The Prince's Captain (Garroth X Laurance)

[New bonds]

"That's the bell! Just remember, your homework is due next week!"

Laurance jumped out of his seat and marched straight to his locker. He quickly snatched his sports bag and headed to the changing rooms to get into his soccer gear.

Today was the final day for trials before he would have to assign people to a team. He would have to place people in the A-team, B-team, or break the news that they didn't make either. As much as he enjoyed coaching soccer, this was his least favourite part.

On his way there, he exchanged fist bumps with a few of the guys in the hall. He was on good terms with most people these days, excluding his old friends. A friendly smile painted itself across his face, always appearing livelier than he really was.

He threw a lightweight shirt over his head, changed his shoes, and quickly hurried over to the oval. Some of the players were already there waiting, and he didn't bother questioning how they got there so fast. 

"Hey, Laurance." He heard a voice speak, causing him to turn around. His eyes suddenly met with Vylad Ro'meave's.

He'd forgotten Garroth's brother was trying out for the team this year. Laurance almost felt awkward, knowing Vylad's opinion of him probably wasn't the greatest after he'd fallen out with Garroth. He didn't let it show, though, appearing friendly as he shook hands with the younger boy.

"Vylad! Good to see you here. Ready to score some goals?" Laurance greeted him with a welcoming grin.  The younger boy nodded.

"Yeah, though I'm better in defence, I'd say." Vylad replied. Laurance chuckled in agreement.

"Good point. You're a great defender." Laurance admitted with an agreeable chuckle. "Look, I have to set up, but I know you'll do great." He announced, seeing himself out. The two parted ways. Laurance got started on setting up while Vylad prepared himself. Once Laurance was done getting ready, he blew on his coach's whistle loudly, grabbing his team's attention.

"Gather round, boys. Here's what's going to happen!" Laurance announced, encouraging them to surround him and listen.

"Today I'm going to have three teams rotating to play against each other. You will be assigned a colour of either red, blue, or green. Once you've been assigned one, put on a bib with the corresponding colour. That will be your team for the day. I'll be watching how you play against each other and making final decisions, so do your best."

Laurance's explanation was firm and commanding, but also to the point. The others nodded in understanding. In no time, Laurance began allocating teams.

Vylad nodded as Laurance looked towards him and said "blue". He walked over to the bucket of multicoloured bibs and took a blue one upon instruction. He glanced over to see a familiar blue-haired boy taking the same coloured bib from the bucket. It suddenly occurred to him that it was Kacey, Katelyn's little brother.

Despite Katelyn being his older brother's best friend, he'd only interacted with her younger brother once before. In fact, he'd interacted with him for the first time a few days ago at Katelyn's volleyball match. He had seemed anxious, but polite. Vylad hummed to himself, before deciding to go and talk to the boy. It's not like he really knew anyone else here besides Laurance after all.

"Hey, Kacey right?" Vylad called out to him, causing the boy to freeze and appear surprised.

"Y-Yeah! That's me! You're Vylad right?" Kacey answered, giving him a hesitant smile.

"Didn't realise you played soccer." Vylad commented with a teasing smirk.

"I... don't. My sister just really wanted me to play a sport." Kacey admitted, looking sheepish.