Charlie panted as he jogged on the track alongside Nick and the rest of the rugby boys. It had been a tough season for the team, so on their last game, the Truham boys wanted to end on a pleasant note. Today they played some random school, not St. John's, luckily. Charlie and the team had a rough time playing against them two years ago in his first year of rugby. Now that he was an actual team member (no longer the reserve), he had much more experience with games. Charlie glanced at the opposing team warming up on the other side of the field—they looked much more put together as they did passing exercises and drills. It caused an uneasy feeling in Charlie's stomach—one he hardly felt playing rugby anymore.
"You're thinking a lot," Nick said, snapping Charlie back into reality.
"Oh...uh, yeah," Charlie replied, 'sorry' left on his tongue, never to be spoken. He had gotten better at not apologizing lately.
Nick gripped his hand, unafraid of the others, even though not all of them were that supportive. "Hey, you'll be okay, I promise. After we get through the game, we'll have a pizza party, and then the season will be over, and we'll be free from the horrible confines of school."
Charlie smiled, Nick's words calming his nerves. He leaned his head on his boyfriend's shoulder for a second, showing his gratefulness.
After another lap of running, the team did a few more exercises until Miss Singh started the match. Charlie's instincts had been right—this team was much better than them. They got an early lead, leaving Truham eight points behind after only 10 minutes of play. When they reached the half, they were behind by 20 points.
"Okay boys," Nick said loudly to the team as they gathered in a circle. "If we focus very hard we come back from this. I know we can."
Charlie nodded along with the rest of the team, breathing heavily. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Nick, however, because he was glowing beautifully in the sun, and his freckles were showing up nicely on his skin. Nick noticed the staring, smiling at Charlie and winking at him in response. Charlie tried to push down the blush that was rising in his cheeks, but he failed to do so, so he just stopped trying to hide it.
When their 10 minute break was up, the boys were back on the field. They ended up getting a few points more, making the difference between them and the other team only 15 points. Charlie was tired and out of breath, but he kept going because he wanted to win for Nick.
Soon there were 20 minutes left in the half, with only a 9 point difference. After more play, Nick called a time-out, and the entire team assembled again.
"All we need is two more try's," Nick said confidently. "Just keep the ball out of their hands, and we can do this."
Charlie glanced at the time—only four minutes remained in the game. But he trusted Nick to get the team motivated and ready to win.
The time out ended and the team was back on the field for the final time. Truham got possession of the ball right away, and Harry was able to get the ball very close to the goalposts. However a member of the other team tackled him, and he let go of the ball. Nick ran and grabbed it before the other team could, and scored a try.
The whole team cheered, and Charlie jogged over, giving Nick a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. He smiled at him for a second, then his focused face returned as they started play again.
Otis had the ball, who passed to Sai, who passed to Charlie. Charlie ran as fast as he could, looking for someone else to pass to, but they were all blocked. Charlie keep running, dodging all the other players until he got to the goal posts. Suddenly, Charlie's leg gave out, and he tripped, falling sideways while rolling his right ankle. He felt a snap, then intense pain that shot up his leg and sprung tears to his eyes. The ball had shot out his hand, but he crawled over to grab it, putting it down for the try. Then, he let go of the ball, clutching his ankle, and shutting his eyes in agony.
In only a second, Charlie felt Nick's body next to his, slipping their hands together. "Charlie? Are you okay?" Nick asked frantically, genuine concern in his words.
"No," he replied, pointing to his ankle and holding back tears. "I rolled it and I think I sprained it—or broke it, I don't know."
"Okay. Don't worry, Char. But you're going to need to stand up so I can take you to the first aid room."
Nick offered his arm, and Charlie took it, using his strength to pull himself on to his feet. Christian appeared at his other side to balance him, and they both helped him hobble to the side of the field.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team was celebrating an unlikely victory—especially Harry, who was cheering like it was he who scored the winning points.
They met Miss Singh on the grass and she took him inside for first aid while Nick and Christian stayed on the field. Charlie sat on the bed, putting his ankle up so she could examine it. She made him move it up and down, and side to side, though that hurt a lot.
After touching it a bit, she concluded: "It's definitely sprained. You can move it, so it's not broken, which is good. When you get home, you should elevate and ice it, and I suggest you don't do any sport-related activities for a few weeks. If it doesn't get better after a month, you might want to try to get in to physiotherapy."
"Okay, Miss." Charlie said solemnly. "Thank you."
"Hopefully, I'll see you next year." Miss Singh left the first aid room, shutting the door behind her, leaving Charlie alone. For the first time, he glanced at his ankle and noticed that it was swollen and already beginning to bruise. He sighed, keeping it up on the bed.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Nick appeared, smiling sadly. "Hi."
