Disclaimer: The following is a prequel to Choices The Freshman and The Sophomore stories. It is a fictional adaptation. I do not work for Pixelberry Studios, the game developer or own the rights to the characters Chris Powell, Jo, Kyle or Nicole. All of the characters, story line and events were originally developed by me, some areas in part with @maxattack-powell, in conjuction to her adaptation of The Freshman.
Chapter 6: Friday I’m In Love
Suited up and wearing his cleats, he sits in the corner of the Harrington Herons visitor’s locker room. His head phones are in and his eyes focus on nothing in particular in the crowded space. His body language indicates personal defeat. His team may very well win tonight, but it will be without him.
Cherryfield High senior football captain Chris Powell knows that tonight he will return to the locker room after the final buzzer with a clean uniform.
He thought he could not possibly feel any worse than he did on Monday night when the girl of his dreams ended their hormonally-charged love affair of three years.
But today, Chris realized it could get worse; much, much worse.
When Coach Madison told him he was benching him, the initial shock rolled off of him like water on a leaf. He was upset by their conversation but the scope of his benching did not begin to sink in until the pep rally earlier today.
He sat with his teammates, leaning back in the metal fold-up chair and watched as the student body began to cheer for a team he would not lead tonight. He walked in the victory formation around the gym with his buddies as the Cherryfield High fight song played and the students sang along throwing up the school’s “C” hand sign. As he walked behind Ethan and Ryan, he felt like he was in a trance. Normally, pep rallies fired him up to be the field general he was destined to be on Friday nights. That afternoon, he was merely a spectator. After one and half seasons of being the starting quarterback for Cherryfield, Chris had forgotten what it felt like to not play on a Friday night in the fall. It was his life. Just a week ago, he lived for days like today. The Clippers needed to win tonight to secure the district championship. They’d have to do so without him.
During the pep rally, the cheerleaders did a brief pom routine and then climbed into a pyramid formation. He kept his arms folded over his chest and his eyes down. He did not want to even look at Nichole as she performed. Before, the sight of her in her uniform sent all sorts of electric pulses racing through his veins. Now, the sight of her just made him feel sick and hurt.
When she jumped down from the top of the pyramid, students applauding their acrobatics, she ran with the other girls to line up on the gym court’s baseline. She put her pompons behind her back and stood at attention. Her eyes wandered over to Chris. Everything about him, from the way he hung his head, to his disheveled hair, to his reclined sitting position indicated he did not want to be there. He looked like he could not only care less about what was happening around him but also about life. She had never seen him that way. Not before a game at least. She had caused this and the fallout had rippled through his life and all of their friendships.
Chris typically led the pregame speech in the locker room for the team. Tonight, that responsibility fell to his senior co-captain, Ryan.
The Clippers huddle up around Ryan, putting their hands towards the center of their circle where Ryan lifts his arm. Chris stands on the outside of the group, reaching his arm towards Ryan. As he does, he locks eyes with Coach Madison. On the bus ride to the stadium, a moment of clarity came to Chris. He was seated next to Ethan, leaning his head against the window, watching the piney trees whiz by as they headed to Harrington. It dawned on him then. He didn’t want tonight be this way. It couldn’t be this way. Yes, he had been in a fog all week and missed some practices, but he knew the playbook backwards and forwards. Chris suddenly stood up and stepped over Ethan’s legs. Ethan and Ryan exchanged bewildered glances from across the aisle. Chris took swift steps to the front of the bus, sliding into the seat next to his coach.
“You have to play me tonight, Coach,” Chris said. His face and tone serious.
Coach Madison turned and looked at his young quarterback, his eyes full of patience.
“Chris-“
“I know, I screwed up by not being at practice this week. I’m sorry. But…I have to play tonight,” Chris nodded his head emphatically.
“Did you just now realize you wanted to?” Coach Madison asked.
Chris parted his lips to speak but sighed and closed his mouth.
“Chris, as much as I’d like to have you back out there as my starter, the decision has been made for tonight. Aaron led all the reps in practice this week, he worked hard. That’s what I wanted you to understand son,” Coach explains. “You have 74 other guys depending on you to show up and put in more of an effort than they do, because you are their leader. No matter what it is you are going through, other people depend on you and need you to step up. Doesn’t mean you don’t get time to yourself. Doesn’t mean when the chips fall and life knocks you down that you don’t step back and deal with it. But it also doesn’t mean that you forget your responsibilities either.”
