Hatchetfield.

Hold the lifeline

After the disappearance of Max Jägerman, Paul realised he was a more relaxed man.

It was a horrible thing to think, he knew that, but during his work with the neighbourhood watch, he had heard a lot of people saying they felt better about sending their kids to school.

Which, he couldn't really disagree with that.

Sure, he didn't want something bad to have happened to the missing teenager, but it was also hard to deny that everyone seemed a lot happier the last two weeks. A few had been worried about the big game and the team's chances of winning against Clivesdale without their best player, but even those rethorics stopped after a few days.

Richie had told him he didn't have to go to the game. That it was fine now that Max wasn't there and everyone seemed to really care about him. But Paul didn't want to miss seeing Richie getting the appreciation he deserved.

Emma had also wanted to go, but couldn't get out of working a shift at the coffee shop, which made Paul obligated to. Richie didn't know it yet, but Paul and Emma always made sure that at least one of them attended the games Richie was at.

It wasn't always much to see, but Paul couldn't deny he loved the proud feeling running through his veins when his nephew got the crowd cheering loudly.

And now, they had been cheering louder than Paul ever heard them. Even the football players had seemed to include him before the game started.

Sure, it was amazing to finally see the teenager happy about going to school after years of torment, but it infuriated another part of him that no one cared to solve this issue earlier. It could have saved everyone so much pain and suffering.

But he had promised that he wouldn't talk to the principal about that just yet. Richie and his friends wanted to enjoy the moment for a little while. It was a reasonable request, so that night, for Paul, it meant going to the game to cheer on the whole team for once.

And he couldn't deny that hating on Clivesdale never got old either.

The game itself wasn't something that necessarily interested him. He cheered when the Hatchetfield players scored, and booed as loud as he could when Clivesdale did. Anything else going on flew over his head.

When the first half of the game was over, Paul turned his full attention to the field, looking through the crowd of cheerleaders to find the big, blue mascot among them.

Which made it immediately worrying when he didn't manage to see Richie. He even noticed a few of the girls on the field looking around them, confusion on their faces. When they gave up and started their routine, Paul knew something was wrong.

Richie would never abandon the team when they needed him. Especially not when things had been getting better. It wouldn't have mattered what was going on. His nephew hadn't let the team down when they treated him like shit.

He definitely wouldn't let them down when they believed in him.

Paul stood from his seat and walked towards the exit of the stands, ignoring the crowd's loud cheerings. He tried to ignore the knot forming in his stomach, when he bumped into Bill. His friend smiled at him and was about to greet him when he frowned, taking in Paul's tense exterior.

"Paul? What's going on?"
"I don't know," his gaze travelled towards the field again, scanning every little part of it, hoping to find the person that would ease his worries. "Richie's not on the field."

"Oh," Bill said, seeming to understand where he was getting at. "I'll help you look for him.

Paul got the feeling Bill used this as a way to pass time until the other half of the game, but that didn't matter. As long as he found Richie and the tightness over his chest eased, he would take any help he could get.