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[iswearonmarcuskane]

Dusk Till Dawn // Chapter 2

Title: Dusk Till Dawn Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Mystery, Strangers to Lovers, Slow burn, Heavy Angst, Missing Persons, Kidnapping, Art professor!Marcus, Doctor!Abby, Delinquents are college students Chapter(s): 2/23 Read earlier chapters: AO3

Chapter summary: the titles may seem like they don't make sense, but i promise they do :) question is: can you figure out how?

Chapter 2: Now, let’s go get one wrap closer to my goal

“Raven! Slot it!”

Hearing Clarke’s call, Raven passed the ball “across the grain” as their coach liked to put it. All it meant was that Raven played the ball in the opposite direction in which she was dribbling.

The ball split the two defenders, going right into Clarke’s run. Taking her first touch behind the two defenders further, she isolated herself with the opposing goalie. Lining up her shot, she kicked the ball slightly on the outside and underneath, giving it an inward spin.

The ball had enough speed and curve to evade the goalie’s hands, finding its way into the back of the net.

The shrill of the whistle signaled the end of the small sided game. Raven ran over and high-fived Clarke, telling her, “Nice run! Let’s repeat that tomorrow against Polis!”

“And hopefully,” a new voice broke in, “you won’t repeat your dive last year against Polis.”

The two turned to see Gaia approaching, a smirk adorning her lips. Gaia had transferred from Polis University to Arkadia University in the spring. The dive she was referring to was a tackle between her and Raven last time the two teams met.

Gaia had the ball and was dribbling down the field, Raven being the defender on her side. The two had been at each other’s throats all game; each had a yellow card for tackling the other. The only up Raven had on Gaia was that the score was 2-1, favoring Arkadia.

Raven knew how to taunt forwards, getting their mind unfocused, giving her the opportunity to slide in and steal the ball. Gaia was different though. She bit back, sometimes harder than Raven.

As Gaia dribbled and the two got into a tackle, Raven got over confident and dove in. Gaia easily spun off her, and advanced to a 1v1 with their goalie, Octavia. Easily being the best player on Polis, she scored effortlessly.

It was the goal that tied the game and ended the game in a tie.

Raven rolled her eyes and told her, “It won’t matter if I do because they lost their only player who was worth a shit. Octavia has my back, don’t you?”

Octavia was taking her gloves off, raising an eyebrow at her. “Just don’t fuck me over again and we’re good,” was her response.

The group laughed as Lexa jogged over to them. She slung an arm around Clarke’s shoulders, pulling her close. She asked Gaia, “Can’t you just let that go? She is your teammate now.”

Crossing her arms, Gaia responded, “Exactly. I have to make sure my teammate doesn’t screw up.”

Raven copied Lexa, doing to the same to Gaia. She told her, “You’d really think I’d let you down? Against them?” She added in a head rub, Gaia swatting her hand away. “We’re going to crush them this year!”

The other girls hollered in agreement as practice that morning officially ended. Everyone was hyped for the game tomorrow. They were versing Polis University, their biggest rival. Besides being in-state rivals, the two competed against each other in conference play.

The players got into it, hence the history between Gaia and Raven. The fans got into it, hence why the bleachers were packed at each home field with a few cops littered around the complex for precaution. The whole state of Indiana got into it, hence why the game is always broadcasted on ESPN.

Clarke’s eyes wandered to where Raven was walking with Gaia, her arm still around the girl’s shoulders. She was telling her something about the wrap she was going to order for lunch today. Despite the rivalry between the teams and those two specifically, the two become inseparable when Gaia transferred.

After the field was cleaned up, the girls made their way to the locker room. Sitting in their respective lockers, they proceeded to take off their soccer gear to get ready for the school day.

“How’s the planning for the art exhibit going?” Lexa asked as she untied her cleats.

Clarke was taking her socks off as she smiled to herself. Anytime anyone mentioned the art exhibit, she felt giddy like a five year old who was allowed to lick the brownie batter bowl clean. “Great,” she replied, “I’m finalizing the details with Marcus today in class.”

Lexa smiled over to her and told her, “I can’t wait to finally see all your artwork.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, but also felt nerves spike up at Lexa’s words. Clarke never let anyone see her artwork until they were fully finished, besides Marcus. Even after, they would have to wait awhile before seeing it. When she found out that Marcus was going to put an art exhibit together for her, she told everyone they couldn’t see her artwork until then.

It had been months since Clarke found out she was getting one. You could tell where Lexa’s impatience was coming from.

Just like the reason with her mother, her friends had never seen her artwork displayed before. Sure, she drew small things here and there, hanging them in the apartment, but they had never seen a drawing she spent a month on, perfecting every detail.

Especially, since one of those drawings was a portrait she drew of her girlfriend, Lexa.

It was of one of her favorite pictures of Lexa. They were on a date freshman year at a pumpkin patch, sitting in the fields. Clarke had made her a crown out of yellow and orange leaves. Lexa had put it on and laughed when she saw her reflection. Clarke snapped the right picture at the right moment.

One of the projects in Marcus’ class was a portrait of someone else, it didn’t matter what style the art was. Clarke chose a color pencil sketch. It wasn’t a hard decision to choose that picture.

“I know there’s one drawing you’ll either hate me or love me for,” Clarke responded.

Rolling her eyes, Lexa put her cleats away in her bag. “You already know I’ll love it,” she said.

Clarke shrugged as they finished getting their gear off. As they exited the locker room and walked towards their cars, Raven asked the group, “Lunch down in Jefferson today?”

The group agreed and Raven did a silent celebration. Gaia rolled her eyes at her, saying, “You realize we eat there every Thursday, right?”

Spinning her lanyard around her finger, Raven replied, “Yes, but I’m making sure in case anyone suddenly wants to eat somewhere else.”

“The food down in Mibler is shit,” Octavia commented, her face contorting into disgust.

“I agree,” Lexa added in. “Last week I got a burger there and all I’ll say is the toilet became my best friend for two days.”

Everyone’s face followed suit of Octavia’s. “Alright,” Raven waved off the comment, “so Jefferson it is! I’ve made it my goal this semester to try every wrap they have there.”

“So,” Gaia interrupted, “that’s why you want to make sure we eat there?”

Raven’s cheeks flushed the tiniest bit but it was enough for the group to notice. They all laughed as she stumbled over a response for a minute. Stomping a bit to walk ahead of the group in a pout, she threw back over her shoulder, “I figured you all would want to see me accomplish my goal!”

“One wrap a day?” Gaia thought aloud. “That’s nothing. Now, if you tried to eat their whole menu in one setting…I’d be up for sitting through that.”

“Challenge accepted!” Raven announced as she made it to Clarke’s car. Raven didn’t have a car on campus, neither did Octavia. The two usually caught a ride with Clarke, Lexa, or Gaia.

Clarke had a Ford Escape, colored dark cherry red. Raven liked to refer it as “Candy Apple” due to its color, so Clarke named it that.

As Clarke unlocked the car and made her way to the driver side, she waved goodbye to the other girls. She opened her car door and moved to hop inside, but a piece of paper flapping in her mirror caught her attention. It seemed to have flown into the crack between the mirror and casing around it.

She pulled it out and looked at it. There were a few lines scribbled onto it:

The darkness knows no boundaries, it knows no sympathy. It snatches everyone and anyone, who dares crosses its path. No matter how much light, the darkness always overcomes it.

“What’s that?”

Clarke looked up from the poem and to Raven, who was seated in the passenger seat. She was leaning over the console, trying to look at it. Clarke stuffed it in her pocket and said, “Nothing. Just a piece of paper that got stuck in my mirror.”

“Damn litter bugs,” Raven mumbled, settling back into her seat.

Clarke climbed inside and shut her door, turning the car on. Instantly, she felt a creep seep its way up her spine. Nerves exploded through her and she locked the car doors. She looked at the girls out of the corner of her eyes, but neither seemed to notice her sudden shift of mood.

Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she searched the area around her car. Lexa had just left the parking lot and Gaia was still climbing into her car. Nothing seemed out of place in the complex, so why did she have an eerie feeling?

On cue, the note in her pocket felt like deadweight. The lines flashed across her eyes again, as did the poem Marcus and her read yesterday. The eerie feeling grew as she looked over the parking lot once more.

She put her car into drive and exited the parking lot behind Gaia. Her eyes darted everywhere, looking for anything that may be off. She came up blank, much to her relief. She relaxed back into her seat as she turned out of the complex.

Raven turned her radio on, the song Slow Hands blasting in the car. “Oh yeah!” Raven yelled. She began to dance in the car, serenading Clarke.

Clarke rolled her eyes and laughed as she pulled up to a red light. Raven grabbed her umbrella from her backpack and continued to sing to her, “Cause I want ya bad.” She pointed at her, shaking her shoulders.

Clarke laughed more as Raven winked and sang the next line, “Yeah I want ya baby! SLOW, SLOW HANDS!” She raised her arms in the arm, swinging her head around. “LIKE SWEAT DRIPPING DOWN OUR DIRTY LAUNDRY.”

Raven whipped her head to look at Octavia, who was recording the performance on her phone. She raised her finger and shook it, singing, “NO, NO CHANCE!” She took her free hand and ran it down her body. “THAT I’M LEAVING HERE WITHOUT YOU ON ME.”

The two being serenaded burst into another fit of laughter as the light turned green. Clarke inched forward, waiting for her moment to turn left. Raven kept at it, tapping her head while looking at Clarke, singing, “I, I KNOW!” She took her hand and repeatedly pushed it out in front of her like a traffic cop while shaking her head. “YEAH, I ALREADY KNOW THAT THERE AINT NO STOPPING.”

Raven proceeded to point at Clarke as she turned, singing the last lines of the chorus, “Your plans and those,” she rested her hand on top of Clarke’s as she finished the turn for the song’s short pause, “slow hands. WOO!”

Having screamed the last part completely off key, Raven earned another burst of laughter from the two. Raven head banged to the beat until the next verse started, but she retired early, putting her umbrella away. She sighed as she sat back, saying, “If that song doesn’t get you in the Polis ass kicking mood, I don’t know what will.”

“Perfect snapchat story,” Octavia commented as she finished filming.

Raven looked back to her and then back to the front. “I better not get into any more social media bullshit trouble for that.”

“I think you singing Slow Hands and saying ‘Polis ass kicking’ is a bit different than publicly tweeting a parent of a player, ‘maybe you would’ve won if your daughter focused more on soccer than crushing her medication pills and snorting them’,” Clarke commented.

Octavia laughed from the back seat, remembering the tweet. “That was brutal,” was her only comment as she laughed to herself a bit more.

Raven rolled her eyes and explained, mimicking the lady in a high pitched voice, “Maybe she shouldn’t have come at our program, calling us ‘spoiled brats’ who ‘get everything they want because they paid the refs off’.”

“Plus,” she added, “it’s not like I was lying. There was evidence of it.”

Octavia laughed even harder. She was the one who had found the video online, it hiding on the girl’s private Instagram account. “Best stalking decision I ever made,” she said through her laughter.

She too had gotten in trouble for that Twitter engagement. How? She had somehow saved the video from the Instagram and posted it on Twitter in reply to Raven’s tweet to the mother.

Yeah, that didn’t fly to well with those who monitored their social media accounts. But the whole team did get a kick out of it.

Clarke pulled into Arkadia University and found a parking spot in the back row. Climbing out of the car, Raven waved and said, “See you in Jefferson after class! One step closer to my goal!”

She ran off as the two laughed and rolled their eyes. Clarke locked her car as her and Octavia walked into campus. They parted ways as they reached their respective buildings, promising to walk to Jefferson together.

Clarke entered Wallace Wing, a building dedicated to the late Chancellor, Dante Wallace. He had been a big advocate for the art department at Arkadia University. The building held classes pertaining to art, music, and theater. In his honor and thanks for his support, they renamed the building after him.

Making her way down the hall, Clarke found herself in the familiar room of 103. Inside, she saw her classmates setting up their station for class. Marcus hadn’t arrived yet, so she went to her own bench.

She set her bag down and pulled out her art supplies. Walking over to a big counter, she opened one of the drawers where her name was labeled. Shifting through the papers, she found the drawing she wanted to work on.

After pulling it out, she returned to her bench and set it down. She examined it, deciding which approach to take.

The assignment was to create a design in which a part of the image was sketched (in whatever style you preferred) and the other half was a real object that could be laid beside the sketch to complete the object. In the end, half would be sketched, half would be the real object, both coming together to make the real object.

The purpose of the project was to get as close to real life as you could. When Marcus lines the object up to the sketch, he should see the same details in the sketch that he sees in the real object. That meant the shine for metal, fuzz for fury objects, and material lines if visible in a cloth.

Clarke had thrown together a few quick sketches of several objects: her father’s watch, an old soccer patch from her jersey, a tiny stuffed penguin, and her headphones. She had thrown together a set up for each, not settling for just drawing the object itself.

For the watch, Clarke was drawing it as if her father was wearing it. For the soccer patch, she drew a close up of her wearing the jersey. For the stuffed penguin, she was drawing the setting in which he sat on her bed. And lastly, for the headphones, she was having them lay across her phone that was open in the music app.

The sketch she had pulled out to work on was the one that contained her father’s watch. She had the rough edges of the basic sketch laid out, but she wasn’t sure part she wanted to outline in detail first. If she got the basics on the watch done, she could base the rest of the picture off it.

Deciding to go with that path, she picked up her black color pencil.

Minutes flew by as she got lost in the drawing. Her pencil crossed over the paper effortlessly as she edged the watch’s frame. When detailing the clock’s hands, she added in a slight shadow underneath for a popping effect. She pressed the edges hard, creating a deep edge to illustrate the hand not lying flat on the surface.

As she outlined the straps of the watch, she added small scratches that lined the leather. The straps had endured a lot of tear due to her father working in engineering. There were oil stains she replicated, making it seem as if the oil stained the paper.

She was so lost in the details of the buckle, she didn’t notice as Marcus sat down opposite of her. He didn’t interrupt though. He watched her as she carved another tiny shadow under the buckle, giving it that same popping effect she gave for the clock’s hands.

He took a sip of his coffee from his infamous mug, slurping a bit too loud, causing Clarke to look up. He offered an apologetic smile and told her, “I could smell the concentration radiating off you, I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Are you sure that’s just not me smelling bad after practice?”

“A bit of both if I’m honest.”

Clarke laughed and set her pencil down, cracking her knuckles individually. Stealing a glance at her phone, she saw she had been detailing her drawing for a good thirty minutes. She could feel her fingertips cramping the slightest in result. She could use the small break while talking to Marcus.

Setting his mug down, Marcus pulled out a sheet of paper. He laid it down, telling her, “This has the details for the art exhibit.”

He slid it over to her and she picked it up. The day was set for Sunday, the opening beginning at seven in the evening. The event would end promptly at ten that night. It had an important note that the dress code was formal wear. It included a side note stating that champagne would be served to legal adults, sparkling water for underage persons.

What caught her eye was the admission cost. It was a donation of whatever each person wished to donate to a campaign that advocated for stroke awareness and research. Clarke felt her heart beat a bit harder than usual when the reality of the statement settled in.

Tears prickling her eyes, she looked up to Marcus. He offered her a small, sad smile. She opened her mouth to ask how, why, and much more, but none of it came out. She was struck silent with shock.

“It was your mother’s idea,” Marcus informed her. He placed his hand over hers that was shaking slightly. “She called me last month and asked if there was an admission fee to art exhibits. I told her it depends on the artist and that you had chosen to not install one.”

Clarke had been adamant when choosing no admission fee. Half the reason was because she felt wrong taking people’s money to see a college kid’s art and half because Raven complained she wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“That’s when she recommended a donation fee,” Marcus continued. “People could choose how much they wanted to donate as an entrance fee. If they didn’t have any cash on them, then they could just sign the guest book and enter anyways.”

Clarke hadn’t thought of that idea. It was a good idea, and she felt a bit shortsighted for not thinking of it. She was glad, however, that her mother had brought up the idea; especially, with the organization she chose.

“I told her it was a great idea,” Marcus smiled brighter, “and that you would love the idea. The next step was figuring out an organization to donate to. I didn’t have to do much work because your mother had already conducted enough research to write a term paper on each organization she informed me about.”

Clarke laughed a little. It was such a thing for her mother to do. When she found something and had an interest in exploring it, she went all out in her research. Clarke vividly remembered her mother doing extensive research on a band she wanted to see in concert. Only when her mother finished her research and approved did she let her buy the tickets.

“All I had to was contact the organizations and double check her information,” Marcus finished up. “After that, we chose one organization.”

Clarke smiled to herself a bit, heart growing the slightest in appreciation. Unconsciously, her hand set the paper down and reached out, grabbing ahold of her father’s watch. Running her thumb over the frame, his smiling face flashed in her mind.

“I had noticed,” Marcus spoke up again, “when contacting the organizations that they were all focused around stroke awareness and research. I asked your mother why she had chosen that type of organization.”

His voice fell off after the last word left his lips. He ran his hand across his beard, trying to find the right way to word the next sentence. Taking a deep breath and exhaling it slowly, he finally said, “She informed me of…what happened to your father.”

Closing her eyes, the words hit her like a freight train. It had been seven years but the words never failed to sear pain into her heart like the day she had received the news.

She felt the hand still covering hers hold a little tighter. Opening her eyes, she looked to the hand and back to Marcus. He was offering her a smile of comfort this time.

“After your mother had explained the situation,” he explained, “I told her the idea was more than a great idea. I told her it was brilliant. Especially, when she told me that your father was your biggest art fan and was the one to hang your masterpieces on the fridge.”

Clarke laughed slightly, a smile gracing her lips. Giving her hand one last squeeze, he concluded with, “And then I informed her it was a great way for him to still be your biggest fan.”

She didn’t know what to say. It was a brilliant idea. They would be raising money for a great cause and in the end, her father would still be supporting her art. She told him what she thought was the right response, “Thank you.”

His lips twitched up another notch and he nodded to her. He patted her hand before letting go and drawing it back. “If everything looks good to you, then I’ll finalize the posters we’re going to hang around.”

Looking it over once more, eyes lingering on the donation section, she handed it back. “Everything looks perfect.”

He smiled, bright and big this time. He folded the paper back up and put it away, telling her, “And just so you don’t have a heart attack when you see them, I invited some high end art critics. You’re welcome.”

And with that, leaving her open mouthed and in more shock, he took a swig from his mug, winked, and got up, leaving her be. She turned to watch him waltz over to another student’s station and plop down across from them, starting another conversation as if he didn’t just drop a bomb on her.

Turning back to her current artwork, she picked up the pencil, shaking her head as a smile found its way on her lips. What a typical Marcus thing to do. He would make a big deal look like nothing. He was real good at it.

+

“He did what?”

“Mhmmm.”

“And he made it seem as if it wasn’t a big deal? Like they were just some art posers on Instagram?” Octavia shook her head, repeating Clarke’s thoughts an hour earlier, “What a typical thing of him to do.”

Clarke laughed and buried her hands in her coat’s pockets. The fall wind was picking up as the day went on. Her fingertips brushed up against the note that was stuck in her mirror earlier. The eerie feeling began to creep its way back up her spine but she shut it out. She wasn’t going to let it ruin the good mood she was in.

As Octavia and her approached Jefferson, reaching for the door to enter the building, the door suddenly flung open. Octavia jumped back in time to avoid eating metal for lunch and being trampled by the man speed walking by.

Neither of them got a glance at his face, a hoodie pulled over his head a scarf wrapped around his mouth to block the fall breeze. Octavia caught the door as it was closing, watching the guy briskly walk off. “It seems like someone forgot their manners when they left for college,” she commented as she walked inside.

Clarke laughed a bit, agreeing. She couldn’t ignore, however, the nagging of that eerie feeling suddenly making its way up her spine again. Looking back as the door closed behind her, she saw the guy had stopped walking and was watching them as the door closed. The door shut, cutting him from her sight.

Blinking, snapping out of her trance, she followed Octavia through another set of double doors to a hallway in Jefferson. As they walked down it, Clarke tried to shake the eerie feeling off. But whenever she tried to make it go away, the guy popped into her mind, making it surge inside her.

Once more, her fingertips brushed up against the paper in her pocket. Her hand wrapped around it, feeling the paper crumble between her fingers. Along with it, the eerie feeling crunched together and disappeared.

As they rounded the corner, they caught sight of Raven and Gaia already sitting in the booth they sat at every Thursday. They walked up, offering them a smile as they sat down. As they did, Clarke noticed Raven playing with a small pin her hands. “What’s that?”

Raven looked up to her, shrugging. “Not sure,” she replied, “I found it sitting here when I arrived. It looks like a puzzle piece.”

She held it out for the whole group to see. It certainly looked like a puzzle piece, but one end where Clarke was guessing the sticking out end was supposed to be, was broke off. The jagged edge and slanted angle gave her the idea. “Is it broken?” She asked.

Gaia nodded and took it from Raven, looking closer. “Yeah,” she said, “one end was definitely broken off. We couldn’t find the other piece around here anywhere though.”

Clarke looked around the table and then back to the pin. The backside was still attached, so it could still clip onto anything. “At least it’s not completely broken,” she commented.

Raven nodded in agreement, taking it back from Gaia, and said, “The only downside of it being broken besides the obvious, is that the colors aren’t evenly distributed. That’s what’s driving me nuts.”

Clarke looked closer to see, in fact, that the puzzle piece was divided into four colors: red, light blue, yellow, and navy blue. Each separated the other color by being their own puzzle piece. “That’s some inception shit,” Octavia commented, noticing as well.

Raven laughed and said, “You’re not wrong.” She proceeded to pin it to her backpack. Giving it a small pat, she smiled, happy with her newest addition to her backpack, and turned to face Clarke. She asked, “Did Marcus tell you the news yet?”

“What news?”

“About the donation for the admission fee for your art exhibit?” She frowned then and added after a second, “Shit, I really hope he did and I just didn’t spoil it for you. I did tell him I couldn’t keep it a secret much longer and that today was the last chance he had to tell you before I did.”

The table laughed at Raven’s impatience and Clarke smiled at her. “He told me,” she reassured her.

She laughed again as Raven visible relaxed, smacking Gaia on the back, startling her. She looked over to Gaia, telling her, “We avoided a big mess there.”

“We?” Gaia sounded baffled. “What do you mean ‘we’? That came out of your big mouth, not mine.”

“But,” Raven flung her arm around her shoulder, using her other hand to bop her on the nose, “we’re working it together, so it’s either we’re both fucked or we’re both saved.”

Gaia swatted her hand away, rolling her eyes, as the other girls laughed. The last sentence ringing her mind, Clarke asked, “What do you mean working it? And how did you know before I did?”

Turning her attention to Clarke, Raven smiled. She said, “Marcus came to me after he and your mother figured all the stuff with the organization out. He asked if I could run the donation booth with Gaia.”

“Wait a minute,” Octavia interrupted, “Marcus trusted you with the donation booth?”

“I did say Gaia was working it with me,” Raven responded.

“Oh boy,” Octavia laughed under her breath. Looking to Clarke, she nodded to the pair, “She’s going to rake you in a lot of donations. She knows how to guilt trip people into anything. How did you guilt trip Gaia into helping you?”

The last part was directed back at Raven. Raven seemed offended but the group knew she was faking it. “I didn’t have to guilt trip her,” she replied. “She decided to help out of the kindness of her heart.”

“How heartwarming.”

“I know, right?”

“And such bullshit.”

The whole table erupted in laughter then. Raven waved Octavia off, saying, “Marcus asked her first before me. He figured two people helping was better than one.”

Octavia raised a suspicious eyebrow in her direction. She asked, “You sure it’s not because Marcus knows you will bribe the people into donating and Gaia is the only one who can make you stop and remind you that they have a choice?”

Clarke and Gaia laughed as Raven glared at her. She tapped her fingers against the table and told her, “You’re still mad that I guilt tripped you into doing my mythology report, aren’t you?”

The two laughed again, remembering that situation all too well. Raven had helped Octavia study for her astronomy class, as she was struggling to keep a passing grade. They stayed up all night, drank a shit ton of coffee, and gazed at the stars for hours the night before her final. If it wasn’t for Raven’s help, Octavia wouldn’t have aced the test and saved her grade.

Raven held it over her head, guilt tripping her into helping her with her mythology report. Little did Octavia know at the time, Raven intended for her to write the whole thing for her. Octavia fell hook, line, and sinker for it.

It wasn’t until after she finished it, did she realize the “report” she was editing for Raven, was a script for Octavia to edit and write a whole report.

As you could tell, Octavia was still pretty bitter about it, but agreed it was only fair for what Raven did for her.

As the laughter died down, Raven said, “Anyways, I won’t have to bribe or guilt trip any of them. It should be common sense to donate to a good cause. Any good person would.”

The statement warmed Clarke’s heart. She agreed with that and figured people would donate what they could as they entered. Even if they didn’t donate, Clarke knew spreading awareness itself was just as good.

“Plus, that’s just donating in general,” Raven added, money signs glistening in her eyes. “My charm is what will make the amount of the donation sky rocket.”

The table laughed at that, Clarke and Octavia shaking their heads at her, while Gaia smacked Raven’s arm off her. Lexa walked over at that time, raising an eyebrow in question. Raven shrugged and winked at Clarke, fixing the pin on her backpack. She snatched her wallet up and shook it, saying, “Now, let’s go get one wrap closer to my goal.”

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Dusk Till Dawn // Chapter 1

Title: Dusk Till Dawn Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Mystery, Strangers to Lovers, Slow burn, Heavy Angst, Missing Persons, Kidnapping, Art professor!Marcus, Doctor!Abby, Delinquents are college students Chapter(s): 1/23 Read and support on: AO3

Summary: Four lights—all doomed to fade. The first goes out after a bright burst before silencing into darkness. The second goes out; but slowly, as the darkness slips in. The third goes out, but not without a fight. It holds onto its last flicker of hope before the darkness overpowers it. The fourth is still lit but the darkness is waiting. For when its dusk till dawn, no light is safe.

Chapter 1: Don’t let anything slip away from your attention, even the tiniest little detail

“I’m surprised you haven’t submitted a picture of your mug yet.”

“Are you judging me?”

“No,” Clarke laughed, “I just know you have pictures of that mug set up, how do we say it now-a-days, aesthetically?”

Marcus didn’t dignify her with an answer. No answer was just as bad as giving her an answer. Marcus knew that. He just didn’t want to admit that he did indeed have pictures of his infamous mug on his camera set up in “aesthetically pleasing” views.

What could he say? He was a sucker for the arts.

Sticking with his choice of not answering, he just tipped the mug up to his lips to take a long sip of his coffee, raising his eyebrows at her. It made her laugh.

“You know,” she told him, “I bet you could win a contest if you did.”

“Who’s to say I haven’t already?” He challenged her, his tone serious.

She looked over to him at that instant and stopped in her footsteps. He kept walking however, glancing back at her after he got a few steps ahead. He winked at her, turning his attention back to in front of him.

Clarke jogged slightly to catch back up with her art professor. “Have you?” She asked, curiosity blossoming through her. She really doubted that Marcus’ Zootopia coffee mug had won a photography contest. The mug contained Nick and Judy, with the words, “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart” inscribed across it.

Marcus may have peculiar taste when it came to his coffee mugs, but he was a brilliant artist. Photography with editing effects into the pictures was one of his favorite hobbies. His main passion was watercolor painting.

He, however, was not always an artist. He recently came to Arkadia University five years ago to teach art after he retired from the law enforcement. Marcus loved serving the people as chief, but due to injury, he had to retire.

It was a sad day for Marcus when he left the police force, but he left it in good hands. His good friend and old partner, Indra, was chief now.

If he was honest with himself, part of him was glad to retire. Now, he was able to pursue a life time dream. And that dream was to paint, and to teach art, and to get lost in the world of creativity.

And if that included his favorite mug being mocked by all his students, then so be it.

Marcus titled the mug towards her and replied, “I guess you’ll never know.”

Rolling her eyes, the two fell silent as a fall wind brushed by them. Leaves were falling from the trees they were passing by, and he saw Clarke analyzing the path they fell down. It was something he caught her doing a lot.

She would be with you one moment, lost in the world the next. It wasn’t a bad thing. She was losing herself in the beauty of the world, analyzing it, sketching it in her mind, figuring out ways she could transfer that beauty onto paper.

Clarke was a prodigy.

Marcus had seen some talented kids in his classes, but he never had a Clarke Griffin before. The girl knew how to draw.

The curves of her pencil were precise, the shading was blended just right, and the pictures always seemed to pop off the paper. When she added color to her artwork, it screamed real life. The pieces were vibrant with life.

She was truly one of a kind.

This was his second year having Clarke in his classes, making her a sophomore at Arkadia University. Not only was she a prodigy with a pencil and sketch paper, she was a prodigy on Arkadia’s women’s soccer team.

As a freshman, she started 21 out of 23 games. As a forward, she tallied up the third most goals on the team for that season. She scored the winning goals in both the semi and final rounds of their conference tournament, giving them their spot in the NCAA tournament.

Whichever she decided to pursue, Marcus knew she would excel in it.

“Excited about the art exhibit this Sunday?” He asked her.

She smiled brightly, looking to him. “Hell yeah!” She exclaimed.

He smiled back and took another drink of his coffee. On Sunday, Marcus was going to hold a small art exhibit for Clarke at the university. He believed she deserved one with her talent, and as he told her, it would be great practice for the future.

“I’m nervous too,” she admitted. His smile grew the slightest in understanding. She continued on, “It’s just a big deal, you know? Besides the obvious. My mom will be there and she’s never really seen my work showcased like this. The most it’s been showcased is from being hung on the fridge.”

Marcus laughed, imagining Clarke’s latest sketch of an Eden tree sprouting up from the ground through the aftermath of a nuclear war. The meaning behind it was hardly dinner table talk.

“I’m sure your mother will love it,” he told her.

“Oh I know she will,” Clarke replied. “I think she’s more nervous than me! And I’m nervous!”

Marcus offered her a smile of comfort this time. He said, “Just tell her I have everything under control. From what you’ve told me…her expectations are high.”

Clarke shook her head. “Her bark is worse than her bite,” she assured him. She paused for a moment, thinking, then added on, “Most of the time.”

“Wow,” he replied dryly, “that’s reassuring.”

She laughed in response and shrugged. “It depends on the matter,” she explained. “You remember the time I told you she flipped her shit when my dad didn’t cut my grilled cheese the right way? And how she didn’t say a thing when he accidentally sucked my homework up in the vacuum?”

Marcus remembered those stories well. When they were in class working on projects, Marcus usually went around to each student and would talk with them as they worked through their project if they wished. Marcus had learned a lot about Clarke’s mother.

Clarke furthered explained, “It was probably because I was four when my dad cut it wrong and I cried my eyes out. And then when he sucked up my algebra homework I couldn’t have cared less since I got out of it. I guess it depends on how serious I take it.”

“So, what you’re saying is,” Marcus came to a conclusion, “is that I’m screwed if you show any small sign of concern?”

Clarke gave it a thought and looked to him, shrugging, saying, “Probably.”

Marcus took a long drink of his coffee, finishing it off. “No pressure,” he sighed into the fall air.

“Oh, it’ll be fine,” Clarke tried shaking off his worry. “Nothing will happen. Everything will be per-”

Squealing tires cut her off as the two looked up to see a car speeding out of the school parking lot. The smell of burning rubber entered the air and Marcus’ nose scrunched up in disgust. He opened his mouth to comment on the car but a piece of paper hit him in the face.

He peeled the paper off his cheek and looked down to it. There were four lines scribbled on it, the handwriting eerily familiar. The sweet smell of baked bread emitted from it as well.

Clarke looked over to it and asked, “What is it?”

Marcus looked to her and shrugged, letting her read it as he did. He told her, “I believe it’s a poem.”

She nodded in agreement as she read it. “Kinda dark,” was her only comment. Looking at her watch, she apologized to Marcus, “Sorry, Marcus. I’ve gotta rush over to the library for a study session with Raven. I’ll see you in class tomorrow!”

He waved to her as she ran off to her car. He went his own way to his car, shoving the piece of paper in his coat pocket. He hiked up the collar in hopes of protecting his ears from the nippy fall air.

He finally made it to his car and got inside. Setting his coffee mug in the cup holder, he turned the car on to get the heat going. Slowly, he pulled the piece of paper back out. He smoothed it out against the wheel and rested it there. He read it over again, the poem reading:

She is whisked away in the darkness, never to see the light again. For she is the key to the demise of another’s light.

[the100undiscovered]

Don’t Forget Where You Belong by lindsayisthecraic (@iswearonmarcuskane on tumblr)

Characters: Marcus Kane, Vera Kane

Word Count: 1626

Mood: Angst

Summary:  When you’re lost, I’ll find the way, I’ll be your light. You’ll never feel like you’re alone. I’ll make this feel like home.

Our thoughts: Somber yet enlightening, this fic offers a window into Marcus’ mind as he reminisces on his late mother and the now struggling Eden Tree. The writing encourages the reader to reflect upon the decision’s made by the characters whilst on the ground. It offers hope for a new and changed world, while also bearing in mind that the choices they made cannot be forgotten. Thought provoking and compelling, this fic will give you a new view on acceptance as well as remembrance. 

[iswearonmarcuskane]

OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS SO KIND AND AWESOME OF YOU!!!!! 

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Happier

Title: Happier Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby & Abby/Jake Tag/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Happier by Ed Sheeran AU, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort Words: 6,109 Read & support on: AO3

Summary: Saw you walk inside a bar, he said something to make you laugh. I saw that both your smiles were twice as wide as ours. Yeah, you look happier, you do

It’s just another Friday night.

It’s late. Marcus couldn’t tell you the time. The street lights illuminate the street. They blur as they’re too bright for Marcus. The rain showers down lightly. Marcus isn’t wearing a jacket but the cold is blocked out by the alcohol he’s consumed. Sirens go off in the distance. Marcus only registers he’s walking down the street somewhere in the city.

He’s been here before, he knows that. It’s a common scene, a common feeling. The burn he feels as the liquor slides down his throat is familiar. The heartbreak he feels is familiar. It’s all he’s known for the past year.

And tonight is just another Friday night staying in his comfort zone of heartache.

He walks down the street, sighting the familiar blur of colored lights. He doesn’t know what the sign says but he knows he always ends up here on Fridays.

He makes a move to go towards the colored lights, towards the familiar sulking place, but something out of the ordinary rounds the corner. He stops in his tracks as he tries to make sure the alcohol isn’t playing with his mind. Slowly, as reality settles, the beer bottle in his grasp falls, shattering on the sidewalk.

It’s her.

She’s here.

And she’s not alone. She’s with him.

The emotions Marcus has been trying to ignore for the past year come rushing back. He’s heartbroken as they come closer. Then he’s angry as their faces come into clearer view. Then he’s back to his self-pity as he watches her laugh.

He can’t hear it but he can hear it at the same time. It’s both a curse and a blessing. One of his favorite things about her, about Abby, turned into his least favorite. More so because he knows her laugh right then is louder, more genuine, and more real than any laugh she had around him.

Triggering the curse, her laugh pulls him back in time.

The kitchen was a mess. Flour was everywhere, egg yolk dripped off the counter, cake batter splattered across the oven, and the couple was sprawled across the floor. The final layer of flour from the battle settled as the two stared lovingly at each other.

“Admit defeat, general?”

Abby’s voice is light, but the glint in her eyes is dark. She’s ready for round two and round fifty-seven. Marcus caught the slight movement of her arm behind her back but doesn’t call her out. Instead, being just as sneaky, he moves his hand behind his back, looking for ammo.

“That depends,” he finally says, locking eyes with his fiancée, “are you ready to admit defeat?”

The smirk he knows too well appears on her face, his own replicating hers in response. He notices her hand stopped moving the moment his hand finds a pile of flour. Gathering as much as he can, he raises an eyebrow at her, waiting for an answer.

“Never,” she said.

“Me either,” he replied.

It’s silent for a moment, each watching the other, waiting for either to make the first move. Suddenly, they both move, attempting to catch the other off guard. Abby is quicker as she flings frosting at him, hitting him in the neck. Marcus countered her attack, reaching over and rubbing the flour into her hair.

Her scream echoed through the kitchen as his laugh rang out. Soon, both die down as Abby is shielding herself from a second attack. As the flour floated down, Abby peaked out from behind her arms.

Marcus was wiping the frosting off his neck and looked to her as he noticed her watching. She flinched back a bit, causing his smirk from before the attack to return. He leaned over, using his free hand to wrench her arms away from her face.

“Marcus!” She yelled, but he could hear the laughter she was failing to keep out of it. “Don’t you dare!”

“Wouldn’t I?” He teased, reaching closer to her face with the frosting covered fingers.

Her scream got louder the closer he got. His smirk grew into a successful grin as he smeared the frosting across her cheek. He let her go when he finished, falling back while laughing. She sat up as well, crossing her arms as she pouted. He noticed and laughed harder when they made eye contact.

She continued pouting as his laughter died down. He rolled his eyes at her, pulling her over to him. He bopped her on the nose, adding a dot of frosting to her look. She glared up at him as he chuckled. He used his frosting-free hand to play with her hair, telling her, “Don’t be too grumpy, or this flour may turn your hair white early.”

She smacked his arm away, failing to bite away a smile. She tried to hide it but he saw it, his grin turning back into a smirk. “Oh,” he told her, “I’ll get you to smile.”

Before she could protect herself, his hands grabbed her sides and he began tickling her. Immediately, a grin broke out on her face. Soon, her laughter rang out loud and clear. It filled his ears, causing a smile to break out on his face.

The way she laughed his name out, begging him to stop, made his heart flutter.

He asked, his tickles slowing down a tad, “Admit defeat?”

She laughed a bit more as they made eye contact. He saw the defiant glint still alive in them as she bit her lip from laughing again. Taking that for an answer, he tickled her faster, earning a squeal from her which turned into a laugh.

Her laugh was his favorite thing about her. Nothing could ever make it anything but a blessing to his ears.

Oh, how he had been wrong.

Wrenching his mind from the past, he reminded himself that laugh wasn’t for him anymore. It hadn’t been for a year.

It was for him now.

Marcus could very well see that as the two got closer. His vision became clearer the closer they came. Jake had his arm wrapped around her waist, Abby was wearing his jacket. She was looking up to him the way she used to look at Marcus—full of adoration and love.

It made Marcus sick.

He went to drink from his bottle when he realized it was no longer in his hand. He looked down to see the shattered glass on the sidewalk. He almost laughed. It resembled the way he felt—broken and useless.

This time he heard her laugh. As if it was his siren song, his eyes were drawn to the couple. He watched as Jake leaned close to her ear, whispering. She laughed again, shattering Marcus’ already shambled heart.

The smile on her face and the smile on his face—both were wider and more genuine than any Marcus and Abby used to share. She looked happier, she did.

A year ago Marcus’ friends told him he would too one day. Bullshit.

There was only person in the world who could make him feel whole again and she was in another man’s arms. She was laughing at another man’s jokes. She was smiling the way she used to at Marcus at another man.

And she looked happier than she did with Marcus.

Marcus told himself it didn’t hurt. Bullshit. Marcus told himself that no one could love her the way he did. Bullshit. Marcus told himself he was happier without her. Bullshit.

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit!

It did hurt. He knew Jake was loving her more than he ever could. He was happier when with her.

His hand twitched at the thoughts poisoning his mind. They ruined his thoughts on the daily for a year. He never could escape them. The smallest thing would remind him of her, of their time together, and he would find himself in a pit of despair.

All the while she was out being happier without him.

His eyes lingered on the empty space they left behind. They had entered the building with the familiar blurred colored lights.

Anger replaced the self-pity quickly. This was his place. Technically, he didn’t own the building but still. This was the place he went to every Friday night. He would get wasted, wallow in self-pity, and stumble down the road home. It was his place of recovery.

They had no right being there.

Marching up to the building, he threw the door open. Immediately, he was swarmed by the hot air of the bar, the smell of cigars from those smoking in the alley, and the loud bump of music. He took it all in, embracing the fact this place had become his second home the past year.

He made his way over to the bar, sitting in the same seat he did every Friday. Sinclair, the bartender, offered Marcus a smile. “The usual?” He asked.

Marcus nodded, telling him, “Extra strong.”

Sinclair set down the glass he was cleaning, dumping ice into it. He raised an eyebrow at Marcus, grabbing the alcohol mixer. He asked, “Rough night?”