"Hi."
"Is your ankle okay?"
"Miss Singh says it's sprained. And look at it." He gestured to his foot, and Nick peered down. "I'm not allowed to do anything sport related, like running, and I'm supposed to ice it and elevate it."
"Oh," Nick said. "Does it still hurt?"
Charlie shrugged. "A little," he admitted, casting his eyes down. "At least we won, though, right?"
"Yeah, but that hardly matters. I just want to make sure you're okay."
Charlie smiled at his boyfriend, moving over and gesturing for him to sit next to him. Nick came over immediately, and Charlie leaned his head on to his shoulder.
"There's a party tonight, to celebrate," Nick said, frowning and scratching his head. "But I don't want to go. I want to make sure you're okay."
"You should go! Hang out with your friends and eat pizza. I'll be fine."
"I'd rather hang out with you."
A comfortable silence fell between them, and Charlie took the time to look at his foot again, which was even more purplish than before.
"I can drive us back to your place?" Nick asked, bouncing his leg.
"Yeah, that'd been great! Let me text my mum about what happened, and that you'll be coming round."
"Okay!"
Charlie shot her a quick text, and then he moved his foot off the bed, placing it gingerly on the floor before he stood up. He wobbled, and Nick was immediately beside him, his hand in his to steady him.
"Good?" Nick asked and Charlie testing out the floor.
"Yeah, I think so," he replied, taking a few steps. "Let's go."
Charlie and Nick walked carefully out of the first aid room, then out to the parking lot. The rest of the rugby boys were gone, probably off to their victory party. They hopped into Nick's car, then they drove back to Charlie's house, Nick's hand in his the entire time.
When they got there, Charlie's mum was already in the front yard, and she looked worried.
"Hey Nick, nice to see you! Charlie, is your ankle okay?"
"Yeah, I just sprained it at the game today. I'm fine, I can walk on it. I just have to take it easy and ice it and stuff."
"All right, sweetie."
"Do you mind if I stay a bit and make sure Charlie's okay?" Nick asked.
"Of course not," Jane said. "Come on in."
"Thanks Mrs. Spring."
Nick helped Charlie up the front steps, into the house, and then upstairs. When they got to the top, Nick slowly scooped Charlie up in his arms and carried him bridal style through his door and placed him on his bed.
"I love you, Nick," Charlie said, giggling softly.
"I love you too. Now I'm going to go downstairs and get you some ice for your foot."
Nick smiled and left the room, coming back a minute later with a plastic bag full of ice. He then grabbed some of Charlie's books and made a large stack, finishing it off with pillows on top.
"Put your foot up there, Char."
Charlie lifted his foot, resting it on the giant stack. Then, Nick placed the bag of ice on to the outside of his ankle, positioning it carefully.
"Thank you," Charlie said. "You seem to know exactly what you're doing. Have you gotten injured before?"
"Yeah, a few times. Nothing too bad though, just pulled some muscles and stuff. I've always gotten better after. The ice really helps with the swelling." Nick sat down on the bed next to Charlie as he spoke.
"Hm," Charlie replied, gesturing for Nick to lie down with him.
They curled up together warmly under the blankets, Nick wrapping his arms protectively around him, making him blush. Charlie always felt butterflies when they cuddled like this, and today was no exception. Nick's embrace was better than anyone else's—even Tao's and Tori's.
"Do you think this will ruin my entire summer?" Charlie whispered.
Nick turned his face to look at him. "Nah," his boyfriend said. "I mean, it might bother you for two weeks or so, but after that, it should be fine. Don't worry, Char. You'll be okay, you're strong."
Charlie smiled, nosing his head further into his neck. "Okay."
"Do you want to kiss?" Nick had a grin playing on his lips.
"You really don't have to ask me that anymore, Nick."
"Well, I should...you never know."
"Regardless, the answer is yes." Charlie spoke quickly, then smashed his lips on to Nick's, his hands nesting in his blonde hair and twirling it about his fingers. Nick kissed back immediately, one hand finding his cheek and the other resting on his thigh. The positioning was a bit awkward with Charlie's leg up, but they made it work. Charlie moved away from Nick's lips and kissed his way to his neck, making his boyfriend's breath catch.
"Charlie," Nick said, groaning. "I love you, but we can't—your parents are home. And you are also physically...not well."
With a sigh, Charlie replied, "Okay." He moved away from Nick, hugging back into his arms like before. "Thank you for always being there for me," he said after a few seconds of silence.
"Of course, Charlie. That's how we are, right? We're always there for each other."
"Yeah. Yeah, we are."