chapter eighteen
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"So... we have a pet fish now?"

Maeve stood off to one side as the girls peered into Echo's fishbowl (they apparently hadn't noticed the tank while moving in yesterday) and frowned at Allison's words, quick to correct her,"No, I have a pet fish."

Dan looked up,"We can all contribute to taking care of it if you'd like."

"I wouldn't like." Maeve said, even though she'd already asked Renee that if she would be okay with feeding him in the case that Maeve wanted to disappear for a few hours.

The girl had beamed and said she'd be more than happy to do so and even asked if she could add to Echo's current environment, Maeve had no problem with that and told Renee to do as she liked. Since she'd gotten Echo, she'd already gone back and bought him a bigger tank after extensive research on how to take care of bettas, though she hadn't gotten around to adding more to his space beyond that.

     Allison rolled her eyes at her, but they dropped it as she and Dan split up to get ready for the first day of summer practice, Maeve took advantage of the fact that Renee was an early riser and had long since been ready.

She smiled warmly as she followed her beckon to the door,"Is everything alright?"

"I need a favor."

     Kevin frowned as he watched all but two of his teammates file into the gym, Wymack noticed it too after a few minutes of staring down at his clipboard and turned a look on Dan,"What's taking those two so damn long?"

Dan's expression turned guilty.

Allison flicked them all a cool look when the former didn't say anything and everyone turned to her, Wymack narrowed his gaze.

"Don't tell me they went to the court."

Allison shrugged, so Dan finally spoke up,"We don't know, we were all together this morning, but Allison and I still had to get ready and when we walked out again they were already gone. They didn't say anything about leaving, but Maeve's motorcycle wasn't in the lot either. We figured she wanted to talk to Renee so she gave her a ride here, she does that sometimes, talking to her separate from us, though I don't think they went to the court."

"She's gonna be the death of me." Wymack grumbled, but didn't explain further as he reached for his phone and presumably dialed Maeve's number. The Foxes waited in curiosity, silent enough that when the line eventually went to voicemail, they all heard it.

Kevin didn't expect Wymack to waste time with one, but was proved wrong as the man spoke into his phone.

"When I said to wait for the first day of practice, this is not what I meant. You better have a damn good reason for not being here and for taking my goalie with you. If you're not here tomorrow, I swear—"

He was cut off by a beep and grumbled even more before dialing again, when the automated message played for a second time he hung up. Kevin was about to suggest they dial Renee when Wymack turned a look on Matt, who understood and pulled out his own phone. He was surprised when it only took two rings for a voice on the other end to respond.

"Hey, where are you?" Matt made a face at her response,"Coach is—"

He didn't get a chance to finish as the phone was promptly pulled from his grip,"Maeve Joy Kingston!"

Wymack must've hit the speaker button when he wrestled the phone out of Matt's hands because they all heard Maeve's voice, loud and clear, as she scolded back,"Full name."

"Where in hell are you?!" He snapped.

A brief pause followed, Kevin thought she'd hung up, but they hadn't heard the end of call tone. Eventually, Maeve answered.

"We're at the tattoo place."

"And what part of I know you know how this works translates in your brain as skipping out on the first practice to get a new fucking tattoo?! You don't get to play difficult, we're already risking enough this year!"

     Rather than addressing his rant and what led to her actions, she asked,"How is it that you make Joy sound threatening?"

     "It's a gift." Wymack deadpanned,"Now I expect you both to be here tomorrow, or so help me we'll raise your laps another ten years because this just shaved a decade off of my own damn life! That tattoo better hurt a whole fucking lot and be fucking worth it!"

     "Technically, Renee hasn't turned in her forms yet anyway so it's not like she can practice." Maeve explained her logic,"She'll be there tomorrow, ready to go, and so will I. Be glad that I spared you Matt, I could've brought him too, then where would you be? Down both starting backliners and your goalie, tsk, tsk, practice some gratitude, Coach."

     "Practice some fucking discipline." He said in reply before hanging up and throwing the phone in Matt's general direction.

     Kevin didn't turn to see whether he caught it or not, but instead focused on the remaining Foxes and their practice. On one hand, he was angry at Maeve for ditching, but on the other he knew he had no right to be. From the very beginning, she'd told him their relationship wouldn't affect her apathetic attitude toward Exy. Still, he couldn't help be bitter, he had hope that the year would be different.

     It didn't help that practice was awful.

     He texted Maeve while Nicky and Aaron fought over what they were going to eat.

Me: A tattoo? Seriously?

She responded almost immediately.

Maeve: u can c it 2mrw <3

The heart was enough to throw him off guard, his annoyance put aside in favor of interest.

Me: Why not today?

Maeve: b/c im in atlanta

Me: You went all the way to Georgia for a tattoo?