Automatically, his eyes found the couple at the bar, seated at the end on the opposite side. He looked back to Sinclair, replying, “Rough year.”

Sinclair offered him a smile of comfort as he mixed Marcus’ drink. Pouring it into the glass, he set it in front of him. As Marcus grabbed it, Sinclair patted his shoulder, telling him, “First round is on me.”

Marcus smiled his thanks, though it didn’t stay intact long, and tipped his glass to his good friend. He immediately took it all in, wincing and relishing in the burn the alcohol gave him as it traveled down his throat.

The burn built its way up to his eyes, stinging as tears filled them. Grabbing the mixer, Marcus refilled his glass to the brim. Gripping the glass tightly, his eyes wandered over to the couple again. He watched as they clanked their shot glasses together before taking them.

Tearing his eyes away as Abby coughed a little at the hard liquor, both laughing as a result, he downed his second drink of the night. Refilling his glass again, he knew he would need much more than usual to make it through the night.

+

She was everywhere.

She was in the music playing, her favorite song wrapping around him like a vice. She was in the random conversation the guy to his left was having with his buddy, Marcus remembering how Abby loved camping. She was in the sugar packets resting on the bar, Marcus remembering how she would eat them as she waited for her food.

She was everywhere and he couldn’t escape her.

He couldn’t recall what number drink he was on. All he knew was that it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t erase her from his mind. If anything, the alcohol was causing her to appear in his mind more often than he was sober.

And when he was sober, it was nonstop.

Downing another shot, wincing as the burn increased, he grabbed the mixer to refill his glass. When he tipped it over his empty glass, only a drop escaped and landed in the glass. Empty. Just like him.

He called Sinclair over, pushing the empty mixer into his hands. He told him, words slurring, “Another.”

Sinclair reluctantly grabbed it from him, asking, “Are you sure? This will be your third one.”

Marcus didn’t have time for Sinclair to act like his mom. He needed Abby to be erased from his mind and Sinclair was delaying the cure. He snapped back, “I know how much alcohol I can handle, Sinclair.”

Frowning, Sinclair shook his head. The two sat in silence as Sinclair mixed him another batch of shots. After making it, Sinclair slid it in front of him. Wiping his hands on his towel, he informed Marcus, “You’re cut off after this.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Marcus mumbled as he refilled his glass. He set the mixer down and picked up his glass, watching the couple over the rim of his glass.

His vision had long blurred on the edge many drinks ago. The music was jumbled together, adding to the chaos in his brain. His movements were messy as he downed the glass’ contents, slamming it to the bar. He dared another glance at the two, cursing when the sight didn’t change.

He smacked at his temples, willing the alcohol to erase the image—the image of the two being happy. Erase the image of them intertwining fingers. Erase the image of them sharing a short, but loving kiss. Erase the image of them exchanging love through simple gazes.

Erase it all.

He refilled his glass again, smacking the mixer down in frustration after finishing.

He felt the shift.

Dragging his eyes from his glass, they slowly looked over to where the couple was sitting. This time, instead of making lovey-dovey eyes at Jake, Abby was staring over at him. For the first time in a year, the two made eye contact.

All the chaos in his mind vanished as she became the sole focus of it. He took in the way her hair cascaded down her shoulders, he took in how her eyes lit in the low bar light, and he took in how good she looked in her tank top.

Her face was another story.

It wasn’t lit up with laughter like it had been a minute ago. There was no smile of happiness on her lips. Hell, even her eyes were void of the love that had been present all night.

All because of him.

The question rang clear in his mind and on his face: You’re happier, aren’t you?

He knew the answer to the question. He didn’t need her answer to know. After what he did, there was no one who hurt her like he did, he wasn’t surprised she was. He couldn’t give her what she wanted, he chose not to.

He smiled at her, lopsided. He lifted his glass to her and downed it again. He winced as the alcohol scorched his throat and wired his brain, triggering another memory.

This was the fourth argument on the same topic in the past month. Abby’s persistence was one thing he adored about his wife, but it could also be a pain in his ass.

“Abby,” he tried to reason with her, “we’ve tried nonstop for the past few months. Why don’t we take a break and just rethink-”

“We have been doing that, Marcus,” Abby shot back. “Just sitting and thinking about solutions won’t solve our issue.”

“And repeating the same processes that haven’t been working will?” He shot back.

She glared at him from her spot on the couch. She retorted, “At least we’ll be actively doing something.”

He sighed, burying his face in his hands. It was the same points made over and over again. Neither bent from their sight on subject and each argument ended the same. No progress was ever made.

As the two sat in silence, Marcus noticed Abby shifting in her seat. He looked to her, asking, “What is it?”

She didn’t answer right away, staring at her hands in her lap. Sighing, she finally looked to him, telling him, “I took the test.”

He was struck with silence in astonishment. He had fought her for weeks to get it done. She refused, not believing it would be of any use. He asked, “When?”

She didn’t respond quickly again, battling an inner feud. She finally said, “Two weeks ago.”

“And?”

She was silent again, Marcus’ heart racing as he waited for the news. He didn’t want positive results but he didn’t want negative either. Both would set them back.

She smiled a bit, telling him, “They were negative.”

He grinned, half relieved and half defeated. One possible roadblock was defeated. Even though they were back at square one, he was relieved she didn’t have to carry that burden on her shoulders.

He took ahold of her hand and teased her, “See? I told you seeing the doctor would help.”

She rolled her eyes, but her smile grew. She turned to look through her purse with her free hand, slowly turning around with a card in her hand. Handing it to him, she told him, “And now it’s your turn.”

He took the card from her, his good mood dropping in an instant. He looked down to the card, reading:

Fertility Clinic Thelonious Jaha, PhD Fertility Specialist

He sat back, registering the date and time his wife had set up an appointment up for him. His worst fear was creeping up on him, and this Jaha guy would either crush that fear or confirm it.

“I…I don’t know, Abby,” Marcus tried to hide his fear from his voice. “Why don’t we try a few more times now that we know everything’s fine?”

“Oh,” she teased, “now you want to keep trying?”

He cracked a small smile at her as she laughed. She came to rest her chin on his shoulder, looking down at the card with him. “Plus,” she added, “we don’t know everything’s fine.”

He tried his best to ignore the jab at his heart the sentence made. His worst fear, not being able to give Abby what she wanted and deserved, kept poking at the back of his mind. There was nothing more he wanted than to give her the child and family she wanted so badly.

What kind of husband could he be if he couldn’t fulfill that one dream?

“Fine,” he said after a battle of turmoil, “I’ll go.”

She smiled and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. She squeezed his hand that was still holding hers. She whispered, “Hope is everything.”

He smiled and rested his head against hers as his thumb stroked her hand. “No matter what,” he told her, “we’re in this together.”

Smacking the glass back down on the bar, his head started spinning again. That memory was worse than the all the good ones that haunted his dreams at night and thoughts during the day. It was the start of an end.

Sparing a glance back to where the couple was seated, he noticed only Jake remained. Abby was gone. His eyes swept over the bar, immediately finding her in the crowd. Her eyes were still trained on him.

Worse, she was making her way over to him.

He looked away from her and back to his empty glass. He would need more alcohol to get through whatever conversation she was bringing his way. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be worse than that conversation.

“Well?”

Marcus had been dreading this conversation for a week.

Abby knew how long it took to get results back. It wasn’t fair in a sense. Marcus couldn’t hide it away and make it disappear into thin air.

They sat at the kitchen table, just having finished dinner. This was hardly table talk. He set his napkin down, the card in his pocket feeling like deadweight. He fiddled with the ends of the napkin for a bit, thinking back to the appointment.

Marcus left that office feeling like a different man, one he wasn’t proud of.

Looking back to his wife, the words caught in his throat. How could he deliver the news? Before he could stop himself, the worlds slipped from his mouth. He lied, “I didn’t go.”

It was silent, painfully silent. Marcus shut his eyes, waiting for the argument that was unavoidable.

“Why?” Was all she asked.

He felt her cold stare. She had went out of her comfort zone and took the test. Her results were a relief for her. Marcus’ weren’t. He couldn’t tell her the truth. He couldn’t admit he couldn’t give her the family she deserved.

He stuck to lying, no matter how much it hurt, “I didn’t think it was needed. I’m fine, Abby.”

“Pretty hypocritical, don’t you think?” Abby replied, voice stern, but he could hear the strain of emotion in it. It cracked his already breaking heart.

“It’s different,” he tried to reason with her, another lie slipping through his lips.

“How?” She asked, anger seeping in her words. “I get checked, you get checked. If you’re so certain everything’s fine, then why wouldn’t you go? It wouldn’t hurt to check.”

“You wouldn’t understand.” It was the first truth he told so far. She just wouldn’t.

“I wouldn’t understand?” Her voice made Marcus hate himself more. It had cracked the tiniest bit. She told him, “You know what I understand? I understand we’re having trouble conceiving a child. You know what I don’t understand? The fact you’re not willing to take a simple goddamn test that will help us figure out how to start that family.”

“Because I know it’s pointless.” Another lie.

“Pointless?” Abby sounded wounded and Marcus looked up to the see tears in her eyes. His heart cracked more. “You think doing something easy as this, something that may help start our family, is pointless?”

Easy? Abby knew it was far from easy. She was on the same unknown battlefield he was on not even a month ago. Hell, she protested going for months.

“I think it’s a sign,” he finally blurted out.

Silence fell between them. If Marcus had time, he could find a solution, and he would never have to admit to Abby he was the reason the family she wanted wasn’t happening. All he needed was time.

“Sign for what?” Fear echoed inside her words.

Marcus sighed, saying, “That maybe this isn’t the right time to start a family.”

Silence again. Marcus’ heart was beating hard, waiting for her response. When he wasn’t given one, he tried to explain, “We’ve been going nonstop for months, Abby. Why don’t we slow down and just wait? Starting our family in a year or two or how many years down the road won’t make a difference compared to starting now. In the end, we’ll still have our family.”

Abby was silent as she watched Marcus, tears pooling in her eyes. He reached across the table and took ahold of her hand. He offered her a small smile, squeezing her hand. She sighed, it coming out shaky, and she nodded.

Marcus’ smile grew. Now, all he needed was enough time.

Time was never on Marcus’ side.

He needed more time to get more wasted. He wasn’t far gone yet. He wished he could fast forward through the interaction waiting to happen. He didn’t want to add another bad memory on the shelf, knowing he was the reason behind it.

Abby reached him at that point, standing in front of where he sat. He watched her, not sure what to say. He knew anything he would say would be used against him. He settled for a simple greeting, saying, “Abby.”

“Kane.”

No burn from tequila, scotch, whiskey, or bourbon could match the scorn of Abby using his name last name. She hadn’t called him Marcus in over a year.

He needed more time, time to drown out the disappointment in her voice with alcohol. He always needed more time.

“What is this?”

Marcus looked up from the newspaper to see a familiar manila envelope. His heart plummeted as he recognized what it was. He looked up to see Abby glaring down to him, betrayal in the tears in her eyes.

“Abby, I-”

“Don’t,” she interrupted, “even try to justify this. You lied to me. For months.”

He didn’t respond, looking back to the envelope. It contained his results from his fertility test he took months ago when Abby had set up an appointment for him. He guessed Abby had read the contents.

He admitted, “I couldn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?” The betrayal cracked in her voice. “You couldn’t tell me that you’re having fertility issues?”

Marcus ran a hand through his hair, trying to defend himself, “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Is it?” She sounded unconvinced.

He fell silent as she watched the envelope. There was no use hiding the truth anymore. Looking up to Abby, he forced out, “I didn’t want to admit I was the reason we couldn’t start a family. I couldn’t bear being the man that couldn’t give the love of his life the family she wants. I couldn’t be the guy to deliver that news.”

She fell silent as his voice cracked. The reality of their situation settled for both as the silence stretched. Keeping the heartbreak out of her voice, she asked, “And you thought the solution to fixing that was not telling me? Hell, lying to me about it?”

“I’ve been trying to find solutions!” Marcus defended himself, voice raising the slightest bit. He was getting closer to finding one. All he needed was more time.

“Alone! You left me in the dark!” Abby accused. Marcus saw the tears threatening to spill over as she asked, “What happened to ‘no matter what, we’re in this together’?”

He was struck with silence, not being able to refute it. He had lied to protect her, to protect himself. But was it the right thing to do?

The tears freely fell as she shoved the envelope towards him, asking, “If you can’t trust me with this, how do I know you’ll trust me with our family?”

Everything after that went downhill. The smile she had on her wedding day never reappeared. The laughter he heard on that day with the cake batter battle never was reproduced. The feelings between the two slowly dimmed and burned out.

It all came crashing down on the night Marcus found divorce papers on his work desk. After that night, he knew it was too late, even with the solution in his pocket.

And here they were a year later.

The rift between the two was clearly still present. They stared each other down for a few more moments of silence, until Marcus asked, “What do you want?”

Abby narrowed her eyes at him before sliding into the seat next to him. He groaned, reaching for his mixer, refilling his glass. Setting it down, he offered her the drink. She shook her head while saying, “I can’t.”

“You can’t?” He seemed confused. Did she not just down a shot earlier? He asked, his personality slipping through, “The doctor can’t handle her liquor anymore?”

Her lip twitched, threatening to smile. He gripped his glass tighter, slapping himself mentally for wishing for it rise. Something, just give him something to show you don’t completely hate him.

“No,” was all she said.

No explanation? It was his turn to narrow his eyes at her, trying to figure her out. She kept the same static face, not leaking a hint. That was until he caught a glint in the bar light he didn’t see before.

Looking down, he saw a new ring on the finger where he had given her one years ago. All his negative emotions over the year came crashing down tenfold, suffocating him.

He knew it would happen, but not so quickly. Sure, it’s been a year, but it felt like yesterday every day to him. He hadn’t even thought of moving on yet.

“Congrats,” he spit out, “I’ll drink to that,” downing his drink. The burn didn’t help this time. He licked his lips, pouring the last of his mixer. He added, “That doesn’t tell me why you can’t drink to it.”

“There’s something else,” she told him. He was confused at her words as he lifted the last drink to his lips. “Well,” she added, “more like someone else.”

Marcus spit out the drink had just taken. He coughed, the alcohol burning his throat. What?

He stared at her wide-eyed, the news still settling. He pointed at her and then where Jake sat. He said, “But you took a shot.”

“It was sprite,” she explained. Sprite? Who the hell came to the bar to take shots of Sprite?

He was still dumbfounded as he stared at her. He couldn’t believe his ears. Thinking it couldn’t happen again, his whole world began to crumble beneath him. He asked, breathless, “You’re pregnant?”

She smiled a bit and he felt like shit knowing he wasn’t the one behind it. She said, just as breathless but for a different reason, “Yes.”

The confirmation destroyed whatever was left over from his world crumbling around him. It was gone. Everything he had in life, gone.

His eyes drifted to where Jake was making his way over to them. Of course, it was Jake’s child.

Marcus had nothing against Jake, except the fact that he was dating his ex-wife. Jake was a good man, he had a stable job, made Abby happy, and apparently could give Abby the one thing Marcus couldn’t. Nothing against him at all.

Marcus’ eyes settled on the ring on her finger again and Abby followed his eyes. She explained, “We found out this morning. We decided to make it official. We came here to celebrate.” The words struck a knife through his nonexistent heart. How many times could one rip it apart until there was nothing left to tear at?

He nodded, not knowing what to say. He felt betrayal even though he knew it was misplaced. He felt angry knowing he couldn’t make Abby that happy. He felt happy, knowing she finally had what she wanted most.

But without him.

Noticing he didn’t say anything, Abby frowned a bit. She said, “I told you because I figured you’d be happy for me…I felt it was something you should know.”

He immediately looked up to meet her gaze. She was going to tell him? Even after they hadn’t talked in a year? Did she know he was here? Did she know he was always here?

He felt all those emotions of anger and regret turn into sorrow as he told her, “Abby, of course I’m happy for you. I’m ecstatic. It’s just…”

He didn’t have to say it, she knew. She confirmed it by just smiling at him. He smiled slightly back at her, appreciating he didn’t have to say it.

Jake reached them then and he offered Marcus a big smile. The two made eye contact, the emotions in Marcus turning dark once again. His eyes drifted down towards Abby’s hip, where Jake wrapped his hand around. His eyes skimmed over her stomach, where their child was growing.

Their child. Not his. Their family. Not his.

Marcus didn’t know what made him snap. Was it the anger at himself he had built up for a year? Was it the jealousy he felt towards Jake? Was it the regret he felt for lying all that time ago? Or maybe it was all the alcohol.

He decided it was a mixture of all four when the first punch landed across Jake’s cheek.

Abby jumped back in surprise as Jake stumbled back. Tears sprung from Marcus’ eyes as the emotions he bottled up for a year came pouring out. The first punch back from Jake, landing on Marcus’ jaw, shattered him wide open.

Marcus fell against the bar, moving his head in time to avoid another punch. He felt the blood seeping through his beard and into his mouth from the first punch. His world was already swirling. He had no business picking a fight he knew he couldn’t win.

He didn’t care though. This man had stolen the one thing he had loved more than anything in the world: Abby. Jake took her and gave her everything she wanted in one year while Marcus couldn’t give it to her for years and never did.

The fight was a lost cause. At the end of it, Marcus still wouldn’t be married to Abby. Marcus wouldn’t be the father of her child. Marcus wouldn’t be a part of that family. Marcus would be alone, left to wallow in his self-pity while Abby continued to be happier than she ever was with him.

Jake landed another punch across Marcus’ cheek, causing blood to explode from his mouth. The pain searing through his jaw was nothing compared to his reality. He built his own Hell, he knew that, and he willfully suffered in it.

As Marcus tried to land another punch on Jake, wanting to exert his frustration and sense of defeat, cops busted into the bar. One wrenched Jake off Marcus and held him back, Marcus reaching out to pull him back. Another cop stepped in between the two, turning and shoving Marcus against the bar effectively.

He tried to escape at first but soon is fight deflated. There was no point. What was he fighting for? His freedom? To where? To come back here next Friday? He certainly wasn’t going home to a family.

Looking to his right, he saw Abby comforting Jake as he calmed down. Marcus spotted the blood across Jake’s cheek and shirt. Marcus knew it was his blood. He had lost that fight, Jake had won. Just like how Marcus had lost Abby to him.

As if sensing his eyes, Abby looked over to him. They made eye contact as Marcus felt himself get handcuffed. Emotions of all kinds passed between the two. The most prominent were fear and disbelief, but there was a hidden one, just for him.

There was an understanding in her eyes. She knew.

+

County jail was what Marcus thought it would be.

He sat in his own cell, just like the ones seen on TV. It was gray, dull, and cold. He had a single bed and toilet. He took refuge on the bed, sitting while starring at his hands.

In his hands rested two things: a photograph and a card with a phone number.

He never left home without those two items. They reminded him of the mistake he made; they reminded him that he was a failure.

His attention was focused solely on the two objects, gaze falling more on the picture. It was ripped in certain places, worn on the edges, and wrinkled all over. The color was fading and there was a coffee stain on the lower left corner.

The picture was of him and Abby. It had taken place after he proposed to her. He had hired a professional photographer to take pictures of the moment before, during, and after. This particular picture was of them posing in front of the waterfall, the ring displayed proudly as they smiled at each other, foreheads touching.

He was happy, Abby was happy. They were happy.

Past tense being the key. Now, Abby was still happy, but he wasn’t.

His eyes drifted over to card with a phone number on it. He remembered the weight it created in his pocket when he found the divorce papers. It was supposed to their solution, it was supposed to mend their relationship. It was supposed to make them happy again.

That number was the solution to Marcus’ problem. He had found the solution, but it was too late. They were no longer that couple they were months ago when he first got the test. They weren’t happy.

Marcus never called the number. He didn’t have a reason anymore. He didn’t have Abby. He didn’t have her to give her the family she wanted. She had Jake now.

Just thinking of him made Marcus angry again. It was ridiculous, his anger being aimed at the wrong person. He knew Abby would move on, he didn’t want to accept it. He knew Abby would get the family she wanted, he didn’t want to accept the fact it wasn’t with him. He knew Abby would be happy again, he didn’t want to accept the fact it was possible without him.

But it was. Abby was happier.

Marcus found the two items in his hands blurring together. Tears gathered in his eyes, admitting it truly to himself for the first time. Abby was happier.

Blood from the cut on his lip dripped down and onto the card. Reality of the scene he caused at the bar came crashing down on him. Choking back a sob, tears overflowed in his eyes, freely falling down his cheeks.

Abby was happier.

The tears fell off his cheek and onto the picture of the two. They all fell onto Abby, forming a pool, blurring her image. She disappeared under the tears, just like she had from his life. Just like any trace of hope he had of amending their broken relationship.

Whispering it to no one and one person in particular at the same time, Marcus choked out the words he realized he should’ve said a long time ago.

“I’m so sorry. Forgive me.”

[clumsycapitolunicorn]

Do you know what a warrior’s second is?

An apprentice.

[beyknowles]

Stranger Things Cast Answer the Web’s Most Searched Questions.

[captainodonoghue]

       30 days with Emma Swan  ❀ Day 30

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Bottoms Up

Title: Bottoms Up Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Alternate Universe - College/University, Partying, alcohol galore, who knew milkshakes could be sexual, apparently I did Words: 4,329 Read & support on: AO3

Summary: Four college students, twenty red solo cups, two ping pong balls, an endless supply of alcohol, and a shit ton of sexual tension.

Abby never loses.

It’s a fact.

As a sophomore in her doctorate program in med school, she has a two year undefeated streak in beer pong. Her first party at Arkadia University earned her five wins in a row alone. That was the night Callie, her best friend, decided Abby was her official beer pong partner.

She has a total of 56 wins. But, who’s counting?

A final flick of the wrist clenches another win for the night. Make it 57 wins.

Then there’s Marcus.

He never loses either, except to Abby that is.

As a senior in law school at Arkadia University, his only losses in his 99-12 record are a result of versing Abby.

He still remembers his first loss against her. It was her first party at the university. Everyone was surprised to see her calmly accept the ping pong ball from Jake Griffin, who had lost against Marcus and Indra. Marcus had been on a four game winning streak that night. Everyone believed the freshman had bought her death wish.

The game lasted until the two teams each had one cup left. Abby’s partner missed her shot, leaving Abby the opportunity to hand Marcus his first loss. At this point in the game, they had become the center of attention of the party. Everyone was crowded in the garage as they witnessed history being made.

Not bothered by the pressure, Abby easily sunk the ping pong ball into the last cup. Marcus and Indra had one chance to save themselves with one last shot each. Indra’s ball hit off the rip, earning “ooooh’s” from the crowd as the game turned to rest on Marcus’ shoulders.

Marcus was sure if he wasn’t distracted by the smirk on Abby’s lips that night, his shot would’ve made it. It wouldn’t have fallen out after it swirled around the rim. The chanting of her name wouldn’t have caused him to remember her name. She would’ve been just another tic mark in his win column. Instead, Abby Griffin gave him his first tic in the loss column.

He used that excuse, her, every time they lost. If he was just more focused on the game instead of her, then maybe he would finally defeat her.

He had been watching her games all night, waiting for the chance to slide behind the cups and face her. What better way to finally defeat her than on what would be his 100th win?

With confidence, he stood up from his chair and walked over to the ping pong table, setting his own cup down. The movement caught the two girls’ attention on the other side of the table. As they recognized who it was, Abby offered him that same smirk he remembered all too well from their first game.

“Eager to lose?” Abby teased, turning to face him.

“Eager to win,” he replied, setting the cups up.

Abby looked over to Callie as she reached for a beer can. Snapping it open, she began to refill their own cups. She told her, “58.”

Annoyance surged through Marcus as he heard the words accompanied by a giggle from Callie. Indra appeared beside him before he could retort and snapped open their own beer can and began to refill their cups. She told Abby, “100.”

Abby tilted her head to the side as she dropped the ping pong ball into the bucket of water they had. Picking it back up, she replied, “Maybe if I was Jake.”

The four heard Jake complain somewhere in the background as everyone else laughed at the comment.

Abby spun the ball in her fingers and told them, “State the rules.”

Marcus listed them, “No intercepting. One ball in, one cup. If both make it, then they get a third shot. A free rolling ball is free game to grab. As many rearrangements as you want. Saving grace shot at the end?”

The smirk returned to Abby as she said, “You need one?”

He smirked back at her, telling her, “I was offering for you. No grace shot. First shots.”

Callie threw hers first, her aim taking her off to the side. “Whoops,” she commented, “might’ve not been smart to take that tequila shot before this.”

Abby chuckled as she threw her own ball, sinking it in the front cup. As Marcus removed it and drank the contents, Abby told her, “The way he’s been downing his vodka, I think you’ll be fine.”

Marcus wasn’t sure if his face was flushing with annoyance from her statement or the curiosity of finding out she was watching him all night. The glint in her eyes made him believe it was more of the latter.

After dunking the balls in their own water bucket, Indra shot hers first. It hit off the rims of a couple cups in the middle. She swore under her breath as Marcus tossed his own. It landed in the front cup as well.

Abby took the ball out and removed the cup. She downed the beer quickly and set the cup off to the side. Marcus winked at her which she responded with an eye roll. He leaned on the table, telling her, “This is only the beginning.”

“Of my 58th win?” She asked, tossing her ball, it landing in the new front row of two.

He handed the cup to Indra to drink as Callie shot hers. It bounced off the rim of the remaining front cup. He dunked the ball and shook off the excess water. “Your first loss,” he replied, tossing his ball. It swirled around the rim of a middle cup and eventually sunk down.

Indra tossed her ball next, the ball sinking into the cup next to the one Marcus had just made. Both girls grabbed a cup each as Abby tossed the ball back to Marcus. He aimed for the last cup in the row Indra and he had made a dent in. He arched it and the duo watched as the ball slowly sank into the cup, eliminating the row.

“Well fuck,” Callie mumbled as she grabbed that cup as well.

The two of them drank the beer and set the cups off to the side. Abby ran her teeth across her front teeth as she dunk her ball in the bucket. She examined Marcus as well.

He was wearing the signature leather jacket he always had on when he wasn’t required to wear a suit. Underneath was none of than his infamous black workout shirt. His hair wasn’t gelled back either like he usually wore at the university. Abby also thought she saw a hint of stubble growing.

When his hand came up to scratch his jaw as he watched Callie make the other front cup, she found herself getting distracted as her eyes wondered to his lips. He lifted the cup to his lips, draining the contents of the cup. As he set the cup down, his tongue darted out to catch a few drips that escaped.

She only snapped back to attention when Callie nudged her. She threw her ball hurriedly, her mind not completely focused. It snapped back to full focus when the ball hit off the rim of the back row, bouncing behind the two.

As Indra went to retrieve the ball, Marcus dunked his ball and looked over to Abby, raising an eyebrow. Abby returned the gaze, determined to let it not be known that she had been distracted by him. The last thing Abby wanted to do was boost his ego.

Marcus Kane was an attractive man and he knew it. From his thick hair, to his sharp jawline, to his muscular arms and body, to his quick feet. Marcus prided in presenting himself well.

Abby had the winning streak against him that she held over his head. He had nothing to hold over hers. He certainly didn’t need the knowledge that she found him attractive to hold over her head. She would never hear the end of it.

But Abby wasn’t dim witted.

She saw the long looks he would give her as they passed each other in the library. She caught him staring multiple times over his law books. She saw the heated gazes at every party. She caught him check her out legs every time he thought she wasn’t looking.

If Marcus was confident in his appearance, why couldn’t she be as well?

As Indra finally came back to the table with the ball, Abby took a long drink of her mixed alcohol. She needed to buzz out the sight of his eyes drilling holes into her. She mimicked his movements a few minutes ago- her tongue darted out to pick up a stranded drop of alcohol on her lower lip.

And he had mimicked her actions without knowing it. His eyes latched on to the movement, hand curling slightly tighter around the ping pong ball. Their eyes met after and she smirked the tiniest bit, indicating she knew he was watching.

He rightfully ignored her and tossed his ball, hitting off a rim. He swore as Indra threw hers. She also missed as it bounced off the front of the front two cups. The ball began to roll back towards the middle of the table.

Abby and Marcus both lunged for it, reaching across the table to get there first. Abby’s hand came down on the ball first, his landing on top of hers. She smirked over to him, laying on the table slightly. She said, “Too slow. Maybe you should lay off the vodka.”

His mind barely registered the words. He was too focused on the sight of her before him. He was strictly telling his eyes to stay on her face but even then he was still getting a view out of the bottom of his vision.

Her outfit for this night consisted of a black tank top with a red flannel that was unbuttoned. It splayed across the table from her jumping after the ball, slightly hanging off her left shoulder. His hand that rested on top of hers twitched in the want to reach out and move the flannel; either back in place or to take off, he wasn’t sure.

Her hair was a bit ruffled from the night’s shenanigans, resulting a slight mess that cascaded over her shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and run his hands through it. He wanted to make a mess of it and then fix it.

Without thinking, he replied, “I think I need more of it.”

They locked eyes at that moment. Abby felt his hand tighten the slightest bit over hers. It was as if the tension they had built up over the two years with this beer pong rivalry was all coming to head. It usually presented itself when one of the two had too much to drink, but it never escalated past long distance gazes.

They were pushing their boundaries now.

“Do you want to go somewhere private or do we wanna finish this game?” Indra called out, shattering the connection between the two.

Marcus’ hand left hers immediately and Abby yanked hers back, the ball with it. Their gazes, however, stayed intact. Abby smirked slightly, telling him, “I can’t give you more vodka, but I can give you more beer.”

“Not as much as I’ll give you,” he replied as they both retreated to their respective sides, gazes still connected. As Abby stood up and fixed her flannel, Callie shot her ball, sinking it in a cup in the back row. Indra took the cup and drank the contents as Abby lined up her shot.

To prove her point, she aimed for the cup right in front of him in the back row. It swirled around the rim before slowly dipping into the cup. She winked at him as he picked the ball out and downed the drink in a single gulp. They watched each other as he set the cup off to the side.

Indra had rolled a ball back to them for making both and Callie took the shot. It missed the cups completely, bouncing in a vacant spot.

Marcus shot his ball, hitting off the rim of the front cup. Indra dunk her ball and told him, “I know your mind is in the gutter right now, but for my sake, keep it PG for the remainder of the game.”

Easier said than done. As Indra took her shot, sinking it in the back row, Abby proceeded to take her flannel off. She tied it around her waist as Callie took the ball out and offered it to Abby. She threw her head back as she downed the drink in one gulp, copying Marcus once again.

She smacked her lips after and winked to him as she set the cup to the side. Marcus’ mind was definitely not PG at the moment, nor would it be for the rest of the game probably.

Along with her legs, Marcus loved Abby’s arms. They were just like her legs- slender but filled with hidden strength. He’s seen her punch a drunk guy and send him tumbling down the stairs for getting too touchy. He knew she was a dancer back in the day, he knew the leg strength it required.

“Let’s make this more interesting,” Abby’s voice broke through his current thoughts of her arms wrapping around his neck to pull him into a kiss.

Marcus examined the game before them. Each had gotten rid of half of the other’s cups, leaving each team with five. He looked back to her, asking, “How so?”

She twirled the ball in her fingers as she leaned on the table. She offered, “Whoever wins gets whatever they want and the loser has to buy it. No restrictions except nothing too expensive as were all broke college kids.”

Marcus looked over to Indra as she looked to him. They both nodded in sync and looked over to the other two. Marcus told her, “You got a deal.”

Abby grinned, a bit of a sinister sense behind it, saying, “Perfect. A huge ass milkshake sounds good right now.”

“Too bad you’ll be buying me one,” Marcus replied, crossing his arms.

Abby raised an eyebrow at that, not hesitating as she tossed her ball, aiming for another cup in the back row. It perfectly fell in the cup. Indra swore as she took the ball out and proceeded to drink the beer. “You sure about that?” Abby asked, tilting her head to the side.

Callie’s shot hit off the rim of another cup on the back row, Marcus catching it. He didn’t dunk it in the water or wait for Indra to go. He immediately threw it as soon as he caught it. It floated in the air before landing in one of the front two cups. He tilted his head like she did and told her, “Positive.”

Callie drank the beer and dunked the ball. She told Abby, “We better win because I’m broke as shit. The best I could buy them is a soft taco from Taco Bell.”

“Don’t worry,” Abbe reassured her as Indra’s shot missed wide, “after our 58th win, you can buy all the soft tacos you want. Give us a diamond.”

“You could say please,” Marcus teased as he rearranged the cups.

Abby dunked her ball and replied, “Certainly you have bigger things to worry about than my manners.” Shaking off the ball, she tossed it swiftly into the front cup. “Maybe like how much my milkshake will cost?”

Marcus was too busy fantasizing about another scenario where Abby didn’t need manners with him to come up with a comeback. Indra noticed as she picked up the cup to give him and hit him upside the head. She set the cup down as he rubbed the back of his head, her telling him, “Mind out of the gutter.”

Callie’s shot had missed behind the cups, landing at their feet. “I can be in the gutter and win this game,” Marcus informed her as he picked up the ball.

Indra had instructed for their cups to be in a diamond as he picked the ball up. She looked over to him and told him, “I have yet to see it.”

She wasn’t wrong. He shook off the comment and tossed his ball once they finished rearranging their cups. It sank into the back cup swiftly. He told Indra as he drank the cup from last round, “Tonight’s the night.”

Callie removed the cup and drank the contents as she dunked the ball. “We’ll find out,” Indra replied as she threw her ball. It hit off the front cup and rolled over the rims of the back two before falling to the table.

Abby snatched it up and dunked it, examining the cups. Each team had three left. Callie was better shooting long and Abby liked the short shots. Callie shot her ball, sinking it in the back cup. She screamed, making the whole crowd in the garage follow in suit.

Abby’s shot sank into the cup on his side of the last row of two, leaving a lone cup behind. The garage erupted in cheers again as the reality of the situation set in. Marcus and Indra each grabbed a cup and looked to the other as they rolled the ball back to other side.

Marcus drained the contents of his cup, feeling the rush of adrenaline run to his brain. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken so many vodka shots before like Abby said. He was still coherent but he was feeling the buzz kicking in.

As Abby dunked the ball, eyeing the lone cup as if it was her doctorate degree, Marcus knew he should’ve stopped the vodka shots.

But then a bell went off in his head. He loved Abby’s arms, and he knew she loved his. The two would sometimes be at the school gym at the same time. When he would be bench pressing, he could see her watching from her own bench. He would gladly put a few extra pounds on the bar to impress her.

As she lined up her shot, he quickly but smoothly took his leather jacket off. Abby caught wind of the movement the moment her wrist was flicking forward to win the game. As he took the jacket off, his muscles in his arms contracted and Abby’s mind shifted from a milkshake to him.

The images that flashed before her eyes with what he could do with those muscles definitely weren’t PG. Abby may have thought Marcus was attractive, but what really sold her heart to him was the muscles. The daydreams she had while in the gym…

They shattered when her ball missed the last cup completely. They were replaced with a cocky smirk on none other than the guy who owned those muscles. That son of a…

If he wanted to play that game, fine. Two could.

Marcus snatched up the other ball as Indra looked over to him. “See,” he told her, “the gutter will help us this time.”

Indra rolled her eyes as she shook off the water from her ball. “It better,” was all she replied with as she tossed her ball. It hit off the front two cups and rolled back into the back cup.

Callie took the ball out and drank the contents as Abby crossed her arms. Marcus threw his shot perfectly into one of the two cups left.

Abby slowly lifted the cup and took the ball out. She rolled it over to their side as she drank from the cup, drawing Marcus’ eyes to hers. She kept eye contact as she finished the cup off. She tossed it to the side as her tongue slowly licked her bottom lip.

She could feel his gaze hardened on her as his focus shifted from the ping pong ball to her. She drew her lower lip between her teeth for a short second before saying, “Hold on. I need a quick stretch.”

If Marcus’ mind had been PG13 before, it was definitely rated R now.

Abby swiftly swung a leg up and onto the table. She leaned forward, reaching her toes. She grabbed ahold of her foot and pulled it back. She turned her head to look at the two, apologizing, “I just have a terrible tightness in my hamstring that’s been bugging me all night.”

Marcus’ mind was spinning with images of her loosening that muscle in other activities. He had seen her flexibility before at the gym when she would stretch, it amazed him. He could barely reach his toes (not that he would ever let her see).

Now he was imagining all the ways she could bend when he-

“All better,” Abby sighed in relief as she slowly dragged her leg off the table. She offered him a sweet smile and said, “Proceed.”

Proceed with what? All he was focused on was her. He could only think of her and all the things she did that drove him mad. She knew it too, but he didn’t care. He wanted her. He wanted to-

“Marcus,” Indra snapped him from his daydream, clapping in front of his eyes. He looked over to her, still not completely back from his daydream. She nodded towards the cup and said, “Win the game.”

He looked back to the cup and tried to veer his brain towards the game. His eyes betrayed him however as he lifted his hand. They shifted over to Abby and it was game over.

She had drew her lower lip into her mouth again and winked at him. It was timed perfectly as his wrist flicked forward. He threw it too hard and it went sailing past the other two, not hitting the table.

Indra slapped herself on the forehead. She looked over to him, seeing his state, and told herself, “We’re fucked.”

Abby knew it too. Neither Abby nor Callie went to get the other ball as Abby twirled the one they still had. She offered the duo a smirk as she told them, “58.”

Abby tossed the ball and it hit the top of the rim, halting it. Slowly, it tipped back and fell into the cup. The garage erupted in cheers as it became official that Abby won.

“Goddamn it, Marcus,” Indra swore as she picked up the last cup, draining its contents.

It went in one ear and out the other for Marcus. He didn’t care his record was now 99-13. Sure, he might in the morning, but there were more important things on his mind. And all of them were of the girl he had just lost to.

Abby felt his stare as she was congratulated by fellow classmates. She felt it through the spinning hug Callie gave her. She felt it get closer as everyone began to go back to their own shenanigans. She turned in time to see him walking over.

Callie was still jumping in joy as she grabbed her bottle, yelling, “Indraaaaaaaaaaa! I need a Taco Bell chauffer!”

Abby laughed as she watched Indra pinch the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Callie latched onto her arm as she led her into the house, rambling out her order.

“Are you gonna order fifty million milkshakes?”

Abby turned to face Marcus who had reached their side of the ping pong table. He was still without his jacket and she let her eyes freely wander over his arms as he supported himself up on the table. Slowly, her eyes made their way to his. Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “Are you offering to buy me that many?”

He chuckled a bit and told her, “I know I’m a law major, major being the key word, but I don’t have that kind of money yet.”

“How disappointing.”

Silence fell between them as Marcus let his eyes sweep over Abby once more. Her eyes were lit with the same fire he knew were in his. He decided to just go for it, telling her, “Would you still be disappointed If I told you I have milkshake ingredients at my house?”

Abby caught wind of the hinted invitation behind the words. Smirking, she took a small step towards him. She whispered, “I would be very disappointed if you didn’t take me there and make me the best milkshake.”

She leaned forward with each word, her hand coming to rest on his that was supporting him. The movement made her sway forward closer to him. He was gazing down to her, licking his lips slowly as the words registered in his brain. “I can assure you,” he whispered to her, “no one has been disappointed.”

The words set her afire with lust. “Well,” she whispered back, “I guess I’ll just have to find out for myself, won’t I?”

He leaned forward a bit, saying, “I guess so.”

The two stared at each other for a bit, sparks flying between the two. If one of them didn’t get them out of here, they might attack each other in this garage. Abby took charge and put a hand on his chest, telling him, “I’ll go get Indra and Callie. Call an Uber. Callie will be ecstatic to get her Taco Bell, Indra will get a ride home, and I’ll get my…milkshake.”

At the end of the sentence, the lust Marcus was feeling spiked up another level. “Find them quickly,” was all he could reply with.

Abby chuckled slightly and winked. “I’ll try my hardest.” She let her fingers slide off his chest as she walked away. She felt his eyes follow her movements until she disappeared from his sight.

Besides kicking his ass in beer pong for the 13th time, she had him wrapped around her finger. Mark another win in Abby’s record; but, you already knew that. It’s a fact.

Abby never loses.

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 22

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 22/22 - COMPLETE Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: this is it,,,the final whistle. enjoy!

Chapter 22: A happy beginning is now ours

“Come on,” Abby whined, “you won’t even try one?”