Chris’s shoulders dropped and he closed his eyes slowly at his coach’s words. “But-“
“Chris. My mind is made up about this,” Coach said sternly.
Now in the locker room, feeling very much like an outsider on his own team, he looks over at the Coach one more time, eyes pleading for another chance. He can hear the volume and passion in Ryan’s fiery speech but does not listen to the words. That should be his moment.
“Family on three! One, two, three, family!” Ryan leads the team chant as they break away.
Coach turns and heads towards the door with his players, not giving Chris a second glance.
***
With :44 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Cherryfield is down by six. The fact that they are even this close in the game is attributed to Ryan and Ethan. Coach decided to run the ball, asking Aaron to throw it as little as possible. He doesn’t have his gunslinger out there in Chris and Aaron, as a sophomore, is still prone to jitters under pressure. Ethan and Ryan have pounded the ball down the field, play after play, to make it a 33-27 game with Harrington in the lead.
Chris stands on the sideline hanging close to Coach Madison as he has done for the duration of the game. They need a big play. Surely Coach will change his mind and put Chris on the field. With time beginning to run out and the district title on the line, the visiting team’s crowd is antsy as well. Coach Madison has called a time out and the team is huddled around him. Chris watches and paces.
On the track, Nichole and the cheerleaders face the Cherryfield fans and start an “I believe that we will win!” cheer. They stand in front of the student section and Nichole has felt uncomfortable all night. It’s not just the cold of a Maine October night that’s chilling her. It’s the iciness she begins to feel from others around her and in the community. She looked into the stands at one point during the game and noticed a group of girls leaning into each other and staring directly at her. There were some giggles and catty looks given, a few pointing right at her. She tried to ignore it but as the game wore on she noticed it not just from the student section but adults as well. She glances over towards the team and looks at Chris. It feels off even to her that he’s not playing.
On the opposite end of the track, Morgan stands with the dance team and looks out onto the field. She and the team are wearing red and white track suits, with gloves, and fuzzy red ear muffs to shield them from the cold. She watches Chris. He is pacing and turning, like a caged panther in desperate need of being freed. She turns around and glances up when she hears something from the crowd. There is one shout, then another from the stands.
“Coach! Put Powell in!” an older gentleman yells.
“Yeah! Put Chris in!” another responds and it begins a ripple effect through the crowd as Cherryfield’s stands fill with shouting aimed at Coach Madison to put their star quarterback in. They are losing and Chris standing unused this late in the fourth quarter seems a bit ridiculous to the onlookers.
Morgan looks over at Chris again. He stands with his hand on his hip, the other now holds his helmet.
If Coach Madison can hear the demands from the crowd, he is doing a great job of ignoring them. He pats Aaron on the back and leans over saying something directly to him. He slaps him hard on the shoulder this time and Aaron trots out with the others to the line of scrimmage.
Morgan watches as the ref blows the whistle and the game clock begins to the countdown from the :44 second mark it had stopped on.
Aaron looks left, stomps his foot then claps as Alex snaps the ball back to him. Ryan runs on the end around and Aaron turns and hands the ball off to him. Ryan grips it securely against his body. He follows his blockers, including Ethan. Ethan is able to push back a Harrington defender and it opens up a wide hole for Ryan. The Cherryfield side of the stadium goes ecstatic when they realize, the slow painful reality sets in with disappointed groans and thrown up hands on the Harrington side. Ryan rumbles 56 yards to the end zone. The Cherryfield sideline explodes in celebration. Chris fist pumps and high fives and hugs some of the juniors on the team.
Ethan races to the end zone to celebrate with Ryan. Ryan jumps into the air and Ethan grips him mid elevation and lifts him even higher. When he puts him back down, they bounce sideways into each other. Ryan slaps Aaron on the helmet, a huge smile on his face as he returns to the sideline with a smile.
That’s it. With the extra point, Cherryfield takes the lead 34-33. Harrington takes the kickoff but Cherryfield’s defense swarms and the ballgame is over. The Clippers are the district champions.
From the stadium’s press box, the recruiters from Boston College and Louisville that are there to see Ryan and Ethan, add a few final notes before sending texts to their respective college’s head coach.
