THURSDAY - THE DAY BEFORE THE GAME

It's one day until the homecoming game. One day until the chaos that comes with it. Today, though, is the day I have to write a big essay on police brutality. Not just any police brutality, but police brutality against the most targeted race group: BIPOC. Honestly, as a biracial kid, I've always felt as if I never properly fit in. Oh, and for the record, yes, I am biracial. My mother is pure European while my dad is European and Cuban. I think the Cuban part makes me Latino, so I never thought I was really accepted by anyone. Not only that, but my skin color kind of played a part in things as well, seeing as how I appear more… well, melanated, in a sense. My skin color is like a slightly lighter shade of light brown—go figure—but everyone just assumes or has assumed that I am a pure White American because I have blue eyes. I'm a person of color at the end of the day, and that's all that matters. As I'm writing my essay, I hear a knock on the door. I'm thinking it's Dash, but it can't be. He's at practice right now, plus he has a key, so it can't be him. I walk over to the door and hesitate before opening it. Sure enough, Kwan is standing right there. "Kwan?" I asked, not even hiding my irritation. "What the hell do you want?"

His grin spread a little wider. "Is Dash here?"

"No. He's at practice—you know, the place you should be at instead of coming to fuck with me." I shot back, crossing my arms.

"Oh, come on. You think I'm harassing you or something? I'm just being nice. I mean, can't a guy check on his teammate?"

I roll my eyes. "Kwan. I don't have time for your shit, okay? I got a paper to write that's due in the morning, and honestly, if you were actually being a nice person, you wouldn't be standing at my door. You'd actually be at practice… with the team, like you're supposed to be."

He chuckled smugly, and looked me up and down. "You know what, Fenton? You should learn how to relax. I get it: you've got a huge assignment or whatever and it's stressing you out. No reason for you to act like such a hardass, though." Kwan made the bold choice of stepping closer to me, and leaning towards my ear. "I think you should come by the frat house sometime. The guys could show you a good time, maybe help you calm down." He whispered, tracing a line down my shoulder. "Unless, you want me to show you one, instead." He lingered a little longer before giving me a light kiss on the cheek.

The thought of being near him, let alone be in that frat house with him, makes me want to throw up. It's not that I don't like the frat guys, they're actually pretty cool once I got to know them. It's just… him. I know what he's trying to say, too. He deserves a slap for that, but I'm going to let it go. I took a deep breath as he stepped back, shoving his hands into his letterman jacket. "Go to hell, asshole. Okay?" I replied with a smile. "And uh, leave me alone while you're at it."

Kwan immediately threw his hands up in a mocking way and stepped further away from the door. "Alright, alright. Not a problem. Just tell Dash I was looking for him, will you? Maybe you and I can talk when you want to… lose some of that tension." He walked away soon after.

I slammed the door shut and leaned my back against it, groaning in frustration. WHY did that idiot have to come and fuck with me, even after what Dash did to him the last time? Know what, I'm not going to even waste my time and worry about it. Taking a few deep breaths, I walked back over to my desk and sat back down to resume typing my essay. I refuse to let anything—especially Kwan's sleazy actions—stop me from finishing this assignment on time.

The fitness gym was practically empty, seeing as how it's 10:00pm, but Dash was there like he always is on practice nights. He had pushed himself harder than ever this week, both academically and physically. All because of the game tomorrow night. Dash Baxter is known for his intense workout style, which I've been able to luckily adapt to. Tonight, though, was different. Every punch that landed on the punching bag and every drop of sweat from his head felt like a release from the stress of the week. Even still, something was bothering him. It felt like a nagging feeling that he just couldn't shake. Not only was it the pressure of the game or the expectations of the team, it was something more personal, something that had been bothering him since he left practice earlier that night.

He was thinking about me.

He hadn't seen me since before practice, and had a feeling I was working on my essay in our dorm, which is due tomorrow morning. Normally, Dash wouldn't think too much about me handling my work—I tend to have everything pretty much taken care of. Regardless of how much pressure and stress I'm under, I get it done. This has been a rough few weeks for me, but I still push myself to get it all done on time. However, there was something that didn't sit well with him when it came to me. Maybe it's because I've been under so much pressure and several time constraints, or maybe it's his own nerves getting the better of him. Either way, he thought that something was off.

