like real people do

iii

"Mr. Hughes, what brings you here?" Aga asked, his tone calm and collected-just how a guidance counselor should be when met with these situations, but also far from how he's feeling given who was in front of him.

Wasn't he just seeking assurance that the tiny crush on this man's soon-to-be-ex-wife was normal... and not at all inappropriate?

"I don't think it's right that the new guy in town is trying to make changes in my family," William continued, his tone commanding.

His heartbeat quickened. Were they being talked about? Were the few conversations they had enough for people to speculate on their non-existent relationship? It wasn't even that Leanna gave him special attention because she has never. She makes small talk with everyone when she has the time; he wasn't an isolated case.

And the little crush... he's barely admitted it to himself, much more to another human being. Although even those reasons were beside the point because wasn't William the one who chose to leave in the first place?

Aga stood up, slowly making his way to the seething man who seemed just about ready to punch him in the face. "There's nothing wrong with-"

Before Aga could continue his sentence and ultimately put himself in a worse position than he already was, Ryan came barreling through the door. "Dad, this isn't appropriate. Mr. Montilla had nothing to do with it," he argued.

"Then why is Jackson in the starting lineup and you're not?"

Oh. So, it wasn't about Leanna. He released the breath he'd unknowingly held in.

William turned back to Aga, "from what I know, my son was the victim. Isn't it unfair that the bully gets a free pass while the bullied has to sit out a game during scouting season?!"

Aga picked up one thing from what he said, and it was that William was out of the loop. "Mr. Hughes, Ryan sitting out this game has nothing to do with that incident."

"I failed an exam, okay, dad?" Ryan admitted, sighing as he saw his father's gaze turn towards him. "I know I've let you down. But it sucks as much for me as it does for you because the one time you're here, you won't even get to see me play. "

William shook his head, turning away from Ryan and looking Aga dead in the eyes. "My son is going to play tomorrow," he said with conviction, and he knew then and there that Will would do everything for Ryan to be on the pitch tomorrow.

Aga could care less about his intense stare as his eyes gravitated to Ryan whose expression he couldn't make out. Surely, Ryan appreciated that his father was willing to plead his case and that he believed in him enough to fight for his spot in that lineup, but Aga knew in himself that he would have done things differently.

Men are natural-born fixers, but it was obvious that Ryan needed someone to comfort him, in contrast to merely fixing his problems. Because this problem only surfaced due to an underlying problem... and that, he didn't think William was ready to address.

It was the exact conversation that brought them here, in an empty classroom, later on, that afternoon, this time joined by the principal, coach Ben, and Leanna.

It was obvious that Leanna wasn't in a good mood when she came in, but upon seeing Aga lingering in the back, she quickly decided that beside him was the best place to be-wanting to be as far away from Will as possible and still wanting to be near a friendly face.

He offered her a small smile, but she was too preoccupied to even notice the gesture. She placed her bag on the table behind them and leaned onto it, crossing her arms as she waited for Will to say his piece. That was exactly what he did, talked the room off, argued in defense of his son.