Hut!

Teeny Tiny Twilight

When coach came in, he made Edward go sit down, giving him a dark look. He was grumpier then usual through out the whole practice, extra suicides, ball running, constant rebounds, then finally at the end of the practice he had uneven gaming. The entire team against our best players, Tyler, and me. I didn't mind especially since it kept my eyes away from the bench.

We only lost by a slim margin. Tyler was quiet, disappointed, and angry that he had lost. He might as well have been stomping around the court cursing for all his body language said. I tried to ignore him as I congratulated our opposition, "Nice Mike," I winked, "You almost got that ball around me once."

Mike sighed dramatically, shaking my hand, "Almost, but nothing gets past you huh?"

I let mock surprise colour my face, "What are you talking about? Any thing higher then this"—I jumped up in the air, arms high—"gets past me."

A deep resonating voice laughed from beside me, "I can fix that." Jared picked me up and set me down on his shoulder's "Hey look guys! We'll be able to see Bella now!"

Alex, a quick boy with long legs, threw me the basket Ball. I caught it, and Jared ran us to the net to I could make a slam-dunk. I grabbed onto the hoop, dangling in the air, "My first slam dunk!" I cried, happily, grinning at all the guys who were halfway hysterical with laughter. "Um,"—I dangled—"Can someone get me down now?"

"Hang in there Bella!" I turned surprised to hear Alice. She was there, and beside her were a tall blonde-haired person with dark eyes, and a burly boy that I knew from pictures to be Alice's brother. Rose was beside Edward, hissing something at him with an exasperated expression. Edward did not look like he was listening.

My fingers slipped off the hoop. I fell, bending my knees instinctively from my other sport. Trampoline gymnastics, but those did not start until the spring, so I had could comfortably focus on my schooling and basketball. Apparently, I did not have to worry though, because Emmett had gotten up from Alice's side to catch me. I grinned at him, thankful.

He grinned back, his childlike brown eyes crinkled from how big he was smiling back at me, "Edward told us all about you."

My smile lessened and I glared at Edward, "Really?"

Edward frowned, looking confused at my anger. Emmett nodded, oblivious to my subject of scrutiny, "Yea, says your one hell of a ball player. He also said you promised to play a game of football with him after practice."



"Really?" I internally kicked myself for the football comment on the elevator. I should have known he would have twisted my words.

Emmett put me down, "Yea and I wanted to know if I could play with you guys, unless it's a date or something, then never mind."

"It's not a date, don't worry. I'd love for you to play with us." I smiled to myself; he would not be able to deny my beating him when there were witnesses.

"Awesome! Hey Jasper, she says I can play!"

I stopped, taking another look at the blond boy who was waving back at Emmett, his expression amused. Was that Jasper? As in Alice's Jasper? Jasper Whitlock? Alice had not told me that Jasper was spending the weekend with her. Knowing Alice, she would have been bouncing off the walls all week chattering non-stop about it.

"Swan!" coach called me over; he was regarding Tyler's sulking with especially unhappy eyes.

"Yes coach?" I asked, wincing as I turned away from the bench. It was technically still practice time, and he did not like us socializing during his time.

"Nice playing today, I'll be at a teachers workshop on Monday afternoon, so I won't be here for practice."

"Oh, so are you cancelling it, or will we just get up before class Monday?" I hopped desperately that I would not have to get up at five thirty to go to practice, just to come home and shower before rushing to my classes.

"No, same time, I just want you to be conducting them while I'm gone. Mrs. Springett will be supervising, and I'll be back here for Thursday's practice."

"O-okay." I stuttered confused but comfortable with the arrangement. Coach asked some people to watch the team if he had to do little things, like print forms, or copy schedules, but never before an entire class.

"Have a nice weekend Bella," he sighed, his usual dismissal.

"You too," I called, running back to the guys. "Coach let us off for the night, he wants us back here Monday afternoon same as always."

Alex must have caught something on my face, because he frowned, "What did he say to you?"

I smirked, "Wants me to try and beat some sense into you"—I sighed dramatically, shaking my head—"I told him it was a doomed effort but he just wouldn't listen."

Jared laughed, pulling my ponytail out of my hair, "Don't get too cocky there shorty, you still can't dunk like the pro." He pointed both thumbs inward.



I laughed, jumping for my hair band. Mike eventually stole it back from him and gave it to me. I grinned at him before I hurried to the change room to change. The guys kept on playing together. I knew they were trying to make me more comfortable by letting me change alone.

