The Lies We Tell

1 - "I don't care"

"Whatever," he mumbled and shoved his hands in his pockets, heading back to his dorm.

Making sure he was out of sight, the man turned to the girl and asked if she was okay.

"Yes," she sighed, "thank you so much. I was really scared," she laughed nervously.

"No problem. My name's Colby by the way," he said, reaching into his bag for a slip of paper which he began writing his number on.

A wave of anxiety passed over the girl who worried that she'd have to go through the same kind of encounter again, "uhh... I was serious... when I told him I wasn't interested..."

"Don't worry. This is just so you can call or message me if this kind of thing happens again." Colby smiled and his demeanor immediately put her at ease. "And besides, I'm gay."

-

"Fucking ripped sonofabitch," Alex muttered under his breath as he made his way across campus. As soon as he was in his room, he collapsed on his bed next to the stack of syllabi he had gotten his first couple days of classes. They didn't really matter though because they were all fluff classes to fill the credit requirement for a 'full-time student'. The real reason he was at Northride University was for their soccer program. Their division I team had accepted Alex on scholarship and his future was set.

Grabbing the soccer ball that rested on his desk, he laid on his back and tossed it into the air. Asshole, he continued to complain to himself.

Ripping him out of his sulking, the door to the dorm flew open and crashed into the wall.

"What did I say about slamming the door?" Alex scolded his roommate. He chucked the ball at his friend who caught it and threw it back.

"Dude," Dayton said excitedly, "I was chatting up some of the girls on the floor below us (super hot) and apparently some of the sororities are throwing a 'mixer' or some shit, but it's basically a party with a ton of beer and older girls!"

"When is it," Alex asked skeptically.

"This weekend," Dayton replied, moving to his bed where Alex tossed him the ball again. "I think it's Hawaiian themed or something."

"As much as I want to go," Alex started and Dayton's face fell, "this is the first week of real practice and we probably shouldn't show up hungover."

"Ugh. That's fucking bogus." Dayton complained, but he knew Alex was right.

The two of them had met over the summer but their friendship was instant. Northride U had a rigorous soccer camp over the summer which not only trained the incoming freshmen, but kept the current players in shape for the new season. It was anything but easy and Alex had felt like he learned more in those eight weeks than he had during all four years of high school. 

Alex had been roomed with Dayton and two other boys but he only became friends with Dayton because, in Dayton's words, the other two were "wet socks without a single funny bone in their cold soup bodies". Whatever that meant.

"Oh, by the way," Alex sat up on his bed, "did you attend the floor meeting cause like... I had better shit to do."

With squinted eyes, Dayton looked at him, "like what."

"Like trimming my toenails."

Dayton chucked the ball back at his friend while Alex's laugh echoed throughout the room.

"No, but we do have the team meeting in an hour."

With a dramatic groan, Alex lifted himself from the bed and stumbled over to Dayton where he collapsed.

"What the fuck," Dayton laughed.

"Carry me."

After 50 minutes of messing around and completely ignoring any assignments that were due the next week, the two friends began to head over to the Rec Center where the meeting was being held. There were still a few more weeks until the first day of fall, and Alex hoped that the warm weather would continue to hold up at least until then.

"Yeah, and then he got all homo on me and I had to ditch. Otherwise I would've gotten her number," Alex explained his earlier confrontation with Colby to Dayton and another freshman who was part of the soccer team.

"Right. Totally." Dayton said sarcastically. Alex shoved him and he shoved back while Jordan, the other boy, just rolled his eyes at the two as they entered the gym.

"Hey, newbies. Calm down." A tall upperclassman chided. They quickly stopped their roughhousing and took a seat on the floor.

Others were sitting and chatting, while only two were standing in the front with a couple of the assistant coaches. Alex looked for the coach while Dayton was already making friends with those around them. It was later in the evening so the sun was setting and the last rays of daylight snuck through the windows, illuminating the gym in an ombre of red and orange.

Alex turned his attention towards his new teammates and began talking to them along with Dayton while they waited for the meeting to begin.

After a few minutes, people began to quiet down and all heads turned towards the front where the coach and another player were walking in. When they stopped and faced the team, Alex's heart dropped to his feet and it remained there while the coach explained the season, their typical practices, and the general rules of being a Northride Cavalier before he turned to the student beside him.

"And here's your captain," he gestured and the players clapped.

"Hi everyone, I'm Colby Smith and I'll be your captain this semester."

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1/21/19

Let's get it! New book! I'm so excited and happy with this plot! I hope you enjoy :)

P.S. updates may be slow because classes just started and also I'm lazy <3