Plan Of Attack
This takes place on Friday, May seventh, two days after the entire gang ambushed Jason.
"Kyle, pass the red paint, would you?"
"Here. Is there any more blue left?"
"There's a whole thing of it by Sonny's foot. Damn, this stuff is frickin' cold."
"Couldn't we have just painted this on our shirts instead of our skin?"
Jason glared at Johnny as he dipped his finger in red paint. "No, Whiny, we can't. So stop whining already."
Sonny smirked and turned to face Max. "Does this M look all right? It looks a little lop-sided to me."
Max took a brief moment to study the still-wet letter painted across Sonny's bare chest. "No," he answered, resuming his own painting job. "It's fine."
"Lop-sided? " Johnny taunted as he worked on his own O smack dab in the middle of his chest. "Way to be a perfectionist, Michaelangelo."
"Shut up, Obie," Sonny tossed back as he wiped his red finger in the grass. "Jesus, you were right – it is cold."
"Just wait until it dries, will you?" Jason growled impatiently. He dipped the tip of his finger in white paint to make the dot at the base of his question mark.
"I'm done," Max announced, springing up from his spot on the track. The three o'clock sun cast his crisp shadow on the ground as he hopped from foot to foot, stretching. "Personally, I'm surprised Coach let you do this."
Jason grinned up at him, squinting against the sunlight. It was a warm Friday afternoon, a far cry from the weather over the last week, and the team was finally back on the track after spending weeks in the workout room. It felt great to actually be running again, and even though his calves were still giving him a little trouble, he was loving every minute of it.
"I'm surprised, too," Kyle's little brother agreed. His brown curls, as unruly as his older sibling's, were sandy in the sunlight. "He usually doesn't go for stuff like this."
"Well, it helps that he had a meeting after school and won't be out for another ten minutes," Jason replied, standing up as well. Fourteen of his teammates were still sprawled before him, passing around small cans of red, white, and blue paint. They had all agreed to help him ask Elizabeth to prom, and the plan was coming together nicely. Brenda just had to hold her inside for another five minutes, and they'd be golden.
"There, I think that about does it," Sonny announced, glancing at the boys. Most of them were done, and the wet paint on their chest was glistening as the sunshine and warmth in the air slowly dried it.
"Good," Jason nodded. "Let's line up, then, and see how we look."
He stood back and motioned different boys forward – first the E, then the L, and everyone slowly fell into place. When they had all lined up in single file, Jason surveyed them like a drill sergeant.
"Good, good," he muttered, pacing down the row. Together, the boys spelled Elizabeth – Prom, with Jason himself being the ever-popular question mark. "Yeah, we're good."
Sonny called out from his place at the end of the line as M. "Where do we start from?"
Jason glanced back at the school and then at the gates to the track. "Well, they'll be coming from the parking lot, so I figure we should line up at the far curve, starting at the straightway."
His best friend nodded. "All right, let's go."
Max led the line to where Jason had motioned, and the boys checked their order one last time. "Are we good to go?" the sophomore asked, looking to Jason for instruction.
Jason nodded once. "Yeah. Now all we have to do is wait for them to come to the gate."
"Hurry up, Beth," Brenda growled, stomping on the floor with her bright red tennis shoes. "Let's go."
"Hold up, hold up," Elizabeth called out, waving a hand at her. The brunette was currently engrossed in deep conversation with Luke Spencer, and didn't show any signs of moving.
With an exaggerated sigh, Brenda flounced over to the twosome. "Luke," she grinned cattily. "Hi. So good to see you. Look, we've got to go before the second Ice Age sets in, so…"
She latched onto her best friend's arm and Elizabeth allowed herself to be pulled away. "I'll talk to you later, Luke, and we'll figure this out," she assured her friend as she waved goodbye. "Call me tonight or something."
Whirling back on Brenda, she gave her friend a mild glare. "Well, that was rude."
"Oh, what do I care?" Brenda asked, throwing her hands in the air. "All I know is that Sonny wanted to show me something, so damn it, we're going to see what he's up to."
Elizabeth sighed and clambered down the steps in her powder blue flip-flops. It was a warm day, which meant she could finally wear her yellow, green, and blue plaid skirt along with the matching blue tank top. "Fine, fine," she muttered.
