_Chapter 23_
Elliot Warren
"Why are you being so absent minded these days?" Ricky wondered and shoved one of his just bought french fries in his mouth. "You can't keep telling me that nothing happened."
"You're one to talk, you've been acting strange, too." I pointed out. For some reason he had been too overly conscious with our surroundings. Before, he didn't used to be so cautious. It was always the complete opposite. He used to be slightly too careless actually.
"What do you mean? I'm acting normal now." I just sighed at that and shook my head. "At least I'm not the one who is continuously looking so down."
"I'm not down," I corrected. "There's just a lot of things going through my mind right now." For instance, that the baseball match was starting in less than twenty minutes. But with one glance to Ricky, I could tell that he was no way near close to being satisfied with my answer. "Look, there is really no need for you to worry."
"You make it so hard for me to believe that, though."
Christo joined us directly afterwards, also just returning from getting himself something to eat, looking a little gloomy for some reason. Even though he seemed totally fine when he just left. What happened?
"Are you alright?" I worried and nudged him. He looked up at me and smiled despite having a sad expression.
"More or less," he shrugged.
"Where is Derek? What happened?" They had been standing in the queue together just a moment ago.
"He's talking to a girl," he said in a monotone voice which was also enough for me to understand what was going on. "It's Baochi. She has had a crush on him for a while now. And the funny thing is, she even asked me to help her get closer to him."
"And? Did you do it?"
"What do you think, I can't just refuse her. How would that look?" He sighed.
"Do you ever plan on telling Derek for real now? You do realize that at this rate, this will never lead to anywhere." He remained silent. As if he already knew what I was talking about. "Why are you so afraid of telling him?"
"Are you serious? What if he doesn't approve, what if he find me disgusting or what if things will get too different? I don't want that." But at the same time we all now that things couldn't stay like this either. He would just end up more and more hurt.
"Then things will get different, it's how it is. But tell me, do you seriously believe that it will be more painful than this? Besides, I don't seriously believe that Derek will treat you any differently, nor that he would suddenly find you pejorative. He's not like that."
"But we've been friends for so long and losing him as friend would be-"
"Christo," Ricky interrupted him. "By the many years you and as well I have known him, I can tell with guarantee that he won't ever in his life mistreat you. You would really be the last person on this universe for him to do that."
The blond haired still seemed troubled. "I'm still terrified to tell him, though."
"Whether you confess to him or not, it's nothing I can decide for you. But what I see is you suffering now and in the past couple years as well. Hell, even I didn't even know since recently and that's still bugging me. And to be honest, if it was me being in his shoes then I would rather be mad at you for going through this alone and not telling me from the very start than for you liking me more than you should."
Christo remained silence for a while, probably taking the time to contemplate his next moves now and hopefully comprehending that there is no hope nor future in the way he has been dealing with it until now.
And I didn't know whether it was really on our account that he changed his mind but he finally agreed with us. "Okay, I think I'll tell him," he nodded and buried his face in his hands. "Before it would eventually be too late. I still have to figure out how to do that though."
"Whatever happens, you can always count on us," he gently punched Christo's shoulders.
"Nevertheless, the thought of him rejecting me really repels me," he shook his head and groaned in annoyance when suddenly Derek himself joined our table, his face fixed on his phone. He eventually felt our gazes on him when he looked up in curiosity.
"Did something happened?"
Christo just sighed and stood up before leaving our table. His reaction was indeed questionable in Derek's eyes which is why he watched him leave with a lot of confusion written on his face. "Is he alright?" He looked at us, trying to get an answer, but of course for Christo's sake we kept quiet. "Hey, you're keeping something from me, aren't you? It has something to do with Chrissy, right?"
I bit my lips not really knowing what to say. I mean, it would have been weird for him not to notice Christo's change of behavior, seeing as he's the one being the closest to him.
"Derek. You did notice Christo acting a bit unusual, right? Ever tried to question him about it?" Ricky hinted.
