Come Wander With Me (13 Reasons Why)

Chapter 14

"It's weird, right?" Alex asks, when Clay sits down next to him, not long before the game is about to begin. "I used to avoid these things, and now here I am..."

"To cheer on your boyfriend?" Clay suggests, recognizing the uncomfortable look on Alex's face all too well. "Did Zach tell you to come?"

"No, he actually told me not to, because he knew I'd hate it. Justin?"

"He basically blackmailed into coming. If I didn't, he would..."

"Yeah, don't even finish that sentence," Alex says, having heard enough details about Clay and Justin's sex life already. "Do you remember that party at Jess'?"

"Yeah, of course," Clay laughs nervously, still remembering how everyone had found out about his crush on Justin that night.

"Did you think we'd be here, just a few months later..."

"Dating Justin and Zach?" Clay asks, and Alex nods, still looking more than just a little uncomfortable. "Hell no. I didn't think Justin even knew who I was, and you..."

"I was dating Jess," Alex says. "I'm pretty sure I still hated Zach back then."

"How the fuck did we end up here?" Clay laughs, but they both know the answer to that.

"As much as I hate to say it, if Bryce and Monty hadn't come for me that day, and Zach hadn't stepped in..."

"And Bryce hadn't kicked Justin out... I doubt I ever would have gone up to Justin if that hadn't happened."

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure Hannah was planning on setting up a date or something. She would have made sure you guys would have ended up living together anyway," Alex laughs. "You know she wouldn't have given up, right?"

Before Clay can answer, Hannah joins them, the biggest smile on her face, and she gives them both a big hug, before wedging herself in between them.

"Oh my god, you guys, I'm so glad you're both here!" she exclaims, the guys sharing a knowing look which she completely ignores, as she rambles on about how excited she is about the game.

-

"Is it always this tense?" Alex asks, feeling more uncomfortable with every minute that goes by. He isn't an expert on the game, but he is pretty certain that the guys aren't supposed to fight with their own team mates. Yet even from where they are sitting, he can tell that the coach has been struggling to keep them all apart ever since they have stepped onto the field.

"I have no idea what's going on," Hannah admits, no longer excited, but now also looking uncomfortable, as another scuffle seems to be breaking out on the field. "Jess said..."

"What the...," Clay blurts out, but before he can even say whatever else he had been meaning to say, they see Monty jumping Justin, the rage in him almost animalistic.

The three friends jump up, but by the time they get down to the field, Monty has already been pulled off Justin. Zach and Jessica are kneeling down with Justin, who is still lying down in the grass, but Clay still expects to find him with a bloody nose, or a black eye. He expects him to get up, be angry for a minute or two, and then they will laugh it off.

But when he kneels down with him, he sees that the color is drained from Justin's face, and it takes him a moment to realize why he isn't speaking. But when he looks down, he sees what has happened, what Monty has done to him.

"That son of a...," Clay spits out, ready to jump up and fight Monty himself. But Justin grabs his hand, and he looks up at him, shaking his head.

"Don't."