Going into this chapter please understand how competitive Tessa is when it comes to things, sports especially. She's always taken her sports and athletics seriously.

|| Chapter 8 ||

"Good morning, Tess," Ellie, our nanny, greets me as I walk into the kitchen for breakfast. She's more so our cook nowadays since she only has Maddie to really look after but she's been with our family since Harry was two and he's now twenty-three.

"Morning Ellie," I hug her side and move around her, grabbing myself a bowl for my oatmeal. Maddie is sitting at the counter with her sketch book and pencil crayons in front of her breakfast. She stops every minute or so to take a bite out of her cereal. I look over my shoulder at her, "Mom and dad?"

She smiles in an almost pitying way and shake her head, "Nope, they left about an hour ago." I nod my head and go about making my breakfast quietly.

"Good morning everyone," Charlotte cheerily exclaims as she steps into the kitchen, she's all showered and dressed for the day.

I put my hand up, stopping her from coming any closer, "Please don't bring your peppiness into this kitchen so early. Maddie and I have a system, minimal talking and no smiles, right Maddie?" I look over at the youngest Hayes.

She raises one hand in the air, not looking in our direction and keeping her focus on her drawing, "Preach." I snap my fingers, pointing at her for emphasis.

Charlotte rolls her eyes, walking over to the fridge and grabbing two eggs. She moves around Ellie and grabs a pan out of the cupboard. "You two are ridiculous." She rummages around for something in the drawers, "You need a ride to school, Munchkin?"

"Shit," I curse, grabbing my phone and typing a quick message to Drew, telling him that he doesn't have to pick me up this morning. I had texted Alyssa late last night asking her to pick me up this morning instead of Drew.

"Swear jar," Maddie smirks, dropping her colored pencil on the counter to take a bite of cereal, "And no thanks, Tash's mom is picking me up in a few."

"We disbanded the swear jar, brat," I scowl at her open hand, waiting for my money. My phone beeps.

Cool, had a few errands to run this morning anyway -Drew

"Not since the others came home," she nods her head towards the toaster and sitting there next to it is the infamous 'Swear Jar'.

"I hate you," I grumble, digging in my backpack for a five dollar bill.

"I love me too," she flips her blonde hair over her shoulder, giving me a cute grin.

"What did you guys do with the last batch of money last year?" Charlotte asks from her spot by the stove.

I groan as Maddie proudly holds up her iPod, "I got an iPod."

Charlotte's eyes widen, "Holy sh-my god, that's, that's a lot of bad words," she stares at me.

"Mom's grocery store incident really tipped the metaphorical and literal scales of the Swear Jar," I reply with a shrug, shoveling down my oatmeal.

A shuffle sounds from the doorway and Olivia walks in, her eyes still half-closed.

"Morning Liv," Charlotte greets her cheerily.

"Shhh, it's too early for that," Olivia waves her hand telling Charlotte to lower her voice.

I point my spoon at Olivia, "See? Liv gets it." Charlotte rolls her eyes in reply.

A honk sounds from outside and I scramble around the kitchen, placing my bowl in the sink gently, last week I accidentally broke the bowl because I threw it in without thinking. "K, bye, I'll probably see you later. I have practice after school, Ellie," I inform Ellie, running to the foyer as another honk sounds.

"Noted, have a good, Tessy!" Ellie calls out.

"Bye Tess!"

Gray clouds are the first thing I notice as I step out of the front door, shutting it behind me.

Alyssa sits in her car with a hand poised over the horn, looking directly at me. I roll my eyes and sprint to the car with all my field hockey gear, throwing it in the backseat and slide into the passenger seat with a sigh.

She doesn't put the car in drive but instead stares at me, "Remind me again why I had to wake up twenty minutes earlier to pick your ass up from school when Drew usually does it?"

"Because shit is gonna hit the fan and I'm not entirely sure how he is going to react." She leans her head on the headrest, implying me to carry on. "Isaac and I went to Brianna's house last night-."

She snaps her fingers, "That's what you were doing!"

"And we may have, done something to her car but the weird part about it was that Drew was at her house."

"What? But they broke up, didn't they? Because I remember emo Drew and that is not a fun Drew to have around," her expression is just as confused as the one I was sporting last night. She puts the car in drive and we carry on talking.