When I came out in my old jeans and a dark brown shirt Jared whistled teasingly at me. I struck a pose and flipped my tangled unwashed hair over my shoulder. That just set them off again.

I went over to the bench smiling kindly at Jasper, my cheeks still flushed from practice, "Hi, I'm Bella." I politely offered my hand. I was not going to embarrass Alice by letting on that I already knew who he was.

"Jasper Whitlock, I'm Alice's boyfriend. Sorry to drop by so suddenly, I still thought that Alice was alone in her room."

"Don't worry about it, I don't move in until Monday anyways."

Something over my shoulder caught his attention, and he grinned, amused. Edward was behind me, his face twisted like he had tasted something bad. I raised an eyebrow at him. "I think I just ate my words. They don't taste good the second time around." He grinned at me.

I scoffed, "Is that the only apology I'm getting for your little stunt this morning?"

Rosalie came up to lean on his shoulder, "Be happy he even apologized at all, he usually just pretends not to notice that his sister is right!" she growled the last part.

Edward was still smiling, ignoring Rose, "So you ready for that game?"

I crossed my arms, "Depends, you ready to eat dirt?"

He patted my head affectionately, "There, there don't worry, we won't play tackle football."

I slapped his hand away from me, "Why not? That's the funest way to play."

"Most fun," Emmett corrected teasingly, "And I agree with Bella, tackle is way more fun then some sissy touch game."

Edward flicked Emmett in the head, "Dude, we'll crush her."

"Hey, I'm going into this knowing that football is a tough sport, I know that, and I don't care. Anyways, you can't tackle what you can't catch." I smirked.

Edward and Emmett started at me for a minute, then Emmett smacked Edward's shoulder, "Hey! I like this one!"

He held up his giant fisted hand to mine, I pounded my comparatively tiny one against his. I turned to Jasper and the girls, "You want to play too?"



Jasper grinned, shaking his head, "No Alice and I are just going to watch, catch up." He murmured smiling as he looked softly at Alice. Alice was almost glowing as she took his hand and led him onto the path that leads to the big playing field at the bottom of the hill.

I looked at Rose, questioningly. She shook her head, "No Emmett and I will sit out the first couple games. I want to see who wins this."

She walked out after Alice and Jasper. Emmett followed her, whining the whole way. I situated my gym bag a little more comfortably on my shoulder before calling a farewell to the guys and walking out the door.

I sighed as I pulled my hair back up into a messy bun, looking forward to a nice hot shower when I got home.

Edward shortened his strides to walk next to me, his smile was confident. I raised an eyebrow at him. He chuckled, "I'll admit your good at basketball, but football is mine." He stepped in front of me. I stopped, crossing my arms. His crooked smile aggravated me, "I'm just worried about crushing you. I'd hate to see you cry."

I let my hand flutter over my heart, "Oh, that's so sweet of you. You must be a sensitive guy, worrying about hurting women. I'm glad you've kept chivalry alive all these years." He smiled, nodding his head in agreement. I pushed past him, walking towards the field. I shook my head, wondering how men like him existed in a world like this.

He caught up with me quickly, walking backwards so he could watch my face as he spoke, "That was sarcasm."

"You're a quick one."

"Is there a reason why you don't like me? Other then my sister exaggerations." He rolled his eyes at that.

I smiled kindly at him, "I don't do long distance relationships."

His eyebrows came together. I waved at him, "See you next fall."

He still did not understand until the back of the bench hit the back of his legs and he went over it, landing with a painful sounding thump on the black asphalt. His pained groan was like a sweet melody to my ears. I smiled to myself, skipping onto the field.

"Edward's head over heals." Emmett laughed. Alice was doubled over with laughter, while Jasper politely turned away to try and hid his amusement.

"Shut up." Edward snapped, brushing himself off. Little pieces of black top plinked onto the asphalt in a tiny shower of black sand.



I watched, pursing my lips to keep from laughing. He looked like a little boy as he walked onto the field, dignity shattered on the ground underneath the bench.

I smiled as he came to stand in front of me, obviously trying to intimidate me with his size. I picked a piece of earth that was stuck stubbornly to his shoulder. "You look good in the dirt, it suits you."

He scowled at me, and went to grab a football from underneath the bleacher's first row. Rose whispered something to Alice, and they both turned to look at me, giggling. Once they caught my gaze, they looked away, suddenly interested in the chalk outlines in the grass.

I let that slip, just one of the many thoughts that I pushed from my mind. Little grains of sand slipping between my fingers. I didn't doubt what Edward had said, he was a good player, but I also knew that there was no way in hell I was going to go down without a good fight. I promised myself he would eat dirt at least once this game. He talked enough of it.