***
Lisa Hawkins moves through her house holding a glass bowl filled to the brim with chips in one hand and another filled with popcorn in the other. She moves gingerly around the home packed with teenagers to the den where she has set up a table for snacks.
Typically after a road game, there is no postgame celebratory party. But this was no typical road game and no typical victory. Not only were the Clippers the district champions and the number one seed heading into the playoffs, her baby had scored the game winning touchdown.
She had offered up her home as a victory gathering spot before her son left for school that day.
“We’ll see mom, I mean, we don’t have Chris. If we don’t win-“ Ryan said shortly before leaving the house.
“You stop that crazy talk!” Lisa cut him off. “You guys are going to win and you just tell your teammates and friends to be here after the game.”
Ryan smiled at her before kissing her cheek and heading out the door.
Things had changed with her son’s circle of friends and Lisa was well aware. She and Ryan talked about everything together. There was nothing he didn’t feel like he couldn’t share with her and their lack of secrets from one another was one of the things that made them so close. She was all Ryan had and she had done an outstanding job all on her own of taking care of him. With their open communication, Lisa was aware of the breakup between Nichole and Chris. If she had an opportunity to get ahold of that young lady and tell her a thing or two about herself she would. Ryan actually had to calm his mother down.
She knew that Nichole’s home had been the meeting place after home games, so she was now offering their crew an alternative location.
The large stereo system in the corner is cranked up as some of her 90’s hip hop music plays from the speakers. It’s what Ryan was raised on. She puts the bowls down on the table as bass from OutKast’s “Rosa Parks” causes the speakers to shake.
She checks on the sodas in the cooler and then looks at all the food she has laid out and believes it will be enough. It’s just after 11 p.m. and she has told Ryan to shut down everything at 1 in the morning.
As she turns to head towards her room she spots her son. He drops down a bit and rolls his body to the beat causing a few “aye’s” from his teammates and the girls watching him. He laughs and smiles at her. She wiggles her hips and bounces her shoulders to the music as she walks up to him.
“Get it mom!” He teases. She laughs and he places a quick kiss on her cheek. “Thanks again for letting us do this. You are the best.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know,” she winks. “You guys enjoy yourselves. Just don’t get too wild okay?” She cautions.
“Me?” Ryan acts shocked.
“Yes, you! The ring leader of mischief!” She says swatting his arm playfully. “Uh! I’m just so proud of you!” she smiles shaking her head. She screamed louder than anyone when Ryan scored the game winner earlier in the night.
Ryan laughs as his mom moves out of the den and up the hall towards her bedroom where she closes her door.
He looks around at the folks gathered in his home. They are all teammates and some of their girlfriends and a few girls from the cheerleading squad and dance team. Nichole naturally was not invited.
As he moves through the crowd, having changed into a different pair of clothes, he sees Chris sitting in their recliner, a Dr. Pepper in hand. He sips on it silently as he watches Jordan, a junior left tackle, recap a play from earlier in the night.
“Sup?” Ryan says and hits him on the arm. He takes a seat partially on the arm of the chair.
“I think I’m gonna get out of here man,” Chris says and scratches his temple.
“You just got here!” Ryan exclaims and throws a hand up.
“I know, but…this is your celebration. You guys did this, not me,” Chris says slowly.
Ryan shakes his head. “We are undefeated. We wouldn’t have even been in position to play for the title tonight if it weren’t for you. Dude, just stay, try to have a good time, okay?” Ryan encourages.
Chris says nothing but silently takes a swig from his Dr. Pepper.
Ryan can see that his melancholy mood isn’t going to change anytime soon, so he leaves him to it for the time being. He hops up and continues to move through the house. In the kitchen he spots Morgan talking to another girl from the dance team.
“Hey, you made it,” he greets walking up to her.
“Hi!” She smiles brightly at him. “That was so awesome tonight! Congratulations! I was jumping and screaming my head off like a crazy woman!” She laughs.
He laughs lightly and actually for maybe the third time in his life blushes some. “Thank you, thank you. Glad we got it done tonight and that it’s over with really.”
Morgan continues to smile at him. She, much to Ryan’s surprise, leans in and wraps her arms around him in a hug. He lifts his hands, encircling her back and squeezes ever so slightly. His face close to her neck, exposed by her pony tail, he ponders kissing the spot for just a second. When they pull away from each other, Morgan’s warm smile remains in place. “I’m proud of you,” she says.
