OVERKILL ★ CHAPTER FOUR
(A Rat-Diet Discussion.)

QUINN HATES BEING A LIGHT sleeper. Back in high school it was an advantage, since she actually needed a reason to wake up at an ungodly hour in the morning. But, as she went through her college years and started working, there have been less and less times she'd have to be up exceptionally early. Which is why she hates that she can wake up by just the drop of a pin, or the sound of the lightest footsteps. She just wants to sleep.

And of course, being cursed with the ability of waking up so easily means that somewhere in her head, there's a list of some of the worst ways she's been woken up. The list ranges from events such as the time her friend slapped two pans together by her head, causing her to flail from her unconscious state in shock. Another time was when she woke up the sound of her roommate trying to have quiet sex (she says quiet lightly, because she thinks the noises they were making would have woken up and absolutely disgusted the deepest sleeper possible).

But by far, the worst way she's ever been woken up is right now: to the sound of a fucking whistle blowing by her ear.

Her body shoots up, adrenaline pumping as she assesses her surroundings. She lets out a panicked yelp when she turns her head to the right, and Beard's head is fractions away to her face.

She slaps the whistle out of his mouth before laying back down and covering her face with a pillow. "Please tell me I'm dreaming and you did not just do that."

Her godfather ignores her comment. "Get up and get ready. We're leaving."

"For what? Military training?"

"We can discuss that after you get your citizenship here." He opens the door to leave the room, but turns back to her. "Get ready. I mean it." The door slams shut on his way out.

Quinn closes her eyes and takes a heavy breath in, gathering back her inner peace. She pushes her covers away and begins to get ready.

She has a feeling that Beard's early arrival has something to do with her emotional hiccup yesterday. He had stayed for a few hours until Christa arrived home, and he had to go meet with Ted. She'd been half asleep at that time, so he carefully tucked her comforter around her body before kissing the top of her head. "Expect me tomorrow," he had said promptly before leaving.

It's clear he doesn't want Quinn to be alone with her thoughts, and his version of helping is making sure she gets out of the flat to be properly distracted.

She puts on the same clothes she put on yesterday since she had never even made it out the door with them on. She kneels to dig her suitcase for a pair of socks, and her gaze shifts to the box under her bed.

Her mind goes to her junior year of high school when she read The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe for her English class. She remembers that the narrator, consumed by the guilt for the murder he'd committed, began hearing the heartbeat from the dead body of his victim under his floorboards. Quinn had liked the the story. She thought it was insightful after reading it, and then never thought about it again—until now.

Quinn's junior-year-self would've never thought that five years later, she'd be living the story in her own way (without the murder, of course).

Her eyes linger on the box, her mind creating the illusion of a steady beat from the object inside. She feels sick.

She stands up to avoid staring at it longer. But the heartbeat follows, even when she's walking out the bedroom to greet everyone.

"Good morning." Her voice is meek.

Beard, Christa, and Harvey all look up at her at once.

"'Morning," Christa smiles, and Quinn can hear the hesitancy in her voice.

She's being stared at like she's fragile.

Harvey cuts the silence, "Coach was telling me about the improvement of Richmond. I can tell he's lying."

Quinn raises an eyebrow. "He's Coach now?"

"It's a form of respect," says Beard. "I appreciate it. Even if he is disrespecting my team."

Harvey raises his hands in defense. "I'm disrespecting nobody."

The two have a stare-off and the Zheng sisters look at one another exasperatedly. They have their own stare-off to dispute who would be the one to break Beard and Harvey's moment. Christa motions for Quinn, and she groans.

Quinn claps her hands. "Okay! Since Ted isn't here to break whatever this is up," she motions to Beard and Harvey. "I will." She grabs her godfather's arm, and makes sure to pick up a banana from the counter to chew on during the journey. "Let's go now please. I'll see you guys later!"

"Christa's fiancé is a traitor," says Bears simply, once they've stepped out of the flat.

"They got together before you started coaching Richmond."

"Then he should've switched his alliances accordingly."