“No,” Marcus repeated for the tenth time. Or was it his twelfth time rejecting it? He had lost count around the sixth time Abby offered him a pickle.

“But why?”

“You know why,” he mocked her, stretching the last word as she did.

She glared back at him as she took the pickle she had been offering him and ate it. One day she would get him to eat one.

As Abby munched on her pickle, she sat back in the chair she was seated in. She was currently sitting at the long picnic table on Marcus’ back porch beside Marcus.

Every year, after the championships, Pike would host a small end of the year party for each age group. The champions got to choose where the party was held. Marcus and Abby had chosen his house instead of the fancy country club the Wallaces chose every year.

Everyone hated the food there. This year, Marcus had volunteered to cook up hamburgers and hotdogs if everyone pitched in donations for main meals, snacks, and drinks. Everyone happily obliged except Cage of course.

Heaven forbid he actually put forth effort into the party instead of focusing all that effort into choosing which ridiculous suit to wear. That was another reason everyone hated going to the country club; you had to dress semi-formal. Abby really just wanted to be barefoot with a Mike’s Hard Lemonade in her hand.

And that was exactly what she was doing, plus the pickle in her other hand.

Everyone had just finished eating their main meal and now everyone was relaxing and socializing. The kids were either playing, eating more dessert, or swimming.

Marcus and Abby stuck to sitting at the table, people watching.

Currently, Clarke, Lexa, and Wells sat on the grass, watching as Bellamy and Lincoln wrestled each other, trying to throw the other in the pool. Even with a cast on, Lincoln seemed to be winning. Miller was in the pool, cheering them on. Harper, Monty, Gaia, and Jasper were all around the dessert table, piling up their plates. Murphy was distracting his father as Raven and Octavia snuck up behind him, pouring salt in his lemonade.

When Jaha grabbed it and took a drink of it, he immediately spit it out. The trio burst into laughter and ran away as Jaha started after them.

Abby smiled. It was a content scene all around them. Players from other teams came and went as the day dragged on. A lot of the other teams had left once the main meal was served, but others stayed and socialized with the Delinquents’ parents and players.

Expecting it at one point, Abby noticed as the Wallaces made their way to where the duo was sitting. Dante sat down across from them, but Cage stayed standing. His father looked up to him and instructed him, “Sit down.”

Abby and Marcus glanced at each other for a second, chuckling under their breath. As Cage sat down, in his white suit covered in a floral design might Abby add, Dante offered them a small smile. He told them sincerely, “I just wanted to tell you congrats.”

Abby smiled in response. If she had to pick a better of the two, she would choose Dante. He was an ass like his son, but he at least knew how to admit defeat- unlike his son who was now pouting like a child who was dragged to the grocery store against his will.

“Thank you,” Marcus responded, “that means a lot.”

Dante’s smile grew a bit and he looked to his son. He told them, “Cage also had something he wanted to tell you.”

Abby’s eyebrows shot up at that. She was curious to hear what he had to say, both of them were. Before he could speak, however, Abby asked, “Are you going to ask me if it’s a great day for soccer, Cage?”

His not so nice glare in response gave her the answer of a resounding “no”. She answered him back anyways by telling him, “Don’t worry, my answer hasn’t changed- every day is a great day for soccer.”

The rage in his eyes at her mockery was burning as hot as the day’s temperature. Abby was unbothered by it though. Abby was living for this moment. She had been waiting for it all season, hell, probably for five years after their first meeting.

Dante chuckled in response to Abby and shook his head. He told her, “No, he has something more to tell you.”

The two got serious as they adjusted their attention to Cage. Cage watched them both and he mumbled something under his breath.

Abby, clearly enjoying this too much, cupped her ear and leaned over the table slightly. “What? I didn’t hear you.”

She could feel the burn of his glare on the side of her head. She couldn’t care less. She was going to be an ass to him like he had been to her the past five years at every end of the year party. Karma was a bitch.

He spit out through gritted teeth, “I said congrats.”

Abby put her hand down, smirking a tad as she turned to face him again. She told him, “And now in a sincere tone?”

He flinched, opening his mouth slightly to retort, but Dante held a hand up to stop his son. Dante didn’t look mad at Abby. He seemed to be thinking the same thing- Cage deserved it.

Abby: 1 Cage: 0

He put his hand down and told the two, “I know the history between us hasn’t been the most favorable, but I will give respect when it is due. You did one hell of a job coaching those kids.”

Both Abby and Marcus looked to each other a bit surprised. They had expected the congrats as Abby had said before, Dante was reasonable to an extent. Neither had expected a compliment out of him.

“Even though,” he added as an afterthought, “you had those three Grounders to give you a small boost at the beginning.”

There it was. There was the typical Wallace they knew and hated.

Abby acted like she didn’t hear the last part and offered him a smile. She told him, “Thank you, Dante. Those five years might’ve drove me up the wall, but it was fun facing you over those years.” It took a lot of her strength to not add, “No thanks to your son’s illegal dabbling in the league,” but she figured she would be civil to Dante if he continued to be civil with her.

Marcus smirked to himself, his hand finding Abby’s under the table. He gave it a small squeeze before adding her thoughts aloud anyways, “Your son’s plan to destroy us almost worked, but the challenge of finding who we really can be as coaches and persevering through was worth it.”

Cage’s attention snapped to Marcus then, a sneer on his lips. Marcus pointedly ignored him as Dante chuckled. He replied, “I’m glad you took something out of it. I know I did- never underestimate the enemy.”

Abby grinned and nodded in agreement. She told him, “Make sure you take that advice into your new league.”

The jab was meant for Cage and Abby silently high-fived herself when she saw him stiffen after the words left her lips.

Abby: 2 Cage: 0

Dante nodded and looked to his son, telling them, “I’m sure we will.” Cage offered no words as Dante stood up, signaling that they were leaving. He added, “Good luck next season, hopefully you’ll do just as good.”

Good? That was it? Abby thought they did amazing, like fucking amazing. But then again, this was a Wallace they were receiving a compliment from. It was like receiving a compliment from Jaha- rare.

Abby offered the two another smile as both were now standing. She told Dante, “Thanks, good luck to you as well. Have fun being the underdogs.”

Dante just chuckled in response and turned to walk away. Cage offered no sincere congrats or well wishes for the next year as they began to walk away. Being Abby, she had to get the last word in, and called out after them, “And Cage?”

He turned to face her, face showcasing his annoyance. She gave him one of his signature smirks and told him, “Go fuck yourself.”

His façade broke immediately and he raised a finger, ready to yell back, but his father grabbed his arm and made him turn away from them. Abby was pretty sure she heard Dante telling him something along the lines of, “Not like you didn’t deserve it.”

Abby: 3 Cage: 0

Abby loved winning. Smiling triumphantly, she leaned back in her chair, tipping her Mike’s Hard to her lips, taking a long drink. As she set it down, she let out a long and loud sigh of content. She could get used to this.

The hand in her hand moved to rest on her thigh, drawing her attention to Marcus. He offered her a small smile, but it was full of pride, adoration, and love. His eyes offered the same.

Oh yeah, Abby could definitely get used to this.

A new figure replaced the empty space the Wallace boys had left behind, drawing their attention away from each other. Indra sat across the two and offered them a raised eyebrow as she cracked open a beer. “Do I need to worry about finding you two fornicating?”

Abby’s mouth dropped open at Indra’s icebreaker while Marcus burst into laughter. This was the second time Indra had caught Abby off guard, the other time being when she had walked in on them in the hallway.

Indra: 2 Abby: 0

Marcus’ laughter died off and he leaned over the table, winking, and told Indra, “Maybe later in the night.”

Indra faked throwing up, making Marcus laugh more. Abby still was wordless as she watched Indra take a long drink of her beer. As she set the bottle down, she told the two, “Just try to make it to the bedroom this time.”

Marcus’ laughter grew as Abby hid her face in her hands. Marcus’ hand on Abby’s thigh gave her a small squeeze as he replied to Indra, “No promises.”

Indra rolled her eyes as she took another drink of her beer. They trio fell silent for a while as they watched the kids. Breaking the silence, Indra suddenly told them, “I’m actually really proud of you.”

The two looked to each other, confused, and looked back to Indra as she turned to focus back on them. Abby asked, “For what?”

“For doing what I told you to do,” Indra replied with a dry tone. She took another drink before adding more seriously, “You actually put your differences to the side and overcame all the difficulties you created. You learned from each other and got your shit together, literally at the last minute, and coached those kids to victory.”

Abby felt herself smiling as Indra spoke. She looked over to Marcus to see the same smile on his face. He also looked over to her and gave her thigh another small squeeze. They really did it. Somehow, someway, they did it.

Indra added in at the last second, “And you defeated those assholes.”

The duo laughed in response as they all lifted their drinks, Abby saying, “I’ll drink to that.”

They all clinked their bottles together and took a long drink each. As they set their bottles down, it fell silent between them again. Marcus drew patterns on her thigh as they all watched the kids in the swimming pool. Bellamy was currently throwing a football into the pool as Miller tried to catch it while jumping in.

It didn’t end well and proved Bellamy should stick to a foot sport as his aim was terribly off and the football sailed over Miller’s head. Miller fell into the water empty handed and the football sailed over to where Jasper was chilling on the edge with his feet in the water. He wasn’t paying attention until the ball hit the plate of desserts he was holding, scattering them everywhere.

Abby automatically laughed in response as Jasper raced to pick the food up. Monty was too busy laughing beside him to help. Gaia had grabbed the football and threw a perfect spiral back to Bellamy, who caught it with ease.

Murphy, who was sitting on the edge besides Bellamy, told him, “Damn Bell, she’s better at soccer and football than you.”

He barely finished the sentence before Bellamy shoved him off the edge and into the pool. Murphy screamed, still fully clothed, as he went under. Wells, who was safe on the grass with Clarke and Lexa, was laughing his ass off.

Indra suddenly broke the silence at the table by telling the two, “Thank you.”

Abby’s laughter died down as Marcus asked, “For what?”

Looking back to them, she offered them a genuine smile. She explained, “For letting the kids join your team. They truly enjoyed every part of it.”

They smiled back, eyeing each other for a short second. Abby told her honestly, “And we enjoyed having them. They can play with us next year if they’d like to.”

Indra grinned and admitted, “Actually, I was talking with Pike earlier, and with the sudden departure of Mount Weather from the league, there’s an opening for another team to come. Of course, he was going to offer to split your teams again first.”

The two looked to each other, but they knew the answer well before that. Looking back to Indra, Marcus told her, “We’re going to keep coaching together.”

Indra looked between the two for a moment. She told them, “Well, then you better be prepared when the Grounders come for that crown.”

Abby’s eyebrows raised up, asking, “You think you can get a team together again?”

Indra smiled a bit, saying, “Pike said my time slots were open now and all I needed to do was field a team. It all depends, but I may be able to rebuild the Grounders.”

Marcus smiled at her, telling her, “That’s great, but we’ll be ready to defend our crown.”

Indra smirked as she stood up, emptying the last of her beer. “Well then,” she said, “I better go tell Pike it’s a deal then, huh? Can’t let you get too cocky, now can I?”

The duo smirked and looked at each other before looking back to Indra. She looked between the two before laughing a bit. She shook her head as she turned, walking away. She mumbled aloud, “Oh Lord, what have I done…”

Abby chuckled as she finished off the last of her Mike’s Hard. She set the bottle down and looked over to Marcus, seeing him watching her. Sher raised an eyebrow, asking, “What?”

He was silent for a while before he asked, “No matter who wears the coach label, we’re in this together, right?”

She grinned, heart fluttering the slightest bit. She reached up, cupping his cheek gently as her fingers slowly moved through his beard. She felt content when she felt him lean into her touch. She told him, “Always.”

He grinned as he leaned down, placing a soft and slow kiss on her lips. It couldn’t compare to the kiss in his hallway, or the one up against the concession’s wall, or the one after the championship game. This one solidified them as one, that no matter what, they were in this together.

As they pulled apart, Abby let her hand fell through his beard once more. Under her fingertips, she felt that smirk form on his lips. He whispered to her, “You were such a bad liar about hating my beard.”

“Besides the razor stealing?”

He chuckled slightly. “Yes,” he told her, “besides that.”

Humor danced in both of their eyes and she questioned him, “Care to enlighten me?”

That smirk grew as his hand slowly traveled up her thigh, lightly leaving sparks behind. He whispered to her, “Your body language gave you away every time. When I asked if you wanted to run your hands through it, your body betrayed you. I saw the desire.”

Abby could feel her heartbeat in her ears, blood coursing through her veins at a high rate. She felt hot and that want was finding its way back into her body.

He inched closer to her, scooting forward from his chair, knees bumping hers. The contact sent an electric jolt from the point of contact throughout her body. His hand kept inching upwards, flames spreading like wildfire. He whispered, “I can see that same body language now. Do you want to run your hands through it now?”

The same thoughts and images she had when he initially asked re-entered her mind. Oh, hell yes did she want to. However, they did promise Indra to try and make it to the bedroom this time.

But by the way Marcus’ gaze held hers, how his grip on her upper thigh tightened, and how his tongue slowly licked his lower lip, Abby wasn’t sure she would make it inside. A for effort, right?

He offered her, “How about running it up other places?” as his hand skimmed the inner side of her thigh.

If Abby had thought she felt want before, then she couldn’t explain what she felt now. All she knew was that she wanted Marcus to shut the hell up and kiss her senseless. She wanted-

All hot images and thoughts of Marcus were soon washed away by freezing water being dumped all over her.

The two immediately jumped apart, the cold water shocking both. Abby was standing, stiff as the chill seeped into her bones. Soon enough, the laughter from the guilty duo rang in her ears. She turned around to see Raven and Octavia holding a big bucket, laughing.

Faking her anger, she yelled at the two, “That’s a mile run for both of you!”

The two stopped laughing as they looked to their coach. Octavia told her, “We’re twelve.”

“And season’s over,” Raven added on.

“You smartass-” Abby started to rant but a hand came over her mouth as an arm wrapped around her waist. It pulled her against an equally wet chest.

She heard Marcus behind her tell the kids, “Can never start preparation too early.”

The girls looked to each other before running off, giggling in the process. Abby freed herself from Marcus, spinning around to see him smiling down to her. He was soaked from head to toe, like she was.

“Well,” Abby spoke aloud, examining the way his wet shirt exposed his muscles, “maybe I should thank those girls instead.”

He laughed and reached out, tugging at her own wet shirt. He asked, “And when will you learn to not wear a hot pink bra with a white t-shirt?”

Abby looked down to examine her outfit to realize he was correct about her current wardrobe. She looked back up to him, challenging him, “The day you eat a pickle.”

He raised an eyebrow at that, a glint of playfulness flickering in his eyes. “So,” he asked, “never?”

She smirked and shook her head. He smirked that smirk back and Abby embraced herself for a typical Marcus response. He asked her, remembering the other day at practice, “And are you gonna tell me, ‘Fuck you, Kane’, every time you do wear it?”

Humor and something more swam in his eyes. He had moved closer to her during the last few exchanges. She could feel the body heat he was radiating and she felt herself being drawn to it.

“Depends,” she answered, “are you going to kiss me every time I say it?”

“Oh,” he replied, taking a step closer, his voice dropping to a low tone, “I’ll do more than kiss you.”

That want soon found its way to back her and their gazes connected. Their eyes reflected the same want. The only thing blocking them was the few feet into the house.

Abby raised an eyebrow at him, asking, “Then what are you waiting for?”

“Those magic words,” he teased her.

She smirked more, taking the last step between them to close the space. She looked up to him, recognizing the familiar storm she had seen his eyes ages ago in his hallway. This time, however, she didn’t want to run from it. She wanted to drown in it, in him.

“Fuck you, Kane.”

“You wish,” came his automatic response as his arm wrapped around her waist. He pulled her close to his chest as he dipped his head down. She reached up, one hand curling in his wet shirt and the other founding its way into his wet hair.

Their lips collided, the storm claiming them both. The want, the need, the passion, and the love they held for each other held them down, dragging them deeper into the storm’s depth.

Throughout the games against each other, the merge, the tough losses together, the arguments over the formation, the bickering over sharks and minnows, the first win, the fallout, and claiming victory over Mount Weather, both would agree they were lucky to have each other throughout it all.

Ah, summer.

It was one Coach Griffin could finally say she enjoyed.

THE END

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 21

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 21/22 Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: this is it,,,,it’s THE game,,,can the Delinquents truly defeat Mount Weather? Read on to find out,,, 14.6k words of SOCCER !!!! you’re quiet welcome !! and guess what,,,,WE’VE HIT THE 100K WORD MARK WOOHOO !!!

Chapter 21: You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it

“Great day for soccer, isn’t it?”

“Every day is a great day for soccer, Cage,” Abby answered back.

Both teams were warming up as the three coaches stood together at the half line. They watched their teams warm up, sneaking glances at the other when they thought the other wasn’t looking. Yeah, they definitely were the adults of the bunch.

Just like Cage did every year at the finals, he wore his signature black suit. Abby was pretty sure the reason he wore a black one at the finals was because he was “attending the other team’s funeral”.

Yeah, Marcus thought it was as ridiculous as it sounded.

Cage looked over to the two, asking, “Ready to resign?”

Abby looked over to him and said, “I could ask you the same thing.”

He ignored her while looking back to their kids. He told them, “There’s no point in acting tough, we both know how this game is going to end.”

“We do,” Marcus agreed, “and that ending is where you resign.”

Abby saw Cage flinch the slightest and his jaw tightened. They were getting under his skin. Good, he deserved it for the past five years he had spent doing the same to them.

He turned to face the two completely and said, “Quit while you’re ahead, there’s no need to embarrass yourself.”

Abby cracked a bit herself, sick of his condescending tone. She snapped at him, “You know what, Cage? You can shove your ego up your-”

The shrill of Alie’s whistle caused the rest of Abby’s sentence to be lost in the wind. Cage smirked at her, lecturing her, “Watch your words today, Abby. Do you remember what happened the last time you got thrown out of a game?”

She didn’t forget, she was sure she wouldn’t forget it for a while. But that was in the past and the two had reconciled since. She replied, “No thanks to you.”

He winked and turned to go back to his bench. He called out over his shoulder to her, “Even though red is flattering on you, I want you to be present when I destroy you.”

She had taken a step towards him, to show much red flattered him when it came spurting from his nose when Marcus held her back. She settled for shouting after him, “Watch it Cage or I won’t be the only one sporting red!”

He just laughed in response as he made his way back to his team. She ripped her arm from Marcus and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked up to him as he watched her with his smirk. “What are you smirking about?”

“Nothing,” he told her as their kids came over to them. She pffed at him in response and he chuckled as the kids gathered around them.

Marcus clapped his hands together and offered them a grin. “Now,” he said, “this is that time we talked about in our last practice. We’re the underdogs. They think they can walk all over us just like they did when we first versed them. But, we aren’t those Delinquents anymore. We’re a family now, a family who has been through hell and back. Are we gonna let them push us back into it?”

A chorus of “No!” and “Hell no!”s rang out from the kids as the two coaches saw the fire combust in their eyes. Marcus looked to Abby and she nodded back to him. She stepped forward and told them, “Then let’s go push them back!”

The kids all screamed, jumping around and pushing each other slightly. The scene brought a smile to the two coaches’ faces and they looked to each other again. Marcus asked, “Ready Coach?”

She smirked, thinking that she loved the title. She would never get tired of hearing him call her that. She responded, “Always.”

Marcus got the kids calmed down and brought their hands together. Abby rested hers on Marcus’ and she felt his fingers slowly wrap around hers. She watched him as he looked around the circle and counted down, “3…2…1…”

They threw their hands up as each one of them screamed, “Delinquents!”

The starting lineup went on the field, leaving Octavia, Murphy, Jasper, and Harper on the bench with Lincoln. Octavia held his crutches as he sat down by her.

Wells stood in goal, nervous as a wreck. He looked over to where his father, Jaha, was. He was scrolling on his phone, not watching. Wells immediately felt deflated inside and fixed his left glove.

Raven held her familiar position as left outside back and Miller took his usual right outside back spot. With Lincoln injured and Abby finally seeing the truth, Clarke started as center back.

Lexa was on the left side of the midfield while Gaia was the center and Monty was on the right side. Bellamy stood up front as the lone forward.

Abby crossed her fingers and said a silent prayer for the lucky break to come through once again as Alie blew the whistle, signaling the start of the finals.

The Delinquents had sixty minutes to make a miracle happen. They had sixty minutes to pull off the biggest upset of Arkadia’s rec league. They had sixty minutes to save Marcus’ and Abby’s jobs.

Marcus had noticed her nerves. In an attempt to calm her down, he leaned towards her, asking, “Great day for soccer, isn’t it?”

Abby smiled up to him, glad for once someone she could tolerate actually meant it. “Every day is a great day for soccer,” she answered automatically. It was also a great day to kick Cage’s ass.

Mount Weather started with the kick off and Emerson, the best player in the league, kicked it back to a teammate, who immediately distributed it to a teammate on the wing.

Lexa, who had always been the swiftest and quickest of the three Grounders, immediately applied pressure. Due to that, the Mount Weather had to pass back to their defender.

“Good job, Lexa!” Abby screamed from the sideline, clapping as she walked down the line.

The defender for Mount Weather switched the ball over their backline, getting the ball to the opposite side of the field. That outside defender exploded up the line and towards Monty.

Clarke shouted from the backline, “Force inside, Monty!”

Monty did as he was told without question, cutting off the sideline. He angled his defensive position to offer the inside of the field where his support was. The defender took a touch inside there and looked up for a pass. He saw his center midfielder open and kicked it towards him.

Gaia was the sneakiest of the three Grounders. A teammate may seem open, but Gaia would find her way in front of them, without the player knowing. She would intercept the pass and start a quick counter attack.

She did exactly that as she slid her way in front of Mount Weather’s center midfielder, intercepting the pass, her first touch taking her forward towards Mount Weather’s goal. Lexa immediately exploded up the line and Bellamy opened up for a pass as well.

“Yes! Go Gaia!” Marcus shouted from his position on the bench as he heard the kids cheering behind him.

Gaia passed to Bellamy, who tried to flick it to Lexa who was running past the back line. The center back was able to deflect it however and the pass went off track, going behind Lexa.

That didn’t stop her. She immediately cut and exploded after the ball, saving it before it went out of bounds. The outside defender for Mount Weather caught up to her, getting into a defensive position.

Everyone heard Raven shout, “Take him on, L!”

Lexa smirked and exploded forward at the defender. She tapped the ball to the left a bit with the inside of her right foot, drawing the defender over, but then used the outside of the same foot to push it right, getting past the defender. She took an extra touch to open her hips up to the goal.

She took a quick glance up, assessing where Mount Weather’s goalie was and then put her head down. She planted her left foot and drew her right leg back. She struck the ball, aiming for the lower right corner of the goal.

Mount Weather’s goalie dove for it, getting his fingertips on the ball. It wasn’t much but it was enough. The ball got redirected and it rolled over the end line.

“Damn!” Abby yelled to herself, stomping the ground. Around her, all the Delinquents’ parents screamed in disappointment but clapped anyways. Abby followed suit, yelling, “Keep it up, Lexa!”

Marcus was walking up to Abby, clapping as well, and added in, “It’ll come soon!”

Mount Weather got into a defensive position as Bellamy lined up to take the corner kick for the Delinquents. He backed up and looked into the box, locking eyes with Lexa. Both nodded to each other and Bellamy raised his hand to signal the corner kick.

He ran up and struck the ball, sending it flying into the goalie box. It went over many heads but Lexa backed up slightly. She then jumped up, meeting the ball in the air, and headed it towards the goal. Mount Weather’s goalie jumped after it, catching it as he hit the ground.

“Shit!” Abby whisper-shouted to herself, but clapped anyways.

Everyone ran out of the goalie box as the goalie got up from the ground. As Emerson passed Cage, his coach called him over. Abby noticed and watched as Cage was talking, obviously upset, and pointed where Lexa was recovering into her position.

Emerson was nodding and looked over to Lexa. He replied to his coach and Cage nodded back, patting him on the back, sending him back off to his forward position. Cage looked up, making eye contact with Abby and offered her a smile.

She didn’t return it but an uneasy feeling made its way into her gut. What had he told Emerson? Why did it involve Lexa?

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Abby told Marcus, crossing her arms over her chest as the Mount Weather goalie punted the ball up the field.

“What?” Marcus asked.

“Cage,” Abby nodded towards Emerson, “he told that kid about Lexa. I don’t trust him.”

Abby was right not to. The ball from Mount Weather’s goalie’s punt came down around the middle of the field, Gaia fending off a Mount Weather player to head it towards Lexa.

It wasn’t a clean header, the ball sailing through the air towards her area. Lexa didn’t see him coming, but Abby did. “Lexa!” She yelled as Emerson pummeled towards where Lexa was focused on receiving the ball.

Lexa must have not heard her, not responding. She stayed focused on the ball, lifting her leg slightly to trap the ball. The only problem was that the ball wasn’t the object to come in contact with her leg- it was another leg.

Emerson plowed through Lexa, faking as if he was challenging for the ball, and rocked Lexa to the ground. She immediately fell to the ground when his leg came in contact with hers, knocking her off balance completely.

Her cry of pain was overshadowed by Abby screaming at Alie, “Referee! Come on! He was nowhere near getting the ball!”

She wanted to go over there and knock Emerson over as he had done to Lexa but Marcus had her arm in his grip before she could get one step from her position. She tried tugging free many times as she threw more profanities out as Alie blew her whistle to signal the foul.

Abby immediately adjusted her attention to where Cage was standing and he offered her his signature smirk. She really wished she was in her car right now and he was in the parking lot. Hell, she would run him over here and now if she could.

Alie walked over to Emerson and lectured him about his foul; however, he was offered no yellow card. That got Abby’s attention and she looked back to Alie, shouting, “Are you kidding? A verbal warning? Look at what he did!”

Alie looked over to the bench and then to Lexa. She waved the two coaches over, but Indra was already running towards Lexa. Abby reached the two and her face dropped when she saw the position Lexa’s ankle was in. It was surely broken.

She must have landed wrong when coming down from the hit. Anger boiled in Abby and she turned to Alie, clearly expressing her anger by saying, “That was a reckless tackle, and you know it. Don’t do this verbal warning bullshit!”

Alie didn’t flinch away from her harsh tone. She only replied, “He was warned and his next foul, if one like this is repeated, he surely will be carded. Watch the tone as well, Coach, or I won’t be afraid to use my cards.”

Abby’s mouth dropped in disbelief and she raised her hand to lecture Alie on how she could shove her cards where the sun doesn’t shine but Marcus was already pulling her back to the bench. By the time they had gotten there, Indra had carried Lexa off the field and set her on the bench, ankle propped up.

Abby immediately went to the girl’s side and cupped her face in her hands. She tried whipping away the tears running down her face and kissed her forehead. She whispered to her, “I’ll make sure to kick his ass for you, okay baby?”

Lexa laughed a little, sniffling. She nodded and Abby kissed her on the forehead again, offering her a small smile. She told her as well, “You did an amazing job this season and in this game. Thank you.”

Lexa just smiled and her face quickly turned into a wince when Indra tried taking her cleat off. Abby put a reassuring hand on Indra’s shoulder. She gave it a squeeze and offered a smile as well. Indra just shook her head and told her, “Kick his ass.”

Abby replied, “Gladly.”

She left the two and went back to stand by Marcus. He was stroking his beard as he watched play resume. Octavia had been subbed on for Lexa, switching sides with Monty.

When Abby appeared at his side, he asked her, “Bad?”

“Bad.”

Marcus swore under his breath, his eyes finding Cage on the opposite side of the field. His eyes then fell on Gaia and Emerson who were currently fighting for a ball.

Gaia ended up winning it and passed it back to Clarke. Gaia felt a little shove in her back after she passed it and she spun around to see Emerson there. She tilted her head to the side, asking, “You gonna break my ankle too because you feel threatened?”

Emerson cast her a glance and only responded with, “It’s a contact sport. If she can’t handle it, then don’t play it.”

Gaia was going to tell him there was a difference between being physical and playing dirty, but she saw the perfect opportunity to get back at him for Lexa instead. Octavia had lost the ball and Mount Weather’s outside midfielder was looking for support.

Emerson had exploded into space, calling for the ball. Gaia let him get a step or two in front of her, giving the illusion he was open. The midfielder fell for it and passed it to where Emerson was making his run.

Gaia ran towards that same space and met the ball the same time it met Emerson’s foot. She plowed through him, stealing the ball from him and sending him flying into the ground. Immediately, Alie blew her whistle for a foul.

“Oh shit,” Abby said, half laughing as she watched Emerson roll a few times before coming to a stop.

Gaia had no problem with the call and rolled the ball to where Emerson was spitting grass from his mouth. He looked up to her, finding her smirking. It only further ignited the fire in his eyes. She mocked him, “It’s a contact sport. Can’t handle it? Then don’t play it.”

With that, she turned around jogged to get ready for the free kick. Raven was laughing and offered a high-five to Gaia, who gladly returned it.

Emerson slowly got off the ground and made his way to the same area where the players were gathering in front of the goalie box. He stood behind Gaia, shoving her slightly from behind. Gaia reached back and stomped down on his foot with her cleats. He backed off a bit in response.

Alie blew the whistle, signaling for the free kick to be taken. The Mount Weather player ran up and served the ball into the sea of players. Everyone scrambled, trying to either clear the ball out or knock it in the goal.

The ball came down towards Gaia and Emerson. Both were shoving each other, trying to overpower the other and win the ball. They both jumped up, Emerson slyly shoving her forward a bit, making her lose her balance and missing the ball.

As she came down, her head smacked back against the ground, the world immediately swirling. The ball bounced around the box for a while until Wells scooped it up. After the crowd thinned out, everyone saw Gaia lying on the floor and holding her head.

Alie immediately blew the whistle and rushed over. Emerson was looking down to her, an eyebrow raised as Gaia tried to focus on him, as three of him were currently present in her vision. He told her before walking away, “Can’t handle it? Don’t play it.”

She groaned in annoyance at the sudden flood of light in her vision. It added to the pounding in her head and made her dizzier. When Alie reached her, Abby was already rushing on the field.

When Abby reached the two, Alie had gotten Gaia to sit up slowly. Gaia was rubbing her temples and said aloud, “Everything hurts, including the sun. My head hurts.”

Abby frowned and grabbed one of Gaia’s hands, drawing her attention to her. She asked her, “What’s today, sweetheart?”

“Uh, the finals?”

“Day wise.”

“Uh….Um…” Gaia seemed to be thinking hard, scratching her head with her free hand. Her eyes finally landed on Abby, flinching in the sunlight. That motion made Abby’s heart sink, along with her answer, “Saturday? Right?”

Abby offered her a small smile anyways and nodded. She ran a hand through Gaia’s hair, getting some grass out of it. “We’re gonna get you on your feet,” Abby told her, “and then we’ll get you in the shade, okay?”

“I’m done playing?”

Abby broke a bit then, frowning the slightest bit. She couldn’t keep the crack out of her voice as she told her, “Yes, you’re done for the day.”

Gaia noticed it and immediately had tears in her eyes. Abby grabbed her hands and slowly helped her to her feet. Raven was immediately by their side with a water bottle and offered it to Gaia.

Gaia looked over to her and took it with a smile. “Thanks,” she told her.

Raven winked and said, “Anything for you, sweetheart.”

Gaia laughed a little, smiling growing. She winced the slightest bit but kept her smile on for Raven. Abby helped her off the field and over to the table Lexa was currently at.

Indra immediately rushed over, overwhelmed with the injuries to her kids. She asked Abby, “What the fuck happened now?”

Abby shook her head and told her, “I’m pretty sure she has a concussion.”

The two looked to Gaia where medical was now assessing her. She seemed to be struggling with the light test. Their eyes then wandered to Lexa, where medical was testing her ankle. Her face was contoured in pain.

Indra shook her own head as she ran a hand through her hair, sighing heavily. “You have to win,” she suddenly said. Abby looked over to her and Indra was shaking her head again. She shrugged as she looked to Abby, stating again, “You have to win. Not only because of your stupid bet but because Cage has to learn this is not okay.”

Abby agreed completely. She turned to look back to the game, as it had resumed. Harper had been subbed on for where Gaia had been. Emerson had intercepted a pass Clarke was sending up the Monty. He went forward at Raven, easily getting around her as she dived in.

Clarke wasn’t able to recover from her passing mistake and Emerson lined up his shot, aiming for the lower right corner of the goal. The angle was weird for Wells and when Emerson shot the ball, Wells had no chance of stopping it.

It went right under Wells’ dive and into the back of the night. Mount Weather was now up 0-1.

“Easier said than done,” Abby mumbled in response more to herself.

She watched as Wells slowly got up and retrieved the ball from the back of the net. He seemed disappointed in himself as he kicked the ball up the field to the center. Marcus offered him support, clapping and yelling, “It’s alright, Wells! You got the next one! Head up!”

He didn’t seemed to convinced by Marcus’ words, instead he looked over to where Jaha was. Abby’s eyes followed his and landed on the boy’s father as well. Jaha wasn’t watching once again but looked up at the right time, noticing that Wells had been scored on. He shook his head in disappointment, looking right back to his phone.

Anger boiled in Abby. She had always been supportive of Clarke, as Marcus was to Bellamy and Octavia. Sure, they fucked up in some areas of that support but at least they were trying. From what Abby (and Marcus) had noticed, Jaha wasn’t even trying.

You could see the effect it had on Wells. He only ever wanted to be the best he could be for everyone. He never once complained about the lack of support. He waited for it come.

Unfortunately, with how clueless Jaha was unless it was something blatant and obvious, it would never come unless you confronted him. And that’s what Abby did.

She stormed over to where Jaha sat on his phone, Alie’s whistle signaling the game to resume. When her shadow cast over him, he glanced up from his phone to her. He recognized it was her and immediately winced back. Oh, she wanted to hit him again, but she couldn’t afford a red card right now.

She told him, “Don’t worry, I won’t hit you again. I don’t want Wells or Murphy to be without their supportive father at the finals, which neither had played in before. But wait!” She swiped the phone from his hand. “It wouldn’t matter if you were here or not because you’re not paying attention! You never have!”

“I do too pay attention,” was his only response. She wanted to chuck the phone in his face it was such a Murphy response.

“Yeah, you do,” Abby agreed, “but only when one of them fucks up. And when you see that, you don’t offer support, like you know, a good father would do.”

Jaha didn’t respond as he looked passed Abby to where Murphy sat on the bench, the only sub left besides Jasper. His eyes then traveled to where Wells stood in goal. His body language was obvious to anyone who paid just a little attention to it- he was disappointed in himself and had no confidence.

Emerson had the ball and beat Raven once again, her diving in as she fell for his scissors trick. This got him behind the backline as he rocketed another shot at Wells.

Wells dove for it, the ball going past him but hitting the right post. It came back and hit him in the back and started rolling to the goal line. He tried scrambling for it but Clarke had recovered behind him and cleared it out.

Wells slowly got up as Clarke ran off back into position. You could read the disappointment he felt in himself for the save. He brushed some dirt of his shorts as his eyes drifted over the field. Marcus was offering support once again from the bench.

Jaha noticed and watched Marcus for a minute before his eyes landed on Abby once again. She raised an eyebrow to him, obviously judging him. He sighed and looked back to Wells.

At the same time, Wells looked over to him. He had disappointed his father once by telling him he’d rather be playing soccer with Murphy, and every goal he let in, he felt the disappointment his father had for him grow.

What Wells didn’t know, however, was that Jaha wasn’t disappointed in Wells. Jaha sucked at baseball when he first began. He was an outfielder and missed every fly ball to him as he practiced with his own dad in the backyard.

Jaha had told his dad he wanted to be a pitcher, not an outfielder, one day, just like Wells had told him he wanted to do soccer, not baseball. Jaha’s father was disappointed in his son and told him he wouldn’t pay for his baseball if he wanted to be a pitcher. He remained as an outfielder.

Unlike his father that day, Jaha told Wells it was okay, that he would support him in doing so. Sure, he was upset he didn’t want to play the traditional family sport, but he would support him nonetheless. He wouldn’t put his son through what his father had done to him.

But, wasn’t he doing just that? He thought by letting Wells do what he wanted, he was supporting him. Obviously, he was still showcasing repressed disappointment about the tradition not being carried on. He wasn’t truly supporting Wells.

Jaha stood up from his chair then, clapping loudly, and yelled to his son, “Come on, Wells! One bad save doesn’t define you! You got this!”

It caught everyone off guard, including the parents on the sideline. Cece watched him in shock, asking, “Did something positive just come out of his mouth?”

Wells heard it the most as his head whipped to where he saw his father standing up. They made eye contact and Jaha offered him a smile. Wells was silent and stood still for a few moments, but slowly a grin grew on his face.

He gave his father a nod and turned his attention back to the game. Emerson was barreling down the field with the ball, drawing Clarke forward into a 1v1.

The two clashed, struggling to win the ball. Clarke was able to muscle Emerson off the ball and win it. She passed it out wide to Miller, who immediately passed it up to Octavia.

Harper was too close to Monty’s side of the field, not in a good position to support Octavia. She immediately was swarmed by two Mount Weather players and they stole the ball from her.

Their outside midfielder ran down the side of the field, coming up to Miller. He easily spun around Miller, taking the ball towards the goal. Clarke was stepping to apply pressure when the Mount Weather player wound up for a shot.

The player kicked a hard shot, the ball sailing towards the right upper corner of the goal. “Come on, Wells,” Abby silently prayed as everyone on the sideline held their breath.

Wells shuffled back as he watched the ball sail towards its target. He waited for the right moment and he jumped into a dive. It was timed perfectly.

Wells punched the ball away from goal, saving it. Everyone on the sideline screamed in astonishment and clapped, screaming in support for him. Jaha clapped more and yelled out, “That’s my boy!”

On the bench, Murphy had his mouth open as he watched Wells recover back onto his feet as Raven ran up the field with the ball. “Holy shit!” he commented as he threw his arms in the air, clapping for his brother.

Abby handed Jaha’s phone back to him as he settled back down in his chair. She told him, “See? Wasn’t so hard, was it?”

He rolled his eyes and ignored her, sliding his phone is his pocket. Abby smiled triumphantly and turned back to walk back to her bench. She stopped once she was beside Marcus and he commented, “Finally talk sense into him?”

“We’ll see how long it lasts.”

Marcus laughed and crossed his arms over his chest, focusing back on the game. Raven had advanced up the field enough to pass the ball to Bellamy. He easily received it and turned up, looking for a teammate.

He didn’t hear the usual yell from Lexa for a pass. Monty was wide open on his side but he said nothing as he continued his run. Bellamy mistaken his silence for being marked and decided to take on the defender in front of him.

He got past him, but his angle for a shot was not high percentage for a goal. Not noticing Monty again because he was silent, Bellamy took the wild shot. Mount Weather’s goalie easily caught the ball and jogged up to punt the ball.

“Damn it, Bellamy,” Marcus swore to himself. He didn’t have Lexa to rely on for communicating with so he retreated back to his old ways.

The ball fell and bounced towards where Miller collected it up. He took it up a bit before playing it to Octavia. She turned up to see the Mount Weather defender coming to apply pressure.

She froze up like she usually did. She didn’t have Clarke or Lincoln in her half of the field to call on for support. Harper was over too far again on Monty’s side and Bellamy was marked well by the center back for Mount Weather.

She ran out of time as the defender reached her and tackled her. Octavia immediately lost the battle and the defender played the ball up to his midfielder.

Miller stopped in his tracks as he watched the scene unfold. This let the midfielder fly by him and bring Clarke into a 2v1 that included Emerson. Clarke tried calling Miller back for support but it went in one ear and out the other. Gaia wasn’t there to threaten him into complying with her instructions. He was too focused on Octavia, shaking his head.

Clarke tried her best to cut off the angle of the goal and the passing lane for Emerson. Soon, she had to choose between stepping up or giving away the passing lane. She put trust in Harper or anyone dropping and covering her as she decided to step and apply pressure.

As she stepped, the player passed the ball to Emerson who was unmarked. He easily turned up and dribbled into the goalie box. Wells had already begun his advance to meet Emerson, but Emerson took an early shot.

It bent around Wells hands as he dove to the ground, reaching out to hope and get a touch. The ball skimmed at the top of his fingers and sailed into the back of the goal. Mount Weather was now up 0-2.

