#you just know elain's gonna do the total opposite of her sisters | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theladyofdeath · 6 years

Text

Friday Night Lights {ACOTAR}

Chapter 1

Summary: Inspired by the series Friday Night Lights. In a town that is obsessed with football, a group of teenagers are glorified for what they bring to the field. But what the people of Velaris don’t realize is that there is a lot more to life than football, and it’s not always pretty.

Revolves around Cassian, Nesta, Elain, Lucien, Azriel, Morrigan, Amren, Feyre, and Rhysand.

*Warning: This fic deals with sensitive material.

*Note: A chapter will be posted every Wednesday.

Click here for previous chapters.

Author’s Note: Hey, y’all. Once again, I’m posting earlier. Earlier is better than later. I was meant to post tomorrow, but I got called in to work double, and I didn’t want to be too exhausted when I got home (which I will be!)! So, I hope you enjoy chapter one. I’m so excited to finally get the ball moving on this fic! Great things are coming. I would love to know what you all think. :)

Enjoy. <3

“Why are you nervous? You’re gonna do great. I promise. When I come pick you up later, you’ll be thanking me for bringing you to school.”

Alana, at only five years old, rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I know,” Cassian agreed, handing his little sister her pink, glittery backpack. “But I love you, and that’s all that matters.”

Despite herself, Alana smiled. “Fine. But if I hate it, I’m going to punch you in the face when you pick me up.”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” he winked, before rising to his feet from where he was kneeling in front of her. “Alright. You’ve got your backpack, your lunchbox – which is filled with a delicious PB&J, by the way – and a sweet unicorn notebook. Now, go kick ass.”

“Shhhh,” she scolded. “You’re not allowed to say A-S-S. You’re going to get in trouble.”

Cassian quickly covered his mouth, and tried his best to look theatrically apologetic. “You’re right, I’m sorry. See? You’re already smarter than me. School is good for you. Now, go. Learn. And I promise I’ll be here right after you get out. Okay?”

She nodded, but her smile gently faded as she took a step back and began to walk toward her classroom.

“Lana?”

She glanced back at him over her shoulder.

He gave her a quick thumbs-up. “You’ve got this.”

It wasn’t until she stepped into the classroom that Cassian loosened his breath. He had done everything in his power that morning to make her feel confident – he did her hair and topped it off with a beautiful, ivory bow, surprised her with a new dress that he had found almost brand new at the thrift store, and made her one of his famous PB&J sandwiches that she would beg him for almost every night for dinner.

Now, he could only hope for the best.

It was only kindergarten.

Cassian had not neglected to realize how parents looked at him as they made their way out of the school. He was young, and would have had to have Alana when he was only thirteen. But he was used to the judgements. He was basically her only caregiver, thanks to their no-good mother.

Alana wasn’t meant to be born. Cassian was amazed she had even made it through childbirth with how much his mom smoke and drank with her in the womb.

Thirteen. He was thirteen when she was born. And he had taken care of her since, in every way that he could.

He had fumbled around a lot, at first. It’s not like he had a prime example of how a parent, or a caregiver, should act. His mother was a bum and his father left when he was five. His grandmother was beautiful, in every way, but she had begun to show signs of Alzheimer’s when he was only eleven, and was put in a home, where she had been ever since.

So, thirteen-year-old Cassian had read a lot of “What to expect when you’re expecting” and hoped for the best. He had stolen a lot of formula, and used a small blanket as a diaper, but they had survived.

Their mother wasn’t always bad. She went through phases. Every now and then, she would say she was trying to get better. She would stop, for a small amount of time, and would care for her children to the best of her ability, which wasn’t saying much. Then, she would relapse.

Every time.

As the bell rang, Cassian cursed, earning even more hateful glances from passing parents, as he ran out of the school building, and across the street to Velaris High.

He had to hold up his jeans as he sprinted – his leather belt that he had worn for years had ripped that morning – and tried not to trip over his untied, bulky boots as he practically fell into homeroom.

Everyone stopped and looked at him, which he lazily smiled at in return. “Good morning.”

Some of the girls waved, and giggled under their breath. It was Rhysand who stood up in the back corner, his own sweatshirt that read Velaris High Football mirroring Cassian’s. “Don’t worry, Cass. You made it here before the teacher.”

