fic: In The Game - Chapter Six [PG-13]
TITLE: In The Game - Chapter Six
SUMMARY: It was, it seemed, John's day for being collared by his friends.
CATEGORY: high school AU, drama
RATING: PG-13
WORDCOUNT: 4,944
NOTES: Sorry about the break between postings - I've had a million and one things to get done, and it's all just swamped me. There's a lot still to go in this story and a lot to be written. We'll see what can be done in the coming month. Thank you for being patient!
Chapter Five: Full Of Grace
Chapter Six - Storm Clouds Gathering
There was one more regular season game the following Friday, and Shermer coasted to a fifteen-point victory against them. John scored one touchdown, and opened up a space for Sam Maynard to plough through for another, while other players on the team similarly distinguished themselves.
Practise began getting hairy - the championship playoffs began the next weekend. There was tension and more than a little stress going around the players, and it came up in small ways - grumbling, short tempers, restlessness escalating to fights.
John wasn't quite sure what he'd expected from the team after Homecoming, but it wasn't this kind of behaviour. He and the coach worked at keeping the peace, although one fight nearly got out of hand during weight training when Markham threw a punch at Lichfield and more than a few of the guys started up, ready for a fight.
Oddly enough, the calming factor was Teyla manhandling Lichfield back while John got between Teyla and Markham. Lichfield wouldn't throw a punch at Teyla, but John wasn't so sure about Markham.
It left him feeling restless and irritable.
Later, on her way out of training, Teyla patted John's arm as she went out. "It will work out, John."
"Halloween might help," Ford commented that Thursday afternoon after training. They had the first of the championship games that Friday, so Saturday night was free for a change. "A chance to put on masks, play silly, TP the coach's house..." Dark eyes twinkled at John as he tilted his head. "You doing anything Saturday night?"
John shrugged. "Party at Liz's," he said.
"Geek side of the force?"
"Careful," John warned, "or you'll start to sound like one yourself."
Ford's grin was quick and mischievous. "Can't have that. Might have to beat myself up."
Which reminded John... "Yeah, about that. Did you really threaten to beat Zelenka up other day?" John had heard the rumour from Rodney on Tuesday.
"Oh, man." Ford groaned. "Look, it's not as bad as it sounds. I asked him a simple question about the Physics class and he came out with all this stuff that I didn't need to know and don't want to. Then, when I asked him to speak plain English, he started jabbering at me in that Euro language of his. So I asked him if I was going to have to beat the answer out of him." Ford scowled at the inside of his locker and pulled out his tote. "It was a joke. But I think he was being geeky just to annoy me, you know?"
Yeah, John knew. And he'd been pretty sure that Ford wasn't the beat 'em up kind of guy. But Rodney had been outraged and given John an earful and a half about typical jocks who thought they could solve everything with their fists. John left the McKay household with only half his homework done, and a headache.
And things hadn't been any better when he got home.
"They do that," John said by way of consolation. He slammed his locker shut and spun the combination.
"McKay?"
"Yeah. A yes/no question turns into an essay answer." John shrugged. After all these years, he was used to Rodney. Sure, it was annoying at times but he dealt.
"Well, it's your ears being chewed off, not mine." Ford shut his locker. "You going to McKay's tonight?"
"Nah, tonight is Liz's house. Dinner included." Thank God for the Weirs.
The younger guy gave him a hard look. "How's Dex feel about that?"
John shrugged. "He's cool with it." Not that they'd ever spoken about it, of course. But Ronon had never said anything, so John supposed he was cool about John's friendship with Liz.
"And Mara?"
It was John's turn to give Ford a hard look. "What's Mara got to do with it?"
Ford shrugged. "Sometimes girls take your friendships with other girls funny."
John couldn't deny that, but he hauled his backpack on and shrugged. "She'll just have to deal with it."
He thought about it on the way to Liz's. Chaya hadn't been too enthusiastic about either Liz or Teyla. And Liz hadn't been happy about Chaya either. John had never worked out if that was because Liz had been crushing on him, or just because Chaya didn't like him hanging out with Liz.
Teyla didn't seem to care one way or the other. But that was Teyla. She could be hard to read if she didn't want you to know what she was thinking about something.
As he hauled his bag out of his car at Liz's, John reflected that Teyla had been playing it very cool after Homecoming. Friendly, but not overly so, and definitely not anything like the way Mara was making friendly towards him.
Friendly was more than he was getting from Liz that night.
She was quiet through dinner, almost sulky. John made most of the conversation, and her parents gave most of the answers.
"So," he said as they pulled out their books and spread them across the table. "What's eating you?"
Liz sniffed, her eyes firmly fixed on the paper of a page she wasn't seeing. "Nothing."
"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be in such a bad mood." John figured he might as well have it out with her. Maybe if she had her temper tantrum, then she'd be in a better mood afterwards and they might actually get some of their Civics homework done.
"I'm not in a bad mood!" Liz pulled over a textbook and glared at it as though it was responsible for all her woes and troubles. John nearly pointed out the contradiction between her actions and her words, but decided not to. He didn't fancy having Liz angry with him, instead of just angry.
Whatever. Hopefully Ronon's call at nine would put her in a better frame of mind. Exactly when the institution had begun, John didn't know. He didn't have any idea what was said during those conversations, because Liz always went out of the room or glared if he got too close. But she always came back in a better mood afterwards.
They worked through homework fairly fast - Liz was good at Civics, which was why John studied with her for this subject - and John finished the essay well ahead of the time he'd imagined he'd have to spend on it and moved back to Physics, which he found easier than all this diplomatic and political stuff.
He got through the problems assigned to him, read up on the notes, and even managed to sketch out a few ideas for a project later on in the year. He'd have to run it past Rodney, of course, but there was plenty of time for the other boy to tear his ideas into pieces. Rodney was good at that kind of thing.
Liz was doing research on her Dad's laptop for another subject; every now and then she'd type in a search string, then click around a bit.
John began getting suspicious around the time she began typing more than she was clicking.
