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Chapter 2 - CH 2: Lacrosse

On the lacrosse field, the afternoon sun hung just above the bleachers as the team gathered for tryouts.

Coach Finstock noticed Asher walking onto the field behind Stiles and Scott. The moment he saw him, he pushed past the other two without hesitation and approached him directly.

"What's your name, kid?" Coach asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked him up and down.

"My name's Asher Cain, Coach," Asher replied.

"You a new student?"

"Yes, Coach."

"Have you played before?" Coach asked, folding his arms.

"No, sir. I came to see if I could try out," Asher said.

"Alright, Cain. I'll show you the ropes. How to pass and catch, how to cradle, how to score. And you should already know how to tackle, right?" Coach looked him over again, clearly impressed by his size.

"Yes, sir," Asher said confidently as he followed behind him.

Nearby, Stiles crossed his arms and muttered, "That's so not fair."

Scott glanced toward the field. "He's gonna have a harder time than us. You remember last year's tryouts, right?"

Just then, Jackson walked up, clearly curious. "Who's the new kid?"

"Asher Cain. New guy. Coach is giving him personal training because he sees potential or something," Stiles answered.

"He's still not gonna be better than me," Jackson said flatly before walking off toward the locker room to change.

Meanwhile, Coach and Asher had already started running through drills.

"You're an absolute natural," Coach said after just a few minutes. "It only took you five minutes to get all of that down. I don't even need you to do the actual tryout drills. But I've got something in mind for you. Are you okay with that?"

"I'm good with whatever you're good with, Coach," Asher said. "But what do you have in mind?"

"Well, I'm doing 1 vs 1 drills, followed by actual matches, but I want to see how you do on a team. Now go put your gear on. Everyone, put your gear on and meet back here in ten minutes!"

Ten minutes later, the players were suited up and lined up along the field.

"First match. First one to five. Jackson versus Stilinski. Go!" Coach shouted.

Jackson dominated the match. Stiles managed to score once, but Jackson walked away with a clear 5-1 win.

Coach continued calling matches one after the other. Then, finally, it was Asher's turn.

"Alright, the match I've been waiting to see. Cain versus Jackson. Go!" Coach said as he leaned against the fence with a stopwatch in hand.

Jackson charged forward first. He juked left, then right, but Asher didn't fall for it. With near perfect reflexes, Asher sidestepped, slammed his shoulder into Jackson's chest, and cleanly stripped the ball. Before Jackson could react, Asher scooped it up, sprinted down the field, and launched the ball into the net with incredible speed.

"Dammit, this guy's strong as hell," Jackson muttered, nearly throwing his stick.

"One to zero, Cain's favor," Coach announced, grinning.

This time, Jackson played more defensively. He circled Asher carefully, watching his every move. Then he lunged to Asher's right. Asher spun effortlessly, leaving Jackson grasping at empty air. The ball hit the back of the net again.

"Two to zero, Cain's up," Coach said, clearly enjoying the match.

"Try not to get zipped, Jack," Asher said with a smirk.

"You don't need to say that," Jackson growled through gritted teeth.

Now angry, Jackson charged like a bull. Asher stood calmly, barely shifting his weight. The moment Jackson got close, Asher knocked his stick aside with a loud crack, turned his back to shield the ball, and faked left before slipping past with a quick move. He scored again with a clean backhanded shot.

"Three to zero. Cain is still winning," Coach said, smiling from ear to ear.

"Keep trying, Jack. You could still come back," Asher said casually.

Jackson didn't respond. His face was completely red. In his head, he was fuming. 'Who told this guy he could call me Jack like we're friends or something?'

Trying a different tactic, Jackson went dirty. He slashed at Asher's gloves and arms. But it didn't matter. Asher barely flinched. Then, in one swift move, Asher dropped low and checked Jackson hard in the chest. The hit was clean but brutal. Jackson's body skidded across the turf. Asher scooped the ball again and scored with ease.

"This is completely unfair," Stiles said from the sidelines, laughing a little.

"How is he so good? I thought he said he never played before," Scott said, still watching in disbelief.

"Maybe he's just a natural," Stiles replied.

"Four to zero. Cain is still in the lead," Coach announced.

"I saw that little trick you tried. You gonna try something else this time?" Asher asked, walking back to position.

Jackson said nothing. He was breathing hard, his jaw clenched, anger all over his face.

He was rattled. Humiliated. He went all in, driven by desperation. But Asher saw through everything like he was reading Jackson's thoughts. As Jackson faked a dodge, then pivoted, his foot slipped. Asher stepped right over him and fired the final shot.

"Five to zero. Cain wins," Coach said, patting Asher on the shoulder with clear approval.

"Alright, everyone. Rest for the next five minutes. We're doing 7 v 7 next."

Five minutes later.

Coach finstock glanced at his clipboard and then looked up.

"Cain, you're with Stilinski, Greenberg, Harris, Boyd, Miller, and Alvarez. You're in blue. On red we've got Jackson, Scott, Lahey, Wright, Jenkins, Matthews, and Clarke."

The teams split quickly. Asher pulled on the blue practice jersey and stepped into formation at midfield. Stiles stood beside him, lacrosse stick in hand and bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet.

"Alright, remember, first team to score three goals wins the round. Positions in the starting lineup for the season are on the line, so take this seriously," Coach barked.

The ref dropped the ball for the face off and the game began.

Boyd lunged in first for blue team, scrapping against Lahey at the center. They wrestled for control, sticks clashing, but Boyd managed to knock the ball free. Asher reacted instantly. He scooped it up cleanly and bolted down the field.

