wasting time » lh ; mc

eight

With Luke and Michael working together for the rugby team, not only would the rugby team be extra nice toward them, but Michael would be over Luke's so often that there's no way he won't be noticed by a few hockey legends and scouted finally, and Luke—well, at least Luke is learning how to not suck at sports.

He and Michael couldn't be any more different.

Michael is only registered for one sport, but he always sits around during other practices and helps (the players sometimes find it harsh, but if you suck, what do you expect?) the teams. His father won't let him sign up for more than he can handle, and even though Michael believes he can handle one or two more things, Coach Clifford doesn't. That'll change once he's shown that the boy had managed to get rugby back.

Luke isn't signed up for anything as far as Michael knows. He's related to one of the greatest hockey players of all time, and doesn't know anything about how to play sports. He also doesn't seem to realize just how great it is to have someone like Andrew Hemmings as your father. It's like Luke is bitter about it, when he brushes off the subject of his dad or doesn't talk about him at all unless asked about him. And even then, when he's asked about his dad, Luke finds a way to avoid the question as much as he can.

It's just strange. To Michael, at least. He would be flaunting it everywhere if Andrew Hemmings was related to him in any way at all, and even more if he was his father.

There's one thing that Michael does appreciate about the annoying blonde, though. It was when he slipped up the other day about dating a boy and therefore implying that he's attracted to boys and Michael doesn't tell that to anybody. Why did he allow it to slip? Around Luke, of all people. But, Luke either didn't notice or chose not to acknowledge the confession because he moved on to another topic.

The only people who've got a hint that Michael has no gender-specific boundaries for liking someone is his father and Calum. He can't even say it out loud, it's always been subtle comments like, "yeah, honestly I don't really care who I like," whenever the topic randomly comes up. So, until he's ready to say it and tell them straightforward, Michael is going to assume that the two are somewhat aware of his sexuality.

It's not like he hasn't come to terms with the fact that he can like just about anybody, because that was something he had no problem with at all, it's the fact that sexuality is one of those things that can make or break a relationship with someone in your life. It's sad, but it's true. And so many people are so awkward around the topic of sexuality, or they never voice how they feel about a person's orientation. That's why Michael doesn't want to say it outright: he's afraid of the tension it might create.

He's really afraid of a lot of things.

       + + +

When Michael was able to get out of bed without too much pain the next morning, his dad let him go to school. But, there was a catch: Michael couldn't participate in practice until his back was completely healed. He could've taken it. He's had worse injuries and still managed to make it through an entire game. That was only because he refused to tell his dad that he'd gotten hurt since he didn't want to get taken off the ice, but, still.

"I have to talk to Davenport today," he told Calum, pulling out a single headphone and lowering the volume of his music. They were in the cafeteria and waiting for the morning bell to ring, Calum eating the school breakfast and Michael scrolling through his music library. This is how it was every morning.

Calum was the one person he told absolutely everything to about his plan for the team. Besides Luke, but really Calum knew more than him, too. "Why can't just go to the principal and talk to him about it?"