Quinn rolls her eyes. "Yeah, okay."

They make their way down the building and onto the narrow street outside. Quinn sees a dark green car parked in the front with a man in the driver's seat. Beard leads her to that car and opens the back door, motioning her inside.

She smiles at the man in the driver's seat. "Hello! I'm Quinn."

The man looks surprised that she even acknowledged him. "Oh—you're talking to me?"

Quinn turns her head around. ". . . Is there anyone else in this car?"

The man frowns. "No, I suppose not. I'm Nate."

Beard opens the passenger door and sticks his head in. "Nate's our kitman."

"Nice. I know exactly what a kitman is," jokes Quinn.

Beard settles himself into the front seat and puts on his seatbelt. "It's a glorified janitor."

"Oh," hums Quinn. "Cool." She waits until Nate begins driving before she asks, "So, where are we going?"

"Haven't you heard?" begins Beard. "It's Bring Your Goddaughter to Work Day." He takes out his phone and opens his calendar, shoving it to Quinn in the backseat.

She squints at the small lettering on the screen. Sure enough, those same words are typed in Beard's calendar. She nods, impressed, and hands him back the phone.

"Is it exclusive to England?"

"Sure is."

Quinn giggles. "I'm so happy to be here on this joyous occasion, then."

The ride to Nelson Road consists of listening to a Phil Collins CD Nate had inserted into the player earlier, and Quinn informing him on the basics of her life: where she's from, how many siblings she has, where she went to college, and where she's staying during her visit. At one point, though, Nate asks a question about how her parents are doing. Quinn doesn't even get a chance to awkwardly lie because Beard starts talking about his chess club. He meets Quinn's eyes on the side mirror and winks. She's delighted for the subject change, and for the fact that Beard didn't directly tell Nate off (she's afraid the poor guy would've started crying or something).

Nate takes his car around to the back parking lot of Nelson Road, after presenting the right ID to security.

"Thanks so much for driving us, Nate," says Quinn cheerily.

Nate preens under the girl's praise. "Oh, it's no problem. Actually, I usually go in for work much earlier than everyone, so I had to pay the janitor to do all the pre-training work for me . . . But this is the first time someone's offered to hang around me in the morning, so it's well worth it."

"Oh," Quinn's voice trails off, unsure what to say. She decides to put on her most comforting voice, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I'm happy you're here with us, though."

Nate smiles in thanks, and looks around to find a good parking spot.

"Am I just gonna follow you around all day?" asks Quinn once the three are all out of the car.

Beard crosses his arms. "Is that not amusing enough for you?"

"No, it's absolutely perfect." She turns and nudges Nate in the shoulder. "So, what does the kitman do?"

Nate blushes at the attention. "I take care of football equipment and such. It's quite boring, really."

Quinn shakes her head. She can sense the man's low self-esteem from a mile away, and wants him to be comfortable in her presence. "Not boring at all. I'll probably be more interested in that than watching an old man yell at a bunch of self-entitled pricks. Are you usually on your own when you're doing your thing? I'd definitely prefer that."

"Yeah, pretty much. I—I can try to show you a few things."

She grins. "Perfect."

The three walk into the back doors of the stadium and are immediately spotted by a boy already in his kit, leaning against the wall. Upon seeing Nate and Beard, he grins. His eyes land on Quinn and he tilts his head quizzically to the side. He stuffs his phone into his pocket and makes his way over to the trio.

"Good morning, Coach, Nate," the boy nods to his superiors. "And who's this?"

"This is Quinn, my goddaughter," Beard says, and motions between the two. "Sam Obisanya, Quinn Zheng. Quinn Zheng, Sam Obisanya."

Quinn matches Sam's enthused—and mildly shocked—face. She sticks her hand out. "It's so nice to meet you!"

He takes her hand. "And you, as well. Forgive me if I'm shocked to find out that you're related to Coach Beard."

"Not blood related," Quinn and Bears say simultaneously.

Sam laughs. "Still, you're going to have to tell me many stories, so that I'll know what he's like outside of work."

