× Horan

"I heard her parents died in a car accident."

"Someone told me she was dating three guys at once at her old university."

"No way, that can't be true. I heard she was a lesbian."

I had to bite down on my pen to keep myself from laughing. Did they not have anything better to talk about other than the new girl? They were sitting two rows behind me and despite them trying to be quite, it wasn't working in their favor. I could hear everything they were saying.

Remember when I said girls were always categorized for being gossipers? I still stick to my word, except I forgot to add that even though the males and females like to make shit up, at least the males were a little more realistic when they spread it.

Lectures weren't my thing, and if I've known there was going to be one in English that day, I wouldn't have bothered going. I put my head in my hand as I doodled on my paper aimlessly as the professor talked on and on, the two girls gossiping behind me.

The professor was talking about some story from Greek mythology I believed (I heard the words Zeus and Odyssey somewhere in there so what else could it possibly be?). I tried to pay attention the best I could, but anything mythology just went over my head.

I could feel my eyes start to droop and my attention span wonder to strategy moves to work on during practice later that evening.

I didn't understand what was so great about the myths. I mean, they were stories that people a long time ago actually believed in. It wasn't any different than it was in the present day with all the different religions. So whether it was back then or existing now, I still didn't give a shit about it.

"Martha told me she was pregnant but had an abortion," one of the girls continued.

"Someone in maths said she was a drug dealer who participated in massive drug fueled orgies every weekend."

"That would make sense. I've been told she was in the Mafia."

I couldn't take it anymore. Their gossip was entertaining in the beginning, but there was only so much bullshit one lad could take. I grabbed my backpack and stuffed my things inside, but before I could even leave my seat, the door of the class opened and a tall brunette reticently walked in toward the front of the room. If the deep sapphire blue eyes and tanned skin wasn't enough of an indicator as to who it was, then the abrupt silence of the conversation behind me sure was.

Professor Lawtherd stopped talking once he noticed the girl and smiled kindly at her.

"You must be Lynn," he said like he was expecting her, like she was supposed to be there. And let me tell you as someone who has walked her though her class schedule, she was most definitely not supposed to be there.

Lynn handed the professor a slip of paper with a smile and a nod before looking out at the class in front of her. If she was fazed by all the eyes staring at her, she didn't show it.

"There's not many seats to choose from, but you may pick where you like to sit," Professor Lawtherd continued.

The classroom wasn't huge, but it was definitely bigger than your typical one in secondary school. The seats were leveled with long desks that only broke apart at three places for the stairs to be located - the center and the two ends.

I watched Lynn intently as she quickly scanned the room for an open seat. There was one in the back, one on the edge a few rows in, and one just diagonally in front of where I was sitting. So naturally she took two steps and made her way to the empty chair in front of me. That was when our eyes locked. She didn't seem surprised to see me as she placed her books and laptop on the desk and took her seat.

"Brilliant!" Professor Lawtherd exclaimed with a clap of his hands, like it was a big victory that Lynn could find a seat for herself. "It's good to have you in class, Miss. Mercury. We're currently discussing the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice. Are you familiar with the tale?"

"I am," Lynn answered with a small nod of her head. "It's one of my favorites."

I couldn't see her face but I could assume she was smiling. What a suck up.

I must have made some kind of noise or rolled my eyes, because suddenly the professor was looking at me. "Is that so?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, then it's a good thing you came today because we're going to be breaking up into groups of two to discuss these myths we've talked about the past few days. And I think Mr. Horan behind you could use your help."

Lynn looked over her shoulder at me, but there wasn't any kind of emotion shown. I clenched my jaw and forced myself to not saying anything I would regret.

"The rest of you can pick your partners," the professor continued. "Come up and take a packet to look through and talk about everything in it. There will be a test in two weeks, so I'd suggest you not skim it and call it good." He said the last part looking directly at me.

People started getting up all around me to go find their friends and to start the assignment. Matt shoved my shoulder for encouragement from beside me. "Sorry, mate," he sincerely said as he walked off to find someone to work with.

"Go get the packet," I snapped at Lynn.

Lynn turned around and gave me a hard look before saying, "Being from London, I thought you would be a lot more polite."

"That's where you're wrong, Princess. I'm not from London. Now go."