Megan came in with ginger beer and cookies at a quarter past nine, and glanced over her daughter's shoulder. The steady tap of keys suddenly stopped and John saw the quick movement of Liz's left hand as she swapped the window she was looking at.
"Elizabeth."
"Mom."
"Your father let you use the laptop for research purposes," Megan said. "Not to chat to Teyla all night."
Liz flushed, giving John an apologetic glance. He nonchalantly studied the pattern of coconut shavings on his cookie. "I'd only just started talking to her, mom."
Megan didn't believe it. "Well, you can say goodnight to Teyla and finish up."
"Say hi from me," John piped up, and shrugged at the disgusted face he got from Liz and the quelling look he got from her mom.
Liz typed in something, and then clicked a few times on the computer. "Fine," she glared at her mom. "Are you happy now?"
"No," Megan's hand caressed Liz's hair, brushing over the curls with maternal affection. "But at least I can go back to pretending you're going to get your homework done before midnight."
John grinned, then cleared his expression when Liz glared at him.
Okay. He was going to stay out of this one.
Around ten-thirty, Liz began yawning - rather pointedly, John thought - and he took the hint. He'd gotten through most of his homework and it wasn't as though he could put off going home any longer.
"You'll be at the game tomorrow night?" He asked as he packed his books away.
She shrugged, not moving from her seat. "Probably."
"You sure you're okay?"
Liz rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Go home, John. Stop procrastinating."
Dismissed, and a little peeved at the procrastination taunt - Liz's home life was great, she'd never dreaded going home - John said goodbye to the Weirs, gritted his teeth, and headed down the street to his own house.
He was not looking forward to this.
--
John was in a sufficiently bad mood the next day to ignore most of the looks being thrown his way when he stalked down the corridors in the morning.
Classes were even more of a bore than usual, and Ronon was suspiciously absent from the midmorning break. John made do with Rodney, who was chattering fit to compete for the Guinness Book Of Records' record for the World's Fastest Talker and had a headache by the end of the break.
And he was getting looks from people.
Ben Maroney glared at him in Trig, barely paying attention to Mr. Felger. Kate Heightmeyer's look at him was disappointed when she passed him in the corridor, although he didn't have time to ask what was up. And he met Tammy Gilmore's smirking sashay with the same stony face that he turned towards Mitchell Slade and Dexter Halloran when they pushed past him on the way to Physics talking about the boat party Jeff Mann had held last weekend on the lake with his 'friends'.
He glimpsed Mara from some distance away, but she went into one of the classrooms without waiting for him, so he supposed she hadn't seen him.
In fact, the only person he saw that he felt like smiling at that morning was Teyla, who tilted an eyebrow at his set face and crossed her eyes at him in wry humour before vanishing into one of the Math classrooms.
By the time the lunchtime football meet rolled around, John was restless and in a mood to fight something.
He only half-listened to Coach's instructions for that night's game. Having made the top of their league, Shermer were playing Genii High tonight. After this, they had to win every game or be knocked out of the competition. And the games would get tougher and the pressure higher with every week that passed.
"We can do this," Caldwell said, his voice calm and his expression focused on the players before him. "You're a good team - I'm proud of what you've done this season. We can keep going, but to do that, we need everyone putting in a hundred ten percent. No slackers."
It was only a short meet. Coach believed that too much game wasn't good for the players and dismissed them by the half-lunch bell.
John turned on his heel, prepared to walk back to the senior lawn area, then realised that without Ronon around, he'd either be hanging on the edge of Jeff Mann's group or trying to cosy up to people he didn't really want to be bothered with right now.
Then he caught sight of Teyla, cutting across the main quadrangle on her way to the gym, and jogged after her. "Teyla!" She turned, and so did various heads around the yards. John ignored them, falling into step next to her. "Headed to the self-defence group?"
"Yes." She glanced at him, dark eyes thoughtful. "You are feeling...okay?"
He frowned. Teyla could be a little more formal at times, but that was a question she rarely asked. "I'm fine," he said, more shortly than he intended. "Had a fight with my dad last night after I got home from Liz's, but I'm fine."
Teyla's nod was brisk. "Your father will not be coming to the game tonight?"
John shrugged. "It's a free world. He can if he wants." Not that Jerry Sheppard would. Football was a frivolous enterprise to the old man, whether played at high school level or professionally. "Is Sharon coming?"
"I believe she intends to come. Halling is in town tonight, and he has Jinto for the weekend. They will likely come and watch the game."
"Great," John muttered as they swung in the door of the gym. Teyla's reproving glance had him throwing his hands up. "I didn't mean that your family--" He huffed. "Never mind. I can't seem to win today."
She had the sense to realise he wasn't poking fun, and the tact to change the topic. "You are coming to the lunchtime self-defence group?"
"I know a bit of jujitsu," John defended, not liking her tone. "Try me."
Her left eyebrow rose even further. "You want me to fight you?"
"What's wrong with that?" John was pretty sure he could hold his own against Teyla. Ronon would be another matter, but he wasn't going to go hand-to-hand against Ronon. No-one sane would. "Don't you think you can beat me?"
It was fun to watch her eyes narrow, and even more fun to watch her stalk across the room, prissy as an offended cat.
Mr. T regarded him with some surprise as he pulled off his jacket and shoes, and Mr. O'Neill arched both brows. "Are we aiming to lose tonight's game, Sheppard?"
"Sir?"
"Anyone going up against Ms. Emmagen is asking to come out of it black and blue. And you're the star quarterback and all that."
John resented that everyone seemed to think he couldn't take Teyla on. She was a good few inches smaller than him, at least fifteen pounds lighter, and while John would never be wrestler material, he wasn't small stuff.
There were even wagers going on around the room as he and Teyla faced each other across the mats. She'd pulled off her jacket to reveal a plain brown tank top over long, loose trousers.
"You know," he noted, "I don't know why everyone's so eager to see me lose."
Teyla smiled slightly as she took up a ready stance against him. "I will go easy on you if you wish, John."