Quinn perks up, happy to share the fun parts of her childhood that her godfather provided. She falls into step beside Sam when he begins walking down the hall. "My favorite story to tell was when I was seven-years old and it was Christmas, and—"

"Quinn," Beard says from his place behind her and Sam. His tone is dangerous as he continues, "You are not telling that story."

Quinn and Sam share a similar look that basically says "We're definitely talking about this later." And she is delighted, thinking already that they're going to be fast friends.

Mentally, she (partly) takes back when she called footballers self-entitled pricks to Nate. Sam is a fucking delight.

The four make their way to the locker room (Quinn is unaware of their destination; she's pretty much just following their lead), and stop just outside. Sam peers his head in for a second before motioning Quinn inside. "Everyone is modest!"

Quinn smiles appreciatively that Sam had thought about that for her, and follows him inside.

Inside, three boys are circled around each other, while another man—a scary looking man, Quinn notes—is sitting on his own.

"Boys," Sam grins, "This is Quinn. She's Coach Beard's goddaughter—which is not blood related! But related, nonetheless."

The four boys stare at her, one even muttering, "Coach has a goddaughter?"

"Yes, I do," says Beard. He had put his sunglasses over his head, but Quinn knows that he had rolled his eyes underneath it. "As much as I wish she was one of my own, the DNA is very different."

The boys all say hi, except for the one sitting alone. He just grunts. Rude, thinks Quinn.

"This is Colin, Isaac, Bumbercatch, and Roy." Sam points respectively to each person.

Quinn appreciates how Sam has pretty much taken her under his wing to introduce her to people. It'll be easier to get on with the rest of the team if someone from the team is doing the introduction. As long as that person is well-liked. And, though she's only known Sam for less than ten minutes, Quinn can't imagine anyone ever disliking him.

"Are you from Kansas, too?" asks Isaac. His tone is a bit grumbly, but Quinn can tell there's genuine curiosity and interest in his words.

She shakes her head. "I'm from New York, actually."

"Woah!" the boys in front of her exclaim simultaneously. Even Sam wears a surprised smile.

"A cultured American," says Colin with a smirk. "She don't even got one of those funny country accents."

Quinn laughs. "No, I definitely don't."

"So, what's in like in New York?" asks Bumbercatch.

The rest of the boys nod, and Colin points at him like he's said something very perceptive. "Yeah, are there really rats everywhere? And are their favorite foods pizza?"

Isaac rolls his eyes and pushes Colin's shoulder. "Pizza? Are you mental? It's obviously got to be hot dogs."

They all look at Quinn for an answer. Even Roy, still sitting on his own, looks at her curiously.

Quinn raises her hands up in defense. "I don't wanna speak for the rats. I'm sure they aren't picky, though."

All the boys hum understandingly.

"'You reckon they eat ice cream?" mumbles Colin. "Or does it melt too fast?"

Quinn ponders on that for a moment. "You know, I don't think they come across ice cream often since it melts. But if they do, I'd imagine they'd just sort of lick it."

"Like cats do with milk," Sam points out.

The group nods.

Isaac's eyebrows raise. "Ironic, innit? Despite being rivals, their traits are so similar."

"You're so right," says Quinn. She's about to add in how rats drag pizza with their teeth, but the door to the office opens.

"Quinn," Beard's voice cuts through their dissection of a rat's diet. There's an edge to his voice, but Quinn knows that he isn't actually serious.

No, it's not like the previous day where he said her name with so much gravity to make sure that she knew how serious he was in hearing her out.

"Yes?"

He makes a motioning gesture with his fingers.

She turns back to the boys and gives them an apologetic smile. "That's my queue, I think. We should continue this conversation later, though. It's very profound," she jokes.

The boys all nod solemnly, and tell her goodbye (even though she'll only be a room over).

Beard waits until she's inside before closing the door to the locker room, and locking it. She looks around for Nate but he must've gone out the other exit.

"I apologize for interrupting your discussion. I thought some great ideas were being bounced around."

