Binding 13

With my heart racing, I cast a quick peek up at Joh

Exhaling a small puff of air from my lungs, I pressed into the playlist and quickly scrolled through the list of songs.

Coldplay – Yellow

Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O' Mine

Goo Goo Dolls – Iris

The Fureys – When You Were Sweet Sixteen

Howie Day – Collide

Declan Ó Rourke – Whatever Else Happens

The Offspring – Want You Bad

Busted – Fall At Your Feet

Aerosmith – Crazy

Counting Crows – Colorblind

David Gray – This Year's Love

Bon Jovi – In These Arms

Westlife – World of Our Own

Eagle-Eye Cherry – Save Tonight

Metallica – Tuesday's Gone.

Snow Patrol – Run

The Verve – Lucky Man

HIM – Wicked Game

The La's – There She Goes

These were love songs.

These were all love songs.

Saved to a playlist with my name on it.

Why?

Why would he do this?

Did he…?

No. No, he didn’t.

Of course, he didn’t.

Then why…

"Sha

Thankfully it landed on my lap and not on the floor of the bus.

I turned to face him, feeling my heart race violently in my chest.

"Talk?"

"Yeah." Joh

"Uh, yeah, okay…" Wiping my palms on my skirt, I exhaled a shaky breath before adding, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Not here," Joh

"Uh…" I chewed on my lip, feeling panicked at the thought of having to wait that long. "If that's what you want?"

"It's probably best," he replied gruffly.

Oh, god.

Was it bad?

Was he going to tell me something terrible?

"Don’t look so scared," Joh

I was so lost in this boy I could hardly breathe.

"Alright, everyone, reflection time is over," Mrs. Moore called out, clapping her hands to garner everyone's attention. "We only have forty minutes left before we get to Dublin, so I propose another quiz."

"For fuck's sake," Joh

I chuckled at his reaction.

"What's fu

I enjoy being with you.

"I'm on the wi

"True," Joh

Yes.

Yes, we did.

I waited for everyone else to climb off the bus before sliding out of my seat.

"Good luck today," I said as I hovered in the aisle, watching Joh

"Huh?" Joh

He looked stressed.

The closer we got to Royce College, the more agitated he grew.

Now that we were here, Joh

I understood why.

He was supposed to go to school here, which meant he would more than likely be playing against his old friends and teammates.

That was a lot of pressure.

And he was hiding an injury.

"The match," I clarified. "I hope you win." I gave him a small wave before hurrying down the aisle towards the exit, desperate to put some much-needed space between Joh

"Sha

Pausing at the door, I swung back to look at him. "Yeah?"

His blue eyes burned holes inside of me when he said, "Thanks."

"For what?" I whispered.

Joh

"Uh, okay?"

"I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

I nodded. "Bye Joh

Feeling off kilter, I hurried off the bus where I was immediately intercepted by both Shelly and Helen.

Hooking their arms through mine, they led me away from the bus.

"Girl, you have some explaining to do," Shelly said excitedly.

"And we want all the details," Helen agreed with a nod.

"Details?" I asked, feeling flushed by their ambush. "About what?"

"Don’t even think about it," Helen warned. "You just spent three hours up close and personal with Joh

"I didn’t have a choice," I replied. "The seat next to his was the only one left."

"What did you talk about?" Shelly asked, eyes dancing with excitement. "What did he say to you?"

"I don’t know." I shrugged, feeling awkward. "Just stuff."

"Just stuff?" Helen spluttered.

"Sha

"Back off, vultures," Lizzie barked. "Go and find another carcass to fight over."

She was leaning against the back of the bus, with a huge boy standing in front of her.

I instantly recognized him as Pierce.

I decided that they had to be back on again when I took in the sight of her hands on his waist, and the way he was nuzzling her neck.

Claire, Gibsie, Hughie, Coach Mulcahy, and Patrick Feely were standing close by, though they weren't paying any attention to us.

In fact, they all seemed to be in a debate over something as they circled Coach Mulcahy.

"Lizzie!" Shelly whined. "I was only asking."

"If you want to know what Joh

Grateful for her interruption, I slid out from between the gossip girls, gave them a quick wave, ignored their disappointed expressions, and then hurried over to my friends.

The closer I got to my friends, the louder the discussion between the others seemed to get.

"He's playing, Coach," Hughie was snarling. "They can't do this."

"I agree, Biggs," Coach replied with a phone to his ear. "This crap won't stand – Hello, yes, I would like the speak to the principal." With his mobile welded to his ear, Coach hurried off, barking orders into the phone.

"What a pack of langers," Gibsie tossed out angrily.

"Pussies," Hughie agreed.

"To be fair," Patrick Feely mused, "the team seems willing to play. It's their coach with the issue."

"Issue?" I asked, sidling up to Claire because Lizzie's mouth was currently being occupied by Pierce's tongue. "What's going on? Is the match cancelled?"

"Royce's coach is refusing to allow his team to play if Coach plays Joh

"What?" I gaped at her. "Why?"