Scott came in fast from the side. He reached out to check Asher, but Asher twisted at the last second, sliding right past him. The move was tight and fast. Scott recovered quickly and chased after him, but Asher had already passed the ball.

He flicked it back to Stiles, who caught it with some surprise and almost dropped it. He fumbled for a second but got a grip just as Clarke came rushing in. Asher shouted from downfield, signaling for it.

Stiles took a chance and launched the pass. The ball flew through the air, sailing over two defenders. Asher caught it mid stride and pivoted to the right.

Jackson was there waiting. He threw his full weight into a block, but Asher ducked and shouldered into his ribs, knocking him off balance. With perfect control, Asher whipped the ball into the net.

"Goal! Blue team scores first. One to zero!" Coach shouted.

Jackson cursed under his breath as he got back to his feet. Scott jogged over, trying to rally the team.

"Shake it off," Scott said. "We've got this."

On the next play, red team came in fast. Scott started with the ball this time, darting past Alvarez and passing it to Jenkins. Jenkins caught it and drove forward. He looked to pass to Jackson, but Asher was already reading the play.

Asher slid into position and intercepted it clean. He turned fast and started sprinting down the field. This time, two defenders came in from either side. He had no time to pass.

Instead, he planted his foot, spun around the pressure, and pushed off like a rocket. He broke through the middle and shot again another clean goal.

"Two to zero! Cain's team up again!" Coach shouted.

Stiles fist bumped him as he ran back into position. "You're making the rest of us look bad, man."

"I'm trying to win," Asher said casually, eyes focused.

The red team gathered up, this time more serious. Jackson took the ball and motioned Scott to stay back and play support. He charged in fast, weaving between defenders with clear frustration in every movement. Boyd tried to stop him, but Jackson spun around and shot low, barely slipping the ball past Harris, their goalie.

"Two to one! Red team's still in it!" Coach called.

Now it was down to the final point.

Everyone reset. Sweat dripped down their faces. Except Asher but he could feel his body heating up, though he wasn't tired.

This time, red team played smart. They passed clean, spread out, and opened up the field. Stiles got a clear shot at the goal, but fumbled just a little and had to recover.

Jackson saw it and went in to knock the ball away, but Asher was already behind him. He checked Jackson out of the way, took the ball, and slipped through the last defender.

He faked a shot to the left.

Scott leapt toward that direction to block.

Then, in one clean motion, Asher reversed direction and scored right past the goalie with a clean flick of the wrist.

"Three to one. Game over. Blue team wins," Coach Finstock called out.

"Jesus," Stiles said, leaning on his stick. "Remind me never to play against you."

"You did good," Asher replied, giving stiles a handshake.

As the players cleared off the field, Scott looked back over his shoulder at Asher. That same strange feeling was still there, stronger now. He could not explain it, but something deep inside him said this guy was not normal.

In the locker room, the lights buzzed faintly overhead as Asher sat alone on one of the benches. Most of the team was still outside on the field, gathering their gear and cooling down after the scrimmage.

Asher had finished early, so he got to the locker room first. He was sitting calmly, towel draped around his neck, when he heard someone stumble in.

Scott entered the room looking overwhelmed and disoriented. His breathing was uneven, and his eyes darted around like he was trying to focus on everything at once. He could hear it all, every movement, every breath, even the sound of heartbeats from outside the walls. Then, suddenly, he focused on one heartbeat coming from right beside him.

Asher stepped up next to him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Calm down," he said firmly. "If you let it overwhelm you, you'll lose control."

He wasn't trying to be subtle. Honestly, he didn't care if Scott found out the truth. He would figure it out eventually. In fact, Asher was pretty sure Scott already suspected something was off.

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked, trying to steady his voice.

"Scott, don't act dumb. I don't know exactly what happened to you, but I know you're turning. I can sense it. So don't sit here like some scared pup about to lose control. Calm down."

Scott didn't respond right away. He just looked at Asher for a long moment, his breathing still shaky. Then he slowly took a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. His shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Thank you, Asher," he said quietly.

"No problem," Asher replied. He gave Scott a light pat on the shoulder and walked off toward the showers.

—————————

In the parking lot of the school, cars were beginning to pull out as the day wrapped up. Allison sat in the driver's seat of her car, turning the key repeatedly, but the engine refused to start. She sighed and leaned back, frustrated.

"Need a ride?" Scott asked, walking up to her window with a hopeful smile.

"You sure?" she asked, stepping out of the car.

"Yeah. Lock your car up," Scott said, gesturing toward the door.

Allison nodded and grabbed her bag, then clicked the lock on her key fob. "Thanks. You're not like the other guys here," she said as she slid into the passenger seat of his car.

"I try not to be," Scott replied. They exchanged a quick smile before he put the car in gear and pulled out of the lot.

The drive was quiet but comfortable. A few minutes later, they reached Allison's house. Her father, Chris Argent, was already outside, standing by the front door with his arms crossed. He didn't look angry, just watchful.

Allison opened the car door and stepped out. She turned to Scott and smiled.

"Thanks for the ride, Scott."

"No problem," he said as he gave a short wave and drove off down the street.

Allison walked up to the front steps, and Chris greeted her with a warm hug.

"How was school?" he asked as they stepped inside together.

"It was great," she replied.

"That's good," he said while walking over to a cabinet. He opened it, revealing a locked weapons case inside.

Chris glanced at her as he checked something inside the case.

"Keep your head down, okay?" he said quietly.

Allison nodded, not asking any questions, and followed him deeper into the house.

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