Two Hearts: The Hunt [Slowly Editing]

Chapter Six

Important author's note at the end, I feel like I need to explain some things in this chapter.

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Caleb's POV

"Good practice today, guys," Nathan said with a grin as he stood atop one of the long benches in the boy's locker room. "We're going to kick ass at the game versus South Ridge next Friday."

"Going to kick what?" Coach Davis' stern, deep voice brought the crowded locker room's attention to the door at the entrance, where he was standing with his burly arms crossed and a clipboard hanging from his large hand.

"Butt," Nathan said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his full head of blonde hair. "We're going to kick butt."

"Thought so," Coach Davis replied with playful roughness. "I know you boys have it in you to win the first game of the season. Don't let me down. Practice starts right after school tomorrow-do not be late."

"Yes sir!" I replied in unison with the rest of the team. We watched as Coach walked out of the room and down the hall.

"Well, he pretty much stole my thunder," Nathan said with an eye roll as he hopped down from the bench.

I walked over to him just as everyone in the locker room began to get lost in their own little worlds of private conversation while they packed up to leave. "It's okay, Captain. You'll show us that thunder on the field this Friday." I slapped the back of his back in a manly gesture, and we looked at each other with grins plastered on our faces.

Nathan was the school quarterback and captain of the football team. It was he who had practically begged me to join Mill Creek High's football team without even having to try out after what had happened on just the second day of school:

I didn't want to go have lunch again with those idiotic and annoying football players and cheerleaders, so I had chosen to eat outside in the front of the school, beneath the comforting shade of a large oak tree. I stood with my back leaned against the roughness of the tree bark as I munched on a slice of pizza and allowed the natural air to soothe me. I was forever thankful for the foamy earplugs I had bought at CVS the night before. Not that it was very loud out there compared to inside the cafeteria, but still.

Despite the presence of the earplugs lodged within both my ears, I was still able to hear it coming. I wasn't even sure how: my muffled hearing should have only been able to notice sounds that came from a fairly close distance.

Two freshmen a couple of yards to the right of me had been playing catch with a football- and one of them was a really crappy thrower. The guy completely missed his partner, throwing the ball high in the air and above the other kid's head. I only came to learn of this after the ordeal because I was too engrossed in my pizza and mediation to pay attention to my surroundings. It was a good thing the wolf in me noticed, though.

I head a zip! -like a knife cutting through the air to the right of me, and I immediately turned in my place only to see a spiraling brown football an inch away from my nose. The next thing I knew, it was in my hands, Nathan and the two boys were surrounding me, and my delicious pizza was on the grassy ground.

"You!-Caleb, isn't it? Dude, that was some catch! I've never seen anything like that in my life," I heard Nathan say excitedly as the two younger boys mumbled their "sorry's". I continued to stare with what I believed was a dumb expression at the football in my hands, never exactly getting used to the fast reflexes the wolf part of me brought on.