Alleyway BxB

XXXIII (Excuses)

THURSDAY, 1 NOVEMBER
NATHAN COVINGTON

Groggily readjusting the strap of my gym bag on my shoulder and the bag full of groceries in the other hand, I silently cursed the boys for leaving me at the grocery store without warning.

No big deal. There was no greater joy than walking an extra mile in the dark after running a few during practice.

I kicked off my shoes at the door. The least they could have done was leave me a car.

Or a warning.

Ready to fight Ryder, Cameron or any of the boys, I stepped into the living room to be greeted by silence and fifteen pairs of eyes: the Lockhearts, twins, housemates, Monarch boys... Matthew, Connor, and Calvin? Calvin hadn't visited the house in about a month, maybe he and Hudson booked a later tutoring session than normal.

Instead, I eyed Connor and Matthew. "Beaumont kids? In the house the day before our game? That's unheard of." I shook my head in disappointment. At least they aren't anyone on the team.

"They wouldn't let me here on my own." Matt pouted. "I thought you'd be fine with Connor." Connor was Matt's best friend that he had known the longest out of everyone; and a very talented musician.

After dropping my bag and handing the groceries to Rosina, I pulled the two into an embrace. "Why are you two here?" I leaned down in a whisper. "Come to spy on us?"

"I called them over," Marcella swooped in. "Connor and I are finalising our cross-collaborative performance for Saturday." She pulled Connor out of his grasp. "Let's go to the music room." She dragged him to the stairs.

"I'm on camera duty with Zach. Also, Lorenzo gave me his camera to keep!" Matt grinned. "Isn't that cool?"

"Super. I actually need to show you some plans for Saturday, it's in Dallon and I's room." Zach ushered Matt into the elevator and Dallon followed right behind them.

"I'm going to go and be a good boyfriend," Isaiah said nonchalantly as he stood up to walk to the stairs.

"Are you going up to watch Cells and Connor?" I asked. Before everyone left, maybe I could tag along with at least one of them.

"No. I'm going to stay out of her way and take a nap. You should see her when she's stressed." With that, he was gone.

Isaac ran to catch up with him. "That means I'm going to go and be a good brother-in-law!"

As they disappeared upstairs, I looked over to who was left. They stared at me too. This left one sore thumb in the crowd. "Calvin... Late tutor session?"

"No. I just got here. Hudson said he needed me for-"

Hudson clamped a hand over his mouth. "He's been working so well recently. Thought I'd invite him over to hang out." Hudson flashed me a smile that was too uncommon for his character. "Say, let's go to Mikey and I's room, we have that PS4 game you've been talking about." He pulled him and Mikey from the couch and towards the stairs.

Finally, my teammates looked at each other. Before I could open my mouth, they all stood up and began to head for the stairs.

I glared at them. "What excuse do you guys have?"

Only Ryder stopped to look at me, and he only shrugged. "We figured we'd tag along with Hudson and Cal. You can go take a nap or something, we know you're tired."

And just like that, I stood alone in the living room. I didn't smell or anything. We all took a shower before we left the locker rooms.

It didn't matter. Maybe I could go on a call with Marcello while everyone was busy with whatever they were up to.