“Fuck,” Abby swore under her breath. The game had started so good, what happened?

Marcus shook his head as Wells gathered the ball from the net. These were the same mistakes the kids made when they first merged the team. They were a problem in the beginning but they had disappeared. Now, they were suddenly back, even after seeing that the Grounders had helped them improve the slightest bit.

That’s when the lightbulb went off in both of their heads.

Just like with them, the Grounders had masked the kids’ flaws. Even though they had helped them improve on them, with them on the field, the kids would still make their mistakes. However, unlike now, they weren’t on the field to clean up the mistakes so they weren’t lethal.

Abby and Marcus looked to each other and both swore. They were in big trouble if they couldn’t get the kids to see that they didn’t need the Grounder kids to be successful. Sure, it had taken the adults a big fallout to realize it, but they could the save kids from that. They could still win them this game if they coached them right.

Murphy was subbed on for Miller and Jasper went on for Octavia. As Murphy made his way back to where Miller was he heard Emerson laughing at Wells as he ran back. Murphy watched Emerson run up the field, a disgusted look on his face.

He looked back to his brother then, seeing the disappointment in his body language. Both of them heard their father yelling, “Get it back, son! You got it!”

Wells shook it off a bit and offered Murphy a smile. Murphy didn’t smile back as he watched his father for a bit. His eyes landed on Emerson again as the whistle blew, signaling the game to resume. He mumbled to himself, “Oh, he’ll get it back alright.”

The ball was passed back to Clarke as she called for it. She immediately played it out wide to Murphy who took it up the line a bit, before trying to find Jasper. The kid wasn’t in his position, he was more towards Harper, taking up her space.

Had Gaia been on the field, she would’ve instructed Jasper to stay on his side. Harper however, was closer to Monty’s side and didn’t instruct Jasper at all. Murphy got into a tackle as a result of the mistake and he ended up losing the ball.

Unlike Miller, he ran after the player, hoping to catch up with them. He was a few feet behind him so Clarke stepped to apply pressure, leaving Emerson open. Murphy dropped into Clarke’s old space, marking him.

The ball from their tackle bounced towards the two and they immediately fought to get there first. The laughter rang in Murphy’s mind as the ball rolled towards them. When the ball reached their area, Murphy grabbed a fist full of Emerson’s jersey and yanked him the ground, hard.

Alie immediately blew her whistle as Emerson smacked the floor. It had knocked the wind out of him, leaving him gasping for air. Murphy looked down to him, asking, “What? No air to laugh now?”

Emerson coughed as he tried to bring air into his lungs. Murphy laughed at his own joke and walked away from him. Alie presented him with a yellow card which he just shrugged off.

Roan was laughing on the sideline and commented, “Now that’s what I call support.”

Abby couldn’t help but laugh as well. She watched as Murphy offered Wells a smile, which the brother returned. Like he had done against Alpha Station, he offered support to Wells rather than beating him down like he usually did. At least one thing had improved and stayed without the Grounders.

The free kick was taken by Emerson but he missed wide. Wells played a short goal kick to Clarke who turned up to dribble up the field. She found Harper making a run up the field in the center as Bellamy found empty space where Jasper was supposed to be but he was back by Murphy.

Clarke played the ball into Harper’s run and she collected it easily. She exploded into the empty space Bellamy left behind and saw an opening for a shot. What she didn’t see, once again because he stayed silent, was Monty who was open as his defender tried to slide over to mark Harper.

She took the shot, aiming for the left lower corner. The Mount Weather goal keeper dove and missed it, but the ball hit the post. The ball bounced back to where Monty was left unmarked. Abby and Marcus hold their breath, hoping Monty had the confidence to shoot it.

He trapped the ball efficiently and looked up to see a defender barreling towards him. He also saw the goalie running over to cover that side of the goal. He freaked out and took a wild shot, the ball sailing completely wide of the goal.

Abby and Marcus sighed in disappointment but clapped anyways. Abby yelled out, “Nice try, Monty! Try calling for it earlier for a better angle!”

Lincoln had always been the one to make Monty talk a bit more at practice besides the usual two he hung out with. Without him on the field, Monty went back to his usual quiet self.

The Mount Weather goalie kicked the goal kick and the ball sailed towards where Monty was. He trapped it and dribbled up the field while looking for an open pass.

Harper had come over to offer a passing lane but she was too close, drawing her defender onto Monty as well. Monty lost the ball in the struggle and the two midfielders exploded up the center of the field.

They barreled towards where Clarke was still marking Emerson. Her odds of winning the 3v1 were not high. They seemed to brighten up when the player with the ball didn’t make a great pass to his teammate. Clarke stepped forward, confident she would intercept the pass and left Emerson alone.

That confidence shattered when Jasper appeared out of nowhere and tried stealing the pass as well. He had retreated in hopes to recover the ball to make up for Monty and Harper’s mistake. What he didn’t know was that him dropping into this position now made another mistake.

He did, however, intercept the pass but his foot got stuck on the ball. He flew forward, shooting the ball back to the original passer from Mount Weather. Now that Clarke was drawn up, it left open a passing lane for Emerson to enter.

The Mount Weather player played the ball into the space and Emerson ran onto it. With no pressure, he turned with ease and exploded into the goalie box.

Wells tried once again to come out, but Emerson cut around him this time. Easily, he slotted the ball into the back of the net, making the score now favoring Mount Weather 0-3.

Alie blew the whistle to signal the goal and gave it an extra blow, signaling the end of the half.

It was silent as the kids walked off the field and to the bench. Abby and Marcus examined them all as they got their water and sat down. Abby’s eyes flickered to the table where Indra still sat with Lexa and Gaia.

When the kids settled down, they all looked to their coaches. Neither said anything at first but just watched the kids. They didn’t really know what to say. The team had never recovered from a game where they were down 0-3 at half.

“At least it’s only 0-3,” Murphy broke the silence. The comment earned a laugh from everyone, lightening the mood slightly.

The seriousness of the situation returned quickly however as Marcus looked to every kid. What the two had realized rang in his mind again. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair asking, “Does anyone know what we’re doing wrong?”

Silence was the only answer he received as the kids looked to each other, hoping the other would have the answer. Abby’s eyes fell on her daughter as she found her in deep thought.

Clarke suddenly answered, “Us.”

Marcus and everyone turned to look at her. He asked, “Us?”

She nodded as she looked around her team and settled for looking to her mom. “We have flaws, we’re making mistakes that we know we’re making. You’ve pointed them out before to each and every one of us, but we’re still making them.”

The two coaches agreed. Marcus asked her, “And do you know why?”

Clarke shrugged, her eyes now landing on Lincoln. They soon drifted to where Lexa and Gaia were resting. She answered, “Because when they were playing, those mistakes didn’t matter. They would clean up after our mistakes.”

Spot on. Marcus looked back to Abby and she nodded in agreement. He looked back to the kids and asked, “So how do we fix this?”

This time Clarke didn’t have an answer. None of the other kids offered one either. This time, Abby stepped up and answered, “It’s simple, really. You guys did learn over this season. Even if you didn’t learn everything from us, you learned from each other. The only difference between then and now is that they’re not on the field to offer you that assistance right beside you.”

Marcus nodded in agreement and built off her, saying, “That doesn’t mean you can’t do what you improved on. You don’t need them on the field to be the Delinquents who win. You can be those Delinquents by being yourself and remembering what they taught you. You just have to believe you can do it. I know we believe you can.”

Abby smiled as she saw nods of agreement around the kids. She added on, “Just because they’re not on the field with you, doesn’t meant they still aren’t with you. Lincoln is on the bench and Lexa and Gaia are over there staying to support you. And us?” She looked over to Marcus who was offering her a smile. “Even if one of us might not be present due to a red card, we are supporting you just as much as we would be if we were sitting beside you on the bench.”

The kids nodded and Clarke smiled at her mother. Marcus’ hand found its way to Abby’s, out of view from the kids, and he gave it a small squeeze. He said, “It’s true. We had our moments this season where we delayed your improvement with our bickering, but you found a way to improve on your own. Do you know what they are?”

The kids fell silent as they looked up to Marcus, waiting for him elaborate.

First he looked to Clarke. He told her, “You’re a leader, Clarke. You always wanted to be one and knew you couldn’t fulfill that role as a forward. You took on the challenge of a new position because it gave the team their best chance.”

Clarke nodded and her eyes flickered to her mother for a quick second. They exchanged smiles and Clarke focused on Marcus again. He added, “That third goal? Call Jasper off that ball, but first make sure he stays in his position. You’re in a prime position to showcase your leadership. Use it.”

Clarke nodded a lot and smiled in response. Marcus looked next to her, spotting Jasper. He told the boy, “You have a shit ton of energy, Jasper, probably the most on the team. You love to keep moving, but you need to make it have a purpose. Try moving and creating open space for your teammates.”

Jasper shouted, “Yes sir!” earning a couple laughs.

Marcus moved onto Monty who shrunk a bit under his coaches’ glance. Marcus offered him a small smile and said, “You’re quiet, Monty, but it’s been shown that it can be used to your advantage. You work well with your brother. Use the space he’ll create for you and sneak into there. Don’t be afraid to call for the ball then.”

Monty nodded and turned to face Jasper. The lifted their hands for a high-five but they high-fived themselves, smiling at each other in the end.

Marcus’ next target was Harper. He told her, “You love to include Monty in everything, to a fault sometimes. But you can use that now to find him when he’s sneaking into the space Jasper creates for him.”

Harper grinned big and nodded, looking to Monty. Monty looked to her as well and the two blushed and looked away from each other.

Marcus chuckled as he looked to Bellamy. He told his son, “You’re a leader too, Bell. What your fault is that you think you have to do it alone. That’s what I thought as a coach but I learned I needed help to make this team successful. You have a whole team behind you, ready to support you. For you to be successful, you have to include them, like passing to Monty that one time instead of taking a low percentage shot.”

Bellamy nodded and smiled at his dad. Marcus returned it and saw Miller with his arms crossed. He told Miller, “People make mistakes, Miller. You can’t hold grudges against them, that will only do harm to this team. I saw you at practice retreat once and save a goal. Your teammates need that support, not the criticism that won’t help them improve.”

Miller stared at Marcus for a minute but finally uncrossed his arms and nodded in agreement. Marcus then found the two brothers who had showcased their improvement already today. Marcus told Murphy first, “You’re already doing what we’re talking about. You’re a physical presence on our team, keep that up. Protect your brother.”

Murphy smirked and nodded and patted Wells hard on the back. Marcus then focused on Wells, telling him, “You always try your hardest because all you want to do is make people happy. Just know, we all see the effort you put in and it counts. Sometimes effort is enough. Just know even if you let a goal in or a few, this team still supports you as if you let zero in. Keep up the work rate.”

Wells smiled big and nodded as he looked to Murphy. Murphy offered him a knuckle and Wells gave him one back. Marcus smiled at the two as he eyes fell on Raven. She had one eyebrow raised at him and asked, “And what am I great at, Coach?”

The whole bench laughed, including the two coaches. After Marcus’ laughter died down, he answered her, “You’re a great prankster, of course. You know how to wait for the right moment before you strike with your prank. Tackling is the same way. You have to wait for the right moment before you initiate it. You’ve done it before- with Gaia during Knock Out. Now, just imagine every tackle as her or a prank and you can do it.”

Raven nodded in agreement as her eyes wandered to where Gaia laid down, an ice pack held her to forehead. She looked back to Marcus and saluted him, saying, “You got it, Coach!”

Everyone laughed again and Marcus’ eyes fell on the last person on the bench. Octavia sat there, watching her dad and waiting for what he would tell her. He gave her a smile small as he told her, “All you really want to do is have fun. Is that a crime? I used to think so, but not anymore. You’re the best you, you can be when you’re having fun. And when I see you having fun, I see confidence in you. When you’re confident in yourself, you look the happiest I’ve seen you. Bring the fun to the game.”

Octavia smiled after the first sentence left her father’s mouth. After he had finished, she was full on grinning. She nodded and responded, “Make my own shark and minnows.”

Marcus chuckled in response and replied, “If that’s what you want, then so be it.”

Octavia nodded again and Abby squeezed Marcus’ hand after he finished. She had agreed with every word he had said. These kids had improved, they just had to see they could be themselves and be great. They didn’t need others to be great, they just needed to be the Delinquents they were.

Abby told the group, “You’re the Delinquents for crying out loud. You think we randomly chose that name? Hell no!” She examined the group one by one, smiling to herself. “We chose that name because we knew you were trouble. So, why don’t you go create trouble for Mount Weather?”

The kids suddenly cheered and jumped up off the bench and ground. Abby grinned as the kids gathered around the two. She told them, “We may be losing right now, but anything can happen. You can make anything happen. Don’t let anyone else tell you different. You’re the Delinquents and the Delinquents write their own ending.”

The kids screamed again, throwing their arms in the air, chanting their team name. Marcus looked over to Abby, pride and adoration shining in his eyes. She knew most of it was for the kids but she felt a hint of it directed at her.

They all brought their hands together, the coaches putting their already conjoined hands on top of the kids’. Marcus locked eyes with Abby as they counted down together, “3…2…1…”

“DELINQUENTS!”

Their hands flew in the air, the screams getting lost in the air. The lineup that ended the half walked onto the field, leaving Octavia and Miller as subs.

Marcus and Abby had lost contact when they threw their hands up for the cheer but they stood right beside each other as Alie blew the whistle for the second half to start. Marcus’ fingers brushed against her arm as he stood with his arms crossed.

“They have thirty minutes to save our jobs,” Marcus stated.

“And I wouldn’t trust any other group of kids to do it,” Abby admitted.

He looked to her, a side grin adorning his lips. “Me either.”

Mount Weather started this half with the ball, Emerson taking the kickoff. He played it back to his center midfielder, who immediately played it out wide to their right outside back.

Emerson was making a run up the field, leaving Clarke’s area and entering Raven’s space. Clarke called out to her, “Raven! Man coming!”

Raven immediately adjusted her defensive stance as Mount Weather’s defender passed the ball to Emerson. She ran up to apply immediate pressure as Emerson turned to face up.

Emerson dribbled up slightly and Marcus recognized Raven’s feet moving repeatedly. Her eyes were constantly following the ball and his feet. She was memorizing his steps like she had done with Gaia.

He tried faking her out, but Raven didn’t fall for it. This brought them closer together, closing the space in between them.

Raven’s patience won over when he took a bad touch, the ball rolling a bit too far in front of him. Raven recognized the moment and threw herself in for a tackle. Emerson wasn’t prepared and immediately lost the battle, Raven zooming on by with the ball.

Abby and Marcus screamed in support, clapping. They glanced over at each other and smirked. Turning back to the game, they saw Raven find Harper in the middle. This time, she was in the center of the field where she belonged, not favoring Monty’s side.

As soon as she received the ball, Bellamy shifted over towards Jasper’s side, drawing Mount Weather’s center back with him. Jasper also ran across the field, drawing his defender over. He crossed in front of Bellamy, drawing his defender along with him. This left Bellamy wide open.

Cage was suddenly running up his sideline, screaming at his right outside defender to drop and cover. The player immediately ran over to mark Bellamy.

The whole time Monty had stayed back, careful to not draw attention to himself. By staying back, Cage and the backline had deemed that Monty wasn’t dangerous. They figured he would stay back.

They were wrong.

As Harper advanced up the field, Monty did as well. When she was approached by a Mount Weather player, Monty yelled out, “Harper!”

Harper heard him and immediately slotted the ball into his run. Cage watched in horror as the ball slowly made its way to Monty. He screamed at his defense to drop but it was too late. Monty had received the ball and advanced to goal.

The Mount Weather goalie stepped up, holding his hands up for a shot. Abby couldn’t decide if she wanted to watch or not. She was afraid of the outcome even though she was praying for the ball to go in the goal.

Monty kept making an advance towards the goalie, drawing him out further. When the goalie started to slide on the ground to tackle him, Monty kicked the ball towards the right corner.

The ball slipped under Mount Weather’s goalie and slowly raced towards the goal line. Soon enough, the ball crossed the line and found its way into the back of Mount Weather’s goal. Alie’s whistle broke through the silence, signaling a goal.

The Delinquents had scored. It was now 1-3.

Screams erupted from the Delinquent’s sideline. Abby threw her arms up in the air as did Marcus. “Hell yeah, Monty!” Abby cheered as she pumped her fist into the air. What she really wanted to yell was, “Take that, Cage!” but they still losing and Abby didn’t want to jinx their luck.

The kids on the field swarmed Monty as they hugged him in celebration. As quiet as he was, he didn’t know how to handle the attention, so, he just smiled and accepted it.

Abby got more satisfaction out of the goal when she saw Cage’s reaction. He was tugging at his hair as he yelled at his players. He threw his hands up in frustration and stormed back to his bench.

As if feeling her eyes, he looked up to meet her gaze. She offered him a typical Cage smirk and he ignored her, clapping and screaming at his kids to pick it up as Alie blew her whistle for the kick off to take place. Abby and Marcus exchanged a quick high-five, smirking in response.

Mount Weather tried a quick attack from the kick off, Emerson playing the ball to their right outside midfielder instead of their center midfielder. As they dribbled up, Raven stepped to apply pressure.

As she had done with Emerson, she watched their feet and the ball. She adjusted when needed and initiated another greatly timed tackle. She struggled a bit to win the ball, but eventually she got it and immediately passed it back to Clarke.

Clarke was already examining the field as the ball made its way to her. She found Harper checking to her, drawing her mark with her. That in turn opened space behind her for Bellamy to check into.

Clarke played him the ball, bypassing Harper. Bellamy easily trapped the ball, but didn’t keep it long. He flicked it with his right foot, skipping the ball behind and between the right outside defender and center back.

Being quiet once again, Monty was invisible as he ran behind the outside right defender and onto the ball Bellamy played.

He connected with the ball and wound up for a shot. When he kicked the ball, it sailed to the far right of the goal. Mount Weather’s goalie dived for it, but the ball traveled wide of the goal, going out of bounds.

“Shit,” Marcus whispered to himself at first, but immediately yelled out to the team, clapping, “Keep up the pressure!”

Cage was enraged again, yelling at his defensive line. He yelled at them, “Figure something out before I yank all of you!”

As the Mount Weather goalie took the goal kick, Murphy stepped up to apply pressure to his mark. The ball traveled to where the two were trying to overpower the other to win the 50/50.

The Mount Weather player won the battle and got in front of Murphy to receive the ball. Just because he lost the initial battle didn’t mean Murphy would let him trap the ball with ease.

As the ball dropped down, Murphy threw his leg around in attempt to get a touch or deflect it the slightest bit. He got lucky as he caught the Mount Weather player off guard, the ball connecting with both Murphy’s foot and the Mount Weather’s player’s thigh.

It rolled away from them both and Jasper was able to collect it up. He immediately pushed up the field and passed to Bellamy quickly. Where Bellamy was positioned, he drew the center back and the right outside back towards him, getting himself in a 2v1.

Bellamy heard Clarke yell out from behind him, “Find Monty!”

Monty had gone out wide this time, drawing himself close to the sideline. He was slowly making a run up the line for Bellamy to play him. Bellamy looked back to the 2v1 he was in and surprised the two as he played Monty through.

The ball was a little off due to Bellamy’s original positioning and it soon became a foot race between Monty and the right outside defender. Monty barely won, collecting the ball and kicked it up a few feet to gain extra space between him and the defender.

That move was cut short when the Mount Weather defender slammed his body into Monty’s, sending him flying to the ground. As soon as Monty hit the floor, a cry of pain escaped him.

Immediately, Alie blew her whistle and ran over. Abby watched in horror as Monty slowly got up into a sitting position. The poor kid was holding his arm to his chest.

Cece was immediately out of her chair and storming down the sideline, shouting across the field, “Whose kid is that? Show yourself! Or should I punch Cage instead? How about both of you!”

Jackson, Sinclair, and David Miller immediately restrained her. And, yes, it took all three of them.

Abby ran over when Alie called her on and she looked down to Monty. He looked up to her and said, “It just hurts really bad.”

Abby crouched down by him and lightly took ahold of his arm. She saw the bruising starting to form on his forearm already and spotted some swelling. She smiled and told him, “I think you just took a hard hit. Come on, we’ll ice it.”

She helped him up and off the field. As they made their way back to the bench, Marcus called out, “Miller, you’re playing outside left mid.”

Miller stayed on the bench for a minute longer as he watched Abby help Monty onto the bench. She instructed Jackson to get ice and reassured him she would tackle Cece before she ran on the field towards Cage.

Miller hopped off the bench and ran to where the free kick would be taken. He set the ball and backed up, hearing Alie’s whistle, signaling that he could take the free kick.

His eyes flickered to where Mount Weather had step up their wall, noticing the player who had hurt Monty. He slowly looked back to where Monty now held an ice bag to his forearm. His eyes flickered to where Marcus stood and Marcus offered him a smile.

Miller looked back to the ball, his eyes slowly travelling back to the one Mount Weather. He mumbled to himself, “Well, no grudges right? Then let’s get revenge right away.”

Miller smirked to himself as he ran up to kick the ball. He took aim at his target and rocketed a shot towards his goal. Only, his target wasn’t the goal- it was the player who took out Monty.

The ball struck the ball the player where the sun doesn’t shine due to certain anatomy and the player immediately fell in pain.

Marcus froze up at the scene, as did everyone else. Cece soon broke the silence by laughing and yelling, “That a boy, Miller!”

Roan joined in with laughter echoing off him, shouting, “Now do that to Cage!”

The whole parent sideline laughed in response and even Abby couldn’t keep a smile off her lips. Marcus looked back to her as she made her way beside him once again. He asked her as Cage subbed the injured player off, “You want those honors?”

“I’d rather have the honor of running him over,” she replied.

He laughed as Alie blew the whistle to resume play. Mount Weather used their free kick to blast the ball up the field.

The ball sailed over Miller and towards Raven and her mark. They both turned to chase after it as it bounced over their heads. They pushed against each other, hoping to reach the ball.

In the box, Murphy was marking Emerson, who was trying to stand in front of Wells to restrict his view. Murphy was trying to his best to muscle Emerson away from Wells as the two raced towards the ball outside the box.

The Mount Weather player got the edge on Raven and reached the ball first, immediately sending a cross in.

As the ball traveled to where the three struggled in front of the goal, the two brothers heard Jaha screaming in support for them. Murphy pushed a little more, squeezing himself in between Emerson and Wells. This caused Emerson to move away from Wells slightly, freeing him.

That gave Wells the time he needed to line up and jump up, snatching the ball from the air. He came down and ran to the top of the box, hearing Clarke call for an early ball to her feet.

As he rolled the ball to her, screams exploded on their sideline in support of him. He smiled as Clarke received the ball and charged forward into empty space. She spotted a chance for a quick counter attack with many of Mount Weather’s field players pulled forward from the last attack.

Bellamy pulled himself off to the side a bit, calling for the ball. Clarke played him and he trapped the ball, his back to Mount Weather’s goal. Clarke yelled out to him, “Man on!”

Miller was trying recover up the line but wasn’t fast enough. Jasper was in a similar position as he tried to offer support to Bellamy.

He was stranded in a 1v1.

He kept the ball out of the center back’s reach as he tried to poke his foot around Bellamy and win the ball. Bellamy’s eyes wandered to their bench where he saw Lincoln sitting on the bench. They made eye contact and Lincoln nodded towards him.

Recreating the nutmeg Lincoln had pulled on Murphy at practice forever ago, he tapped the ball with the back of his heel. As he did, he spun off the center back. The ball traveled through the center back’s legs and met Bellamy’s run as he spun off and around him.

It got him behind the backline and he exploded towards goal, where only the goalie was left to beat. Marcus crossed his fingers after the initial shock of the move Bellamy had done. He must have practiced it on his own after he saw Lincoln do it.

Bellamy soon reached the goal and lined up a shot. He let go of a hard shot and the ball easily sailed passed the Mount Weather goalie and into the back of their goal. Another goal for Delinquents, making the game now 2-3.

Marcus fist pumped slightly, screams erupting once again on their sideline. “That’s it, Bell!” He yelled out to his son, pride beaming in him. Abby was clapping as they both looked at each other.

They could really do this. There was plenty of time left to score two more goals. The question was just if they could.

Abby and Marcus believed they could, the kids just had to as well.

Thinking of that, Marcus looked behind his shoulder and to where Octavia sat on the bench. He walked over to her, crouching in front of her. He asked her, “You ready to add fun to the game?”

She smiled and asked, “By winning?”

He winked at her and nodded. “Go in for Jasper,” he told her.

She jumped up and did as instructed. Marcus ruffled Jasper’s hair as he came off the field. He immediately went over to his brother to check if he was okay.

“Two more,” Marcus thought aloud as he stood back by Abby.

She crossed her arms as Alie blew the whistle once again to resume the game. The two words made her nervous. They were two goals away from winning this game and pulling off a miracle. She repeated him, “Two more.”

Mount Weather was pushing up the field again, desperate to change the tide of the game in their favor. They tried advancing on Raven’s side again, but she stayed patient, waiting for the right moment to tackle.

The outside midfielder tried completing a give-and-go with Emerson, to get around Raven, but Raven read their body language, and intercepted Emerson’s pass back to the outside midfielder. Immediately, Raven played the ball up the line and to Miller.

Miller dribbled up the field into the empty space, looking for another teammate. Bellamy was coming closer for a short support route, leaving space for Octavia to run into.

Miller took the chance and served a ball into that space Bellamy left behind, hoping that Octavia would run onto it. She tried to, but the left outside defender for Mount Weather reached the ball first, collecting it up.

That player immediately found their center midfielder, hoping to strike on a counter attack. Miller felt the outside right defender run past him by a gust of wind rushing by. He watched the player advance and didn’t follow right away.

His eyes flickered to where Octavia was trying to recover for her mistake, obviously upset she had lost their possession. He felt a bit inspired by her hard work to cover up her mistake and looked to where the Mount Weather defender was making a run up the field. If Miller didn’t track the run back, it would leave Raven vulnerable in a 2v1.

“Come on, Miller,” Marcus whispered to himself. He had gotten back at the Mount Weather player that had hurt Monty, surely he would recover now as well.

Miller looked back to the bench, his eyes settling on Monty for a while. He then looked back to the Mount Weather defender and took off into a sprint after him. His speed surprised Marcus, but he guessed it must’ve been from all the times he made the kid run at practice.

Miller recovered quickly, just as the center midfielder for Mount Weather played a ball into the defender’s run, hoping to draw Raven into the 2v1. Miller spoiled their plans as he came from behind the defender, him not noticing, and slipped in front of him to steal the ball.

Miller caught them off guard and that delay was enough for Harper to react and get into space away from Mount Weather’s center midfielder. Miller played a well-paced ball into her run and she exploded up the field in quick counter attack. Miller transitioned back up the field as well, leaving the defender to catch him.

“GET BACK!” Cage yelled, nerves wrecking his core. His usually perfectly sculpted quiff was astray, strands going in all directions from him constantly pulling at it. Abby relished in the delight his discomfort brought her.

Bellamy was alone with the center back as Harper dribbled up the field. Miller was slightly behind the duo, his defender trailing behind him. Octavia was in a similar position as Miller, but her defender was right with her.

Bellamy leaned into the center back, using the momentum to push off him and into open space for Harper to find his feet. She played the ball right to his feet, drawing the defender over to him. With one touch, Bellamy played the ball right back to Harper.

Harper took her first touch forward, exploding into the space the center back had opened up when he followed Bellamy. She advanced to goal as Miller joined her side. As they ran towards the goal, the goalie for Mount Weather slowly came out from his net, unsure what to do.

Harper wound up a shot, but as her leg came back to strike it, she passed it to Miller instead. Mount Weather’s goalie fell for the fake shot and dove to the right, the opposite direction of where Harper truly played the ball.

Miller easily trapped the ball and took his first touch towards the goal and behind the goalie. He easily slotted the ball into the goal, tying the game up 3-3.

Abby screamed in joy and disbelief. Had you asked her at the beginning of the season if she thought her team would be tied with Mount Weather, let alone score a goal against them, she would call you crazy. But this was happening, this was real life. This wasn’t a novel or a movie.

She suddenly turned to Marcus and pinched his arm. He yelped in shock and pain as he looked to her, confusion swimming in his eyes. She watched his reaction and then shrugged. She explained, “Making sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

The confusion in his eyes was soon replaced with playfulness. He told her, “I think you’re supposed to pinch yourself to check that.”

“And hurt myself in the process?” She asked, “Nah, you’re a better guinea pig.”

He laughed and looked over to where Cage was. He was screaming at his players, using not so nice of words. Marcus could see the rage rolling off him, the frustration evident in his hand motions.

Marcus commented, “Sounds like you.”

“Pfft,” Abby scoffed, “my vocabulary is much more extravagant.”

Marcus laughed again as Alie blew the whistle, signaling for the game to continue. As Mount Weather took the safe route of passing all the way back to their defense, Abby checked the game clock they kept on their own.

There was just over five minutes left. The Delinquents had just over five minutes to get another goal or they would enter overtime.

That also left five minutes for Mount Weather to maybe sneak another goal in. And it looked like they were trying to force that.

After keeping possession for a while, making the Delinquents chase around on defense for a bit, they suddenly charged forward. The whole team but the backline, besides the outside defenders slightly, pushed forward to try and get a goal.

“Miller! Octavia! Track those runs!” Clarke yelled as she got closer to Emerson. She looked to her left and right and demanded, “Raven! Murphy! Touch tight with your marks! Deny anything!”

Each player did as they were told. Mount Weather’s center midfielder was currently dribbling up the field, Harper applying pressure as he came closer. As she came closer, he played the ball out wide to Raven’s side.

Emerson checked off Clarke and into a run behind Raven. Clarke followed him as the outside midfielder one-touched the ball into Emerson’s run around Raven.

The ball had more weight on it than expected and it ran by both Emerson and Clarke. The two adjusted their runs and sprinted after the ball.

They ran shoulder to shoulder, both trying to shove the other off to reach the ball first. As they approached the ball, Clarke dipped her shoulder to get lower than Emerson. She used that momentum to drive herself slightly in front of Emerson, then proceeded to slide her whole body in front of Emerson, collecting the ball.

Emerson was on her back, feet going wild as he tried to win the ball. Clarke managed to hold him off as Harper came to, calling for the ball. Clarke played her and yelled, “Up the line! Go Octavia!”

Harper turned on command and exploded up the field, initiating another quick counter attack. Emerson rushed after her, hoping to derail their plans. Just before he reached her, she played the ball wide to Miller.

Miller’s defender was right on him as he received the ball. He couldn’t advance so he found Bellamy’s feet as he checked over to him, opening space behind him. As he received the ball, he turned to face up.

Miller had run up the line, drawing his defender with him. Harper stayed behind him in case for support and the defensive line stayed back in position. He saw Octavia out of the corner of his eyes wide open.

He slowly dribbled away from her side of the field, hoping to create more space for her. Once he was confident in the space, he looked up to meet her eyes. He offered her a smile before passing her the ball.

Octavia trapped the ball and looked up to see the only Mount Weather player between her and the goal. Somehow, Emerson had switched with the usual outside midfielder on her side. He stood there, smirking as he watched her.

“Might as well as give me the ball now since I know you can’t beat me,” he mocked her.

She ignored it and looked back to Clarke. Clarke smiled at her and nudged her foot forward a bit. Octavia then looked to Lincoln, him giving her another smile of reassurance. Finally, her eyes landed on her father.

Marcus was watching her, his own nerves getting the best of him. This was the moment. This moment would make or break the game. Octavia had never been successful before in a 1v1, let alone against Emerson.

But did that mean Marcus didn’t believe she could do it? Hell no, he had confidence she would surprise herself and beat him.

He offered his best reassuring smile and nodded towards the goal. Octavia’s eyes found the goal, ignoring whatever was coming out of Emerson’s mouth. She immediately began making connections.

The goal was the safe zone, she was the remaining minnow, and Emerson was the last shark. She needed to get past him to reach the safe zone.

Still not listening to the bullshit spewing from his lips, Octavia charged forward, determined to get into that safe zone. Emerson was initially shocked by her confidence but just as quickly shook it off and ran towards her for a tackle.

Practice made perfect, right? Octavia had spent every day in her room, practicing the same move for ten minutes. She practiced the body movement, the ball control, and the foot movements. All her hard work would either pay off or be wasted.

“You got it, O,” Marcus whispered to himself. He felt a hand grab his and hold tightly. He squeezed Abby’s hand back as the two got closer.

As they neared each other, Octavia threw her left leg over the ball, faking that she was rolling it to her right side. Emerson fell for it, his front leg diving forward.

Octavia saw her opening and used the outside of her left foot to push the ball to the left, then quickly switched it over the ball. She one-touched it from there with the inside of her left foot between his legs that he created from his dive.

The ball traveled through as Octavia ran to the right of him. She met the ball on the other side of him, using her first touch to carry the ball forward into the space behind him. The safe zone was right in front of her now.

She dribbled towards it, Marcus’ heart pounding in his chest. Time slowed as Octavia wound up for a shot as Mount Weather’s goalie crept out of the goal slightly.

Her right leg came down and her foot came in contact with the ball. The ball sailed through the air, going straight for its target. Their goalie dived for it, the ball skimming his fingertips.

It did nothing to stop the ball as it stayed on path towards the safe zone. Soon enough, the ball passed into the safe zone, falling to the ground in the back of the goal. The Delinquents finally, for the first time in either coaches’ history, took the lead on Mount Weather. It was 4-3 favoring the Delinquents.

Screams erupted everywhere- from the bench, the sideline, and the field. Abby and Marcus looked to each other in shock and then back to the field as Alie blew her whistle to signal the goal. As she did, she looked to the watch on her wrist.

Abby felt what she was certain were symptoms of a heart attack as she watched Alie examine her watch. It was the same feeling she had gotten when the Delinquents were seconds away from their first win. Now, they were seconds away from winning the championship.

She felt the hand already in hers tighten and start to shake. Hell, even Marcus was nervous. Abby didn’t have to turn to see he was watching Alie with the same intensity.

After the quick glance at her watch, Alie blew an extra two whistles, signaling the end of the game.

Holy. Shit.

They did it. Like, they actually did. The Delinquents won. They defeated Mount Weather.

Was Abby dreaming? Did she have to pinch herself to make sure this was real life? She didn’t have to do any of that. The scene that erupted around her gave her confirmation enough.

Screams, louder than those from the winning goal, roared into her senses. The kids on the bench who weren’t hurt ran onto the field and joined a growing dogpile on Octavia that her brother had started. The injured kids on the bench screamed and celebrated with each other, throwing their ice packs in the air. Parents were out of their seats and jumping around and high-fiving each other.

How did one react to such a win? Abby had won, but never against Mount Weather, let alone a championship. She settled for joining in on the screaming that grew after Alie signaled the end of the game.

Shit, it felt so good. It was only mere seconds after the final whistle but Abby felt a wave of emotions overcoming her- happiness, relief, shock, but most importantly, pride. She was so proud of the kids and the man still holding her hand like it was his lifeline.

It was a moment Abby was sure she wouldn’t forget. The feel of adrenaline rushing through her veins from every goal, the surge of pride she felt when every delinquent did something right, the sense of home she felt as the final whistle blew, like their little family had finally reached the end of their journey.

And at the end of that journey, one they all fought through Hell in, was happiness. It was everywhere around her at the moment she noticed while she continued screaming along with the parents. During the chaos, she took the time to examine the scene before her.

All thirteen delinquents were together, screaming just as loud and dumping water on each other as the reality of their game became real. The underdogs were champions, they were champions. Had you asked any of them at their first practice when Marcus had lost control of the kids if they thought they’d be standing where they were today as champions, Murphy probably would’ve laughed in your face and told you when Raven actually made a good defensive decision, maybe they would have a small chance. Following suit, Raven would’ve probably snapped back about Murphy actually contributing to the team with something other than red cards.

Abby probably would’ve agreed too, if she was honest. Even if that was their answers, they would’ve came true and it would’ve produced the same results. They were champions.

Then there was the parents. Cece and Roan, who were at each other’s throats before this season, we’re embracing as they celebrated. The team dads had pulled out the snacks they prepared in celebration, high-fiving each other. Abby even thought she saw her favorite vodka. Jaha and Jackson watched on with big smiles.

And then there was the man holding her hand.

Abby couldn’t find the words in her heart to express what she thought of that man. All she knew was that it felt right to be holding his hand, it felt right to be here in this moment with him, and it felt right to consider him a part of her happiness.

Not your typical definition of happiness, was it? Abby didn’t care. If you gave her a dictionary to read the actual textbook definition of happiness, Abby would have shown you the textbook definition of “fuck off” by throwing the book back at your face.

The kids, the parents, and that man. That was the definition of her happiness. It was the happiness at the end of their journey and she would be damned if it were anything else.

The two coaches casted a quick glance at each other, promising to come back to the other soon, before unlatching their hands. But before their hands could separate, Marcus had squeezed her hand as a small congratulations. In response, Abby offered him a genuine smile before turning and running off to her daughter.

She ran out to her daughter and picked her up in a hug, spinning her around slightly. Clarke laughed along with her mother as she put her down. Both were grinning big as they watched each other.

“You did it,” Clarke told her mom.

Abby immediately shook her head. She corrected her, “We did it, Clarke. We did.”

Clarke smiled as they both looked around the field in awe. As their glances landed on each other again, they both laughed and hugged each other close. How the fuck did they pull that off? Abby couldn’t answer the question right now, but she wasn’t going to question it.

As Abby ran over to her daughter, Marcus ran over to where Bellamy was hugging his sister. He scooped them both into a huge hug, both screaming in surprise.

After a bit, Marcus let them go and smiled big as they turned to look at him. Marcus ruffled Bellamy’s hair and told them, “I’m so proud of you.”

Bellamy responded, “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Marcus smiled down to his son and ruffled his hair once more. “You’re getting too soft,” he teased him as Bellamy shoved his hand away from his hair.

Octavia’s laugh in response drew his attention to her. He offered her a whole new grin, one full of pride. He cupped her cheeks with his hands and told her, “And you? I’m so fucking proud of you.”

She said nothing as she smiled back up to her and reached out and hugged him tightly. He laughed a bit and hugged her closer. God knows how they pulled off the miracle, but they did it, and Marcus wasn’t going to second guess that.

Raven came running over and pulled at Octavia’s hand, trying to bring her over to where the rest of her teammates were. She looked back to Marcus when he let her go. He winked and told her, “Go have fun. You deserve it.”

Octavia smiled again and didn’t say anything as she ran off with Raven to where the Delinquents were gathering and cheering. Marcus watched as he crossed his arms, a smile forming on his lips. Even though the only kids he had on the team were Bellamy and Octavia, he felt responsible for them all. He felt like a proud father of all ten of them.

“Way to go, Coach.”

Marcus’ attention was drawn away from the kids and to the newcomer who now stood beside him. He cracked a smile and told her, “I could say the same to you.”

Abby cracked a smile back in response as they both focused on the kids. Abby felt pride swelling in her chest as she watched them celebrate.

“We actually did it,” she thought aloud.

He looked to her out of the corner of his eye, saying, “We did it.”

It was silent between them before they both suddenly laughed. Their situation wasn’t funny but for some reason they couldn’t help but laugh.

Abby whipped a tear from her eye as she said, “Like, we actually fucking did that. We won.”

“Doesn’t feel real,” Marcus chuckled as his own laughter died down.

“It doesn’t?” She asked, “How about now?”

“Ow!”

Marcus’ arm flinched away from Abby’s guilty fingers. She had pinched him, again. There was a playful challenge in her eyes as she watched him jump back.

He rubbed his arm as he shook his head at her. “You’re a pain in the ass,” he told her.

“You wouldn’t want me any other way.”

Marcus couldn’t argue that. This was the Abby he liked. This was the Abby he started to fall for. This was the Abby he had kissed in the hallway at his home. This was the Abby he had coached the Delinquents to victory with.

In her eyes, many emotions were swirling about. He could pick out the playful challenge he loved, he saw the pride in the kids shining bright, and he picked up on a hint of something more that was directed at him. Whatever it was, it made his heart skip a beat.

How had this woman, one he couldn’t stand to hear her name only a few months ago, found her way into his heart? Not only did she invade his heart, she landed permanent residence there. No matter how hard he tried (like he would even try), her stubborn ass wouldn’t leave.