"Of course, I did. But he has recently started dodging me like he did just now. It is the first time that it feels like he's purposely distancing himself from me. And the frustrating part is that there's nothing I can do about it." So him, too, was struggling under these circumstances.
"He just needs time right now so don't take it too personal," I tried to calm him down but he nonetheless seemed overly worried.
"How can I not? Obviously, it has something to do with me if he is willing to tell you guys but leave me in the dark."
"Don't worry, you'll eventually figure out. Let's just go, the game is about to start and I want to watch from a good spot," Ricky stood up, closing the conversation for now.
As he planned, we went to the match field and looked for a place to seat as close to the front row as possible. Half of the seats were already occupied, and by the number of people who where coming, I could tell that this place will eventually be overcrowded. Clearly showing the importance of this game.
I already saw the both teams preparing themselves on the field when a slight curiosity about them hit me. "What do you think? Is our team or the opposing one much likely to win?" I didn't seriously know how the two played, just that they were really aggressive but that was no hint towards the outcome.
"If you want my honest opinion, I think we will lose today. I feel it in my guts that the game won't turn out right. Especially because our team isn't in it's best form. Plus, it was Lenden High who requested a rematch, so they probably have something up their sleeves. I mean, they are already a real pain in the ass. But on top of that, they play so corrupt, don't get triggered by it. The past years we have never really been able to get passed their corruption. Besides, no matter how much of an asshole Anderson is, if he plays baseball, he plays clean and fair. And those two opposites obviously don't work together."
"Is that why he hates Lenden's team that much? Merely because of the way they play?" I wondered. Isn't that a bit unnecessary to develop such a hatred towards another team? Lenden is probably provoking him on purpose to make him lose his composure during the match.
"That's not it. Anderson ain't even that bad of a guy if he wasn't such a big annoying idiot. His hatred towards me is just personal. He just doesn't like me for some reason. Notice how he never treated anyone of my teammates the way he treats me?"
Now that he was saying that, it was true. I never heard him causing problems anywhere else. "So you're basically saying he's a nice guy?" I cocked an eyebrow.
"Pffft, we don't want to exaggerate here," he snorted. "What I'm saying is that he wouldn't simply hate someone because their baseball style didn't suit his tastes."
Hm still, I didn't quite understand what he was referring to.
Meanwhile, I watched how the two teams positioned themselves in front of each other and shook their hands as a gesture of hostility. But in the way they did that, I could almost smell the animosity till here.
I watched as the judge blew the whistle and pointed at our team to make the start.
And as a matter of fact, what the rumours say was really put to reality. I haven't been to a lot of games before, not more than I could count with a hand at least. Nonetheless, the fact that they almost broke out in a fight right when they had a break was making it clear enough to see their bad relationship.
And it wasn't making it any better that they fought after almost every run about whether it was valid or not. They were head on head when the break hit and even afterwards there didn't seem to be any major points difference.
So once we reached the final inning that decided for either loss or victory, everyone seemed to be more heated than usual. It's not like any of them would seriously lose anything, nothing was on the line besides maybe their own pride, however you wanted to see it. But they for sure behaved as if they were replaying the finals.
Whatsoever.
In my point of view, it was thrilling nonetheless to watch it till the very end. Unfortunately, we didn't happen to win despite being so close, though.
"What happens now?" I wondered when they all started to gather up together.
"If you don't want to witness someone getting hurt then I'll suggest us to leave now. It's not our business after all," Ricky said and turned to Derek. "Are you coming with us?"
"I have to pass on this one. I'll go look for Chrissy now." Right, since he never had returned after he left earlier.
"C'mon let's go then," Ricky helped pushing my chair through that half leaving mob of people while talking about wanting to drop off something in the library.
So when we passed the hallway, being on the way to the library, someone unfamiliar approached us. He had a pile of books and files in his hands like he was on the way to run for a couple errands when he stopped in front of us.
"You are Elliot Warren?" He narrowed his eyes at me.
