Carlos could officially add Tourney to the list of things he was absolutely horrible at. The game required every skill Carlos did not have: strength, agility, and being big enough to knock other people down. In other words, Jay was amazing at it.
As soon as he stepped foot on the field, Carlos knew it would be a bad experience. Actually, it was when he couldn't find any padding that would actually fit him. The tourney wasn't made for people with his physique.
One of the first problems he ran into was no one had bothered to tell him how the game worked or what he was supposed to do. He was simply handed a helmet and some stick and was pushed onto the field. Carlos vaguely heard the P.E. teacher (who he also managed to find out was the Tourney coach) blowing a whistle, but he was too busy trying to figure out what he was supposed to be doing.
"Hey! Hey! Hey, you! Lost boy!" Carlos heard someone call.
He turned his head to see that the teacher was, in fact, calling him.
"Put your helmet on and get out of the kill zone!"
"Kill zone?" Carlos wondered under his breath. Looking down he noticed a strip of the field painted with red and white arrows. How did this sport even work?
"Come on, pick it up! Put it on! Use two hands!" Coach called after him. He blew his whistle once more and just like that, the game started.
Now Carlos would like to think that he remembered his first athletic experience outside the Isle, but if he was being completely honest it was all a blur. It mostly involved Carlos on the ground and his life flashing before his eyes. He was too worried about being trampled to actually figure out how the game worked. It's one thing to be scared of bigger, stronger guys running towards you at top speed and Jay running towards you at top speed.
The game was going fine; Carlos managed to avoid any actual contact with any other players until he noticed Jay playing on the opposite side of the field. He was knocking down players as if they were flies. Carlos knew for a fact that Jay lived for adrenaline and as soon as he started going it only escalated. So every time he knocked someone down, the next one was down even faster and harder.
Carlos watched as Jay ran through the 'kill zone', dodging every obstacle and canon launched at him. It wasn't hard to be impressed by Jay's skills. Everything he tried he was good at.
Then Carlos realized he was the only thing standing between Jay and the net.
So, he did the only rational thing possible. First he shouted at Jay to try to get him to stop and not trample him to death, then he through his tourney stick (was that what it was called? He really needed to learn the rules to Tourney, maybe then he'd figure out what the equipment was called) at him as a last source of defense, and finally he collapsed to the ground and hid under his shield. It sounds just plain embarrassing, but in his defense, Jay jumped off his shield to score so if he wasn't protecting himself, Carlos could have easily been injured.
Carlos just laid there for a few moments, trying to catch his breath. That could have been one of the scariest moments of his life if his mother wasn't Cruella de Vil. Slowly sitting up he turned his head to see where Jay was and if he succeeded in making the goal. If his victory dance in the end zone was anything to go by, Carlos figured he did.
The whistle blew again and Carlos heard Coach yell to Jay,
"You! Get over here!"
Jay jogged over as Ben offered his hand to help Carlos up.
"You okay?" He asked sincerely.
Carlos was hesitant to take his hand, but once realizing Ben was truly trying to help him he took it and said, "I'm alive so, yeah."
The rest of the teams made their way over to where Jay and their Coach were standing. Carlos and Ben arrived in time to hear the Coach say,
"Come find me later, I'll show you something you haven't seen before. It's called a rule book," He said grinning, patting Jay's shoulder. "Welcome to the team, son."
Coach glanced over at Carlos. "You ever thought about the band?
Carlos let out a fake laugh, because of course Coach would joke about that. Everyone made fun of him for his athletic abilities. It wasn't new, but it still wasn't funny to him.
Nevertheless, Carlos was happy for Jay. He was a little angry, not at the fact he made the team (there was no way he'd ever want to be on a sports team) but because everything always came so easily to Jay. He could do anything he wanted and have no trouble doing it. Carlos didn't have that luxury. He had to work or fight for everything, and most of the time he never even got it. So when Jay let out a laugh at Coach's comment, it stung.
"I'll work with him, Coach," Ben spoke up, placing his hand on Carlos' shoulder.
"Alright," Coach said reluctantly. "Let's run that again."
Great, Carlos thought as the whistle blew again.
"Okay, so just meet me on the field around three, after classes," Ben said walking backward away from Carlos down the hallway.
Carlos nodded. He figured it would be easier just to go and humor Ben, rather than continue making a fool of himself on the Tourney field.
"Great," Ben said smiling. "See you then."
Carlos watched as he walked away, heading towards his locker. He sighed and began walking, hoping his next period would be far less traumatizing. He had barely moved a few feet before he heard Evie calling him.
"Carlos!" She called as he stopped once again and waited for her. Once she caught up, they began walking side by side. "So, how was P.E.?
"I don't want to talk about it," Carlos grumbled.
"Why? What happened?" Evie asked, furrowing her perfectly-plucked eyebrows.
"Jay," Carlos said dully.
"Jay? What did Jay do?"
