[002] guilty conscience

                                             Shiloh runs a hand through her hair as she makes her way through the halls, dressed up in her soccer uniform once again. She was preparing to join the other girls for the final scrimmage before they'd leave for Nationals. She personally didn't see the point of it but regardless, Shiloh was derermined to remain a team sport now that they were preparing to leave.

                                             In a couple of days, they'd be off for Nationals where they'd hopefully win. So it was the very least Shiloh could do.

                                             She has her headphones on, blasting Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana without a care in the world. But just as she was preparing to make her way outside the school, the doors to the back opened and Shiloh bumped into one of Eleanor's friends, Katherine, in the process. The moment Katherine locked eyes with her, she immediately backed away from Shiloh out of pure disgust.

                                            "Oh, gross! And I just got this outfit yesterday," Katherine complained, acting as though Shiloh was dirty just by touching her.

                                           "Don't you think you should be saying something to her?" Maude glared at Shiloh, rushing to the defense of her friend.

                                           Shiloh scowled. "I'm sorry you three idiots couldn't see where you were going."

                                            "You're the one that bumped into her so you should watch where you're going, dyke," Rebecca scoffed.

                                           "I didn't know such a pristine girl could say such a big word. I'm a little impressed," Shiloh responded.

                                             "Shit, she actually touched me. Do you think she's going to be obsessed with me now?" Katherine groaned.

                                             "Don't worry about it," Maude assures her. "It's nothing a good shower won't be able to fix."

                                            The three girls walk right past Shiloh, now acting as though she didn't exist. Shiloh takes her headphones off at this point, continuing to storm outside where she saw some of her teammates in the distance. She could recognize Eleanor right away from amongst them, standing right beside Taissa as she talked to Lottie and Nat. Although Shiloh had a feeling that she was going to regret joining the argument, she walks towards them anyways.

                                           "It seems like you don't even care," Taissa spat, the words focused entirely on Natalie.

                                           Natalie scoffs, saying, "Are you kidding me? You two are being insensitive!"

                                          "What the hell is going on here?" Shiloh frowned.

                                          "What's going on here is that I have a solution to the Allie problem. One that'll work, but Nat doesn't seem to care," Taissa explained. "This is what we've worked for all season. You really wanna take that chance?"

                                        "Yeah, 'cause I'm not a fucking asshole," Nat retorted.

                                        "What are you guys talking about?" Shauna asked, joining them.

                                       "Allie," Lottie responded, vaguely filling her in.

                                       "What about her?" Shauna inquired.

                                       "Did you black out at states? She totally choked," Taissa remarked.

                                       "She's a freshman, Tai," Natalie argued.

                                      "She's a liability," Taissa shot back.

                                       "But she's still our teammate. At the end of the day, we're supposed to be a team and plotting against her doesn't seem to be the way to go. Unless it's just supposed to be every man for themselves now," Shiloh argued.

                                      Eleanor rolls her eyes. "You're so dramatic. We're still a team. We're just ensuring that we win."

                                      Shiloh scoffs. Of course, Eleanor would be willing to backstab one of their own to win. It wouldn't be the first time she backstabbed someone close to her. And it probably wouldn't be the last time either.

                                     "So what do you want to do about it?" Shauna asked.

                                    "She can't screw up if she doesn't get the ball," Taissa answered, making everything sound so certain.

                                    "You want to freeze her out?" Shauna asked, big brown eyes shining with realization.

                                   Taissa shrugs. "At least we'd know what we're working with."

                                   "I know how it sounds but we have no other choice. If we ruin our chances at winning fucking Nationals just because we wanted to give Allie a chance to fuck it up for us... It'd be for her own good," Eleanor reasoned.

                                     "Her own good? Do you have any idea how crazy you two sound right now?" Shiloh questioned.

                                     "I'd rather be crazy than be a fucking loser like you," Eleanor retorted.

                                     Shiloh chuckles, the sound harsh as she stares up at Eleanor. "Glad to know you'll never fucking change then."

                                      And with that, Shiloh finally storms towards the field - nearly knocking Eleanor over in the process. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her fists balled up while her nails dug into her skin. Normally, she was a little tougher than this. But between dealing with Eleanor's bitchy friends and now dealing with Eleanor herself, Shiloh knew that she was about to explode at any moment.