Brenda smirked discreetly, barely able to contain her excitement. She knew exactly what "Sonny" was going to show "her" – something that would make Elizabeth and all of their friends very happy.
Shockwaves had been sent rippling through their entire group after Jason's gullibility comment after school two days ago, when the friends had finally figured out that he had meant to ask her the whole time.
They'd confronted him about it on Thursday morning, and the confession was followed by major teasing and playful ribbing. Thankfully, everyone had the good sense and common decency to keep mum about Jason's secret plans – the ones that only Sonny knew about – and not let on that anything was up. So Elizabeth remained blissfully ignorant, and Jason had gone back to his scheming.
And while Brenda wasn't entirely sure what was waiting for them on the track, she was sure that this was it.
Elizabeth breathed in the warm air as soon as they stepped out of the building. Brenda, seeing that her friend intended on standing for a moment to appreciate the beauty of the day, latched on to her elbow and tugged her toward the parking lot.
Jason's blue eyes followed them as they made their way down the crosswalk and toward the gates to the track. Normally, students that weren't on the track team waited just inside the open gates, and he was sure that was what Sonny had instructed Brenda to do.
Brenda's brown eyes darted across the track and the field in the middle, searching for Sonny or Jason. She spied Jason first as he stepped into his place at the rear of the line, and had to bite her lip to keep from smiling broadly at him. He lifted a hand in recognition, and Brenda glanced at her friend to see if she had seen.
Elizabeth was currently too occupied with the contents of her purse as she searched for her chapstick to notice. Brenda nodded once and a wave made its way up the line as Jason instructed Max to start.
The youngest member of the varsity team glanced over his shoulder one last time to double-check, and at Jason's curt nod, he grinned and began to sprint down the track. The rest of the boys followed suit at the comfortable distance of two paces, and the line was quickly making its way down the springy black turf.
Elizabeth glanced up in time to see Max pass her by, her questioning eyes falling on the blue and red E on her chest. Eight more boys later, she had realized that the letters were spelling her name.
"What in the world?" she mumbled in confusion as Kyle jogged past, grinning cheekily at her, with a single red and blue dash on his chest.
Brenda giggled, hopping up and down on her toes. This was better than she had imagined. As close as she had recently become with Jason, she would never have imagined that he'd pull something as elaborate as this out of his hat. Each member of the varsity team had perfectly color-coordinated letters painted on their bare chests, and all of them were clothed only in their matching blue track shorts and their runners' socks and sneakers. It was a lovely day for the demonstration, too – the bright sunlight and humidity had already created a light sheen of sweat on their lean bodies, and Brenda couldn't say she minded the view.
Sonny was bringing up the rear, his M long dry and starting to crust ever so slightly, and he could hear Jason's even breathing behind him. Everything was going great – from what he could see, Elizabeth already understood what was going on, and stood stunned next to an ecstatic Brenda. He had to give his best friend some credit; this was quite possibly one of his best ideas yet. It was unique and fun and ostentatious enough to remain a PC legend for at least a few years to come. Reluctantly, he had to admit it was even better than the ask-your-date-over-the-intercom approach.
Suddenly, he heard a sharp intake of air behind him, almost a hiss, and his brows furrowed in concern. "Jason?"
"What?" His best friend's voice was strained as his sneakers pounded on the track. He struggled to keep his breathing regular and his movements controlled.
"You okay, man?"
He swallowed thickly. "Fine," came the smooth reply.
Sonny remained unsure but kept on jogging. A smirk rose to his lips when he saw how close she was. Her eyes, though still slightly confused, were dazzling at the sight before her. A small crowd had gathered beyond the gates – teachers, some parents, and a lot of students. The underclassmen were gawking at the makeshift parade, once again awestruck at the courtship rituals of their superiors.
Jason stumbled slightly behind him, bringing his clenched fist in glancing contact of Sonny's shoulder blade. The Cuban tried to look back over his shoulder but couldn't get a good view.
"Jason?"
"I'm fine," his friend assured him.
Sonny's brows furrowed. He wasn't convinced at all; Jason didn't even sound convinced. His worried eyes found the gate once more. Coach Preuss was out now and standing next to Elizabeth, who was grinning from ear to ear. His coach was smirking and must have said something to the girls, because they both laughed.