"He didn't do anything. He's just too perfect!" Carlos exclaimed. "He played Tourney once and made it on the team. Do you know what I got? Nothing. The Coach just recommended I join a band or something."
Evie gave him a look he couldn't really place. It was almost as if she knew something he didn't but should.
"Carlos, you need to stop comparing yourself to Jay. We both know you'll never be as good as him at anything you compete for," Evie said.
"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Carlos asked.
"You didn't let me finish," Evie continued. "You're not good at sports, or stealing, or getting girls, not that any of those should even matter to you," under her breath, she added, "Especially not the last one..."
She quickly continued, "But you are smart. Carlos, you're so intelligent you could create anything you set your mind to! And you love doing that. I admire that about you, you're not afraid of showing your intelligence."
Carlos didn't say anything.
"Well, this is where my Chemistry class is," Evie said stopping before a classroom. She looked at him a little sadly and then said, "Bye, Carlos."
He gave a half-hearted wave then set off down the hallway to his own class.
Evie was right. Carlos wasn't good at anything Jay did. But, if he thought about it, Jay wasn't good at anything Carlos could do. Maybe that's why they were friends. He and Jay were so different there was nothing that could possibly explain how they were best friends. Everything one of them failed in, the other could do perfectly. That's why they fit.
Carlos wasn't good at sports, or stealing, or getting girls. And just as Evie said, none of that mattered to him. He didn't like sports anyway, he had nothing to steal, and deep down he knew he wanted nothing girls had to offer. But that was something he'd come to terms with later.
It was three o'clock when Carlos got back to his and Jay's dorm. He had to change as quickly as possible and meet Ben back on the field.
When he entered the room he was surprised to find that Jay had already returned from his classes and wasn't off stealing something from some unsuspecting student.
"Hey, man," Carlos said as he entered the room, tossing his bag on his bed.
Jay glanced up at him from where he was laying on his bed, "Oh, hey."
Carlos dug out some clothes for him to wear and quickly began changing into them. Once he slipped on a random pair of track shorts and a sweatshirt he turned to inform Jay he was going to see Ben. He was surprised to find Jay already looking at him. As soon as they made eye contact Jay looked down immediately as if he didn't want Carlos to know he was staring at him. Weird, Carlos thought, but he didn't question him.
"I'm going to the tourney field 'cause Ben said he would help me get somewhat better," Carlos said.
Jay nodded but didn't say anything. He stood and started rummaging around in one of the drawers of a dresser, searching for something. It was unusual for Jay to be this quiet, especially when Carlos was about to go out and do something that would embarrass him to no end. The whole situation made Carlos feel a little tense.
"Did something happen after Tourney?" Carlos asked cautiously.
"No," Jay stated quickly. "Everything's fine."
Carlos knew he was lying but he decided not to push it. Instead, he tried to lighten the mood.
"Well, I'm gonna head out. I mean, I doubt I'll improve at the sport anyway. My chicken arms are good for nothing and I'm so small I'll just get trampled more. Bit of a weak link, huh?" Jay constantly made fun of him; Carlos could definitely get at least a chuckle out of him with that.
When Jay didn't look up again, Carlos knew it was time to give up. He had no idea what was going on with his friend but he knew better than to ask.
"Okay... see you, then," Carlos waved and then turned towards the door.
He was about to leave when Jay caught him by the elbow and turned Carlos toward him. Carlos felt his cheeks heat up from the close proximity they were from each other. He glanced up at Jay, feeling very small, but not at all opposed to the situation.
"Hey, don't ever say you're weak," Jay said quietly, mumbling, not really making eye contact with Carlos. "Okay? Just don't say that ever again. You're- you aren't weak. You're the strongest person I know. Okay?"
Carlos nodded slowly. He heard Jay's words but they felt kind of far away. Had Jay's lips always looked so pink? Carlos felt himself drifting forward the slightest bit.
Jay stepped away and looked Carlos up and down once. The smaller boy was standing there, confused.
"Yeah, okay," Jay said sighing and then turned away back to the dresser.
Carlos tried to ignore the disappointed feeling that washed over him, but it was challenging. Not to mention the hundreds of other thoughts racing through his mind. Shaking his head he reached out for the door handle. With one glance back at Jay, who was once again rummaging mindlessly, he left the room not saying anything more.
Guess who's back? Yep! Hope you liked this chapter. I'm so so so sorry it took so long. I haven't updated in months, I know. I just had a major case of writers' block and didn't know how to continue the story. I was planning on abandoning it altogether, but I knew it wouldn't really be fair to everyone reading it because there is a lot of you.
I will be finishing the story, yes. It will definitely have an ending and everything, don't worry.
I don't know how often I'll be updating. Hopefully once every couple weeks if I can. (I've been busy, I'm sorry.)
Please follow, favorite, and review if you're enjoying the story! Also please review with ideas for the future, I love knowing what people want to see, and please tell me what you've liked in the story so far!
Once again, sorry for the long wait. I love you all!
- Makayla