Young Love (NovaHD)

Young Love (NovaHD) Chapter 10: They Don't Suspect a Thing

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 A blast of warm air met Aleks' face as he entered the now-familiar school building. People were milling around the halls aimlessly, seeing as they had ten minutes to get to first period. Usually, Aleks would sneak into the building unnoticed, and scurry off to find Eddie or Jordan before the bell rang. But today, he was accompanied by James, which meant that he was most certainly going to have to talk to strangers. Fun.

Aleks followed James to his locker on the first floor. A small freshman girl was counting her binders nervously, making sure she had everything set for her first few classes. However, James didn't seem to pay attention to her, and apparently neither did she, as they both slammed into each other unexpectedly, knocking the binders from her hands. The girl crouched back in fear at the tall, muscled Junior.

"I-I'm so s-sorry!" She squeaked, ducking down to pick up the pink and white binders that had clattered to the ground. James stepped back to give her room, dazed by the sudden encounter. Aleks pitied the small girl, seeing as he was this nervous when he first came to Denver High. 

"Hey, it's not your fault. James is just a big doofus who doesn't watch where he's going," Aleks chuckled, kneeling down to help the girl pick up her books. She flinched at his voice first, but eventually calmed down once he gently placed the books back in her hands. "Need anything else?" Aleks asked politely, backing up so he was next to his boyfriend. The girl looked nervously between Aleks and James.

"N-no thank you..." She mumbled, and scurried off down the hall behind the two boys. James, who had seemed to be broken from his daze, slipped a secluded arm around Aleks' waist. The slight stubble that James refused to shave this morning tickled the side of Aleks' face as he bent down to whisper into his ear.

"Where's your first class?"

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James waited outside the rusty gym doors. He had promised Aleks that he'd walk him to lunch, along with Dan and Steven. James had been jumpy all day, avoiding his teammates and upper-class friends in the halls. James really just wanted to think about the past couple of weeks by himself, and figure out where everything was going to go from here on out. James could tell that Aleks was still jumpy around him, and James wondered why he had even accepted his apology in the first place.

But before he could ponder anymore, he heard loud footsteps bang up the stairs a few feet behind him, and familiar gruff laughs accompanying them.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

James tried to act normally as three of his fellow Junior teammates approached him from behind. "Hey, James! Where ya been all day, man? We've been cuttin' class left and right to try and look for ya!" James sighed, and turned to face his teammates, a fake smile plastered on his face.

The one who had called to him everyone called Brooks. However, James knew his name was actually Ron Castrade, but he'd taken up that nickname sometime in middle school, about the time James moved to Denver. He never questioned the meaning behind the nickname. Brooks was on the lankier side, and about a head taller than James. He played Left-wing, but he wasn't one of the starters, due to an impressive Senior who could probably snap him in half. To his right was Martin, a near-silent Senior. He was a starting Right-wing, and a damn good one at that. His appearance gave a whole different story entirely; he was about a foot shorter than James, with a square build and the eyes of a hawk. Rumors had been spreading around that he was going into the military after he graduated, but Martin hadn't said a word about it. And then Richie was to Brooks' left. Richie was a loudmouthed know-it-all, and he was able to pull it off, due to his size. He was the same height as James, but about three times the girth. And James wasn't some toothpick either. He was also benched with Brooks, but a bruising Defensemen. James always winced when he saw a fellow teammate get taken down in practice by the beast.

"Who's the girl." Martin spat flatly. James jumped, suprised to hear him questioning him, of all people. James liked Martin the most out of the group, mostly because he wasn't an asshole ninety-eight percent of the time.

"Uh, it's, ah, nothing, guys... Just, waiting for my friend to finish up class so we can walk to lunch together." Martin didn't look pleased at this answer, and Richie shoved his way past Brooks' shoulder.

"Don't tell me it's wonna those bitch-ass nerds again. I thought choo said you were over them," James could tell he was being sized-up, but he wasn't about to back down without throwing a few punches. "Wassa matta, bitch-baby? Are ya scared? Ya gonna go crawl back up Coach's ass like las' time? Ya gonna be onna 'em 'goody-two-shoes'?"

Before Richie could pin him up against the wall and start pounding his head in, the shrill sound of the bell echoed through the hallway, signalling that fourth period was over. James pulled away from the group of boys, and ducked down the hallway to the locker rooms. He was greeted by Dan and Steven, who offered him a wave. He gave a lame return, and slipped inside the boy's room. 

Aleks was only one of the boys left in the room, spare a few freshmen who were comparing boxer patterns. James didn't remember being that awkward. Aleks was buttoning up his creme-colored undershirt as James slipped on to the bench next to him.

"Does your Dad buy your clothes for you?" James chuckled, causing Aleks to jump at the voice directed at him. 

"Maybe," Aleks mumbled, and he began pulling his maroon vest on over his shirt. I smiled at the way his hair flattened against his head when he pulled it through the sweater, then it poofed right back up again once he finally got it through. It was kind of cute.

"Ready to go?" He asked James, grabbing his bag from the floor. James nodded, and began to follow Aleks out the door. The sight that greeted them as the exited the secluded hallway was a suprise to them both.

Coach Higgins, a largely-built man with a gruff five-o'clock shadow stood at the end of the hall, his fist balled around Brooks' shirt.

"Look Castrade, I have the right mind to kick you off the fucking team. You don't fuck with lower classmen, and you sure as HELL don't judge them for the way they are. How'd you feel if I gave you shit for liking interior decorating? Oh, don't give me that oblivious shit. I see you working your ass off in the Home Ec room during my free period. And I don't think you'd want the rest of your team knowing, now would you?" Richie was standing behind Brooks, wide-eyed and defenseless. Martin stood by Coach's side, eyeing James and Aleks. He nodded towards them.

"Coach?" James asked quietly, stepping forward to meet with the group. "Is everything okay?" Coach Higgins immeadiately calmed down when he saw James. Seeing as James was one of the co-Captains this year, he could trust him.

"Nah, it ain't fucking all right. Your teammate here was bombarding a little sophomore girl because she looked like a lesbian," Aleks stiffened next to James, and James felt his blood boil. "and he fucking KNOWS I don't tolerate that shit on my team." Coach Higgins began pulling Brooks down the hall to his office. "I want a word with all THREE of you. Now." Brooks stumbled along behind Coach, and Richie scampered beside him. Martin looked to the trio, then back at James.

"Hey, hermanito," Martin offered to James. He loved to call James "little bro" in other languages, because James was just that to Martin; a little brother that he loved to death. "Text me if they ever give you shit. You and your... amante." James stiffened at the use of Martin's words, but before he could object, Martin was gone.

James could trust Martin. And, as Aleks wrapped a shaking hand around James' as they walked towards the stairs, James could only hope that they didn't suspect a thing.

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