"'Sup, Dash? Got a good workout in?" Kwan voiced as he entered the gym just as Dash was finishing up. A smirk was plastered on his face.

"Were you at my dorm earlier?" He asked, his voice low as he punched the bag a little bit more.

There was a flicker of something strange in Kwan's eyes, and Dash instantly hated it. "Yeah, just wanted to check and see if you were there. No big deal, right?"

In his usual Dash way, he chuckled and looked at Kwan. The glare was cold and as icy as ever. He paused his punches for a moment. "No big deal… you know, I'd believe that, but it's a huge deal. It's a big deal because Danny is involved. You know that. You think I'm stupid? You think I don't know what you were doing there? I would've put your head in the dirt if I was there."

"Jesus Christ, Dash. Relax, sheesh. It's not like I started anything. Just messing around with him."

Dash got quiet for a second, presumably to relax himself, before replying back. His final punch was the loudest one, which made Kwan jump a little. "You remember the last time you were just "messing around" with him? Back in junior year? Kwan, you and two other guys brutally attacked him. You thought I forgot what you three did? I broke one guy's arm, gave another a broken jaw, and what I did to you… you should be lucky that I'm even allowing you in my space right now, let alone the fact that you're still alive."

Kwan's cocky demeanor cracked slightly, the memory returning to his mind. He had been part of the group that hazed me back in junior year, but when Dash found out… Dash went insane, seeing red in a way that had scared everyone around him. He had come within an inch of beating Kwan to death, and if it hadn't been for the intervention of their football coach, the star athlete would have hauntingly succeeded.

"Yeah, I remember. But that was years ago." Cocky son–of–a–bitch.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"I get it, Dash." Kwan muttered, his tone finally serious. "Okay? I'm not trying to start shit. I just—"

"You just what?" Dash cut him off as he stepped in front of his teammate, his voice cold and hard. "You think you can come back into his life after you and two other guys almost took it away from him, flirt with him, and I'm just going to let it slide? No fucking way." He got closer to Kwan, the two now nose–to–nose. "You mess with him again, and I'll make sure you regret it. I don't care if you're on the team, I don't care if we're supposed to be teammates. You come near him, and I'll finish what I started junior year… I swear on my life. If you mess with Danny again, I swear on my life, Kwan… I will fucking kill you. You got that?"

Kwan swallowed, his bravado fully shattered under the intensity of Dash's glare and haunting warning. "Yeah, I got it." He muttered, taking a step back. "I won't go near him again. I promise."

"Good." Dash growled, the finality in his tone leaving no room for argument. "Now, get the fuck out of here. Oh, and if I hear you even thinking about pulling something like that again, I'm throwing you off the team. I don't need you on this team if you're going to act like a fucking moron."

Kwan didn't need to be told twice. He turned on his heel and left the gym, his steps hurried, as if he couldn't get away fast enough. Dash watched him go, the tension in his shoulders slowly easing as the gym doors swung shut behind Kwan.

With a heavy sigh, Dash wiped his face and finally took a seat to reset himself. His heart was still pounding, the adrenaline from the confrontation making it hard to calm down. One thing Dash will always admit to is being blunt and direct about how he feels. That's just part of who he is. He knew he'd have to tell me about this, and he wasn't looking forward to it. I had enough to deal with without worrying about Kwan's bullshit, but at least now it was dealt with. At least now, Dash could protect me, just like he always had. I love that he's always been overprotective of me.

"I promised Jazz I'd protect her little brother with my life and that I'd destroy anyone with a pulse that threatens him, and damn it, I'm gonna keep it if it's the last thing I do." He promised my sister that he'd protect me. By any means necessary.

As he picked up his bag and left the gym, the cool night air hitting his face, Dash knew one thing for sure: nothing was going to come between him and I. Not Kwan, not the team, not even the pressure of tomorrow's game. We had each other, and that was all that mattered.