"Don't bother," John retorted, standing with his feet planted in the middle of the floor. "Give it to me hard."
If her eyes widened fractionally at his loaded statement, she was more than ready for him when he came at her, jabbing lightly at her jaw, testing her reflexes and her readiness. She blocked him twice, then nearly caught him out with an unexpected jab to the belly. He ducked away.
It wasn't actually that difficult to match her, and John found himself grinning in anticipation of the blows and hits. There were murmurs beyond the mats, but he ignored them, and Teyla didn't seem to be listening anyway.
On the football field, she was a quiet, calm presence, and a cool head. In a team comprised of a bunch of teenage boys, that was generally a good thing. Here, she had an edge, as though the camaraderie that defined and built a team was stripped from her, honing her, focusing her.
Her eyes flickered from his face to his chest, carefully expressionless, but John sensed she wasn't looking at him as himself - he was just an opponent to be overcome.
John found it both disconcerting and distracting.
This wasn't a Teyla Emmagen he was familiar with.
A hard cut from her right caught him off balance, and she neatly moved in, hooking a foot around his ankle as her fingers caught his wrist and held him from going completely off balance. Rather than letting him fall to the ground, she lowered him down, saving his butt if not his dignity.
Sound rose around him, emerging like the sudden realisation of noise at the end of a game. As John panted with sudden exhaustion, he reflected that this could be seen as a smaller version of a football game - opponent, spectators, field, moves.
And he'd just lost.
Teyla peered down at him, her eyes focusing on his face with an expression that was almost surprised. "I did not hurt you?"
"Just my pride," John admitted, accepting her hand up. "You're good." She knew it already, but it wouldn't hurt to say it again.
"Thank you." Her smile deepened in pleasure, before someone called her name and she turned away.
John dusted himself off, noting the scrutiny of Mr. O'Neill over by Mr. T's hulking, black form. "So," he said, addressing the Vice-Principal directly, "Did I do okay?"
"For a rank beginner," O'Neill said, "Not bad. She went easy on you, you know."
John didn't quite sigh, but he wasn't completely surprised. Considering she could go up against Ronon and last for at least five minutes, she had to be much better at this than John. Still, in spite of knowing she'd gone easy on him, John felt satisfied with his attempt. It was like he'd purged a bit of restless energy and was ready to go for the game tonight.
But he stuck it out and watched the various people sparring against each other, quietly measuring which ones he could beat and which ones might beat him.
"John Sheppard." Mr. T paused by him towards the end of lunch. "Have you considered honing your self-defence skills in the fight club?"
"Considered, yeah," John said. "But I don't have time right now."
Mr. T nodded. The man moved with immense grace for a guy who embodied the phrase, 'built like a brick shithouse.' "Perhaps you will consider it when the football season concludes?"
John shrugged. "I'll think about it." It wasn't a bad idea, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to get involved in the fight club - although it would be one more thing on his school curriculum list.
"Ms. Emmagen is one of our best, and I understand you are friends with Mr. Dex." It wasn't quite a question. "You have potential."
"Uh, thanks." I think. John hauled on his bag as the bell went, grateful for the excuse to head out. "Gotta get to class. Afternoon, Mr. T."
He waved at Teyla on the way out, and she smiled briefly at him before returning her attention to the guy she was talking to.
Fine. He'd see her later at the game, anyway.
John was almost at his class when Rodney accosted him. "Sheppard, need to talk to you." With a surprisingly firm grip, the younger guy grabbed John's arm and hauled him over to the side out of the main traffic in the halls and next to a water fountain. "Go on and shoo," he told the sophomore who was wiping her mouth after a drink. "Get to your class. We're here."
"Rodney."
"Okay, there's no nice way to break this to you - assuming you need it broken to you, because if it's true then you already know. But if it's not, then I don't want to shock you or anything, and it's entirely possible that you already know about this."
"Rodney!"
Rodney took a deep breath. "Are you going out with Liz?"
John stared at Rodney. "Where'd you hear that?"
"It's making the rounds. Look, I just want to say that if it's true...well, I'm happy for you. Both of you." Rodney wasn't the best at dissembling, and John had the feeling there was a flip side to the declaration.
"And if it's not?"
"Then I'm relieved I won't have to scrape what's left of you off the sidewalk when Ronon finds out," said Rodney promptly. His backpack began to slip from his shoulder and he twitched it back on. "Should I be happy or relieved?"
"Does it matter?" John asked pointedly. "Either way, you're okay!"
"From the dulcet notes of your voice, I'm guessing you're not dating her." Rodney sagged. "Oh good. Well, not 'good' in the sense that if Ronon finds out about this rumour then you're gonna be in big trouble, and not 'good' in the sense that I have any designs on her, and certainly not 'good' if Liz finds out about it because then your trouble quotient is only going to be marginally less than when Ronon finds out..."
Trouble quotient? Where the hell did Rodney get these terms?
At least it explained the looks he'd been receiving all day. No wonder Ben Maroney was fuming - he'd been crushing on Liz for years now. Shit. John ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. "I don't have time for this. I have a game to play this afternoon."
"Yeah, well, you're gonna hear about it in the locker room. Probably. I don't know how much jocks gossip--"
"Enough."
"Well, if you don't hear it from the jocks, you'll hear it from the cheerleaders. Because I don't imagine Mara would be all that happy to hear you're dating Liz. Which you aren't, but she doesn't know that." Rodney winced and pressed one hand to his stomach. "Okay. I just had to tell you. My work here is done. And now I feel sick. Ugh. Do you think there might have been lemon in the stroganoff at lunch? I'm feeling queasy."
Without waiting for an answer, the other guy stalked off, his information passed on, his good deed done for the day. John shook his head. If there'd been any lemon in Rodney's lunch, Rodney wouldn't just be feeling queasy; he'd be struggling for breath.
Still, he almost managed a smile at the other guy's stomp down the corridor. He appreciated the heads-up, even from Rodney, who'd meant it well, even if he wasn't the most socially tactful of people.