My stomach flipped with nervousness as I took my position opposite to him. He handed me the ball solemnly. This time there was no confident smirk, no condescending glance.

I swallowed convulsively as I looked past him at the touch down line behind him. It seemed so far away. I let that grain of sand fall all too willingly from my mind.

"Three, two—"

"Wait!" I called out to Emmett; as he counted down to start us off.

"Chickening out?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow as if he figured as much.

I pulled the ponytail out of my hair and put it onto my wrist, and then I shook out my hair so it cascaded over my shoulder in long dark curtains, "You wish. I just wanted to make it as apparent as I possibly can that you're going to get your ass kicked by a girl." I smiled.

"Don't break a nail," he mocked. I fluttered my eyelashes back at him, sarcastic smile pulling at my lips.

"Three, two, one," my body curled, adrenalin pumping through my veins, like blood it seemed to flow so thickly. "Hut!"

The spring uncoiled and my body shot forward. I ducked under him, too close to his body for him to get a proper grasp on me, and then, as I went to push off, I pushed my heel into the back of his knee, collapsing his leg and giving me a head start.

There was a gasp of surprise from behind me, and then a curse. I was not focusing so much on the touch down line, the ribbon of white sewn into the grass, but on any kind of movement in my peripheral vision. I knew, roughly, where he was, could somehow hear his breathing over my gasps and the pounding of my feet.



Finally, I caught what I was looking for. I spun to the right just in time for his reaching fingers to glide against the bare skin of my arm, gentle as a soft wind and then it passed just as quickly as he could not find purchase.

I made it. I made it! I screamed my victory as I flew over the grass, over the little white blotches, the wind created from my own movement flew behind me, and the freedom was exhilarating. I moved so swiftly that I hardly felt the ground under my feet as I passed the last line.

"Touch down!" I held my prize over my head, turning around, euphoric at my triumph. Alice and Rose were screaming, Emmett hooted, pounding his fist in the air, Jasper's laughter rang out and he clapped.

I saved the best for last. Edward got up off the ground, picking pieces of grass out of his mouth. He spat, making a face at the taste. "Hey Edward!" I called, waving the ball in the air, "I didn't even break a nail!"

Edward growled, "Give me the ball." I pranced over to him, grinning like a fool and handed him the ball. We took our positions again; he held the ball to the ground, burning holes into my head. His glare fierce.

"Three, two, one" I watched his hand carefully, the tips of his finger's were relaxed, no weight was on them. I smiled to myself. He was going to run. "Hut!"

As I had predicted, he did not jump, but instead set off for a full run. His legs were longer then mine and if I let him out of my reach, I would never catch him. I laced my arm through his, stealing the ball from him, and then I took off running again. This time I was at a disadvantage though. I had no head start and I could feel him coming up behind me.

I closed my eyes tightly, cradling the football against my chest. Then a wall of flesh and muscle hit me very hard, very fast, and when he landed on top of me, he was very heavy. A collection of our speed and his weight made us slid against the grass, grinding me into the earth. I had, managed to twist my body so I could protect my face.

When we stopped moving I was gasping for air, his weight on top of me made it impossible to drag in a breath. I still had the ball clutched tightly into my breast and I grinned, pleased with myself. The screaming of my lungs was nothing compared to the thumping of my heart, pulverizing my rips.

Edward moved to look at me then, his eyes horror struck, "Oh God Bella! I am so sorry, I wasn't even thinking. Can you move? Did I break anything?"

I snorted, trying to push his mass off of me, "I'm proud of you Edward"—I patted his head—"I didn't think you'd actually tackle me, I thought you'd wimp out at the last second."

He blinked. "I…What?"

I was struggling to get him off me now; he rolled off me and extended his hand to help me up. I took it, still a little winded. I looked at the scar we had left in the once smooth green grass, the dark earth bleeding through the thick green.



Edward was looking too. He rubbed the back of his neck, a guilty look on his face. I moved to make a line in the grass, "This is the scrimmage line, my ball."

"Bella are you sure you're not hurt? I have to be at least twice your weight."

Alice had her hand over her mouth, concern etched into her forehead. Jasper patted her back, whispering assurances in her ear.

I rolled my eyes at Edward's comment, "You're not that good. Besides"—I smirked at him over my shoulder as I went to take my position, "I'm tough."

The air left his lungs in a whooshing sound, and he grinned stupidly. I sighed, shaking my head. Men.

