Alleyway BxB

XXXIV (Game Night)

FRIDAY, 2 NOVEMBER
NATHAN COVINGTON

By this point, no other game mattered more to me. I put far too many promises on this game than any other before it. Plus, the competition made me twitch with excitement.

But I was proud of Ryder, of our defensive team. The first two quarters flew by slower than what I hoped for. It was intense, so stressful that I had to take a couple moments to watch Calvin's dancing around the crowd and frequent poking at Derrick with his sword. He seemed more energetic than usual. Some of the energy even transferred to me when we shared a little fist-bump.

But Knightfall's spectacular movements and exemplary fighting skills could only distract me for so long—before my eyes inevitably wandered up to the scoring board and glared at Beaumont's rising score.

Whatever I saw in Jace in the time we dated, I didn't think the kid played football, let alone be an extremely efficient quarterback. Fortunately, for Monarch, Ryder was an extremely talented middle linebacker. He even fulfilled his dreams and managed to break through and sack Aiden once.

Ryder jogged back from the field, and I immediately threw him a water bottle.

"They've been holding out on us, Aiden's faster than I thought he was." He gulped down the water quickly, I was almost concerned he was going to drown himself. "He knows what he's doing. You must have shot some of your talent into him when you two used to fuck."

I smacked him straight in the head. "You still blocked a lot of his plays. Call it a good attempt."

"Good attempt? Better make sure Monarch gives a fucking amazing attempt. We have a score of 28 to beat." He set the bottle aside, and stared off across the field to the clusters of red. "I have a feeling Lorenzo is tough too."

Suddenly, a large pair of armored arms hooked around Ryder's shoulders, and I chuckled at the surprise visit from Knightfall. Calvin moved onto me next with an even tighter hug. "Hey Knight. Enjoying the game?"

He nodded excitedly before running off to the crowd again. i loved how in character he was tonight. He had given Derrick a bit of a beating too.

At about ten minutes left of halftime, I wandered off to where I knew the Lockhearts and the housemates were, but got greeted by more than I was prepared for. I expected the families of Ryder, Carter, and Jaxon. But Zach's parents were a complete surprise.

We didn't have a lot of time to talk, but it felt refreshing to see them again and not have to feel afraid about my old situation with Zach. They even congratulated me on coming out, and promised to stop by Sunday morning to fully catch up again.

"You're up soon, Nathan," Antonio grabbed a hold of my shoulders. "You're a good player."

"You haven't even seen me play yet." That one video Marcello had sent wasn't enough to prove anything.

Antonio furrowed his eyebrows. "I've seen some highlights online. You remind me of my days playing—you remind me of Colt, actually. You two have the same energy. I can see it, feel it in you."

"Colt?" I hadn't heard the name Colt before. It was my middle name but that didn't matter to the Lockhearts.

"Colt Lancaster. That was Marcello's father. He was a quarterback too, you know? "

My mouth dropped open. I had the same name as Marcello's Dad. "I don't think now's the right time for me to get emotional, Antonio."

He laughed loudly. "It isn't! Suck it up now and let it out later. Now go play a good game. You better win too. Beaumont may have your friends, but Monarch is your family."