The Jock and the Bad Boy (COMPLETE)

NINETEEN

cw: alcohol, emeto

"Wait, so why'd you kiss me?" I ask.

Jackson's shoulders slump and he sighs. "Because you're here, and you're nice, and Cart... Carter is mean."

Carter? "Carter?" I repeat. He nods. "Don't worry," I say, "I won't tell him."

"Doesn't matter," Jackson sighs, "I think he knows. He won't say anything to me about it, but we both... we both know it's there."

This throws off everything I thought I knew about their dynamic, and the team in general. This whole time, I thought I was the only one. But I don't know if I should be happy about this, since Jackson is so clearly in pain.

Suddenly, Jackson turns to the side and throws up. When he's done, I decide it's time for him to go home. I stand up and then help him get up. I carry my shoes in one hand and his in the other as I walk him out to the front lawn. Once there, I ask him for his phone. He unlocks it and hands it over.

I click on the contact labeled "Mom" and put the phone to my ear. "Hi, Mrs. Mitchell? It's Eliott, one of Jackson's teammates."

She sounds understandably frantic. "Eliott, is Jackson okay? Can I talk to him?"

"He's okay," I assure her, "he just got a little sick. Would you be able to come pick him up?"

"Oh, of course," she sighs, sounding relieved. "Can you send me the address, Eliott?"

"No problem." I send her the address after she hangs up. Then, I sit down next to Jackson on the grass and hand his phone back to him.

"Wait, so who do you like?" He asks me.

I look at him. He looks at me. We both dissolve into a fit of laughter. "Absolutely not," I tell him. He pouts. "Tell you what," I decide, "ask me again on Monday and I'll tell you then."

"Ugh," he complains, "whatever. You're no fun."

Just then, a car pulls up in front of the house. The woman inside waves at us. She must be Jackson's mom. I help Jackson up and into the car. His mom looks concerned. "How are you feeling, sweetie?" Jackson rubs his eye and doesn't answer. She turns to me. "Thank you, Eliott."

I don't know what to say. I finally settle on "anytime."

"Eliott?" Jackson finally decides to speak. "Can you make sure Carter gets home too?" I nod because it seems like the right thing to do.

After Jackson leaves, I shoot a text to Sara and then go back inside to find Carter. He's not on the front lawn, he's not on the first floor, and he's not in the backyard. So this might get difficult. Taking another pass through the house, I find him in the kitchen. He's drinking wine from a glass and staring at nothing.

"Hey, buddy," I say.

"Jackson send you?" He scoffs, "tell him I'm fine."

"Why are you so fucking scared of people caring about you?" I snap. For a second I think I've caught him off guard, but then he shrugs me off.

-

double update i guess, thanks for reading!