I stop at the corner, hands on my knees as I pant for air. A sheen of sweat covers my body and drips down my chest. I plop down onto a nearby bench and pull off my shirt to cool off. Glancing up, I spot wide eyes across the street. He blushes, then quickly hurries away. I grin a little to myself at his cuteness, but he gets away before I can think about starting up a conversation.
I run my fingers through my hair, trying not to think about the thoughts that have been hounding me. Football season is just around the corner, yet instead of exciting me as it usually does, I'm left feeling stressed.
Senior year of high school means college scouts and big decisions. My dad expects no less than the best colleges around to recruit me, but I'm not even so sure that I'm good enough to get a scholarship.
I sigh, getting up to start the run back home. I hesitate, remembering those eyes that fell onto mine. In a hasty decision, I turn the way he left and start to run. I know how slim the chances are. But I have to look.
Something about him hooked me. Maybe it was his soft brown hair or the jean jacket that hung just right on his slim shoulders.
I've known for a while that I'm gay. Heck, the whole football team has been aware since the end of last school year. It's not like I blurted it out to the whole school or anything. They're just... well, they're like my family. Except not my actual family... because my real family doesn't know. The team has my back though, and they keep my secret. They've supported me, no questions asked, and for that I'm thankful. I can't tell my real family though... I'm pretty sure they're homophobic.
I've nearly run to the end of the block when I spot a head of soft brown hair a few blocks ahead. He's across the street again but is too far ahead to spot me.
I'm about to drain myself with how fast my legs are pumping. Suddenly I'm struck with a thought. What did I even think I was going to do when I got up there? I feel like an idiot now.
Sweat drips down my bare chest, and this run has probably made me smell too. I can't just go talk to him now, can I? I'm running so fast that I'm about to collapse, but he seems so close. If I stop now, I'll never catch him. I really should have brought my water with me.
I'm slowly closing in on him though. I'm only about 6 feet away from being parallel with him. The only thing that separates us now is the street. I see him slowly turn his head, hearing the slapping of my feet on the concrete.
Just before I decide I should cross the street soon, everything stops. My head spins and everything goes black.
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I blink in confusion, trying to get a handle on my surroundings. Everything is swimming around and blurring together.
I try to sit up, but I feel dizzy again and start to tilt back to the ground. A hand on my back steadies me. It's then that I realize someone is trying to talk to me.
"Are you alright?" I barely make out. Everything sounds like it's coming from down a tunnel. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.
Another wave of dizziness hits me and I start to free-fall back to the cement, but the hand catches me again. I blink rapidly once more, trying to bring my vision back into focus.
Slowly everything clears up into my normal vision, but my head is throbbing. "Can you hear me?" he asks. I try to nod, but suddenly clutch my head and wince as a sudden bolt of pain rushes through me.
I look back to green eyes and suddenly realize- it's the boy from before. "What do you remember?" he says. I stop for a moment to think. "Running," I say, deciding on a one-word answer.
He bites his lip and I can't look away. "We should have someone look at you. Is it okay if I drive you to the clinic?" he asks. I nod silently, trying not to grimace from the pain in my head.
"Okay, my car is at my apartment, so we will have to walk over there. It's about a block away. Do you think you can stand up?" I sit for a moment, trying to gather enough energy to rise.
It's then I realize that I'm still shirtless. I blush, trying to pretend like it's not a big deal as I put my shirt back on. I brace my hands against the cement and slowly stand up. My vision swims again and I stumble, clutching my head.
When my vision clears, I look down to find his hands on my chest, the only things that kept me from falling over.
"Sorry," I mumble. "It's alright." He bites his lip again, distracting me. "I don't want you passing out and smacking your head again, so put your arm around my shoulders and then we'll walk over to my place. If you faint again it will be easier for me to catch you."
I have no energy to speak, so I simply put my arm around his shoulders and let him lead the way. We walk slowly, but it still feels like I'm walking through fog. I can't see straight, and several times I stumble and nearly take him down with me. Every time though, he catches me and makes sure I'm alright before we continue.
