ties that bind.
chapter 002.
the violent dog.

xxx.

"SHOOP" BY SALT-N-PEPA blared throughout the locker room, and while the other girls were busy hopping around, dancing with their arms in the air and bopping their heads along the song, Franny was busy elsewhere. She stood near her locker, holding onto it loosely as she felt it vibrating from the intensity of the music. She rose to the tips of her toes as she watched Jackie confidently sway her way out of the bathroom and into the locker room, though she was only there long enough to laugh at the girls' horrendous dancing; Franny watched, peering over her locker door to see Jackie go down the hall and into Coach Martinez's office.

Before she could wonder why, she was startled by a sudden and abrupt presence; a flash of blonde curly hair appeared in her peripherals, causing Franny to flinch when she realized that meant someone was standing next to her, waiting for her to break out of her awe-adorned daze to acknowledge them. She turned towards the visitor, slowly releasing her grip on the locker as she found herself looking down at the team's manager, Misty Quigley.

" Hey, Misty. " Franny murmured softly, almost inaudible, but the other girl didn't seem to mind. She almost instantly started jabbering off about how the practice jerseys and how she thought she lost one of them and hoped that they were too expensive because—

" My parents only give me an allowance the the beginning of the month, and I've already used mine, so I won't be able to buy a new one.. " Misty stated, having to take a deep inhale as she ran out of breath; it was like she was trying to say everything she needed to in a hurry, as if Franny would turn and walk away at any given moment. Maybe that was because other people had done that to her, but Franny had neither the balls or the confidence to do that. Lucky Misty.

Not that she really cared that much, Franny still found a bit of curiosity within herself. She seemed to zone back into the conversation, her brow quirking upwards, " Um..on what? "

Misty didn't seem to expect that response. She pushed her glasses up her face and smiled nervously, most likely embarrassed by whatever she was going to say next. Though the anticipation killed Franny a little, she lost interest in what she was saying as soon as she heard Coach Martinez's office door open, creaking on loose hinges that had needed fixed a month ago.

" Sorry, Misty, I, uh, I gotta— " Franny spoke over the short blonde, jerking her thumb over her shoulder as if she would understand. Misty's eyes trailed her gesture, but found nothing behind her of importance.

Still, the Quigley girl responded hesitantly, " Oh, right, I'll see you after the pep rally then! "

         Franny was already spinning on her heel before she could hear Misty's farewell begin, though she didn't have to walk very far. Almost a step in, she ran straight into Jackie, who was practically walking on air, a bright grin on her face.

        " Woah, Franny! " Jackie exclaimed, holding her palms up as the two of them stumbled back from bumping into each other. Still, the team captain recovered quickly, looking over the other girl's appearance before setting her hands on her hips, " Hey, you don't have any face paint on! "

" I..uh, I don't wanna break out. " Franny gave a lame excuse to why her cheek was bare of black and yellow paint, alike most of the rest of the team who had Yellowjackets adorning their faces. To quickly change the subject in hopes that Jackie wouldn't insist on painting one for her, Franny mentioned, " You seem happy. "

" Well, duh, we're going to fucking Nationals, Fran. " Jackie gave a short chuckle, and the response made Franny's face burn, but thankfully Jackie moved on, " Actually, you're just the person I was looking for. "

That phrase usually unnerved Franny; it almost always was followed by an expectation of her having to do something she didn't really want to do, but did just to satisfy whoever it was that asked. Franny braced herself, anticipating Jackie to ask her to tell her about Ms. Casinzky's physics test or to ask her to pump up the soccer balls before their practice.

Without missing a beat, Jackie said, " There's a party happening tonight at Randy's, to celebrate our win. I want you to come with me. "

First, Franny's face contorted at the mention of Randy's name, but then it shifted again when Jackie finished her statement. The blonde girl shook her head with another golden laugh, insisting, " I know, I know, but I promise Randy's house is not as disgusting as you might imagine, plus it's an outside party, so, plenty of room for the smell of B.O. and Slim Jims to fade into. "

Normally, Franny would agree to whatever it was Jackie asked or told her, simply out of admiration for her; a party, though, was honestly the last place someone like Franny should be. She was awkward, anti social, and enjoyed silence far more than the average teenage girl. If she went to the party, she'd likely just stick to the sidelines unless someone decided to come talk to her, and that just wouldn't be a pressing matter for a bunch of drunk teenagers.