She’s been different around him today, much friendlier and less sarcastic. He ran a tally and there had not even been one threat of castration in the course of the day. Ryan noticed it more so at lunch but definitely picked up on it from the hug just now. In the past, she would have kneed him in the crotch for even putting his arm around her. Yesterday, when she and Ethan had finally joined them at Chimmy’s, she hadn’t said more than three words.
What Ryan did not know was that after her talk with Ethan, Morgan began a shift in her thinking. Ethan was right after all. Chris was likely not going to show any interest in her or any other girl anytime soon. In fact, she believes her presence seems more like a nuisance to him than anything.
Ethan’s words “Ryan likes you” started to tickle a small place in her mind and heart after that. Since she was five years old, Chris Powell had been the boy who held her heart. Unnoticed and unreciprocated, Morgan was beginning to see that she needed to let it go.
Sure, Ryan was a bit on the wild side, but in the last week she had seen something different in him. He was caring and fiercely loyal to the people he cared about, all she had to do was look to how he had defended Chris and her to know. He could be very sweet in a sincere way when he wasn’t just flirting. It had been Ryan that had offered for her to join them at lunch and Ryan who had made her laugh when she was feeling down. Maybe she shouldn’t have written him off so quickly as a just a flirt and a court jester. He was also ridiculously cute, always had been.
Even during the pep rally, Ryan had clapped after Morgan led the dance team in their famous jump splits, cheering loudly. When she stood and called out the cadence for the girls to fall in rhythm and line-up, she glanced his way with a tiny smile. He thought for a minute he was imagining it, but now, he wasn’t so sure.
“I’m going to go look for Ethan, but I’ll be back,” he says hoping she will wait around for him. “Okay?”
She grins broadly and nods in response. “ ‘Kay….”
Ryan heads out of the kitchen and into the living room. A small group has formed there and they are laughing as they converse. Ethan is seated on the sofa, his face a bit weary but content. Ryan went on and on about Ethan’s block that had allowed him to score the entire bus ride back to Cherryfield. Ethan is again tired after the emotionally and physically draining game and not really up for a late night, but he wants to celebrate with his friends too.
“You seen Powell?” Ethan asks Ryan as he approaches.
“Yeah, he’s in the den,” Ryan throws his head in the direction of the room. “If you are in a good mood, I wouldn’t go in there though,” Ryan lifts an eyebrow.
Ethan shakes his head. “He barely said anything on the bus. He congratulated the guys but that’s about it. Silent the rest of the way.”
“Well, he said he was thinking about cutting out of here, but I don’t know how he’s going to do that if you don’t drive him. Just a heads up,” Ryan stresses.
“What is he going to do? Walk? His house is more than a mile away and it’s pitch black out there,” Ethan states.
“Yeah, so, unless he is willing to be the lead story on the 10 o’clock news tomorrow night, don’t drive him home yet. Make him stay. He won’t ride with anyone else. All he is going to do is go home and sulk some more,” Ryan emphasizes.
Ethan gives him a thumb’s up and then looks past Ryan to someone approaching behind him.
“Hey!” Maya says cheerfully.
“Hey,” Ryan says turning to face her.
“You two were the stars of the damn show tonight,” Maya laughs. “Good job!” she holds out her fists and bumps it to Ethan’s then Ryan’s.
Ryan smirks at her. It’s not uncommon for him and Maya to spend a little time together after a big win. He casually eyes her wondering if history will repeat itself tonight. She’s looking every bit like the beauty queen she is in her outfit.
A loud crashing sound comes from the other room and Ryan whips his around. “Shit guys, what the hell?” he says rushing towards the sound of the noise.
Ethan laughs as he watches his friend transform into uptight dad mode and rush away.
Maya looks at him smiling. She is wearing a short denim skirt, thigh high boots and a tight-fitting turtle neck. She smooths her skirt down behind her as she takes a seat on the sofa beside Ethan.
“Tired?” she asks looking over at him.
He gives a small smile and nods in the affirmative. “A little.”
“You’re an old soul, you know that Ethan?” She smirks.
