"That was a goddamn embarrassment." Coach leaned on the corner of his desk, massaging his eyes in absolute disappointment. His usual baseball cap was sitting lopsidedly on a pile of papers, the physical embodiment of how its owner felt.
Alex and Colby sat uncomfortably in the old chairs positioned directly across Coach's desk. The trophies that lined the shelves on the wall above Coaches chair mocked the two boys' situation and Alex looked down at the tiled floor.
He knew he was in the wrong. Of course he knew, but the gnawing pit in his stomach prevented his guilt from apologizing. Instead, his pride stood in the way.
Alex fiddled with a stray string on his sweat pants while Colby looked straight ahead.
This fucking sucks.
Colby just couldn't believe that the asshat next to him had really caused this much trouble. What was going through his head? Did he understand the amount of trouble that they were in? Coach was aware that losing was part of life but being embarrassed by two dickheads was number 1 on the list of things that made him angry.
The troublemakers were immediately ushered into Coach's office after the buses reached the university while the rest of the team had looked on in interest, wondering what kind of hell would be rained down on them. Even though Colby knew it wasn't his fault, it was still his job as team captain to be a leader for the rest of the team to look up to. He cursed Alex, but he also cursed himself for not catching the signs before hand.
Coach moved around his desk and eased himself into his worn leather chair.
"I don't understand how this happened. You're both bright, so you should know that you've put me in a very difficult position," he glanced at the clock on the opposite wall that read 11:13 PM, and sighed. "Right now I need to think about the punishment I'm going to give you two so for the time being, go home, get a shower, and be ready to get to the field an hour before the rest of the team tomorrow. And for god's sake, get your heads out of your asses."
Colby and Alex nodded silently and exited the room as quick as they could. The rest of the team had left and so it was only them walking through the empty halls of the rec center, Colby to his car and Alex to his dorm.
"Why'd you do it?" Colby spoke up, his voice echoing through the dark corridors.
Alex looked up with a scowl and didn't speak. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned down a different hall.
Colby stopped and called out, "that's the wrong way."
Alex didn't care though. His mind was clouded with the game and he couldn't think clearly. He knew he wasn't going the right way but it was better to take a longer detour than having to walk with the self-righteous Team Captain.
Colby stared at Alex's back for a second longer and sighed. What was he to do? Alex was a good player, but he had a real shitty attitude.
The tired soccer player ambled out of the building and into the near empty parking lot. Street lights illuminated some of the darkness while the muggy air assaulted him. He paused before getting in his car and looked at the stars that dotted the sky. How am I going to fix this.
-
Colby opened the door to his apartment and was greeted with a cold faced Ian who was sitting in the dark like a dad catching his child coming home after curfew.
"Colby," he said calmly and gestured to the couch across from him, "have a seat."
He put his keys in a dish and threw his things on the floor before dropping his tired corpse on the couch.
"So," Ian steepled his fingers and glared at the boy in front of him, "care to explain what happened?"
"Well-" Colby started but was immediately cut off.
"To me it looks like you weren't able to get along with Alex. To me it looks like we lost because the two of you couldn't make up, or at least act like you made up." The usually lighthearted Ian wasn't putting up with anything other than a confession. Soccer was his life and he certainly enjoyed it, but winning was always at the top of the list. And Colby ruined that.
Colby let out a long drawn out sigh. The atmosphere was hushed, with only the faintest of light from the hallway Colby had turned on when he entered. A hanging plant in the corner of the room sat overtop an acoustic guitar that was owned by their other roommate, Joshua. Colby stared at that plant with its plastic green pot, wishing to be reborn as it in his next life.
"Alex instigated everything. I don't know what his glitch is. I'm team captain, I get that, but I can't do anything if he's working against me."
Ian tilted his head, "he... Alex was being targeted by #7 the entire second half of the game."
The dark brown eyes that were staring at the plant moved towards the other boy. "What?"
"Yeah, after Alex was 'fouled', the guy said some really nasty stuff to him and kept bothering him. You really didn't notice?"
Colby's head fell into his hands as he leaned forward, "ah fuck."
-
The remnants of the storm from the previous day covered the field in fog. It was like swimming through a cloud as Colby and Alex did lap after lap before practice was to start. Sweat dripped from their eyebrows and they breathed in unison.
Alex hadn't wanted to jog next to Colby, but after 3 laps of not escaping the older boy he decided to keep pace with him. At the very least, it allowed his stride to remain steady.
Alex had cooled down a bit from the previous night. His negative view of Colby still stood but he was no longer raging at the world. Dayton had talked him down and after a good night's sleep, he seemed to be back together.
Their feet pounded on the track and the cushioning material provided relief that would be absent if they were running on concrete. The early sun peaked from behind the horizon, showering the track with bright streaks of orange. The sound of their breathing and a few early birds were the only noises that broke the stillness of the early morning.
Colby turned his arm and glanced at the watch on his wrist. "We can stop now," he said between breaths.
They stumbled towards the bench with their things and collapsed, Alex didn't even make it before his legs gave out.
"Water," he said and pointed to his bag.
Colby dug around and tossed him his water bottle. Colby's left arm draped itself over the back of the bench while the other raised his own water bottle to his lips. Alex spread himself out on the ground like a starfish and gazed at the blue sky, hoping that Colby wouldn't mention anything about the day before.
He wasn't so lucky.
"So," Colby started, "I didn't know #7 was being a problem." He paused for a second to allow Alex to grasp the feeling behind his words. "I should've realized, but I didn't. I'm sorry."
There was a beat and then Alex spoke up without moving from his spot on the ground, "why can't you just leave me alone."
Colby was taken back. He had expected a "thank you" but that was really too much coming from Mr. Prideful himself.
"What?"
"Why can't you just leave me alone. Why did you approach me in the library? Why do you keep bothering me during practice? What's in it for you?"
Colby narrowed his eyes, "well first of all, you were bothering that girl. And second of all, what the hell are you talking about? The only other times I've had any interaction with you is if you approach me first!"
"That is some grade A bullshit," Alex sat up with a flushed face, "I avoid you at all costs! You are the one provoking me!"
"Wha-" Colby couldn't believe the words he was hearing. "That's not it at all!"
Their voices were raising and any serenity produced by the calmness of an empty track was officially gone.
"What? Do you have a crush on me?" Alex said with a crinkled nose and curled lip.
Before Colby could make a smart retort, a voice across the field got their attention.
"Hey dumb and dumber," Coach called out, "stop arguing and get your butts over here."
The two were so caught up in their bickering that they hadn't realized the rest of the team was already there for practice. With one last scowl, Colby and Alex grabbed their bags then high tailed it over to Coach and their other teammates.
"Now that we're all here," Coach shot a look at the boys in the back, "we can get on with it. You've all turned in your form for the camping trip this weekend so don't think about skipping out. It's important that you all learn to rely on each other like brothers and work as a team. I expect you all to have your tent-mate picked out by Friday but if you don't have one by then, Assistant Coach Claire will help you find a partner. It's important because the two of you will be working together in all sorts of team building activities for points. Whoever has the most points at the end of the weekend gets a free pass to miss 1 practice."
An excited murmur rose up from the students. Some of the players looked around and caught the eyes of their partner and nodded. Getting to miss a practice was a big deal.
"Oh," Coach continued, quieting down the enthusiasm over the reward, "Colby and Alex? You two are going to share a tent."
The two mentioned looked at each other and took a step farther apart.
"Shit."
● ● ●
3/15/19
He he he he he (￣▼￣)
I'm the author so I get to put Colby and Alex in the same tent.