Jackie must've seen the hesitance on Franny's face though. Her forehead wrinkled and she began to drown as she pleaded, " Oh, come on, Franny, you have to, the whole team is going. Tell you what, I'm not even giving you the option. You can come to my place after practice and get ready with Shauna and I, that way you have to go. "

She's basically telling you she's going to kidnap you after school, Franny thought to herself, but the idea didn't sound too horrible. Franny liked being around Jackie, maybe some of her bubbly and outgoing personality would rub off on her (it won't), but there was one problem with that plan.

Franny turned her head slightly to see Shauna, bopping her head along to the music with a grin on her face as she watched Mari and Charlie shout the lyrics in each others' faces. When Franny looked back to Jackie, she still wore a thin frown, not wanting to commit to being a third wheel all night.

" Please, Franny? " Jackie pressed, nudging the girl's shoulder with her hand as if to emphasize how silly it was that she was even considering saying no.

With an exhale, Franny dropped her head and nodded, " Okay, sure, Jackie. "

" Really? Great! " The team captain threw her arm over Franny's shoulder, her wide smile returning to her face within a flash. She was shorter than Franny, though not by much, Franny still lowered herself an inch or two to accommodate for Jackie's arm as she let the blonde drag her further into the locker room. " I've already got an outfit for you in mind, I was thinking about it and I have this top— "

While Franny was having her ear talked off by Jackie within a matter of seconds, the song playing faded into the next one, causing Charlie to give up on singing. Her focus was quickly taken up by seeing Franny and Jackie anyways, rolling her eyes when she and her step-sister made eye contact briefly.

Charlie couldn't stand Franny's desire to be liked by Jackie. They didn't talk much, but anyone who paid enough attention to Franny knew that she idolized Jackie like Princess Diana. They couldn't be more different, really, with how timid and spineless Franny acted, but maybe that was the appeal. Maybe Jackie was everything Franny wished she could be.

That pissed Charlie off. If you weren't happy with yourself, then change it, don't just sit around watching someone else have the life you want. Better yet, just be happy with yourself and be done with it. If you come to accept yourself, flaws and all, you end up exactly where you're supposed to be in life, or, so Charlie thought.

Never one to dwell too much on Jackie Taylor and her sister's odd relationship, Charlie moved further down in the locker room, plopping down on the bench behind a certain bleached blonde burnout. She watched Natalie dig through her locker aggressively, like she was missing something important, but Charlie paid it no mind.

She gently kicked the back of Natalie's knee, knocking her off balance for a second and catching her attention; the blonde to turn around and look at her with intense blue eyes, ringed with several layers of black eyeliner. Charlie held onto the bench between her legs, leaning back as she asked, " So, are we blowing the party or what? "

          Natalie is the closest thing Charlie would describe to as having a friend, but even then, the title felt too strong. They didn't talk every day, they didn't sit next to each other in class, or anything like that, but Charlie had run into Natalie one day in sophomore year, when she first started bleaching her hair. She was under the bleachers, in tears, her making streaking down her face in an unsightly fashion.

         It was, maybe the first time in Charlie's life that she felt sympathy for someone she knew. She didn't ask what was wrong, she simply acted as if it was a normal occurrence: Charlie gave her some tissues and sat with her until she calmed down, and afterwards, they drank out of Natalie's tiny, rusted flask that Charlie made fun of.

        She and Natalie were friends of convenience, really. It was convenient to have someone that didn't care what you did or what you said, they'd still be there for you regardless, and that was exactly what they both needed, though for different reasons. That also meant that when Charlie wanted to avoid an event, she usually found Natalie and dragged her along, and Randy's party was no exception.

        At least, Charlie didn't think it would be.

        " Actually, I was thinking of going this time. Kevyn's meeting up with his guy after school, and after last time, I don't want to even take the chance of going back to my place. " Natalie stated sullenly as she shut her locker. Charlie didn't question that, even though the problem of 'last time' was her father, who was dead now. Maybe the trauma from that day was just too much for her to try and repeat it.

