DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK CHAPTER THREE
"One more lap back and forth! If you feel as much a God damn twinge in that knee of yours, you tell me, okay?"
"YES COACH!"
Chad stormed towards the by-line of the soccer pitch, careful not to go completely overboard in his journey to at least be ready for the final game of the regular soccer season. There was always a chance that he would be sitting out the entire second half of said season, but miraculously, he was able to recover fully despite his surgeon's pleas not to...there was nothing more that Chad Tucker would love than to actually get back to what he did best, and that was playing soccer and scoring tons, and tons of goals.
Looking over to where the rugby geeks were in the middle of their own preparation for their final game of the season tomorrow, playing in the high school regional championships, the whole entire Freedom High, yes, even those who were sworn to be on the soccer supporter's side were hoping that their school would walk away with the honours of being under 16 champions. It would be the first time in their school's history that they would win this prestigious trophy having come bitter close in the last few tournaments.
Chad's eye caught that of Jeremy Greenwood, as he was barking out orders to his teammates, over and over, and he blasted himself for actually feeling a snippet of lust inside his soccer shorts. Ever since a couple of weeks ago, where he had accidently ejaculated in front of his sworn enemy inside his room...Jesus, he hardly wanted to think about it, and it was something that he needed to forget. Why? Because it had opened an entire new can of worms in Chad Tucker's life that he really didn't need.
All of a sudden, he realised just what a hunk Jeremy really was, that chunky, powerful, muscled body of his thrusting about on the field every time the Rugby team was playing a match, his command of the game, his reading of his teammates...it was like he instinctively knew where and when they would be in what position...just his authority on the pitch and putting that together with what happened back at his house...man.
Chad smiled bitterly as he stared at his own teammates, making snarl comments about hoping the rugby geeks lost their game tomorrow and all kinds of other nasty little digs...being in Freedom High, where the rugby and soccer fans had LOATHED each other for near decades, it was to be expected.
He looked at them, each and every one of them in turn...from Karl the goalkeeper, to Freddy the defender, to Michael and Miguel, the twins who played midfield, as well his partner upfront, Kevin...where they were together the strike force of the team, armed and ready to score the goals in order to win matches.
He smirked to himself in sheer thought...if one of them...if just one of his teammates would ever realise or find out that Chad Tucker liked boys instead of girls...he didn't even wanna think about it. Being part of the team, he knew how they felt about homosexuality...it wasn't something they would be willing to tolerate. That was just how it was...and you seldomly were able to change people who were brought up by their parents to believe and follow a certain way.
Fuck.
One last look over towards Jeremy Greenwood and the rugby shitballs and he quickly caught the ball as he sprinted over to where the rest of the team were. Stop this. You gotta stop this now...he thought as he was happy to realise that his knee wasn't giving him any troubles whatsoever, even when he exceeded what he needed to.
He'd be ready for the game next week.
Count on it.
**
"You do realise that Chad was looking your way the whole fucking afternoon, near damn checking you out, what the hell is going on there? I thought you couldn't stand each other's guts?" David said as Jeremy sat down next to his best friend, the latter taking a huge sip from his bottle of Prime, and swallowing, before he rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Beats me. Look, if I tell you something, you promise to keep quiet?"
David's eyes widened, and he leaned forward, nodding in the process.
Jeremy took another sip of the ridiculously expensive hydration drink that had the world at large, before he also leaned forward towards Davey.
"You couldn't be more wrong, man. He's angry as hell at me...you think things were bad between me and Tucker before...you weren't there when he tried to fucking jerk off one afternoon and thanks to his injured knee, he had troubles in getting his trousers back up...so there he was...just lying there with a hard cock pointing to the fucking sky..."
David giggled uncontrollably as he realised just what Jeremy was getting at, to the point where Jeremy actually looked around in the rest of the cafeteria to see if people were looking at them, what with all the noise that Davey was making, but no one seemed to bother with them, to be honest, the rest of the sports peeps just waiting for their parents to pick them up as usual.
"Wait...dude...you mean to tell me...you had one of the hottest, sexiest boys in school, apart from yourself that is..."
"...oh, shut up, Davey..."
"...no wait...you actually had him naked and at your mercy and you didn't even take one picture to show around school and more importantly, to show my faggot little ass?"
Jeremy wanted to hit David where it hurt most, but then again, he did see the funny side of things, before he smirked one more time.
"Then I shouldn't even bother to tell you about when I...just to fuck around with him, I accidently touched his hard dick and the dude came in his boxers RIGHT there like fucking Krakatoa..."
Now Davey was uncontrollable, it was like he had lost any sort of sense and control he had over his body, as he nearly fell off his chair, holding his stomach as his eyes were literally forming little sprouts of tears at the side...