"Exactly," I reply annoyed, "I did not have to deal with that boy crying and getting drunk for three weeks, only for him to go back to her barely a month later."

"Amen!"

Once we're parked in the school parking lot, I look around, watching for any signs of crazy ex-girlfriends. "Oh, there's Kendall!" Alyssa rolls down her window and calls loudly, "Kenny get in here!"

Kendall's head whips around and she sees us waving at her urgently which prompts her to ditch Liam and the guys, sans Drew, and sprint over to us. "What did I miss?" she asks as she jumps in the backseat, landing on my hockey gear.

We give her a full rundown of what had happened last night with Alyssa taking control for added emphasis at the right moments. A rumble we all know a little too well, speeds by us and further into the parking lot.

"No," I gasp.

"Fucking way!" Alyssa and Kendall finish off for me as we stare at the duo in Drew's car.

"She was his morning errand?" I ask in shock. We look at each other for a few seconds before scrambling out of the car as casually as we can. From the reactions the guys are giving them, they're just as confused as we are.

"Just be cool," Alyssa whispers as we walk in a triangle formation towards the front door, ignoring Drew and Brianna as they climb out of his convertible.

"Are we going for confrontation or just ignore because I am very confused right now?" Kendall points out.

I square my shoulders, staring Drew down, "We're going for confrontation."

"Aw, hell yes!" Alyssa fist pumps the air subtly and I stare at her for a few seconds. "Uh, I mean, we're here for support."

I raise an eyebrow and nod my head, unconvinced. She just gives me an innocent grin in reply.

"Ah Tessa, I felt like I would be seeing you this morning," Brianna smiles sweetly at me but I can see the desire for murder in her eyes.

"That's sweet."

Drew stands off to the side, leaning against his car, watching us. I stare at him but he can't keep eye contact for more than a few seconds and just looks away.

"So did you hear about my car? Some idiot vandalized it late last night so Drew here, offered to pick me up," she grins up at Drew.

"How chivalrous," I answer with a blank expression.

"Anyway, I'll see you after school Drew, thanks again." She taps his arm gently and moves away, joining her friends who are waiting near the entrance.

"Wow, you're so sweet Drew," I tell him with a sarcastic smile on my face.

He shakes his head and pushes off the car, finally making eye contact. "I'm not doing this with you and what you did last night was really petty, Tess."

"I did what I thought was right," I hiss at him.

"Exactly, what you thought was right, I never told you to do anything," he stands in front of me, staring me down but I don't let extra four inches intimidate me.

"Yeah, because I could just sit and do nothing when you were crying and getting drunk all the time, how could I not do something?" I look at him, waiting for an answer.

He sighs, resting his hands on my shoulders, "Tess, I understand why you felt like you had to do it, okay? But I'm not Charlotte and this isn't a mean girl terrorizing me, this is just my ex-girlfriend. You can't vandalize every girls car when something goes wrong," his lips quirk in a smile.

"Watch me," I mumble as the bell rings.

"Attention Seniors, please report to the auditorium for an impromptu assembly. Seniors to the auditorium for an impromptu assembly." The overhead intercom announces throughout the school.

Drew looks at me pointedly, "We are not done talking about this."

I roll my eyes, "Yes dad." He smiles, patting my head like I'm a dog and rushing off quickly before I can smack him. "Idiot."

Alyssa's arm catches mine as we walk into school together, "I feel as if that resolved nothing."

"Thanks Nancy Drew," I tell her, saying goodbye to Kendall and walking into our home room together.

I sit at my desk in the back and Alyssa takes her assigned seat in the front, our teacher didn't trust us to sit within ten feet of each other in class.

A nudge interrupts my thoughts and I look over at my seat neighbor. I try not to grimace, "Hi, Oliver."

"Hey Tess, how was your night?" He asks, leaning closer to me.

I shift in my seat uncomfortably, "Good?"

He nods his head, "Good, good," he mumbles and I scrunch my eyebrows, weirded out. "Hey, do you wanna go out to dinner with me tonight?"

"No," I answer not missing a beat.

"Ouch Hayes, hit me where it hurts why don't you," he laughs, holding a hand over his heart.