Cassian was overjoyed when he found out he was having Helion for homeroom for the second year in a row. He was casual, probably way too casual for a teacher, and was never on time.

As he sat at a desk in the back, Cassian slapped Azriel across the back of the head. “Where were you last night?”

“Oh, uh,” he hesitated, and his cheeks stained crimson. “Nowhere. I just…..didn’t quite make it. Sorry.”

There was a bonfire at one of their teammate’s houses, welcoming in the new school year. Cassian and Rhysand had made it an hour before coming to the conclusion that Azriel wasn’t showing up.

Alana had stayed with Rhysand’s mother and younger sister, whom she adored.

Cassian leaned in closer, slightly concerned. “Things going okay?”

“Yeah,” Azriel answered, quickly. “Yeah, I was just tired. Been putting in extra hours in the weight room.”

Cassian nodded, although he wasn’t convinced. Azriel fell into the pit of darkness and despair more than the rest of them did, and although he usually pulled himself out, he had a history.

“Hey, losers.”

“Ah, Morrigan,” Cassian sighed, turning his head to find the blonde beauty standing behind him. “Oh, how I’ve missed you.” She ruffled his hair, and he pushed her hand away. “You’re going to ruin the manbun. It’s an art, Mor.”

Cassian had known Mor just as long as he had known the others, since elementary school. He and Mor used to have a thing, if one could even call it that, but they ended up being just friends. Their so-called relationship felt too forced, too unnatural.

She was beautiful, though. That much was obvious. It didn’t help that every boy in that testosterone filled school looked at her as if she were the only girl in the hallways.

Before Mor could come up with yet another cunning response, the door flew open and Helion stepped in, but he wasn’t alone.

Cassian swore Azriel sucked in his breath.

“Hello, class, good morning! I’m sorry I’m late, but I was showing around our new student.” As Helion spoke, everyone was looking at the girl behind him. She was fairly short, her dark, brown hair in long, loose curls. She wore a floral sundress as she stood with a smile on her face. “Students, welcome Elain Archeron. Do we have any volunteers to show her to her first class this morning?”

Cassian eyed Azriel, and gave him a wink, but Azriel just rolled his eyes and went back to his doodling.

“I will.”

Ugh, Cassian thought. Lucien.

“Mr. Vanserra,” Helion smiled. “Perfect. Elain, if you’d like to take a seat next to Lucien, he will guide you through your first day. I hope it’s everything you want it to be.”

“Total shit?” Mor mumbled. “Because that would be an improvement from last year for me.”

Cassian grinned as Elain thanked Helion, and sat next to Lucien.

Azriel’s eyes followed her from underneath his dark bangs until she took her seat.

Feyre was taking P.E. for her first period of the day, and she found it to be a horrendous twist of fate. They wouldn’t let her take art, because she was required to have two physical education credits to graduate, and she hadn’t taken any at her old school, Lowell High. So, she was spending her morning in P.E. and her afternoon in weight lifting.

Weight. Lifting.

Sighing, she stood in the gym at 8:20 in the morning in her royal blue gym shorts and t-shirt that read VHS Physical Education.

She longed for her paint brushes.

It wasn’t that she was in bad shape. She was actually pretty fit. Although she considered herself more of the artistic type, Feyre would take a jog every day before school to escape the morning wrath of her father.

As she watched the others that would be in her class meander into the gym, Feyre sighed. She was exhausted. The night before, her first night sleeping in Velaris, had been an adventure of sorts.

Alis was nice. So were here boys. But if Feyre had learned anything, it was not to trust anyone. She could hardly sleep as she kept one eye open, glued to the door, which she had locked before the three sisters turned their light out.

Elain had thought she was ridiculous, and Feyre expected nothing less. Elain looked for the good in everyone, and Feyre did the opposite.

She looked for the worse.

She was still looking for something bad in Alis, but Feyre was sure she would find it. People always showed their true colors eventually.

“New girl?”

Feyre spun around to find the most beautiful male she had ever seen.

He was tall, and not wearing the same gym uniform that she was. He was wearing long, black sweatpants and a hoodie that read Velaris High Football. His violet eyes were in deep contrast to his pushed back black hair.

Feyre quirked a brow. “Is that how you greet everyone?”