"DUDE! No wonder he shot daggers at you! Jesus! Oh my God, this is too good...I gotta tell someone about this..."
"DAVEY! I swear, things are already fucked up enough as it is, if you go and make trouble..."
"Hey Jezza...good practice, man!"
Jeremy's eyes flickered from David's incessant laughter towards Eddie Johnson, one of his teammates on the rugby team. He immediately pulled himself together and sat back in his chair, looking suspiciously at the boy before him.
He had long suspected that Eddie was the fucker in the team with who his previous girlfriend Leyla had cheated on him with. He knew it was one of his teammates, but he just didn't have the proof to actually confront anyone. However, he had seen Leyla and Eddie together loads of times in the past few weeks, and even David told him that they seemed a little too close to just get away with being study partners.
But alas...until he had solid evidence, there was nothing that he could do. Keep calm...for God's sake...
"Hey man, take a load off," he said as irritation shot through his eyes as he saw Eddie smile slightly, and totally ignoring poor David in the process, before sitting down and clasping his hands together. David's eyes were etched with total confusion as he signalled to Jeremy that he was gonna go rather than say here, before the latter got up, and waved at his best friend, before he took off.
Eddie sighed, before he looked Jeremy straight in the eye.
"Dude...people are talking about you."
Jeremy stiffened immediately, before he cleared his throat and tilted his head to the side as he tried to make sense what Eddie was actually saying. Jesus, he felt ANOTHER one of his headaches coming on.
"Yeah? And about what exactly?" he asked, his voice as cold as ice.
Eddie's eyes were everywhere apart from being on Jeremy himself, before he shrugged his shoulders.
"Dude...get to the fucking point, we have the mother of all games tomorrow!" Jeremy demanded, getting sick and tired of people who were supposed to be his friends, keeping things from him and gossiping behind his back...what, where they a bunch of Real Housewives?
Eddie finally looked up and run his fingers through his hair.
"We...We don't think you should be playing tomorrow, Jez...I mean after what happened last year..."
Jeremy sat forward, nearly knocking over his bottle of Prime in the process, before he slammed his fist on the table before him.
"Eddie...who is "we"? Everyone on the fucking team? And why not? I'm the fucking captain and you have the fucking audacity to tell me YOU decided I can't play?"
Eddie stood up, and held out his hands protectively in front of him, as if he was afraid that Jeremy might suddenly go all python on him and attack his sorry ass.
"Look, Jez...it wasn't just me! If it was up to me, hell yeah...you're our best player and yes, you should play in the final, but we can't help that it falls on the exact same day that..."
Jeremy had heard enough. He grabbed his bottle and took his sports bag inside his hands, totally blocking out what Eddie was saying in the process, before turning around and facing his teammate head on.
"Do me a fucking favour and tell every one of the team, that I WILL be playing tomorrow. I don't give a shit what anyone says...what's so weird about tomorrow's date anyway?" he asked, shaking his head, before he stormed off.
**
"Well, looky what we have here!"
Jeremy inwardly groaned as he rounded the corner of the lane just before he would turn into the street where his house was, in fact he was very near where Chad lived. He stopped, and looked menacingly at the soccer twins Michael and Miguel Estrada, who were standing a little further away from him, complete with their fists balled and armed with not one, but two cricket bats swinging around from inside of them.
Jesus.
He had to get past them in order to get home, and clearly they were in the mood for causing more than just your average trouble. The twins exchanged looks at each other before they nodded and walked closer to where Jeremy was. Jeremy himself pursed his lips and strengthened the grip that he had on his sports bag...his heart was pounding a million miles a minute, he felt...it wasn't that he was scared, but they were two against one here...
The twins came to a standstill before him, with huge smiles on their faces. Jeremy looked from one to the other, before he smiled back at them.
"Nice of you two to wait for me...wanna come and have a game of Pokemon over at my house?" he asked sarcastically as he could.
Michael swung the bat that he was carrying over towards Jeremy and his eyes were suddenly flaring with anger and hate.
"Shut up, you fucking fat freak..." he whispered, making sure to make note of Jeremy's more than chunky body...he wasn't overweight per say, but years and years of rugby training had made the boy bigger than what the average sixteen-year-old would be, and that was why they were too much of a coward to do this one at a time...they knew they had to take him out together.
Miguel joined his brother, complete with doing the same action with his own bat that his brother did...so much so, that it was reminded Jeremy of a fucking mime act.
"You're so not gonna play in that game tomorrow..." he said, opening his mouth to allow Jeremy to see and almost throw up his lunch at the sight of the teenager's yellow teeth. Smoking secretly ever since the twins were twelve years old would do that to you.
