In My Skin

CH 10 || Fairy tales

I hadn't prepared any food so Jules and I had to grab our lunch in the canteen. My mouth watered at the spinach-salmon lasagna they had stacked up. I checked today's menu again. A salad with some oil dressing was the only gluten and dairy-free option on the menu. Great.

"We could also go to that Asian place on Housten street," Jules offered with a glance at my face. He—and now Suz—were the only ones who knew why I had my eating restrictions.

"It's fine. We won't have the time to get there anyways," I grumbled and reached for a bowl of partly wilted green leaves. During my quarrel with Jess this morning, the scab on my wound had reopened. A painful reminder that I had to stick to my diet.

I was poking at my salad when a shadow fell over our table.

"Sup, Tay. You alright?" Cody greeted me with a concerned voice. I felt a tug at my chest, surprised by the genuine care in his tone.

"I'm good, don't worry."

He glanced at my tray. "Is that all you're gonna eat?"

"I told you I'm on a diet right?" I forced a smile.

"You're trying for size zero or what?" A familiar voice interrupted us.

Of course, he would be here as well... I exhaled. "I think I made a mistake."

Killian raised his eyebrows and sat across from Cody.

"It should be Watson, not Sherlock. Always the faithful sidekick." I flashed him one of my most cheerful fake smiles.

Cody bent over his food, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. "It's always so refreshing to be around you, Tay. We should hang out more often."

Killian glared at us but I was determined to ignore him today.

"So, Cody, did you watch the game on Saturday?" Sadly, football was the only topic my brain came up with.

"Yeah. Did you watch it as well?" He leaned forward. "I can't believe Seattle scored a last-minute win. But of course, Dallas is still ahead. Prescott's stats are sick right now. And they also have Parsens..."

I hadn't realized the can of worms I'd opened until the sheer number of names of players and teams that followed made my head spin. Then he asked, "What do you think, Tay?"

Er...

He mentioned...Seattle, right? "Seattle can definitely make a comeback," I said confidently.

A dry voice cut in. "No, they won't."

Deep breath.

I met Killian's gaze, trying to keep my expression neutral. "Yes, they will," I said firmly.

A slight smirk tugged at his mouth. "On what grounds?"

"They didn't play bad last season." I hoped. It was a shot in the dark, but then again, how bad could they have been?

"They were second to last in last season," he remarked dryly.

O—okay, pretty bad. Great. My fingers tensed around the knife in my right hand. "They can still make a comeback."

Cody and Jules exchanged glances over my head.

"Sure. If they're living in a fairy tale maybe." Killian leaned forward and his voice dropped to a whisper. "Then again you'd know all about that right, princess?"

My jaw tensed. I would give him a fairytale. He could play the role of the evil villain that would get slain in the end. Painfully and slowly.

The abrupt noise of a tray hitting the table, interrupted our stand-off. Chris had dropped down next to Cody, alternately looking between me and Killian, followed by what seemed to be half the football team.