“Only the beautiful ones,” he smirked.

Feyre rolled her eyes, and turned her back to him.

“Don’t harass her, Rhys,” another male voice appeared behind her. It wasn’t light, though. It was hard. Cruel. Annoyed.

She turned, her curiosity getting the best of her. Rhys was looking at a new boy, nearly the same height with shoulder-length blonde hair. His piercing green eyes were watching Feyre.

“Don’t be a dick, Tam,” Rhys, the first one with the violet eyes, shot back.

Feyre took in the two males, their stances as they looked at each other. There was tension there. There was history.

“Don’t listen to either of them.” She hadn’t even realized there was a girl standing next to her until she spoke, sending Feyre jolting in the air. “Sorry, new girl. Didn’t mean to scare you. Just came to tell you not to pay attention to these two dimwits.”

She was nearly a foot shorter than Feyre, with her chin length black hair and almond-shaped eyes.

“Who are you?” Feyre asked, because the girl had yet to look at her.

“Amren, no need to scare the living shit out of the new girl.” It was Rhys. The boy with the violet eyes.

Those damn violet eyes.

“Will everyone stop calling me that?” Feyre snapped. “It’s Feyre.”

There was silence, and then, “That’s a weird name.”

I hate this school, she thought to herself, as the gym teacher strolled out onto the middle of the floor.

He was short and bald with gym shorts on that were way too short, and a whistle hanging around his neck. “Laps! Now!”

Yes. She was most definitely going to hate it.

Rhysand hated the locker room. It smelled atrocious, and there were clothes and mother-knows what else in some of those lockers that had been there since Rhysand started Freshman year.

“Tamlin intends on being a dick again this year, it seems.”

Rhysand chuckled at Cassian’s words, although they rang true. He was thankful for Amren, who came and broke the building tension. If Rhysand knew Tamlin, which he did, he knew his first comment was the first of many that he had planned.

“Tam is incapable of not being a dick,” Rhysand sighed. “He’s too much like his father.”

Cassian whistled in agreement as he lifted his damp gym shirt over his head. “Feyre looks a lot like the new girl from homeroom. Think they’re related?”

At mention of Elain, Azriel peeked over his shoulder.

Rhysand shrugged. “Maybe.”

“She seems nice. Feyre.”

“Really?” Rhysand scoffed. “She called me a prick every five minutes for the last hour.”

“That’s why I like her,” Cassian grinned.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have kept trying to talk to her, or flirt, or whatever you were trying to do,” Azriel suggested. “She’s new. She’s walking unknown territory, she may need space.”

Rhysand blinked. “Thank you for the advice, wise Azriel.”

Azriel rolled his eyes before returning to his deodorant.

“Have you twats heard from Mor today?”

Fury settled in the pit of Rhysand’s stomach as he turned to see Eris standing on the other side of him.

“For some reason, she likes you all,” he continued, when no one said anything. “Although, I’ve tried to convince her otherwise.”

“Not texting you back?” Cassian asked, in that dangerous, witty way of his. “You should probably take that as a hint.”

Eris laughed, unamusingly. “I give her much more than most guys can. Have you heard from her or not?”

No one answered.

Rhysand had walked with her to school that morning, actually. She seemed distant, like something was off. But he knew her. He knew that she didn’t want to talk about it, that she would bring it up when she was ready.

And if she wasn’t talking to her boyfriend, perhaps it had something to do with him.

Eris shook his head before backing away. “Idiots. I’ll have to give Mor another talk about who she chooses to hang out with.”

Rhysand put his arm on Cassian’s shoulder, because he could see the anger begging to be unleashed from his friend’s inner being.

“He’s an asshole,” Azriel mumbled. “He’s trying to piss you off, don’t let him get to you.”

Cassian gave him a curt not before reaching into his locker and pulling out his torn-up jeans.

Rhysand had known Eris and his brother, Lucien, since elementary school. They were polar opposites, but unfortunately both revolved around crowds that Rhysand couldn’t stand.

“Why do you bother with her, anyway?” one of Eris’ boys asked from further down the row of the lockers, loudly, so that the three Illyrians could hear.

Cassian’s hands slowed as he tugged his jeans up over his boxers, but Azriel had stopped completely.