"Oh I will if you get any closer," I smile sarcastically at him, making a point to look towards the front of the class, ignoring him.

|| ✨ ||

"Okay class gather round!" Coach Miller calls to the class. I look up from my spot on the padded floor and stand up swiftly, glancing back down at a very comfortable Alyssa still spread out on the floor.

I kick her foot, "Come on, Coach is calling."

Her eyes stay closed as she lifts a hand daintily waving me off, "Like I give a shit about that asshole."

"Come on, last thing I need is to run extra laps because you're too damn lazy to move."

"Hayes! Move it!" Coach yells, his voice echoing across the indoor multipurpose center.

One of Alyssa's eyes peeps open and she stares up at my glaring face. "Okay, okay, coming," she laughs, struggling to get off the floor. Coach watches us dawdle up to the rest of the students before he starts talking.

"Okay, so Coach Fallon has an emergency and had to leave so her senior class will be joining us for their gym period," he claps his hands for unnecessary emphasis. The senior class starts walking through the doors entering the gym.

My eye catches Mateo and a few of our other guy friends, shoving each other around.

"Oh come on, we can't go two seconds without seeing their faces?" Alyssa groans, turning away so that they don't see her.

"We're playing rounders indoor today because this weather is taking a turn for the worst," Coach says, looking out of the floor to ceiling glass windows. A flash of lightning goes off and I grimace. Guess field hockey is cancelled today. "Now, it's going to be juniors versus seniors so pick your team captains and report back to me."

"Tessa Hayes!"

I look over at a junior named Grant who was the junior that yelled out my name and a bunch of people voice their agreement. I shrug walking up to where Coach Miller is standing. I fold my arms over my chest, sizing up my competition. Brianna and her friends are standing with our guy friends, including Drew, and I grit my teeth, annoyance clear on my face.

"We pick Liam!" Mateo shouts loudly, shoving Liam to the front of the crowd of seniors. It is clear that the seniors are already in vacation mode since none of them seem to care that we're about to play a game. They're all laughing and messing around since they're graduating this weekend, they technically don't even need to be at school anymore.

"Hey Tess," Liam smiles casually and I give him a wave in greeting.

"Liam, my boy, how are you doing? Your last game against Riverview last semester was extraordinary, you really helped pull the team through," Coach practically gushes over Liam and the rest of the football team, even though the season ended three months ago and it's not like I'm slaving my ass off for this school because I play three different sports each damn year. "Okay, let's go!"

The juniors and seniors branch off to their selected areas with the juniors batting first. I come to a stop in front of my 'team' but can't fight the urge to glance over my shoulder and see that Drew is still glued into whatever Brianna is sprouting, and has yet to even notice that I'm in this class with him.

"Wow, once we're actually in school time it's like we don't exist, huh?" Alyssa asks rhetorically, a sardonic grin on her face.

I shake off her comment, "No matter, we'll use their distractions to our advantage."

"Let's kick some ass," she fist bumps me, staring down the guys.

"Whichever team wins first will be the first to shower and get changed, the losing team has to wait, even if the end of school bell has rung!" Coach Miller shouts across the gym, gaining everyone's attention. The seniors cheer loudly, the realization that they can make the juniors wait literal hours giving them some motivation.

I spin around, "Okay, who wants to bat first, because I'm not doing it," I call out, looking over my classmates.

A few athletic guys raise their hands, moving to the front of the group, Grant being one of them. "Tessa, you've got to bat this round," Grant nudges me with a sly grin.

"Don't worry, I will," I say casually, not at all concerned for myself against the seniors. "Okay guys, I don't know about you, but I really don't want to have to be here longer than legally required, so let's win this and rub it in the senior classes nose, cool?" A cheer erupts around me and the Grant and one of his friends jog over to where the batters stand.

The seniors are all spread out around the padded gym floor. Mateo is standing at the white cushion that is being used as the pitcher's mound. He's throwing a tennis ball in the air, trying to catch it in ridiculous ways, like lifting up his leg and moving his hand under it to catch the ball. Benji, owning his weaknesses, is standing to the complete right of the designated area that we're using as the 'field'. Liam is at first base with a senior girl that I do not know, standing at second (she might be on the softball team), and Drew is standing at third base with Brianna and her posse scattered close behind him in the outfield.