"Yeah? Do you need something?" I frowned in confusion and spent a second thought on whether he had any ill intentions. But that immediately faded when he smiled in relief.
"Oh good that I happen to meet you, I was going to look for you anyway. The principal is asking for your presence. If you have time, you might as well quickly make a visit, he should be in his office right now."
"Did anything happen?"
"No no, don't worry. I think he just wanted you to fill in something," he took a look on his watch when he gasped. "Sorry for intruding, I have to hurry up now."
With that he quickly left and almost lost some of his files in clumsiness while he was at it. The suddenness of his appearance still surprised me a little when Ricky took the initiative. "I guess I'll go to the library and you say hi to Mr. Hanson. I'll catch up to you since I'll probably be quicker, okay?"
And that is how we parted ways after I agreed. The curiosity of what the principal really wanted from me unconsciously made me speed up. Thus when I reached Mr. Hanson's office, politely knocking against the door and assuming that he was inside, I went in without a second thought. However, I was once again highly surprised by the presence of someone I had least expected to see here.
It was that co-captain of Lenden High!
When our eyes first met, I didn't know what it was, but it felt like a moment where the time just stood still before I eventually snapped out of it and closed the door behind me. "Is the principal not here?" I looked around but no one besides him was to be found.
"So you're the crippled kid dating that basketball dude from your team? I heard about you," he smirked, more or less. It rather seemed like he was pejoratively and arrogantly looking down on me like he had already branded me as unworthy. Yeah, my guts clearly told me he didn't belong to the good guys.
"You have anything against it?" I cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I just don't do gays," he shrugged, again with that provocative smile of his.
"Well ain't no gay guy who wants you anyway," I mumbled and rolled my eyes at him.
"Did you say something?" Within the next second his hand gripped my collar with his eyes narrowed at me. His temper is definitely not something you should gamble with. But nevertheless, there was still something that had to be done.
"Are you satisfied now?" I tugged his hand off of me and fixed my collar real quick.
"What?" The confusion was clearly written on his gaze.
"I asked you whether you are satisfied now," I repeated with a smug grin. "Since your loss in the final was to much for your pride and bloated ego to handle that you had to vandalize our baseball teams equipment and on top of that push the fault on someone innocent. In addition, you requested for a rematch just to prove how much better you are?"
To be honest, I was just throwing my assumptions at him, hoping that he would react at least a little. Because if he really wasn't responsible for any of it, he wouldn't be that upset about it.
But I didn't expect him to take my bait so easily.
"How do you know?! Who the hell told you that shit?" And once again he grabbed my shirt, slightly raising me up in rage. "There's no way that an abomination like you could've seriously figured out by himself."
"I didn't. But you yourself just proved my guesses right," I grinned sheepishly.
He realized only seconds after in which I could really see how the information took it's time to process in his head before he understood. "You stupid fag you should better keep your mouth shut if you know what's best for you." He raised his hand on me.
"So that assaulting a disabled can also fall into your crime list?" I cocked an eyebrow.
"You son of a bitch!" He cussed, ready to hit the remaining life out of me when in that second the door moved. And if I was not already surprised enough for today you could say that I certainly was after the door suddenly burst open, revealing a fully mad Anderson that was ready to kill.
How long was he standing outside??
My question kind of answered itself when he went ahead and punched the co-captain's face without a second thought, shouting, "So YOU were the one that destroyed thousands of dollars worth of our equipment?" Yep, he had been out there long enough to catch on to our situation, no doubt.
The traitor was holding his face in pain and groaned before he quickly lunged after Anderson for an attack from his side. "And so what?! We should have won like we do every year!"
"Just because you are nothing but a bad loser, you had to do all this shit? You are sick! You seriously need help!"
To get it clear, I never wanted it to go this far. It really escalated. I mean, the way they were fighting each other was just brutal. And the fact that I could barely do anything and we were in the principal's office where the principal himself could come in at any time, made it even more terrifying.