Jeremy smirked at Miguel, careful not to lose sight at what Michael was doing, if he dared let his guard down. This was planned...this was serious...both of the twins carrying cricket bats proved that. He knew that this wasn't going to end well, either way. For him, or for them.
"Yeah? And how are you two idiots going to stop me?" he whispered back, and make no mistake...the moment that he said the word "idiots" ...
...Michael stepped forward and viciously SWUNG the bat Jeremy's way, missing his head by mere inches.
Give the twins their due credit...they might have been stupid as fuck, but you could see why they played soccer...their reflexes were lightning fast.
Jeremy angrily stood his ground, heaving his heavy sports bag in front of him, like some sort of protection, that he knew probably wouldn't be getting him very far against these two.
"What the hell are you playing at? A joke is a joke, but this is just SICK! Are you so desperate for the rugby team to lose tomorrow that you would actually break my fucking skull just to prove a fucking point?" he let rip on the twins, who showed no signs of actually backing down.
"Fuck that shit...if you and your cronies win tomorrow, that would be all the whole fucking town can talk about! We won't hear the end of it!" Michael sneered his way, and readied his bat once more for good measure.
"You're fucking willing to put me in hospital for a fucking rugby game? I was wrong, yo! Your asses ain't fucking stupid, you both belong in the fucking psych ward!"
This time it was both the twins who marched forward and swung their bats his way, and this time it was twice as serious. Miguel's shot he managed to dodge, but he was bigger than them, therefore he was also slower than them. Michael's deflected shot got him on the side of his ribs and HARD at that, making his temporarily confused as the sheer and sudden pain RIPPED through his body like tin foil.
Seeing the opportunity, Miguel attacked with his own bat, swinging it ferociously at his legs, hitting his right ankle with such a velocity that the normally strong and powerful Jeremy Greenwood tumbled down on the grassy area they were standing in, and rolled around on his back, trying his best to grab his sore ankle to check for any damage. That was a BIG mistake, as Michael swung his bat with a maniacal cackle of laugher, hitting his right arm in the process.
Jeremy doubled over as the incredible amount of pain seemed to SEAR through his tired body inch by inch, he knew from the off that the damage was too severe...he couldn't move his fingers attached to the injured arm...the pain emanating from his ankle was almost too much...he felt like he couldn't breathe, never mind dodge the incoming attacks...there was no way he was going to be able to play tomorrow and JESUS how unfair was all of this...why was this even allowed to happen?
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING? HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"
Still half in his trance, Jeremy managed to turn around and saw that Chad Tucker was running their way faster than he had ever seen in in any of his soccer games. He held out his healthy arm as did so, before another swing from the bat launched at him, luckily this time, Miguel couldn't have been aiming it that carefully, because it missed by inches.
"ARE YOU TWO ACTUALLY INSANE? WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE? LOOK AT HIM!?"
Chad came to a screeching half in front of Jeremy and the twins, before his eyes and his stunned and shocked expression told Jeremy everything that he needed to know...this was bad. My God...it FELT bad. He knew it. There would be no way he could play tomorrow...
It was Michael who took the initiative and aimed a direct hit at Jeremy's head...
"MICHAEL...dude...stop. Seriously. Stop this shit, right fucking now..." Chad hissed towards his teammate and friend, still hardly believing what his eyes were telling him. He knew that there were talk around the team about finding ways to sabotage the rugby game tomorrow, but in all honestly, he never thought that ANY of his teammates would resort...resort to THIS!?
Michael hesitated, before he slumped forward, and frowned at his brother, and then looked back at his team captain.
"Dude...have you forgotten the crap that we have to go through because these rugby geeks never lose a game? When all we have is like, what...three wins all season? Chad, if they win tomorrow, can you think about how school is going to be like?"
"It's not like you don't hate Greenwood's guts, just like we do, Tucker! Finish the job, here you go...take mine. Fuck him up good and proper. There's no one around here, he can't fucking prove it was us..." Miguel launched his own two cents, passing his bat to Chad as he did so.
Jeremy sighed.
He knew how Chad Tucker felt about him. He knew that the dude was probably still pissed over what happened the last time they were in close proximity. He tried, to apologise that afternoon after inadvertently causing the fellow teenager to literally cream his boxers but this...THIS? Was Chad Tucker really gonna injure him even more than he really was?
Jeremy's heart sank as he saw Chad reaching over to Miguel and taking hold of the bat. Jesus. This was really happening; this was actually insane. Chad's mother and his little sister were such good people, even though his father was a beaten down drunk who clearly abused his family...he was really gonna do this...
Chad looked at the cricket bat inside his right hand...and then looked down at Jeremy Greenwood.