She gave me a long, hard look before she walked away to get the packet. Lynn was wearing jeans that fit snug in the legs, and despite my dislike toward her, I couldn't help but stare at her ass as she walked down the stairs. A loose, gray tank top shrouded her torso, slipping down one of her shoulders to expose the soft skin. Her caramel colored hair was pulled up into a bun and her face was clear of makeup.

"How much do you know about Greek mythology?" Lynn asked as she took the seat beside me. She scooted in close and pushed the sheet between us. She smelled of peppermint and it brought me back to Christmas time when I was younger and still lived in the Horan household.

"Uh," I said, getting slightly distracted by Lynn's nearness. "I know who Zeus is... and Poseidon and Hades."

Lynn looked down at the sheet. "Okay, at least you know the three main Gods. How about Echo or Isis? Or someone a little easier like Hera or Demeter? Do you even know the story the professor was talking about? Orpheus and Eurydice?"

"No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me," I retorted, leaning back in my chair and crossed my arms.

She heaved out a heavy sigh and turned in her seat so she was facing me. "Listen, I don't like that I'm partnered up with you on my first day in this class, it's rather disappointing and makes me wonder what I'm in store for. But I don't think I have much of a choice, so either you're with me, or I'll just sit here and look over the sheet on my own while you stare at the pretty blonde across the room."

I quickly looking around to see who she was talking about, but realized there wasn't anyone in particular who she was referring to. Lynn just knew I'd rather be doing anything else then spend the hour with her talking about some shitty love stories. And she would be correct.

"I thought you were in a different English class?" I asked her, changing the subject.

"Creative writing," she explained. "The class was over its capacity limit so they had to change everything around to fit me into an English class. So here I am. Now, are you in this or not?"

Running my hands down my face, I looked at Lynn through my fingers. "I just don't understand them. They're myths and they will always be myths, so why even study them?"

"They're myths, but they're stories that have been passed down from generation to generation," Lynn explained with passion in her eyes that I have never seen before, not even on the football field. "They inform people how to think and live. They help us to learn moral values and know what is right and wrong. We learn from a different perspective and the outcome of their mistake. They're more than just love stories."

"Why is this... Orphanus story your favorite?" I asked her.

"His name is Orpheus," she corrected. "And it's my favorite because of the lesson of the story. And it's only one of my favorites. I have many others."

"Of course you do."

I leaned forward on the chair and grabbed the sheet, looking down at all the questions - all 100 of them. I really didn't want to do this, especially with Lynn, but I realized she was the best option I had in that class to get me past this portion of English.

"Alright, let's do this," I said.

Lynn grabbed my English text book and started flipping through the shiny pages. She found the page she was looking for and dropped it in front of me. "I want you to look through these names and point out all the ones you know. I don't mean ones that you've heard before, but ones you actually know of."

I moved the book closer to me and peered down at the never ending list of names that seemed like a child trying to spell foreign cities. "Aphrodite," I pointed to the name in the book. "Goddess of sex."

Lynn looked up at the ceiling and tilted her head back in exasperation. "Why am I not surprised you would know that one?" she said, looking back at me. "She's also the goddess of love and beauty, you know."

"Whatever."

We spent the remainder of the time reading all the questions on the list and Lynn explaining the answer to all of them to me since I knew absolutely nothing about this shit. I hated to admit it to myself, but I was enjoying my time with Lynn. It was different. We weren't on the field trying to compete for the limelight and we weren't trying to agitate each other just to see the other one angry. We were simply trying to get something done and actually learn something.

It was a nice break that I knew wouldn't last.

"Alright!" Professor Lawtherd shouted through the large room, grabbing everyone's attention. "You have a couple of minutes left, but before you leave I have to tell you your assignment." He walked around his desk and placed his hands flat against the wooden surface. "By Friday of next week I want you to write a short essay about one Greek myth and how it relates to either your life as a whole, or a single event that had happened to you. I want them on my desk before the test. Have a good day!"

Lynn walked back down to her seat and started packing up her things to leave. She didn't say anything or even look back at me before she walked away and out the door.

"Would it be wrong to say that you actually seemed to be enjoying yourself for a little bit there?" Matt joked as he walks up to me. "Did you learn anything?"

"Actually, yes. I learned that Lynn is an even bigger pain in my ass than I thought."