“I’ve heard that before,” Ethan laughs. “Ryan says I’m really 48 and that I’ve got some reverse Benjamin Button thing going on.”
She giggles and smiles at him again. She leans back on the sofa, shifting a little. Her arm brushing against Ethan’s elbow. There is no one else seated on the sofa, but she is at his side.
“Any big plans this weekend?” She inquires.
He shakes his head no. “Thought about going and checking out a movie or something tomorrow night, but I don’t know,” he shrugs.
“Oh, really? I love movies too,” she states.
Ethan nods.
They fall quiet for a minute, Maya trying to think of something else to say. “I think there’s a new movie with Chris Evans out that I hear is good. I had wanted to see it,” she adds.
“I like Chris Evans. He’s usually good in all of his movies,” Ethan replies.
Maya nods again and waits. Ethan looks around the room at the other party goers. He notices Alex chatting it up with a girl that is in his fifth period class.
Maya leans over just a bit more, her arm much closer to Ethan’s side now. He still seems to be paying more attention to the people talking around them.
“Well, I guess if I do go see a movie or something…maybe I’ll see you there?” Maya says, hoping for at least a nibble of interest from Ethan.
“Yeah, for sure,” he nods and smiles.
She looks at him and sighs heavily before standing up and leaving the room. “What’s the point?” she thinks to herself.
***
A half an hour later, the party shows no signs of winding down. Everyone continues to mingle, eating snacks and having a good time.
Morgan stood in the kitchen for as long as she could stand it before deciding to venture out and find Ryan. He had said he would be back, but being the host of tonight’s festivities, he was likely side tracked.
Morgan peers into the den and sees Ethan, grabbing a soda and talking to Alex. She looks around the room, but there is no sign of Ryan. She moves around the bodies packed inside the house, some bumping and grinding to the music playing, and searches the living room before turning towards an empty and much quieter hallway. At the end is a set of stairs that lead to the spare bedroom up top. She turns to walk away but hears a thud from upstairs. She pauses and then moves back up the hall. She stands at the base of the stairs. It’s dark on the next floor but there’s enough light from below that she can see enough to make out the two forms pressed together.
Maya’s back is to the wall, Ryan pressed against her, kissing her lips and her neck. Maya runs her fingers through his hair. He grips her thigh, her leg draped around the small of his back. He slides his hand up her thigh and it disappears underneath her skirt. He fumbles with something for just a moment before he makes the desired contact and Maya gasps. She rests her head against his shoulder and moans softly.
Morgan holds her breath, her mouth falling open as she frowns. She lets out a huff and turns away walking quickly up the hall. She pushes her way through the crowd and through the kitchen. She grasps the handle to the backdoor and yanks it open as she steps outside. Slamming it behind her, she paces angrily back and forth. How could she have for one second thought he was anything more than a player?
She silently scolds herself. “So stupid Morgan!” She gripes.
She runs her hands over her face and exhales taking a deep breath. Just then the sound of rustling leaves and the snapping of a twig makes her freeze. She turns to look at what caused the rustling.
Chris is standing at the base of the back-porch stairs, leaning against the rail. He looks at her wondering what could be wrong that has sent her outside in such a huff.
“Oh!” She exclaims. She feverishly shakes her head. “I didn’t know you were out here, I swear it. I’m sorry!” She says flustered. “I’ll leave you alone!” She turns quickly.
Chris, starting to feel more emotions now than his own self-pity, looks at her. “Morgan, wait,” he calls after her. “You don’t have to go,” he says. Her hand is on the backdoor handle again but her steps halt.
She looks back at him over her shoulder.
“Really, it’s fine,” he says.
She drops her hand from the door and turns to face him. He is wearing his letter jacket, hoodie and sweat pants. His hands are in his jacket pockets. The air is significantly colder outside than when she arrived at Ryan’s home earlier.
“What are you doing out here?” she asks him.
He shrugs. “I just needed some air, lot of people in there. Lot of stuff on my mind,” he responds looking up at her. She is still wearing her dance team track suit.
“Yeah….” she nods.
“What about you? Something wrong?” He questions, genuinely interested.
She points back at the house but then decides against it, waving her hand to dismiss it. “It’s nothing, really,” she replies.
Chris arches an eyebrow.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she sighs.