Through out the rest of the game I only scored one other touch down, while Edward got three. The score was 2:3 and I was pleased to find that he did not hold back now, no longer afraid of hurting me. I had a swell of pride making me forget my exhaustion as I saw that he was panting just as hard as I was.

We were lined up, my ball. I could not quite put my finger on why but I felt a trill of fear flash down my spine as I looked back into Edward's eyes.

"Hut!"

I missed what happened, it moved too fast. One minute I was facing Edward, the next I was completely horizontal in the air, and then a weight pushed me down and I hit the earth so hard that I was sure I should have broken through the soft grass and earth, and fallen all the way through to the bedrock. The air left my lungs in a painful whooshing that burned my throat, and I struggled to pull air back in.

Edward was standing over me grinning, the football tucked under his arm. That hit would have left someone even as big as Emmett on the ground for a few minutes at least. I forced my limp limbs to move, to push myself up off the ground, still out of breath.

I braced myself against my knees, gasping for breath.

"Come on Bella, I thought you were tough." He teased, punching my shoulder playfully. It upset my delicate balance though, and I stumbled to the side and fell down again. I closed my eyes, concentrating on each painful breath, trying to get enough strength to get up and kick his ass.

He leaned over me, concerned, "Bella? You okay?"

I opened my eyes, a surge of rage replenishing my energy, "You're dead."

He gulped. I jumped up. From the side I heard Rosalie and the others cheering me on. We took out positions again, he held the ball with one hand, and the other was braced against the grass.

I prepared myself to throw all my weight at him, bracing my legs.

"Hut!"



As I expected him to, he went to run past me. I twisted my leg around his, setting him off balance before I threw my whole 110 pounds at him. He went down, not nearly as hard as I had, but I felt pride lift my features.

Rose was going wild, Alice was standing on the bleachers shouting cheers and screaming my name. I smiled hugely at them; my fist punched the air in victory.

Instead of gloating, I probably should have been paying attention. Edward jumped on me, knocking me down, but his arms created a brace around my body, protecting me from most of the fall.

"Hey!" I cried, once I had gotten my bearings back, "You can't tackle me; I'm not even holding the ball!"

"Oops," he chuckled, "My bad."

His pocket buzzed against my thigh. He sighed, rolling off me and taking his phone out of his pocket. I lay where I was, eyes closed. I was ready to call it a day, I could probably fall asleep on the grass it was so soft. Somewhere between the extra hard practice today, sleep deprivation, and football with Edward, I had burned up all my energy.

"Millie?" Edward asked, sounding confused for a minute.

"Your Girlfriend." I whispered.

"Oh, Hey Millie…Yes." He nodded listening, looking board, "Yea, we're over…no, I don't think it's going to work out." He sighed, rolling his eyes, "No I don't have a girlfriend, I just don't think it's working….Friends? I don't know, we never really see each other anyways…. 'Kay, bye." He snapped his phone shut, slipping it back into his pocket.

I got up, feeling suddenly dirty.

"Where are you going?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

I grabbed my bag from the bottom of the bleacher, saying goodbye to my friends and Jasper. "Hey!" he called grabbing onto my wrist.

I ripped my wrist from his and slapped him as hard as I could, "Don't touch me." I spat, the words coming out distorted from between my clenched teeth.

"What?" He snapped, "What now?"

"You're the most disgusting, most pathetic excuse for a man that I have ever met, and I've met some real low lives. You go off and use your ex girlfriend like she's some…" I spluttered, trying to find the right word.

"Whore? Slut? Skank? Take your pick, she fits each description." He growled.



"I'm surprised you don't always have dirt all up the front of your shirt you snake. No that's not even the right term; at least a snake has a backbone." I hissed, each word rang strong and true in my anger.

As the shock passed, it made room for a vulnerability, and then anger. I pushed past him heatedly, and stomped the entire way to my room irate, ignoring the elevator. I could not believe I had wasted even the smallest sliver of my weekend with him.

When I got into my room, I threw my bag down onto the floor of the kitchen and went to get my shower ready. I muttered curses, roughly grabbing my clothes and a towel, and then shoving them on the toilet seat for myself when I got out.

I ran the water until the mirrors fogged up and only when I stepped into the steaming spray, the anger, and revolt trickling off my skin in hot little streams was I able to calm down.

"Don't worry about him," I muttered to myself, "I'll never have to see him again."

I sighed, as the filth from today was washed from my skin and swirling in tight little circles down the drain.

Never again, my thoughts whispered. I smiled.