        Charlie groaned, " Fuck, Nat, you're killing me. Who else am I supposed to ditch with? Fucking Mari? "

         " Please, Mari never passes up a chance to get drunk and dance like a giraffe with two left feet. " Natalie joked, shaking her head as she leaned back against the lockers, her shoulders slouched, " You can just come. It's not like we'll all be stuck in a room together, you're free to roam all the parts of Randy's backyard. And, we can leave whenever we want. "

         The brunette let out another dramatic sigh, mulling over the decision to condemn herself to being at least in the same vicinity as the rest of the team for the entire day. While she did, another dark haired girl sat at the end of the opposite bench, though her focus was on their conversation than the one happening behind her.

         Malia watched Charlie and Natalie from across the locker room, though she wasn't really actively eavesdropping on their conversation. She was just absentmindedly staring, at one more than the other, given they were in her direct line of sight. Fortunately that time, Natalie seemed to not feel the stare of another pair of eyes, and Malia was able to fix her gaze before she was caught again. Her reminder of reality was a small tug at her scalp causing her to scowl, tilting her head back to look up at Lottie.

         " Sorry, Mal. " The tall girl muttered apologetically, though she continued braiding her hair without another thought. Laura Lee sat beside Malia, her knee gently touching hers like it was porcelain; it was a drastic comparison to Malia's scraped and bruised one, which had a scabbing wound on it from practice a few days prior.

         Laura Lee didn't know how to braid hair, so she'd enlisted in Lottie's help because, to quote, Malia's hair looked like " you just woke up in a barn ". Which was probably true, given she didn't usually do much to it on the days she had early practice with Coach Martinez, because it would be ruined by the time school started anyways.

         A few more sharp pulls on her scalp, and Lottie was finished, releasing Malia from her capture. She leapt to her feet quickly after, walking down the corridor of the locker room. She took a brief glance into Coach Martinez's office, where he was busy jotting down notes in a notebook. She decided not to bother him and instead went a little further to where the gymnasium door was. Malia peered through the slim window of the door, seeing the bleachers inside the gym filled with students, staff, and community members alike.

         The Yellowjackets' soccer team making Nationals was practically breaking news in Wiskayok. Nothing extraordinary like that ever happened in their small town, so the community was milking the excitement and attention for all it's worth. She wasn't surprised to see so many people inside, but her eyes happened to land on one in particular that made her heart drop to her stomach.

        Sitting next to one of Malia's middle school teachers, laughing cordially and nodding politely, was her father. His cross gleamed at the base of his neck, over the button up he wore, like he had something to prove with it— like it had to be visible for it to be worth something. The necklace was blinding once she actually saw it, identical to the one that was sitting around her neck, though hers was tucked securely under the collar of her jersey.

        He always came to her games when he could, if for nothing more than to make a good show and at least say that he went, regardless of if he cared or not; still, she wasn't expecting him to be at the pep rally, which was a foolish hope in hindsight. Of course he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to be in front of all these people, seen attending his only child's biggest celebration of her life.

        She turned away from the door, her eyes falling to her shoes, which were stained by grass and dirt, but even with her back to the door, it was like her father's presence was crushing her. The weight of the sky fell to her shoulders, making them slouch like Atlas, and it threatened to ruin what should've been a happy moment when she heard the door squeak open.

        Thankfully, Malia's appearance in the glass of the door caught the attention of someone who was not her father.

         " Malia, you alright? I saw you through the window, you look like you're gonna be sick. " Coach Scott, the Yellowjackets' assistant coach, asked in concern when the door finally closed behind him.

          She swallowed, head still facing the floor as if she thought she was going to throw up everywhere. Malia raised her head after a second thought, gathering herself with a deep breath; whether it was for her or to not worry Coach Scott, was up in the air. She turned to face him, offering a halfhearted smile of reassurance, " I'm okay, just nerves, I guess. "

          Coach Scott didn't believe that for a damn second and Malia knew it, but she also knew that he wouldn't overstep his boundaries and push her further on the topic. He didn't, though his concern still bored into her as he simply nodded after a minute.

