THE ONLY EXCEPTION (BOYXBOY)

Chapter Eight: Declan

One week later

Declan's POV:
Thanks to McClane I no longer had Mrs. Zune's fifth period. Instead after lunch I would go off campus and work at a near by shelter. I helped look after the children who were there. It hurt my heart to hear some of their stories. How their parents abandoned them or how at such young ages they were already into drugs. I made sure to tell each of them how special they were before I left to go back to school.  At the end of the day I'd meet Megan at her locker and we would go to my house and chill before I'd head to practice. This had been my routine. It was like I was trying to completely erase Micah from my life. Now it was me getting stared at.

The first time I saw him staring I almost had a panic attack. Laurie and Megan were with me at the time. Laurie suggested I say something to him but instead I ran. After that happened Laurie had not been very friendly towards me. In fact she'd been down right hostile with me. Her last words to me that day still haunted my dreams.

 'You don't know what your missing and if you wait too late you might not ever find out.' After that I threw myself into the thing I could count on... soccer. Drills, plays, and practice. I refuse to let Laurie's words effect me. She didn't get a say in this. It wasn't her heart or peace of mind on the line. It was mine. I worked myself into a constant state of exhaustion every night. It was all I could do. I didn't know what to say to Micah and all I could think about is the image of Todd curled up on the ground. Instead of facing my problems I took the most convenient route possible. I ignored them.

I have to say all my hard work was paying off though. It was the first game of the season. This is what I needed to take my mind off him. I needed to the smell of the freshly cut grass. The sight of the bleachers crowded with cheering fans. The roar of the adrenaline running through my veins. It was like soccer cured me of my problems. It made it alright to breathe. Soccer was my therapy.

I stood in the middle of the field and watched Newton's forward Charles Montgomery come at me with the ball. It was the second half and both teams were drowning in our own sweat. It was a toasty 97 degrees out here and I was thankful only 2 minutes were left on the clock. The score was 3 to 0. All we had to do was keep our lead.

 I mimic his movements while he tried to find an open man.  I read his movements copying his body language. Every time the thought he'd found an opening I'd come and slam it shut in his face. He was starting to get flustered. He was new to the team and it was his first game. He didn't want to mess it up. He didn't want to be the one who cost his team the game.

I remember my first game. The weight of everyone on my shoulders. The pride I saw in my family's eyes when we ran out onto the field. Surprisingly I wasn't nervous. I was more cocky than anything. It showed in my footwork. It was like I was the pro athlete and they were some rookies playing pretend. I'd like to say it was all my doing but if you had McClane as a coach you had nothing to worry about.

 "Go left, I'll go right." I said to him. He looked at me with suspicion in his eyes but he he did a fake right only to pull left. I took the bait and stepped right letting him pass me on my left. I could hear a roar from the crowd. I looked back at Bryant to see him give me a 'what the fuck' look but I ignored it. I trailed after Charles as he made it to the goal box. He was about to pass it when I slid between his legs and hooked the ball with my feet tossing it to Campbell.

Catching it with his chest he thrust it toward Danny who took it back down the field. The crowd was up in arms as we made our down the field. Newtwon's defenders tried to catch Danny but he was already bending the ball sending it soaring through the air. By the time their goalie realize what was happening the ball was nestled inside their net. As we cheered the buzzer screamed to signal the end of our game.