Love Hurts (boyxboy)

Chapter 3: Football Jackets

A/N:

Italicized lines will represent a flashback of past events.

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Parker POV

The cool autumn air felt nice on my exposed arms as I walked towards the football field. For events such as this where I would be seen by every unimportant person in this town and their mothers, I wore my black skinny jeans, a white graphic t-shirt, boots, a gray scarf, and a beanie. My brown hair poked out from underneath my beanie, remaining mostly up in its styled position to the left.

I waited outside the faculty gate until I saw Janine amongst the crowd of football fans. She noticed me give her a single wave and came over. I noticed a few of the younger guys eying her from the road and rolled my eyes. Men. Such impulsive creatures. To be fair she was a very pretty girl, though.

Janine stood around 5'2", just a few inches shorter than me, with perfectly curled blonde hair that turned purple at the bottom. I didn't quite understand how she could be so shy, especially not while she was wearing black combat boots, skinny jeans, and a shirt with some old band I'd never heard of. Can I get a hipster-chic? What I was really impressed about was the camera she had hanging on one shoulder, mostly because she actually brought it.

"I like your outfit, you look a little-um-uncomfortable though." I commented as she walked up. She just blushed and looked at the ground.

"Some of the upperclassman I asked about you said you were like a hipster kind of guy and I wanted to make a good impression."

"Don't worry about me, just be you. If that's a short skirt, low cut top kind of girl, go for it," I laughed. "But it really is a good look for you. You're getting a lot of attention," I motioned towards some guys walking down the road just before one of them whistled at her.

"Oh dear," she blushed again and turned away. I just laughed and led her down onto the field. We talked for a little while about her background with photography. I was thoroughly impressed when she told me her mom used to have a darkroom in the house when it was a big hobby of hers. Apparently her mother used to be very active in nature photography and would take Janine out on her adventures sometimes.

When the band started playing, I held up a finger and looked over to the tunnel before snapping pictures of the football players as they ran through a giant banner with smoke all around them. When I was satisfied with a few dozen pictures of the players and the cheerleaders, I turned back to Janine and continued speaking.

"How on earth do you stay focused during all of this?" She asked.

"You just get used to all of it eventually. The noise, the energy, the movement, all of that." I snapped a picture of the coin toss. "Plus I really don't care about this kind of stuff." I shrugged. The game began and I took a few more decent pictures before looking at her expectantly. "Okay, let's see what you've got," I winked at her. "Second quarter is all yours." She bit her lip as she walked up to the sideline.

I wandered away from her, giving Janine some space and me some time to attempt to enjoy myself. The sun was going down though and the temperature was dropping rather quickly. I really wish I hadn't walked out of the house without a jacket. As I walked by the players standing on the sideline a breeze came by and made me shudder.

"You cold fag-boy?" One of the players called. I walked up to him and threw my scarf around his neck, pulling him closer to me.

"Why, you wanna keep me warm?" I said seductively. His eyes grew to the size of baseballs and I laughed, putting my scarf back around my neck and flipping it at the end as I walked away. I was still cold as fuck, but I did feel better after shutting that ass hole up.

Half time came and the boys ran off the field as the band performed their show. Both me and Janine took pictures of this, since it was probably the most entertaining part of the whole night. Maybe I took an excessive amount of pictures, but I'd delete a majority of them. Besides, it's not like I had anything else to on a Friday night other than sorting through a thousand photos.

When the players came back out, I stood in front of the tunnel so that some walked in front of me and others behind as I got a little up close and personal. Most ignored me, only making sure not to completely run me over until someone set something warm on my shoulders. I looked down to see a letterman jacket wrapped around me with a big 57 on the left side. I turned around to see number 57 jogging away from me with his football helmet on, heading out onto the field. He looked back at me for a second, just a single glance, but I recognized those green eyes, even from 30 yards away.

I was stunned to say the least. Why had Griffin given me his jacket? It wasn't just any random coat either, it was obviously his due to the big number on the front. I let it hang there around my shoulders for a few seconds, watching the next football play unfold before I saw Griffin looking over at me again. He kept staring until I began to put my arms into the huge sleeves. Honestly, the jacket practically ate me for a late night snack, but it was warm. And it smelled like Griffin...what?

I shook my head, half considering taking it off and setting it down on a bench before another cold blast of air made me change my mind. Janine walked up to me with an arched eyebrow, giving me a once over.

"So, who'd ya blow to get that jacket?" Her question came out so seriously and unexpectedly that I burst into laughter.

"I like you." I held onto her shoulder for support as I continued to laugh. Maybe I had finally found someone to pass the torch onto after I left. She was a nice enough girl, perhaps I'd even found a new friend for the year.

The rest of the game passed by in a blur, our team demolishing the other before everyone started to clear out. I told Janine goodbye and that I would text her later in the weekend after we exchanged numbers. My eyes began searching for Griffin, but all of the football players had already gone to the field house. So, I waited outside. Of course, a few of the guys made rude comments as they passed by, but most left it at that when they saw me in Griffin's jacket. It didn't stop Steven though.

"Awe, are you crushing so hard on Griffin you stole his jacket? That's so GAY." He got in my face, smirking. "Maybe I should-" Steven went sprawling on the ground, glaring up to where I was still standing and where Griffin was now towering over him.

"Maybe you should what, Steve?" Griffin's voice was dark and kinda scary. Hell, to me every muscular teenage boy with a deep voice was kinda scary though. Steven grumbled a bit before getting up and walking off. Griffin turned towards me with kind eyes, what the hell was up with him? "You okay?"

"Yeah," I muttered before I started to take off his jacket. He stopped me though. "What?"

"Keep it," he said with a smirk, "don't want you getting cold on the way to your car."

"I don't have a car, I walked here." I admitted, my eyes falling to the ground. I hated it when I had to own up to being poor. "But really, it's no big deal." I started to shrug off his jacket again. I mean, sure he was wearing a Caldon High football hoodie, but it was still his jacket. He just put an arm around my shoulders and guided me over towards the parking lot. "Whatcha doin?" I was honestly nervous because there weren't that many people left in the parking lot and if he swung on me I'm sure they'd help him beat the crap out of me.

"Giving you a ride home."

"You're what?" I stopped dead in my tracks, just staring at him. "Th-thanks for the offer, but I-uh-I think I'm just gonna give you this back and-" He chuckled at me, shaking his head and pushing me along.

"It's not an option." A blush came over my face again as we reached his car. I didn't say a word as he drove me to the house I've lived in since we moved here 8 years ago. "You can keep the jacket, in case it's cold tomorrow."

"Thanks Griffin, but as much as I'd like to look like your bitch, I'll pass." He scowled at my sentence, but made no further effort to keep me from dropping the jacket in the seat on my way out. I watched his car pull away after I walked in the front door and stood there in a daze for a few minutes. What was Griffin up to?

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