"H-hey guys stop!" I tried, but obviously was too afraid to move any closer. And by then, the co-captain was already laying on the ground, overwhelmed by Anderson's strength. "Hey stop! I said stop, Anderson! Don't you see he's a-"
And if there was someone who set up the perfect timing, the principal all of the sudden opened the door and widened his eyes at the unusual situation. "What on earth is going on here?!" He managed to pull the two from each other, or more like Anderson off of the co-captain whose name still was a mystery to me. "Would you care to explain while you are ripping each other's heads off in MY office?!" He barked.
"Why are you looking at me? I beat the shit out of him because that's what he deserves. He was the one who wrecked our locker room the night before our festival," Anderson pointed at the guy who still struggled standing up.
"What? I don't understand, I thought it was Martinez."
"And I-" another too familiar voice appeared. "-already said several times that I didn't do it!" Ricky? What is this here? A social gathering? "You really want to know what happened that night?" Ricky crossed his arms and stepped in.
"Then listen closely, I won't repeat myself again. As I already said we didn't do anything at least we didn't get to it. But of course none of you believed me because I was there after all, ready to put some GLITTER and STICKERS on your stuff as a little prank. But guess what? We met the locker room already in a total wreck. The only thing we saw was someone disappearing and purposely making noise so that WE would get blame, giving the actual culprit a free way to run."
"But why? How did it come to this?" The principal's eyes were clearly fixed on the co-captain who had his tongue tied.
"If... If you allow me to explain," I spoke up a bit hesitant. "To be honest, I didn't exactly know that it was him. All I believed was that Ricky wasn't responsible for the incident. And the fact that he was still wrongly accused bothered me. I didn't really investigate anything, I made assumptions mainly judged by the things I heard and my suspect just happen to be him. On top of that, his motives were quite clear. I mean his team lost in the finals and of course everybody would be angry in his place. Especially a hot headed guy like him. So, I decided to question him, I mean it couldn't hurt. Well apparently it can," I said, eyeing their bruises from the fight that made my words come out a little rushed and unsteady in terror.
"This is," Mr. Hanson still seemed rather speechless from the anger boiling in him when he shook his head. "Absolutely outrageous. You do realize what you did?" He crossed his arms and once again eyed Spencer. "It will have serious consequences. Including repaying for the damaged property, returning the missing equipment and owing our team a proper apology."
"Tse, stupid," Ricky shook his head at it and took this time to leave. "Are you finished? Let's leave!" He said to me. I was about to complain but a mere glance that said 'I-won't-repeat-myself' was enough to shut me up.
"I'll drop by at your office tomorrow if that's okay," I turned to Mr. Hanson who just nodded and looked like he had his hands full for now. I spend a last glance at Spencer, as I could finally read from his jersey, who wasn't even looking at me and Anderson who intentionally averted his gaze off of me.
A sigh left my mouth before I quickly went to catch up to Ricky who had already gone of and left the room. "Well that was a scene," I chuckled, sounding a little frustrated.
"Are you okay?" he worried.
"Am I okay?" He just saw two guys beating themselves up and he is here asking whether I'm okay? That logic...
"I have to thank you," he mumbled. "For saving my ass once again. You helped me clear my name, maybe everything will eventually go back to normal, too. Really I can't thank you enough for that."
"Don't give me too much credit," I nudged him and smiled. He stopped in the middle of the empty hall and shook his head.
"But truth is, I'm not giving you enough! You still manage to surprise me after all."
"You're making me blush, now," I lowered my head but nothing could be hidden when he pushed my chin back up and unexpectedly placed a kiss on my lips. "What are you doing? We're still in school."
"We are? Guess we quickly have to get back then." A grin formed on his face. "So that I can finally start spoiling you," he mumbled against my lips. But before he could actually close the gap between us, I gently pushed him away.
"Well then let's head back!"
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This chapter once again is way too long for it's own good O.o
Oh and it's only another 5 chapters to go guys, woohoo👐
~J🙈