The look in her eyes, it resembled that feeling. It was a striking realization. Abby didn’t want to leave and he didn’t want her to. She had found home in his heart and he was finding his home in hers.

She had been right back at Applebess; he was lucky to have her.

Silence fell between them once again, but it was comfortable. Soon, Abby’s eyes found their way to Mount Weather’s bench. A lot of the kids and parents had left and made their way to the ceremony tent already. However, Cage was sitting on the bench, staring into nothing as realization dawned on him.

She thought aloud again, saying, “Once his team leaves, we’ll have odd numbers in the league again.”

Marcus knew where her train of thought was going. He had thought of that too when they first made the bet. However, different from then, he didn’t want that outcome anymore. He said her thoughts, “Pike will offer to split our team up again.”

Silence fell between them. It was what each one wanted the moment Pike told them he was merging their team. Now, neither thought it was a reasonable option.

When they looked over to the kids, it solidified that. They were intermingling with each other; once enemies in the past, they were family now. How could one break up a family?

Abby chuckled and said, “That was supposed to be an easy decision.”

Marcus looked down to her, asking, “Is it still not?”

She looked up to him and shrugged, saying, “It is, but if you had told me the day we merged our teams that I would later want to keep coaching with you, I would call you crazy.”

Marcus laughed. He didn’t blame her thoughts, the circumstances would’ve been the same for him. He told her, “It was supposed to be the worst thing,” remembering that the whole idea of them merging was Cage’s ploy to tear their teams apart.

“But was it?”

Marcus fell silent as his eyes found hers again. The playful laughter was gone, a small serious edge clipping her words. In her eyes, he found her searching for the truth.

So, that’s what he gave her. He confessed, “No, it was the best thing.”

She didn’t need to respond, the same answer reflecting in her eyes. As if spoken on both ends, he reached down to cup her cheek as she her hands reached up to rest on his chest. Both of their heads moved together and their lips met in the middle.

They let their lips do the talking, but without the words. No words needed to be spoken. They both understood each other without them.

The kiss spoke about the past, the present, and what the future would hold.

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 20

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 20/22 Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: what do you mean marcus and abby cant adopt 13 children??????

Chapter 20: There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page or closing the book

Abby couldn’t figure out if she was happy or upset that this was the last practice of the season.

Half of her was jumping for joy. She didn’t have to deal with Marcus’ bullshit, she could have a shot without Jaha judging her, and she wouldn’t have to deal with Raven shoving grass down Miller’s shorts.

And the other half of her was gloomy. She wouldn’t get to give Marcus bullshit, she wouldn’t get to see Callie and Roan gang up on other parents, and she wouldn’t get to see Clarke happy like this until next season.

The decision was made as a ball went flying over Abby’s head, barely. Would it be detrimental to the team’s success if she called practice quits five minutes into it?

She caught a glimpse of Lincoln sitting on the bench out of the corner of her eye. Next to him were crutches and his foot now sported a boot.

Yeah, it would be detrimental.

Marcus gathered the kids in after helping Miller shake the grass from his shorts. The two coaches stood beside each other for the first time since the incident. But then they had stood on opposing sides.

Now, they stood as one.

“This is the last practice of the season,” Marcus stated the obvious, “and we’ve been granted the opportunity to play in the finals.”

Both of them could see the dread growing on the kids’ faces. They were probably imagining all the hard drills, running, and not fun activities they would be put through. If Marcus mumbled anything about running, Abby had silently promised to herself to shove grass down his own pants.

To ease their worry off, Marcus told them, “And no, practice won’t be like last Tuesday.”

“I won’t believe it till I see it,” the group heard Raven mumble. The kids burst into giggles as Marcus rose an eyebrow at her. She immediately offered a bright smile and added on, “And with that look, I believe it!”

The kids laughed louder this time and even Gaia shook her head with a smirk. Marcus shook his head as he rolled a ball over to Octavia, earning her eyes. He asked her, “What do you want to do for warm up, O?”

She smiled immediately. Everyone knew the answer before she replied, “Sharks and minnows!”

And so they played sharks and minnows. Clarke and Murphy started as the sharks this time, mixing it up with two instead of the usual one. Raven still didn’t get passed the first round and threw a fit to Clarke about ganging up on her.

Abby was pretty sure she heard Gaia tell her, “Suck it up, sweetheart.”

Given Raven’s temper and easiness to rile up, it was obvious she went after Gaia the next round. Surprising them both, Raven almost got Gaia out, but Gaia was able to recover in time. She made her way into the safe zone.

“I’m learning all your fancy tricks,” Raven shouted after her.

Gaia didn’t respond as she just smiled. And that’s when a light went off in both Marcus’ and Abby’s head. The whole time Gaia had been giving Raven shit for her diving in, Raven grew more and more determined to defeat Gaia. In result, Raven was learning to time her tackles. She was improving and Gaia was teaching her.

They both thought back to the many times Clarke and Lincoln had encouraged Octavia and showed her their nutmeg trick. They thought back to the time Lexa had instructed Harper, Monty, and Jasper one time at half when the two coaches argued.

When the two coaches couldn’t come together to coach their team, the kids came together and did it themselves. Both felt shame at the fact that the kids had to do it on their own, but now they didn’t have to.

Better late than never, right?

Too fast, practice was coming to a close. There was ten minutes remaining in their scheduled time slot. Usually, the two would let the kids end with a small scrimmage against each other, but Abby felt something else was needed.

She brought the kids together and they all sat around in a circle. Abby sat by Marcus and held a soccer ball in her hand. She held it up, explaining, “Everyone will get the ball once. When you get the ball, you’ll tell one thing you enjoyed most about the season, one thing you learned, and one thing you’ll miss. I’ll start it off.”

She lowered the ball and began spinning it in her hands as she looked around the circle. All eyes were on her but the pair that belonged to the man next to her made her nervous about her answer.

She cleared her throat and started off by saying, “What I enjoyed most about this season was probably seeing you guys grow into the team you are. It didn’t start off great, it never does, but you grew together and helped each other reach to the point you’re at today.”

She felt her nerves creeping in as her eyes flickered to where her daughter sat. Clarke offered her mother a soft smile, reassuring her that whatever she was going to say, Clarke would support her. Abby smiled herself and continued talking, “What I learned this season was that change may be scary, but sometimes you gotta take that chance for your best chance. And I’m glad I took that chance when I was finally convinced to do so.”

Abby felt a knee nudge hers and she looked over to Marcus, who offered her another reassuring smile. She gave him a small smile in response. She looked back to the kids and finished up, “What I’ll miss about this season is…you guys. When we had lost the semifinals, I felt a little lost. I wasn’t sure how to feel knowing I wouldn’t have been your coach anymore. You may annoy the shit out of me and make me regret getting out of the bed in the morning, but you’re my pain in the asses. I’ll be damned if someone like Cage rips apart this family.”

It was silent as Abby finished up. She felt a little embarrassed. She didn’t mean for the small activity to turn that deep but she felt as if she could finally summarize all the feelings she had kept bottled up the past few weeks.

“Yeah!” She heard Raven say, throwing a fist in the air, “Screw Cage!”

The kids all began to hoot and holler the saying and Abby burst into laughter. She wasn’t sure if they were the Delinquents or a Cage hate club. She was pretty sure they were both.

She rolled the ball over to her daughter, the chanting calming down. Clarke grabbed the ball and looked to her mother. Abby offered her the same smile and Clarke smiled back. She told her, “My favorite part of the season was winning a game!”

Abby smiled as everyone in the circle screamed in agreement. When they calmed down, Clarke continued. “What I learned this season was that I’m pretty good at defense and that I enjoy it.”

Her eyes had flickered to her mother but there was a soft smile on her lips. Abby returned the same smile. Clarke finished up by saying, “What I’ll miss about this season is making such an upset because when we win this Saturday, we won’t be the underdog anymore.”

The kids erupted into cheer again as Clarke rolled the ball over to Octavia. Octavia picked it up and set it in her lap. The cheering died down as all the eyes settled on her. She looked around before her eyes landed on her dad.

Octavia rested her hands on the ball and she said, “What I enjoyed the most about this season was sharks and minnows. I liked having fun at practice for once.”

Marcus felt the punch in his gut but Octavia winked at him as the other kids giggled. He didn’t feel the usual guilt those phrases had usually brought him. This time, it made him proud- proud of her for finding something she loved in the game.

She continued on by saying, “What I learned this season was that I can be a good player if I believe in myself like you guys believe in me.”

The line put a crack in Marcus’ heart. He had seen the support from Lincoln and Clarke. Theirs was the most blatant of the group, but he knew no one on the team wanted each other to fail. Her eyes had fallen on him, making his heart skip a beat. He always believed in her and he had always hoped she knew that. Her smile at him affirmed his thought.

“What I’ll miss about this season is playing sharks and minnows,” Octavia confessed. She shrugged as she said, “It was the first game that got me excited about being here. It was the first game I actually felt like I could play up to your guys’ standards.”

Marcus offered his daughter a smile as she rolled the ball over to Raven. He was proud of her. No matter the result tomorrow or any result in the future, he would always be proud of her. Nothing could change that.

“Alright! Listen up!” Raven announced as she snatched the ball up. She tried spinning it on her fingers and immediately dropped it. She caught it and slammed it on the ground, stating, “What I enjoyed most about this season was winning. Took five years but it felt good.”

The kids cheered in agreement and Raven smiled big. She spun the ball on the ground as she continued on, saying, “What I learned this season was that I can defeat Gaia, even if it’ll never happen again.” Her eyes found Gaia’s. “You’ll never live it down.”

The kids laughed as Gaia glared at her across the circle. Raven winked at her, smile just as big. She told the group, “What I’ll miss about this season is the fun we had. Even when Coach Kane was being a hardass, I made it my mission to throw a joke in here or there. I’ll take the punishments, but I was hoping after the third set of running you gave me, you’d realize my jokes were hints- hints to HAVE SOME FUN!”

The group laughed, including the coaches. Marcus wasn’t going to lie- he hadn’t caught on. He may have, but he ignored them. Raven was probably the fittest player they had on the team since that practice.

“And for a bonus,” Raven added on, “I’ll tell you what I won’t miss from this season. I won’t miss wearing those God awful rags you call ‘pennies’.”

Abby burst into laughter. The bluntness of her statement, the statement itself, the expression on her face, and Marcus’ offended look made the moment hilarious. She could feel the glare from Marcus but she couldn’t care. She offered Raven a thumbs up through her laughter.

Raven smiled bigger, her ego growing the slightest. She looked to Miller, finishing up by saying, “And I won’t miss Miller’s whiny ass.”

The kids burst into laughter, Murphy losing it the most. Miller was the only one not laughing as he crossed his arms. He tilted his head to the side and replied, “And I’m sure no one here will miss your big mouth.”

The kids laughed harder, Murphy falling back on the ground. Raven, not expecting the response, chucked the ball at him in response. He wore a smirk as he blocked it.

They went around the whole circle, making sure each delinquent had a chance to share their thoughts. Finally, the ball made its way to the last person. It slowly left Bellamy’s hands and landed in front of Marcus.

He picked it up as the laughter from Bellamy’s statement died down. He passed the ball between his hands for a moment as he watched around the circle. He began off by saying, “What I enjoyed most about this season, Raven,” he watched the color drain from her face, “was torturing you with wearing those pennies.”

The kids, including Abby, laughed as Raven pouted. He winked at her as he told them, “But seriously, what I enjoyed about this season was watching everyone grow as well, not even just the kids.” He looked over to Abby who immediately had glanced his way. He offered her a small smile down to her as he added on, “I grew and so did Abby. Hell, even Cece and Roan did. They only fought each other twice this whole season.”

The kids laughed at that but neither of the coaches registered it. They only registered each other as an understanding passed between them. Abby finally smiled back and broke the eye contact as the laughter from the kids died down.

He looked back to the kids and kept talking, “What I learned this season was-”

“The definition of fun?”

The interruption had come from Murphy. The kids all giggled as Marcus raised an eyebrow at him. He glanced down at his watch and told the boy, “There’s still three minutes of practice left. Would you like to sprint for those three minutes?”

Murphy wasn’t fazed; he never was. Marcus wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or impressed by it.

Murphy told him, “But I’m having so much fun here, you wouldn’t wanna ruin that now, would you?”

The kids laughed at that behind their hands, knowing all too well that Marcus could turn into his hardass self if he wanted. The old him would’ve made Murphy get up and start laps. The new Marcus just smirked and replied, “You’re completely right and for the fun to continue, you can’t interrupt me.”

The kids laughed again as Murphy rolled his eyes. Marcus looked around the circle as his eyes fell onto Octavia. He continued his last sentence before he was interrupted, “What I learned this season was that I can’t coach you guys to victory alone, my tactics alone would’ve never got us this far. And yes, Murphy that includes the fun aspect Abby brought to the team.”

The kids laughed as Murphy rolled his eyes again. Octavia was shining with pride for her father, a big grin on her face. He saw Bellamy next to her offering him a smile as well. When they made eye contact, he nodded his approval to his father.

Finally, his eyes found the coach beside him that he was finally acknowledging as a coach. He still felt bad for his actions at the Reapers’ game. If he was honest, he probably always would feel bad.

He knew they had made up outside of Pike’s office but that was just between the two of them. The incident had been in front of everyone, mainly the kids. He needed to show the kids he was in the wrong and make up for what he had done.

She was watching him in a mixture of awe and surprise. She knew they made moved past the incident the other day at Pike’s office, but she never imagined Marcus would apologize and confess he was wrong in front of the kids.

It made her heart do weird things, like flutter, and it made her stomach do flips. She felt a surge of gratefulness for him and what he was doing. He was truly trying to make up for his mistake.

He winked at her, smirking inside as he saw her cheeks flush the slightest bit. He looked back to the group and finished up by saying, “And what I’ll miss about this season is the team in general. Like Abby said before, this is a family, one Cage can’t rip apart no matter how many times he’s tried.”

He examined the group and added on, “We verse Mount Weather tomorrow in the finals. Who would’ve guessed the Delinquents would’ve made it that far, let alone win one game? No one, not even us, not even you if we’re all honest.”

Everyone silently agreed as they nodded, looking around the circle before looking back to Marcus. He admitted, “I know we spent a lot of the season arguing and not giving you the attention you all deserved individually to help improve this team, but we can promise that your dedication to teaching each other, intentionally or not, has not gone unnoticed. I know for sure it inspires me to become a better coach for you guys in the future.”

Abby agreed completely. While the adults acted like children, the children acted like adults. They improved the slightest bit on their own. Knowing they could have improved a lot more this season overall gave the two coaches inspiration to make that commitment.

“And you know what you guys need to do so we can actually coach you?” Marcus asked, looking around the circle.

It was quiet for once. No outburst from Murphy, no joke from Raven, no complaint from Miller. Then, suddenly, Octavia’s voice broke the silence. “Win,” she simply stated.

He smiled and nodded at his daughter. “Exactly,” he replied, “we have to win. That way we can continue to be your coaches and make you into the players and team we know you can be.”

The kids all looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Abby smiled as she watched them. It felt like a turning point; it felt good. Maybe they could actually do this.

Marcus tossed the ball in the air once and caught it again, drawing the eyes back to him. “Yes, the odds are against us this weekend,” he told them, “but the last time we versed Mount Weather, they versed a different team. They versed a team, not our family. This weekend, they’re going to play a different team, and that’s our family. And they better be prepared because those delinquents then aren’t the same ones sitting here today. These delinquents have won, they have improved, and they have become a family. Mount Weather is in for a rude awakening.”

It fell silent as Marcus finished and set the ball down in front of him. All eyes were still on him as he looked around the circle. Finally, his eyes settled on Abby who was watching him with complete awe this time.

He wasn’t wrong. The two of them had created a tiny family with these kids. Anyone could make a team, all you had to do was throw a few players together; but, to have a family, that team needed to go through Hell and back together.

Granted their team spent an ungodly uneven amount of their time together in Hell, they eventually came out of it. And when they emerged from it, they had emerged together, as one.

At the same time, they looked out to the kids who were watching them. It was silent as the last remaining minute of practice faded out.

It was peaceful. Looking around the circle, Abby was proud of what they had accomplished this season. Win or loss tomorrow, anyone would be lying if they said what the Delinquents had done wasn’t incredible.

Marcus stood up, breaking the trance everyone was in, drawing the eyes to him. He smiled big and asked, “So let’s kick ass tomorrow, yeah?”

All the kids jumped up and screamed, throwing their arms around each other or in the air. The scene made Abby smile as the kids surrounded Marcus, placing their hands all together for a last cheer of the practice.

Marcus looked over his shoulder to her, nodding towards the circle. Abby didn’t need words. He wanted her in the cheer- she belonged there.

She got up from her spot on the ground and stood besides Marcus and put her own hand in with the others. Marcus smiled and looked around to the kids, counting down, “3…2…1…”

“DELINQUENTS!” They all screamed in harmony.

It was a joyous sound. It sounded like family.

The kids began to walk off, chatting about random things now. The coaches stood in their spots for an extra second, watching as the kids walked off the field. They looked over to each other and smiled simultaneously and began walking back to the benches.

Both were packing up their equipment as parents and kids began to leave the field. Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia were off by the concessions waiting for their parents to get done.

Abby was just zipping her bag up when she felt the first drop of water on her arm. She looked to her arm and then to Marcus but he was busy zipping his own bag. She looked to sky, confused as no clouds were in the sky.

She shook her head and went back to zipping her bag. After a few seconds, she felt a stream of cold water hit her side. It made her jump and she looked down to her white shirt, seeing her skin showing through the now damp part of her shirt.

She looked over to Marcus again, but he was once again cleaning up, minding his own business. However, a jug of water stood guilty on the bench, a little too close to Marcus.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she went back to her bag. She kept flickering her eyes back and forth between her bag and the water bottle. Marcus wasn’t paying it any attention.

Reluctantly, she had to turn to the left to pick up an extra penny. That was all the time he needed.

As Abby was picking the penny up, she heard sometime being unscrewed. She snapped up and spun around, yelling, “MARCUS, DON’T YOU DARE-”

She was cut off as cold water was dumped all over her. Her hands came up in a futile attempt to block herself from the wave of water. It failed. She was soaked.

She had closed her eyes at the impact, shivering from the cold temperature of the water. Abby wouldn’t admit it, but the cold water had felt relieving in the heat. When she opened her eyes, she found Marcus standing there with the empty water jug.

“Whoops,” he said, “my hand slipped.”

She threw her penny at him, not amused at his little joke. He laughed in response as she looked down to examine herself. Her face paled in horror as she saw what she looked like.

Her white t-shirt had been completely soaked through, becoming see through. It was see through enough to showcase Abby’s hot pink bra. And when Marcus noticed it too, he laughed even harder.

Her head whipped up to him, eyes narrowing the slightest. She held her hands to showcase what he had done to her, asking, “You think this is funny?”

He was still laughing and laughed more at her question. It was an answer enough. Hell, it was funny. Abby was just annoyed she didn’t have an extra shirt to drive home in and she didn’t have a jug of water to throw on him back in revenge. Otherwise, Abby wasn’t pissed off about it.

She crossed her arms over her chest and told him, “I'm in a white t-shirt with a pink bra and I'm soaked from head to toe. Fuck you, Kane.”

He laughed more, running a hand through his hair. He looked to her as his laughter died down, slowly walking towards her. Backing up, immediately, her back legs hit the bench, preventing anymore distance between the two.

Marcus made sure there was no distance between them as he approached her. He stopped in front of her, examining her outfit again. She had flushed under his gaze and he smirked that smirk.

It felt like they were in his bathroom again. It felt like they were at the campfire again. Instead of shying away from the tension this time, Abby stood firm in her position, rising an eyebrow at him.

Her words echoed in his mind. His smirk broadened the slightest as he leaned down, whispering, “You wish.”

The movement had caused the two to press against each other, that friction from both nights returning. Just like before, it ignited those flames of want throughout them both. Both could read it in the other’s eyes.

Marcus found his eyes dipping down to Abby’s lips, spotting a water droplet resting on the bottom one. Without much thought, he reached out, his thumb slowly rubbing it off.

Abby’s heart rate picked up at the contact and she felt herself draw in her lower lip in response. His thumb was still on her lip as she did so, and she could see his eyes dilate in reaction. She also saw him lick his own lips.

His hand that contained the thumb that was on her lip moved to lightly grab her chin, tilting it up towards him. Not wanting to waste another second, he dipped his head down, ready to claim her lips once more.

Right before his lips touched hers, his voice rang out, asking, “Am I interrupting anything?”

Marcus stopped his advance, their lips achingly centimeters apart. He almost said, “Fuck it,” and kissed her either way, but he was sure that wouldn’t even be able to block out the annoying being that Cage was.

Marcus reluctantly pulled back and let go of Abby’s chin. It took all his will power to not pull her to him as he felt Abby follow his retreating hand the slightest bit, basically begging to not go. How much he didn’t want to.

He turned to Cage and cleared his throat, telling him, “Not in the slightest.”

Abby’s glare said otherwise. If she hadn’t already wished many car incidents where he would end up flat like a pancake on cement, then her glare would’ve wished that. Marcus was sure the glare now amplified to hitting him with her car off the Grand Canyon.

Cage tilted his head as he walked up to them, examining the two, eyes lingering on Abby for a moment too long. Marcus’ arm immediately wrapped around her back, his hand landed on her hip, pulling her to his side. Cage’s eyes saw the movement and watched it. After, his eyes found Marcus.

“You two seemed to have made up nicely from your little display the other day,” he commented.

“No thanks to you,” Abby snapped at him, arms crossing over her chest.

He feigned innocence and said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the crap, Cage,” Marcus replied. “We know you were involved in getting Indra’s team folded. We know you didn’t want three new teams in the league so you offered the merge of our team. We know you gave Nia an illegible player in hopes you wouldn’t get caught and destroy our chances of winning. And we know you were stirring up the pot between us, eventually leading to our fallout.”

Cage listened to the accusations but didn’t reply right away. Marcus was done with his shit, just like Abby was. There was nothing they could do about it without any evidence, but his ignorance to the subject was old news.

After the silence he smiled at them, telling them, “You caught me.”

“Are you that insecure?” Abby asked, “So insecure that you have to stoop to stepping around the rules and interfering with the league to benefit you?”

He shrugged and said, “I’m not insecure.”

“Bullshit,” she spat at him, “and you know it. If you weren’t insecure about your position in the league, Indra would still have a team, we wouldn’t have been merged, you wouldn’t have messed with the tension between us, and you wouldn’t have had felt the need to help Nia out for the semifinals.”

He didn’t reply right away as he watched them. He was wearing a coral suit today. The color didn’t flatter him at all.

“None of that matters,” he told them, “as you have no evidence to prove anything. You can’t get jack squat done about any of it.”

“We know that,” Marcus told him. He smiled at him, saying, “But we can win against you on Saturday and get you kicked out of the league anyways.”

Cage’s façade broke, anger seeping through. He took a step towards them, whisper-shouting, “I won’t be the one leaving the league after this Saturday.”

“And what illegal thing will you try this time to make sure that doesn’t happen?” Abby asked.

His gaze snapped to her. He spat back, “I don’t need to do anything illegal to win against a charity case.”

“No?” Marcus asked, ignoring the jab at their team. “Then why did you feel the need to do it before?”

He didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond. Anything he said then could be used against him. He just straightened his suit jacket and told them, “I can’t wait to see your resignation papers on Pike’s desk Sunday.”

“I can’t wait to see them either,” Abby called out after him as he walked away, “except they’ll be signed for you.”

He didn’t dignify her with a response and kept walking until he was out of sight. The two watched the space for a while before looking to each other.

“We gonna win this Saturday?” Marcus asked her.

“Fuck yeah.”

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 19

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 19/22 Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: You never know when that lucky break is gonna come

Chapter 19: Forgiveness does not change the past, but it gives the future a chance

Abby felt like she was sitting outside the principal’s office like she had been back when she was in middle school.

The only difference between now and then was that she wasn’t in trouble for letting a snake free in Ms. Diana Sydney’s class.

Can you blame her? The woman tried giving a surprise, comprehensive exam that would’ve been worth 15% of their grade.

Thanks to Abby, that exam never happened. Mainly because Ms. Diana Sydney spilt her coffee over all the exam booklets and her computer when the snake wrapped around her leg.

It was definitely worth the three day suspension.

But what she felt sitting in that chair then was nothing compared to what she felt now. She was mainly proud and defiant then (and somewhat afraid of what Principal Cadogon would do).

Now, she was uncertain, empty even.

She held the resignation papers in her hand. Late last night, she had sat at her kitchen table, filling them out. It took her a few hours because she had to stop every few lines.

She was still in disbelief.

Even though they had lost two days ago, the reality of the fallout was still fresh in her mind. The heartache was still fresh.

The only thing keeping her head high at the moment was the fact she hadn’t seen Cage after the game. The last time she saw him was when he left the field.

Now, she was waiting outside Pike’s office. She had set up a meeting to hand in her resignation papers. Originally, it was supposed to happen a half hour ago, but Pike had texted her saying that an emergency situation had been brought to his attention.

And with perfect timing, she saw her old business partner walking up.

Marcus didn’t carry the usual confidence and power he held in his stance. He looked as detached as he felt. His eyes were trained to the floor until he reached the waiting area. Then, they fell on Abby.

The two looked at each other, no words being exchanged. They didn’t need to be. Both knew what the other was going through, both knew how the other felt. Both knew there was nothing they could do.

He broke the eye contact and plopped down into a seat one away from Abby. He wasn’t sure how the tension between them concerning the game against the Reapers was. He knew it wasn’t bad during the semifinals, but now it was past that.

His past actions then had influenced the outcome of the semifinals. He was the reason they lost the game and their positions as coaches. The resignation papers in his hand felt like dead weight, a burden. He could only assume she felt the same the way as he watched the way she was clutching her own.

He would understand if she hated him. He would understand if she didn’t accept his apology as he broke the silence by saying, “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes drifted over to where he sat. She didn’t respond right away. She knew this conversation was coming, but she still wasn’t prepared for it. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t think she ever would have been.

That little honesty confused her.  She had been ready to face anything Marcus threw at her, even what he pulled at the Reapers’ game. She had known what to do, how to react. Right now, she wasn’t sure what to say in response. Why?

Maybe it was the way his voice sounded genuine. Maybe it was the fact that she didn’t like being this upset at him. Maybe it was that she couldn’t stand not talking to him, even if it was just their constant bickering and teasing.

Maybe it was the realization that the “tension” they had played with may hold more than a passionate make out in his hallway or against the bathroom wall.

In that tension there was an understanding, there were years of history between them, and now it was all fucked up by his actions that one game. It made her uncomfortable, and for some reason she knew it made him uncomfortable too.

So, deciding to take the comfortable way and how she knew to handle him usually, she acted like Abby and asked in mocking tone, “For?”

He immediately recognized it and he smiled as he looked down to his hands. He appreciated her attempt at small humor, at her attempt to make things normal between them. Unlike old times, however, it was forced. He feared it would never return to like old time unless he was serious this one time and sincerely apologized.

Looking back to her, he told her with a shrug, “Everything.”

She raised an eyebrow back at him, encouraging him to go on.

“From the arguments that lead to what I did at the Reapers game, to what I did at the Reapers game, to losing the semifinals, and to ultimately losing our positions as the kids’ coaches,” he explained. He ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head in defeat. “It’s all my fault.”

Abby didn’t reply right away. She examined Marcus for a short while.

He was fidgeting with his fingers, once in a great a while running them through his hair or scratching at his beard. His right foot was tapping silently against the ground, knee bumping as well. He couldn’t make eye contact with her either.

She sat back in her chair, looking to the ceiling. “You fucked up bad,” she finally replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his shoulders sag in defeat. It broke her heart the slightest bit.

She continued on, telling him, “Now, what you did against the Reapers, that little stunt…that was a bullshit move.” She saw his shoulders dip a bit more at the jab. She kept her eyes on the ceiling as she finished up, “I shouldn’t forgive you. I should run you over with my car like I planned on doing when I left the hospital that day.”

It was silent as the words hung between them. Marcus watched his hands, not sure how to carry on the conversation. Abby kept her eyes on the ceiling, heart beating a little faster as her next words formed in her mind.

She told him, “Other than that, we’re both at fault.”

This makes him curious as he looks over to her. Her eyes are still trained on the ceiling and he gets enraptured in the way she’s lost in a memory.

In her mind, she’s back on the field the day of the incident. She’s just been stopped by Indra, blocking her way to the man she wanted nothing more than to tear apart. Or, hit with her car.

Then, she had admitted to Indra that they both were guilty of avoiding their mistakes and pointing the other’s out. They were even guiltier when they found an easy outlet to mask those mistakes.

“How?” Is all he asks.

She chuckled a bit as she looked away from the ceiling. She finally looked over to him and simply told him, “We both know what part of coaching we suck at, but we ignored them from the sake of our ego and pride between each other. There’s no doubt that was part of the reason that drove you to your decision that day.”

Marcus found himself agreeing, thinking of the differences he had found between that Tuesday and Thursday.

“That’s the true reason behind why we’re failing,” Abby explained. She just shrugged as she continued, “We couldn’t work together to fix those issues because we still wanted that up on the other. It was worse when those Grounder kids joined because then we didn’t need to fix those issues. Those issues didn’t matter since we were winning.”

Marcus nodded as he listened. That was glaring when they had their ass kicked by Alpha Station. It was also clear after Lincoln had gotten hurt. If Abby had let Clarke on defense earlier, she may have been able to work with Miller and the rest of the backline to prevent the winning goal. If Marcus had made earlier practices more enjoyable, maybe Miller would’ve run back like he did in that Thursday practice.

She bit her lip, her next words on the tip of her tongue. It was different admitting her faults to Clarke than it was admitting them to Marcus.

She forced the words out before she could chicken out. “And when those issues became glaring after the Alpha Station game and the incident with the Reapers game, I only wanted to blame you and your faults. It took Clarke to show me that I was at fault as well.”

Marcus regarded her with curiosity. Had Clarke opened her eyes as Bellamy did with him?

“It was after the Tuesday practice,” Abby began, “and Clarke looked depressed. Hell, all the kids did when I picked her up. I, of course, blamed you because you don’t know the definition of fun. Clarke had agreed but brought up a memory that resembled our situation.”

Marcus’ mind was flashing back to his own dinner with Bellamy that same night. Had both been slapped back into reality by their own kids on the same night?

“What she told me…it opened my eyes to say the least,” Abby told him, frowning the slightest bit. She regarded Marcus with sad eyes. “You know how hard it is to hear from your daughter that you’ve been wrong about her all season?”

If only Abby knew. Marcus thought of Octavia and how Bellamy accused him of never asking the same thing he demanded of Abby. “You have no idea,” Marcus more mumbled to himself.

Abby still caught wind of it and reached over, her hand coming to hold his lightly. He watched their hands for a second before finding her eyes. There was an understanding in them and she offered him a reassuring smile. He gave her one back.

“You know what she told me that night? Besides telling me I was wrong,” Marcus chuckled at her bitter tone as she continued to smile at him, “she told me that I was afraid of change once and I was in the same position. I kept coaching as if I was still coaching for the Lifesavers. I wasn’t coaching for the Delinquents.”

The realization Marcus had made that Thursday practice rushed into his mind. It was essentially the same thing. He recognized that the Delinquents needed them both, not the coach of the Lifesavers or the Assassins. They needed the coaches of the Delinquents.

“And I realized she was right,” Abby said. “The Delinquents needed her on defense, not at forward. Even though they lost this past Saturday, the game would’ve been a lot worse if Clarke wasn’t on defense.”

Marcus took it all in. Abby had finally admitted what he had accused her of for the past month. She even admitted that he was right about Clarke. But Marcus didn’t feel the leap of joy he figured he would feel. Instead, he felt guilty on his own part.

He squeezed her hand as a gesture of comfort and it drew her eyes back to him. He winked and whispered, hoping to make her smile, “Bout damn time.”

It earned him a laugh and he smiled in response. He had rarely heard her laughter when they would argue relentlessly. Every time he heard, he only wished she would laugh more. Secretly, he wished he would be the reason behind it.

He began stroking her thumb with his, his eyes watching his own movements. “I too had realized what a dick I had been to the kids after a chat with Bellamy that same Tuesday night.”

Abby leaned over slightly and whispered to him, “Bout damn time.”

He laughed, genuinely and full-heartedly. He shook his head as Abby watched him with her own smile. She had stated it before, but her favorite thing about Marcus (besides the hair obviously) was his laugh when it wasn’t directed at her.

“About six years ago, I made a promise to my kids that I wouldn’t ever do what someone that used to be close to us did,” he told her. She watched him with curiosity. He sighed, saying, “With what I did at the Reapers game, I broke that promise.”

He could feel Abby squeeze his hand back and he smiled as he looked back to them. “I didn’t even realize it myself, Bellamy had to point it out,” he admitted, voice cracking with disappointment. It wasn’t the only thing cracking as he felt pain in his chest.

“What that person had done to me, I did it to you,” he told her. The memory brought him pain, both of his ex-wife and the game. “I was once on the end you were on that day. I know how it felt to be betrayed like that, behind your back and for selfish reasons, but I still went out and did it.”

His hand was beginning to shake and Abby’s clasped his tighter. His foot tapping became erratic. “I was so blinded by my need to prove you wrong, to show that I knew how to win and knew what Octavia wanted, that I disregarded your feelings when I did what I did. And I feel like shit for doing it.”

His voice was cracking, a tear crawling down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, shaking his head, not able to make eye contact with her. “I became the person I resented the most and couldn’t see it, but my twelve year old kids could. I’m so sorry, Abby.”

Hearing his voice drowned with tears and pain made Abby’s heart break. What he had done was shitty and she was glad he saw that. That didn’t mean it still didn’t make her feel bad for him, she did. She squeezed his hand for comfort, earning a shaky sigh from him.

“When Bellamy told me that,” Marcus continued, “it was like a wakeup call. I felt guilty immediately. I tried to blame my ignorance on knowing what Octavia wanted for my actions. Even though Bellamy had pointed out what I did, I still didn’t want to admit my fault.”

He watched her fingers as he took a moment to collect himself. He admitted to her, “He asked me if I truly knew what made Octavia happy. And I do, I really do. I just didn’t want to admit it was something you had brought to the team.”

Abby was stunned for a second. She knew exactly what he was talking about. He was talking about sharks and minnows.

He gripped her hand tighter to his, lacing the fingers the slightest. He said, “I didn’t want to admit it because I thought I was superior to you in coaching. I didn’t want a game from a ‘lesser coach’ making Octavia happy when I had failed for five years.”

Abby’s eyes had went to their hands. He was still stroking her hand; he hadn’t stopped the moment since she grabbed his hand. She found it comforting as her heart was racing from his words.

“I thought your game, sharks and minnows, was a waste of time,” he explained, “but then I saw the difference in the practices immediately when I ran it on Thursday. It was like a blow to the stomach. It was glaring.”

He finally looked over to her and offered her a weak smile. “It made me realize that fun wasn’t so bad. It made me realize that if we truly wanted to succeed, then the kids would need both of their coaches. They needed the coaches of the Delinquents.”

It was silent between them as Marcus kept moving his thumb across her palm. Even though it was meant as a comforting gesture for her, he found himself relaxing as he repeated the pattern over and over again.

“You may think you suck at coaching,” he abruptly said, thinking of the many times she rarely told him so. He had agreed then, but not anymore. “But you don’t. You excel in the one part of coaching I lack in. I’ll be damned if I don’t think that makes you a great coach.”

His words struck home. It took him five years for him to recognize her as a coach after they won their first game with the Delinquents. But somehow, this felt more real. This felt as if he was actually recognizing her as a coach.

It made her happy.

She joked to him, “Seems like we balance each other out pretty well, huh?”

He smirked over to her, that one special smirk. It didn’t piss her off like it did the past few weeks. He said, “I’m lucky to have someone like you.”

Abby’s mind raced back to the beginning of the season, when the two had just received the news of the merging of their two teams. They were at a restaurant where Abby had learned Marcus hated pickles. She had also teased him by telling their waitress that he’d be lucky to have someone like her.

She smirked back and admitted, “What was supposed to be the worst thing to happen to us turned out to be the best thing.”

Silence fell between the two as the words settled. Neither disagreed, both knew she was right. The start was rough and even rougher in the middle, but now they were coming to the end of their journey and it was smoothing out.

They admitted their faults and both knew how to handle them. Too bad there was no chance for them to prove it.

Pike’s office door slammed open, ripping away the little world the two were absorbed in. Their hands detached and they looked to see a pissed off Nia.

She paid no attention to them as she made her way down the hall and out of the building. The two looked to the other, confusion written across both faces.

Right after, Pike exited his office and his eyes drifted to the two. He smiled big and clapped his hands, telling them, “Just the two I wanted to see!”

Abby looked to the resignation paper in her hands and then back to Pike. “Well,” she said, “we did have an appointment.”

His eyes followed her same movement and offered her grin. He told them, “You’re not going to need those anymore.”

Abby and Marcus looked to each other, even more confusion appearing on their faces. Marcus looked to Pike, saying, “I’m not complaining, but what?”

He lifted his hand to show the way into his office. He told them, “Come in, both of you. We have a lot to talk about.”

Abby wasn’t sure if that was good news but his words about not needing her resignation papers sent off alarms in her head. Was that in connection to Nia storming out? What was going on?

The two entered his office and got a sense of Déjà vu as Pike closed the door behind them. They sat in the same chairs they had at the beginning of the season as Pike made his way to his own chair behind his desk.

He held his hands out and the two offered their resignation papers. He glanced over them and flickered his eyes to them. They were confused and it showed. He smiled and proceeded to rip the papers up.

Abby watched astonished, as did Marcus. The two looked to each other again, not sure what to say.

When Pike finished, he wiped his hands, smiling at the masterpiece of a mess he had made on his desk. He folded his hands together and rested them on his desk as he regarded the two with a warm smile.

It was silent until Abby asked, “What the fuck?”

Pike laughed and responded, “I said the same thing about an hour ago.”

That didn’t answer Abby’s outburst, it just made her more confused. She replied, “I have no fucking idea what is going on. Why is Nia storming out like a child? Why did you rip up our resignation papers?”

Pike shook his head and said, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard yet.”

That caught their attention. They glanced at each for a small moment before Marcus looked back to Pike, asking, “Heard what?”

“I got a call this morning from Alie,” he started off, “and she told me some interesting news about a player on Ice Nation. Do you remember a girl named Echo?”

Hell, anyone could. She was the reason Abby spent all night working on those damn papers. They both nodded, curious as to where Pike was going with it.

“Well,” he shrugged, “Alie took a closer look at her player card and registration forms. She had told me she had remembered reffing the girl earlier in the season for a premiere team, but wasn’t sure. She got back to me this morning with the news.”

Abby’s heart was pounding. If what Alie had thought was true, and Echo was a premiere player, then that would make her ineligible to play in Arkadia’s rec league. Resulting from that, Ice Nation would’ve broken the rules by using an illegal player.

Pike confirmed her suspicions by adding on, “Echo is indeed a premiere player. I called up Nia for a meeting and she swears ignorance on knowing of Echo’s eligibility. Her sincere surprise after I told her made me believe her.”

Marcus and Abby knew Nia was competitive and would do anything to win, but she would never cheat. She believed in training hard for what you wanted and you would win what you earned.

“She then proceeded to tell me that Cage had recommended Echo to join her roster as a guest player,” Pike continued on, “since she would be light on the bench that weekend.”

Marcus’ memory immediately went back to the game against the Reapers. His mind settled on him bumping into Cage in the parking lot after they had won. He had been on the phone with Nia. Just like everything else, it was getting hard to believe all his involvements were just coincidences.

“She told me that Cage said Echo would be able to play, that she passed the qualifications,” Pike shook his head. “She did, except the fact that she was a premiere player.”

They understood why Nia was so upset now. She had trusted Cage to bring her a good, eligible player. Instead, he tried to twisting his way around the rules (again) for his own gain.

Both Abby and Marcus knew why he did it. He was afraid of versing them in the finals and actually losing. He saw them as a threat, one he needed to eliminate.

Just like Indra, just like new teams that would’ve entered the league.

“So,” Abby commented, “does that mean…”

Pike smiled to her. “It means that Ice Nation, whether it be Nia’s fault or not, broke the rules. They used an ineligible player and that player was the make or break for your game.”