           " Okay, if you say so. "

xxx.

           The pep rally was just as you'd imagine it would be: the gym smelled like sweat from too many bodies being compacted in to the small space, the music and cheers bounced off the walls with a forever-reverberating echo that Malia was sure she'd hear in her sleep on the plane, and the boys' baseball team stood chagrined and envious when the soccer team was celebrated. Malia didn't speak to her father once the crowd had begun to disband, insisting that she had to hurry off to practice, even though they had been given an hour of leisure time after school and before practice.

Leisure time didn't exist for Malia though, at least not now; Coach Martinez had told her he wouldn't be at practice later like he'd anticipated, but assured her he would see her the next morning at the plane.

" I expect you to kick some real ass, kid. "

It was a little strange to say given the Nationals game itself was a few days into their stay in Seattle, but she just took it as encouragement, like most things he said to her were. However, his absence didn't stop Malia from running extra drills before the rest of the girls gathered at practice, it was actually, surprisingly, Laura Lee.

She managed to convince Malia that if she practiced too hard before their actual practice, that she was going to get burnt out and be embarrassed when the others could run laps around her. Malia argued against this, of course, but Laura Lee reminded her that she already had extra practice that morning, and needed to take a break if she didn't want to hurt herself right before their Nationals game.

So, they spent about thirty minutes of their hour long break walking around the courtyard of the school. Laura Lee was babbling on about something they learned about in history earlier, but Malia was only half paying attention as she twisted the chain of her necklace. In the near distance, she could see Taissa, Charlie, Natalie, and Lottie, appearing to be in a heated discussion.

" Wait, Laura Lee, can you— " Malia quickly dug around in her soccer bag, pulling out a thin stack of dollars, handing them over to the blonde without even bothering to count them, " Can you get us a few bottles of water from the vending machine over there? I think I drank mine this morning. "

The blonde gave her a skeptical look but took the money anyways, seemingly not even noticing the conversation between a portion of the Yellowjackets happening across from them. She obliged, " Sure. Is everything okay? "

Laura Lee always seemed to ask that, no matter what Malia did or said. Malia never really shared with her about how her home life was, and Laura Lee never asked, but sometimes she felt like that was because she didn't need to. Sometimes, she wondered if Laura Lee knew something more, and that was why she tried to hang out with her so often.

" Yeah, fine, I just need to catch Lottie about giving her her hairties back. " She quickly dismissed Laura Lee's concern, watching the blonde hesitantly walk away from her. As soon as her back was turned, Malia jogged over to the group, at the same time as Shauna joining them as well. Malia looked amongst each of the girls with furrowed brows, " What's going on over here? "

" Yeah, what are you guys talking about? " Shauna piped in, causing the other girls to go quiet for a moment, considering if they should reveal the truth or not.

Eventually, Lottie sighed, " Allie. "

Taissa looked to Malia and Shauna, waiting to see if either of their newcomers would register the problem without having to be told; it would prove her right if so, that Allie was a liability and a threat to their success. Both Malia and Shauna followed Lottie's gaze to where the aforementioned freshman was, grouped with three boys, chatting away happily.

When Malia turned back to the group, she wore a frown of understanding and found Taissa looking right back at her, the smallest of prideful grins on her face.

" What about her? " Shauna asked, though, prompting Taissa to quickly jump on the opportunity.

" Did you black out at states? She totally choked. "

" She's a freshman, Tai. " Natalie retorted, causing Charlie to scoff beside her.

" If that's an excuse, then maybe we shouldn't have a freshman on the team. " She insisted, earning a small look of annoyance from Natalie. Charlie held her hands up and let them drop back to her sides, " Taissa's right, this is Nationals, and we actually have a shot at winning, are we going to let a freshman that can barely even spell Wiskayok ruin that? "

Before Natalie could bite back, Shauna interrupted, " So what do you wanna do about it? "

" She can't screw up if she doesn't get the ball. " Taissa pointed out, plain as day, hands firm on her hips. She was unmoving about the subject, her mind had already been made up; now it was about getting the rest of them to agree with her.

