Under The Bleachers

Chapter 2

"Ah, damnit!" Chad let out an exasperated groan, and buried his face in his hands. "I'm so stupid! Argh!" He was flushed from embarrassment, his thoughts racing. He was so hopelessly in love with Brad, but he couldn't let anyone know. Boys weren't supposed to love other boys like that, right? And yet, Chad couldn't help but ache every time he thought about Brad with someone else. Before he could dwell on the thought any further, Chad heard the door slam open. He quickly hid his phone under the pillow, but alas, it was too late.
"Chadwick! Who's that you're talking to? Why are you hiding your phone? Let me see!" Chad's mom shrieked, her piercing voice ringing through the air. She reached for the phone, trying to grab it out of Chad's hands.
"Mom! Let go, would you just leave me alone!" He said, as he struggled to keep his phone from his mother's grasp. His mom gasped, her voice turned stern and she looked Chad straight in the eye, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
"You do NOT talk to me like that! Shame on you Chadwick, I raised you far better than this. I expect an apology right this second, mister!" She huffed as she sat down next to Chad on his bed, looking intently at him.
"Sorry..." Chad mumbled, looking down ashamedly "I didn't mean to sound so rude..."
"Well, it doesn't really matter if you meant it or not when you're talking to your elders. I expect you to be respectful, especially when talking to me and your father. Now, hand over the phone, I want to see who you're talking to." She said, holding out her hand.
"Err, uhm, it's just Brittney." He quickly said, trying to not look suspicious.
"Brittney? Oh, I like Brittney! Are you two finally dating?" She said, clapping her hands with excitement.
"Oh! Uh, no, not really, we're just friends..." Chad said, fumbling over his words.
"What? Why not? She's such a pretty girl, all the boys at school like her!"
'Yeah, she's nice I guess, but–" Chad quickly got cut off by his mother.
"Oh, come on! Don't act so shy! You ought to get a girlfriend sometime soon, what would all the other boys at school think if you just stayed single forever?"
"It's not forever!" Chad exclaimed, "And I don't think they would care..." he mumbled.
"What are you, gay? Why can't you act normal?" Chad's mom said, her tone bitter, folding her arms in disappointment.
"What? No! No, I would never– I just– I would never be so gross!" He said, visibly disgusted. His mom smiled, and looked relieved.
"Oh, thank the Lord for that! I'm not homophobic or anything, but you know, it's just so unnatural! Men are not supposed to be with other men, and I pity the poor children who have to be raised by queers. But I have faith that God will help them and make them see the light, for He is good and loves all his children, sinful or not." She stood up from the bed, grunting from the effort, and gingerly touched her back "Oh, I wish my back wouldn't hurt so much. When you're done with homework tomorrow, please go get some Tylenol for me and your father, ok? He's been having horrible headaches and it makes him grumpy." Chad nodded, and she left the room, saying something unintelligible to his dad in his office across the hallway.
Chad sighed, and buried his head in his pillow. He knew his mom was right, but he couldn't shake the horrible jealousy he felt when he thought of Brad getting a girlfriend. But he couldn't be gay, right? God would hate him, and even worse, he would be ostracized from his community. Would he even be able to play football? What would the others think? Most importantly, what would Brad think? Chad could feel his eyes starting to burn, but he couldn't let himself cry, he wasn't some kind of sissy. As he fell asleep, curled up in his covers, he couldn't help but let out a quiet sob.
The next morning, Chad woke up abruptly from the sound of his blaring alarm ringing through the air. He let out an exasperated groan, and fumbled around his covers trying to find his phone. When he managed to grab it and turn it off, he noticed the time: 8:00am. He rubbed his eyes, slowly taking in the information laid out before him. His eyes suddenly widened, and he shot up from the bed, trying to get his pajamas off. In his hurried panic, he almost fell over while trying to get his pants off. He was very much late, by a whole hour to be precise. He was supposed to be there around 7am, like usual.
"Goddamnit! Why didn't my alarm go off earlier? I swear I set it– Agh! Whatever!" He ran past his bathroom, then stopped and slowly backtracked. He looked at his sink for a few seconds, debating whether it was worth it to be even more late by brushing his teeth. He quickly decided it was indeed worth it after smelling his breath. He shoved an overloaded toothbrush into his mouth, trying to go as fast as he could. He spit out the toothpaste and drank some water directly from the sink. He could've grabbed the glass that was sitting right there, but unfortunately today was not one of Chad's brightest days. He quickly hurried downstairs, grabbing his bag and the car keys along the way, and made his way to the gym, where Brad waited.
Brad was at the gym waiting for Chad to arrive. He ran his fingers through his hair and began to get impatient. Chad would never miss a training session and it's unlike him to forget. That's when he heard footsteps.
"Oh, Chad! I'm glad you're..." he turned around to see Tyler and Kyle.
"Oh. It's you guys. What are you doing here?"
Kyle scoffed "Training, of course. Man, you really are stupid."
Brad rolled his eyes, shrugging off the insult. "That's funny, you've never trained a day in your life except for when we're at practice. Which is why you're so bad at football in the first place."
Tyler and Kyle gasped offendedly, and glared at Brad. Tyler looked around for a few seconds, then grinned deviously.
"Where's Chad? He's usually here by now. Is the golden boy missing practice?" His taunt hit a nerve, and Brad quickly glowered at him before heading towards the treadmill.
"No! He would never..." He said, getting on the treadmill and adjusting it to the appropriate speed.
The doors swung open, and Chad made his entrance. He quickly scanned the room, and smiled when he spotted Brad already running. He pushed past Tyler and Kyle, making a face when he realized who they were.
"Urgh, what are you two doing here? Don't tell me you're working out because that's such a funny joke."
"Why is it such a shock to you guys that we work out?!" Kyle said, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Because you're terribly out of shape." Chad said, rolling his eyes.
"...And you're out of breath after one lap." Brad added.
"Whatever, see you on the football field assholes, where you two will probably make a fool of yourselves anyways." Tyler said, motioning for Kyle to follow him before Chad and Brad could say another word.
It didn't take long before they were finally gone. Brad looked over at Chad, subtly admiring his muscles, which were clearly showing because of his tank top.
"Why do you think they came here? They never work out." Brad asked, raising a brow.
"I don't know, probably to find some dirt to get us kicked off the football team. Tyler really wants to be captain after all."
"Hah! good luck with that. We're perfect in every way." Brad replied with a smirk, and jokingly poked at Chad's chest.
"Exactly." Chad amusedly said, brushing his fingers through his already messy hair.
"Hey, by the way, did you remember the protein shakes?"
"...Ah, shit."
Chad burst out in laughter at Brad's remark, before hopping onto the treadmill next to Brad's. Today didn't start out too well, but hearing Brad's voice, Chad had a feeling everything was going to turn out alright.