Nick and Charlie One-Shots

Sprained Ankle

Charlie panted as he jogged on the track alongside Nick and the rest of the rugby boys. It had been a tough season for the team, so on their last game, the Truham boys wanted to end on a pleasant note. Today they played some random school, not St. John's, luckily. Charlie and the team had a rough time playing against them two years ago in his first year of rugby. Now that he was an actual team member (no longer the reserve), he had much more experience with games. Charlie glanced at the opposing team warming up on the other side of the field—they looked much more put together as they did passing exercises and drills. It caused an uneasy feeling in Charlie's stomach—one he hardly felt playing rugby anymore.

"You're thinking a lot," Nick said, snapping Charlie back into reality.

"Oh...uh, yeah," Charlie replied, 'sorry' left on his tongue, never to be spoken. He had gotten better at not apologizing lately.

Nick gripped his hand, unafraid of the others, even though not all of them were that supportive. "Hey, you'll be okay, I promise. After we get through the game, we'll have a pizza party, and then the season will be over, and we'll be free from the horrible confines of school."

Charlie smiled, Nick's words calming his nerves. He leaned his head on his boyfriend's shoulder for a second, showing his gratefulness.

After another lap of running, the team did a few more exercises until Miss Singh started the match. Charlie's instincts had been right—this team was much better than them. They got an early lead, leaving Truham eight points behind after only 10 minutes of play. When they reached the half, they were behind by 20 points.

"Okay boys," Nick said loudly to the team as they gathered in a circle. "If we focus very hard we come back from this. I know we can."

Charlie nodded along with the rest of the team, breathing heavily. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Nick, however, because he was glowing beautifully in the sun, and his freckles were showing up nicely on his skin. Nick noticed the staring, smiling at Charlie and winking at him in response. Charlie tried to push down the blush that was rising in his cheeks, but he failed to do so, so he just stopped trying to hide it.

When their 10 minute break was up, the boys were back on the field. They ended up getting a few points more, making the difference between them and the other team only 15 points. Charlie was tired and out of breath, but he kept going because he wanted to win for Nick.

Soon there were 20 minutes left in the half, with only a 9 point difference. After more play, Nick called a time-out, and the entire team assembled again.

"All we need is two more try's," Nick said confidently. "Just keep the ball out of their hands, and we can do this."

Charlie glanced at the time—only four minutes remained in the game. But he trusted Nick to get the team motivated and ready to win.

The time out ended and the team was back on the field for the final time. Truham got possession of the ball right away, and Harry was able to get the ball very close to the goalposts. However a member of the other team tackled him, and he let go of the ball. Nick ran and grabbed it before the other team could, and scored a try.

The whole team cheered, and Charlie jogged over, giving Nick a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. He smiled at him for a second, then his focused face returned as they started play again.

Otis had the ball, who passed to Sai, who passed to Charlie. Charlie ran as fast as he could, looking for someone else to pass to, but they were all blocked. Charlie keep running, dodging all the other players until he got to the goal posts. Suddenly, Charlie's leg gave out, and he tripped, falling sideways while rolling his right ankle. He felt a snap, then intense pain that shot up his leg and sprung tears to his eyes. The ball had shot out his hand, but he crawled over to grab it, putting it down for the try. Then, he let go of the ball, clutching his ankle, and shutting his eyes in agony.