Abby felt her heart pounding faster in anticipation after every word he spoke. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair, scooting to the edge of her seat. Was it truly happening? Was that lucky break Abby had been waiting for, for five years, finally here?

Marcus watched him with wary eyes. He knew what was coming next, but he wasn’t sure if he could believe it. Hell, he had hoped after that loss that something like this would come up. He never knew the lucky break Abby mentioned would actually be a real thing.

Pike offered them a giant grin as he announced, “Ice Nation has been disqualified. The Delinquents are in the finals against Mount Weather.”

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 18

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 18/22 Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: Time for the test,,,,can Marcus truly win without Abby??? I hope you brought a #2 pencil! The test begins NOW!

Chapter 18: Walls aren’t put in our lives to stop us, they are there to test how much we really want something

“A great day for soccer, isn’t it?”

Abby would have agreed if literally anyone else but Cage had asked her the question. And that was including Marcus.

Instead, she decided to be civil and answer as expected, “Every day is a great day for soccer, Cage.”

Ya know, it interested Abby why Cage always waited for her in the parking lot. He never waited for her by the field or anywhere but where her car was parked. Was it because he knew if her car was parked, she couldn’t hit him with it?

Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as she thought.

He was wearing plaid suit today, a navy blue background color with white lines. It wasn’t a bad looking suit, the only problem was that he was the one wearing it. Now if Marcus had been wearing it…

“But I feel today is going to extraordinary,” he replied.

Her eyes lifted to meet his as she shut her trunk. Today, unlike usual, she had grabbed a lawn chair to sit on the sidelines. She felt lighter, no weight of her equipment bag on her shoulder.

“Because the delinquents are going to win?” She asked as she started to make her way to the sideline and not the bench. Even though she spent many times on the sideline next to Cece with the Lifesavers after her red cards, it felt odd. This time, it just didn’t feel right to not be standing beside Marcus on the bench. It was where she belonged.

Cage snorted in response to her question. He said, “More so that today will declare it official that you’ll be resigning your position as a coach in this league.”

Before she could stop herself, she retorted, “Because you’ve somehow managed to fuck with the league for your own personal gain again?”

“Again?” He sounded offended. Abby took note that he didn’t reject the accusation either.

It wasn’t like Abby didn’t mean it either. The conversation with Indra about her team folding popped into her mind, how he somehow needed to switch his practices and only left her available times she couldn’t do. The moment Indra told her that Cage probably had a say in merging her and Marcus’ team rang in her memory.

And the newest revelation rang the loudest- talking with Clarke at dinner about Marcus’ decision regarding last week’s game against the Reapers.

Both agreed the Marcus they knew would never go as far as he did unless he was pushed into making such a decision. Abby knew she could push Marcus’ buttons and she was certain a few were jammed, but she also knew she could never annoy him to the point where he would pull a stunt like he did.

It would make sense if Cage interfered at a moment of vulnerability for them both, which he indeed did do. He attacked Abby’s insecurities during a time where she felt his words were true. Somehow, behind her back, he must’ve gotten to Marcus too.

What Abby had meant with the statement was that it wouldn’t have been the first time she had speculation he was playing foul game. They had no concrete evidence to place a rightful conviction against him but there were only so many coincidences one could keep getting. Cage not denying the accusation either sent up a red flag.

Did he do something to mess up the Delinquents’ chances of winning today? Would he sink to the low of cheating just to secure his position in the league? As the “coincidences” flashed in her memory again, Abby decided that he could.

“Don’t get your boxers in a twist, Cage,” she replied, “I was kidding.”

He seemed a bit uncomfortable and fixed his suit jacket. “Well, I’m not,” he said.

She raised an eyebrow at him, asking, “About today being extraordinary or that your boxers are in a twist?”

His face flushed as if he got a sunburn. He pushed past her, done with her tactics and spat to her over his shoulder, “You’ll see.”

Abby’s face contoured into disgust. She yelled out after him, “Not sure I wanna see what’s in your trousers. Nothing but disappointment, I’m sure.”

Forget resembling a sunburn, Cage’s face now flushed to the point that he resembled the tomatoes in Abby’s spaghetti the other night. He said nothing as he stormed over to his own field. For once, he wouldn’t be able to sit and observe her game. Both semifinals would be played at the same time.

“Saved you a seat,” Abby heard Cece call out, waving her over from her own lawn chair.

Abby made her way to her as Indra was sitting down in her own lawn chair. Abby pulled hers out of its own bag and began opening it up. Once it was all set up, she plopped down into with a huge sigh.

Indra looked over to her, asking, “How ya feeling?”

Abby looked back to her, shrugging. She pulled a flask from her snack bag and held it up for Indra to see. “This,” she replied as she unscrewed the cap and took a long drink from it.

Cece laughed and clinked her own against Abby’s. She titled hers towards where Ice Nation was warming up, drawing their attention to it. “That girl over there? She makes me want to drain this thing empty already,” Cece commented.

Abby watched with curiosity. She had never seen the girl before, whether it be over the past years or during this season’s game. She basically towered over the players on Ice Nation and she had a killer shot. It was like she was a bow and the ball her arrow. It went where she wanted and how she wanted. She could bend it, put a spin on it, loft it, or drive it home into the back of the net.

Abby was sure even Lexa didn’t have that type of ball control while shooting.

It made her worried. Cage began to creep back into her mind but she shoved him aside. They could handle her, they had Lincoln on the backline and if Marcus had done practice right this week, they should be prepared.

She reached down into her snack bag and pulled out a pint of her favorite liquor. She said, “I’ve got refills.”

Cece laughed and clapped as she took a sip from her flask. As she put the pint away, Abby remembered how Clarke had mentioned Thursday’s practice was a complete 180 from what Tuesday had been. She had been told that they played sharks and minnows, did a fun shooting drill, and finished with knock out. Abby was even more shocked when she heard Clarke tell her that there was no running that practice.

Thinking of that, she looked over to the bench where Marcus was kneeling in front of the kids as they swarmed the bench around him. He was using his fancy new marker board and instructing them. He ended the conversation with a clap and placed his hand in the center, the kids following suit.

He counted down from three and they all threw their hands in the air while cheering, “DELINQUENTS!”

As the starting lineup ran on the field, Abby noticed right away that Clarke was going towards Wells and not towards the half line like usual. She could start to feel the pit in her stomach form but she did her best to ignore it. She talked to Clarke about this and needed to accept it.

It just wasn’t easy to do.

As if he knew, Marcus looked back over his shoulder to where Abby sat. They made eye contact and the game was soon forgotten. They only saw each other.

It was the first time they had really acknowledged the other after the fallout from last Saturday. There wasn’t tension in the sense where Abby wanted to run Marcus over, which is what Abby had expected to feel when she would see him again. Of course she was still upset, but again, the talk with Clarke on Tuesday opened her mind about the subject.

Marcus was mildly surprised that Abby hadn’t stormed over and tackled him the ground. Not that he would object, but he was surprised to not feel the ominosity he expected from her. Instead, the tension felt normal between them. It held their annoyance with each other but he thought there might be some compromise drifting through it.

Not willingly to risk the peace as of right now, he just offered her a small smile. And when she flipped him off in response, he confirmed that compromise was in effect.

+

Was a fake mustache a good enough disguise for Alie to not recognize Abby on the bench? Maybe if Abby grabbed a hoodie and kept the hoodie on the whole game and suffered through the heat.

Anything, Abby needed anything or any reason to get on that bench.

It was the second half of the game and it was currently tied 2-2. There had to be less than ten minutes left.

Ice Nation was definitely dominating the second half, applying pressure nonstop.

They had their top three kids up top, including that new girl (whose name was Echo Abby learned), and they kept shoving the ball down the Delinquent’s throat. There wasn’t much of a chance for them to attack as Marcus had pulled all the best players back to support the defense.

Lincoln was playing right back, Clarke was center back, and Murphy was left back. Gaia was in her center midfield position but Marcus had instructed her to play more of a defending role in the second half. The wingers consisted of Lexa and Raven. Raven wasn’t normally a midfielder but Marcus explained to her to just drop back as a fourth defender. Bellamy stood up alone at forward, trying his best to create something out of anything his teammates cleared up to him.

None of that mattered as Ice Nation kept the ball in the Delinquent’s half. That Echo girl was really causing trouble for the kids. Even though Lincoln had handled her well in the first half, when Clarke was subbed out for a break, he didn’t have his usual support and Echo would break free and that’s how they scored their two goals.

Right now, the Delinquents were struggling to keep the ball from crossing the goal line. The kids were a nervous wreck on the field, the emotions clear as day on their face. Marcus had run his hand through his hair so many times that if he had put hair gel in it, he would’ve quiffed his hair up.

Abby wanted to go up to the bench and offer help. She could tell Marcus needed it. He would flicker his eyes back towards the parents every so often, his eyes landing specifically on her. He needed her opinion on positions for players he didn’t know completely yet. He was still second guessing having Murphy on the backline when he could be careless.

But he knew he had made the right choice when pairing Lincoln and Clarke up together on defense. They were a duo that was a solid brick wall of defense that was barely ever broken. If one got beat, the other was there to support the other. They kept the communication up between the backline and the midfield. They were true leaders.

And it made Abby happy; it made her realize Clarke was right.

The Delinquents needed Clarke on defense. If she were to be where Bellamy was, Clarke would be useless. With no support in the formation they were currently playing, the only chance for a goal would be through a quick counter attack. And with how the possession of the game was looking, that was highly unlikely.

It had already been proven deadly if Marcus separated Clarke and Lincoln. Echo had scored her two goals when Clarke wasn’t on defense. When Clarke was on the field at defense, she had shut Echo down every time with Lincoln’s help. If Clarke wasn’t playing defense right now, it wouldn’t be the best decision for the team.

And Abby finally saw it.

And that was another reason she wanted to be on the bench. Even though Marcus didn’t deserve her time of day right now, she wanted to tell him she finally saw what he was talking about. Maybe he did know a thing or two about winning a game.

But she could see he was struggling alone. He had never coached a game like this. He had always been on the losing end, it was never a 50/50 chance. This game was a 50/50 chance; he could win it if he played his cards right.

He knew he could win it but there was one fact that was shaking his confidence: the fact that he knew the Delinquents needed both him and Abby to be successful. And right now, they only had him.

Sure, Abby may be present, but she wasn’t present at the same time. She couldn’t come over and add her two cents. She had to be stuck on the sideline and watch.

And that was all his fault.

If they lost the game because of the fact that the Delinquents needed both of them, he could only blame himself.

And that became glaring as Marcus saw a nightmare flash before his eyes.

There was a 50/50 ball played in space that Echo was running into. Lincoln was again marking her and ran to the ball, hoping to beat her to it.

Throughout the game, both had been playing rough with each other. They shared two fouls each that they committed against the other. None of it was nasty, but you could see the tension building up between the two.

For this tackle, it finally collided and exploded.

Lincoln had caught Echo off guard as he raced towards the ball. There was no question that he was going to get there first and vanquish any threat the ball could have. To Echo, that was unacceptable.

She charged forward, but not with the intention of winning the ball. She threw her body forward as Lincoln got to the ball and stuck her leg out.

She completely missed the ball and her cleats came down hard on Lincoln’s ankle. Immediately, Lincoln collapsed to the ground in pain. No scream escaped his lips though as he hit the floor. The only noise was the shrill of Alie’s whistle and the sound of Indra’s lawn chair flying backwards as she sprung up from it.

“That was brutal,” Roan said from the sideline as everyone watched in shock.

“It’s bullshit, that’s what it is!” Cece added in as she looked over to Indra.

Abby did as well. Indra’s face was unreadable as she watched Marcus rush over to where Lincoln cradled his ankle. Alie was busy presenting Echo with a yellow card. Echo didn’t seem to care as she walked away and back to her bench.

The sideline was quiet as Alie made her way over to the two. Marcus was talking with Alie and he seemed to be heated. He threw his hands up in the air and pointed towards where Echo was getting water on the bench.

Abby recognized the scene. It was exactly what she did before she would throw explicits at Alie and earn a red card. If Marcus got a red card, the kids would have no coach, and then they would have to forfeit the match.

Abby might not be able to help the kids on the bench, but she’d be damned if they had to lose their jobs because of a forfeit she could prevent.

She got out of her chair and ran on the field to the three. Immediately, Alie saw her and began to protest her coming on but Abby told her, “I’m not here to bitch you out, Alie. He needs medical attention. That’s my only reason being here.”

Alie fell silent as did Marcus. They both watched her for a moment before Alie stepped aside, letting her through to Lincoln.

She crouched down to Lincoln and he looked over to her. She could see the tears in his eyes and the pain on his face. Abby had to give him credit for not screaming out in pain. Abby swore like a sailor (more than normal) when she stubbed her toe on a chair.

“Let’s check out that ankle, okay?” Abby spoke as she slowly moved to remove his hands from it. Abby could already see the swelling, her heart dropping the slightest. “We’re going to test a few spots to the touch and some movement. Let me know where you feel pain, okay?”

Lincoln just nodded as he braced himself. Abby could feel the eyes of Marcus and Alie on her. She focused on Lincoln and softly pressed the inside of his ankle. She looked up to him and he shook his head.

She slowly made her way to the top of his ankle. As she made her way outside, towards where the majority of the swelling was, she could feel himself tensing beneath her hands. She made her touch lighter as she pressed over the outside. He jerked under her hand and he said, “There.”

“Okay, so we know it’s on the outside,” she told him. “Can you move your ankle on your own?”

He bit his lip and he tried his best. Abby felt the slightest movement of his foot going in a slow circle. He nodded in confirmation. She gave him a small smile and told him, “That’s a good thing. We know as of right now, nothing is probably broken.”

He nodded, Abby sensing the relief in his body as he let some of the tension release from his ankle. She began maneuvering his ankle slowly, feeling for jerks of pain, his confirmation of it, and resistance. After a few minutes, she set his foot down. She told him, “Definitely a sprain, but not as bad as it looks.”

Lincoln nodded as Abby stepped back. She turned to face the two, seeing Marcus arguing with Alie again. He said, his voice carrying his anger in his words, “That’s bullshit Alie and you know it. You know she wasn’t going for the ball. It was reckless, endangered our player’s safety, and it was cleats up. That’s the textbook definition of a red card.”

Alie shook her head and told him, “You’re lucky I haven’t given him a yellow card for some of his tackles today.”

“And what about hers as well?!” His voice was rising and he had a fire in his eyes Abby all too well recognized. “Shouldn’t she already have a yellow card too? That adds up to another red if you had done your job right.”

Alie didn’t back down and told him calmly, “The decision has been made. Next time she tackles someone hard, she’ll be gone.”

“You mean the next time she breaks another one of my player’s ankles?” Venom and accusation dripped in the words. He spat at her, “You’re going to be the reason these kids are hurt.”

Before Alie could reply, Abby stepped in between them. She looked back to Alie, whispering, “I know this is against the rules but let me talk to him. Let me do it for the kids before you have to throw him out because he can’t control his mouth.”

Alie’s face read how hypocritical it was for Abby to say such a thing but she just nodded and turned to write in her notepad as Sinclair and Jackson came over to help Lincoln off the field. Abby grabbed Marcus by his leather jacket’s collar and dragged him off the field.

He was still focused on Alie still as he seethed, “Can you believe that shit? She’ll give you a red card for punching a parent on your own sideline but not when an opposing player nearly shatters someone’s ankle.”

“Marcus,” Abby didn’t bother with trying to be civil right off the bat. He was at point where he needed to be slapped back into reality. “Stop it.”

His eyes shot to her, confusion spreading across his features. “Stop?” His voice was genuinely confused. “Aren’t you upset with that call? That’s unacceptable!”

“Of course I am,” she whisper-shouted, “but that doesn’t mean you have act like this in reaction to it!”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “That’s quite the hypocritical thing to say, isn’t it?”

Her eyes narrowed back at him. “It is, and I’ll gladly own up to every well-earned red card I’ve gotten for bitching her out. Hell, I would do the same exact thing you’re doing right now because it’s who I am.”

She pointed at him, finger jabbing him in the chest for emphasis. “But that’s not who you are. You’re the coach that stays calm and moves past those shit calls. You try to take the civil road.”

Her finger came to point back at her as she continued, “I’m the coach who lashes out and can take a red card for the team. I’ll point out the bullshit and take the consequences. You can’t do that, Marcus.”

“Are you saying I can’t because you don’t think I’m capable of standing up to a referee?” He asked.

“Absolutely not,” Abby shot back, fixing eye contact with him, “I think you just proved you can, but I’m serious when I say you can’t be that coach, Marcus. The kids can’t lose you, not over an outburst at a referee.”

He fell silent at her words. They hit home. The kids had already lost Abby due to an outburst on her part. He saw the pain in her eyes and he could see the fear in them, fear that he would let the kids down when he was all they had right now.

His anger immediately sizzled out, guilt slowly making its way to him. He was, after all, the reason the kids had lost Abby for this game in the first place. If Abby hadn’t interfered when she had, he might have caused them to lose him and in end, ultimately the game.

It also sent shock through him. It was the perfect moment for Marcus to prove in fact that couldn’t win without her, because if he was carded and kicked out, the kids would have to forfeit. She could’ve used that opportunity to prove him wrong and get back at him.

But she didn’t. She had put the kids first.

Her own anger had calmed down as she regarded him with a sad smile. She told him, “You can’t go getting yourself kicked out because you’re used to me doing to the yelling and feel the need to compensate. I know you miss me on the bench and need me to do the crazy part of coaching, but those kids need you.”

Marcus heard himself say in his mind that Abby wasn’t wrong. But there was an important factor she was leaving out. He cracked a small smile back, saying, “Those kids need you too.”

She snorted as she looked to bench, her eyes landing her daughter. “Doubt it,” she replied.

Thursday’s practice flashed in his mind, the realization that the kids needed both her and him to succeed. When only one of their tactics was present, the kids didn’t succeed. When both did, they prospered.

“They do,” he told her, drawing her attention back to him. Before he could stop himself, he admitted, “I need you.”

Silence hung between them as the words registered in both of their minds. Abby looked up to meet his eyes, sincerity shining in them. The words were honest, Marcus knew that and Abby could feel it.

“Well,” Abby broke the silence, “then that’s more of a reason to not act like a dick and get kicked out. Because when you win this game, I can’t be coaching the finals alone.”

He smiled and ruffled his hair with his hand. He told her, “The kids need both of us.”

She smiled back, agreeing in her mind. She looked to the bench and then to Alie. She was making her way over to them, indicating that the game would resume soon.

Turning her attention back to Marcus, he looked conflicted. He began to say, “Listen, Abby, about Saturday…”

“Don’t,” Abby held up a hand to silence him. This wasn’t the time or place. They had to focus on the game first. They could deal with that after they won the game. She told him exactly that, “We can deal with that after you win this game.”

He frowned a bit and told her, “That’s it though. I-We need you to win.”

He was pleading a bit and it broke her heart. She heard the guilt in his voice. He know he caused it and she could tell it bothered him. Well, good, she thought. He should feel guilty.

She looked away from him, unable to meet his gaze. She told him, “You should’ve thought about that before you decided to do what you did on Saturday.”

“Abby, I-”

She shook her head, not listening to what he was saying. She made herself look up and make eye contact with him. The pain in her eyes was another sword into his already jagged heart. “You said you could win alone,” she said. “You did what you did so you could prove it. This is your chance, Marcus. Don’t fuck it up.”

He opened his mouth but no words came out. He knew she was right. He had done every word she told him and he did so for that exact reason. He had to own up to it.

He just nodded and both walked their separate ways. Marcus went to the bench, subbing Miller in for where Lincoln was. Abby returned to her lawn chair as Indra was with Lincoln on the bench.

Alie blew the whistle, signaling the game to resume. There wasn’t much time left now.

Clarke had taken the kick, sending the ball up the line to Lexa. She easily trapped the ball and penetrated forward. She made clean pass to Gaia in the middle who quickly passed it to Bellamy.

Lexa made her usual run up the line but Ice Nation had learned it by then. She was marked as Bellamy tried to get the ball to her. He beat one player to open more space for him, but he didn’t have another outlet on the outside like he was used to since Raven was told to stay back.

Soon, he was swarmed by two Ice Nation defenders and they eventually stole the ball from him. They immediately pushed the ball up the line. Marcus was yelling at the team to drop, but they couldn’t recover quickly enough.

Miller had no other choice than to step up and apply pressure, leaving Clarke vulnerable in a 2v1 that included Echo.

Miller didn’t stand a chance as the Ice Nation player easily made his way past him. Miller turned to watch as the kid powered up the field, launching the ball to one of the two players with Clarke.

The forward easily trapped the ball and turned up to face Clarke. Clarke did as best as she could to split the difference between the two players. They rested right atop the goalie box, not giving much room for Clarke to give them space. They were in the danger zone.

The kid charged forward towards Clarke, making her make a decision: either to step up and take the kid on 1v1 or drop off so they couldn’t play Echo. With their positioning on the field, she would rather force a pass then give away a free shot.

She ran forward, cutting off the passing line to Echo. Clarke tackled the player instantly, the ball getting jumbled up between them.

Everyone was frozen in their place as they watched the struggle between the two players. The other semifinals had ended by now given with the time delay they had with the injury, meaning Cage was watching from under his tree.

This would be the time that Lincoln would have dropped in to support Clarke in case the ball slipped by her. However, Miller stood in the same spot he had been beaten in, forgetting to recover.

Finally, after a long few seconds, the ball came loose and sped towards empty space behind Clarke, where Miller should have been for support.

It was slow motion as Clarke turned to try and recover as Echo burst forward to retrieve the ball. Wells stayed in his goal rather than stepping out, thinking Clarke may get there first.

But it became clear that Clarke wasn’t going to recover in time.

Wells started to second guess himself and started to run out towards the ball, hoping he may be able to scoop it up before Echo reached it.

Abby watched on the edge of her seat, heart beating and silently praying for a Delinquent to reach it first. Marcus was holding the marker board in his hands as he held his head between his hands.

Clarke left her feet, reaching her foot out in a desperate last attempt to flick the ball away from Echo’s reach.

It failed.

Echo reached the ball first and looked up to see Wells coming out of goal. Like there was no pressure at all, she easily bent the ball around him, the ball sailing into the back of the Delinquents’ goal. As soon as the ball hit the floor, Alie blew her whistle to signal a goal.

And right after that, she blew the whistle to signal the end of the game.

For once, Abby was left wordless after a game. The only noise that could be heard were the screams of celebrating from the Ice Nation parents and kids. Everyone that was associated with the Delinquents was silent.

Disappointment was loud in the silence.

Abby slid back in her chair, reality seeping in as she looked around the field. Clarke slowly got up from her slide tackle position as Wells got up from his attempt of a diving save. Roan and Cece said nothing for once as they looked at other in defeat. Marcus had dropped his marker board and flopped down onto the bench, staring at his hands.

Abby’s eyes found the man who she had made a bet with across the field. He was wearing his signature smile as he found her gaze. He pushed off his tree, fixed his jacket, and walked off, disappearing into the crowd.

Her mind was screaming, her heart was screaming, but for once, she stayed silent.

It was a tough situation to process.

Her eyes wandered back to Marcus who turned to look at her. Their expressions mirrored each other’s: disappointment mixed with realization of the situation. It was a reality neither wanted to live through and its consequences.

The reality was that Delinquents had lost and the consequences were that Abby and Marcus were no longer coaches.

That realization haunted Abby. She knew it was more likely outcome with their situation but she had hoped they would pull off an upset. She had hoped they could pull it off together. And maybe they could have done it had they actually done it together.

Abby was in a blank state as she packed up her gear from the sideline. Slowly but surely, parents left the field with their kids, leaving Abby and Marcus sitting on the bench as their kids finished getting their gear off.

Neither said a word to the other. There was nothing to say; nothing they would say could change the outcome. So, they just stared out at the field for one last time.

Clarke finished before Bellamy and Octavia, walking up to her mom. Abby reluctantly stood from the bench and patted Clarke’s head, ruffling her hair with a sad smile.

As they began their way back to the car, Abby thought she caught wind of Marcus whispering to her, “Forgive me.”

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 17

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 17/22 Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: Maybe Marcus does know the definition of fun!!

Chapter 17: Don’t be afraid of change; sometimes change is good

Marcus wasn’t sure why he was so scared.

He didn’t have to look both ways in the parking lot five times before crossing to make sure Abby wasn’t waiting to run him over as she wasn’t allowed at practice due to league rules.

So, why the fuck did it feel like he was back in law school, participating in his first mock trial? Unlike then, he could sneak in shots of whiskey when they weren’t looking.

Hey, everyone’s not perfect and whiskey did help soothe his nerves. Not to mention he did win the case.

There were too many eyes on him for him to try and sneak any. Especially, when one set of eyes were always on the lookout for you fucking up. If you guessed Jaha, then you guessed right.

Marcus wasn’t sure how Abby did it, between the sneaking in shots and dealing with Jaha. The former probably helped with the latter.

And if Marcus was honest, Abby didn’t hide her shots. She took them in plain sight.

She never got drunk or tipsy at practice, she just needed the buzz of the single shot to shake of the annoyance she probably felt 24/7. With how Marcus could see Raven waiting “patiently” for practice to start as she “innocently” held her hands behind her back, he understood why Abby needed those shots.

He regarded Raven with a curious gaze and asked her, “What are you doing, Raven?”

She offered him a too innocent smile and told him, “Waiting for practice to start at the right time.”

How perfect. She could wait for the perfect moment to pull a prank but not for when to go into a tackle. This practice looked promising already.

“Well,” he replied, “we’re about to start.”

“Perfect!”

That didn’t ease his nerves. Now, adding onto his nerves for practice already, he was nervous about the inevitable prank that was coming.

He didn’t reply to Raven as he began to turn towards his equipment bag, where Octavia was lacing her cleats up.

She hadn’t talked to Marcus following practice on Tuesday. Today was Thursday, their last practice before they versed Ice Nation on Saturday. He had spent the past few nights going over his plans for practice, throwing out many drills and staying up late to recreate new ones.

Who knew how hard it was to build fun into practice?

As if that was her cue, he caught the familiar squeal of tires from the parking lot. He and the parents all looked over to see Abby’s car, a red SUV, halting to a stop by the sidewalk. Seconds later, Clarke hopped out of the car and began walking to the field.

As if sensing him, Abby’s eyes shifted from her daughter to him. Neither reacted right away. Then after a moment, she flipped him off and her tires squealed once again as her car took off from the parking lot.

It reminded him a lot of their first meeting, the beginning of their relationship.

The sun was out, no clouds, and the temperature was only rising as the day went on. What a great day for soccer, especially for the Assassin’s first game of the season.

The only thing ruining the perfect day was the packed parking lot.

The first weekend of season was always crowded. When the season dragged on, games were spread out a bit more. For the first set though, Pike liked to line them up together for a big opening weekend.

It worked in a sense if they had a big enough parking lot.

Marcus had been searching for a parking spot for the last ten minutes. Every time he thought he found one, someone else found it first. Octavia was getting restless in the back and Marcus had to remind her many times to keep her seatbelt on.

And when a red SUV sped by, definitely going way over the speed limit for a parking lot, Marcus told her that’s why.

As they continued their journey in the parking lot, he found a free space in the row he was driving down. He also saw the same red SUV from before in the next row over. He heard its squealing tires, as if the driver saw the open spot too.

“I hope your seatbelt is still on,” Marcus told Octavia as he floored the gas pedal.

Their car launched forward as he raced to the open spot. He was a few spots away from it as he watched the red SUV swerve around the corner, aiming for it as well.

He swung his car out far enough and sharply yanked the wheel, cutting the red SUV off. He got a loud horn in result as he pulled into the parking spot.

Bellamy and Octavia were watching out the window as Marcus put the car in park. Octavia exclaimed, “Awesome!!!!”

Marcus shut the car off and exited the car, his car door closing behind him. He figured cutting the driver off would end their competition but he was wrong. The driver of the red SUV pulled up behind his car, their window rolling down.

He was surprised to find a woman behind the wheel, cursing him out in front of her daughter in the backseat. He couldn’t make out exactly why she was throwing at him, but he knew children shouldn’t hear it.

He got closer to her car as she finished yelling by saying, “You drive like an asshole!”

To say she was being a hypocrite was nothing far from the truth. He told her, “Says the one who sped by me first.”

It didn’t seem she was expecting a retort and it caught her off guard for a second. She quickly regained her composure, glaring at him. She changed topics and pointed where his car was parked. “You stole my spot.”

“Really?” Marcus bent over and he examined the cement where his car was parked. He stood up and looked back to her, an eyebrow raised, and said, “I don’t see your name on it.”

Her hand that was resting on the steering wheel tightened as he saw fire erupt in her eyes. She didn’t have a response as she examined the man before her.

His two kids walked up to be beside him and Marcus nudged his head towards the other end of the parking lot. He told her, “I think another spot opened up down there. Don’t worry, I’m sure with the way you drive, you’ll get there in no time.”

The fire burned brighter as the woman put her car into drive. She spat back at him, “Don’t worry about my driving when you should be worrying about the unhealthy amount of hair gel you’re using.”

And with that, her tires squealed as her car peeled off towards an open space.

Marcus watched her car speed down the parking lot as he crossed over to the fields. First game of the season, first time coaching, and he’s already fighting parents in the parking lot. What more surprises could the day bring?

Much to Marcus’ liking and to the woman’s demise, their first game of the season was against each other.

Similarly, to Marcus’ liking and Abby’s (he later learned) demise, he had won that game.

The way she shook his hand a little too hard after the game, the too innocent smile, and the too kind congratulatory message all added up to what Marcus could believe would become a great rivalry.

Oh boy, was he right.

He watched the parking lot, and more specifically, the spot where his car was parked. It was in the same spot as that day. Ever since that day, they both fought over the spot, even if there were other spots available. They went the extra mile to piss the other off.

It was one of many things that they did to each to spite the other.

The feeling of guilt washed over him again as he thought of last Saturday. He definitely did it to spite her but it was different that time. It wasn’t teasing and it wasn’t meant as a joke. He had done it to hurt her.

Shaking it off, he would deal with that situation later, he opened his equipment bag. First, he had to tackle the situation of practice.

He was nervous on how the practice would turn out. Like before, he had spent the last three days trying to figure out new drills to incorporate fun. If you guessed the result, he failed.

Wasn’t fun supposed to come naturally? So why the hell couldn’t he make a simple drill fun?

He really sucked at having fun.

So, he just decided to stick to his old practice plan. Like every practice, they would start off with possession. They would then perfect their counter attack to one of Ice Nation’s strongest attacks. To end practice they would run through their game plans roughly.

“Wait a minute,” Marcus spoke aloud but mainly to himself. Octavia looked over to him as she finished double knotting her cleats. He kept pulling out pennies from his bag, searching it until it was empty. “These pennies aren’t mine.”

Raven waddled over and leaned to the side, coming into Marcus’ eyesight the slightest. Her tone was a bit too innocent when she asked, “What’s wrong, Coach?”

He turned to look at her, eyes narrowing a pinch. He tilted his head as he regarded her. “These pennies aren’t mine,” he told her.

Raven stepped closer and peered to the pennies laying around his feet. She looked up to meet his gaze and commented, “Nope, they’re actual pennies, so they’re not yours.”

Marcus ignored that. He asked her, “And would you have any idea whose these are?” More importantly, how they were here and why his weren’t.

Raven looked back to the pennies and examined them as she bent over for a closer look. Marcus took note of how she didn’t reach to pick one up, but kept her hands behind her back. Looking back to him, she told him, “Abby’s.”

“Abby’s?”

“Yup,” she popped the ending and smiled big. Her hands came from behind her back and she threw them at him. He braced for an impact of God knows what was in her hands. What hit him was confetti. He was absolutely confused as she shouted, “Congrats!”

“Congrats?” He was busy picking confetti out of his hair.

Raven kept picking the confetti off the ground and throwing it back on him. He soon gave up taking it off and let her have at it. She said, “Coach Abby brought them to my house to bring here. She said she may not be able to attend practice but, and I quote, ‘I’ll be damned if you kids have to wear those rags’.”

If there was a camera for Marcus to stare into in annoyance like on The Office, this would have been that moment. He wasn’t surprised; it was such an Abby thing to do, finding her way around the rules.

He shook his head one last time to get rid of as much of confetti as he can. “How nice of her,” he commented as he picked up several pennies.

He gathered the team together as he began to hand out pennies. They all knew the drill. Possession for warm up.

He offered a penny to Octavia and she stared at it for a good moment, eyes then flickering up to her dad. Marcus watched her as well, raising an eyebrow. She sighed and took it, walking away without a word.

He frowned, feeling his heart break the slightest. He didn’t have to say anything for the drill to start, Bellamy had grabbed a ball and began the drill.

Marcus exited the grid as he made his way back to bench. He put away the extra pennies as the woman who they belonged to flashed in his mind.

“This is a penny? Where did you get it? The dollar store?” That was what she had said about his pennies. She then proceeded to mock his use of hair gel, saying if he spent less on that, then he could afford real pennies.

Unconsciously, he ran a hand through his hair. Confetti fell from the strands and slowly made their way to the ground. He hadn’t touched his hair gel since the practice she had run her hand through it. As if the memory was a lighter, it sparked a tiny flame in him.

He shook it from his mind, looking back to the grid. Bellamy’s team was watching as Clarke’s did pushups. The first team who completed ten passes in a row won that round. The losers had five pushups as punishment.

“So, what will the punishment be if they lose? Five ‘I’m a star!’ jumps?” Marcus thought it was a ridiculous punishment. As he watched Octavia struggle to do her pushups, he thought otherwise. None of the kids seemed to be able to do them correctly.

“What part of this is supposed to be fun?” As Marcus watched as a new round start, he couldn’t find the answer to her question. Last time he had answered the pennies sarcastically. He couldn’t use that as an excuse this time since they were using her pennies.

Almost immediately, his eyes fell on his daughter again. She wasn’t moving much around the grid, standing still in one corner. Usually, Marcus would’ve yelled at her to move or give her running as punishment. This time, however, he couldn’t find it in himself to bark such orders.

Just like the car ride home, he felt Bellamy’s burning gaze that shot guilt through him. He found Bellamy in the grid and Bellamy watched his father, shaking his head slightly.

That night returned to Marcus’ mind.

“You know what makes her happy, you’ve seen it. Again, you don’t want to admit it. Sound familiar?” That’s what Bellamy had told him and he wasn’t wrong. Marcus did know what made Octavia happy. He realized he had to change his coaching style.

He wanted to do better, tried to do better, but he failed.

But had he tried to the fullest extent? The way Bellamy shook his head at his father indicated that he hadn’t. And Marcus knew exactly what he didn’t try.

“Go get water,” Marcus suddenly announced in the middle of their second round. The kids froze and looked over to him, all surprised. He nodded towards the bench, adding on, “Take off your pennies as well.”

The kids looked at each other. None of them moved for a short moment before Murphy began walking to the bench, saying, “I’m not complaining.” The other kids soon followed after.

Marcus left the bench as he went over and picked up the cones from the possession grid. He began setting up another drill, talking with no one as he did.

Clarke was sitting beside Octavia on the bench as she took a sip from her water bottle. She looked down to Octavia to see the girl watching her feet swing back and forth. Clarke frowned as she looked back up to continue watching Marcus.

Soon enough, Clarke recognized the grid Marcus was setting up. She lit up and shook Octavia’s shoulder. The girl looked from her feet to Clarke and asked, “What?”

Clarke said nothing as she smiled and pointed to where the girl’s father was. Confused, Octavia followed the direction of Clarke’s hand and found her father setting up a new grid. She didn’t recognize it at first, saying, “Wha-” but froze when she finally did recognize it. “Is that…?”

“Yup!” Clarke grinned big as Marcus set the last cone down.

He made his way over to kids who were looking at the grid he set up. They all came together but Marcus kept his focus on his daughter. This time, she was actually looking at him. He asked her, “Octavia? What would you like to do?”

The question caught her off guard, including her old Assassin teammates. Marcus had never asked any of them what they wanted to do. He had always had a preplanned schedule for practice and never strayed from it.

She glanced around the circle and her eyes landed on her twin brother. Bellamy offered her a smile and nodded, eyes flickering back to their dad. Octavia looked back to her father and told him, “Sharks and minnows.”

He grinned and said, “It’s a good thing that’s set up then, isn’t it?”

He saw the twitch of a smile forming on her lips, but he also the saw defiant daughter he had. She tried to keep the smile off her face (failing completely) and told him, “I would’ve made you set it up anyways.”

The kids laughed and so did Marcus. He clapped, looking around the circle of kids around him. “You know the drill,” he said. They all got up and started gathering their ball and going to the grid.

Murphy reached for a penny but Marcus put his hand on his shoulder, holding the boy back. He said, “I’m switching it up a bit. Clarke,” the two looked to find the girl collecting her ball. She looked to them and Marcus told her, “You’re the shark to begin.”

Clarke came over and Murphy walked off, going for his own ball. Marcus handed her a penny and Clarke teased him, “Are you doing this because my mom can’t tell you no?”

Her words may have been playful but they struck a guilty nerve deep down. He played it off as best as he could by telling her, “I’d do it anyways if she was here.”

Clarke laughed and slid it on over her head. “I know,” she commented and ran off to the grid.

He smiled a bit as he watched the drill begin. Clarke immediately went after Raven and knocked her ball out. She also got to Harper, making her join the shark gang. Raven complained as she put the penny on, “Man, there’s a different shark than Murphy for once, and I still can’t get past the first round.”

“Might be a sign, sweetheart,” the gang heard Gaia yell out.

Raven glared at her and crossed her arms. “Oh, she is so mine,” she said as fixed her penny.

The two other girls giggled in response and got ready for the next round. When it started, the three went after their targets.

Raven immediately stepped in front of Gaia, smirking. She told her, “Try your hardest.”

Gaia tilted her head to the side and responded, “I don’t think I’ll have to try very hard if I’m honest.”

That set Raven off and she charged towards Gaia. Gaia didn’t falter under the pressure and charged forward as well. When they got close, Gaia put her left foot on the ball to stop it slightly and twisted her body.

As she twisted, Raven was lunging forward with her right leg for a tackle. Mid-twist, Gaia’s left foot came off the ball to be replaced by her right foot. It followed her body’s momentum and she pulled the ball with her, past Raven.

She landed perfectly and exploded into the empty space towards to the safe zone. Once she crossed over, she trapped the ball and looked back to Raven. They made eye contact and Gaia asked, “Too eager to lose, are we?”

Marcus knew she was referring to Raven’s tendency to dive in and Raven ignored her, stomping off towards Monty, hoping to help Harper get him out.

Octavia was dribbling when Clarke stopped in front of her. Immediately, Octavia stopped her advance. Her eyes wondered to find Lincoln in the safe zone already. He gave her smile and nodded as he kicked his ball forward a bit.

She looked back to Clarke who was smiling at her too. Octavia nodded and ran forward with her ball. Clarke got into her defensive position as she watched the ball at Octavia’s feet.

Octavia lunged one way, Clarke leaning towards the same direction. Octavia then kicked the ball forward, aiming for between her legs. Clarke reacted in time and slid her back foot to close the space between her legs.

The ball ricocheted off her foot and rolled out of bounds. Octavia watched it and she frowned. Clarke was smiling and told her, “You almost got me that time!”

Octavia looked back to Clarke and told her, “I’ve been practicing in my room.”

Clarke grabbed her a penny and handed her it. She told her as she put it on, “Well, it’s paying off. Soon enough, you’ll be able to nutmeg your brother.”

“He’d have to stand still long enough first,” Octavia replied and the two laughed. They went back to the middle of the grid, waiting for the next round to begin.

Marcus watched with a small smile. Octavia had went forward and tried an actual move. She had gained some confidence to try, and Marcus would be lying if he said he wasn’t proud. She might’ve not won the tackle but she was making progress.

And he couldn’t take credit either, he knew that. His drills and he himself hadn’t built that confidence up in Octavia. It had been Abby's drill and the support from Clarke and Lincoln. In building her confidence, they had made her happy.

The only thing he wished for had come true. He was grateful for that.

+

“Alright! Great practice today! Make sure to be ready a half hour before the game on Saturday!” Marcus called out to the rowdy kids.

They just finished a game of knock out. Everyone but one person had a ball and the mission was to be the last person with a ball. If your ball was knocked out of the grid, then you joined the group knocking out balls. The last one standing was the winner. Raven had suggested the game. It was her favorite game from the Lifesavers.