The smile faded.
Okay, so it wasn't a new rumour. John had faced the same rumour at least once a semester for the last three years. But this was the first time it had made the rounds while Liz was dating Ronon.
Unlike Liz's last boyfriend, Simon Wallace, Ronon was more than capable of killing John without waiting for a trial by jury.
Okay, so John's concern wasn't totally self-centred. He liked Ronon. The other guy was cool company and good for Liz. And he remembered how it had felt to discover Chaya had dumped him for another guy. He didn't imagine Ronon would be feeling all that great if he heard the rumour.
Plus, it didn't make John look very good - stealing another guy's girlfriend.
And, frankly, he was just plain angry that anyone would even think he would do anything like that to two friends.
"Sheppard?"
Fuck. "Mr. Landry."
"Shouldn't you be in class?" The teacher arched his brows at John. "Would you like a tardy note?"
"Uhh... no, sir. Just having a quick drink."
Landry looked at the water fountain, sitting shiny and damp in the wall, and clearly didn't believe John. "Well, finish your quick drink and get to your class."
John ran for class. He'd deal with the rumours later.
--
The Friday afternoon bell rang, occasioning a complete stampede as students hurried to get out of school. John didn't move quite as fast as the rest of the herd since he only had to get out to the bus that was waiting to take him and the other players to the field for the first of the district games.
But Liz was waiting for him at the first intersection.
It was, it seemed, John's day for being collared by his friends.
"What is it?" He demanded of Liz as she hauled him by his bag strap over to an empty classroom after the last bell. "I've got a bus to catch."
"You can miss your bus for all I care," she flared, slamming the door behind her. "What are you doing, John?"
"What? What am I doing?"
"We are not dating! I don't care how hurt you are that Chaya dumped you - that does not give you the right to use me as a convenient extra in your social life!"
John gaped at her. "What? Wait, if this is about that rumour--"
"Of course it's about that rumour," she snapped, glaring daggers at him. "If you think that there's any chance I still have a crush on your arrogant, self-absorbed, egotistical--"
He couldn't help the grin. Okay, so he'd always suspected. But it was nice to know.
Liz froze and a scowl darkened her features. "Don't you dare make an issue of it, John."
And he wasn't even going to get to enjoy it. "I didn't say anything."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Look. Ronon and I had a fight the other day. I'm not in a good mood about that - and even less happy to discover that apparently I'm supposed to swoon in your arms like a helpless little heroine."
"You don't swoon," John said, thinking of all the times when they were kids that he and Rodney had tried to persuade Liz to let them 'rescue' her, only to be told that it was demeaning and stupid, and that they were misogynists, and their games were infantile...
"No," she agreed. "I don't. And I don't appreciate you starting up that rumour again--"
"Whoa. Wait. Hang on a minute! You think I started it? You think I had anything to do with this?" Now John was angry. Really angry. "I found out about it today at lunchtime when Rodney told me about it."
"Well, I didn't start it, and you were the logical one--"
"Logical? Hello! Why would I spread such a rumour around? Really? Christ, I'm not the one being arrogant and egotistical about this," John retorted back, his voice rising as he let out all the frustration of his last class and the whispers and looks he'd received from the other students. "I'm not the one assuming that you're spreading this stuff around!"
Liz stared at him, very pink. She went even pinker as there was a firm knock on the door.
"Come in," John growled, almost daring the person outside to enter.
The door opened wide enough for Teyla to poke her face in and look from one to the other. "I appear to be making a habit of this," she observed calmly.
John had no idea what she was referring to, but Liz went from pink to cherry red in an instant. "It's just a misunderstanding," she said hastily.
"You bet it is," John snapped at her. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got a bus to catch." He grabbed his bag and stalked out of the room.
It was a few seconds before Teyla caught up with him. "She is under a lot of stress."
Oh, now he really needed this. Rule number one. The girls always banded together. "She accused me of starting the damn rumours!"
"Did you?"
John skidded to a stop in the empty corridor, her question ringing in his ears. "What kind of a question is that?"
"A rhetorical one," said Teyla with forceful exasperation. "I do not give credence to wild rumours, John, especially when I know how Elizabeth feels about the matter."
It didn't quite mollify him. First Rodney even thinking that John would steal another guy's girlfriend - let alone a guy John considered a friend, then Liz assuming that he was the one who'd been spreading the rumours...
John was beginning to wonder who these people were and did they even know him?
"I don't need this now."
"No-one ever does."
"We've got tonight's game."
"In which you are supposed to lead us to glorious victory."
Her delicate acerbity won her a bitter smile, but John wasn't quite ready to let go of his anger. "Right now, I don't feel either glorious or victorious."
"That is your bad luck," Teyla pointed out. "Because the team wishes to be glorious and victorious in tonight's game against the Genii, and we have no other captain - unless you wish Bates to step in for you?"
John frowned slightly. "You've already threatened me with that once this season."
"Another habit that is developing," she said. "It is just a rumour."
"It's a lie."
"You know that."
"Yeah, but nobody else does. And even those who know it's not true think I'm spreading the rumour." That stung. That really stung.
"John..." Teyla sighed. "Am I going to have to smack some sense into you?"
He rolled his eyes. "No."
"Good. Because I wish to save my energy for the game this evening." Teyla turned him in the direction of his locker and gave him a push. "Gods of my ancestors, John, go and get your stuff and get to the bus. You can brood about this later - when the game is over."
He was going to.
John let her shove him towards his locker, took a few steps in that direction and then spun around. "You know," he said, stopping her mid-turn as she went to get her own stuff from her locker, "you're as bossy as Liz when you put your mind to it."
Teyla went dusky pink, rolled her eyes and stalked in the opposite direction, every sandal slap a testament to one offended girl.
John grinned and made for his locker.
- TBC -
NOTES: I've made this a priority to finish, but we're only a third of the way through and there's a lot of development to go. I'll hopefully have about one chapter up per fornight, but no promises. This one's slower to work through because there are a lot more relationships to develop and elaborate upon - it takes time.
