TW: Mentions of violence and blood
TIMEOUT - Part Fifteen
In the next few days, Kyun drowns in practice. The joy in the team at his return was huge and Emery's face more than priceless. He missed spending time with his friends. Sure, he saw them at school but with all the parties he didn't go to and with them practicing every free minute for the big endgame, there weren't many possibilities to see them.
His coach wants him to take it slow but Kyun refuses to take this advice. He has to catch up, he needs to be good again. Even though he still has to wear a brace, to protect his leg, it doesn't keep him from running as fast as he used to again.
He almost forgot about the adrenaline that rushes through his body when he catches a ball.
This is everything!
The practice also distracts him from you. You hurt him deeply with your reaction.
His mom taught him that his feelings are valid just like girls' feelings. And he is damn hurt. But right now, he has to focus on the game. This thing with you has to wait.
"KYUN!"
He barely realized that the sun had already gone down when he hears Wonho's voice echoing over to him while he's doing cardio on the field. Confused, he stops, breathing heavily.
"What?"
"Go home!" he calls. "It's almost nine!"
Kyun immediately shakes his head. "Can't. I have to practice!"
Without another word, he keeps on footing at a fast pace over some tires as he suddenly gets jerked back and Wonho pulls him close to his chest.
"Go home, Kyun!" he groans. Again he shakes his head.
"I can't!" he gasps. "I have to... need to... the game... I have to be fit for—"
"Kyun, listen to me" the Tight End interrupts him. "Yes. We indeed need you fit. But not just physically, also mentally. You need rest, you're overdoing it! I have no idea what you're running away from but excessive training is not the solution!"
"I'm not running away.." Kyun scoffs. "And I know what my body is capable of! I'm fine!"
"You don't seem fine to me?"
Before Kyun can answer, Shownu shows up.
"What's the matter?"
Wonho crosses his arms and eyes Kyun head to toe. "He's killing himself, that's what's the matter!"
Contemptuously, Kyun scoffs again. "I am fine!" he growls and is about to go on with his workout, as Shownu grabs him by his collar.
"Take a shower!" he says in a calm but certain voice. "And then you'll eat with us, no discussion!"
Angry, Kyun rips himself out of the Quarterback's grip and passes Wonho who smirks happily at him.
Stupid assholes.
Gasping, Kyun lets the steaming hot water run over his body. If he's honest with himself, he's in pain. So much pain. Every single muscle in his body hurts and he groans with pleasure as the hot water soothes the pain a little. He knows he's overworking himself but he has to overcome the painful part, has to bite through, only a few more days.
Maybe then he'll also be able to clarify this with you.
You.
He misses you so much. Gosh, he misses your face and your touches and your kisses. He misses how you listen to his worries, you always manage to cheer him up. But there's this overwhelming ache in his chest.
He'll never be good enough. No matter how hard he tries...
Groaning, he shakes his head to free himself from his thoughts. The game. That's all that matters!
"Kyun? Bro!" Wonho's voice reaches him and he realizes he's been staring into the emptiness for quite some time while he sits with him and Shownu at the table in a burger bar.
"What?"
His friends exchange gazes.
"It's about y/n, isn't it?" Shownu asks and looks at him compassionately. "Did you guys break up?"
Immediately Kyun shakes his head. "No. We didn't break up. This with us is just... on hold. I have to... I need to figure out how to go on. Apparently, she's not supporting me with my dream and I need to... I don't even know..."
There's this long pause in which he stares at his plate while his friends exchange gazes.
"I don't know, man..." Wonho sighs. "I kinda get her. I mean Hayden wouldn't like it either if I were seeing the dude who hurt her this way on the regular ..."
Immediately Kyun's head shoots up to him and he sees Shownu nodding with agreement.
"You guys know?"
"Dude..." the Quarterback smacks. "We're dating her best friends... of course we know. But don't worry. We're the only ones who do..."
Kyun's thoughts are running circles in his head. How come everyone in his surroundings knew what happened to you, except for him? How could they not tell him? Again he feels the anger spreading in his gut.
"And you accept him in your damn team? How the fuck could you—"
"Chill man, okay?" Wonho groans. "Trust me, we are just as pissed as you are. We kinda accepted all this somehow but when you got injured, and Emery was so present suddenly, we tried everything to get rid of him..."
Surprised Kyun tilts his head. "How?"
Shownu and Wonho look at each other before they shrug.
"We put laxatives in his water... manipulated his gloves so he wasn't able to catch properly, didn't pass him the ball, didn't tell him about practice days so he couldn't learn the new routines... all of this was of course a joke compared to what he deserves but... we just couldn't sit back and watch..."
Wonho's hand forms into a fist and he stares at the table with a hateful gaze. Usually, he isn't like that. He's a soft, kindhearted person. Emery manages to piss even him off.
Shownu sighs. "Yeah and then the coach made it quite clear what he would do with me if I didn't stop this charade..."
Kyun had no idea what his friends went through while he was busy with studying and... well... you. He feels somewhat grateful for them, even though they are right. What they did to Emery isn't even a fraction of what he actually deserves.
Wonho shoves some food in his mouth and shrugs.
"But with you being back now, this is all past and it's only a matter of time until you have your position back. For good!"
"That isn't enough" Kyun whispers pensively while poking in his dinner. "I wanna kill him..."
He never felt so much anger, so much hate in his entire life. The fact that he is having this fight with you only triggers all this.
"Listen, Bro!" Shownu says with a full mouth. "When it comes to this, if you wanna beat the shit out of him, I won't stop you. But I need to ask you to consider it before you make a wrong move. This could cost you everything!"
He's right. It could cost him everything. But as long as Emery keeps his mouth shut, none of them has to worry about anything...