" You want to freeze her out? " Shauna repeated, raising a brow skeptically.

" Wouldn't that put us at a disadvantage? We'd be essentially taking away one of our players. They'll notice and double team one of us if they don't have to worry about Allie touching the ball. " Malia stated, and though it wasn't exactly the reasoning Natalie was going for, she was at least advocating for not excluding Allie, which the blonde valued.

" We don't need her, not with the rest of us out there. " Taissa insisted, and Natalie scoffed loudly at that, in pure disbelief of what she was hearing.

" She kind of sucks, but.. " Lottie trailed off, uncertainty and guilt already on her face before they'd even done anything, " I don't know. "

" That's because it's bullshit. " Natalie said, laughing humorlessly, holding her hands out as if it was obvious.

" Nat. " Charlie called, and Taissa rolled her eyes, turning to look at the other dark haired girl.

" I fucking told you she wasn't going to be down for this, we shouldn't have even told her. " And that statement only seemed to piss Natalie off, but Taissa quickly shot her another look, " So what's your plan, then? "

" I don't know, play like a fucking team, and win? " Natalie supplied, shrugging halfheartedly, " It's worked so far. "

" Everything works until it doesn't. " Taissa stated, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked Natalie up and down, " And, for the record, you smell like a wino. Get your shit together. "

Natalie didn't wait for someone to come to her rescue, because they weren't going to. Lottie and Malia might've made faces at Taissa's remark, but neither of them were close enough to Natalie to get into an argument with Taissa over it, and Charlie had already shown she was on Taissa's side, anyways. The blonde looked at the ground with an irritated smile, slowly raising her head to the group.

" You know what? Fuck this. " Calmly, she held her hands out and walked away from them, her cleats scratching against the ground as she went. Malia watched as her stature grew smaller and smaller the further she walked, but the conversation carried on, even without Natalie.

" Wow, okay. " Taissa exhaled under her breath, but she didn't seem surprised at all, and simply turned to look at the others.

Lottie was the first to speak, shaking her head as she insisted, " It doesn't feel right. "

She then backed away with an apologetic expression before she jogged off, presumably to follow Natalie. Maybe if they were closer, Malia would've also done that; she imagined if she tried, Natalie probably wouldn't want to hear anything she had to say anyways, and Malia didn't know how to comfort people, so maybe it was best that her feet remained planted beside Taissa.

After a beat of silence, both Taissa and Charlie looked to Shauna and Malia expectantly. Shauna let out a silent breath and said, " Jackie's not gonna like it. "

Taissa's response was exactly what Malia expected, " Then we probably shouldn't tell her. "

           Another moment of silence. Malia looked away from Shauna, to Taissa and Charlie again, finding them both staring at her, waiting for her response; waiting for her allegiance in their plan. At least Taissa knew that winning was too valuable for Malia to potentially lose, for her to let their team lose, but the conflict was still clear on Malia's face.

            Finally, Malia stopped pressing her teeth into her lip and said, " Okay, but only in practice. See how she does, if she steps it up, we back off and let her play. We still have to give her a chance. "

            Satisfied enough by that answer, Taissa nodded, " Sure. We will. "

xxx.

            " I'm..I'm not playing? " Malia's words threatened to break as she said them, staring up at Coach Scott, who frowned down at her guiltily. Sweat stuck strands of her hair against her forehead, since he pulled her over just before they were going to start their scrimmage, having let her run regular drills with the rest of the team while he tried to figure out how to break the bad news to her. Malia felt tears springing to her eyes, a tightness in her chest that made her lower her head back down, unable to say anything else without letting them loose.

" I'm sorry, Malia. Coach Martinez wanted to be the one to tell you, he really did try to get the principal to change his mind, but..that fight, you're lucky they didn't suspend you. " Coach Scott tried to be as gentle as he was firm, but he was clearly upset to be having to tell her that.

Malia felt locked in a bubble. The sounds of the girls talking and laughing further out on the field were muffled under her heart pounding in her head, and her hands started to tremble, but she couldn't let herself cry, no matter how appropriate it felt. Everything she'd been working for, every early morning practice, every extra lap she ran, every argument she had with her father..gone, within the blink of an eye.