His heart flared with pity and sorrow for the boy...it literally felt like his chest was inside rapid amounts of burning flame. He swallowed slowly as his eyes flickered over the damage already inflicted by the Estrada twins...there was no way that Greenwood would be able to play in the game tomorrow...that ankle already seemed the size of an overgrown watermelon by the looks of it, as well as that arm was hanging down at a severely weird angle.
Chad looked upwards at the twins, before he shook his head.
"No guys. NO. We're not doing this."
A pent-up, raw noise, combined with sheer relief and emotion snuck through Jeremy's sore throat, before he saw the twins coming ever closer...
"Dude...I know you're our captain on the pitch...but do you have any idea what it's like hearing those fuckers win week in, week out? This is happening...whether you want it or not. So, you can either join us ending this guy, or we can both end you...your choice, homie!" Michael said, grinning evilly as he did so.
"Actually, I don't know what the fuck your problem is, because as far as I know, you hate this guy as much as us! What happened, captain? He fucking you up the ass or what?"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
The Estrada twins, as well as Chad himself, widened their eyes as they saw Jeremy Greenwood, clearly using every single of his almost super human strength and willpower to mentally block out the pain that he was feeling, to slowly, but surely, stand up and rise upwards...until he was once more completely and utterly dwarfing the twins before him.
"Holy fuck...how are you even standing..." Miguel whispered, before suddenly he realised that Chad still had his cricket bat, and that he had no way of defending himself this time.
Jeremy blew out some much-needed air, before he flinched slightly, putting weight on his swollen ankle, this be needed to do this...they needed to be taught a lesson.
"You...you fucking bastards...I'll fucking NEVER forgive you for this! NEVER! I have fucking nothing to lose now...I won't be able to play tomorrow anyway..." he hissed towards them, and unceremoniously, before Chad could even react, he grabbed Miguel's bat that was still in his grasp, and swung it menacingly over towards the twins.
"You fucking did your worst, and I'm still standing, mother fuckers...you really wanna take me on?" he demanded, his voice rising with every ounce of pain that was still flowing through his veins.
That was enough...more than enough...even for the Estrada twins. Clearly, Jeremy was more than capable of fucking them up good and proper, and the sheer humiliation of their captain actually siding with their sworn enemy...
Michael sneered at the two boys before him, before he slowly reiterated backwards, reaching his arm upwards and pointing his own cricket bat directly, not at Jeremy, but at his team captain.
"I can see you now...you're a fucking traitor! Mark my words, Tucker...you made the BIGGEST mistake of your life this afternoon!" he croaked out of his throat, his words hitting every, single syllable, before he signalled to his brother to get the fuck out of there.
**
"Can you wal..."
Chad couldn't even finish his sentence, before Jeremy seemingly collapsed to the ground in sheer slow motion. The pain had taken his toll, and he realised his mistake of ignoring the pain and standing on his foot regardless to prove a point to the Estrada twins.
"Jesus, Greenwood! Wait here, my mom should be home. She'll know what to do," Chad said, as he turned around, before taking one last look at Jeremy, before speeding off as fast as he could towards his home, which was situated only a couple of meters from where they now were.
Jeremy must have blanked out due to the sheer amount of discomfort in not only his ankle, but his ribs where he had fallen, as well as his arm, which he kinda knew was broken, due to the fact that he couldn't move his fingers. He cackled silently and somewhat deliriously as he wondered how the twins missed the fact that he only had one good arm, before they ran off like the sissies that they actually were.
Between Chad, his mother and his little sister Samantha, who more than often was thought of having a crush on Jeremy, they managed to get the boy into their modest home, and Mrs Tucker did great effort in making sure that he was as comfortable as he could get.
"Damn kids...what is the world coming to when you cannot even walk home in peace and quiet..." she mumbled whilst doing her best in checking the boy and his injuries, eventually sighing as she called her son over and shook her head.
"That ankle doesn't seem broken, just badly sprained, but I'm more worried about the fact that he can't move his fingers. That means the arm might be broken. Damn."
For a moment or so, things were quiet as hell, almost making it awkward as such, with only Jeremy's gaps and hisses as the pain continued to ravage his body could be heard, before she knelt before him and took his healthy hand inside her own.
"Jeremy...are your parents' home?" she asked, with a warm kindness that Jeremy hadn't heard in a long, long time.
Jeremy cleared his throat and shook his head in reply.
"No...no, they are at work...the soonest anyone would be home will be around nine, when my mom gets back. My dad is overseas at the moment."
Mrs Parker looked even more worried and she squeezed his hand.
"There is really no one to look after you until nine a clock tonight?" she asked, the voice full of sorrow and pity.