Quinn raises an eyebrow, now wondering if the rat-diet discussion wasn't actually just a bit they were committing to.

He continues, "It's just all the boys are coming in soon, and I feel obligated as your godfather to spare you from seeing their footballs your first time meeting them."

Quinn shrugs. "Makes sense to me." She sits on his desk chair and is delighted to see that it spins around.

"The boys I just met are nice," Quinn fills the silence. "That other one though . . . Roy? I think he's a little scary."

"It's not personal, that's just who he is." Beard leans his up on the side of his desk and picks up a book amongst the clutter.

"Is Ted coming?"

"He should," says Beard. He doesn't take his eyes away from the now-open book. "He's likely bringing biscuits to the boss as we speak."

"Oh, I've met Rebecca," Quinn smiles. "She's so powerful."

Beard doesn't look up. "Like a statue of Athena rising amongst her followers."

Quinn snaps her fingers. "Exactly like that."

She continues to spin as Beard reads, tuning out the growing commotion one wall away as more of the players seem to be entering.

A jiggle and knock on the door disrupts the comfortable silence the two created. A familiar, cheery Western voice calls out from the other end, "Is there a secret meeting going on I wasn't invited to?"

Quinn giggles as Beard unlocks the door.

She's the first thing Ted spots, and his eyes widen ten sizes. "Quinnie Bug! The most delightful surprise on this already-delightful morning!"

"Hi, Teddy!"

"Are you the reason Coach didn't join me on my commute this morning?" He waves a finger accusingly, but the smile on his face shows that he's far from upset.

Quinn nods. "Him and Nate picked me up this morning."

Ted gasps. "Double Trouble. I'll have to say, I'm deeply offended I wasn't invited to this function."

Beard shrugs. "Nate has a car, you don't."

"Fair point, Coach." Ted claps his hands. "Are we ready for training? We have to introduce our very special guest first, of course!"

Quinn feels less nervous about meeting the team now that she's already met a few. Maybe they'll help to make the room less awkward when Ted and Beard introduce her.

Ted opens the door and the three of them fan out into the locker room. Thankfully, all the boys are already dressed. He claps his hands and at once, all the eyes are on them.

She spots Sam immediately who grins at her, giving her a thumbs up. She keeps her eyes trained on him because if she looks around to anyone else, she might throw up.

"Okay, fellas, before we start practice today, I want to introduce someone very special." He wraps his arm around Quinn and pulls her close as she shyly grins. "Everyone, meet Quinn! This girl right here is pretty much family to me—minus the shared DNA and genetic heart problems."

An understanding murmur goes around the room.

"More importantly, she's much more of a family to Coach Beard here. She's his goddaughter."

That piece of information seems to shock everyone, their eyebrows raising. Quinn finally takes a look around to gauge everyone's stunned reactions. Sam, Isaac, Colin, Bumbercatch, and Roy all look unphased by that piece of information, offering her their own variations of a comforting smile (apart from Roy, who just continues to stare blankly). Whispers go around the room like they just can't believe their Coach is actually related to someone and not created in a lab.

Though, Quinn does also wonder at times if he was made in a lab. But that's besides the point.

Nearly everyone's eyes are on her, but for some reason, Quinn feels a gaze much more intense as she turns her head to meet eyes with a surprisingly familiar face.

Her eyebrows raise in shock when the hair-gelled prick from nearly a week ago stares back at her with just as much surprise. His eyebrows are pinched together curiously as he assesses her in a way that differs from everyone else; like he's finally piecing together the interaction they had. For Quinn, it had been nearly seared from her mind until now.

(Normally, she would easily remember and think frequently about an interaction with an attractive guy. But his impolite nature—and the fact that she has much more troubling things to ponder on—kept her from thinking about that night in the Nelson Road parking lot.)

Neither of them say a word, but the look on his face clearly shows that he remembers the night as well.

She's brought back to the present moment when Ted squeezes her shoulder.

