Dilemmas

10

Ryan led him past the academic building, and into the gym. Then up ahead was the soccer field, covered in darkness, but somehow, the lights were still on.

Shaun looked around nervously. "Isn't it off-limits to go during night?"

"Shh," Ryan shushed. "This is where the fun starts."

He could see the name of Ryan and his jersey number on the shirt. Gonzalez-Arellano. 98. Then he began running and Shaun had to keep pace in order to catch up.

Shaun entered the field in awe. Despite the fact most of the field was still covered in darkness, he could see the grass. The lights lit up some of the bleachers, which were made of concrete and look like big stairs.

Ryan screamed in delight. He is home, after all, Shaun thought.

He just smiled as he watched. Shaun then looked up and saw the stars twinkling and staring at them from a distance. The world is bigger than this school.

Ryan jogged towards him. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Shaun replied. He paused. "It—it would be nice if we could hang out sometime, you know. To forget about all the worries and the shit."

"I'm busy on weekends," he volunteered. "Especially the next few ones."

Shaun sighed. "Practice?"

"Yep. But you could watch me practice this Friday," he offered. "And you said you wanted to watch the tournament? I can tell you when we're done."

"I'll have to think about it. We might have a little meet with Caleb and friends that night too."

Ryan was surprised. "You know Caleb? One of my team mates know him. Joshua."

"That's nice," Shaun said. "But he also knows about Kaden."

The soccer field seemed to get colder at that name.

"He's been acting. . .strange," Shaun continued. "It had been in my mind the entire day."

"What made you say that?" Ryan asked him.

Shaun whipped his head to face him. "Don't you see? Last week, he was timid and shy, and he admitted that he helped Jason in framing me."

His face morphed into shock. "He what?!"

But Shaun was on a roll. "But he was sorry about it. Now after the party, he changed. He became popular, and many people loved him after he danced. . .danced with Julie."

Ryan opened his mouth to speak, but then he closed it again. Instead, he walked to Shaun and wrapped him in a hug.

Shaun was taken aback by this. He could hear his heart pumping in his chest. "I'm sorry," Ryan breathed, placing his head on top of Shaun's. "I'm so so sorry. You shouldn't be part of this."

They remained standing there for what seemed like minutes, under the beautiful night sky.

•

Days passed, and Shaun could finally enjoy it for once. Kaden still remained a popular guy, and he walked with many people around him at the school. It didn't bother Shaun that much anyway.

He walked on the hallway to get his stuff from his locker when Shaun bumped towards a girl. She stumbled and fell to the floor, spilling all the books she was carrying.

Shaun extended his hand. "Are you okay?" But when he locked eyes with her, his heartbeat almost stopped.

Julie.

"I—I'm fine," she answered, fixing her hair and picking up her books. She gathered them into a pile and stood up. "I'm fine."

"Um, okay," he said quickly as she walked past him. Shaun took a moment to register it in his mind before he turned to the direction she went and saw Kaden approaching her and looking at her. Many of the crowd behind Kaden squealed and whispered.

He likes Julie, Shaun concluded. It had been in his mind for so long.

But he still couldn't recover from his shock. I bumped into Julie. I fucking bumped into Julie. I'm a horrible person.

Shaun saw Drake walking towards the crowd gathered. He pulled his arm.

"Fuck—!" he exclaimed. It took a second for him to register who he was looking at. He frowned. "Shaun? What is it this time?"

"We need to talk," Shaun breathed. "And yes, it's a bad thing."

•

"I met Julie, okay?" Shaun explained. "I just bumped into her and my—my heart almost stopped."

They were climbing the stairs to the dorms. It was break time and they decided to take a walk. Shaun looked up at the sky and saw the dominant gray color of the clouds that covered the sun.

Drake smirked. "You're joking, right? You suddenly became so agressive to me only to open up about this a day later?"

"I'm not," Shaun responded gruffly, turning towards him and stopping in his tracks. "I—I need you, man. We need each other. I can't do this alone."

"Ironic," Drake muttered. "Because you practically said the opposite days ago."

"Come on, man!" he exclaimed. "I know, I feel like a stupid person, which of course, I practically am—"

Shaun paused as Drake cracked up. He couldn't help but smile.

"—but I can't battle the world without someone on my side." He extended his hand to Drake. "So. . .friends?"

Drake's laugh died down and the smile melted away from his face. It was like all the scenery around them turned darker and colder. In front of him, a smile escaped from Shaun's lips.

He shook it. "Friends." Then they hugged each other.

"Don't do that shit again, Shaun," Drake said.

They were still wrapped in a hug when Shaun replied, "I won't. Never again. Promise."

The bell rang. "It better be."