Jeremy smiled slightly and took a look towards Chad, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room, and quickly looked away when he realised that Jeremy was looking at him.
"I'm really kinda used to it by now...taking care of myself..." he managed to hiss through the incessant pain.
Mrs Parker gave his hand another good squeeze, before she stood up and pursed her lips, nodding as she did so, and turned towards her son.
"Honey, have you still got your driver's licence?" she then asked.
Chad frowned and also stood up, walking towards where his mother and Jeremy were.
"Yeah, I suppose, but what's what got to do with anything?"
Mrs Parker smiled and gently patted Jeremy on his shoulder, before she caressed her son's cheek.
"Go and get us the car out, we'll meet you outside in a couple of minutes, Samantha, I think it's best that you stay here in case Dad comes home, make sure he has something to eat..."
Jeremy looked sideways at Chad, who was red in his face for some reason...his eyes were wide and bulged, and he frowned as he saw the boy swallow, and nervously at that.
"Something wrong, Honey?" Mrs Parker asked, grabbing her handbag from the couch.
Chad looked over towards his sister, who just shrugged her shoulders, to his mother and then finally laid his eyes on Jeremy.
"Mom...I thought Dad said the price of petrol was too much to take the car out for anything other than emergencies..."
Mrs Tucker cleared her throat, before she looked her son dead in the eye.
"Well, as you can clearly see, this IS an emergency. There is nothing much that I can do for him personally, and you heard him...his mother isn't going to be home for hours. We have to take him to Casualty. The car, Honey. Now, please?"
Chad hesitated slightly, before laying his eyes on Jeremy again. He blinked, before he nodded and quickly ran out of the front door.
Jeremy immediately sensed what was going on...he knew that Chad had issues with his father, and right now, the last thing he wanted to have happen, is if there was some conflict in the family over his sorry ass.
"Mrs Tucker...please, I really don't wanna be the cause of any..."
"Jeremy...enough of that. You need help, and when my son had his accident and he couldn't walk it was YOU who made sure he had all his homework each and every day...I haven't forgotten that. Besides...you can't afford to wait with injuries like that. Especially that arm."
Jeremy sighed as he heard the unmistakable sound of a car being driven out of a garage, and he nodded as Mrs Tucker signalled at him to stand upright as best that he could.
Once more, he lamented the fact that his parents were never home...if they cared about him just a TAD at what Mrs Tucker clearly did, it wouldn't have been necessary for these people who take him to hospital...they would have been here...right now, doing their duty for their son.
Fuck.
FUCK!
**
Lost story short, Mrs Tucker was right.
The ankle was just badly sprained, and certainly, Jeremy had been strongly advised as to not play in the final game of the season the following day, which had the young teenager inwardly SCREAMING out of sheer and pure anger, once more, at the unfairness of it all. The Estrada twins would pay for this, come hell or high water, although he couldn't actually SAY those words out loud.
After he had been given some severe pain meds for said ankle, it was found over two hours of waiting later, that his arm had been in fact broken in two places, as a result of that fucking cricket bat striking it as hard as it did, which meant he had to wait even longer to actually get it configured in a cast made out of plaster. They had been away a good three and a half hours ever since they had left the Tucker residence, and Jeremy felt guilty as sin, every time that Chad nervously looked at his watch, and then over towards his mother.
His dad...Jonathan Tucker, had to be home from his job as a security guard by now...with only young Samantha home. Hopefully she had been able to make her dad something to eat after a long day's work, because from what he had heard from Chad, during his convo's with his father, they did NOT have the best of relationships, with Jonathan having a tendency to blow up at his family when things did not go his way.
After they were done at the hospital, the Tucker family had been nice enough to drop Jeremy off at home, since he only lived about two streets away from them, and where it would have been fun, and taunting a few weeks ago, he felt sick to his stomach, as he saw Chad's eyes light up in sheer awe and respect, as he saw how huge Jeremy's house was to their very own. He could have sworn his bedroom alone, was larger than the size of their living room...only now, after all that they had done for him, it didn't feel as good to taunt Chad as he would have thought. His mother, the less of all.
Not being able to do much, and after calling the coach to let him know what happened, holding the phone as far away from his ear to avoid the robust outbursts that came out of that man's mouth as he realised his best player wasn't going to be able to play in the teams' biggest game of the season, Jeremy fell onto his bed in sheer exhaustion. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, but when he woke up, there was a gentle knock at his bedroom door.
Looking out of the upstairs window, he saw that his mother still wasn't home, and after checking his phone for messages, there at least was one from her, saying that there was some hold up at the office and that he should help himself to anything that was in the fridge. Jesus...neither or his dad even knew what had happened to him, and to be honest, he preferred it that way. No seriously, if they cared so little about their only child, then they didn't deserve to know shit that was going on in his life.