SUMMARY: It was, it seemed, John's day for being collared by his friends.
CATEGORY: high school AU, drama
RATING: PG-13
WORDCOUNT: 4,944
NOTES: Sorry about the break between postings - I've had a million and one things to get done, and it's all just swamped me. There's a lot still to go in this story and a lot to be written. We'll see what can be done in the coming month. Thank you for being patient!
Chapter Five: Full Of Grace
Chapter Six - Storm Clouds Gathering
There was one more regular season game the following Friday, and Shermer coasted to a fifteen-point victory against them. John scored one touchdown, and opened up a space for Sam Maynard to plough through for another, while other players on the team similarly distinguished themselves.
Practise began getting hairy - the championship playoffs began the next weekend. There was tension and more than a little stress going around the players, and it came up in small ways - grumbling, short tempers, restlessness escalating to fights.
John wasn't quite sure what he'd expected from the team after Homecoming, but it wasn't this kind of behaviour. He and the coach worked at keeping the peace, although one fight nearly got out of hand during weight training when Markham threw a punch at Lichfield and more than a few of the guys started up, ready for a fight.
Oddly enough, the calming factor was Teyla manhandling Lichfield back while John got between Teyla and Markham. Lichfield wouldn't throw a punch at Teyla, but John wasn't so sure about Markham.
It left him feeling restless and irritable.
Later, on her way out of training, Teyla patted John's arm as she went out. "It will work out, John."
"Halloween might help," Ford commented that Thursday afternoon after training. They had the first of the championship games that Friday, so Saturday night was free for a change. "A chance to put on masks, play silly, TP the coach's house..." Dark eyes twinkled at John as he tilted his head. "You doing anything Saturday night?"
John shrugged. "Party at Liz's," he said.
"Geek side of the force?"
"Careful," John warned, "or you'll start to sound like one yourself."
Ford's grin was quick and mischievous. "Can't have that. Might have to beat myself up."
Which reminded John... "Yeah, about that. Did you really threaten to beat Zelenka up other day?" John had heard the rumour from Rodney on Tuesday.
"Oh, man." Ford groaned. "Look, it's not as bad as it sounds. I asked him a simple question about the Physics class and he came out with all this stuff that I didn't need to know and don't want to. Then, when I asked him to speak plain English, he started jabbering at me in that Euro language of his. So I asked him if I was going to have to beat the answer out of him." Ford scowled at the inside of his locker and pulled out his tote. "It was a joke. But I think he was being geeky just to annoy me, you know?"
Yeah, John knew. And he'd been pretty sure that Ford wasn't the beat 'em up kind of guy. But Rodney had been outraged and given John an earful and a half about typical jocks who thought they could solve everything with their fists. John left the McKay household with only half his homework done, and a headache.
And things hadn't been any better when he got home.
"They do that," John said by way of consolation. He slammed his locker shut and spun the combination.
"McKay?"
"Yeah. A yes/no question turns into an essay answer." John shrugged. After all these years, he was used to Rodney. Sure, it was annoying at times but he dealt.
"Well, it's your ears being chewed off, not mine." Ford shut his locker. "You going to McKay's tonight?"
"Nah, tonight is Liz's house. Dinner included." Thank God for the Weirs.
The younger guy gave him a hard look. "How's Dex feel about that?"
John shrugged. "He's cool with it." Not that they'd ever spoken about it, of course. But Ronon had never said anything, so John supposed he was cool about John's friendship with Liz.
"And Mara?"
It was John's turn to give Ford a hard look. "What's Mara got to do with it?"
Ford shrugged. "Sometimes girls take your friendships with other girls funny."
John couldn't deny that, but he hauled his backpack on and shrugged. "She'll just have to deal with it."
He thought about it on the way to Liz's. Chaya hadn't been too enthusiastic about either Liz or Teyla. And Liz hadn't been happy about Chaya either. John had never worked out if that was because Liz had been crushing on him, or just because Chaya didn't like him hanging out with Liz.
Teyla didn't seem to care one way or the other. But that was Teyla. She could be hard to read if she didn't want you to know what she was thinking about something.
As he hauled his bag out of his car at Liz's, John reflected that Teyla had been playing it very cool after Homecoming. Friendly, but not overly so, and definitely not anything like the way Mara was making friendly towards him.
Friendly was more than he was getting from Liz that night.
She was quiet through dinner, almost sulky. John made most of the conversation, and her parents gave most of the answers.
"So," he said as they pulled out their books and spread them across the table. "What's eating you?"
Liz sniffed, her eyes firmly fixed on the paper of a page she wasn't seeing. "Nothing."
"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be in such a bad mood." John figured he might as well have it out with her. Maybe if she had her temper tantrum, then she'd be in a better mood afterwards and they might actually get some of their Civics homework done.
"I'm not in a bad mood!" Liz pulled over a textbook and glared at it as though it was responsible for all her woes and troubles. John nearly pointed out the contradiction between her actions and her words, but decided not to. He didn't fancy having Liz angry with him, instead of just angry.
Whatever. Hopefully Ronon's call at nine would put her in a better frame of mind. Exactly when the institution had begun, John didn't know. He didn't have any idea what was said during those conversations, because Liz always went out of the room or glared if he got too close. But she always came back in a better mood afterwards.
They worked through homework fairly fast - Liz was good at Civics, which was why John studied with her for this subject - and John finished the essay well ahead of the time he'd imagined he'd have to spend on it and moved back to Physics, which he found easier than all this diplomatic and political stuff.
He got through the problems assigned to him, read up on the notes, and even managed to sketch out a few ideas for a project later on in the year. He'd have to run it past Rodney, of course, but there was plenty of time for the other boy to tear his ideas into pieces. Rodney was good at that kind of thing.
Liz was doing research on her Dad's laptop for another subject; every now and then she'd type in a search string, then click around a bit.
John began getting suspicious around the time she began typing more than she was clicking.
