CHAPTER ONE

How it started:

'Viola, can you be a girl for like five seconds?'

'A girl? Okay,' she counted down on her fingers, 'first of all, it's not a stupid soccer issue. And, you're a jerk.'

And then she slapped him.

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'That's not fair, that was a lucky shot! That was a lucky shot!!!' he cursed the tears that were running down his face, 'You suck! I never want to see you again!'

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'Dude, tough break at the game last week—want to borrow my hanky?'

Justin Drayton pushed aside the guy with one hand and continued on his way down the corridor without a word. It wasn't exactly an original ribbing—he'd heard it about fifty times in the past week and really, was getting used to it. Of course, the first dozen or so that had dared to tease him had been met with a fist of fury, but his temper had slowly become better.

Either that or it could be the fact that with his right hand sprained, and that he was virtually aimless with his left, he had nothing to punch with.

'Justin, JUSTIN!' came a high-pitched screech.

He didn't stop and continued on his way, but a few patters of heels later, Monique was next to him yanking his arm to face her.

'JUSTIN, I was calling you didn't you hear me?' she demanded, annoyed.

'Go away, Monique. Just because I was your escort doesn't make me your boyfriend and most certainly doesn't make me your property,' and without waiting for a reply, he walked off again, only to hear her frustrated screech again after he was a few metres away.

'You think that you're going to get Viola to take you back? Why would she want you if she's got Duke Orsino?' she yelled after him scathingly.

Again, not the most original insult that she could have thrown at him. He'd heard it, surprisingly frequently in the past few days since the debutante ball.

And suddenly he was tired of it all.

Instead of heading to his second period class, he took a cut by the courtyard and headed to his car.

'This is what it should be,' Justin said to himself as he lay on his back, on some grass that sloped towards the river.

It was one of his and Viola's favourite hang-outs whenever they had time alone. They both loved soccer, but this was a place where they could be just two people who liked each other, without any tags around them like 'soccer player'. One of the deals that they had when they found this place was that they wouldn't take anything soccer-related here.

So it was just as well that she wasn't in his life anymore.

He hugged his soccer ball to his chest, 'it feels like you're my only friend,' and kissed it, tenderly.

If any of the guys on the team had seen him like this, he would have another taunt over his head, but knowing that they were all in class was a liberating experience. As a goalie he had to have an affinity with the ball, and although it let him down during the Cornwall match…

'I don't know whether to feel betrayed or not…'

Justin accidentally flicked the ball too high into the air and it began to roll down the slope, he scrambled up to grab it but tripped over a branch and fell head first into the shallow water. He came up spluttering and swearing because the cold water was a shock to his system, and he wiped the water off his face and looked around for his ball.

He picked it up and then remembered that someone was up the hill.

He looked up to see Viola leaving.

'Viola, wait! Viola!'

'Not really interested in talking to you, Justin!'

'Then why are you here?' he called after her.

She spun around to face him, 'I lost a frog in the science lab and now I have to catch a few. This seemed a good place as any, but I'll go somewhere else.'

'You don't belong over there, Viola!'

'Oh and I suppose you think I should come back to Cornwall and sit meekly by your side like a good trophy girlfriend?'

Justin laughed, 'meekly' and 'Viola' weren't two words that you could put together, 'Come on, Viola…'

'Don't "Come on, Viola" me. And I'd appreciate it if you have anything to say—say it on the soccer pitch. Don't keep calling me, I'm happy now—happy without YOU.'

'You can't really be happy with that prick,' he scoffed.

She just shook her head with disgust at him and turned to walk away, 'Enjoy your time with your ball, Justin.'

'You'll be back, Viola!'

She didn't answer him.

He smiled, a weird happiness running through him. He'd said he didn't want to see her again after the Illyria game but inexplicably, he'd felt more alive sparing words with her these past few minutes than he'd been all week. And really, he'd take it any which way he could.

Author's Note: So there's my first chapter. I do hope that you like it and continue to read it. It wont be that long of a story, I'm guessing only about 9 chapters at the most. If you've got time to drop the line, that'd be much appreciated. –Thanks, K