Fraternizing With The Enemy

When They Agree

MONDAY ARRIVES WITH A cloudy sky, and chilly weather. Nothing Pearl isn't used to already. If anything, it makes her happy because the colder it gets it means December is even closer, hence Christma1s break comes along. A few weeks without school never hurt anyone, especially it means more free time for her to read her books. With nothing to hold her back, Pet can submerge herself in another world and no one can bother her because one is supposed to do whatever they want during Christmas break, of course, things inside the legal boundaries.

As she walks into her classroom, her eyes search for signs of any living being around and to her luck it's empty. Pet takes her usual seat, as her eyes are fixed on her phone, fingers scrolling down the screen. Most of the time, she searches for new books, reading reviews and such, in the hope of finding something new to read. Aside from that, her phone isn't of much use for her, unless she wants to listen to some music.

The only friend she's got is Mack, but he isn't a phone person either. So, most of the time, her phone rings when her parents or her brother call her or sent her a message, it's not like that bothers her. She feels completely comfortable with the way her social and romantic life is. Like whom needs friends when you've got Lizzie Bennett, Hermione Granger, and Katniss Everdeen. Oh, and who needs to have a crush on average boys when you have the living representation of sophistication with a heart of gold also known as Mr. Darcy or Finnick Odair with his sugar cubes and charm, and last but not least, the typical bad boy that never seems to stop attracting girls like artificial light attracts moths, Travis Maddox.

Voices approaching catch her attention; soon enough Heath O'Neal enters the classroom with another guy from the football team, whose name Pearl doesn't remember at the moment. It doesn't take long for the green-eyed boy to find her, mostly because she's the only one there aside from them. Before she has any time to wonder if he'll talk to her, he already stands in front of her with a simper.

"Hello, bright eyes," he leans down, resting his arms on her desk. "How was your weekend?" His voice had that flirtatious tone. But Pearl only looks at him as if he is crazy.

"Bright eyes?" She arches her eyebrows in a fearfully disgusted expression. "And here I was thinking you calling me by my surname couldn't get worse," she adds.

Heath smiles naturally. "Well, you do have bright eyes, not to say they're also very beautiful." To that, Pearl lets out a big laugh, shaking her head. Heath responds with an amused half confused expression.

"Are you serious? Come on, you can do better than that, Heath," she folds her arms in front of her chest. "Complementing my eyes, that's all you've got?" Pet realizes what she's doing right after she says those words. She's falling into his game; she's starting to flirt with him like those girls in the books she's read, that always act hard to get by offending the guy. She didn't know she had it in her.

"I'm just saying the truth. Though, I bet many guys tell you that all the time." That's the only thing she needs to hear to remember who she is and who she's talking to. She's the quiet girl in class that always does her homework, and he's the popular guy that flirts with every pair of legs in a skirt, even when he has a girlfriend.

She sighs. "What do you want, Heath?"

"Oh, back to rude mode. Okay, I get it," he chuckles, standing straight. "Just wanted to know if you have thought about the concert, you promised me you would."

"Yes, and I have," she lies. "My answer is no." His smile disappears, but before he can say anything else, the bell rings, and students start to fill the classroom. Heath gives her one last look before walking to the back where he usually sits. Her attention goes from Heath to Asher when he walks in with Mallory, her hand grasping his arm as she laughs about something he must have said.

Soon enough, they lock gazes, but Pet looks away as soon as she realizes she's been caught staring. She opens her notebook, fingers swiftly going through the pages. And then, an action she has seen many people doing but never thought she would find herself doing it - she's nibbling on her lower lip, a rare strain pulls at the strings of her heart.

"Hi, Pearl." Words slip out of his mouth in a deep voice with a thick accent, but there is a certain softness in all that. Maybe it's the rosy tone of his lips, the brightness in his wide toothy grin, or just the light blue in his eyes that has enthralled her since day one.

Before she can even part her lips to speak, Mallory appears next to Asher, quickly grabbing his arm. "Oh, Asher, I almost lost you for a second. Come on, there's an empty chair next to mine," she starts to pull him away.

But he stops, freeing his arm from her grasp. "Thank you, Mallory. Though, I'd rather sit here," he points at a chair that it's next to Pet. The blonde girl looks at the seat, then at Pearl, and finally at the boy. She nods with a small smile and walks away.

One doesn't need to be a mind reader to know what's going through Mallory Collin's head. She's probably furious that Asher rejected her offer to sit with someone like Pearl. Although Pet Blanchard does not care about high school labels or popularity, she's aware of the fact that many see her as the nerd who happens to be related to one of the best football players of the school.