Jason's eyes were glued to the black track as he silently willed himself to keep running. Sharp pain was shooting up his legs, electrifying his calf muscles and bringing burning white spots to his eyes.
"Damn it," he cursed, looking up to where Elizabeth stood several paces ahead of him. The line moved onward as Max led them down the straightway on his way to their starting point on the far end of the track.
Jason hissed once more when he missed a step and almost stumbled into Sonny. One hand found his right calf, squeezing tightly in an effort to make the pain subside as the other extended sideways as of its own volition to balance his body.
He had slowed down significantly now, and it felt as if time had slowed down with him. Sonny had turned around and was jogging backwards, his speed rapidly decreasing with each step as he tried to both help his friend and keep out of his way at the same time.
He glanced at Elizabeth, and saw the confusion – this time, apprehensive and wary – etched into her face, into her eyes. Her sapphire orbs met his coal ones, and Sonny knew his facial expression mirrored hers.
Next to her, Coach Preuss had shot into action and was running to them, each step a far-extending bound. Sonny quickly moved to the side in an effort to keep Jason from stumbling over him and possibly hurting himself beyond what ever it was he was suffering from at the moment.
Jason was trying to bring himself to a stop, and the pain grew more and more blinding with each step until the muscles in his legs gave out underneath him and he tumbled onto the track.
Elizabeth's sharp cry of his name rang through the air as she immediately dropped her books on the pavement and ran up onto the track. Sonny jumped over to his best friend at the same time that Coach did, the both of them kneeling on the track next to the stricken athlete, who was on his back and hugging his knees to his chest.
"#$," Jason got out, clenching his eyes tightly shut as his fingers dug into his shins.
"Jason?" Sonny's voice was sharp and edgy as his hand squeezed his best friend's shoulder. "Jason, man, are you okay?" He knew it was a stupid question before he said it, but that didn't stop the words from spilling out of his mouth. "What's going on?"
"Can you tell us, son?" Coach Preuss demanded as his large hands pressed against Jason's legs, probing to see if he felt more pain in one area compared to another. "What happened? How did this happen?"
Sonny frantically searched for words as Elizabeth dropped to the ground next to him. She agitatedly swept her hair behind her ear and gently lifted Jason's head, cradling it in her lap as he struggled to draw in breath.
"We…we were running, Coach," Sonny tried to explain as Jason wheezed against the pain. "I-we were running and he was fine, but it wasn't even a half-lap until he started feeling it."
"Feeling what?" his coach practically yelled. "Come on – what was it?"
"I heard him hiss, Coach, like he was in pain, but when I asked him he said he was fine." Sonny's words were a mile a minute as he helped Elizabeth half-lift Jason into a sitting position. "And then he kind of stumbled and hit me, and then he started falling. I – I don't know what to tell you."
"Jason?" Coach Preuss's fingers squeezed the boy's shoulders roughly. "Jason, come on, can you tell me how bad it is? Scale of one to ten?"
"#$ twenty," Jason hissed, his fingers white from where they were still squeezing his calf muscles. "I don't know how it happened – it was never this bad before."
"Before?" the coach repeated. "This happened before?"
"I thought it was cramps," Jason managed to explain. "#$, this really kills."
Andy Preuss didn't know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened under his watch before – and this time, he didn't even know what his captain was suffering from. He looked up at Sonny, who had turned alarmingly pale, and decided the boy had no more information that could be of any use. They both stared at each other helplessly as Jason writhed between them.
Elizabeth's dainty sniff snapped him out of his silent reverie, and Andy watched as she gently stroked Jason's long hair and blinked back her tears of worry. When she looked up at him, Andy shook off his dread and stood up, but not before making sure Sonny and Elizabeth could support the boy.
"Brenda," he barked, spinning around to face the stunned brunette. "Call 911 – now. Tell them to get an ambulance here right away. You," he spit out, pointing at one of his track boys. "Run inside and go to the Nurses Office. Tell them what happened and that we're calling for help."
His green eyes darted to Brenda, who met his gaze and nodded back as she talked to the dispatcher. In an instant, she clicked her phone shut and ran closer.