Rhysand knew what was coming. He had been in this situation before with Eris. He liked the drama. He liked the tension. He liked the fight, and Rhysand hated him for all of those things.

“Ignore him,” Rhysand muttered, pulling on his hoodie.

“Because she’s hot,” Eris said, turning to Rhysand and giving him a conniving grin. “She may be a dumb blonde, but she’s good in bed –“

Rhysand had just pulled his hoodie over his face when he saw Cassian, jeans still unbuttoned, flying down the rows of lockers before grabbing Eris by the neck of his shirt and pinning him up against the cool, red metal.

The word stop didn’t make it out of Rhysand’s mouth before Cassian’s fist collided with Eris’ jaw, then his nose.

Eris was just as big as Cassian, but Rhysand often forgot how brutal Cassian could be. He was a gentle spirit, but he had lived a rough life. He had learned how to stand up for himself, and his sister. He could keep himself in check most of the time, was good at keeping his cool, but there were certain things he would not take.

Degrading women? Offending those he loved? Those were his biggest ticking points.

And he loved Mor.

As blood trickled over Eris’ mouth, Azriel and Rhysand were at Cassian’s back, trying to pull him off.

Coach B, who most likely had heard the noise of boys hollering with excitement from within his office in the back of the locker room, came around the corner and took in the scene.

The football coach’s big, burly hands grabbed Cassian’s arm and pulled him off his opponent. “What the hell is going on in here? It’s the first day of school, and you two are already acting like savages? Vanserra, get dressed and see the nurse. Rhysand, Azriel, get to second period. Nazari…” he looked at Cassian and shook his head. Disappointed, but not surprised. “My office. Now.”

Elain wandered through the crowded hallways with Lucien at her side.

“So,” he cleared his throat, glancing at her with russet eyes. “What do you think so far?”

They mostly had the same schedule, which Elain was thankful for. She does okay in new situations, in unknown territory – at least better than Feyre – but, it was nice to have a guide for the day.

A handsome one, at that.

It wasn’t that Lucien was the most handsome guy she had ever seen, but there was something about him that made Elain’s heart feel a little lighter. His red hair was perfectly sculpted, all back from his clear complexion. Clear, except for the light scar that ran from his forehead to his cheek.

He was dressed nicely, too, which had always been something Elain liked in a boy. His blue jeans fitted him nicely, paired with a screen tee that had an old, vintage camera on it.

“Well,” Elain sighed, “history was okay. No one’s looked at me too strangely, and I haven’t gotten shoved into a locker yet. I can’t say it’s all that bad.”

Lucien smiled. “Well, that’s good to hear. Next, we have Algebra. Then, you have your creative class. What did you sign up for?”

Elain gasped. She had forgotten to ask this morning when she had arrived. “I haven’t signed up for anything yet. I completely forget –“

“No worries. You’ve still got time. You should sign up for yearbook, that’s where I go. The group is really fun…..I think you’d like it.”

She gestured to his t-shirt. “Photographer?”

Lucien laughed. “Is it that obvious?”

Elain grinned. “That’s cool. I would like to see your pictures sometime.”

Lucien’s smile became gentler. “I would like that, too.”

A dark, hooded figure ran into Lucien’s shoulder.

“Oh,” the boy turned. “Sorry.”

It was the boy from homeroom. Azriel, she thought his name was.

The sight of him captivated her. He was dressed in black, his eye-length hair peeking out of his hood. There was something about him, something haunting…..like shadows dancing around his being.

“Watch it,” Lucien snapped, his entire demeanor changing.

Elain glanced back and forth between the two boys, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in the middle of them.

“I apologized,” Azriel replied, clipped, before turning his back to the pair and walking away.

“I would stay away from him if I were you,” Lucien said, once he had walked further down the hall, into the sea of students.

“Why?” Elain asked.

“He’s just….different. Broody. Never smiles. Kinda creepy.”

Elain nodded, although she wasn’t so sure.

She had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to stay away from the boy with the shadows.

Cassian sat, still shirtless, staring at a plaque that read Coach Bryaxis Bell.

He hated his name, so they all called him Coach B. The plaque typically made Cassian laugh, typically had him spewing jokes like it was his job.

But not today.

Coach B shook his head from the other side of his desk. “Cassian……You could get expelled for this, do you realize that?”