The last round had come down between Gaia and Clarke.

Octavia and Lincoln were trying to gang up on Clarke but she was doing a good job of fending them both off. She kept the ball close and tight to her body as she used it to shield them away for her ball.

Lexa and Murphy were trying to knock Gaia’s ball out but she was dribbling circles around them, not standing still for any moment. The rest of the team was sitting in the grid, waiting for the chance to tackle either if a ball got loose.

Raven was among those of the few who were waiting for the right moment. This had Marcus intrigued as he thought Raven would be one of the four tackling either of the two nonstop, hoping for a lucky lunge. Instead, she stood in a ready position to strike at the right moment.

Her eyes were following Gaia’s feet and memorizing moves. She moved her feet the slightest bit as if to test moving with her. Slowly but surely, she was inching her way closer to the three.

She got in tackle range and got into position. Again, she waited as she surveyed Gaia’s movements.

And when Gaia pushed the ball wide past Lexa, Raven went for it.

It caught Gaia off guard and she wasn’t able to recover and pull the ball back. Raven made contact with the ball and sent it flying from the grid.

Gaia was struck silent as the ball flew from the grid. Everyone watched in awe too as the other two let Clarke go. Raven broke the silence by throwing her arms in the air and yelling, “FINALLY!”

Gaia immediately rolled her eyes and told her, “Took you long enough.”

Raven grinned big and flicked Gaia on the nose. Gaia pushed her hand away as Raven taunted, “Better late than never.”

If Marcus had a say, he would say that practice had started fun and ended fun.

They didn’t practice the game plans they had covered Tuesday, but instead focused on a fun shooting drill. It gave the forwards and midfielders time to practice offense, it gave the defenders time to defend, and it gave Wells practice in goal.

Much to Bellamy’s demise, the losers of the drill had donkey kicks.

As Marcus cleaned up the pennies and cones from the kids, he relished in the laughter he heard from his daughter as she talked to Lincoln. He relished in the suffering of Miller who was getting grass shoved down his shirt by Raven. He relished in the laughter Murphy gave off as he gave Wells a noogie.

It was a lot different than what he left Tuesday’s practice with. Sure, he left Tuesday’s practice more confident for Saturday’s game, but he didn’t leave with a good feeling in his gut. It didn’t matter if he made them more successful because if they weren’t having fun, why would they bother putting effort into anything?

Now, he felt good and he felt happy. Hell, he even still felt confident about Saturday. He saw little improvements throughout the practice.

He saw Octavia getting confident and trying a 1v1 move. He saw Clarke excel on defense and help communicate with the backline. He saw Bellamy take shots that made sense and not just for the hell of it. He saw Miller actually help out even if he didn’t agree with Clarke sometimes. He saw Raven wait for the right time to tackle instead of diving in.

Is this how Abby felt after her practices?

He wasn’t sure if the progress was the same, as he mixed his coaching in with hers today. When she coached the Lifesavers alone, she only had her tactics. On Tuesday, he only had his tactics. Their practices together before hadn’t truly mixed their coaching together as they tried to out-compete the other with their tactics.

Comparing tonight’s practice showcased glaring results that they needed each other if they wanted to be successful and left no room for argument.

Only if Abby were here to see it.

As if on cue, his eyes drifted to see a red SUV parked by his own car. Abby was waiting to pick up Clarke after practice.

His eyes found Clarke. She sat on the bench, taking her cleats off. She had been smiling and laughing all practice, but now for some reason, she seemed upset.

Confused, he walked over to her. He kneeled in front of her, catching her attention. Furrowing his eyebrows together, he asked, “You okay?”

She looked to him and she nodded as she continued to take off her cleat off. She put it in her bag and didn’t say a single word.

He tried to catch her attention again, asking, “Did you not have fun today?”

Clarke stopped her movements, letting her foot fall back down. She locked gazes with Marcus and told him honestly, “I had a lot of fun today.”

He knew that, he saw her laughing and smiling. He saw her excel in her position. That didn’t answer the question why she looked upset as she did now. He asked, “Then why the long face?”

She frowned a bit more as she looked back to where her mom’s car was parked. She sighed, the little sound of disappointment crushing his heart. She looked back to him and admitted, “I just wish my mom was here for it.”

Again, Marcus felt the guilt tear his heart apart. He wasn’t sure how many times he could sew it back together for it only to be ripped apart again. If it happened twenty more times, he would have only himself to blame.

He smiled sadly, patting Clarke on the knee. He told her truthfully, “So do I.”

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 16

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 16/22 Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: Hold on to your hats, we’re getting blasts from the past!! Also,,,, who knew that kids were smart????

Chapter 16: You can learn something new every day if you listen

Abby likes to believe she makes good spaghetti.

Clarke disagrees.

Abby knows that.

Abby chooses to ignore that.

Jake was more of the cook in the family. Abby helped out but the main course was always made by him. He knew how to cook her steak just the way she liked it, he knew how Clarke liked her corn shaved off the cob, and he made a bombass apple pie.

Abby’s tried to recreate it once before for Clarke’s birthday. Long story short, the fire department was laughing for a good five minutes because of the crowd from her party stranded on her lawn was all due to a smoky oven by a burnt apple pie.

Abby buys apple pie from Kroger now.

Why bring that up? Because Abby knows her spaghetti may not be the best, even if it’s all store bought at this point, but it’s not that bad to the point Clarke isn’t eating it at all.

“Everything okay, honey?” She finally asked her daughter, worry creeping through her.

Clarke looked up from pushing the noodles around with a fork to her mother. She nodded and said, “Yeah.”

Abby frowned as she watched her daughter go back to pushing the noodles. Obviously something wasn’t okay. Abby took a bite of her spaghetti and asked, “How was practice today?”

Abby wasn’t allowed to attend practice due to rules of the league stating she couldn’t be in attendance. She could guess it was a shit show though when she drove up to pick Clarke up. The girl looked upset, as did the rest of the team.

Clarke shrugged her shoulders and said, “Same old.”

That could very well mean two things: her practices or his practices. The two were very distinctly different. She asked her, “Not fun?”

Her daughter shook her head as she finally took a bite of her dinner. The scene broke Abby’s heart a bit. She had never seen Clarke so upset after a practice before. She had always left hers with a smile on her face.

Abby asked her, “Too serious again?”

Clarke nodded as she set her fork down. Abby examined her as Clarke whispered, voice cracking the slightest bit, “It’s not fun at all, Mom.”

Abby’s heart broke a little more. She reached across the table and grabbed her daughter’s hand, giving it the lightest squeeze of comfort. As Clarke looked up to make eye contact with her mom, Abby told her, “Marcus doesn’t know the definition of fun.”

Clarke laughed a little and squeezed her mom’s hand back. They let each other go and Clarke wiped at her eyes, not letting the tears fall. She admitted to her, “I miss you there. I miss sharks and minnows. I miss when soccer was fun.”

Abby frowned and looked down to her own spaghetti. She twirled it around her fork for a while before looking back to Clarke. She said more to herself than to her daughter, “But he knows what’s best doesn’t he?”

Clarke chuckled a bit and Abby smiled.

They both went back to eating when silence fell between them. Clarke was actually eating her spaghetti but still looked like something was on her mind. After a small mental battle, Clarke looked to her mom, asking, “You know what I’m thinking about?”

“That I should’ve stuck to using Prego sauce instead?”

Clarke laughed, a smiling gracing her face again. “Besides that,” Clarke said.

Abby shook her head, feeling the light mood turn the slightest bit serious. Clarke set her fork down as she looked up to their ceiling. A faint smile found its way to her lips as she told her mom, “I’m thinking of the time Dad convinced you take the surgeon job at Arkadia Hospital.”

Abby fell silent. It definitely wasn’t what Abby thought Clarke was thinking of. Suddenly very nervous, she asked her daughter, “Oh, you are? Why?”

Clarke looked from the ceiling to her mother, the smile adorning her lips now sad. She told her, “Just getting a sense of déjà vu, that’s all.”

That peaked Abby’s interest. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity and asked her, “Really? How so?”

Clarke shrugged as she picked up her fork once again, swirling the noodles. She explained, “This whole situation, really.”

“Situation?”

Abby was getting nervous, knowing where this conversation was headed. She felt like the kid and Clarke was going to lecture her for having her elbows on the dinner table.

“You know,” Clarke elaborated, “this whole thing with Kane. It’s different than it has been over the years.”

Abby couldn’t say Clarke was wrong because she was right. The two used to fight and tease each other but the hatred they shared between each other was never real hatred. It was a rivalry that didn’t cause the riff that existed between them now.

Abby asked, “How does that give you a sense of déjà vu for when I changed jobs?”

Clarke made eye contact with her mom again and asked, “You don’t see it?”

Abby felt a little attacked if she was being honest. What was the relevance between the two? Jake had pestered her nonstop for a week about the job interview and told her that the job would change her life. Abby didn’t want to transfer jobs to a superior position at a top rated hospital. She was afraid of failing their expectations.

It clicked. Clarke saw the lightbulb go off above her mother’s head and she smiled at her. “Got it?”

Abby nodded and shoved a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. She was preparing herself for the lecture Clarke was sure to give her.

Clarke leaned back in her chair again, head tilting towards the ceiling again. She spoke fondly of the memory, “Dad pestered you all week to go to the interview. He tried bribing you with chocolate. God knows how you didn’t fall for that.”

Abby couldn’t believe she didn’t either. He had bought her favorite brand and there was a lot of chocolate waiting for her at home after her regular shift at her old hospital. It did taste good though.

“I was six when this was happening. I vaguely remember it but at the same time I remember it so vividly. I was supposed to be in bed but I didn’t want to sleep because Dad had snuck ice cream to me behind your back-”

“He did what?”

Clarke burst into laughter, her eyes coming from the ceiling to meet her mom’s. Hers were sparkling with light humor, telling her, “Another story for another time.”

“Mhmm,” Abby narrowed her eyes at her, shoving more spaghetti into mouth. Jake was a lucky man Abby couldn’t reach him to shake sense into him. They had agreed no sugar for Clarke after eight since it wound her up. She wondered how many times he had snuck sugar to Clarke behind her back.

“But, anyways,” Clarke continued, “the point is I heard you two talking on the patio that night. He wasn’t trying to bribe you into it or joke about it. It was a serious conversation about your future.”

Abby remembered that night well. They sat on their wooden bench that sat on their patio. It had been a wedding gift from his parents, one him and his father built forever ago.

Clarke said, “I remember you telling Dad how scared you were of leaving Polis Hospital. You said you were comfortable there, you had a great reputation with everyone in the staff and patients. You told him that you didn’t want to leave it for something else, uncertain if it would hold the same environment.”

Abby had said all that. She was afraid her skills would be less of those with years of experience in that staff, resulting in her not having the good welcoming feeling she had at Polis Hospital.

“And you know what Dad told you?” Clarke asked her.

She did know what Jake told her. Abby decided to not answer though, watching her plate.

“He told you that someone like you brought that feeling wherever you went,” Clarke told her, a fond smiling gracing her lips. “He also told you that in life you’re going have to take risks that may seem scary since they may change everything.”

The relation between the situations was clear as day. “You were scared of the change taking the job would ensure. You’d be set on a higher standard, you’d be working in a different environment than the one you worked for ten years in, and you’d be working with brand new people. Sound familiar?”

A little too familiar for Abby’s liking. She set her fork down as Clarke watched her. She didn’t continue on until her mother made eye contact with her. “But you took that leap of faith, you had hope that things would work out. You trusted the support you had from Dad and trusted Arkadia Hospital to offer you great opportunities.”

Going to that interview had been nerve wrecking. Abby felt underdressed and overdressed at the same time. She felt like a low end surgeon compared to those who walked by her as she waited for the interview. But one look at the wedding ring on her finger gave her the confidence she needed to walk into that interview as if she was already the top surgeon there.

“It worked out,” Clarke summarized.

Abby nodded, thinking of how she got a call back that same night. Even when she broke the news to her boss at Polis Hospital, he had told her he knew she would go onto greater things. He told her he was happy he was able to get her on her feet. “It did,” Abby commented.

Clarke sighed as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. She set it down on the table and said, “I know how afraid you were to give up the Lifesavers and coach with Kane. Trust me, we were scared too. We didn’t hear good things from Jasper that his brother had+ told him.”

The two laughed at that. Abby had heard her gossip mainly from Cece and the other parents but she did hear a thing or two from Jasper here and there.

“You felt comfortable with our little team, even if were in last place,” Clarke told her. “We all enjoyed it and had fun, something you made sure was the number one reason we were there. You knew that wasn’t a priority on Kane’s list and it terrified you to think that would change. That’s how it’s similar to the job situation.”

Abby knew she was scared of that. What was worse that when her fears came true, she didn’t react in the right way. Last time, with the job, things had turned out right. This time, however, they didn’t. It resulted in arguments and lying; it resulted in this mess between them.

“I know you thought of it too, but we all had the small feeling of hope that maybe combining with Kane would give us a win,” Clarke confessed. “We were fine with last place but who doesn’t want a win? I know how much you wanted one for us and we wanted to give you one.”

Abby didn’t think her want for a win was that outwardly expressed but maybe the kids had read into one of her many outbursts that stated otherwise. Oh well, not everyone can be perfect in those regards, and Abby wasn’t known for it.

“Now,” Clarke added, “I don’t want you to think Kane is our savior and that he is the solution we’ve been waiting for. Obviously that’s crap. He only won game and that was against us.”

Abby wanted to record that and put it on loop through a stereo and stand outside Marcus’ house as she held it up for him to hear all night.

“He’s going through the same process, truly,” Clarke said. “He’s a part of the solution, like the surgeon job was. The job had the staff, the patients, and the environment involved. Now we have him, his kids, and new game plays. All of those were different from the old to the new image.”

Looking at it, Abby saw the differences Clarke stated. Polis Hospital wasn’t as big so the staff was close and personal. Arkadia Hospital was huge and the staff really only knew those in their department unless they branched out themselves. For their teams, Abby had kids who grew up thinking fun was the biggest priority. Marcus had trained his kids that hard work was the main priority.

“That’s where the change comes in,” Clarke told her. “Like with the surgeon job, you had to adjust to the new staff, patients, and environment. You made changes with how you handled patients and how you communicated with co-workers. I’m guessing some of those weren’t easy for you to make but you did it because in your job you needed to succeed, but mainly because you wanted to succeed.”

When Abby had first met Emori, the two did not click at all. Emori was younger than her but had scored an internship at Arkadia Hospital in the past years. Both tried to outcompete the other until an almost fatal mistake happened in surgery. Afterwards, they reached a compromising point on how to work with each other.

Ever since, the two have climbed to the top together as a few of Arkadia Hospital’s top surgeons.

“The same is going to have to happen with Kane. You’re going to have to learn new game plans, formations, certain techniques, and…new positions,” Clarke’s voice fall off towards the end of the sentence.

Abby’s eyes shot to hers, fear prickling her skin. She knew what topic the conversation was turning to, but it didn’t mean she was prepared for it. To be honest, she never thought she would be.

“I’ve heard you argue with Kane about me playing defense, Mom,” Clarke admitted. Abby flushed with embarrassment. “You’re not wrong, I love playing forward.”

Abby was a bit confused, thinking maybe she was going to win this argument once and for all. Then Clarke bit her lip and looked to her plate, saying, “But I really do enjoy playing defense. I can see the whole field and I feel like I can be the leader I want to be from there. I feel like I contribute more to the team there than I do at forward.”

Abby fell silent, not sure what to think. She did know her heart was breaking in her chest however. She felt certain that Clarke loved forward. When Abby was the coach of the Lifesavers, Clarke always jumped at the opportunity to play forward. Where did defense come from?

“Now, don’t think I’m defending Kane for what he did on Saturday, because I’m not,” Clarke explained. “However, he wasn’t wrong when he said me being at defense will help benefit us. And you know what? And you weren’t wrong either. I did love playing forward for the Lifesavers, but I don’t play for them anymore. I play for the Delinquents.”

It was like a bow and arrow match. It was one of many arrows that had already struck her in the heart. Abby and Marcus had fought a lot on the sideline of whose tactic would work better as if they still were on two different teams. They weren’t compromising to work together for what would work for the Delinquents.

“Things changed and I realized that I’m more useful on defense than up top. I’m willing to make that change for our team so we can succeed. I want you to know this because I’m going to be Dad for a moment,” Clarke said. “It’s okay to change for when the time calls for it.”

Abby felt the tears go down her cheeks before she noticed she was crying. She knew Clarke was right. Things needed to change, not only her side but Marcus’ too, and they needed to change fast. She had tackled change once and it succeed. This time could as well, even if it was a rough start.

It was like the surgeon job. It was rocky at first with Emori but they came together after a fallout. Abby could conclude, although not as serious, that she and Marcus had their fallout this past Saturday. He would have to recognize the wrong he did and apologize and Abby would apologize for her side as well.

A hand wrapped around Abby’s and she lifted her head to meet the comforting gaze of Clarke. She offered her mom a small smile, telling her, “It’s gonna be scary, but just like it was with Dad, you have a whole team to back you up. Yes, even Kane. I know deep down he doesn’t want you to fail.”

Abby doubted that at first but deep down, she believed it. All because deep down in her, she too supported Marcus. If he lost the game on the upcoming Saturday, then it was game over. Forever. She couldn’t give up on him, no matter how wrong he did her.

“I think he’s frustrated just like you are,” Clarke told her, “because you guys can’t see eye to eye. You both have great traits that contributed to your teams separately, but now as co-coaches or whatever you call yourselves, you need to combine those traits.”

Abby agreed and stayed silent, wiping her tears with her free hand. There was nothing she could do now unless Marcus won on Saturday against Ice Nation. It was all up to him this time, truly. If- When he won that game, Abby would ensure they would sit down and work this out.

There was only one problem with that. Abby stated it, “I want to do that. I want what’s best for the team and if it means changing, then I’ll have to trust what will happen is what is meant to happen. The only problem is…what Marcus did Saturday… Clarke, can you believe he did that?”

Clarke was silent for a while as she contemplated the thought. She finally said, “It wasn’t okay what he did. I can you tell you this though. Like you said on the bench that game, that wasn’t Kane. He can act all tough he wants but Octavia’s told me he’s a softie. There’s no way he made that decision without some sort of influence.”

“Influence?” Abby repeated her, mind reeling to find one. Almost immediately, her brain landed on a single man who had influenced her the past three weekends with his bullshit.

That man was using their bickering to his advantage. He was using their situation against them so they would be their own downfall. He was doing it because he felt threatened by them.

But it had worked. And if you didn’t think Abby was imagining her car running him over in the parking lot, you were wrong.

“Cage,” the two said simultaneously.

“God, he’s annoying,” Abby groaned, much worse adjectives bouncing around her mind. Hey, she did try to control her swearing in the household. The soccer field was free range.

Clarke nodded in agreement and let go of Abby’s hand. She said, “I saw him talking to Kane after I pulled you two apart after the game against Alpha Station. I figured he was being himself.”

You know how pathetic you had to be that a twelve year old is annoyed by you? Not even just one, but thirteen of them. Yeah, pretty pathetic.

Abby shrugged and said, “He caught us at a vulnerable time and used it against us. He won that battle, but the war isn’t over. We’ll get him back in that championship game.”

“And I can’t wait,” Clarke smiled as she picked her fork back up.

Abby did as well, swirling noodles on it. She took a bite of it and noticed they had went cold. Damn, they must’ve talked for a while.

She looked up to see the same reaction from Clarke. Clarke looked up to meet her mother’s gaze. Abby asked, “Pizza?”

+

“How about we get pizza tonight? We can get your favorite, Octavia! Bacon and pepperoni!” Marcus looked to his daughter in his rearview mirror.

She hadn’t talked the whole car ride home. All she did was watch out the window and ignore her father.

Marcus couldn’t figure out why she was so upset or any of the kids for that matter. Practice had went well he thought.

They worked hard and focused on their game plans that needed improvement from their last game. They also developed a strategy to shut down a common attack from Ice Nation. On Thursday, they would perfect it more.

That’s why he was so confused on why Octavia looked upset the whole practice and after. Even Bellamy looked upset.

He pulled into the driveway of their house and parked the car. He shut it off and looked back to the kids. He frowned, asking, “No?”

Octavia said nothing as she exited the car and ran into the house. Bellamy and Marcus watched her from the car. Marcus looked back to his son in confusion and Bellamy told him, “We need to talk.”

Marcus was a little taken back. Had his son, twelve years old, just told him that they needed to talk? Was Marcus about to be lectured by his son? Did he mention he was twelve?

Marcus didn’t respond as they both exited the car. He walked into the house, Bellamy following behind him. Octavia was nowhere in sight as she must have ran off to her room.

Marcus shut the front door and locked it behind him. Bellamy dropped his bag off by the door, next to Octavia’s. He looked to his dad and said, “I’m up for pizza.”

Marcus chuckled, rubbing a hand through the kid’s mess of hair and lead him to the kitchen. As Bellamy sat at the table, Marcus ordered the pizza on the phone. The whole time, he felt himself getting nervous for this talk with Bellamy. He felt like he was in trouble.

When Marcus finished the order, he set his cellphone on the counter. He looked up to make eye contact with his son. Bellamy pointed to his father’s usual seat at the dinner table and told him, “Have a seat.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow at that and asked, “Did you forget who is in charge here?”

Bellamy raised an eyebrow back and stated, “I’m not the one in trouble.”

So he was in trouble. That peaked Marcus’ interest as well as his nerves. What was he in trouble for? Practice? The game on Saturday? Did he not order the right pizza?

Marcus made his way over to his chair and slowly sank into it. He folded his hands on the table and asked Bellamy, “What am I in trouble for?”

“Too many things to count on my fingers,” Bellamy commented.

Dread found its way through Marcus’ system. Bellamy’s face and voice had shown he was being serious and it wasn’t about the pizza. How many things could have Marcus done to make him this upset?

“That might’ve been an exaggeration,” Bellamy admitted, Marcus mentally sighing, “but there are a few things.”

Marcus nodded as he settled back in his chair, asking, “And what are they?”

Bellamy didn’t answer right away. He was looking at the ceiling and tapping his fingers against the table. Finally, he looked away from the ceiling and to the pictures hanging on the wall. In every picture there were the same three people: Bellamy, Octavia, and Marcus.

Marcus followed his son’s eye movement, feeling his nerves kicking back in. Soon, they made eye contact again. Bellamy looked upset and he asked his father, “Do you remember that promise you made us six years ago?”

Marcus knew exactly what promise he was talking about. His eyes shot to the pictures on the wall, taking into account that a certain person was not present in any. She hadn’t been since six years ago.

His eyes made their way back to Bellamy but he didn’t say a word. He had a dreadful feeling of knowing where the conversation was going. He didn’t want that; he didn’t want to admit it.

Bellamy seemed to be lost in a memory, confliction resting on his facial expression. He focused on his father again, settling for saying, “I didn’t think I would ever have to admit this, but I feel with this situation, I need to.”

That made Marcus even more nervous. What did his promise from six years ago have to do with the present? What from that night six years ago would be relevant to their situation? What was the situation?

“I never told you it because I didn’t feel like I would ever have to,” Bellamy confessed. He looked a bit embarrassed. “Before…before I told you about Mom that night…” His world fell short, looking down to the table.

Slowly, Marcus reached across the table and took ahold of one of Bellamy’s hands. He could feel his son shaking under his touch and it broke his heart. That night wasn’t easy on any of them. Bellamy looked up to meet his father’s gaze and nodded to him.

He sighed, it coming out shaky. He continued, “I knew about the affair before that night.”

It was like a bomb went off. Marcus felt the dread he had seep into him and speed through his veins. He felt sick all the sudden. Surprise was the biggest emotion he felt as he asked him, “You did?”

Bellamy nodded and told his dad, “I had come home early from Miller’s because his dad had an emergency. Mom didn’t answer her phone so his dad dropped me off. I walked into the house and….and I found them.”

Marcus could only think how scarring it must have been to be a six year old to see their mother doing things with a random man when their father wasn’t home.

Marcus asked, “How long before you told me?”

Bellamy looked away from his father, afraid he’d be mad at him, saying, “Two weeks.”

Marcus didn’t respond right away. Two weeks Bellamy had known that his mother was sleeping with her co-worker behind his father’s back. When Marcus had found out, it was because Bellamy had called him one night when he was at a client’s house for a lawsuit and Bellamy said it was an emergency. Marcus didn’t expect to find his wife of ten years to be sleeping with her co-worker on the bed they shared when he came home.

Marcus wasn’t mad at Bellamy. He was mainly confused. He asked him, “Why didn’t you tell me then?”

Bellamy didn’t look back to his father as he complemented his answer. He finally told him, “Because when I found them, Mom rushed to assure me it was okay. She was telling me it made her happy.”

It was like the knife from six years ago that was still jabbing his heart got twisted. He felt pain from that statement. He knew the last year of their marriage was rocky but he had thought that they were making amends. Obviously, he wasn’t the one making them.

Bellamy shrugged and told his father, “I did ask about you. I asked if you made her happy and she said it was too complicated for me to understand.” He looked up to Marcus then and added, “I know that’s bullshit now.”

Marcus laughed a little, not scolding his son for his language. Marcus knew he learned the word from Abby. Just thinking of her made him feel guilty all the sudden. He remembered Bellamy had said it reminded him of a certain situation. Was he talking about Abby?

“She was right though,” he admitted, “I didn’t understand then. I was six years old and I wanted my mom and dad. She knew that too. So, she bribed me with buying me whatever I wanted from the comic store if I kept quiet about it.”

Marcus had wondered where Bellamy was getting all those comics from. Marcus knew he bought them for him for his birthday and Christmas. Once in a while he would buy Bellamy one just so he could have another, but the kid had accumulated ten in one week.

“I was six,” Bellamy shrugged. “I got to keep my parents and have comics whenever I wanted. It was a dream for a six year old.”

Marcus couldn’t blame Bellamy. He understood that. Maybe a little too much with his previous actions this past Saturday.

A question popped into Marcus’ mind. He asked, “What made you tell me?”

Bellamy finally looked to his father and frowned. He told him, “I noticed things after that. I saw the smiles she was giving you. I saw the goodbye kisses she gave you. I knew they were fake, she knew it too. The problem was you didn’t.”

Bellamy looked back to his hand that his father was still holding. He continued, “Octavia and I could feel the tension or whatever it was between you and Mom before then. We knew something was off.”

Marcus had tried so hard to keep their marriage problems away from the kids. He didn’t want them to see the affect it was having on them. More importantly, he didn’t want it to affect them.

“After finding out about her and that guy,” Bellamy said, “I saw how fake she was being with you. You thought it was improving but she was faking it. You didn’t deserve that.”

Marcus felt the knife twist again. He had thought their marriage was on the mend weeks before he found out about the affair. He thought he was doing something right. Like stated before, he obviously wasn’t the one making her happy.

“The more I thought of it, you didn’t deserved to be lied to,” Bellamy told him. “You thought everything was okay and she wanted you to think that. She wanted both us and that guy. She was being selfish.”

He looked up to his father, frowning. He added, “She was doing it behind your back.”

The familiarity of the situations Bellamy had brought up struck Marcus like a train. The severity of the situations didn’t line up but the tactics and the reasoning behind them sure did. His wife had cheated behind his back, lied to him, and did it because she was selfish.

Marcus had went behind Abby’s back and lied to her about the game time on Saturday. He had purposefully told her the game got moved because he wanted to prove he could win without her but mainly because he wanted to win. He didn’t want to lose his job. He did it out selfish reasons.

“That’s why I told you,” Bellamy concluded. He pulled his hand from his father’s and ran it through his messy hair. He shrugged, adding, “It wasn’t right for her to do that.”

Marcus agreed completely. But how hypocritical was he being? He had done the same thing to Abby not even a week ago.

He hadn’t felt guilty for doing it initially. He was too focused on that fact that he needed to win and prove he was the better coach. Was that how his ex-wife felt? Did she not feel guilty while committing the act? Did she at all after?

There were better ways to approach the solution to that, so why did he choose the path he did? Especially after what he promised.

Bellamy asked him, “You remember that promise you made us that night? After you kicked Mom and that guy out?”

He did. He didn’t want to say it though because he knew both him and Bellamy knew he had broken that promise on Saturday.

Bellamy stated it anyways when his father didn’t answer, “You promised us that you would never do what Mom did.”

Marcus hung his head in shame, waiting for Bellamy to state the obvious. He did without hesitation. “And you broke that promise. You did the exact same thing with Coach Griffin on Saturday.”

Deafening silence fell between the two as realization came crashing down. Marcus already knew it but Bellamy telling him made it worse. It made it real. It made him feel like shit.

Marcus had felt terrible after he found out about his wife. He swore to himself and the kids he would never be that person. Look at him now, being that person. He didn’t even realize it until his son pointed it out.

And, boy, did he feel guilty. He could only imagine what Abby felt like. She was probably feeling the same way he had been when he was in her place. How could he put her through that, knowing what it felt like?

He couldn’t answer himself. He couldn’t find a reason why he would put her through that or why he would ever think that was okay.

He shook his head. What was he thinking? Abby was right when she said the old Marcus would’ve never done what he did. It was a Cage thing to do.

He tried to come up with a reason, telling Bellamy, “I never meant for it to get to that point. I would never think of doing that.” He shook his head, disappointed in himself. “I was so worked up over the fact that we had to win the next game and Abby in general. Jaha had told her then to not let her ego get the best of her but I let mine get the best of me.”

He thought of when Octavia ran off the bench crying. He thought of the disappointment she must have felt. She probably saw her mother in her father then. She caught it right away but he didn’t.

All he ever did for the team, it was for to make her happy. He wanted them all to be happy. He thought winning would make them happy, so he had done what he thought would give them that.

He added on, “I just want you guys happy. I thought winning would make you happy. And we needed that win to keep going, to keep you guys happy.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Bellamy told his father. Marcus looked to his son as Bellamy continued, “Octavia told me about how you asked Coach Griffin if she asks Clarke what makes her happy. You know what she asked me?”

Marcus didn’t know and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. Bellamy told him, “She wants to know why you don’t do the same. She asked me why you don’t ask her what makes her happy.”

It was because he figured he knew what made her happy. He asked Bellamy, “It’s not winning, is it?”

Bellamy shook his head and told him, “You know that but you don’t want to admit it. You know what makes her happy, you’ve seen it. Again, you don’t want to admit it. Sound familiar?”

Abby immediately rang through his mind. He told her the exact same thing. Had he been that oblivious too? How many times had he been a hypocrite to Abby?

“What is it?” Marcus asked

“If you don’t know,” Bellamy said, “then why don’t you ask her at practice Thursday?”

Marcus fell silent as he thought over Bellamy’s words. He had fucked up. Bad.

He still couldn’t believe he had done what he promised he would never do. He was ashamed of himself. It was like Abby had said, he couldn’t tell himself apart from Cage. That would have been a move Cage would have executed if he felt threatened.

A spark went off in his mind. He was still Marcus and he knew he would never make that decision himself. He was in a vulnerable state then, emotions high and desperate to keep his job. He was desperate to win.

Cage found him during a vulnerable time, not by coincidence if Marcus guessed, and used it to his advantage.

He fueled the fire between Abby and himself. He was turning them against each other and waiting for one to crack and turn against the other. It was Marcus who cracked and done what he did.

What made Marcus curious about the situation was why. Why did Cage feel the need to fuel their fire and destroy them? If he was confident enough that the Delinquents can’t beat him, then why would he bother with trying to mess them up?

It was because Cage felt threatened. Just like he felt with Indra’s team.

The coincidences of Cage’s involvement with Indra’s team having to collapse and Marcus’ sudden outlandish decision were making him skeptical. His mind flashed back to when he had run into Cage after the game on Saturday.

He had told Marcus he was happy with the decision he made concerning Abby. He was on the phone with Nia after learning that they were advancing to the semifinals. It was screaming sketchy but Marcus couldn’t place a finger on it completely. It did make him feel uneasy though.

With the results of his decision, he was now going to have to face Ice Nation alone. Abby would be at the game but she would be on the sideline.

Now, he was trying to figure out when he would get the chance to apologize to her for his actions without getting hit by her car. He was pretty sure she wanted to do that. It wouldn’t be the first time he thought she wanted to. He’s seen that glint in her eye before and has heard the threat many times.

He looked back to Bellamy who was getting out from his seat. There was a faint knocking at the door, indicating that the pizza was here.

Marcus looked down to his hands, frowning. Unlike the other times, this time, he would deserve being hit by her car.

Trust wasn’t easy for them to begin with. They didn’t trust each other coming in and whatever progress they had created over the last weeks was now destroyed by what he had done.

He knew if they wanted to succeed, they would have to work together. They couldn’t keep competing with each other, especially if it brought out this side in him. It wasn’t good for him or the team. It made him into a man her never wanted to be.

He wanted what was best for the team; he wanted them happy.

Marcus watched as Bellamy handed the pizza man money from his wallet and grab the pizza. Marcus then looked to Octavia’s room, where the door was still shut firmly.

Abby knew what made Octavia happy, just like he knew defense made Clarke happy. Marcus didn’t want to admit sharks and minnows made Octavia happy because he didn’t think highly of the drill. He didn’t want her tactics, from a lesser coach, to be the reason his daughter was happy.

He was, once again, being selfish.

Bellamy brought the pizza to the table and told his father, “I’ll go get Octavia.” Marcus didn’t reply as Bellamy walked off.

But, if the game made Octavia happy and it helped her improve, then Marcus would have to swallow his pride. He may not like the game, as it takes away time for serious drills, but he would have to accept the fact that everything didn’t have to be serious.

He wasn’t ignorant to the fact that the kids’ emotions at today’s practice were drastically different than they were when Abby ran sharks and minnows.

When Abby ran it, the kids were chatty and more engaging. When Abby didn’t run it and he ran it how he wanted, the kids didn’t seem happy or interested.

He may have pestered Abby for being ignorant for change, punished her for it even, but he was at fault as well. He just didn’t have someone to pull a stunt like he did for him to realize it. The kids were enough evidence.

He heard two pairs of footsteps making their way back to the table and he looked behind him to see a grumpy Octavia going to her usual spot at the table. Bellamy had grabbed paper plates and gave them each one.

Bellamy immediately dug in as the other two waited. The two were watching each other.

Marcus had never told Abby she was wrong when she called herself a terrible coach. Yes, Abby was a terrible coach but only in certain areas. In regards of having fun and engaging the kids, Abby was the better coach of the two.

In that aspect, Marcus was the lesser coach. He was terrible at it.

Combine their best traits however, as they canceled out each other’s bad traits, they could really do something spectacular.

If Marcus truly wanted to make Octavia happy, he had to change the way he coached. He would have to make adjustments to his serious schedule for practice and compromise some time for the game.

He was sure Abby was going through the same realization, a realization that they needed to adjust their coaching and actually work together. He had just wished he hadn’t put her through what he did to make her realize it.

Or maybe she wasn’t going through it. Maybe she was still fuming with rage from what he had done. He would surely understand that.

She may be waiting for Saturday to roll up. She may be waiting to see if he can prove what he had told her- that he could win without her. She may be waiting for him to crash and burn. She may be waiting to tell him, “I told you so,” if he loses the game.

And Marcus wouldn’t blame her.

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 15

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 15/22 Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: Marcus does a no-no aka the Tornado has struck

PS – Kaha rise !!!!!!!!

Chapter 15: Silence is argument carried out by other means

Abby was stressing over three things.

1. She just got out of an emergency trauma surgery that lasted five hours.

2. Their game against the Reapers that they needed to win was in an hour.

3. Her Snickers bar just got caught in the rack in the vending machine.

Was it considered bad morale if she took a shot of vodka during work? God knows she needed it.

Giving one last defeated kick at the vending machine, she sighed loudly and let her head thump against the glass. She glared down at the Snickers bar and whispered to it, “You’re more annoying than Marcus.”

That was a hard standard to beat at the moment. Right now, ever since that practice on Tuesday, he had been number one on her shit list.

He had basically confirmed Cage’s accusations of him thinking less of her and her coaching abilities. Just the thought of it and him made her angry. She kicked the vending machine again, more forceful than she meant.

The Snickers bar slowly fell forward and got loose from his hook, falling to the bottom slot.

Abby threw her hands up in the air, a grin spreading across her face. Only if she could kick Marcus and make him comply too.

Happily, she took her Snickers bar and made her way back to her office. It had been an hour since the surgery and she had just finished finalizing up notes and talking with the family. She was grabbing a quick snack before heading out to the game.

She ripped the wrapper open quickly, feeling her stomach rumble in anticipation and victory. She took a huge bite of it as she heard someone call for her. “Dr. Griffin?”

She turned around, mouth full of a Snickers, and found her good friend and co-surgeon, Emori. She smiled at her and tried to ask her, “What’s up?” but it came out more like, “Wahffz uffp?”

Emori laughed and shook her head as she waited for Abby to finish chewing. When she smacked her lips, signaling she had swallowed it, Emori told her, “The surgeon team for the surgery we just performed are meeting up to go over the patient’s post-opt vitals and checking for any signs of complications.”

Abby looked to the clock on the wall. It was fifty minutes until game time. Warm up would be starting in twenty minutes and it took ten minutes to drive from the hospital to the fields. That was if traffic was nice to her. She swears the light out of the hospital always turns red on purpose when she drives up to it.

She gave an approving nod to Emori and said, “Let me text my…co-worker and tell him I may be late for our game.”

Emori nodded and told her, “Sounds good. I’ll go gather the rest of the team. Meet you by the patient’s room in five? Or do you need an extra minute to finish your snack?”

Abby heard the playful and teasing note in her voice and she laughed, flipping her off. She joked back, “I’ll preform a surgery and eat my Snickers.”

“Sadly, I don’t think you’re joking.”

Both laughed at that and offered smiles to each other. Emori turned and left at the moment to gather the team. Abby took another bite of her Snickers as she walked to her office to get her notes. On the way, she pulled her cellphone out.

She opened her messages and clicked ‘new message’ and typed his name in. She sent the following message: ‘Got tied up at the hospital. May be late to the game.’

She reached her office when she heard her phone ding with his response. She flopped in her office chair while taking another bite of her Snickers, opening the message from the devil himself. It read: ‘No problem. Was just going to update you on the game time. It got delayed an hour.’

Her eyebrows furred together in confusion. Before she could reply asking why, he sent up a follow message, explaining: ‘One of the older teams, a kid went down. Ambulance and everything. They think it’s a shattered kneecap and torn ACL.’

Abby’s heart sank. That would keep the poor kid out of soccer for at least a year. She shoved the rest of her Snickers in her mouth as she typed a reply: ‘Terrible news. Hope the kid is okay and recovers quickly. See you at game time.’

She sat back in her chair, looking at the ceiling. She thanked God every day that Clarke had never suffered an injury as bad as that. Sure, she had sprained her ankle before. It’s almost impossible to not tweak your ankle the slightest in the game.

Her phone went off again and his response was: ‘See you then.’

She didn’t respond and slid her phone back into her lab coat pocket. She looked to the clock in her office. Now she had one hour and forty minutes until game time.

She grabbed her clipboard that contained her notes and stood, leaving her office. On her way to the patient’s room, she thought of texting Indra to tell her about the game time change. When Abby got the call about the emergency surgery, she had dropped Clarke off at Indra’s.

If the surgery had went into game time or Abby would be arriving right on time, Indra would get Clarke there at the time she needed to be.

She figured Marcus would alert the rest of the parents.

She arrived at the patient’s room to see her surgery team and they turned to greet her. Emori’s eyes were drawn to Abby’s lab coat pocket and she raised an eyebrow, looking back up to Abby. She asked her, “You sure you don’t need that extra minute?”

Abby looked down to her lab coat pocket and saw part of the wrapper had stuck to her. She ripped it off and threw it away in a bin nearby. Emori teased her more, “Usually you’re not messy, Dr. Griffin.”

Abby snuck her another middle finger and told her, earning a laugh from her team, “Well, you know what they say, you’re not you when you’re hungry.”

+

“Don’t try her, Emori. She might actually try that idea,” one of the assistants said as they exited the patient’s room.

“Are you trying to say that I won’t or I’m not skilled enough?” Abby asked, looking down to the young man.

