Music To My Ears | 2gether Short Stories

Taking The Shot - Chapter 03

A whistle blew shrilly, signalling the end of Friday's training.

"Good game, Bry" panted Wynter, catching his breath as he jogged back with Bryce to the benches.

Bryce smiled. He found himself smiling a lot more around Wynter than he usually did.

"Thief" grumbled Gulf under his breath. Bryce winced, knowing it was true. Wynter had intercepted two passes intended for Gulf and scored off one of them.

"Let me know if he gives you a hard time. I'll punch the snark out of him" Gulf had said when Bryce first told him about their arrangement.

"He doesn't seem all that bad. Did something happen between you two?" asked Bryce, wonderingly.

Gulf took a deep breath and spoke glumly. "When I first came to Weston three years ago, Opas and his sophomore cronies hazed the living daylights out of us freshers. We've seen a lot worse, you and I, so it didn't bother me much.

But I got it especially hard because I was on the Knights' B-team back then, and he was already in the A-team.

Our "friendly practice matches" were anything but. He would get all aggressive on the field, but I gave it back to him just as bad."

"Did he ever hit you?" asked Bryce, worriedly.

Gulf was hot-headed and short tempered himself, but Bryce knew his brother would rather walk away from a fight than engage even when justified.

Pro-league teams preferred players who wouldn't mar their reputation. Gulf couldn't afford to be known as a troublemaker.

It was a matter of survival for him.

"He's an asshole, but he's not crossed the line to bullying. He's never laid a hand on me, or he'd be dead by now. He doesn't even talk to me much outside the field.

I don't know what perverse pleasure it gives him to steal my goals, but he seems to enjoy riling me up. I don't know what sets him off when we're playing, but I hate these mind games.

He thinks he's above the rest of us just because he's rich."

Bryce mulled over Gulf's words, trying to reconcile this version of Wynter with the Wynter who'd fought his own friends for Bryce.

There was more to this feud with Gulf than met the eye, and Bryce hoped he would uncover it.

In the past few days, Bryce had discovered that Wynter was not entirely the arrogant, entitled brat his brother had made him out to be.

Wynter had taken Bryce to the Opas Group headquarters and introduced him to everyone as his Project Advisor. Wynter was clearly well-liked by the entire staff, and they welcomed Bryce warmly into their fold.

The two boys had worked every day after practice on the documents needed for their project. Wynter was knowledgeable and patient in explaining technical terms to Bryce.

He would propose dining in places where Bryce wouldn't feel uncomfortable, and they ended up having some delicious food in tiny, hole-in-the-wall nooks.

He would tease the soft-spoken Bryce and smirk smugly when Bryce would blush and argue with him, but he was never rude or hurtful with his words.

Bryce had always been quiet and shy to the point of reticence. Coach Aof had to practically force him to share his insights with the team.

And yet, he found himself surprisingly at ease around Wynter, never at a loss for conversation and banter with him.

Wynter was childish and impulsive and wont to getting his own way, but his behaviour was tempered with an acute self-awareness of his failings, good-natured humour and a frank innocence that Bryce found endearing.