The next day, before school, a few of the team, including Kyun, are standing in the locker room. In three days is the big game and they're using every amount of free time to practice. Even if that means meeting at 6 in the morning.
Kyun doesn't dare to rest anyway. The moment he sits still, he knows that the illusion he's fine, which held together with excessive training will crash down and leave him with only pure devastation. He just slipped into his pants and sat down to put on his shoes, when he suddenly hears your name. Immediately his head shoots up. Only a second later, Emery's face appears from behind the lockers and Kyun feels his pulse quicken.
"Im, is it true?" he asks with a smug smirk. "You and y/n broke up again? What was the reason?"
Kyun feels Wonho's hand on his shoulder but he shakes it off and puts on his sneakers.
"We didn't break up!" he says in a pissed tone without even looking at Emery. Multiple times he warns himself to calm down, but every inch in his body wants to hurt him. Hurt him as bad as he hurt you - or worse.
"Are you sure about this?" his rival asks. "Haven't seen you together since you returned to the team. Maybe..." he smirks at his friends. "It's my chance to get her back. Don't worry" His eyes fall back at Kyun. "I'll take good care of her for you. You seem too busy lately to do it properly!"
Kyun hears Shownu saying his name but it seems so distant, so far away, cause all he hears is his racing heart and the blood rushing through his veins. Roaring, he jumps up, runs toward Emery, and tackles him. He has strength, Kyun can't deny that, so they both stumble backward before Emery loses balance and falls on his back. Without hesitation, Kyun jumps on top of him and rams his fist into his face while the dude underneath him tries to push him off.
"I kill you!" Kyun snarls from between his teeth. "I swear to god I will KILL YOU!"
Again his fist meets this dude's face before Emery throws him off and pins him to the ground. The next thing Kyun feels is Emery's hard fist on his nose, his eye and he gasps with pain.
"So. So. Pathetic!" Emery laughs. "I fucked her so good that she just can't stand the thought of staying with you!"
This was too much. These words were enough for Kyun to gather strength he didn't know he had.
"You son of a bitch!" he groans before he pushes him off of him and smacks his fist into Emery's face. Over and over and over again, unable to stop. Kyun isn't even surprised that no one interferes. The ones on his side know Emery deserves it, while the rest of the team are assholes. They love a good fight.
Kyun watches the blood pouring out Emery's face, feels his own knuckles bursting open as well. It's like being on a trip. All he can think about is ending this dude's life.
Suddenly he gets jerked back from his rival and, so deep in his zone, he tries to jump back on him until he sees your face in front of him. You're definitely not strong enough to stop with your body but your face alone rips him back to reality.
"You're killing him!" your hysterical voice reaches him and Kyun looks around. They're in the hallway. How the fuck did they get here?
The other students who probably headed to or from the cafeteria next to the gym look at him shocked while Wonho and Shownu hold him back.
And then there's Emery, laying on his back, unconscious and bleeding like a slaughtered pig.
Did he do this?
Gasping he looks at you.
"Y/n...He... he... said. He-"
"I don't care what he said!" you yell and he sees how close to tears you are. "Are you really so stupid that you let yourself get provoked like that?"
Kyun feels so lost. With the adrenaline gone he feels the pain. The physical and the mental pain, and tears fill his eyes as well. What's happening to him?
"I snapped..." he whispers and longs for you to hold him so damn much. "I'm so sorry..."
There's this huge lump appearing in his throat as he sees how desperate your gaze is.
"This is the reason I was so concerned about you going back into the team. Remember when I said, that I'm scared he'll ruin what we have?" you cry while kneeling in front of him. "This is what I meant..." you add whispering and Kyun, again, feels his world falling apart. The fight you had last week was easy to fix. But now?
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks, his voice cracking with panic.
"I asked you for one thing! Just one! And it still seems like that was too much for you!" you cry. "We're done, Kyun..."
With these words, you get up and walk down the corridor. Kyun's breathing gets heavier again and he tries to get up but it's not that easy with his sore muscles.
"Y/n!" he gasps and gets on his shaky feet. "Y/N WAIT I—"
"Stop!" before he can follow you, he feels a hand on his collar. Angrily he turns his head and looks into the coach's face.
Great.
"Into my office! NOW!" he yells before his eyes fall on Shownu and Wonho. "AND GET A DAMN AMBULANCE FOR EMERY!"
Long after school is over, Kyun slumps down the empty corridor before he stops, leaning his forehead against one of the lockers - and starts to cry quietly.
It's over.
He lost everything.
He got suspended.
Kicked out of the team.
He lost you.
For an eternity, the coach yelled at him in his office until Kyun had enough and spat the reasons why he snapped into his face. That Emery sexually assaulted a girl.
For a moment, his coach seemed shocked until he said that he never thought Kyun would go so far and spread lies so he could get his position back. And for the first time, Kyun has a vague sense of what it's like to fight against someone that's so much more powerful than he is. And he finally gets why you've been keeping your mouth shut for so long now...
No one would've believed you...
All of this is gone.
His career as a player, his chances to make it to a college, cause let's face it, you were the best fucking tutor in this world and you never wanna see him again.
It would be so easy to blame others for all this. To blame Emery, the coach, or even you. But Kyun knows it's his fault alone. You asked him to stay calm, to not let his rage overwhelm him. And you didn't ask him because this is your fight - even though this alone would've been a valid reason. You asked him, to prevent him from this. From all this. From losing everything.
His parents are still with the principal, probably trying to hold the damage as low as possible. Maybe they can convince him to not suspend Kyun. But the Wide Receiver doesn't care anymore.
It's too late. He messed up.
"FUCK!" he shouts and rams his fist into the locker he leans against. Immediately his knuckles start bleeding again and Kyun wishes he could feel any physical pain...