed across the field, frustration evident in every word as he addressed the football players. Sweat dripped down his face, from the intensity of the practice. “You girls better not perform this way during our match”

Archie’s confidence wavered in the face of the coach’s stern demeanor, and he instinctively turned to leave.

“You!” Coach Davis’ sharp command stopped Archie in his tracks, drawing the attention of everyone on the field towards him. “What do you want?”

Archie felt a pang of intimidation as all eyes turned to him. The coach’s sharp gaze locked onto him, demanding to know his purpose on the field.

“I...” Archie struggled to find his voice as his eyes fell on Ash, who stood nearby in his football uniform, a smirk playing on his lips as he squeezed a water bottle into his mouth.

He had no idea that Ash was on the team. It felt as though he had unwittingly walked into a lion’s den.

Summoning his courage, Archie took a deep breath and spoke up. “I’m here for the tryout” 

Ash spat his water from his mouth and roared into a laugh. “I think you got lost, nerd. The book club is that way,” he taunted, pointing in the opposite direction of the stadium. 

Laughter rippled across the field, every taunt from his teammates adding to Archie’s mounting frustration.

“That’s not the direction of the library, moron.” Archie finally lashed out.

Ash’s expression shifted from amusement to anger in an instant. His piercing gaze silenced his teammates who were on the brink of laughter.

Ash stormed across the field to Archie. He grabbed his collar and showed a fist to him. “How about I rearrange the direction on your face?” 

The coach intervened, blowing his whistle to restore order. “Save that adrenaline for the field, Ash.” He shot Ash a warning glare.

“Meanwhile, you” His attention turned to Archie. “Get on that field, if you want to prove yourself to me.”

Archie hesitated, his heart froze in his chest. “But they’re already trained-” His voice was barely heard when the coach blew on his whistle again.

“Ash, you’re on team red. Nerd, you’re on team blue.” He blew his whistle again.

“Get to your positions, everyone!”