Fighting to Be Free (Fighting to Be Free 1)

"I'm going to dance," I mumbled, pushing myself up from the chair.

He looked at me and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'll be right there, okay?"

I nodded and tried not to huff as I headed over to where a group of my more fake friends were dancing. I joined in with them, discreetly keeping my eyes on Jamie. He was talking on the phone now, he looked a little angry as he spoke but I couldn't hear what he was saying. He kept looking at his watch and waving his hand around as he spoke, he looked like he was having an argument with someone or something.

"Ellie?"

I turned back around, only to find Mark was standing next to me, smiling. I tried not to groan.

Things between us were beyond awkward still. It had been ten weeks since the night we'd broken up and he still hadn't given up on us. He'd been sleeping around from what I could make out, he seemed like he went home with a different girl every week after the game, but he still asked me all the time for another chance. I was bored of it already.

"Hi, where's your date?" I asked, looking around for whoever he was with tonight.

He frowned. "I came on my own. I didn't want to bring someone to a dance if it wasn't you," he replied, shrugging.

I winced slightly and hoped that Jamie didn't come over right now; I didn’t want trouble between them. The atmosphere when they were near each other at the after game parties was so tense that you could almost cut it with a knife. "Oh," was the only thing that I could think of to respond to that remark.

He smiled sadly. "Want to dance?" he asked.

I laughed and waved down at myself and the group of people that I was dancing with. "I'm already dancing," I countered.

He nodded off to one side, so that we would be dancing 'together' instead of just part of a group.

"On our own?" he asked, raising on eyebrow.

I flicked my eyes to Jamie again, he was still on the phone, running a hand through his hair, he looked stressed. "Umm…."

Mark sighed and took my hand. "You're allowed to dance with another guy, I'm sure," he stated, pulling me off to one side, away from the group.

I looked at him disbelievingly. If we were still dating there would be no way he would have let me dance with another guy, so that statement was just stupid. Jamie probably wouldn't mind though because he wasn't the possessive type like Mark was.

We danced awkwardly together; I had no clue why he couldn't just give it up already. Ten weeks was a long time to still be pining after someone. After about thirty seconds an arm snaked around my shoulders. I jumped and looked up to see Jamie; he was frowning in Mark's direction. "Thanks for looking after my girlfriend for me," he stated, putting emphasis around the 'my' part.

Mark's jaw tightened. "No problem, she was looking a little neglected. Phone call important, was it?" he asked, smirking at him.

Jamie seemed to stiffen as he nodded. "It was, but I'm done now." He turned to me and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, little girl. I'm all yours now, I promise."

He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. I knew this was for show, this was for Mark's benefit more than mine but I kissed him back regardless. Everything else faded away when Jamie kissed me, my eyes fluttered closed and I literally could have been anywhere and it wouldn't matter so long as his lips didn't leave mine. I crushed myself to him, wrapping my arms around his waist, wanting to melt into him and stay there forever. But as with all good things, they have to end sometime. He pulled out of the kiss and smiled, stroking my face with his thumb. Glancing to the side, I saw that Mark had already walked off, probably so he didn't witness us kissing - that was probably Jamie's intention.

His nose trailed up the side of mine. "Sorry," he whispered.

I shook my head dismissively. "Don’t worry about it. Is everything okay?" I asked curiously.

He sighed and nodded, putting on a fake smile, probably so I wouldn't ask about it. "Yeah fine.

Want to get some fresh air or something? I have a headache," he replied, nodding back towards the gym doors.

I smiled sympathetically. It was probably the music that was giving him a headache; it was pretty loud in here. "Sure."

I followed him outside, smiling as he slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders as we stepped into the cold night air. He walked over to the little brick wall and sat down, taking my hand and pulling me towards him gently so I was standing in-between his legs, our faces level. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he looked at me. He gripped the edges of his jacket, pulling it closed around my body as he pressed himself closer to me keeping me warm. My eyes locked on his and I seemed to get caught in his gaze as his hand stroked up and down my back softly. We didn’t speak, I just looked at his handsome face and memorised every inch of it. The music playing in the background, the stars shining down on us, the solitude, all of it was perfect and almost magical.

"How are you feeling now?" I asked after a couple of minutes, stroking his face softly.

He blew out a big breath and shook his head, rubbing his forehead. "It's pretty bad actually. Right above my eyes," he replied. "You don't have any pills for it, do you?"

I shook my head apologetically. I usually carried pain killers on me, but I only had that stupid little clutch bag with me tonight. "No, sorry I don't. Maybe we could try and get you something from the first aid room?" I suggested.