Cassian didn’t answer.

Coach B shook his head. “You probably broke his nose. I need him on the defensive line –“

“I’m sorry, okay? I lost it for a minute. But he was being a prick –“

“The hallways are filled with idiots, are you going to punch every single one of them?”

Cassian stayed silent, then shook his head.

After tossing Cassian a spare t-shirt, Coach B sighed. “How’s your mom?”

Cassian shrugged the shirt on, then shook his head. “Don’t know. Haven’t seen her in a few days. Since she came home drunk off her ass and passed out in the middle of the hallway.”

Coach B watched him curiously. “Do you think she’s okay?”

“Who gives a shit,” Cassian snapped, then felt bad.

Coach B was trying to help. Cassian remembered how terrified he was of the big, burly coach his freshman year. He looked like something from Cassian’s nightmares. But, over the past four years, he had grown to like the man. He had become, in some strange way, a friend.

“She goes away like this every now and then. She always comes back.” Then Cassian added, “Unfortunately.”

“Well,” Coach B sighed, just as he always did when he was disappointed. “I’m going to give you one month’s detention.”

“What?” Cassian exploded. “Seriously?”

“Care for expulsion instead?” When Cassian shook his head, Coach B continued, “Don’t worry about Alana. I’ll send Rhys to get her from school.”

He must’ve seen the horror in Cassian’s eyes. He was all she had. Alana would be waiting for him when the final bell rang, and he would never come.

“She’ll be right by my side until you get to practice, just like always,” Coach B promised. “But I have to punish you. As much as I think Eris is an ass, violence on school grounds is unacceptable.”

Cassian tried to smile. “Says the head football coach.”

Coach B chuckled. “Last time I checked, they don’t allow nose shots in football, either.”

Cassian grabbed his late-pass from Coach B and entered the hallways just after the second bell rang. It was day one of his senior year, and he had already gotten detention. As he ran his fingers along the cool lockers, he found himself wondering if colleges took a hard look at how many detentions an applicant received throughout high school.

Because he was sure he was sitting at the top of the list.

Then again, he couldn’t go to college, could he? He had to stay for Alana. He couldn’t leave her there, by herself. Even if he took classes at Velaris, how would that work? He heard that freshmen had to live on campus. He couldn’t do that.

He couldn’t leave his little sister with their mother.

Alana deserved better than a mother couldn’t care less about her.

Then again, she deserved better than a brother who couldn’t control his temper, too.

Cassian paused at his locker, and hung his head.

Nesta tried her best not to fiddle with her thumbs as she sat in the school office, waiting to be called in for her first day at work.

She had graduated high school at seventeen, and found herself at Velaris University the next Autumn. Now, she was nineteen and halfway through her academic journey, well on her way to being a teacher. Until then, she figured she would try and get herself into the local school district.

And she had.

It was a job with little pay, but she didn’t care. It would lead to bigger things. Greater things.

“Miss Archeron?”

Nesta shot to her feet once her name was called, and brushed down on her pencil skirt although there were no wrinkles. She greeted the headmaster with a smile as she reached out her hand toward his. “Good morning, Mr. Collins. Nice to see you again.”

“You too, Miss Archeron. I’m glad to have you on board here. I’d heard your sisters started here this morning.”

“They did,” she said, as they walked into his office and took a seat. “I’m sure they’re loving it.”

Mr. Collins gave Nesta a cunning smile as he sat on the opposite side of his desk. He was young, at least for a headmaster, probably in his early forties. His hair was dark, with the slightest hints of grey in his mustache. His pale skin was in perfect contrast to his green eyes.

“Well, Miss Archeron, I guess we should get to work,” he said, handing her a file of papers. “You will be an assistant and aide for the office, as you know. I was also hoping you wouldn’t mind sitting in on detentions.”

Nesta’s hand stilled, midway to grabbing the files from him. “Detention?”

“Yes, it will be for an hour after school. We will pay you, of course. That won’t be an issue, will it?”

“No sir,” she said, although hesitantly. “No, that won’t be an issue at all.”

His grin was almost scary as he replied, “Good.”

Chapter 2 will be posted on Wednesday, January 10.

#tacmc FNL #fnl #friday night lights #acotar #acomaf #acowar #fanfic #fanfiction

471 notes · View notes