Within the Lines

30.

"I'm not so sure about this, Kade."

Atticus had gradually been slowing his pace while we were on our way to the locker room, probably thinking I didn't notice and now came to a full halt.

"If we're doin' this, we should start with your football team," I reminded him. "They're closest to this and to you."

Atticus pulled a face and seemed to shrink a few inches as he slumped. "I know."

"It's only a big deal if we're lettin' it be."

"Tell that to the rest of the guys."

"Come on." Putting my hand on Atticus' lower back, I gave him an encouraging little push.

I wished Dad would've been there in the locker rooms. The guys listened to him. It would help if he showed he didn't mind, but Dad usually wasn't before big games, having already gone over tactics and whatever football mojo they had to do before the guys went to get changed.

"Hey?" Corey was first to greet us, all puzzled when we walked through the door.

Atticus cleared his throat. He suddenly grew the few inches he'd shrunk outside as he straightened his back, his expression closing up and hardening to lemon-rind sour. Not a usual lemon, either. More like a green one that wasn't ripe yet, because there was absolutely nausea, too.

"I, uh, wanted to tell you guys something," he said.

Atticus faltered, so I stepped next to him, giving him a subtle nod when he looked at me. He had their attention now. All he had to do was exactly what we'd discussed before: not give a fuck and be open about how things really were.

"I'm dating Kade," Atticus finally pushed out. "Yes, my stepbrother. And yes, I don't know how there're thousands of students here and yet this happens."

We had a locker room full of football players staring at us, practically with question marks above their heads or doing double takes as they processed what Atticus was saying. Atticus' nightmare. Even I was nervous at the silence that followed.

Only Corey already knew, and he glanced around him at the reactions of the others.

"I mean, they didn't grow up together or anything," Corey offered, breaking the silence.

I shot him a grateful smile.

A shaggy brown-haired guy disagreed. "What the fuck? You don't think that's weird at all? That's fucking weird."

"Yeah, and your my little pony porn is also fucking weird," a red-head called out jokingly from the other side of the room, earning him a few chuckles.

"Fuck off!" the shaggy brown-haired guy retorted with a grin, and I figured I was missing some inside joke, but that was fine by me.

"Congratulations, I guess?" Another guy added.

"Yeah, make him get himself together, Kade," Corey called out only half-jokingly. "Bring him back in line."

That was a charged remark. I could feel the tension in the room rise.

Everyone on the team could tell Atticus hadn't been playing his best games lately. I was sure a few of them would've already told him that to his face, too. People had talked about benching Atticus for the next game.

I did my best to smile. "I'll do my best," I promised.

The worst part was over. One of the guys broke the ice by asking how the fuck this happened, and a brief discussion on dating step siblings in general followed. The shaggy-haired brunet assured us he wasn't seriously weirded out and we should just do what we wanted. He had our back, just like he had Atticus' back last year when he came out as gay.