And that must be humiliating to Mallory. The new boy in school rejects her for the nerd. Such a story deserves to have a book and a movie based on it. Note the sarcasm. Nonetheless, the only thing that lingers on her head is why Asher did such a thing. Though, her thoughts drift away when the teacher enters the classroom.

Something funny happens that morning during those two hours of economy class. From time to time, Asher talks to her, commenting about the class, some stuff the teacher says, or to ask about something he might have not to understand. And when the teacher isn't speaking, he even says a few funny things; most of them are terrible jokes - the kind that makes you laugh because of how bad they are.

Everybody knows she isn't a chatty person, but as odd as it sounds, Asher doesn't seem to mind, he takes care of the talking part, while Pet smiles and laughs lightly at the things he says. All is good until their teacher speaks, "Mr. Bohen." Asher glances at him, pressing his lips in a thin line. "Would you please explain to us what game theory means?"

Asher eyes Pearl briefly and then looks back at Mr. Rocha. "The study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers. And I may add, it originally addressed zero-sum games, in which one person's gains result in losses for the other participants. Today, game theory applies to a wide range of behavioral relations and is now an umbrella term for the science of logical decision making in humans, animals, and computers."

Mr. Rocha nods slowly. "Excellent, Mr. Bohen." He steps forward. "You might not be so lucky next time, so please, pay attention." And gives Pearl a brief look, to which she responds with a flush in her cheeks, feeling embarrassed. For the rest of the class, they don't speak.

Until the bell rings and everybody stands up, gathering their books and such. Asher and Pearl walk next to each other in silence before they get to the hallway and he says, "You know, Elijah convinced Coach O'Neal to let me try out for the team today. You always watch their practices, any advice?" A corner of his mouth lifts.

"Uh, I don't think I'm the right person for that. I barely pay attention to them," she admits coyly. "But there's someone who might tell you everything you need," she points at Mack, who's making his way toward them. They greet him and it doesn't take long before the two boys to engage in a conversation about football.

°°°

AS USUAL, MACK and Pet sit together during lunch break; both of them too busy eating to be able to speak. She nibbles on her apple calmly, as her eyes look around the cafeteria, young people eating, laughing, and talking, focused on their own little worlds. Pet knows she's going to miss high school when her senior year ends. Not that she feels negative about going to college and starting a new chapter of her life, but she's a firm believer that every stage of our lives must be enjoyed to the fullest because those years will never come back, and she just feels like her years of high school have gone by way too fast. And maybe, just maybe, deep down, she feels like she hasn't enjoyed them to the fullest.

Surely, reading, spending time with her family, going to the bakery with Beth, and being the owner of such an adorable dog, like Oreo and all that it implies are things she enjoys, but sometimes it seems as if there are many other things she could do. But then, she remembers the perks of being the way she is and living a life like the one she's been given, and that helps shoo away all those thoughts, leaving only a sense of gratitude and comfort.

"Earth to Pearl," Mack snaps his fingers twice before waving his hand in front of her face, calling for her attention. "Wake up, Peeta Mellark isn't coming to bring you some bread," he jokes, chuckling.

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Hey, I was thinking..."

"When aren't you?" Mack raises an eyebrow, with a teasing tone playing on his voice before he takes a sip of his can of coke.

Her eyes narrow. "Yes, not funny. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?" He utters the question slowly, noticing Pearl's look. It doesn't take long for him to guess what she's talking about. "If you're so interested... You know, I wanted to hate him, but the guy is just so disgustingly nice. I mean, have you talked to him? You can't hate him, not even if you want to."

She nods, looking at a table not far away from theirs, where the football team and cheerleaders sit. Asher is sitting next to Elijah and another guy named Ryan. The three of them seem to have a very funny conversation as they all have smiles plastered on their faces. "I might have to agree on that."

"Yes, and also..." Mack makes a dramatic pause. "I think he's got a crush on someone else, which means Mallory will be left rejected and hurt; the perfect time to make my move."

"You've been talking about doing your move for ages, Mack. Yet, each year you seem to get stiller than a statue," she teases. "And what do you mean he's got a crush?"

Mack tilts his head to the side with the trace of a smile on his lips. "You haven't noticed, do you?" Pearl frowns. "He's crushing on you."

"Now you're just talking nonsense," Pet rolls her eyes, but her body quickly stiffens when she sees Asher Bohen making his way towards their table.

"Hey, guys," he flashes a dazzling grin, a tray in his hands. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Bien sûr, mon ami," Mack beams, glancing at Pearl with a very amused grin, and she knows his beliefs about Asher's supposed crush on her are in no way disappearing after that lunch.