"She'll be hanging around today, and any other day she would like during her visit here in Dirt Water City. While she's here, she's one of us. She's family,"  Ted pauses and looks around the team for emphasis. "I expect you to treat her as such. I'm positive that you'll all be welcoming to Quinnie here."

Quinn smiles up at Ted.

"With that being said, let's get out on the pitch and show our special guest what we can do!"

All the boys cheer at that. They make their way out of the locker room, giving Quinn a greeting when they walk past her. She notices, though, a specific player lingering to be last.

She motions for Ted and Beard to head out the door first, once most of the players have exited. Beard looks confusingly between her and the remaining football player, but Ted lightly guides him out the door before he can say something. Quinn silently thanks Ted for moving Beard along, despite looking a bit puzzled himself.

She turns back to see the boy stalking towards her.

"Quinn," he says, like he's solved a mystery in his head.

"Uber Kink!" Quinn grins.

Immediately, the smile he adorns drops. "Don't call me that." He trails after her and she walks out the door, following the group of boys in front of them to the pitch.

"Sorry. Do you prefer . . . Uber Perv? Parking Lot Perv?"

He rolls his eyes, but a hint of a smile finds its way to his lips. "Just Jamie is fine. Jamie Tartt."

"Hm. Tartt. Like the pastry?"

"Like the absolute best fucking player in Richmond, actually."

"Right," Quinn lets out a sarcastic laugh. "Because I've been waiting this whole time for a picture with you."

"So you admit it, then, love? You want a photo."

"Absolutely dying for one."

"See?" Jamie sings with a grin. "All you had to do was ask. Didn't have to wait hours outside just to catch a glimpse of me, yeah?"

Quinn rolls her eyes. They enter the pitch and she immediately spots Beard and Ted. Now is the perfect time to depart from the ongoing banter with probably the most self-entitled prick to walk the planet. Jamie's personality is what she thought every footballer on the team would be like. Turns out, it's just him.

"It's nice to put a name to the face," says Quinn. "Now when I retell the story to my sister today, I'll happily say it's Jamie Tartt who has an Uber passenger kink." She doesn't bother to bid him goodbye, only jogging off to where Ted and her godfather are on the pitch.

"That's not the type of kink I have!" he shouts back.

Quinn is laughing when she finally reaches Ted and Beard. "Sorry."

Coach Beard is not amused. "Why are you talking about kinks with Jamie Tartt?"

"Now, now," placates Ted. "We should not be intruding on her private conversation about private things . . . Though, I do have to say that I am on the edge of my seat as to why you're having a private conversation about private things with our very own Jamie Tartt."

Quinn finds their confusion understandable. "I met him once when I was waiting for an Uber. We just had a conversation and he stayed until the car came."

Beard's eyebrows pinch together. "When were you waiting for an Uber with Jamie around?"

"Oh, just the first time I visited."

"You what?!" the two men screech. Beard's eyes look like they're going to pop out of his head.

"Fuck," Quinn mumbles. She forgot that she lied to them.

"You said Harvey was picking you up, you snake!" Beard pretty much growls.

"I didn't want you guys to worry," Quinn whines. "I felt bad that I pretty much intruded on your job. Plus, I got home fine!"

Ted shakes his head discontentedly. "Well, now I'm glad that the reason you know Jamie is because he waited for you. I'm mad at us," he gestures to him and Beard. "And I'm disappointed in you."

"I don't like when you're disappointed in me," mumbles Quinn, like she's a child again and was mean to someone in the playground. Ted never liked that.

Ted rubs her shoulder comfortingly. "Then don't do that ever again, Quinnie. Please."

Beard nods. "It's not safe."

Quinn remains quiet for a little, both ashamed for lying and mad that she got caught.

For the rest of practice, Quinn remains at their side while they guide the team through drills and carefully assess specific players amongst themselves. She can't help but linger her eyes on Jamie, though. Even if she hadn't already interacted with him before, she knows her eyes would be drawn to just how swiftly he handles the ball on the pitch.

"He's on fire today," says Ted. "But you know what would make him an absolute explosion?"

"Covering him in gas?" Beard guesses.

