[Old Version] Playing for the Other Team [Old Version]

Chapter 12

Nathan woke up early the next morning. He always woke up early, even on weekends, since he seemed to have some kind of mental alarm clock in his head. He yawned, and stretched out on the couch, flinching when his foot bumped into another set of legs. He remembered that it was only Jonathan, and relaxed again.

Deciding that he didn't want to linger anymore in the couch, he got up and wandered into the kitchen to have something to drink, maybe figure out what to eat for breakfast. He glanced over his shoulder at the blond sleeping on the couch. He smiled to himself, his heart racing in his chest.

"Good morning, Nathan." Jennie smiled at him when he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh!" Nathan stopped in the doorway. "Good morning." He smiled and went over to the sink and got himself a glass of water.

Jennie turned back to the magazine she was reading, and turned the page. "Who's your friend on the couch?" She asked softly, as she read. Nathan opened to fridge to occupy himself, and tried not to act so stiff and nervous.

"Oh... um... he's a friend..." He mumbled. "Jonathan Meade." He said. "I hope it's okay he stayed over."

"Of course it is, sweetheart." Jennie chuckled, looking up from her magazine. "Oh, good morning." She smiled at the boy in the doorway. Nathan glanced over his shoulder at Jonathan.

"G-Good morning." Jonathan yawned, running his hand through his tousled hair. Nathan gulped, quickly turning away again.

"I was just thinking what to make for breakfast." He said, without stuttering. "How does pancakes sound?"

"Anything's fine, really." Jonathan shrugged.

Nathan smiled. "All right, I'll see what I can do." He said, picking out a bowl from a cupboard.

"Do you... need any help?" Jonathan asked, walking over to stand beside Nathan, and have a look at what he was doing.

"If you want to help, I won't say no." Nathan looked down at Jonathan. "Maybe you could mix this all up, while I make the table?" he suggested. The two boys went ahead and did whatever task they assigned each other, Nathan making the kitchen table while Jonathan made quick work of frying the pancakes.

Jennie smiled when Nathan put a plate down for her too, and put her magazine away when Jonathan and Nathan sat down to eat. "Wait, I forgot dad." Nathan started to get out of his chair again.

"Nathan, sweetheart..." Jennie stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Aaron has already left." She said.

Nathan started at her for some time. "O-Oh, so he went to work already?" He asked, looking at the clock on the wall. "T-That's a little early, isn't it?" he stuttered.

"No, Nathan." Jennie frowned. "He went to the airport about an hour ago. He's left to go to Germany." She said.

Nathan clenched his jaw. Had his father really left without as much as a word of goodbye? Left without saying anything at all? His dad hadn't even bothered wake him up before he left. He pushed his chair out of and got up.

"Nathan, sweetheart." Jennie called after him when he stormed up the stairs, and followed him. Jonathan stayed put, listening to Jennie trying to make Nathan unlock the door and come back down.

Jennie came back after a while with a defeated look on her face. "I'm sorry, Nathan's in his room and he won't come out." She explained. Jonathan gave a weak nod and looked down at his feet. "Are you all right?" Jennie asked him.

"I am." Jonathan nodded again. "Did... um... Did Nathan's dad leave?" he asked quietly.

"Um... He did." Jennie nodded. "He left for a business trip this morning. I can imagine that Nathan's upset that he left without saying goodbye." She frowned.

"Oh..." Jonathan looked away. "M-Maybe... I could talk to him or something?" He offered.

"Would you do that for me?" Jennie smiled at him. When Jonathan nodded, she let out a relieved breath. "Thank you, Jonathan. That's very sweet of you."

Jonathan gave her a brief smile in return and rose from the table, making his way towards the stairs. Nathan's house was much larger than he had first thought. The second floor had so many doors that it took him three tries to find the bedroom he was looking for.

"B-Bone?" He called, knocking on the locked door. "Are you in there?" he asked. "Bone?"

"Please, Jonathan. Not now." Nathan choked out on the other side of the door. He angrily rubbed away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes. He wasn't crying. He shouldn't be crying over something so stupid.

"Are you okay?" Jonathan asked.

Nathan snorted. Was he okay? No, he wasn't. He was angry as hell. Pissed off at his dad that just left without a word. "No." Nathan muttered.

"B-Bone..." Jonathan sighed. "Let me in." He demanded softly. Nathan wasn't so sure he wanted to let Jonathan in. He didn't really want him to see him so pathetically upset. "Bone, let me in." Jonathan said again, a little firmer.

Nathan hesitated before getting up from his seat and unlocking the door, pulling it open. "There." He mumbled, immediately turning away again, and sinking down on the bed with his back facing the door, and Jonathan.

Jonathan walked into the room and closed the door behind himself. "Bone, I heard about your dad." He said. "Your stepmo-... uh... Jennie told me." He explained and walked over to the bed, but keeping some space between them. "I'm sorry."

Nathan shrugged. A sorry didn't exactly help. "Thanks... I guess." He mumbled.

Jonathan nodded slowly, and sat down on the other side of the bed. "You know what?" He asked. "You're not exactly the guy I thought you'd be." He confessed. "I really thought you'd be one of those spoiled rich douchebags that only care for themselves." He chuckled. "I thought you'd be just like the rest of your team, but worse since you're the captain and all..." He continued. "I guess I was wrong."

Nathan threw a glance over his shoulder, listening carefully. "What?" he asked.

"Yeah, I mean.... not to be like that... but the rest of the basketball team's pretty much a bunch of assholes." Jonathan said. "That's why I ignored you before, because I thought that you were just messing with me, but you weren't after all. You're a nice guy, Nathan."

Nathan turned back around and stared into the wall. Had Jonathan really said that? And more importantly, did he mean it? He liked the way his name sounded when Jonathan said it, too. It sounded oddly natural, like Jonathan was made just to say it.

"You're a nice guy." Jonathan repeated. "You're the only one in school that doesn't ignore me, or bully me, and I like that." Jonathan smiled to himself, looking down at the carpet. "You're like my only friend."

There was a pause, neither of them was sure of how much time passed, but it wasn't until Nathan let out a sob that they realized that time was moving. Nathan smiled, wiping away the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

Jonathan jumped up from the bed and hurried around the bed. "G-Gosh, no. D-Don't cry, Nathan." He said, patting the brunet on the shoulder. "Hey, Nathan..."

Nathan let out something between a sob and a chuckle. "I'm sorry." He smiled.

"It's okay." Jonathan smiled back. "I'm kind of glad that I met you."

"Thanks." Nathan wiped away the last few tears, beaming up at Jonathan. "You're nice too." He said. "And I really like you." He added, and even though Jonathan didn't seem to understand exactly what he meant it felt good to say it.

"Yeah, me too." Jonathan chuckled. Nathan wasn't bothered at all that Jonathan didn't like him the way he did, it was enough that he could call him a friend.