“That’s usually my line isn’t it?” He jokes. The edges of his lips curve upward ever so faintly in the moonlight. Morgan pauses, realizing he’s actually in a mood to joke and smiles some.
“As of lately, I’ve heard that quite a bit,” she says.
“Yeah, well….” He shrugs. He steps away from the rail and moves up the stairs. He stands and looks at her for a minute before turning and taking a seat on the top stair. He glances back at her, a signal for her to join.
She hesitates for only a heartbeat before sitting beside him. They look out into the forest behind Ryan’s house. The nighttime sky overhead is clear and full of stars. It’s also freezing. Morgan reaches into her pockets and pulls out her gloves and slides them on. She curses to herself for having left her ear muffs in the car.
They sit without saying a word for several minutes. Morgan honestly isn’t sure what to say to him. She doesn’t want to bring up the last few days in fear it will upset him again. She is surprised he even offered for her to sit with him.
“So, today sucked,” he exhales.
She looks over at him. “Because you didn’t get to play tonight?” she questions.
He nods. “It’s my fault though. I get it. I screwed up. I let being sad take over my whole life,” he says and looks down at his shoes.
“Chris, I really don’t think anyone faults you for being hurt. I mean yes, Coach made that decision, but for those of us who know you and watched you with…her…” she says, “We understand that you are hurting. It’s okay. I just hope that you see how much you mean to everybody. It’s like…. It’s like you are this bright light that gives all of us energy. Without you, things are dim and not nearly as bright. Like how the sun feeds plants,” she says looking over at him. “Maybe we should start calling you Sunshine?” she smirks a little.
He looks up at her. For the first time, maybe in his lifetime, Chris Powell looks at Morgan Price and doesn’t see Nichole’s best friend. He doesn’t see the town’s rich girl whose father is the local doctor. He doesn’t see the timid and shy girl who normally walks on egg shells around him. He sees her, Morgan. If seeing Ryan and Maya hadn’t upset her and brought her to her current animated state, who knows if he ever would have seen this side of her. Also, the night before she had a made a vow to start letting Chris go. That vow has put her at ease.
“Please don’t,” he jokes back.
“Oh okay, sorry. The last thing I’d ever want to do is, you know, upset you,” she says. “Sunshine.”
His head tosses back. “Morgan Price bringing the jokes. Okay, okay, I see how it is,” he laughs. “What would Ethan’s nickname be?”
“Cadillac,” Morgan responds.
“Cadillac?” Chris questions with a laugh.
“Yes, because he’s old and responsible,” she says with a straight face. Chris lets out a loud laugh.
“Ryan?”
“Asshole. At the moment his nickname is Asshole,” she says matter-of-factly.
Chris laughs again. “Aw, Ryan’s a good guy, he’s just…well, he…sometimes he….” Chris struggles with words.
“Exactly. Asshole,” Morgan jokes again.
Chris laughs at her and for the first time in four days, his eyes sparkle with joy. “Ryan is a great friend though.”
She shakes her head and Chris chuckles again.
“So…” he begins slowly. “Is Ryan the reason you came out here upset?”
Morgan looks at him for a moment, then turns her head choosing not to answer.
“Your silence says all I need to know,” Chris responds.
“Yeah, well….” She mimics his earlier response. He looks over at her amused.
She coughs into her hand as the cold air causes her to shiver some. Her ears feel like icicles on the side of her head, the tips of them starting to numb.
“Look Morgan…If I’ve been a jerk to you…it was never my intention,” he says.
She turns and looks at him. “I know it wasn’t.”
“Ouch. I was kind of hoping I’d hear you say I hadn’t been a jerk,” he winces.
“Oh,” she says straight-faced. “Is that what you thought would happen?”
He is stunned by her frankness and again starts to laugh. “What’s gotten into you tonight?”
She shrugs, “Temporary insanity maybe, I don’t know.”
“Well, I don’t think you are crazy at all, you’re just being honest,” Chris says.
They sit in silence again. Morgan hugs her arms around herself as she stares up at the sky overhead. Chris looks up and smiles.
“I guess sometimes when you look at the big picture, it makes what we go through down here so small,” he says as he thinks.
“When I was a kid, I was obsessed with constellations and space,” Morgan says. “It was always my favorite part of science when we got to that part.”
She begins to shake a little, feeling the impact of the cold. She stretches out an arm and points a shaky finger. “Those three, that makes up Orion’s belt…that’s his sword…and that is his head….” She says pointing.