One more knock followed, before his bedroom door was opened just a tad, with the concerned face of David looking in from around the ledge.
"Dude...what the hell happened to you?" he whispered, before his totality entered Jeremy's bedroom and quickly rushed himself towards his best friend.
Jeremy hissed as David reached out without seemingly thinking and placed his hand on his arm, before the latter quickly withdrew it and looked up at Jeremy with craze and concern.
"Jeremy...talk to me..."
Jeremy closed his eyes and sighed. He quickly informed Davey of everything that happened that afternoon, which lead to Davey getting up angrily, and he started to viciously pace around the room.
"Where the hell was all the people living in that God forsaken street? Why did it take Chad Tucker of all people to turn up before anyone actually HELPED you? And OH MY GOD...if I get my hands on Michael and Miguel, so help me, I'll..."
"You'll what, Davey? Hit them with those paper muscles of yours?" Jeremy giggled, before he hissed at the pain in his arm once more.
Davey scoffed at the playful insult, before he walked over to Jeremy and sat down beside him.
"It's my birthday tomorrow."
"I know it is. I already got you something."
"Really? Can I see? What is it?"
"A dildo."
David giggled once more and laid back on the bed, smiling upwards at his lifelong friend.
"Only you can joke to me about something like that, and get away with it! So...Chad actually helped you? They took you to hospital and everything?"
Jeremy nodded, before he stood up slowly, making full use of his new crutches, his head still banging from all the stress he had been through these past few weeks...come to think of it, these headaches that he had been getting has been lasting quite while...and it seemed to come forth as sudden...one moment he would be fine as rain...only for ten minutes or so later to have a vicious migraine. He had always assumed that it had stemmed from getting bashed time and again as rugby player, and didn't think much of it. But lately...Jesus.
"Yeah...yeah he did. Davey...I'm telling you, if I didn't see and hear him telling the Estrada twins with my own fucking eyes and ears that they should stop their crap, I would have never have believed it. It was like...he really came through for me."
David sat up and frowned a little, with a wry little smile forming at the edge of his mouth.
"Jez..."
"What?"
David's smiled got even more wider, as he clapped his hands together in sudden realisation.
"Your eyes...they fucking lit up when you just talked about Chad! And don't tell me I'm seeing things, because I'm not! You...you actually like the guy, don't you?"
Jeremy swallowed. He didn't move an inch.
Jesus.
Normally he wouldn't take Davey's teasing seriously...only this time he wasn't quite sure that Davey WAS teasing him.
Ever since the accident where he had caused Chad to dislocate his knee several weeks ago...oh God. Holy fucking shitballs.
He...hasn't thought about Leyla or any other girl...even once!
Jeremy shook his head...he was straight. He was pretty sure that he was. He always liked girls...he had always dreamed of fucking them as a young boy, to the sixteen year old teenager that he was now.
"There's nothing wrong with wondering how things might be with a boy instead of a girl, Jez..." came David's quiet reply.
"I don't...It's not that I like him...THAT way, dude!"
Jeremy sighed once more and sat back down next to Davey, before he slumped his body forward.
"It's like this afternoon, where his mother was just...so awesome and so...I dunno...so motherly that I wanted...I just thought that..."
"...you thought of your own parents never being here, hardly giving a crap about you, and suddenly you have someone else's mom giving you more love and attention...the same that you actually crave...how am I doing?"
Jeremy smirked, and looked Davey right in his deep blue eyes.
"Dude if I didn't know any better, I'd say you can read minds. When Chad defended me...when he stood up for me...I felt so close to him, like...having someone in my corner. You know, earlier today with Eddie? He actually told me that I shouldn't be playing tomorrow. That's before I actually got injured! For God's knows what reason!"
Davey smiled and took hold of his best friend's hand.
"You still got me. I ain't going anywhere."
**
It was a very, VERY depressed Jeremy Greenwood that was busy live streaming the game that he was supposed to be playing in, from his tablet inside the living room of his house, with strict instructions from the doctor that treated him the previous day, that he should put NO weight on his leg whatsoever, he wasn't even allowed to attend the game. The coach himself made Jeremy swear on his life not to come near the rugby field to support his teammates, never mind the school.
Fuck.
They were behind by seven measly points late in the second half, and only a try would be able to get them back on level terms. Jeremy switched off his tablet when there was only injury time remaining of the game...he didn't wanna see this. MAN! Anger like he had never before felt BLASTED through him like a hot knife through butter. The Estrada twins would get what was coming to them...mark my words. One person, didn't make a team any better, but Jeremy felt that he had SOMETHING to give, if only he could have been on that pitch.