                                      "Do you want me to hold that for you?"

                                      Shiloh blinks, looking over at Misty Quigley who just looked at her eagerly while waiting for a response to her question. It takes Shiloh a moment to realize that she was talking about the walkman she was still carrying on her. One she couldn't obviously keep on her when she started practice. Shiloh just grumbles in response, handing it over to her without second thought.

                                       By the time that the other girls arrived (presumably finished with their shitty talk), it was time for the scrimmage to begin.

                                     "All right, bring it in! Take a knee, ladies!" Coach Scott exclaimed.

                                     The girls ran over to Coach Scott, getting down on their knees. Misty was right by his side, smiling from ear to ear as she studied him closely. 

                                  "What's up, State Champs?" Coach Scott asked, earning cheers from the other girls. "Okay, so JV is gonna help us out with a little scrimmage today. Uh, Coach Martinez had to take care of a family thing, so JV, you're gonna grab a pinny from Misty and let's get started."

                                  "Uh, excuse me, Coach Scott. Shouldn't we say a prayer first?" Laura Lee suggested.

                                  "Uh, it's just a scrimmage, Laura Lee," Coach Scott tried to argue but the look on Laura Lee's face was enough to make him change his mind. "But, uh, sure. Yeah, knock yourself out."

                                 After Laura Lee finished praying, the girls started with the scrimmage. Shiloh looked over at Eleanor and Taissa, the two girls managing to share a look right then and there. She had no clue what the two were planning but it couldn't have been good. And so, Shiloh was going to try to intervene.

                                  From the moment the practice started, she and Nat tried their best to help Allie but Taissa wouldn't let her. She stole the ball right from Allie, leaving the freshman stunned. And a little pissed.

                                  Coach Scott blew the whistle after that. "Come on, Allie. That should've been yours!"

                                   Taissa ran over to where their coach now stood, a determined look burning in her eyes. "I want to switch sides. I'll take Allie."

                                    "Okay," Coach Scott nodded in agreement.

                                    "Alright! Let's go, Varsity! Taissa wants to see you step it up and quite frankly, that makes two of us. Let's see some hustle," Coach Scott announced, causing Eleanor and Taissa to share a look.

                                     Eleanor felt more determined than ever to apply pressure onto Allie. Both Taissa and Eleanor were on Allie once the game started. But before she could get a chance, Shiloh ran in front of her and basically got in Eleanor's way. Eleanor tried to shove the girl away from her but Shiloh just pushed her back, making Eleanor fall right on her ass. Taissa then stepped in and shoved her over the line so she had no chance of getting the ball.

                                     "What the fuck?" Eleanor glared up at Shiloh, rushing up to her feet.

                                      "Sorry," Shiloh responds, although her tone clearly suggested otherwise. "I just didn't see where I was going."

                                      "Stay out of my way," Eleanor warned before she runs over to where Taissa and Shauna were.

                                      "It's not helping, Tai. Your little plan isn't working," Shauna frowned, catching up to them.

                                      "If we can't freeze her out, she's gonna have to learn to play under the pressure," Taissa suggested.

                                      "Exactly. But you can take care of Allie. I have Shiloh to deal with," Eleanor frowned, glaring at Shiloh. She was determined to get back at her for her little stunt.

                                       The new game began with Laura Lee kicking the ball in Taissa and Allie's direction. Allie quickly caught it, playing a lot better than she had before. Shiloh began to chase after Allie, determined to protect her from both Eleanor and Taissa who chased after her. Eleanor frowned before she begins running in Shiloh's direction, her anger getting the best of her as she tackles Shiloh to the ground.

                                      "Get the fuck off of me!" Shiloh exclaimed, rolling the both of them over to where she was now on top of Eleanor. "What is your fucking problem?"

                                      "You are my fucking problem, you lunatic!"

                                      "You're the one that tackled me, psycho!"

                                       "Only because you pushed me first!"

                                      The others didn't notice the fight going on between them, focusing on the ball which went to Shauna. She immediately kicked it over to Allie. Allie chased after the ball at the same time Taissa did. In the process, Taissa tripped Allie and caused her to fall. But it wouldn't be a simple fall. Allie's bone snapped with a loud, sickening crack and the freshman let out the most terrifying scream.