I walk up to Grant and pull him aside before he can take the plate, "Aim for Brianna and her friends, they can't catch for shit." He nods his head in appreciation, holding the hard plastic bat up in the air as he stands just in front of the flat white cushion used as the home plate.

All the juniors take a first steps back and to the left so that we are not in the line of fire. Alyssa skips over to me, "Please try and hit Brianna when you bat."

"I don't need to try," I trail off cockily, and by the look on her face she already knows, "but I will," I grin sheepishly. She laughs, turning her attention to the game that's about to start.

Coach Miller takes his place as umpire but stops, holding a small remote in his hands, "How about we have a little music to motivate us?" He hits a button and Stronger by Kanye West comes on, earning a bunch of cheers from the classes.

I smirk, knowing how Sebastian often used to play this song loudly whenever he had a game last year. His horrible dance moves were a true sight to see.

"Now we're talking," Mateo starts shuffling around, mouthing the words to the song. He moves back onto the white cushion and winds his arm to throw the ball but as he's about to let it go he stops. "Coach, under or over hand?"

Coach Miller scoffs, "Batter's preference."

Mateo nods, cocking his head at Grant who has wide eyes, "Uhhh, over."

"Atta boy!" Mateo smirks, throwing the tennis ball over hand at Grant and he smacks it as hard as he can since it's a plastic bat. It bounces to the right, near first base but he manages to get there before Liam can get the ball. The seniors start to pay more attention to the game, knowing that the stakes are high for everyone. Even Brianna and her friends are chatting less and are actually participating.

The juniors that are actually paying attention, shout and fist bump each other. I look over at Alyssa, "Now it's on." She nods her head, as we watch Grants friend hit the ball but the senior girl at second base manages to catch it, getting him out immediately. Grant was wise enough to not run, anticipating the outcome.

The next five minutes are crucial for me to determine who is good at what and how well the seniors are at catching. We have another person out due to Drew's fast reflexes. Grant is at third base with another guy at first and we have two outs in total. Not one girl has volunteered in sheer fear of embarrassing themselves. The seniors are buckling down and Mateo, Liam, Drew and the softball senior girl are taking no prisoners with each batter that comes next.

"Who's up to bat next? I promise I don't bite!" Mateo smirks, taunting the juniors.

"Now we all know that that isn't true," I call out, taking my place by the home plate.

"Ah Tess, I was wondering when you would show up to lead your team to victory," he winks, looking over his shoulder at the other seniors, "Everyone back up! This girl has one hell of a swing." The seniors that don't know me scoff, taking a step or two back, but Brianna and her friends move all the way to the back of the gym. Perfect. "Under or over?"

My blank stare is answer enough for him from the laugh he lets out. I hold the bat up, planting my feet firmly and staring Mateo down. He drops the smile, knowing that he needs this moment to actually concentrate when it comes to me. He throws the ball and it's so obvious that he's genuinely put all his strength behind his throw but I barely bat an eyelash as I swing my arm, smacking it right into the left 'outfield' hitting Brianna in the leg. Her exclamation of "OW!" is music to my ears as I sprint to first base.

The seniors are yelling for Brianna, or one of her friends, to throw the ball to one of the bases but by the time she's picked it up I'm already passed the first base and onto the second by the time Brianna gets the ball into her hand and is throwing it, poorly, to Drew. He fumbles dramatically, dropping the ball as I sprint passed him but something about his fumble stops me completely in my tracks, halfway between third base and home plate. The juniors are screaming at me to run but I block out their voices out as I turn on my heel, steam practically pouring out of my ears. Drew doesn't fumble. The seniors are confused as to what is happening, with only a few of them yelling at Drew to throw the ball to the catcher.

"Oh, you did not just fumble the ball so that I could win," I look at him, a glare settled on my face.

Drews eyebrows knit together, playing off confusion. "Tess I-."

"I saw that fake ass fumble from over there," I gesture to the spot I was standing a few seconds ago.

"Well, you would've gotten out if I hadn't-." Drew starts to defend himself but I cut him off.

"Then get me out, simple," I throw my arms out, not understanding why he felt like he had to let me win.

"It's gym Tessa, calm down," Mateo wraps an arm around my shoulder, jostling me to the side.

"Let go," I say lowly. He does realising how much this has affected me. "We're doing