"Oh, vous parlez français aussi. Parlez-vous une autre langue?" Asher responds, leaving the two best friends a bit surprised. Mack and Pearl share a look, and then the brown-eyed boy laughs.

"Sorry, I barely know a few words," he shrugs. "Though, my friend here," he points at Pet. "It's a very fluent speaker when it comes to French and also Spanish."

Asher looks at Pearl with an amazed expression. "Really? Speaking Spanish isn't one of my best abilities. Perhaps, you could teach me a little bit."

She takes a deep breath. "Actually, I'm not that good. And I've lost practice, can't remember many words, either." Pearl shrugs.

"She's just being modest," Mack adds, rolling his eyes. And she has to fight the urge to glare at him. He's one of the handfuls of people that know her well, which means he knows how comfortable his comments are making her feel. Nonetheless, just like her family does, he keeps ongoing.

Asher stays quiet only looking at her with a tiny smile.

°°°

WHEN HER LAST CLASS ends, she stands up to start gathering her things. That's when Giacomo Cassanova approaches her, with a small smirk adorning his tanned face that holds a - irrefutably breathtaking - set of eyes with a shade of green that put into your head images of a big, bright grove on a spring day. "Blanchard, may I have a word with you?"

She frowns. The formality of his voice catches her off guard. But nods and follows him outside the classroom and both start walking side by side in the hallway. "What is it?"

"I have a problem," Heath mutters, coming to a stop but keeping his eyes on the floor. "And I think you're the only one who can help me. It's something that embarrasses me, truly, but I don't know who to ask . . . just . . . I don't know."

If any thoughts might have told her this was just Heath trying to annoy her, they are far gone now. She has never seen Heath with an embarrassed attitude, let alone a sheepish one. But she's not sure of how to respond, especially because it's Heath O'Neal. Though, Pearl Blanchard is always willing to help if she can. "You can tell me and if there's something I can do; I surely will help you."

He looks up with timid eyes. "My grades aren't good right now. And Coach says that if I don't get at least a C+ on the upcoming finals, I won't be able to keep playing on the team."

Pearl's worried expression fades away quicker than a rat when it sees a cat. "You're asking me to be your tutor?" He nods, looking away. "You do know there's a tutoring program, right? You can just go talk to the counselor, and they'll get you a perfectly capacitated student to help you."

They lock gazes. "I'm aware. But I want it to be you."

Pearl sighs before clearing her throat. But someone cuts her off before she can say a few things to the boy standing in front of her. It's Elijah, who quickly makes his way towards them with Asher and Mack trailing behind. "Here you are. I've looking for you all over the place."

She gives one last glance toward Heath and then leaves with her brother, her friend, and a boy whom she still can't decide what part plays in her life. They all go to the football field, and there they go separate ways. Asher and Elijah go to where the team is standing, all together, while Mack and Pet go sit at the bleachers.

For the first time in all these years, Pearl Blanchard pays attention to the football practice; no need to deny that it's because of Asher, more than anything else. She's, in fact, interested to see how he does and if the coach is going to let him into the team. But Pet isn't the only one paying attention.

From the other side of the field, not too far, Mallory Collins stands among the other cheerleaders and begins to chant, obviously trying to cheer Asher up, or more likely just get his attention. With that on sight, she can't help but look over at Mack, who's seeing exactly what Pearl was seeing a few seconds ago. "You know, I finally found a dress." She says, trying to get his attention away from Mallory.

Mack gazes at her. "Really? What color is it? I can get a tie of the same color. It would be cool to have matching outfits." There's a little too much excitement in his voice that makes her laugh.

"You sound excited to go. I thought Raven was making you do this," Pet responds while her eyes are fixed on - Asher Bohen - the field. He's running, at the moment, she can't tell how long he's been doing so, but apparently, he's doing good.

"And she is. But it's just, you know, it might be fun," Mack shrugs, resting his elbows on the bench behind them. Pearl only nods, considering his words. It might be fun.

Now, the team is playing along with Asher. It's a way for the coach to see if he can work with the team. After a lot of running, yelling, throwing the ball, and such, the ball lands on Asher's hands. Everyone seems to freeze for a while but then Asher starts running like hell, trying his best to dodge all the players that try to stop him.

Then he stops, raising his arms in the air with the ball in his hands. The cheerleaders and the team start to cheer, including coach O'Neal. Even Mack is on his feet, shouting and applauding. Pearl stands as well, asking, "What exactly did he do?"

