Music To My Ears | 2gether Short Stories

Taking The Shot - Chapter 02

"Gulf is my older brother. It's kind of obvious from our names" said Bryce, brows furrowed.

"What the hell - your names are completely different" sputtered Wynter.

"Don't tell me you don't know Gulf's full name. You've been on the same team for almost two years" muttered Bryce, his glasses slipping down his nose again as he frowned.

"I usually call him names that you wouldn't like" snickered Wynter as he raised a finger to Bryce's face and pushed his glasses back up.

Bryce rolled his eyes. "Bryce Vachirawit Chivas" he said pointing to himself. "Gulf Kanawut Chivas" he enunciated clearly, pointing the same finger towards the field where Gulf was presumably having a similar conversation with Gun.

Wynter's eyes twinkled and a wicked grin lit up his face.

"Well, Bryce Vachirawit Chivas, brother of Gulf Something Chivas, I don't see any good reason for me to switch partners.

I lose out on a golden opportunity to drive Gulf crazy by denying him what he wants and deprive myself of your company at the same time, while gaining nothing in return for my troubles.

I trust Coach Aof without question. If he's decided you're the right partner for me, then I wouldn't dream of going against his judgement."

Bryce sighed. He'd known it wouldn't be easy. "What can I do to convince you?"

"Spend the day with me. If we can find a middle path, I'll call Coach Dim and tell him myself. Deal?" said Wynter, holding his hand out to shake Bryce's.

"Deal" agreed Bryce. He extended his hand, before pulling his arm back at the last second with a smirk and fixing his glasses instead.

Wynter burst out laughing. "You're lucky you're cute enough to get away with being a brat" he chuckled.

Bryce blushed red and covered up his fluster by tapping away on his tablet.

"This is Gun's plan for you - it's fantastic by the way - and this is mine. I'll walk you through them both and we can pick the best parts from each. Gun can merge them into a new plan and track it with you."

"This is your breakdown of all Knights vs Bears games for the last two years, right? Your insights are amazing. You've crafted an entirely new strategy for me to break their defense. I'm never letting you go" gasped Wynter, awed by the crisp observations in Bryce's notes.

Bryce's ears were a brilliant red.
"It's just theory for now. Coach Aof said he would run the play during practice to see if it works."

"Ouch - the list of things I could improve is rather long. I see my looks aren't on this list. Are you saying they're already perfect?" teased Wynter.

Bryce rolled his eyes. Wynter had the face of an angel and the body of a Spartan warrior. Of course he was perfect.

"Your attitude could use a lot of work though" giggled someone.

"Hey, that's mean" protested Wynter, greeting Minnie with a quick hug.

She slipped her arm around his waist and he draped his arm easily around her neck.

"You're the boy from the other night. I hope things turned out okay for you. I'm Minnie" said the girl with a kind smile.

"Nice to meet you, Minnie. I'm Bryce and I appreciate your concern. I wish more people would step up like you guys did when you saw a potentially unsafe situation.

Just to clarify though, Gulf's my brother. I know he comes off as pushy but he's not the kind of guy who would force himself on someone."

"That's good to know. Have you joined the Knights, Bryce?"