Match

45: Framed

Cole saw it. A stadium's worth of eyes all staring in Jonah's direction. What put his mind into panic mode? Seeing him being escorted off the turf with both coaches on either side, one of them carrying a soccer bag. He hears some teammates whisper to one another nearby.

"What's going on?"

"I dunno. Someone's getting moved off?"

"But why? Was there a fight?"

The more he listens, the more anxious he feels. His eyes then travel to another group of players, all picking something off the ground. The lack of understanding gets to him. He taps Nathan's shoulder.

"Why are both Coach Ryan and the other coach taking Jonah off the field?"

Nathan glances to the three, then shrugs. "I'm just as confused as you." He turns to the other teammates. "Guys, let's go back to practice. Ryan'll tell us later."

As if nothing happened, teammates grab a ball and start to lineup by the net. Cole's the only one left behind the herd. He stares, and stares.

"Cole!"

He shakes his head to snap out of his daze, then grabs a ball. Sloth movements make him the last guy in the line.

———————————

"So he had, like, literal match sticks in his bag?"

"It's weird, right?"

Cole leans far against his desk chair, resting the back of his hands on his forehead with his eyes glued to the ceiling. He had to tell someone as soon as he got home, and Hayden happened to be the guy. He flashes a small smirk, putting his manga book down.

"Lemme try to repeat what you told me," he says. "Your coach said, 'guys I have something to tell you'. He explained to your team that someone on Thunder came to practice with a bag just, just full of match sticks!"

Cole doesn't even blink. "Yeah, Jonah did."

"Uh huh. So he's banned from the field, 'cause like, the match sticks found at the field also happened to be what was used to set your field on fire."

"Actually it's Thunder's, but yeah. Basically that."

"Damn, this is more intense than the climax in this manga I'm reading!"

He lowers his gaze down to Hayden, appearing unamused. "Hayden. I'm being serious."

"Right, sorry!" He shakes his hands with remorse. "That's wild, though. You think he would've done it?"

"Hell no," he sounds more offended in his tone. "I mean uh, it sounds too ironic for a soccer player to damage his own field, yeah?"

"Hm," Hayden picks his book back up and flips back to where he was. "Sounds like someone's framing him, then."

Framing him, the words repeat in Cole's mind like an echoey cave. He's had a hunch, but now that someone's said it aloud, it will not stop spinning around. He goes back to his laptop, refreshing the local website page. Still the same stories, and none of them are updates to the arson. It's already been a few days, yeah? Where the hell is the footage they claimed to have?

The more Cole thinks, the more he's aware he's not going to have a good night's sleep. Thankfully, tomorrow's a day off. As he's about to grab his phone to text Jonah, he hears Hayden mumbling from behind and turns to him.

"Jeez do your ears work, man?" He laughs.

"Huh?"

"I was saying," he puts the book down once more, "I'm hungry and I'm gonna walk to the burger joint nearby. Wanna come with?"

Instinctively he feels his stomach, empty as ever. He nods.

"Sure."

"Alright, but if you make it there last you're paying!"

"What?!"

Immediately Hayden hops off his bed and heads for the front door. Cole scrambles to catch up behind, grabbing his phone along the way.

———————————

Either the air feels heavier in the morning for Cole, or it's the rough slumber he just woke up from. He rubs his eyes and sits up, glancing at Hayden's bed. Empty, unmade. He's surprised Hayden gets up so early almost everyday just to go and pick fruit outside. To his left, his phone vibrates on the desk. He lets out a stretched yawn, then ambles his way over to check its screen.

Jonah:

Heya. You working today? If not, come by my place :P I'm super bored.

Cole's eyes widen. He completely forgot to text him. That, or the food coma last night really made him conk out early. He swipes his phone into his grip and tries to tap with sleepy thumbs.

Cole:

sure, but can u tell me what the hell happened on the field yesterday?

He knows the gist of it, but getting the information from its source is what he wants. The response is immediate.

Jonah:

I gladly will :)

Something about that smiley face is menacing to Cole, but at the same time he feels Jonah has been holding a lot back.