She heard Coach Scott apologize again, or at least she thought she did, but she only really heard the last half of what he said, "—I'm gonna have you play defense with the JV today, Taissa told me Allie needs some help playing under tough defense, so you'll be her matchup. "

Taissa. Did she know about that already? Did she know Malia was getting benched for Nationals? Taissa was a lot of things— calculated and determined were two prominent adjectives that came to mind, so Malia wouldn't put it past her to have known that this was going to happen the entire time, and use it to her advantage.

The unfortunate thing was that it was going to work.

Malia walked away from Coach Scott suddenly, unsure if he was even done speaking to her or not, but she couldn't take it. She saw Melissa and her stupid pink hat secured on top of her head, laughing amongst the other benchwarmers, and felt like hitting her all over again. It was her fault for reacting to what she had said, and now she was being punished for defending herself.

When Misty handed out the pinnys, Malia took a red one and tugged it over her head. The braids Lottie had done so meticulously were starting to fray, small flyaways sticking out from them and clinging to the static of the jersey. Misty tried to wish her good luck but Malia ignored her and walked on to the field, finding Allie and settling next to her, hands on her knees as she looked up and saw Taissa staring back at her.

Taissa could see the anger in Malia's face, deep in her eyes. The moment she recalled what exactly Malia did to get in trouble to begin with, Taissa had known she could get Malia on board with their plan to pressure Allie, regardless of if she knew she was the plan or not.

Coach Scott blew the whistle, and the play ran through just as they had practiced it a million times before. Malia stayed close on top of Allie, bumping shoulders and riding her nearly out of bounds a few times until Shauna kicked the ball over to the blonde; it was as if a switch flipped, it took but a few seconds before Malia swiped the ball from between her legs and took it in the opposite direction. Maybe she was fueled by her deep rooted frustration and disappointment in herself, or maybe she just wanted to show what they were going to be missing in the Nationals tournament. Allie managed to trail behind her at first, annoyance clear on her face from getting the ball stolen, but Malia had passed the halfway mark down the field, causing Coach Scott to blow the whistle again.

         " Alright, defense got the ball. Let's run it again! Allie, you can't let her take the ball from you like that! Be tougher! "

          They reset into position, but this time when Malia looked up, she saw Natalie watching her from across the field, her dark lined eyes narrowed in confusion. She was caught off guard when the whistle blew because of it, feeling Allie shoulder her as she broke away from Malia to sprint down the field as Shauna brought the ball towards their goal again.

           Malia was quick to recover though, her cleats digging in to the dirt as she took off after Allie. Her breaths came out fast, in, out, in out, and within seconds, she was coming right up on the freshman again. From her peripherals, she could see Shauna dribbling the ball up the opposite side of the field, her eyes darting across every body ahead of her, teammate and opponent alike, until Allie called her name and stuck her arm in the air.

           As soon as Shauna kicked the ball sideways to Allie's possession, Malia got within mere feet of the blonde. It was a race to the net, or so it seemed, and Malia's adrenaline was rushing throughout her entire body, making her aching legs and burning lungs push further than they should've. She reached Allie finally, just before she was about to launch the ball to the goal, where Van stood, prepared to defend. Without a single thought, Malia all but threw herself at Allie, kicking the ball right out of her grasp, but it was not clean or without resistance.

           Malia's cleat, backed by the unbridled rage of a wronged teenage girl, slammed into the side of Allie's leg once the ball had went flying out of bounds. It unintentionally tripped Allie and, subsequently, Malia, sending them both to the ground in opposite directions, and it was unknown who the resounding, sickening crack belonged to when they hit the grass.

           Malia thought it was her at first. The adrenaline might've been blocking her pain, as all she felt was exhaustion in her lungs and over exertion in her legs, and now, a blossoming headache. She pushed herself up with her hands, lifting off of the grass, a few stray pieces stuck to her cheek with dirt adhesive, and once she flipped over onto her butt, she surveyed her body to make sure she wasn't injured otherwise.

           She didn't need to, though, as the other victim in the situation let out a bloodcurdling scream, causing Malia's head to snap over to her.

