Page 29 of Spring Awakening

Mali frowns at him. “You’re not allowed to lie! That’s not in the spirit of the game!”

“I’m not lying,” he says, with a laugh.

“You said your favourite colour was orange!”

Zach looks at her. The way her hair falls over her shoulder. The way he’s always waiting for a time to move the front pieces out of her face. The way he watches her doodle on her post-it notes when she’s on the phone.

“It changed.”

Mali humphs. “Okay, fibber. Who’s your favourite member of the team?”

Zach laughs. “Kai.”

“Mine too,” she replies, looking at her phone.

“I thought I was your favourite.” It’s desperate, the way he speaks. He’s not even sure why he said it out loud, as if she’s not fully aware he’d hold onto her every word, even if it was against him. She could say he was the worst person alive—that she wishes he didn’t exist—and he’d wait with bated breath to seewhat hair colour she was wearing when she said it. She smiles, and he wants to know what question she’s looking at.

“Well, after you, obviously. Are you staying with the Titans?”

“I hope so,” he replies. He wonders if he should tell her the rest. “But I have a Hardship Fortunes contract.”

Mali frowns. “What’s that?” She must type it into her phone, because she turns from confused to furious. “What the fuck? Is that even legal?”

Zach shrugs. “I don’t think they are now, but I can’t get out of mine.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a five hundred grand buyout.”

“What the—when did you sign that?”

“The day before I turned fourteen.”

Her jaw drops. “Shit. You can’t sign anything as a minor.”

“I know,” he groans, thinking about how stupid he was when he was finally of age. “But I signed again at eighteen.”

“Fuck," she mutters. There's something truly wrong with his brain, because all he can think about is how pretty the word sounds when it's coming from her mouth. His gaze drops to her lips, but he pulls it back when she talks again. "So you don’t know where you’re going from year to year?”

“Nah,” he replies. “I think they’ll keep me here, though. Especially if we make it to the premiership.”

“Do you want to stay?”

“Yes.” He wanted to stay before he met her, but now, if someone asked, he’s not sure she wouldn’t take up the first ten spots on his “please let me stay in Toulshire” list. Maybe the way she flips her hair over her shoulder only for it to fall back in front of her face would come before the uprooting of his life.

Mali frowns. “Can I help?”

“What do you mean?”

She rolls her lips. “Well, I know you don’t want any sponsorships, but I’m working on some bigger ones. If I can get you out of it, will you let me?”

Zach blinks. “Okay.”

Mali smiles. “Okay. Cool. Nice. Uhm, next question. Who’s the hottest person on the team?”

Zach laughs at the difference in questions. How effortlessly Mali offered her help without making him feel like a deadweight.

“What’s the team? Like, on-the-pitch team, or are outside members included?” Mali counts as someone on the team, and she’s the hottest person he’s ever seen.

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