Wish You'd Met Me First (boyxboy)

Chapter 11: Aftermath

A/N: Warning homophobic slur ahead, Someone is an asshole that's why and it's you know who.

Ever since the fight earlier this week, things have been tense. Jake and his crew have been giving Brett the cold shoulder, throwing dirty looks when they think no one's watching. It's like the whole team's split in two, and nobody's sure how to fix it.

I'm on the sidelines, stretching before practice, when I see Brett by himself. He's tossing a football up and catching it, not really paying attention to anything else. He's been quieter these past few days. Usually, Brett's the guy who gets everyone to chill, but now? He just looks tired.

I grab my helmet and head over to him.

"Hey," I say, stopping next to Brett. "You good?"

Brett catches the ball, hesitates, then shrugs.

"Yeah, just... thinking."

"About what?" I ask, though we both know the answer.

He tosses me the ball.

"Everything, I guess. Feels like the team's falling apart."

I catch the ball, hold it for a second.

"It's not on you, man. You know that, right? Jake's just being a dick. The rest of 'em will get over it."

Brett rubs the back of his neck, looking frustrated.

"Maybe. But it's like they're waiting for me to screw up."

Before I can say anything, Ryan walks over, not bothering to lower his voice.

"Who cares what Jake and his buddies think? They pull any more crap, they're done. End of story."

Jason's right behind him, grinning.

"Yeah, dude. You knocked Jake on his ass once. You'll be fine."

Brett chuckles, shaking his head, but there's still a heaviness there.

"Thanks, guys. I just don't want this to mess up the season, you know?"

Tom strolls up, laying a hand on Brett's shoulder.

"It won't. They'll come around. Coach isn't gonna let this drag on."

"Exactly," I add, tossing the ball back to Brett.

"We've got your back. Always."

Ryan crosses his arms, standing a little closer to Brett.

"We're not letting anyone mess with you, bro."

Jason throws his arm around Brett's shoulders, still grinning.

"And if they try? We'll make it real awkward for them." He winks. "I've got plenty of ways, ask Ryan, he got firsthand experience."

Ryan shoves Jason playfully and Brett laughs a little, the tension finally starting to ease.

"Thanks guys."

"Anytime," Jason says, clapping him on the back.

We stand there for a second, just letting things settle. Then Brett nods toward the field.

"Alright, enough of this. Let's run some routes. I need to get my mind off this crap."

"Now you're talking!" Jason says, already jogging toward the field.

We start running a few simple drills, just the five of us. The rest of the team is dragging onto the field, but I can feel eyes on us—especially from Jake's group. They're watching, but I don't care. Let them. Brett's with us, and that's all that matters.