Megan came in with ginger beer and cookies at a quarter past nine, and glanced over her daughter's shoulder. The steady tap of keys suddenly stopped and John saw the quick movement of Liz's left hand as she swapped the window she was looking at.
"Elizabeth."
"Mom."
"Your father let you use the laptop for research purposes," Megan said. "Not to chat to Teyla all night."
Liz flushed, giving John an apologetic glance. He nonchalantly studied the pattern of coconut shavings on his cookie. "I'd only just started talking to her, mom."
Megan didn't believe it. "Well, you can say goodnight to Teyla and finish up."
"Say hi from me," John piped up, and shrugged at the disgusted face he got from Liz and the quelling look he got from her mom.
Liz typed in something, and then clicked a few times on the computer. "Fine," she glared at her mom. "Are you happy now?"
"No," Megan's hand caressed Liz's hair, brushing over the curls with maternal affection. "But at least I can go back to pretending you're going to get your homework done before midnight."
John grinned, then cleared his expression when Liz glared at him.
Okay. He was going to stay out of this one.
Around ten-thirty, Liz began yawning - rather pointedly, John thought - and he took the hint. He'd gotten through most of his homework and it wasn't as though he could put off going home any longer.
"You'll be at the game tomorrow night?" He asked as he packed his books away.
She shrugged, not moving from her seat. "Probably."
"You sure you're okay?"
Liz rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Go home, John. Stop procrastinating."
Dismissed, and a little peeved at the procrastination taunt - Liz's home life was great, she'd never dreaded going home - John said goodbye to the Weirs, gritted his teeth, and headed down the street to his own house.
He was not looking forward to this.
--
John was in a sufficiently bad mood the next day to ignore most of the looks being thrown his way when he stalked down the corridors in the morning.
Classes were even more of a bore than usual, and Ronon was suspiciously absent from the midmorning break. John made do with Rodney, who was chattering fit to compete for the Guinness Book Of Records' record for the World's Fastest Talker and had a headache by the end of the break.
And he was getting looks from people.
Ben Maroney glared at him in Trig, barely paying attention to Mr. Felger. Kate Heightmeyer's look at him was disappointed when she passed him in the corridor, although he didn't have time to ask what was up. And he met Tammy Gilmore's smirking sashay with the same stony face that he turned towards Mitchell Slade and Dexter Halloran when they pushed past him on the way to Physics talking about the boat party Jeff Mann had held last weekend on the lake with his 'friends'.
He glimpsed Mara from some distance away, but she went into one of the classrooms without waiting for him, so he supposed she hadn't seen him.
In fact, the only person he saw that he felt like smiling at that morning was Teyla, who tilted an eyebrow at his set face and crossed her eyes at him in wry humour before vanishing into one of the Math classrooms.
By the time the lunchtime football meet rolled around, John was restless and in a mood to fight something.
He only half-listened to Coach's instructions for that night's game. Having made the top of their league, Shermer were playing Genii High tonight. After this, they had to win every game or be knocked out of the competition. And the games would get tougher and the pressure higher with every week that passed.
"We can do this," Caldwell said, his voice calm and his expression focused on the players before him. "You're a good team - I'm proud of what you've done this season. We can keep going, but to do that, we need everyone putting in a hundred ten percent. No slackers."
It was only a short meet. Coach believed that too much game wasn't good for the players and dismissed them by the half-lunch bell.
John turned on his heel, prepared to walk back to the senior lawn area, then realised that without Ronon around, he'd either be hanging on the edge of Jeff Mann's group or trying to cosy up to people he didn't really want to be bothered with right now.
Then he caught sight of Teyla, cutting across the main quadrangle on her way to the gym, and jogged after her. "Teyla!" She turned, and so did various heads around the yards. John ignored them, falling into step next to her. "Headed to the self-defence group?"
"Yes." She glanced at him, dark eyes thoughtful. "You are feeling...okay?"
He frowned. Teyla could be a little more formal at times, but that was a question she rarely asked. "I'm fine," he said, more shortly than he intended. "Had a fight with my dad last night after I got home from Liz's, but I'm fine."
Teyla's nod was brisk. "Your father will not be coming to the game tonight?"
John shrugged. "It's a free world. He can if he wants." Not that Jerry Sheppard would. Football was a frivolous enterprise to the old man, whether played at high school level or professionally. "Is Sharon coming?"
"I believe she intends to come. Halling is in town tonight, and he has Jinto for the weekend. They will likely come and watch the game."
"Great," John muttered as they swung in the door of the gym. Teyla's reproving glance had him throwing his hands up. "I didn't mean that your family--" He huffed. "Never mind. I can't seem to win today."
She had the sense to realise he wasn't poking fun, and the tact to change the topic. "You are coming to the lunchtime self-defence group?"
"I know a bit of jujitsu," John defended, not liking her tone. "Try me."
Her left eyebrow rose even further. "You want me to fight you?"
"What's wrong with that?" John was pretty sure he could hold his own against Teyla. Ronon would be another matter, but he wasn't going to go hand-to-hand against Ronon. No-one sane would. "Don't you think you can beat me?"
It was fun to watch her eyes narrow, and even more fun to watch her stalk across the room, prissy as an offended cat.
Mr. T regarded him with some surprise as he pulled off his jacket and shoes, and Mr. O'Neill arched both brows. "Are we aiming to lose tonight's game, Sheppard?"
"Sir?"
"Anyone going up against Ms. Emmagen is asking to come out of it black and blue. And you're the star quarterback and all that."
John resented that everyone seemed to think he couldn't take Teyla on. She was a good few inches smaller than him, at least fifteen pounds lighter, and while John would never be wrestler material, he wasn't small stuff.
There were even wagers going on around the room as he and Teyla faced each other across the mats. She'd pulled off her jacket to reveal a plain brown tank top over long, loose trousers.
"You know," he noted, "I don't know why everyone's so eager to see me lose."
Teyla smiled slightly as she took up a ready stance against him. "I will go easy on you if you wish, John."
