From My Enemy To My Love (boyxboy) ✔

Chapter 2

Chet Watakeekul

The sky was a clear blue overhead. White, puffy clouds dotted the blue in sparse clumps. The sunshine was warm against my cheeks and forearms. It was a beautiful day.

I dribbled the soccer ball a little down the field. Nothing too intense. Practice hadn't officially started yet for the day, but it would soon.

"Have you seen Mateo yet?" Jimmy asked. I stopped the ball with my foot and looked around the field.

"No," I said. "Wait, there he is." I pointed towards the bleachers. Mateo guided his blonde friend to the bleachers. He was still in his street clothes. He waved to his friend and headed into the locker room.

"He'd better hurry," Jimmy said. "The assistant coach was looking for him a few minutes ago."

"He'll be fine," I said easily. "He dresses quickly." I looked back over at Mateo's friend. Adam. No. Alex. I liked him. He was always nice the few times we had talked. Alex saw me watching him from across the field. He smiled tentatively and raised a hand to wave at me. I raised my arm in the air and waved back.

"Take it easy, man." Jimmy caught my forearm. I hadn't realized how vigorously I had waved my arm until then. "You're always such a spaz."

"Just energetic," I said. I kicked the ball up lightly and caught it in my hands. I hugged it to my chest. "He sure is a good friend though. He comes to every practice and every game. I don't have any friends like that." Alex was dedicated that was for sure. I had a lot of friends. Some even came to watch the games if they weren't already on the team. But none of them came to watch practices. My two closest friends had followed me to this university from high school. Mateo was already on the soccer team. Gareth usually came to home games, but he never came to sit at the practices.

"Friend, hunh?" Jimmy said with that smirk in his voice.

I pulled my attention from Mateo's blonde friend to Jimmy. "What do you mean? Aren't they friends?" I shifted from foot to foot just to get rid of some pent up energy.

"What kind of friend comes to every practice?" Jimmy said with a knowing smile on his face. He arched his right eyebrow as he watched me.

"A good one?" I said.

Jimmy rolled his eyes and sighed. "A friend that comes to every practice, every game, walks with him everywhere." He paused to let me figure out what he was implying.

"A best friend?" I said. It was clear Mateo and Alex had grown close fast, but I had grown close with Mateo fast too.

Jimmy chuckled under his breath and tousled my hair. "So innocent, Chet."

I pushed his hand away roughly. "I am not."

"Really. How many dates have you been on?"

"Plenty." None. I wouldn't consider what I said a lie. It was just bravado and bravado was okay. And it was my choice I hadn't been on a date. I had been asked.

Jimmy smirked even wider and began to walk away. It was only then that a hint of a memory came to me. I was at the back of the middle school with Mateo. He told me something then that he hadn't told anyone else and as far as I knew never told anyone else. I understood what Jimmy was implying. I caught his arm and turned him back around.

I whispered, "Are they dating?" I couldn't believe Mateo would tell him before me, but maybe he hadn't. Maybe Jimmy had just assumed they were dating.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Jimmy asked suddenly serious.

"No." I shrugged. And I didn't. "Alex seems like a nice kid." I looked over at the bleachers and smiled at Alex. The sunlight seemed to reflect off his blonde hair. Alex returned my smile.