            Curled up in a ball on the ground, Allie clutched her leg to her chest, sobbing and shrieking hysterically. Slowly, the group seemed to realize she was hurt, and made their way over to her. Malia was only a foot or so away from her, meaning she could see the blood soaking Allie's socks all down her leg, from her knee to the middle of her shin, even as her hands tried to cradle the injury.

            Malia's sense was starting to come back to her as her anger and the electricity in her body faded. She gathered herself quickly, swallowing hard and crawling over to Allie, though she had no clue what to do or how to even help her. Malia's eyes fell to Allie's leg as the blonde finally pulled her trembling hands away, revealing her bone sticking straight out of her shin, cracked in an ugly, jagged line.

             It was straight out of a horror movie. Malia covered her mouth with her hand instinctively, her eyes wide in terror as Allie panted in agony. When the girl seemed to realize who was beside her, her sweat-covered face screwed up and she yelled, " Get the fuck away from me! Someone help me! Help! "

            " Holy fuck. " Coach Scott murmured in shock as he and a few of the older varsity players got close enough to see the damage. The young man knelt down beside Allie, sitting a hand on Malia's shoulder; it was a gentle way to tell her to get the fuck away, like Allie had.

          " Okay, apply pressure to stop the bleeding— " Misty ran over with a sweat towel in hand, but the second she even grazed Allie's leg with it, the girl let out another guttural scream.

          " Jesus, Misty! Get the fuck out of the way! " Coach Scott exclaimed, causing the girl to back off as Lottie, Shauna, and Laura Lee surrounded Allie, trying to soothe her. " We need an ambulance, there's a phone in Bill's office! "

          As Coach Scott sent Misty to get the phone, the other girls got closer, too, though more hesitant. Franny was just behind Jackie and Natalie, cupping her mouth as she peered over their shoulders to see Allie wailing and covered in blood. Standing just behind Coach Scott, Charlie watched in a bit of awe, her face contorted by the sight but curious as to how an injury that badly could even happen in a scrimmage. Taissa slowly walked over too, her steps small and fragile as she looked down at Allie, an unreadable look on her face.

           " Keep her calm, and don't move her, okay? " Coach Scott told those that were huddled around Allie as he moved to get up, likely to look for a first aid kit; what good that would do, though. He finally saw Malia when he turned, seeing her wide eyed stare of horror and guilt, her hands digging in to the ground behind her.

           " I didn't.. I didn't mean to do that. " Malia whispered, almost inaudibly, and her eyes shifted up just an inch to meet his. Her voice was desperate, like she needed someone to know that was an accident, that she didn't want to see Allie hurt, " I didn't mean to, Coach, I..I swear. "

           Coach Scott didn't really have the time to console her, she understood that. She wasn't the one with a bone sticking out of her body, but she still needed him to understand that it wasn't on purpose. She was upset about being benched, but she didn't want this. Coach Scott's frantic eyes flickered over hers briefly before he nodded.

           " Yeah, yeah, I know, Malia. Just..give her some space, okay? " He advised, patting her on the shoulder as he finally got up and ran over to the bench.

           Malia crawled backwards until she finally helped herself stand, trying to distance herself from the situation. Her legs felt like jelly underneath her weight, causing her to stumble a little as she tore her sight away from Allie and to the player next closest to her: Taissa.

           The taller girl looked haunted, maybe just as much as Malia did, but at the end of the day, Taissa wasn't the one that fucking mauled someone out of anger, Malia was. Malia, the one who already got benched for hitting one of the younger girls, just completely put another one out of commission. When Taissa seemed to realize that Malia was staring at her, the shock in her face dissipated a little into pity, and maybe, apology, but it didn't matter.

            Malia already bit down, tearing away flesh from the person she was before she even knew what she was doing. Before she could know how much more of it would rot and decay in the coming nineteen months.

            This violent mistake was only the beginning.

xxx.

6,063 words.

hot damn that was long. I don't have anything really to say, maybe just that this whole thing sets Malia's role in the wilderness, but you're more than welcome to leave any comments or feedback. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you for the next one!