"Don't bother," John retorted, standing with his feet planted in the middle of the floor. "Give it to me hard."
If her eyes widened fractionally at his loaded statement, she was more than ready for him when he came at her, jabbing lightly at her jaw, testing her reflexes and her readiness. She blocked him twice, then nearly caught him out with an unexpected jab to the belly. He ducked away.
It wasn't actually that difficult to match her, and John found himself grinning in anticipation of the blows and hits. There were murmurs beyond the mats, but he ignored them, and Teyla didn't seem to be listening anyway.
On the football field, she was a quiet, calm presence, and a cool head. In a team comprised of a bunch of teenage boys, that was generally a good thing. Here, she had an edge, as though the camaraderie that defined and built a team was stripped from her, honing her, focusing her.
Her eyes flickered from his face to his chest, carefully expressionless, but John sensed she wasn't looking at him as himself - he was just an opponent to be overcome.
John found it both disconcerting and distracting.
This wasn't a Teyla Emmagen he was familiar with.
A hard cut from her right caught him off balance, and she neatly moved in, hooking a foot around his ankle as her fingers caught his wrist and held him from going completely off balance. Rather than letting him fall to the ground, she lowered him down, saving his butt if not his dignity.
Sound rose around him, emerging like the sudden realisation of noise at the end of a game. As John panted with sudden exhaustion, he reflected that this could be seen as a smaller version of a football game - opponent, spectators, field, moves.
And he'd just lost.
Teyla peered down at him, her eyes focusing on his face with an expression that was almost surprised. "I did not hurt you?"
"Just my pride," John admitted, accepting her hand up. "You're good." She knew it already, but it wouldn't hurt to say it again.
"Thank you." Her smile deepened in pleasure, before someone called her name and she turned away.
John dusted himself off, noting the scrutiny of Mr. O'Neill over by Mr. T's hulking, black form. "So," he said, addressing the Vice-Principal directly, "Did I do okay?"
"For a rank beginner," O'Neill said, "Not bad. She went easy on you, you know."
John didn't quite sigh, but he wasn't completely surprised. Considering she could go up against Ronon and last for at least five minutes, she had to be much better at this than John. Still, in spite of knowing she'd gone easy on him, John felt satisfied with his attempt. It was like he'd purged a bit of restless energy and was ready to go for the game tonight.
But he stuck it out and watched the various people sparring against each other, quietly measuring which ones he could beat and which ones might beat him.
"John Sheppard." Mr. T paused by him towards the end of lunch. "Have you considered honing your self-defence skills in the fight club?"
"Considered, yeah," John said. "But I don't have time right now."
Mr. T nodded. The man moved with immense grace for a guy who embodied the phrase, 'built like a brick shithouse.' "Perhaps you will consider it when the football season concludes?"
John shrugged. "I'll think about it." It wasn't a bad idea, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to get involved in the fight club - although it would be one more thing on his school curriculum list.
"Ms. Emmagen is one of our best, and I understand you are friends with Mr. Dex." It wasn't quite a question. "You have potential."
"Uh, thanks." I think. John hauled on his bag as the bell went, grateful for the excuse to head out. "Gotta get to class. Afternoon, Mr. T."
He waved at Teyla on the way out, and she smiled briefly at him before returning her attention to the guy she was talking to.
Fine. He'd see her later at the game, anyway.
John was almost at his class when Rodney accosted him. "Sheppard, need to talk to you." With a surprisingly firm grip, the younger guy grabbed John's arm and hauled him over to the side out of the main traffic in the halls and next to a water fountain. "Go on and shoo," he told the sophomore who was wiping her mouth after a drink. "Get to your class. We're here."
"Rodney."
"Okay, there's no nice way to break this to you - assuming you need it broken to you, because if it's true then you already know. But if it's not, then I don't want to shock you or anything, and it's entirely possible that you already know about this."
"Rodney!"
Rodney took a deep breath. "Are you going out with Liz?"
John stared at Rodney. "Where'd you hear that?"
"It's making the rounds. Look, I just want to say that if it's true...well, I'm happy for you. Both of you." Rodney wasn't the best at dissembling, and John had the feeling there was a flip side to the declaration.
"And if it's not?"
"Then I'm relieved I won't have to scrape what's left of you off the sidewalk when Ronon finds out," said Rodney promptly. His backpack began to slip from his shoulder and he twitched it back on. "Should I be happy or relieved?"
"Does it matter?" John asked pointedly. "Either way, you're okay!"
"From the dulcet notes of your voice, I'm guessing you're not dating her." Rodney sagged. "Oh good. Well, not 'good' in the sense that if Ronon finds out about this rumour then you're gonna be in big trouble, and not 'good' in the sense that I have any designs on her, and certainly not 'good' if Liz finds out about it because then your trouble quotient is only going to be marginally less than when Ronon finds out..."
Trouble quotient? Where the hell did Rodney get these terms?
At least it explained the looks he'd been receiving all day. No wonder Ben Maroney was fuming - he'd been crushing on Liz for years now. Shit. John ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. "I don't have time for this. I have a game to play this afternoon."
"Yeah, well, you're gonna hear about it in the locker room. Probably. I don't know how much jocks gossip--"
"Enough."
"Well, if you don't hear it from the jocks, you'll hear it from the cheerleaders. Because I don't imagine Mara would be all that happy to hear you're dating Liz. Which you aren't, but she doesn't know that." Rodney winced and pressed one hand to his stomach. "Okay. I just had to tell you. My work here is done. And now I feel sick. Ugh. Do you think there might have been lemon in the stroganoff at lunch? I'm feeling queasy."
Without waiting for an answer, the other guy stalked off, his information passed on, his good deed done for the day. John shook his head. If there'd been any lemon in Rodney's lunch, Rodney wouldn't just be feeling queasy; he'd be struggling for breath.
Still, he almost managed a smile at the other guy's stomp down the corridor. He appreciated the heads-up, even from Rodney, who'd meant it well, even if he wasn't the most socially tactful of people.
The smile faded.