He shrank back a bit under her gaze. Marcus and Cage may have power and control on the field, but Abby had power in the hospital. Being a top surgeon had its perks.

“Neither?” The man said, unsure.

Abby smirked a bit to herself and patted him on the head, joking, “You’ve got a lot to learn there, youngin.”

He swatted her hand off his head as the rest of the team laughed. Abby let her hand fall to her side, while lifting her notes up. She reported, “Post-opt vitals were all stable and exams all showed signs of no complications. We have a CT scan set for tomorrow for further examination?”

“Yes ma’am,” Emori told her, looking at her own set of notes, “at nine tomorrow morning.”

“Perfect!” Abby clicked her pen and slid into her lab coat breast pocket. She smiled at the group, adding, “Good job team. See you all tomorrow. We’ll meet up tomorrow a half hour before for preparations, got it?”

They all nodded in agreement and broke off into their different ways. Emori called out over her shoulder to Abby, “Good luck at your game today!”

Abby laughed a bit in response, yelling back, “We’ll need it!”

Thinking of that, she looked to the clock on the wall. There was fifty minutes until game time.

The checkup had taken longer than expected but they wanted to be careful to not make any complications that weren’t already present. Abby also liked to double check over the process with Emori repeating her tests to get another opinion.

Setting up the CT scan took time as well as they needed to find a time that worked well with immediate family and the doctors.

She entered her office and set her clipboard down while sitting in her chair. She sighed, suddenly exhausted. She wasn’t sure if she had the energy to deal with the kids, the parents, and Marcus. That in itself was exhausting.

She pulled her phone out to see an alarming amount of notifications for missed calls, text messages, and voicemails.

She had six missed calls, two voicemails, and ten text messages.

She checked the missed calls first and noticed two were from Cece and the other four were from Indra. Abby checked the first voicemail, immediately recognizing Cece’s voice.

“Abby! Where the hell are you?” Cece yelled over the noise of what Abby guessed was the field complex. “The game starts in ten minutes. Marcus wouldn’t answer when I asked him where you were. Did you have an emergency at the hospital? Just let me know because Indra stated that but she seems to think something else is going on. I’ll try calling you again at game time.”

The voicemail ended as Abby checked the time of the next call. It was ten minutes ago. Pricks of nerves found their way up Abby’s spine. She clicked on Indra’s voicemail next.

“Hey Abby, it’s Indra,” she spoke, “this is the fourth time I’ve tried to reach you. Hopefully the surgery went well and you’re still not in it. I’m saying that because I went to Marcus to tell him about your condition in case you may have forgotten to and he seemed…unbothered? I’m not sure how to word it but it was unsettling. When you get this, give me a call. The game is going to start soon.”

A click indicated the voicemail ended but Abby kept the phone by her ear for a few seconds longer. The pricks turned into needles, spreading deeper and further. She pulled the phone from her ear and noticed the voicemail and call were nine minutes ago, right after Cece.

Abby then opened her text messages, two from Indra and the rest of the eight from Cece. She opened Cece’s first, the messages progressively getting more desperate.

‘Abby!!!!!! Where are you???’ ‘Indra brought Clarke, but where are you?’ ‘Indra just talked to Marcus and now Indra seems….IDK how to put it…thoughtful?’ ‘I just tried calling you and left a voicemail. Sew that person up and get your ass here!!!!’ ‘Five minutes till game time. I thought top surgeons were fast!!!’ ‘Indra tried calling you again. She doesn’t seem to be happy about something.’ ‘ABBY !!!! IT’S THE COIN TOSS!! WHERE ARE YOU!!’ ‘I just called you again, where are you??? Kickoff just happened. GET YOUR ASS HERE!!!!!!’

Abby saw the last message and those needles were pushed further into her, cutting deeper and sending nerves deeper into her. “Kick off just happened”? The game didn’t start until another forty-five minutes now, how did kickoff happen?

She went and opened Indra’s texts, which were a lot less animated than Cece’s.

‘Taking the girls and Lincoln to the game. Call me once you’re out of surgery.’

That was sent barely an hour ago. That would mean Indra was taking the girls and Lincoln to the game for warm up at the original game time. The needles were now pushing the substance into her body, burning the nerves throughout her body.

‘Call me.’

The last text was sent five minutes ago.

Abby’s heart was beating fast as the nerves and anxiety began to overtake her body. She remembered Indra’s voicemail and her text, immediately dialing her back.

Indra picked up on the first call tone, not bothering with a greeting, but getting straight to the point, “Where are you?”

“At the hospital,” Abby answered, “I had to finish up a post-op checkup.”

“Are you done?”

“Yeah,” Abby answered uncertain. It was silent for a while before Abby asked, “Indra? Isn’t the game delayed? Why is everyone freaking out?”

She heard Indra curse under her breath. She spoke into the phone, but more to herself, “That son of a bitch. Abby, how fast can you get here?”

Abby’s mood was dropping by the second and she looked to the clock and told her, “Probably fifteen minutes the latest.”

“Well, you better drive fast,” Indra answered. She could hear the disappointment in her voice.

“Indra, what’s going on?” Abby demanded, even though her voice shook a bit. She had a feeling of dread concerning what Indra’s answer may be.

“The game isn’t delayed, Abby,” Indra told her. “I’m not sure what bullshit Marcus spewed to you, but the game started on time. It’s twenty minutes into the first half already.”

Abby almost dropped her phone at the news. He did what?

Abby was in shock first. She would’ve never guessed in a million years that Marcus would pull a stunt like this.

Then their conversation from their practice on Tuesday flashed in her mind. He had told her, “Because I know how to win a game. I don’t need your formation or your stupid game or you to get it.”

Anger leaked into every inch of her at the connection.

She wasn’t sure she could get more upset at Marcus after Tuesday’s practice but it was obvious she could. How dare he do this! How does someone have the audacity to lie to their co-worker so they miss the game?

Oh, Abby was pissed.

“That son of a bitch,” Abby repeated Indra. She still couldn’t believe Marcus would stoop that low to prove he could win without her. “I’ll be there in ten.”

“Do you know why he would lie to you?”

“Oh, I do,” Abby spat out, venom seeping into her words, “and I’m sure the whole field complex will know the reason when I’m done with him.”

Abby hung up the phone and shoved it in her pocket. She was fuming. She needed to hit something or maybe a certain someone. And maybe hit that certain someone with her car.

She looked to the clock on the wall, it indicating that there was less than ten minutes left of the half. If Abby could beat that light outside of the hospital and escape any cops, she could get there by halftime.

Then Marcus would have a different type of Hell other than the kids to worry about.

+

“Not now, Cage,” Abby spat out to the man in the green suit. She strode by him, ignoring whatever bullshit fell from his lips.

She was focused on one man. She was focused on the one man who she wanted to run over with her car. She was focused on the one man who just finished up his halftime speech and clapped, getting the kids off the bench.

The kids ran onto the field, the bench consisting of Murphy (not dressed due to having to sit out for his red card last game), Harper, Jasper, Lincoln, and Octavia. Before she could reach the bench and rip apart that one man, Indra suddenly stepped in front of her.

She held a hand out to stop Abby from advancing and told her, “Whatever you’re thinking of doing…”

“Oh, he deserves everything I’m going to give him,” Abby retorted, the venom in her voice not escaping Indra’s notice.

Indra tried to reason with her, “Going up there and tearing into him isn’t the best solution to this-”

“And his solution for winning this game?” Abby interrupted, anger making her snap at Indra. “Was his solution the best way to approach it?”

“Of course not,” Indra replied just as firmly back, “but that doesn’t mean you have to approach it just as bad.”

“I disagree,” Abby hissed, “because he did something unforgivable and he deserves every word I’m going to throw at him. He doesn’t get to be let off easy because it’s the high road. No, Indra, I’m sorry. What he did was wrong and it hurt.”

“I’m trying to keep it from getting worse.”

“And you tried that before, didn’t you?” Abby shook her head, smiling sadly at Indra. “This has been building up for five years, Indra. A ten minute lecture wasn’t going to change us like that, not unless we really wanted to. We found an easy outlet, the Grounder kids, to avoid our mistakes because we’re scared to admit them. In the end, this is our fault.”

Indra frowned as she looked behind her to the field where Marcus was yelling at Raven for another dive. She turned her attention back to Abby, agreeing, “I won’t argue that.”

“We were working, intentionally or not, towards this point,” Abby admitted, feeling embarrassed at that statement. It was like they were teenagers in middle school, picking fights over stupid drama and going behind each other’s back. “It may not be pretty, but it’s probably just best if we let it all out. That way there’s no more tip toeing around in a minefield waiting for one of us to explode. Let me set it off on our own terms.”

“Does it still qualify as his terms if he doesn’t know you’re here?”

“He lost the right to that the moment he texted me about the game update,” she explained, eyes drifting to Marcus. Her anger had subsided a bit while chatting to Indra, but it was still there. The moment Indra walked away, it would come back at full force.

But she was done. It was tiring, going back and forth about the same damn thing. It got them nowhere and that showed pretty well last Sunday against Alpha Station. Like Abby had said before, it was also embarrassing.

Sure, their teasing was fun and everyone laughed along to it. But Abby saw the effect their real bickering did on the kids and the parents. It was evident enough on Tuesday.

The kids stopped their drill twice because they were surprised by their coaches. She’s seen Octavia look at her father with what was fear and confusion when he spoke harshly to Abby. She also saw the disappointment in Bellamy’s body language. Not to mention, Clarke was visibly upset and didn’t watch their exchange.

She had heard Jaha tell Jackson when they were leaving to “keep an eye on your sister”. Even Cece had pulled Abby aside to ask if she was okay. If Cece, one of the most obnoxious parents, was concerned with her arguments with Marcus, then there was a problem.

Abby was done. She would walk up to that bench and confront Marcus. She would end it and leave nothing unsaid.

Indra said, “Well, I don’t disagree with you on that.” She shrugged as she tucked her hands into her jeans pockets. She added on, “Just keep in mind there are children around.”

Abby smiled at Indra and Indra noted with a groan that it held a sinister edge. She told her, “Oh, I know. And those kids? They’re going to learn what a real coach he is.”

With that, Abby walked around Indra.

Indra didn’t try to stop her this time. It was a good thing she didn’t as Abby’s blood was beginning to boil again. The anger was spilling over the cap that was trying to keep it contained. One smartass remark from him would set her off.

As calmly as she could, Abby made her way up to the bench and slowly walked to stand beside Marcus. He jumped a little in surprise when he noticed someone, her, beside him.

He quickly regained his composure, not having the guts to look at her, and kept his focus on the game in front of them. Neither of them said a thing to each other for a good few minutes. Each could feel the tension between the two crackling, waiting for a remark to set off a spark that would lead to an explosion.

Abby finally spoke up by asking, “What’s the score?”

He looked to her out of the corner of his eye and then back to the field. He replied, “1-1.”

“Mhmmm,” Abby hummed as she rocked on her heels a bit. Dread was creeping its way through Marcus as anger was spreading through Abby. “Seems like you’re doing a fantastic job without me.”

His eyes shot to her for a good look at her. He studied her stance and her body language. He read the anger in the fire in her eyes as she watched the game. Her posture read that she was guarded and bracing for the inevitable argument that was going to take place.

She was examining the field, her eyes landing on her daughter. The position she was in made the fire in her rage brighter. She added in the jab, “Guess your so called emergency formation doesn’t work, does it?”

He shot back, a hard clip in his voice, “And you’d know what about a working formation?”

Her eyes snapped to his then and they made eye contact for the first time Abby had arrived. Hers were burning with a blue fire, the hottest flame, while his were burning with flames slowly reaching the same level. The spark was lit.

“Is your excuse of putting her there because Murphy has to sit out for his red car?” She asked, tilting her head.

“It’s not an excuse,” he shot back, “it’s what will benefit the team the most.”

“Right, because it’s not like we need to win this game or anything. We can totally tie and advance,” Abby told him, deadpan. Irritation added fuel to the fire in him. Abby pretended that a lightbulb went off and she said in fake shock, “Oh, wait! That’s not us! That’s the other team.”

She was staring him down this time, eyes fixated on him. She tilted her head to the other side, waiting for a reply. He watched her for a moment more before turning his attention back to the field while saying, “Leave the decision making to me.”

This was where the spark hit the dynamite. This was where the explosion happened. This is where there was no room for turning back.

“Oh, just like how it was your decision to lie about the game time so I would miss it?” She accused him, loud enough to ensure that the kids and parents heard it.

Heads turned to look at the two, surprise and confusion among many of the faces.

Marcus’ head was one of the many to find her. His stare at her got sharper and the fire in his eyes was turning cold fast. He replied, “You made me make that decision.”

“I didn’t do anything except trust you,” she threw back, venom slipping in, “but that obviously was a mistake.”

“Trust me? You do everything but that!” He shouted back, attention completely on her, the game forgotten. “If you trusted me then I wouldn’t have had to do that!”

“Actually,” Abby retorted, “had you trusted me, you wouldn’t have had to. You didn’t and probably still don’t trust me, Marcus. I get it, I really do. I had no wins before you, I wasn’t the ideal business partner you signed up for. It’s hard to trust someone like that.”

Marcus didn’t respond. He knew she had a point. He didn’t trust her tactics and that’s why he made the decision he did. He trusted himself to the get the Delinquents the win they needed, not her.

She continued on, “You don’t trust me make the decision you thought was the best for this team so you made sure I couldn’t have a say. You didn’t give me a chance to give my input.”

“Did you forget I changed the formation for you? Did you forget I let the kids play the stupid game for warm up?”

“Not because I truly wanted to,” she told him. He visibly winced at the jab. She added, “We did them because you approved them, whether it was to get me to shut up or you could find a way to make it meet your standards.”

He didn’t argue; he knew she was right. Even if he didn’t mean for it to come off that way, it unconsciously was the reason. Marcus felt himself beginning to freak out as if he was being appointed the bad guy in this situation.

He randomly asked, “Don’t you want what’s best for this team? Don’t you want to keep your job?”

“Of course I do,” she replied, no hesitation, “but only if it’s done in the right way. Don’t you want to be a good role model for your kids?”

That was crossing the line. He took a small step towards her and harshly told her, “You’re one to talk.”

Abby didn’t flinch back. She knew she wasn’t the greatest role model material, but at least she owned up to her flaws. “You don’t think I know I’m not the perfect role model for my daughter? Yes, I cuss too much. Yes, I overreact a lot. At least I can say I’m not selfish to the point I lie to others to get what I want.”

There was silence between the two after the statement. It was chilling as the two stared at each other. The kids on the bench were watching their coaches, all scared of what would happen next. Then, Octavia asked her father, “Is it true, Dad?”

Both heads snapped to the girl on the bench. Abby could see the tears in her eyes as she gazed up at her father.

Marcus felt his heart snapping in half. He didn’t feel guilt for what he had done until he looked to Octavia. How could he lie to her? He had done it and he thought he was doing it for her and the kids. He thought it was the best decision for them.

He looked down to the ground, shame overtaking him, as he stumbled on his words, “Octavia….it’s not that simple…”

“Yes it is!” She yelled at her father. It caught the two coaches off guard. Neither had heard her be this vocal anywhere near a soccer field.

He frowned and looked to Abby, to Octavia, and then to the ground again. He sighed and nodded, saying, “Yes.”

Abby could see in Octavia’s body language that her heart was breaking. Her hands that were resting on the edge on the bench tightened around the wood. She was shaking, trying to not her tears fall.

She looked to Abby and told her, “I’m sorry,” before she got up and ran off towards the bathrooms. Abby heard a sob escape the girl and she visibly watched another heart break, but this time it was Marcus’.

Indra passed by them, saying, “I got her.” As she passed Marcus, she shook her head in disappointment. Marcus tried to speak up to defend himself but Indra didn’t listen, shaking her head again as she kept walking after Octavia.

At the same time, the two heard Alie blow the whistle. They looked to the field to see Bellamy had scored. It was now 2-1, the Delinquents in the lead.

The kids on the bench went in for their subs Marcus must have preassigned them and Lexa, Monty, and Clarke came off the field. They sat on the bench, oblivious to the previous argument but did notice the tension between their coaches.

Abby told Marcus, “You don’t get credit for taking the lead since I am present.”

The heartbreak in his eyes disappeared and the fire came back. He harshly told her, “You have a lot of nerve accusing me of that shit in front of my daughter as if you’re any better.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Did I not state my flaws?”

“You stated the ones you know and don’t care about. You forgot to mention that you choose to stay ignorant about what makes your daughter happy because you’re afraid to be wrong. That’s a bad trait by default.”

“How so?”

“You’re teaching her to be scared of change. You told Cage yourself that change is inevitable. How can you tell people that when you yourself are afraid of it?” He pestered her.

“I don’t like it when people try to tell me things they know nothing about,” she shot back. Her eyes found Clarke, who was watching her mother with confusion in her own eyes. She looked back to Marcus adding, “I know what’s best for my daughter.”

“Just like how I know what’s best for this team.”

They two fell silent again. Both were still angry at the other and still thought the other was in the wrong. Abby shook her head, sighing and said, “Forget what I said at practice, you have changed. The Marcus I know wouldn’t have done this. He would’ve just argued with me and we would’ve worked it out even if Indra had to drag us by our ears to another lecture.”

“You know damn well another lecture wouldn’t have fixed this,” he replied, anger spiking at her words.

“Maybe not,” she snapped back, “but at least it would’ve been a higher moral solution to our problem than this. How the fuck did you think this was okay, Marcus?”

“I wasn’t concerned about you or our relationship,” he replied. “I was concerned about losing my job and these kids winning.”

“And you thought this was the best way to get it?” She couldn’t believe her ears. It didn’t sound like Marcus anymore. It sounded like a certain asshole who was standing by the usual tree in a green suit.

They made eye contact, anger seeping from her to him and him to her. He said, “I had to do what was best for this team.”

“Fuck you, Kane,” Abby spat at him, her voice cracking the slightest. “Using that excuse for you to treat me less is bullshit and the Marcus I know would agree. Sure, he’d tease me about it and hold it over my head, but he would never use it as a reason to use against me. You know who that sounds like?”

Marcus didn’t answer, a single man flashing in his mind. A distant memory of himself talking to that one man at the beginning of the year played out. He had told that man, “And you don’t have to make every team below you feel like shit for being a lesser team but here we are, you doing exactly that.”

Was that not was he was doing every time he pulled that reason out? He shot down her formation before because he didn’t think it was best for the team because when she used it, she was in last place. When she brought up sharks and minnows, he looked down on it because it was a waste of time and he thought her progress proved that.

“It sounds like Cage,” she told him.

His eyes hardened, anger spewing like a volcano from his heart and running through his veins. “I am nothing like him,” he claimed.

“Really? It’s hard to tell the difference now-a-days.”

Marcus opened his mouth to respond but a new voice broke through from behind Abby. “We’re winning, why do you care so much on how we get there?”

They looked behind Abby to see Jaha standing up, making his way toward them.

Immediately, Abby transferred her anger from Marcus to Jaha. He had always made snide comments about her coaching, thinking she didn’t hear them or understood their meaning.

Jaha added, “He didn’t do anything illegal. Was it a smart decision in regards to loyalty and trust? Probably not.” Did he really say ‘probably’? “But in regards for the team’s success? It was a smart decision.”

She could feel that fucking smirk form behind her on Marcus’ face. She glared up to Jaha, not responding. He finished by saying, “We actually have a chance, don’t let your ego ruin it.”

That was it. Before she could stop herself or decided that she gave a fuck, her fist came into contact with Jaha’s face. Immediately, blood sprayed from his nose and over her knuckles. He collapsed to the floor in pain, grabbing his face.

“Holy shit!” Murphy commented from the sideline, eyes wide.

Abby barely registered the noise of the whistle in the background. She barely registered the feel of Marcus holding her back from punching Jaha again. All she could focus on was somehow she was getting blamed for this situation when she was the victim. He lied to her, not the other way around.

Yes, they both had flaws that contributed to their downfall, but this time it wasn’t her doing. Yes, her actions before lead to this moment but it was a decision made by Marcus that he voluntarily did knowing the consequences. He was at just as much fault as she was.

Abby saw red in front of her eyes, drawing her from her blank state. Her eyes focused, seeing Alie presenting her with a red card. Alie shook her head and told her, “You know the drill, Abby. No attending practice or coaching at the next game.”

Abby nodded and yanked her arm free from Marcus. She looked to him, whispering, “You’re lucky that wasn’t you.”

Marcus didn’t respond as he watched Abby, no emotion showcasing through his eyes this time. He was guarded.

Abby gladly let her angry show as she stormed off the bench and to where her car was in the parking lot. She had plenty of red cards to know the drill. She was supposed to leave the premises but Alie let her chill out in the parking lot so she could take her daughter home.

She leaned up against her car as she looked up the sky. If she looked back over to the game then her anger would come back. Surprisingly, she was trying to take the high road here and calm down before she did something she would regret.

And if you were wondering, no, she wouldn’t regret punching Marcus or even Jaha again. God knows they both deserved it.

“Great day for soccer, isn’t it, Coach?”

She didn’t have to look away from the sky to recognize the mocking voice. She didn’t have to look away from the sky to see the mocking smile. She did, however, look anyway to see Cage walking up to her.

“Every fucking day, Cage,” she replied.

It was silent between the two as he leaned against her car next to her. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed, asking, “Is this the right time to say ‘I told you so’?”

Irritation pulsed through her and she looked to him, narrowing her eyes. She told him, “Only if you want your suit to resemble Christmas.”

He laughed and said, “As much as I like Christmas in July, I’ll pass.” He pushed himself off her car and fixed his suit jacket. He gave her a big smile and told her, “See you next Saturday for the semis- oh wait, never mind.”

She pushed herself off her car as well and reveled in the tiny fact that he backed up a few steps when she did. She smiled at him and asked, “Is that in reference to my red card or the fact that you still believe the Delinquents can’t win a game?”

“I know the Delinquents can’t win a game, at least not without those Grounder kids.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. Last Sunday proved that well enough. Still, she didn’t like it when he talked down about her team. She leaned back against the car, telling him, “You’d be surprised.”

Before Cage could respond, Clarke appeared beside him as she walked to the car. Abby smiled at her daughter asking, “What was the final score?”

Clarke barely looked at her mom as she threw bag in the backseat. She told her, “2-1.”

Abby smiled and looked to Cage, who was visibly fuming. Ha, karma was a bitch.

“Looks like I’ll see you on Saturday,” she told him as Clarke made her way to the other side of the car. Cage didn’t honor her with a response as he stormed away, immediately pulling his cellphone out.

On his rampage through the parking lot, he ran into Marcus. The two looked at each other, silence passing between them both. Cage smiled at him and told him, “Nice decision today, Coach.”

The words struck home, sending Abby’s accusation of him being like Cage through his mind again. He mentally shook it off. He was not Cage, and he would never be. He rightfully ignored him as he made his way to his car.

He didn’t miss Cage talking into his phone however, hearing him greeting the person on the other line, “Nia? It’s good to hear your voice. We need to meet up for lunch.”

He was curious as to why Cage would be contacting Nia, the coach of Ice Nation. Nia wasn’t a very social person; she chose to keep to herself and refrained to talking to parents of her players only. Marcus knew others would agree with him when he would describe her as unapproachable.

The Delinquents had won their game today against the Reapers, earning a final standing of fourth place. That landed them in the fourth seed for the semifinals for the playoffs. They pulled the lucky card of playing Nia’s team for the first round. Whoever won that game would go on to play the winner of Mount Weather versus Alpha Station in the championship round.

Marcus has never won against Ice Nation, not alone or with Abby. It would be interesting to see how the game would go without her by his side but with the Grounder kids. He knew he could do it, but he was starting to feel uneasy after hearing Cage call Nia.

Marcus had to pass Abby’s car on the way to his and he caught her eyes as she opened her car door. She smiled, fake as can be, and told him, “You think you can coach them without me? You think that’s the best decision for the team? You got your wish, through better circumstances this time. Good luck, Marcus. You’ll need it.”

[iswearonmarcuskane]

Kickin’ & Screamin’ // Chapter 14

Title: Kickin’ & Screamin’ Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Kabby Tag/Warnings: Modern AU Setting, Kicking and Screaming AU, Kid!Delinquents Chapter(s): 14/22 Read earlier chapters on: AO3

Chapter Summary: the tornado has entered the backyard and it's too late to take shelter

Chapter 14: You can’t argue with ignorance

Miller was late.

And when he showed up, it wasn’t pretty.

“Ten laps?”

“Did I misspeak? Get going,” Marcus demanded, “you have fifteen minutes to finish them.”

Miller got going, one could say.

Abby’s not sure what happened over the past two days before practice this Tuesday to make Marcus go back into his hardass coaching style, but what Abby was sure was happening was that she was annoyed with him.

Miller was ten minutes late to practice due to an accident on their usual route to the fields. Marcus didn’t care, he told him he should’ve left earlier or chosen another route. Abby couldn’t ever think of a time she saw David Miller as upset as he was.

And now the poor kid was running his heart out in ten laps.

Abby confronted him about it, telling him, “It was ten minutes, Marcus. We can shorten warm up a bit.”

Marcus wasn’t having it. He grabbed his cones and told her, “Ten minutes we had to wait for him. Ten minutes wasted for practice. Ten laps.”

He left her then, going to set up their warm up. Abby was left in shock if she was honest. What crawled up his ass and died?

He seemed closed off, like he had been back when they were on separate teams. Abby was trying to take the high road here, but Cage’s words still haunted her. Now, what Cage had told her, it was glaring.

Abby didn’t forget their small argument after the game this past Sunday either. She knew both of them knew if Clarke hadn’t stepped in, another argument would’ve erupted between them. But, that was because the Grounder kids weren’t there. They were here now, so, those flames should’ve been extinguished.

But, they weren’t. If anything, they were growing.

Oh, and how Abby just stated his problem with being controlling being glaring? Yeah, it was.

Abby caught wind of Marcus telling Octavia, Murphy, Clarke, Gaia, Raven, and Lincoln to grab pennies. That’s not how sharks and minnows was set up. Murphy was always a shark alone at the start.

Then she looked at the grid. It was too small for sharks and minnows. It was a small box, only a couple yards in length and width. Immediately, she recognized it as all the players entered the box.

Octavia was holding her penny and looked up to her dad. She asked, “No sharks and minnows?”

He shook his head and said, “Sorry, kiddo. We have to focus on winning the next game.”

Octavia frowned and nodded and walked away from him. Marcus told himself to ignore the jab in his heart. He told himself over and over that the win they would earn this weekend will make up for it.

He felt Abby’s anger before she reached him. He turned to look at her, the anger on her face apparent. She didn’t speak first, so he asked her, “Yes?”

“You know what,” she spat at him. He noticed the slight bit of venom in her words. She wasn’t wrong, he knew why she was angry. He just didn’t think it was sensible.

He looked back to the grid as he sent a ball in for the kids to begin possession. He told her, “No sharks and minnows today. We need to focus if we want to win our game Saturday.”

“A small game for warm up will get them focused. It will get them interested for practice,” she told him.

“If they need a silly game to make them interested in practice, then they shouldn’t be here in the first place,” he stated, turning his attention back to the grid.

Abby was left wordless, which was hard to say when she argued with him. She had heard the rumors before of Marcus acting like a professional coach around the kids. She had heard he was too hard sometimes and took it too serious.

She never guessed it was this bad. Sure, she had gotten a taste of it at their first practice together but today seemed like that attitude was amplified.

“Silly?” She repeated him, feeling the anger building up. By calling it a ‘silly game’, he was talking down to her. “You were fine with it as a warm up for last week’s practice and the weeks before that.”

“And I found out how detrimental it truly was to this team and made the decision to change it,” he replied, unbothered by her rage.

She felt herself flinch the slightest. Not only was that a dig at her coaching, it reaffirmed the words Cage had told her two weekends ago.

She retorted, “You said yourself you saw the potential it had to be a great drill.”

He looked to her, saying, “That was when we had room to lose a game. Now, we don’t.”

“You can’t honestly be blaming the game for those losses, can you?” She asked. “Maybe you forgot, but we won three games while that was our warm up.”

“With those three, yes,” he said, nodding towards where the Grounder kids were standing in the grid. He focused back on her, mocking her, “Maybe you forgot, but we lost terribly on Sunday.”

Rage erupted in her at that. Now he was mocking her. It was just like old times; but somehow, it hurt Abby this time. She felt like he had stabbed her in the heart. Why did it hurt more this time?

“You think I forgot?” She nearly hissed at him. “Of course I didn’t forget! I don’t see how that has anything to do with our warm up.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” His voice replicated his face, annoyed and already done with the conversation. It was like he decided he was right and the conversation was pointless. “We spent time on a pointless game when we could have been spending time on a drill that would actually benefit our team.”

Abby was silent again. She could hear Cage laughing in her mind. It enraged her further as she asked, “And you don’t think I know what could benefit our team?”

He didn’t answer right away. He looked as if he was struggling to say what he wanted. Abby had a gut feeling of what he was thinking. A little part of her prayed she was wrong.

Finally, he said, “I know what will benefit our team the most.”

It wasn’t the exact words she was thinking of but they were pretty damn close. They had the same effect on her nonetheless.

“Of course you do,” she threw back at him, “I mean, how would I, a coach who never won a game without you, ever know what’s best for her team?”

Marcus heard the hurt in her voice and it sent a knife with ‘guilt’ engraved on the handle into his heart. He never cared before about what he told her, why all the sudden did he feel guilty for it?

It was different when Cage told her. It was different when she told herself. Marcus telling her somehow hurt worse. Why?

When he didn’t answer, she went on, “But you know everything, right? Because you had one win. I forgot that got you one spot above last place in the standings.”

“At least I wasn’t in last,” he shot back, his own anger rising in response. “My tactics worked before we had those kids join our team. None of yours did.”

She stared up at him, anger burning in her eyes, just as much as his. She asked, “So, you’re blaming me for Sunday’s loss?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. It was a tricky question, which he was sure his answer and not answering would get him in trouble either way. He settled for telling her, “I blame your tactics. We got dependent on others, letting ourselves slack off, like with the warm up game for example. I’m making sure it’s not going to happen again.”

“So,” she asked, afraid of the answer, “you’ve decided how practice will run from now on?”

He watched her, seeing the fear of his answer in her body language. He found his eyes flickering over to where Indra was watching their exchange carefully. He finally looked back to Abby, telling her, “I do know how to run a winning practice.”

And that’s all Abby needed to hear. It confirmed exactly what Cage had said. He did think less of her. He did think he could run the team without her.

She did her best to keep the hurt out of her voice. When did she start caring what Marcus thought of her? “You haven’t changed,” she harshly told him.

He froze. He didn’t know how to respond to the accusation. It was a good thing Abby walked away after because he didn’t have a response.

He looked to the grid to see the kids not playing possession anymore. It seemed they had stopped long ago. His eyes fell on Octavia, who was sitting on the ground, chin her hand as she picked at the grass.

He snapped out of his daze when a set of cones hit him. Everyone’s head turned to see Abby standing there, arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow at him, telling him, “Well, let’s get going Coach. Don’t you have a practice to run?” She nodded towards the kids, adding, “Doesn’t seem to be very productive right now.”

Any sympathy he had felt before was now replaced with anger. He picked up the cones one by one as everyone watched. He looked to the kids, who were all standing together now. He snapped at them, “Did I tell you to stop?”

Almost immediately they got back into their game of possession. Marcus turned to face Abby then, telling her, “Make sure they keep playing,” not waiting for a response as he strode past her.

He heard her tell him from over his shoulder, “Whatever you say, Coach.” He sighed deeply as he drummed his fingers against the cones. Irritation was making its way through him.

He began to set up their formation with the cones, planning to go into an extensive session of their game plan. Any flaw in it would be pointed out and would be punished. They would learn to not make them, he would make sure of it.

He finished setting up the formation and came back over to the grid. He stood by Abby who didn’t turn to look at him. He crossed his own arms, copying her stance, and told the team, “Go get water. Then meet for your formation.”

The kids did as told, not wanting to end up like Miller, who was on his last lap. Marcus looked at his watch and yelled to the poor boy, “You have forty seconds left to make this lap. If you don’t, you have another five.”

Abby was almost sure she heard the boy cry out before trying to run faster. She thought Marcus was being ridiculous, she knew he was. She didn’t say anything, ya know, because he did know what was best for the team.

Soon the kids rejoined them alongside a Miller who looked like he wanted to curl into a ball and never play soccer again. In fact, none of the kids seemed to be enjoying practice so far. They seemed to be afraid of what their next drill would be and wondering if they’d end up like Miller.

Marcus looked at them all, unfazed by their faces, and told them, “We will be practicing our formation all practice. Any mistake made will be pointed out and there will be consequences. They are there to make sure you know what you’re doing is wrong and to help motivate you to not repeat those mistakes.”

Marcus listed off the usual line up. Raven, Murphy, and Miller lined the back line. Jasper, Gaia, and Monty took up the midfield with Bellamy up top. The other kids threw on pennies and acted as the opposing team.

Every little mistake that happened, Marcus pointed out whoever committed it and they were given a punishment. Usually, it was either running or pushups.

Raven dived in many times, earning many full field sprints. Eventually, she was too tired to dive in anymore. Murphy was over aggressive and caused many fouls. He did a lot of pushups. Every time Miller stood still, not from being tired from his ten laps, he would run another. The guy started to eventually not move due to being worn out.

Every time Jasper was out of positon, he was given a sprint to do, where he was watched by everyone to make sure he was running it correctly. When Monty didn’t communicate, Marcus made him do pushups. When Bellamy decided to abandon or ignore the game plan and charge forward, Marcus made him switch out with Clarke. It was pretty often.

After about twenty minutes of the torture, he let the kids get a drink. When the kids walked by Abby towards the bench, she heard Murphy complain to Bellamy, “Why is your dad being such a dick?”

Abby chuckled to herself as she looked over to Marcus. He was running a hand through his hair, frustration etched on his face. It made a flashback to their first practice enter her mind. She called out, “Everything okay, Coach?”

She was mocking him, and he knew it. She didn’t care though. That was until he smirked at her. That fucking smirk was back and it burst annoyance through her. What did he have planned?

“I will be soon,” he replied as he fixed some of the cones that got messed up during the drill.

Soon, the kids came back from their water break. He smiled down to them, telling them, “We’re going to be doing a new line up, one we haven’t done before.” His eyes flickered to Abby, adding, “But I know it’ll benefit this team well.”

Dread crept up on her. He wouldn’t dare…

He told them, “Raven you’re still left outside defense. Murphy, you’re getting a break. Clarke, you’ll be center defense.”

The rest of his line up went in one ear and out the other. She was focused on the position he had given her daughter. Apparently, he would dare.

If they weren’t already playing with fire, that decision would’ve rekindled any previous argument they had.

The kids went into their line up and Abby immediately made her way to where Marcus stood. He was smirking as he watched the drill begin.

She asked, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

He shook his head and told her, “Watch your language, Abby. There are children around.”

“I’ll do that once you tell me what the fuck is going on,” she hissed at him, pointing to where her daughter stood on defense. “Why is she in the back?”

He crossed his arms and told her, “Because her being there is what will benefit this team the most.”

“Lincoln plays there! He has more experience there!”

“And? He can sub in her for when she needs one,” he told her. “Otherwise, Clarke can play defense.”

“No,” she immediately shot the idea down.

He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to her, asking, “I thought we already established I knew what was best for this team?”

“That may be,” she bit out, ignoring the tug in her heart, “but I always know what is best for my daughter.”

He watched her for a moment. He asked, “And you think that’s up top?”

She watched him for a moment as well. She felt it was a trap she was going to walk in. She just nodded in response.

He was silent for a moment until he laughed. Rage spiked in her again, hands clenching into fists. He looked to her, shaking his head, telling her, “You haven’t change either.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he replied, the humor absent now. “You’ve heard how good Clarke is at defense. Hell, Abby, you’ve seen it, but you choose to stay ignorant. Why? Because you don’t want to be wrong.”

“I am not wrong about my daughter,” she spat back, venom dripping in her words.

He wasn’t fazed and went on as if she hadn’t talked, “Have you asked her yet? Where she would like to play? I’ve overheard her talking with Lincoln about defense.”

“That doesn’t mean anything!”

“It doesn’t?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. “You’re afraid you’ll be wrong about what your daughter wants so you choose to ignore it. You don’t want to change your mindset that her being on top will make her happy.”

“That’s because it does!”

He shook his head, waiting until she made eye contact with him to speak. He told her, “You don’t truly know your daughter if you think that.”

Abby laughed this time, loud enough that the kids stopped their drill to examine their coaches. Marcus was confused at the sudden shift of emotions in her.

She shook her head this time, smiling at him, as if she knew something he didn’t. She asked him, “And you think you know your daughter?”

Marcus’ guard went up immediately. His eyes found Octavia where she was watching the exchange on the opposite side of the field. She was watching him with worried eyes. He looked back to Abby, replying, “Of course I do.”

“You do?” She asked, laughing immediately after again. Marcus was getting nervous. He did know his daughter, didn’t he?

“What makes her happy about soccer then, Marcus?” She asked him out of the blue.

He looked to her, confused by the question. He automatically told her, “Winning.”

That’s when Abby shook her head and he felt the nerves beating his heart faster. She asked him, “Are you sure?”

He looked over to Octavia again, mind racing. Looking back to Abby, he nodded, saying, “Yes.”

She laughed again as she crossed her arms. She smiled at Marcus, one full of knowledge he didn’t yet understand. She told him, “Then I guess you don’t know your daughter either.”

“Bullshit!” He yelled, earning the eyes of the parents now.

“Oh, Coach,” Abby put a hand over her heart, feigning hurt, mocking him, “watch your language. There are kids around.”

He gritted his together. He had his marker board in his hand and he pointed it at her, hissing, “This all because you know I’m the reason this team is winning.”

Fire erupted in her veins, ice cold fire. It swarmed in her eyes and radiated off her in waves. She took a step closer to him, telling him, “Really? Cause whose formation actually won games?”

“Your formation turned out to be shit once those kids weren’t there,” he retorted. “Your formation had nothing to do with it.”

“Well, as one coach used to say,” she mocked his voice, “a win is a win.”

He shook his head, ignoring her and repeated himself, “You’re only doing this because you know I’m right. You’re insecure about the fact that I’m still a better coach than you. You’re trying to make up for the fact that if I weren’t coaching with you, you’d still be in last place with no wins.”

“And you think you would’ve gotten this far alone?” She asked. “You couldn’t have beaten any of those teams without my help, Kane. You’re not Cage Wallace, stop acting like it.”

Fire burned through his veins, spreading like wildfire. He knew he wasn’t Cage, he never wanted to be. He shot back, “I could defeat the Reapers alone on Saturday, without you.”

“Oh, you could? How so?”

“Because I know how to win a game. I don’t need your formation or your stupid game or you to get it. I know what’s best for this team and you don’t,” he raged.

His adrenaline was high, coursing through his veins. His breathing was deep as he watched her, eyes focused solely on her. His state matched hers, anger amplifying at a fast rate. They were both volcanoes, rumbling, waiting to erupt.

“Well,” she replied, “too bad you’ll never get the chance to prove that. You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.” If she was hurt by his comment, she didn’t show it.

He didn’t respond. He looked back to the kids instead, noticing them standing around again and snapped, “Who told you to stop?”

The kids immediately got back at it, terrified of the two coaches. Abby chuckled as he looked back to her. His eyes were still burning with fire as he watched her refocus on the practice.

He looked to the sideline where Indra was in her lawn chair. She made eye contact with him and shook her head. He felt her disappointment all the way across the field.

It didn’t affect him though. He knew what was best for the team and he knew what made Octavia happy. He wasn’t going to lose his job because Abby was insecure about her spot on the team. He wasn’t here to make sure she was happy, he was here to make the kids win.

His gaze soon found its way to a man in the parking lot, wearing none other than a purple suit. He was leaning up against a light pole as he watched their practice.

They made eye contact and he smiled at Marcus. He didn’t say anything or make any other gesture. All he did was smile and then disappear into the rows of cars.

Marcus found himself looking at Abby again who was watching the drill. His eyes flickered back to the empty spot by the light pole in the parking lot. Then, her words rang in his mind.

“Well, too bad you’ll never get the chance to prove that. You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.”

His eyes found her again, his mind racing. There was a way to prove it.

Not only would it prove that she was wrong, but it would guarantee a spot in the playoffs for the Delinquents.