"They said they're sending out an ambulance," she informed the coach breathlessly. Her brown eyes were laced with fear and guilt over her friend's injury. "They said to keep him off his feet and try not to move him until the paramedics come."
Without a word, Andy marched back over to his captains and Elizabeth. "Jason," he said softly, holding the boy's shoulder in his strong grip. "They're sending over an ambulance, okay? They're going to take a look at you, and you're going to be just fine. You're going to be just fine, okay?"
Jason nodded bravely and removed his hands, trying to slightly extend his legs. The pain responded with renewed force and he coiled back, grounding his teeth. Next to him, Sonny had no idea what to do, and alternated between squeezing his best friend's knee and gripping his shoulder.
Elizabeth pressed a soft kiss to Jason's temple and resumed stroking his hair, too stricken by the incident to do anything other than that. Her gaze met Sonny and she had to bite her lip to keep the tears from flooding her eyes.
The quick jolt of pain did her good, because she was aware enough to hear an ambulance's wailing siren in the distance.
"They're coming," she said in a low voice to no one in particular. She looked down at Jason, whose brows were furrowed. Despite the pain that shrouded his intense blue eyes, they were sharper than before and blazing. "They're here, Jason."
He nodded and gritted his teeth. His long fingers continued to dig into his shins as he tried to numb out the pain by creating a greater one.
The white ambulance tore down the entrance lane to the school and screeched to a halt in the parking lot right outside the gate. A team of paramedics rushed from the vehicle carrying their duffels and wheeling a stretcher.
Coach Preuss stood up and Sonny followed suit as he was half-pushed out of the way by a focused paramedic. The two of them gently pulled Elizabeth back and turned Jason over to the experts, watching helplessly as they probed him and asked him questions before lifting him onto a stretcher and securing him in place.
Brenda moved noiselessly up to join them, standing next to Coach Preuss. Her brown eyes, usually so bright and full of sparks, fell listlessly on her friend as he propped himself up on one elbow to talk to the man who was securing his legs onto the stretcher.
After a moment, Brenda glanced up at the coach and informed him that the office had already called Jason's parents and emergency contacts. Coach Preuss nodded numbly, just as affected by the sight of his captain on a stretcher as the rest of his friends were.
Elizabeth sniffled and brought up a trembling hand to cover her mouth. It had all been so sudden – one minute, he was smiling at her and running in line while his friends helped him ask her to prom. And the next – the next, he was lying practically paralyzed on the ground. Carefree and energized one moment, injured and stricken the next.
Sonny glanced down at her and noticed that her shoulders were shaking. Wordlessly, he reached out and wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders, pulling her solidly to his chest. She didn't resist, just letting him hold her there. Her blue eyes never wavered from Jason's form, and she was furious when the first of her tears, pooling inside her eyes like liquid glass, slipped and shattered against her cheeks.
Behind her, Johnny sighed and rubbed one hand over his face. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen at all. A deep dread descended upon him as he watched Sonny's fingers gently rub Elizabeth's shoulder. The brunette blinked rapidly and extricated herself from Sonny's grip. Her friend watched as she scrubbed her tears from her cheeks, wanting to help but not knowing what to do.
A paramedic got out a needle and filled it with some sort of liquid, and Sonny closed his eyes before the shot was administered. He hated needles. It was the one thing he just couldn't deal with.
The liquid must have been some sort of muscle relaxer or an extremely powerful painkiller, because some of the pain that had so visibly distorted Jason's features seemed to gradually dissipate. He appeared calmer now, and was still propped up on his elbows.
For the first time, he turned slightly and looked over at the four of them – Sonny, Elizabeth, Coach Preuss, and Brenda, all standing in a line. His teammates were scattered behind them, all of them shocked and stricken by the sudden turn of events.
Elizabeth looked as if she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red, and even at his distance, it was clear that her hands were trembling.
In the flurry of activity that continued as the paramedics prepared to load him into the cab of the ambulance, Jason captured her tearful gaze with his. Lifting one free hand, he waved once.
"I'll be fine."
She blinked at the sound of his voice, no longer strained and raw. Her nod was almost imperceptible as Jason called out to her once more.
"And I'll see you later."
