Coming Home [Completed]

Ch. 14: Halloweekend, Part I

"Charlie Holloway, please report to the administrative office," Ms. Watson's raspy voice declared, modulated through the school's intercom. The usual round of noises that accompany such an announcement rang out from his peers as Charlie packed up his notebook and exited his literature class.

It was Halloween, so most people were in some form of a school-appropriate costume. Charlie had gone the minimalist route and just wore his football jersey, like the rest of the team; it was the day of the rivalry game, after all. Lucas had something more elaborate planned for the post-game party, but he wouldn't give Charlie any specifics.

As he made his way down the hall, Charlie couldn't come up with a reason why he'd been called to the principal's office, on the day of the biggest game of the season no less. The thought crossed his mind that this was about him and Lucas going to Babylon, but he quickly dismissed that possibility as ridiculous.

When he reached the main office, he was directed to go straight to the principal's office, where he found Mr. Matthews and Coach Hansen waiting for him.

"Charlie, please come in, sit down," Mr. Matthews beckoned and Charlie complied hesitantly. Once he was in the chair, the principal continued, "now, unfortunately, we have some rather disturbing news to share with you."

"What happened? Is my mom hurt or something?" Charlie asked, worriedly.

"Gosh, no, nothing like that. I apologize that my indirectness has caused you concern, but it is a rather delicate matter. You see, Scott Oswalt, the reason you're here at Pine Wood, has just been given a special dispensation from the restraining order your mother filed on your behalf by Judge Walker, so he will be playing in the game tonight. We've already contacted the league to prevent this, but that entreaty was unsuccessful. We've lodged a formal complaint with the state governing body, but it is unlikely that it will be resolved before tonight's kickoff."

"How is that possible?" Charlie tried to mask the fright in his voice as his brain raced to relive the events of last spring. He felt the phantom pain of Scott's lacrosse stick striking his head and his hand unconsciously moved towards what had been the point of impact.

"Judge Walker is an alumnus of Saint Sebastian and apparently believes that the restraining order was part of a conspiracy on our part to put his alma mater at a competitive disadvantage for the rivalry game," Coach Hansen answered.

"That's ridiculous. He assaulted me."

"And that's why, after conferring with Coach Hansen, we believe that you should be given the opportunity to sit the game out. We would completely understand."

"Fuck that," Charlie blurted out. Mr. Matthews visibly cringed at the profanity, so he corrected himself, "sorry about that, sir, it was just my immediate reaction."

"No, no, I completely understand."

"If it was up to me," Coach Hansen began, "we just wouldn't participate in the game at all tonight. They have no right to endanger our players by putting that psychopath on the field."

"You can't do that, coach. We, the whole team, have worked so hard all season and we won't make the playoffs without a win tonight. We can't let them win without even putting up a fight."

"Be that as it may, the school district's counsel has advised me that we need a parent to sign a special waiver relieving the school of any liability if you are harmed tonight."

"Done. If anything happens, it'll be them who pay."

"I've met your mother multiple times, Mr. Holloway. I'm not sure that will be as easy as you seem to assume."

____________________________________

Charlie was in a daze as he made his way to his locker. The class bell had rung while he was in Mr. Matthews's office, so it was now his lunch period. The halls were empty as ten minutes had already elapsed in the period. He was in such a zombie-like state trying to process this new information that it took Theo several attempts to call his attention.

"Charlie! Charlie!"

"Huh, what?"

"Shit, you scared me there. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just peachy."

"Why'd Mr. Matthews want to see you? Everyone in class was gossiping about it after you left. Nolan thinks you and Lucas got caught doing it in the library."

"Ew, gross. I'm not that perverted." Charlie couldn't help but laugh at the distracting thought.

"Then, what was it?"

"So, after... last spring, my mom filed a restraining order against Scott, but he got an exemption from it to play in the game tonight."

"Oh, shit. That's fucked up."

"You're telling me."

"So... what're you going to do?"

"What can I do? I've got to play."

"No, you don't, Charlie. Your safety is much more important than a stupid game."

"I'd disagree. I can't let down my teammates. I actually like these guys and I'd hate to mess up their season. Plus, I can't back away from people like Scott. There's always going to be assholes like him in this world and I'm tired of running. They've taken enough away from me; they're not taking this."

Theo appeared unsatisfied by the answer, still sporting a worried look on his face, but he said nothing more on the subject as the two made their way to the cafeteria.

________________________________________

Charlie's argument with his mother when he got home from school was much like his conversation with Theo earlier in the day. He tried not to read too much into that comparison. However, eventually, she relented and signed the waiver, allowing him to rush back to school to join his teammates.

The game itself was interesting if football is your thing. Pine Wood, a small public school, was heavily outmatched by Saint Sebastian on paper, both in terms of skill and manpower. Charlie had only played offense with his old team, but shortly into the season, Coach Hansen asked him to play safety as well as running back. This meant Charlie barely had a respite throughout the entire game, but he didn't let that stop him. Nor did he let the cheap shots from Scott and his teammates stop him either.

Charlie ended up rushing in the game-winning touchdown as time expired. The image of Scott, laying on the ground after a failed tackle attempt, as Charlie's teammates mobbed him in congratulations, made the whole thing all the sweeter. He wasn't carried off the field like what happens in movies, but he felt like the feet hadn't touched the ground as the team made its way off the field towards their school's bleachers.

He scanned the crowd with the intent of finding Lucas, but he couldn't locate his boyfriend in the sea of rainbow colors. After word spread through school about Scott playing in the game, the students changed the night's theme to pride colors in solidarity. The face he recognized first wasn't Lucas's, but Theo's. He was surprised the boy was even at the game, much showing support for him. Their eyes met and Theo smiled at him.

Charlie's vision was torn from Theo when he felt arms envelop him around his chest, pressing his sweat-drenched shoulder pads further into his skin. Lucas was the culprit of this odd sensation. His boyfriend was wearing his alternate jersey, causing a certain pride to swell his chest.

And yet, even with this great feeling, Charlie couldn't help but feel something was strangely off about the whole thing. He had reached the summit. Six months ago, if he could have pictured a fantasy life, it would include his perfect boyfriend, vanquishing his former team in the biggest game of the year, and being on the glide path to an elite college. He had all those things now, but there was still this void. His life felt incomplete. The summit hadn't felt as good as he thought it would. Or maybe, he just hadn't scaled the right summit at all. He shuddered at the thought of returning to a valley in search of the right summit.

"We're still going to Jude's party, right?" Lucas inquired, pulling his focus once more.

"Of course," Charlie replied, "we have so much to celebrate." He hoped that saying so would make it true.