Dare You to Catfish the Hockey Player (Rock Valley High 6)

“And then Hunter and Zane chugged milkshakes until they both nearly puked!” Charlotte said with a giggle. “You really should’ve been there, Beth. We had the best time.”

I shut my locker and smiled at my friend. Her eyes sparkled as she relayed to me what I’d missed out on last night at the diner. I had to admit, I was a little jealous when I imagined the four of them together having fun without me. I thought I was totally okay with being a loner, but sometimes I surprised myself. That probably would’ve been a lot more entertaining than scolding Gabriel at the club.

“I’m really sorry I missed it,” I said as we headed toward anatomy class. “Turns out, our first battle is with a pair of seniors. They’re not bad. They’re just good enough to make me a bit nervous. But I’m not sure I made any progress on my weapons stock and the first battle is tonight, so I guess it’ll have to be.”

I was still waiting on a message back from an online friend about a trade for one of his magical swords. If I got it in time for the battle tonight, I’d be in a great place. Gabriel and I would definitely win our round against those seniors. And with the desire for justice burning in my gut once again toward both of the Corrigan brothers, I was going to charge ahead into this tournament with everything I had. No holding back.

Everything was falling into place.

“I can’t wait for you to dominate,” Charlotte said, following me through the classroom door. “But in the meantime, good luck with your new...uh...partner.”

She winked conspiratorially as she headed off to sit with Angie VanBeel. My feet came to a stop and I gulped as my gaze fell on Gabriel already sitting at one of the lab desks. There was a slight patch of scruff on his jawline. He had his elbows resting on the top of the desk, his chin on top of his fists. From the firm set of his jaw, it looked like he was preparing himself for battle. I could only guess that battle was with me.

Gabriel didn't like the idea of being my partner anymore than I did. He might have claimed last night that he didn’t hate me, but I was pretty sure that we were miles away from braiding each other’s hair and making friendship bracelets. I guessed we were both going to have to suck it up. The least I could do was try not to lecture him anymore. I was done with that. I'd said my peace. If Gabriel didn't want to stick up to his brother, that was his problem.

I trudged over to our desk and plopped my backpack on the ground. He grunted an unenthusiastic “hi” as I sat down. I returned it with just as much enthusiasm. There were still a couple minutes left until class was supposed to start. As everyone around us laughed and chatted, we sat in an ever-growing awkward field of silence and listened to the seconds tick by.

Honestly, it wasn't going to be that hard to keep this frustration toward Gabriel burning in my gut. The longer he went staring at the closed textbook in front of him, the more I felt justified about everything that I was doing to him.

Besides that, his brother, Michael, was providing more than enough distraction to keep me occupied. For once, I wasn’t the object of his teasing and prodding. He’d put together a mass of spit wads and was shooting them across the room through a plastic straw. Most of them were falling short and into his poor partner’s lap. That only served to make Michael howl with laughter. I watched the whole scene with disgust, wishing I could tear that straw right out of Michael’s hand. But Mr. Hart would be here soon and then Michael would finally straighten out. He didn’t dare push Mr. Hart too far. His position on the hockey team depended on it.

“You know, it’s not as easy as you make it sound,” Gabriel said suddenly.

I looked over to see him watching me. He wore a deep frown, much like he had last night when I’d given him a mini-scolding. His hands were still clenched into tight fists on the desk.

“What are you talking about?” I asked incredulously.

“You said I should stand up to him.” He gestured loosely toward his brother on the other side of the classroom. A new glob of spit wads had just landed on his poor partner’s textbook. “You make it sound like it’s so easy. But you don’t have to live with that. You didn’t have to grow up with that.”

I stared hard at him, wondering how we’d gotten back on this topic. I’d been prepared to put that all aside, but here he was, bringing it up again. Apparently, it was open season.

“Yeah, you’re right, I don’t have to live with that.” I pressed my lips together in a grim smile. “But you’re a constant bystander to his cruelty. Doesn’t that kind of make you equally responsible if you don’t try to intervene? You know, that whole quote about how evil triumphs only when good men do nothing?”

His eyes darkened and he slouched slightly, his gaze redirecting to the table. Really, I was feeling quite proud of myself for such a powerful comeback. I was pretty sure I’d won yet another argument. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I made sure Gabriel wasn’t looking and then opened my Battlegrounds app. My friend still hadn’t gotten back to me about the sword. If we were going to make this trade happen by tonight, he needed to message me soon.

“For the record, I have tried to intervene,” Gabriel said suddenly, snapping my attention back to his face. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and then stared down at the table. “Just maybe not in the way you want, but at the least I always try to get him to back down.”

The burning righteous anger inside of me cooled a little bit. That was an interesting perspective of history. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, wondering if I’d missed it. I supposed, if I looked at all my interactions with the Corrigan brothers, I could kind of see how Gabriel had tried to deescalate the situations. I used to think he acted as a kind of buffer for his brother—a bodyguard, so I wouldn’t attack him. But I guess he could’ve been trying to protect me, as well.

Of course, me and my hot mouth weren’t any help. I’d risen to the challenge every time Michael had spewed ugliness in my direction.

A girl had to stand up for herself, after all.

“Fine, whatever.” I picked up my phone, rechecking my messages for the hundredth time, and avoided Gabriel’s eye contact. He could try to make himself feel better about this situation, but I wasn’t going to have it. Not until after the end of this tournament and the trophy was in my hands.

“Good afternoon, boys and girls.” Mr. Hart came striding through the doors of the classroom, a cup of coffee in hands. The bell rang, signaling the start of class. He tipped his head to us and then set his coffee on his desk. “Everyone choose their projects yet?”

There was a spattering of reluctant sighs and affirmations. His eyebrows rose and then he picked up his class roster.

“I think we’ll go down the list and see what’s on everyone’s mind. If you’re stuck, I’m sure the rest of the class will be happy to provide suggestions. We’ll start first with Miss Charlotte and Miss Angie. What activity will you be using to study the amazing physiological function

s of the human body?”

The buzzing of my phone in my hands distracted me from Charlotte’s energetic reply. I looked down to see a message notification from the Battlegrounds app. This was what I’d been waiting for. My heart began to hammer with excitement. Hiding my phone under the desk, I unlocked it to see the message.

BadBoyBattler: Got the Elf Master’s sword you wanted. Trade it for your battle ax?

My fingers blurred as I quickly typed a reply.