                                      Both girls immediately stop arguing and look over to see the commotion. Shiloh rushes up to her feet and runs to Allie's side while Eleanor sits up, frozen in horror and fear over what she was seeing.

                                      Allie clutched onto her leg, rolling around on the field in agony. Shiloh felt her heart racing the moment she saw all of the blood running down Allie's leg, resembling dark strawberry jam. But the worst part of it all was seeing Allie's bone sticking out, making Shiloh immediately gag at the sight of it.

                                      "Holy fuck," Coach Scott exclaimed as he rushed over, inspecting Allie's horrific leg injury.

                                    "Help!" Allie desperately shouted.

                                     "Okay. Apply pleasure to stop the bl-," Misty began, reaching over to touch her. To no one's surprise, she only made things worse.

                                     "Jesus, Misty, get the fuck out of the way!" Coach Scott shoved her away, nearly making her fall.

                                      All Allie could do was cry while Coach Scott gave instructions on what to do. The other girls rushed to Allie's side, including Eleanor who slowly walked towards the crying freshman. Her eyes were wide and glossy, realizing that this was partially her fault. She had pushed Allie to the point where her fucking leg was broken.

                                      Eleanor was cursed to hurt everyone around her, it seemed.

                                      After Allie was taken away, the girls went back to the locker room. Needless to say, things were intense inside. Everyone was deathly quiet, haunted by what they had seen. Her injuries were pretty horrific and it'd be a miracle if Allie would be able to go back to how she used to be again. Shiloh sat next to Natalie while Eleanor was entirely on her own, leaning against one of the lockers and beginning to bite her nails out of nervousness.

                                     As the group leader, Jackie took this as an opportunity to encourage her teammates.

                                    "I know we're all really worried about Allie. But... it might not be as bad as it looks," Jackie encouraged. Or at least, tried to.

                                   "You could see her fucking bones, Jackie," Nat bluntly remarked. "I'm pretty sure it's exactly as bad as it looks."

                                  Van groaned. "Oh, God, I'm gonna throw up."

                                  "Okay, but, I mean... we're still a team. And we still have each other," Jackie added with a small smile.

                                  "Fucking bullshit," Shiloh cursed, not caring who heard her.

                                  "And the Lord works in mysterious ways," Laura Lee added.

                                  Natalie banged her fist on the nearest locker, making Eleanor jump. "Nice work, Taissa."

                                   She stormed out of the locker room after that and Shiloh grabbed her things, deciding that she couldn't stay there any more. But before she'd get far, she'd take one look at Eleanor and storm towards her. Although it wasn't all Eleanor's fault, she was part to blame for why this had happened in the first place.

                                             "Was this your master plan all along? Break Allie's leg and ruin her life?" Shiloh interrogated.

                                              "What? No! I'd never want to do that to her," Eleanor argued.

                                              "How can I believe you when all you do is lie? You lie all the time, even down to the time we used to be friends. You're just lying now to get yourself out of being guilty," Shiloh retorted.

                                              Eleanor faltered. "You thought I was lying to you during our entire friendship?"

                                             "Weren't you? You obviously never gave a shit about me if you could abandon me so quickly for your new friends. It's one thing if you were just upfront about that but to lie this whole time, it just shows how much of a sociopath you really are," Shiloh shakes her head.

                                             "I...," Eleanor trails off, struggling to find the right words to say. Eleanor Sun always knew the answers, she always knew what to say and how to solve problems. But when it came to her biggest problem (Shiloh Vega), she never would have the right answer that'd explain why their once close relationship fell apart in a matter of one night.

                                             "What? What excuse are you going to use this time?" Shiloh questioned.

                                             "Doesn't matter. It's not like you'll believe me anyway. I'm just a big fat liar to you," Eleanor retorted.

                                            "Good. Glad you're finally being honest with yourself. I hope you're happy with yourself," Shiloh responded.

                                             Once Shiloh was gone, Eleanor could feel the tears start to roll down her cheeks. Hiding her face, Eleanor immediately burst into tears - overwhelmed with everything that had happened today.

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word count: 2370
notes: so things got pretty intense once again but this is nothing compared to all of the wilderness chapters up ahead! as always, i hope you enjoyed and let me know what you thought!