FOR FUCK SAKE!
A knock on the door of his home, startled him, to the point where he looked around for his crutches, before he grabbed them, and slowly plonked his way towards the front door.
"Who is it?" he asked. He knew it wasn't David...he had a key to their house and would have let himself in as he usually did.
"Uhm...Greenwood? it's me...Tucker."
Jesus.
Chad was here. He was actually here...at his house.
Why the fuck am I bothered with that? Why am I so fucking nervous...he wondered, before he rolled his eyes.
Davey and all his shit talking about him turning gay for Chad Tucker...messing with his mind, more like.
Opening the door, and swinging it open, Jeremy saw Chad standing...well, more like hovering in the doorway, complete with a paper-covered plate in his hands.
"Tucker...hey man...what are you doing here? Thought you would be at the school watching the game?" he said, standing aside so that Chad could come in. The latter quickly looked down at his shoes, and made sure to wipe his feet swiftly onto the doormat, before he slowly entered the house.
Chad was stunned...he knew that the Greenwood family was rich, but he didn't realise just how much dough they actually had to be living in a place like this. Compared to his own house...it was like comparing a mansion to a matchbox. He turned towards Jeremy, looking the boy up and down without giving too much away.
Jesus.
How the hell did Greenwood get away with having been given such a God damn beating only yesterday and managing to look so...fucking handsome the day after? Chad swallowed. His heart was suddenly beating faster than it should...the plate in his hands quivering underneath his touch. What the fuck was happening to him? This was Jeremy Greenwood for God's sake!
He hated the guy! He HATED him!?
His eyes flickered over him...shirtless...fucking hell...his chest was ripped...his chunky body was packed with muscle and buffed way more than a sixteen-year-old should be. His hair was ruffled to the point where it was JUST messy enough...his eyes were blue and sparkling as always...although that LUST for life he always possessed...only that was missing this time.
He cleared his throat and held out the plate towards Jeremy.
"Nothing much...and nah...after what happened I wasn't in the mood for the game. Rugby sucks anyway..."
"...hey, take that back!"
"Will not! Ha...anyway, my mother sent me here with this...it's bran muffins. She said with your mom not home so much, you might need something to make you feel better...so yeah, just take it, will you?"
Jeremy smiled and rolled his eyes.
"I would. Heck yeah, they look delicious...only one little problem though..."
"Huh?"
Chad's eyes widened as he realised with the crutches and all, Jeremy wouldn't be able to carry the plate...he didn't even realise, MY GOD what was wrong with him?
**
"So, you came all this way to check on little ol' me. Should I be flattered?"
Chad scoffed.
"Please, Greenwood. I could have been sleeping right now. Watching TV. Watching Man United play, even."
"Jerking off, too."
"SHUT UP! Fuck man...see, this is why we can never be friends!? You're so fucking annoying!"
Jeremy smiled and looked directly at Chad.
Funny...there was no hatred left in him, when he did.
All that he saw, was Chad Tucker...not the idiot that he never got along with in all the years that they had known each other, no. What he did see, was a very, very insecure and adventurous boy...one that under normal circumstances, they might have been good friends. They had so much in common...they loved sports, clearly. Being outdoors. Being with friends.
Wanting what the other had...more than anything else.
Chad sniffed as he saw Jeremy didn't take his eyes away from him. A flutter quivered inside his tummy. The boy was...Jesus, he was beautiful. There was no other word for it, and MY GOD he didn't know why BOTH of them had to get injured first, for him to realise it. After all this time.
"I actually wanted to check on you...yeah, I know of the injuries and all that, but...you know, after what happened last year, on this day," he said carefully.
Jeremy frowned, and was careful not to move his broken arm too quickly. There it was again...first Eddie, then the guys on the team and now even Chad Tucker? With this? What the hell was so hectic about this day?
"Okay...that's the second time now I've heard someone ask if I'm okay after what happened last year...what the hell are you talking about?"
Chad blinked once and reached out his arm to grab one of the muffins, when Jeremy saw it. A large black mark...etched into the boy's skin, grabbed his attention. Jeremy was quick as hell; Chad never saw it coming...he reached forward with his healthy arm and grabbed it.
"Dude! What...oh Jesus...let go, you fucker!" Chad argued, his eyes now wide as Jeremy had ever seen them, scared shitless beyond belief, but it was there...he had only seen stuff like this in movies before, but he knew exactly what it was.
"Since when do you smoke, Tucker?" he asked, his voice nearly a whisper.
Chad continued to try and get his arm back from being held hostage, but Jeremy was having none of it. He kept a tight hold on Chad's arm, before gripped the skin and bone so hard, that Chad hissed in sheer pain.
