The Bad Boy Falls in Love novel Chapter 4

The door to Nelson’s room is slammed open for the second time that day. Nelson sighs and looks up to find Nathan standing there, glaring at him.

“Why the hell would you do that?” He demands. “Take Lincoln into our team? He’s no good!”

“Have you seen him play?” Nelson asks, going back to the documents he was studying. “Coz I have and he’s a damn good player.”

“basketball is a serious game, Coach!” Nathan exclaims. “He has no practice in playing with a high school team-”

“He plays great underground and I’m sure he’ll be equally good in my team,” Nelson says curtly. “If you have a problem then it ain’t my problem.”

Nelson’s tone is authoritative and final. There will be no more arguments on this and Nathan is furious. He storms off towards the boy’s locker where the other players are changing into their clothes.

Lincoln is there as well, already changed into his basketball jersey. The Coach also assigned him a number: 10.

Nathan storms into the locker room and charges right at Lincoln. Lincoln stares warily at him as they come face to face. Everyone else goes quiet as the two most popular boys of the school face-off against each other.

“Quit the team!” Nathan demands. “This isn’t your place.”

“Are you gonna decide where I belong?” Lincoln sneers. Nathan steps closer so that no one else can hear his next words.

“Should I really remind you where you belong?” he whispers.

Lincoln’s eyes flare up and he is about to hit Nathan when several of the players come up to stop him.

“Don’t even dare to hit him, Wright!” One of the players warns. “He’s the captain of the team.”

Nathan smirks at Lincoln. “If you won’t leave on your own, then I know ways to make you leave,” he coolly states.

“I will not leave and you can do whatever the hell you want!” Lincoln snarls. “Besides, I didn’t start this. You did. You’re the one who vandalized Halsey’s locker this morning. You and your friends!”

Every word he speaks is filled with venom for Nathan. Nathan raises an eyebrow. Vandalized a locker?

“Think whatever you want but by the end of the week, I’ll make sure that you’re out of this team!” Nathan vows and walks away. Lincoln fumes in anger as the other players follow suit, leaving him alone.

He hadn’t planned to enter the team but after seeing how Nathan had targeted Halsey, Lincoln couldn’t stay put. Seeing her cry only makes him feel bad and he wants to teach Nathan a lesson. By entering the team, he’ll be defying Nathan’s threats.

But what if Nathan decides to reveal their secret? What’ll happen then?

“I’ll have to keep an eye on him,” Lincoln mutters. “No one can know this secret. No one.”

…

The rest of the day went by without any more events. Halsey’s locker had been cleaned by the janitor and the lock was changed. She did not face any harassment directly but the students were staring at her during lunchtime and Lydia had passed by, giving her a smirk. Halsey got uncomfortable by the attention and ran to the library.

Lincoln found her there and consoled her by making funny impressions of their teachers. He is quite good at it and Halsey managed to laugh with him. The whole episode is still plaguing her mind but being with Lincoln calmed her down.

Nathan skipped practice that day and so did a bunch of his friends. The Coach was not happy about it and decided to duly punish him later. Lincoln had to go through the process of trying out for the team and he passed with flying colors. Nelson is impressed by his agility and performance, thinking of how to utilize his natural skills on the field.

Once the classes end, Lincoln meets up with Halsey.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna complain to the principal?” He asks as they head for their part-time jobs.

“No,” Halsey says, shaking her head. “It’s not worth it. I can’t handle all this right now.”

“Hales, they trashed your locker!” Lincoln exclaims. “You must take action otherwise-”

“What’s gonna happen if I do?” Halsey asks warily. “Someone else will pick on me tomorrow. It’s best to ignore it. They’ll stop eventually.”

Lincoln is about to argue but Halsey adds, “Besides, I don’t wanna be a burden on Charlotte. She’s going through some issues in her lounge and she’s already stressed. This’ll freak her out and I don’t want that. Can we please forget about today?”