“That’s so cool. How do you remember this stuff? I barely remember what I did yesterday,” he jokes.
She laughs and it causes her to cough. He looks over at her and can see that she is shivering in the cold, her teeth on the verge of chattering as she clenches them together.
“Morgan, you’ve got to be freezing, I’m sorry I’ve kept you out here,” he says.
“It’s okay,” she shakes her head.
He begins to take off his letter jacket. She looks up surprised as he reaches out to drape it around her. “Here. I’ve been called a human furnace. I’m fine without a jacket,” he says. He scoots over and slides it over her shoulders.
Morgan stops moving. She is no longer shivering, her teeth no longer chattering. She is frozen in movement but not from the cold.
Chris holds the jacket around her and fixes it on her so that it’s secure. She still hugs herself but feels instantly warmer, his body heat still held in the quilted interior of the jacket.
Chris suddenly pauses as well.
There is no other thought in his head at the moment. There is no thought of pain or heartache, past loves or fear. He forgets the despair, he forgets the overwhelming sadness. He just wants to continue this feeling of joy. This feeling Morgan has brought into his life at this moment.
He leans in slowly. Her breath hitches as she closes her eyes. A pulse later, she feels his lips brush tenderly over hers.
It’s the first time in three years, Chris has kissed the lips of another girl. Their feel is foreign but soft, plump and comforting against his. He pulls back slightly, his eyes locking with Morgan’s. Her eyes are veiled in surprise and disbelief at first. Then something else entirely. Something far more passionate. She exhales and it’s the first breath she takes in almost a full minute. She looks in his eyes and then back down to his lips. He understands and leans in again, this time, pressing his lips harder against hers, his tongue slowing coaxing its way into her mouth and splashing against hers. She lifts a gloved hand to his cheek, the other to his neck and pulls him in as he deepens the kiss. She moans softly and then suddenly, he tears himself away.
He breathes open-mouthed, shock setting in.
Morgan pants softly not sure what to say or do. Chris suddenly shakes his head no. At first slowly, then it becomes more violent.
“No,” he licks his lips, “No, no, no, no,” he repeats under his breath to himself and scratches the back of his head. He jumps up to his feet. Morgan is stunned.
“What the hell am I doing,” he mutters and presses his finger tips to his eyes as he squeezes them shut, trying to block out the imagery and sensations he just felt.
“Chris…”
His head jerks up.
She slowly rises to her feet, his jacket still wrapped around her. She reaches out a hand to touch his arm but he steps back.
“No Morgan!” he snaps.
Her hand stays suspended in air as she continues to try and understand his reaction. Slowly she retracts it.
“I’m not doing this. Not with you, not with anybody, alright?!” He shouts. “I would rather go lay down on the train tracks right now and let the damn engine and 40 cars run me over than to get involved with another girl. Do you hear me Morgan?” he glares at her and she tries to force words to her mouth but nothing audible comes out.
“It’s not worth it! Putting yourself out there just to get screwed over!” he continues his rant.
“But Chris, I didn’t-“
“I said no Morgan! You girls are nothing but trouble! You give your love, they screw you over! Just…stay away from me, alright?” he throws at her before grabbing the door handle and hurrying inside. It slams behind him, the blinds swinging and rattling as he takes long, urgent steps through the Hawkins home.
He rounds the corner from the kitchen and spots Ethan in the den.
“Ethan!” he shouts. He uses the same voice he uses to call plays during a game. It’s harsh and deep. Ethan turns to look at his friend and so do several others.
“Let’s go,” Chris says, not pausing for even a moment.
“But-“
“Right now!” Chris shouts and turns, pointing down at the floor. His face is full of fury. He spins and heads to the front door. He jerks it open and leaves it swinging behind him.
Ethan waits for just a moment, trying to register what is happening. All eyes in the den turn to him. He rushes towards the entry way after his friend, looking around as he does, hoping to find Ryan and tell him what is going on. As he does, he looks into the kitchen. The back door opens and Morgan steps in. A letter jacket barely hangs around her shoulders but even in his hurried steps, Ethan can see the word Captain above the embroidered Cherryfield “C.”
He locks eyes with her for a split second, seeing nothing but distress in her gaze.