What happened at Devenford?

Chapter 2

A/N: I'm pretty sure we all agree that Brett and Liam definitely had something going on in their past. I'm excited to show what I think happened <3

A/N: swearing

A few weeks had passed and it was finally time for try outs. Liam was nervous to say the least, "you'll be fine" Mason said. Liam nodded, that didn't really help but he was grateful for the encouragement.

Mason pat him on the back before running to the bleachers, Garrett soon was by his side. "You excited?" He asked adjusting his stick. He seemed so confident, "how long have you been practicing?" Liam asked.

"Couple months" Garrett admitted making Liam more nervous. He nodded, "how did you go with David?" He asked. Liam sighed, "I mean I scored a few times but I kept freezing up?" He said.

"You'll be right, once you get into the swing of it everything will fall into place" Garret said. That was when the coach ran onto the field, Brett by his side. His tall height practically towering over Liam.

"Alright newbies, don't mess up" coach said. Wow thanks, really encouraging. Liam sighed, nervously watching as their numbers were called up by Brett, all except for Liam and three other people.

Liam watched intensely, observing how the players played. Watching their every move, listening to their corrections. "Don't be nervous" a voice said, Liam looked up to see Brett standing above him.

He practically gulped, "uh thanks" he found himself saying, looking up to the much taller male. Brett smirked, "you'll do fine" he said before placing a hand on Liam's shoulder as he watched the new players continue to receive correction after correction.

"Why aren't you playing?" Liam asked, "because I'm helping the coach chose who's worthy of joining the team" Brett admitted, that made Liam even more nervous. Great, he's gotta impress the coach and Brett.

Chewing his bottom lip nervously Liam anxiously awaited his number to be called. Sure, he felt confident but with everyone watching him and the minimal practice he had. He wasn't sure he would be good enough to make the team.

But one could only hope, right?

"You'll be fine" Brett said placing a hand on Liam's shoulder, noticing the way the boy jolted at his touch. Brett couldn't help the frown that appeared upon his face, "I've seen you practice, don't be nervous"

Liam perked up, "you saw me?" He asked confused. "With your little friend uh, number 7" Brett said trying to remember the number of Garret's try out jersey. "What made you pick number 9?" He asked.

Liam looked down, fidgeting with his fingers as he spoke. "Lucky number I guess" he shrugged, Brett took his chance to sit beside him. "I'm not buying it, what's it really mean?" He asked.

Liam sighed, not wanting to sound like a nerd... but what's the worst that could happen? "It's often associated with forgiveness, compassion and success" Liam shrugged, but that only made Brett smile.

"Is that what you believe?" He asked, Liam nodded. "It also represents patience and generosity... I think those are important things to remember" Liam stated making Brett's smile widen.

"You're smart, I like you" Brett said patting Liam's shoulder before standing back up. Liam smiled in response, it wasn't often he was complimented let alone about his intelligence.

He had always felt stupid, not smart and useless. That compliment meant a lot more to him than Brett was aware of, sure he had been told he had beautiful eyes or a nice smile. But it meant a lot more to him having his smarts complimented.

Hearing his number called out made his head perk up, the coach was standing before him. "Get out there" the coach said, watching as Liam swallowed nervously before jogging onto the field.

"I got a good feeling about this kid" Brett said nudging the coach, "he's got that fire inside him, I can tell" the coach replied. Brett couldn't agree more, being a werewolf he could sense it.

Along with the underlining anxiety he knew that he was full of energy. He crossed his arms and watched as Liam managed to dodge two of the players who are actually apart of the team.

"He just dodged Jonas" Brett said surprised, Jonas was one of their better players. The coach nodded, "his height will have perks" he pointed out. Being smaller Liam was able to weasel his way through the players a lot easier.

Able to dodge their sticks and attempts he threw the ball, managing to get his first score he smiled. Not letting it get to his head he resumed his position in the back, "let's see if he can keep up" coach said before blowing his whistle.

Everyone jogged towards him, "great work today guys, we're going to run a few simple drills" the coach said, Brett took that as his cue to step forward. "Alright, I want to see you lot do some simple passing, gotta make sure you can work in a team" he stated.

They began to pair up but Brett placed a hand on Liam's shoulder making the younger boy whip his head around. "Throw me the ball" Brett said as he picked up his own stick, Liam nodded. Feeling a sense of hope, Brett was working with him.

That was good, right?

Liam scooped the ball and threw it over his shoulder towards Brett, the older boy caught it with ease. "Good throw, just the right amount of power" Brett said making Liam smile, "thank you" Liam said as Brett threw the ball back, he caught it with ease.

"You might be a good goalie?" Brett suggested, "uh, I haven't practiced that much but I'd be up for the challenge" Liam replied making Brett smile. "That's good, that's exactly what we need. People who can step up when needed, keep doing that and you'll land a permanent spot on this team" Brett said.

After a few more drills coach blew his whistle and the surrounded him again, "I can speak for both of us when I say we've seen some spectacular talent tonight, also some no-so-great players..."

Liam turned to Brett who nodded, "we will let you know tomorrow who's made it, don't be upset if you didn't. Just strive to be better" Brett stated.

They were dismissed and Liam nodded, swallowing nervously before seeing his stepdads car in the distance. "Thank you" Liam said to Brett before grabbing his duffle and jogging towards the car, immediately greeted by his step dad.

"How did it go?" David asked with a grin, noticing Liam's joy. It wasn't often he saw Liam happy but right now he looked like he had just won the lottery. "It was great! I think, the team captain was really nice to me and the coach was nice too!" Liam exclaimed.

David let out a small laugh, "that's great, all your hard work has paid off" he said. Liam nodded, "I couldn't have done it without you" he said. David had been training with him and teaching him new skills to implement.

"Let's go home, McDonald's?" David suggested making Liam laugh, "that sounds good" he said. Knowing he should probably start to eat a little healthier but also knowing it wasn't going to kill him if he had it, they drove to McDonald's.

Published: 10th September 2023
Word count: 1205