Mack turns to her with a chuckle. "He scored a touchdown." Pet nods and the shouting starts to die down as they sit again. To her surprise, Asher looks at her with a wide smile. She can't help but smile back. "You guys are endgame."

She ignores him.

After practice ends, everybody heads for the dressing rooms, except Asher, who's called by Coach O'Neal. They both stand alone in the field, sadly Mack and Pearl can't hear what he's saying but she suspects what he might be telling him already. At the end of the talk, Coach O'Neal pats Asher on the shoulder with a smile and walks away.

The boy runs a hand through his hair and just as if Pet had been calling him with her gaze, Asher turns to look at her. He gives her a thumbs up, meaning he got into the team. Mack is quickly on his feet; making his way toward Asher, but it takes a second for Pet to react. There's no need to deny that there's a bit of disappointment, or sadness maybe, because if there was any chance of Asher being her friend, now they are all gone.

The football players aren't friends with everyone, they barely speak to people outside the team, or with people like her, aside from Elijah, who has to because they're blood related. And now Heath, but the reasons why he does it aren't clear to Pearl, though she's willing to find out what's behind Heath O'Neal's sudden interest in her. It mustn't be anything good.

With her backpack hanging from her shoulder, Pet approaches the boys. "Congratulations," she says politely with a kind smile.

"Thank you," Asher beams and then leaves, heading to the dressing rooms. Leaving Mack and Pet alone, quickly, she glares at him before he can say anything. And both make their way back inside the school to wait for Elijah and Asher.

Soon enough, she notices the thoughtful expression on Mack's face. "What is it?" She's already assuming he's thinking about Mallory but she's proven wrong when he answers.

"Remember when I tried out for the team, but Heath convinced everyone to choose Dean Harries and Keaton Vegas?" Pearl nods, twisting her mouth a little. She remembers that day like if it was yesterday. Mack was sad for a week. "I was just thinking . . . you know . . . what if I talked to Elijah and ask him to help me out as he did with Asher?"

Before she can speak, the team appears from the other side of the hall, all of them laughing and speaking loudly. Her attention is quickly drawn toward Asher, who has a very smiling Mallory glued to him as if her life depends on it. When Elijah joins Mack and Pet, both of them share a look and she nods, encouraging him.

Elijah and Mack aren't exactly friends, but they get along and talk from time to time. "Hey, I was thinking," Mack starts. "You convinced the coach to let Asher try for the team, even when the tryout week ended already -"

"You want me to talk to coach O'Neal about you?" Elijah asks, raising his eyebrows. And Mack nods. "Dude, you know I would if I could. But the only reason he let Asher try for the team today, it's because he's new in school, and wasn't here during tryouts week."

"Oh, I get it. Thanks anyway," Mack nods. "I've got to go now. I'll see you, tomorrow guys." He waves his hand and turns around to leave. Elijah and Pet are about to do the same thing until someone calls out to her.

She lets out a deep breath before turning around to look at Heath. "What is it this time?" She folds her arms in front of her chest.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Heath pleads.

"No," Elijah intervenes. "Pet and I are going home now, and I suggest you get away from my sister as soon as possible, Heath."

As they start to argue, Pet's brain begins to elaborate a rather weird but possibly effective idea of how she can help Mack. She knows how badly he loves football and how happy it'd make him if he could be part of the team, even if he isn't in the same physical shape as the rest of the boys that could be easily resolved. She just needs to find someone that can convince Coach O'Neal to give Mack a chance.

"Stop," Pearl says. "Eli, wait for me in the car." Her brother looks at her as if she had lost her mind. Clearly, he expected her to say anything except that. "Please." Elijah nods reluctantly before glaring at Heath one last time and leaving.

"Okay, look-" Heath starts but she cuts him off.

"I need your help," Pearl admits. "I'll be your tutor, but you have to convince Coach O'Neal to give Mack a chance to try for the team."

"What? Are you serious?" She puts on a stern expression. "Okay, Blanchard, I can do many things but I'm not a fairy godmother. Your friend is totally out of shape and the reason why we didn't accept him last year it's because he's slower than most. It'd take magic to turn him into a decent football player."

"I guess you'll have to find yourself a wig and a magic wand then," she says.

He narrows his eyes. "You'll be my tutor, but you'll have to go to the concert with me, too." When he sees the annoyed expression on her face, he smirks.

"You'll have to help him train and make sure the coach gives him a chance, a real chance." She states her condition and offers her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

A smile spreads across his face as he takes her hand, then pulls her closer and plants a kiss on her cheek. Pearl lets out a groan with disgust, stepping away from him. Heath laughs and says, "I think we do."