Okay, so it wasn't a new rumour. John had faced the same rumour at least once a semester for the last three years. But this was the first time it had made the rounds while Liz was dating Ronon.
Unlike Liz's last boyfriend, Simon Wallace, Ronon was more than capable of killing John without waiting for a trial by jury.
Okay, so John's concern wasn't totally self-centred. He liked Ronon. The other guy was cool company and good for Liz. And he remembered how it had felt to discover Chaya had dumped him for another guy. He didn't imagine Ronon would be feeling all that great if he heard the rumour.
Plus, it didn't make John look very good - stealing another guy's girlfriend.
And, frankly, he was just plain angry that anyone would even think he would do anything like that to two friends.
"Sheppard?"
Fuck. "Mr. Landry."
"Shouldn't you be in class?" The teacher arched his brows at John. "Would you like a tardy note?"
"Uhh... no, sir. Just having a quick drink."
Landry looked at the water fountain, sitting shiny and damp in the wall, and clearly didn't believe John. "Well, finish your quick drink and get to your class."
John ran for class. He'd deal with the rumours later.
--
The Friday afternoon bell rang, occasioning a complete stampede as students hurried to get out of school. John didn't move quite as fast as the rest of the herd since he only had to get out to the bus that was waiting to take him and the other players to the field for the first of the district games.
But Liz was waiting for him at the first intersection.
It was, it seemed, John's day for being collared by his friends.
"What is it?" He demanded of Liz as she hauled him by his bag strap over to an empty classroom after the last bell. "I've got a bus to catch."
"You can miss your bus for all I care," she flared, slamming the door behind her. "What are you doing, John?"
"What? What am I doing?"
"We are not dating! I don't care how hurt you are that Chaya dumped you - that does not give you the right to use me as a convenient extra in your social life!"
John gaped at her. "What? Wait, if this is about that rumour--"
"Of course it's about that rumour," she snapped, glaring daggers at him. "If you think that there's any chance I still have a crush on your arrogant, self-absorbed, egotistical--"
He couldn't help the grin. Okay, so he'd always suspected. But it was nice to know.
Liz froze and a scowl darkened her features. "Don't you dare make an issue of it, John."
And he wasn't even going to get to enjoy it. "I didn't say anything."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Look. Ronon and I had a fight the other day. I'm not in a good mood about that - and even less happy to discover that apparently I'm supposed to swoon in your arms like a helpless little heroine."
"You don't swoon," John said, thinking of all the times when they were kids that he and Rodney had tried to persuade Liz to let them 'rescue' her, only to be told that it was demeaning and stupid, and that they were misogynists, and their games were infantile...
"No," she agreed. "I don't. And I don't appreciate you starting up that rumour again--"
"Whoa. Wait. Hang on a minute! You think I started it? You think I had anything to do with this?" Now John was angry. Really angry. "I found out about it today at lunchtime when Rodney told me about it."
"Well, I didn't start it, and you were the logical one--"
"Logical? Hello! Why would I spread such a rumour around? Really? Christ, I'm not the one being arrogant and egotistical about this," John retorted back, his voice rising as he let out all the frustration of his last class and the whispers and looks he'd received from the other students. "I'm not the one assuming that you're spreading this stuff around!"
Liz stared at him, very pink. She went even pinker as there was a firm knock on the door.
"Come in," John growled, almost daring the person outside to enter.
The door opened wide enough for Teyla to poke her face in and look from one to the other. "I appear to be making a habit of this," she observed calmly.
John had no idea what she was referring to, but Liz went from pink to cherry red in an instant. "It's just a misunderstanding," she said hastily.
"You bet it is," John snapped at her. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got a bus to catch." He grabbed his bag and stalked out of the room.
It was a few seconds before Teyla caught up with him. "She is under a lot of stress."
Oh, now he really needed this. Rule number one. The girls always banded together. "She accused me of starting the damn rumours!"
"Did you?"
John skidded to a stop in the empty corridor, her question ringing in his ears. "What kind of a question is that?"
"A rhetorical one," said Teyla with forceful exasperation. "I do not give credence to wild rumours, John, especially when I know how Elizabeth feels about the matter."
It didn't quite mollify him. First Rodney even thinking that John would steal another guy's girlfriend - let alone a guy John considered a friend, then Liz assuming that he was the one who'd been spreading the rumours...
John was beginning to wonder who these people were and did they even know him?
"I don't need this now."
"No-one ever does."
"We've got tonight's game."
"In which you are supposed to lead us to glorious victory."
Her delicate acerbity won her a bitter smile, but John wasn't quite ready to let go of his anger. "Right now, I don't feel either glorious or victorious."
"That is your bad luck," Teyla pointed out. "Because the team wishes to be glorious and victorious in tonight's game against the Genii, and we have no other captain - unless you wish Bates to step in for you?"
John frowned slightly. "You've already threatened me with that once this season."
"Another habit that is developing," she said. "It is just a rumour."
"It's a lie."
"You know that."
"Yeah, but nobody else does. And even those who know it's not true think I'm spreading the rumour." That stung. That really stung.
"John..." Teyla sighed. "Am I going to have to smack some sense into you?"
He rolled his eyes. "No."
"Good. Because I wish to save my energy for the game this evening." Teyla turned him in the direction of his locker and gave him a push. "Gods of my ancestors, John, go and get your stuff and get to the bus. You can brood about this later - when the game is over."
He was going to.
John let her shove him towards his locker, took a few steps in that direction and then spun around. "You know," he said, stopping her mid-turn as she went to get her own stuff from her locker, "you're as bossy as Liz when you put your mind to it."
Teyla went dusky pink, rolled her eyes and stalked in the opposite direction, every sandal slap a testament to one offended girl.
John grinned and made for his locker.
- TBC -
NOTES: I've made this a priority to finish, but we're only a third of the way through and there's a lot of development to go. I'll hopefully have about one chapter up per fornight, but no promises. This one's slower to work through because there are a lot more relationships to develop and elaborate upon - it takes time.