I did admit to myself, however, that I really did learn something and the only reason that I paid attention to anything Lynn was telling me was because she was so animated about it. Her voice was nice and soothing to listen to when she spoke about something she cared about. It also had to do with the fact that it wasn't about football. I knew everything that had to do with the sport, and learning something from Lynn outside from that scenery was different.

But none of that changed the fact that I still didn't like her.

× × ×

For the rest of the day I did absolutely nothing. I stayed in my room all day until practice would start. James came in twice to grab some things, but other than that, I was alone.

My mother called, which was a surprise. It was probably to tell me that there was an opening at this rich college back home in Mullingar. But she didn't call back once I pressed ignore so it must not have been an emergency. Other than that, I spend my time on the computer and I studied my chemistry book for a good hour before there was a knock on my door.

Sighing, I put the book down on my lap and looked at the door lazily. "Come in," I shouted, not wanting to get out of bed.

Abby opened the door with her long bleached hair down her back and a sly smile playing on her lips. "Hey there," she hummed, her voice low as she shut the door behind her. "James told me you cooped yourself up in here, thought I'd come and keep you company."

"I'm fine being alone," I stated simply.

Abby just laughed slightly and walked around the room, digging through the things on my desk and looking at my calendar. "I just figured that you weren't doing anything... and I wasn't doing anything..." She came over to me and pushed the book off my lap and it fell to the floor as she climbed onto the bed. "I just thought, I don't know, we could pass the time by..." she trailed off as her hand trailed down my chest and down to the hem of my shirt. "Doing something."

I grabbed her hand and moved it away from me before getting off the bed. Despite the lack of creative words she used, it wasn't hard to figure out what she wanted. "Not today, and not again with you, ever."

"Why not?" she whined. She actually wined, her voice going up and had that obnoxious reverberate to it. She was looking at me like a child would at a parent after they said they couldn't have any candy before dinner.

"Because, Abby," I said, leaning against my desk with my hands gripping onto the edge of the wood, looking at her dead in the eyes so she can finally understand that it just wasn't going to happen. "It was a one-time thing, and you're related to my teammate and roommate. It's... wrong."

Abby swung her legs over the side of the bed so she was facing me. She leaned forward in an obvious attempt to show off her chest in her low cut dress. She looked at me with hooded eyes. "But that makes it even funner," she said in a low voice, the same voice she used on me to get her into my bed last year.

"More fun, not funner. That's not a word," I corrected her, really wishing that I had gotten up to answer the door so I had the opportunity to close it on her face. "And no. That's final, Abby. Now get out."

"I'll tell James," she spat out suddenly.

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at her irritably. "Are you threatening me to have sex with you?"

"Yes."

She was bluffing. She knew damn well James would kill the both of us if he found out about our one night stand. He would kill me for doing it, and kill Abby for being stupid enough to do it with me.

"I just..." she looked up at me, her eyes suddenly sad. "I can't compete."

"What?"

"I can't compete with her!" Abby shouted. "She's everything I'm not, and I hate it. I hate how she's always there when I can't be. I just..."

Confused was an understatement. We were just talking about sex and then we are talking about some girl? This was the reason I kept one night stands as they were; just one night. I just couldn't deal with... this. Whatever this was.

"What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?"

"That Lynn girl!" Abby boomed.

"Why are you even bringing her up? Why do you always bring her up?" I asked her, my voice getting louder. "She's nothing! She's irrelevant, and I want nothing to do with her."

"Bullshit! She's sporty, and pretty, and actually enjoys to work hard enough to sweat, and-" she stopped, calming down a little before continuing with a new train of thought. "I see it, I can't explain it, but I can see it. She is relevant and she is something to you, I just can't describe it. I don't know if it's the way you look at her or your body language. Like the night you brought her to her hall, I saw it, I could feel it. I just... I don't know. I just don't bloody know!"

I stared at Abby for a while, trying to figure out what the fuck she was talking about. Was it a girl thing, woman instincts or some shit? From what I was concerned, Lynn was everything I just said she was. Irrelevant and nothing. She was simply a teammate and my worst nightmare that I relive every freaking day.

"I have to go," I said monotonously as I removed myself from my desk and grabbed my phone and car keys from my nightstand. "Practice. You can see yourself out."

Without another word, I exited the room and made my way out into the hallway.