"Chad...Chad, was this your dad? Did he fucking do this to you?" he demanded, his eyes now bloodshot red and fiery like the deepest pits of hell.
Chad closed his eyes and stopped fighting. He slumped against the expensive leather cushions behind him, before he sighed out loud. Multiple tears escaped out of both of his eyes, before he seemed to finally get his act together, as he stood up and straightened out his clothes, before angrily wiping his eyes.
"I'll see you at school..." he mumbled, before he took off, but Jeremy was too quick, even for his size. He reached out towards Chad with his injured arm, without even as much as thinking and a sharp knife levelling pain shot up through his limb like a vice...
"FUCK!" he shouted in complete agony, forcing Chad to turn around and see his sworn enemy holding his broken arm out before him.
"Jeremy..." he whispered.
He didn't even need to think twice.
With the speed and grace of a ninja, Chad was at Jeremy's side, talking to him, telling him everything was going to be okay...telling him to tough it out...the pain will go away...getting up and getting him two painkiller tablets like Jeremy had asked, and helping him swallow it down with a glass of water, and sitting with him, until the boy had eventually calmed down.
Neither boy could look away from the other.
Jeremy Greenwood, who never so much as looked at another boy, sexually.
Chad Tucker, who no one knew was gay, who had managed to hide the reality of his life, so successfully from his peers.
Time stood still.
Jeremy licked his lips...
"You called me "Jeremy" ... he whispered.
Chad smiled, and cheekily at that.
"So? It's your name, isn't it?" he whispered back.
Jeremy rolled his eyes, before they immediately made contact with Chad's again.
"Yeah but...you always call me "Greenwood" ...what changed?"
Chad bit his lip...and both boys knew it was pointless hiding from anything anymore. A blind man in New Jersey would able to realise these two were crazy for each other. Neither knew how it happened...or when...despite what they shared these past few weeks.
It was Chad who leaned forward, slowly, as if he was scared to be electrocuted if he came near him...as for Jeremy, he couldn't believe what his heart and his mind was telling him, what he suddenly wanted to do more than anything in this entire world.
Both boys gasped for breath as their lips finally touched.
It was just a fleeting kiss...their lips hovering over the others like sheer feathers from a firebird's wing. Both felt it. It felt right. It right like coming home.
"Jesus..." Chad whispered, his eyes in total awe of what had just occurred.
"You...you can say that again..." Jeremy replied, dumbstruck...incredibly amazed that something, which should have been sickening to even think of, had felt so damn good to do.
For a moment, both boys simply breathed and took in the essence of the other, before Chad sighed and reluctantly stood up.
"My mom would be wondering, you know...where I am..." he said, looking down at his injured new friend.
Jeremy swallowed...the last thing he wanted right now was for Chad to go. But...then again, he didn't wanna seem too eager...he had just kissed a BOY...a dude...for the very first time. It was gonna take some getting used to...but he did know that he didn't wanna be alone right now.
"You sure? You can't stay for a while? I mean, David might pop in later, but otherwise I'm all alone here, all day. Parents are busy, you fucking know the drill."
Jeremy took in the frown on his friend's face.
Chad wasn't sure if he heard correctly. Jeremy did say...David would pop in later?
"Uhm...David? David who?" he asked.
Jeremy smiled...how many times has this happened before...sad to say but David's only claim to fame was himself...people only knew him because he was his best friend. Other than that, he knew David didn't really mingle with people anymore.
"Come on, Tucker...David? David Gallagher from school? The irritating little shit that is literally my best and longest friend in the world?"
Chad was...quiet. Very quiet.
"Are you shitting me right now?"
Now Jeremy was worried. Something...something wasn't right. He could literally see it in Chad's eyes.
"Dude, I don't know why you're getting agitated all of a sudden..."
Chad moved away from Jeremy just a tad, before he took a deep breath.
"Greenwood, I dunno what pain meds you are on but really dude...how out of it do you have to be not to remember that David...David Gallagher died in a car accident today, a year ago? On his fucking birthday, no less..."
Chad reached upwards and scratched his head in sheer disbelief...
"How, how can you possibly forget that? You were the one driving the car!"
**
THANKS FOR READING!!
Some of you were curious as to what David's part in all of this was, when clearly Chad and Jeremy were the lead characters, and there you have it.
David is a fragment of Jeremy's imagination. Only he can see him. Only he can hear him.
He has clearly blocked out David's death from his mind due to the trauma he suffered that day, and therefore cannot remember his best friend being killed.
That's also why no one seems to pay attention to Davey...apart from Jeremy.
Please lemme know if you enjoyed the chapter, because I'll happily continue the story if I get enough feedback xx
liciousryan@gmail.com