"No. Teamwork. Camaraderie. Brotherhood."

"I like covering him in gas better."

Quinn giggles.

Nate joins them on the pitch as training comes to a close.

Ted begins to talk about something having to do with comparing Jamie and Roy to West Side Story when Quinn's phone buzzes in her pocket. She sees a text from Christa.

How's it going? Do you know what time you'll be back?

The team's done with practice right now so hopefully soon. I'll text you when I'm on my way back.

She clicks 'send' and stuffs her phone back, zoning back into the conversation among the three men.

Ted looks down at Nate with a satisfied smile. "We have peeled yet another juicy layer of the Nathan onion."

Quinn pouts. "Wait, what did you guys learn about Nate? I wanna know—"

"Coach Beard!"

Quinn is cut off by a familiar voice, and the four of them look up above the stands to an open window with Rebecca's head sticking out.

"Uh-oh," Beard mutters.

"For dinner tonight," shouts Rebecca, "it's either chicken or steak! You can't tick both!"

He tries not to look dejected. "Okay!" he shouts back.

Ted sing-songs, "Busted," while Quinn whistles.

"If she ever spoke to me like that, I'd do myself a favor and just leave the country," says Quinn. This makes Beard look more displeased.

But Rebecca isn't done. "And Ted!"

Quinn slaps both hands over her mouth in shock.

"I need to know who your plus-one is!"

Ted points at Beard. "Oh, well that'd be Mr. Two Entrées here!"

Rebecca shakes her head. "No! He's already bringing a date!"

Quinn's head snaps to Beard. "What?"

He shrugs.

Quinn points at him accusingly as Ted and Nathan begin to talk amongst themselves. "You're telling me about this later."

Beard nods solemnly.

Quinn hears Ted shout, "I'm gonna bring Nathan!"

"Who?!" Rebecca shouts back.

"Nate the Great! He's gonna be my date!" Ted turns to Quinn and lowers his voice, "Sorry Quinnie, I hope you understand."

She nods. "Completely." She doesn't even know what they're talking about.

He grins. He turns back to Rebecca to add, "And for obvious reasons, we'd love to be at table eight!"

"No!" Rebecca begins to close the window. "And Beard, you're having chicken!" She goes to pull her head back in before quickly sticking it out once more. "Also, it's lovely to see you again, Quinn!" And she closes the window.

"Oh my God," mumbles Quinn, in awe. "She remembers my name."

★

"So, what was Rebecca talking about earlier?" asks Quinn as she, Beard, and Nate make their way back to the car. "With the plus-ones, and chicken, and steak."

"Tonight is a charity event that Richmond hosts every year," explains Nate with a smile. "This is the first year I've been invited."

Quinn grins. "Yay! That sounds so fun." She turns to glance at a quiet Beard. "And you need to tell me about this date you're bringing? Who are they? Why haven't you mentioned them?"

"Her name is Jane. She plays chess. I play chess. I'm deeply infatuated."

Quinn looks down, connecting a bunch of dots in her head. "It's always the chess girls with you."

Beard shrugs. "Yeah."

Once the three are situated in Nate's car, Quinn breathes out a sigh of relief. She didn't stay as long at Nelson Road as she she did last time, but today was definitely more jam-packed than her previous visit. She's happy to sit and enjoy the quiet ride back to her flat.

Before she settles comfortably, though, she reaches her arm over to the seat in front of her and gently taps Beard's shoulder.

He turns to her expectantly.

"Thank you for taking me today," says Quinn softly. "I really enjoyed it."

Beard cracks a ghost of a smile. "I'm glad. And you better get used to it. I'm gonna be forcing you out of the house to come here more often, then."

Quinn thinks she's okay with that.

★

A/N: Now that Quinn and Jamie actually know each other, things can finally happen yay!!!!!!

I tried to subtly hint that even though Quinn kinda just pushed their first meeting to the back of her mind, Jamie has been thinking about it since it happened!! (He was very curious on who the girl was and if he'll see her again).

Thanks for reading!