That meant she still had to have been nearby when she'd talked to Wymack at the start of practice. His phone flashed two messages at him next, the second coming shortly after the first.

     Maeve: as nicky would say: duh

Maeve: + im also getting a piercing

His thumbs flew across the keyboard.

Me: Where?

Maeve: guess ;)

Kevin hesitated, his mind supplying plenty of suggestions. Since when was Maeve a flirt? He thought to himself, just yesterday they'd agreed they wouldn't stop seeing one another yet, but he didn't exactly expect it to happen often with practices starting up and Andrew constantly at his side. Now there was this.

His fingers hovered as he remained unsure of what the proper response would be, in the end he settled for no guess at all.

Me: Hopefully anywhere but your face.

It probably wasn't the one Maeve was looking for, but it was the truth, and not just because he enjoyed the look of her bare face, before the makeup and the fronts she put up. She confirmed his thoughts with her next text, one he didn't bother replying to after reading.

Maeve: nah i learned from this guy not to ever do anything permanent on your face wouldnt want to regret it after

He looked up when Nicky called his name and tried to get him to care about what they'd be having for dinner, but he told them it didn't matter to him either way. In the end, they'd settled for Italian food, and all it did was bring his mind back to Maeve.

Though he wasn't the only one, apparently.

"Can we talk about it yet?" Nicky sighed out in exasperation while they waited for their food to be delivered.

He didn't explicitly state who he was asking his question to, but he didn't need to as Andrew looked up from his place by the open window and his cigarette,"What, Nicky?"

"Maeve." He clarified.

Kevin's heartbeat picked up, Andrew already knew there was something going on between Maeve and himself, he'd confirmed as much when he told Kevin to stay away. Nicky had to suspect, and there was no way Aaron didn't after Maeve stormed her way inside their dorm yesterday afternoon with food and spent an hour watching them play video games and an additional two watching a movie with them before she retreated.

     So why was it still instinctive to hide it?

     She'd called him her boyfriend once, but he struggled deciding whether she meant it or not. In retrospect, it seemed like a slip of her tongue, an accident. And it was safe to say Kevin didn't take to being rejected lightly.

     And yet... he had been willing to wait when she'd asked. She'd done the same for him, and maybe that's why she was different.

     He put his thoughts aside for later as Nicky began to elaborate what he meant.

     "You wouldn't tell us if we were keeping her last year, you called her a flight risk and said there were too many loose ends to take care of — whatever that meant — but she was a part of our group at the start of this summer, and she could've been with us way before that, she learned German for us, Andrew!" He gestured wildly with his hands,"How many people do you know that would do that for someone?!"

     "She's a polyglot." Andrew pointed out.

     "Which only makes her cooler." Nicky rolled his eyes,"Whatever, I'm right, you know it, I know it, and now I wanna know if me or Aaron won this bet. Is she family or are you finally gonna give her up to the others? I'm tired of this constant tug of war. And what about Neil? I know you think he's interesting."

     Andrew beamed, suddenly standing from his perk by the window at the sight of Kevin's watchful gaze,"Look who's suddenly interested in our conversation, I guess we finally found a topic more interesting to you than Exy."

     Kevin ignored his jab, not bothering to accept or deny it, and glared back,"Just answer the question already, I need to know how many of you I have to worry about."

     A finger poked at the center of his chest, and Kevin was momentarily grateful that it wasn't a knife instead.

     "You worry about no one but yourself, understand? The rest is mine to deal with."

     He didn't back down as the man leaned over him,"You're not really gonna let me dictate whether she winds up under your protection."

     It wasn't phrased as a question, but paired with his scowl, it definitely seemed an accusation. More don't than "you wouldn't dare", but it either went over Andrew's head or he let it go because this was amusing to him. Kevin guessed it was the latter when his grin didn't fade.

     "Finally starting to catch on, are you? You decide nothing, I am the one in charge here, do not forget. And do not mistake her for someone who needs protection, much less yourself as someone who'd be fit for the job."

     "Uh, did I win my bet or two? Still waiting here." Nicky reminded them that they weren't alone, looking both pleased with himself and intrigued, despite his interruption.

     Aaron was watching with equal rapt attention, Andrew returned to his desk.

     "What did I tell you before, Nicky?"

     He thought it over,"That we'll see this Friday, I know, but Columbia? I thought that you were only testing Neil, you took Maeve there already and she won't fall for it again. Last time was enough of a mess, we can't keep doing this."

     "Sure we can." Andrew lit up another cigarette,"You told her what I told you?"

     Nicky sighed,"Yeah, and it was hard, let me tell you. I still don't see how it gets us any closer to keeping her or not."

     "Patience, Nicky, those who wait are often rewarded— only fools rush in. Besides, Maeve isn't someone you keep, she has to come willingly or not at all. This Friday you'll all have your answers and me to thank."