Before long we're at his apartment building. He pushes open the door, and we walk down the hall. He pulls out his house key and scrapes it into the lock. "Let me just grab a few things and then we can go," he says, helping me to sit down on what I'm pretty sure is a couch.
My vision is still swimming, and I feel so helpless. Usually, I'm the one in charge, but now I just feel out of place. He comes running back down the hall, keys jangling in hand, stopping to get something out of the fridge before coming back to me. "Okay, we can go. My car's just in the lot outside the door." He helps me up, and we go out to his car.
After opening the door and helping me get in, he goes around to the driver's side and starts the car. He looks over at me. "Do you want me to buckle you?" he says gently. I shake my head slightly, trying to find the buckle. I can't see worth shit. I take deep breaths, trying not to pass out again.
I hardly notice when he reaches across my lap and buckles me. He looks at me again before he pulls out of the parking space. "Here, drink this." He hands me a Gatorade, but my hands are shaking so badly that I can hardly take a gulp. I close my eyes tightly for a second, trying to push away the pain in my head.
He's pulled out of the lot, and we're moving toward the hospital. I try to steady myself, taking deep breaths. The car stops, and I realize that we've arrived.
He turns to me. "Please finish drinking that. I know it's the last thing you feel like doing right now, but trust me, it will help." I look down at the bottle to see that I've only taken one gulp. I blink in confusion for a moment, trying to process it.
He's already by my door and has unbuckled me. It feels like my brain is skipping steps. He helps me get out of the car, but as we walk, my movements are sluggish. My vision is spotted with black, and I feel like the air around me isn't enough.
"I never asked what your name was," he says, and the fog swirling in my head clears momentarily. "Jay," I whisper, trying to fight the feeling that I'm about to faint.
I wobble a bit in my movements; He must've noticed because now I'm sitting on a bench even though we're not far from the entrance. "Finish this," he says, green eyes piercing me. I didn't even notice that he'd taken the bottle. I lift it to my lips and drink a few more gulps, but I don't have the energy to hold it long.
I sit for a few moments, trying again to regain control, but nothing seems to work correctly. It's like someone unplugged me and I ran out of power. My body freezes up and all I can do is blink. "Jay?" I hear beside me. I take a deep breath and turn my head to meet his face.
His green eyes are the only thing keeping me awake, I swear. They're brighter than any eyes I've ever seen. "Jay, you need to finish that." I blink at him for a few moments. My head spins again. I feel like I'm about to fall forward.
His hand is suddenly on my chest, steadying me. I squeeze my eyes shut, taking in some shaky breaths. "Jay, I'm just going to help you, okay?" The bottle is released from my grasp and he holds it as I drink another few gulps. The only thing I'm aware of right now is his hand on my chest. I close my eyes again, trying to clear everything up.
"Jay?" I crack an eye open. "It's important you stay awake until we figure out what's wrong with you okay? Especially if you have a concussion." I nod my head slightly and end up gasping as a white-hot fire of pain shoots through my head.
I nearly pass out but snap out of it when I start to fall forward and he grabs my shoulder. "Stay with me, okay?" He says, looking concerned. "I need you to stand up, alright? We're going to go inside and get you checked out." I take a deep breath and he helps me get up.
My arm is around his shoulders again as he guides me into the hospital where I'm soon sitting down again. "I will be right back. Stay where you are and try to finish that, okay?" He walks away, and I sit, trying to keep myself away from unconsciousness.
Just when I think I might pass out again, he's next to me, his hands catching me. "Jay?" I blink rapidly again, trying to fight the feeling. "It's gonna be okay. We're going inside in just a second, but I need you to stay awake okay?"
I gasp for air again, not even realizing it had left me. His hand is on my back, rubbing circles. I'm trying to relax and stay awake, but it's so hard. "Hey, he's ready for us, let's go in okay?" I hear his voice, but it sounds far away again.
I'm barely aware of moving, but next time I can focus enough, I'm in a small white room. The boy is sitting in the chair next to me, watching me. "Name?" I ask, smiling weakly. I at least have to know something about this stranger.
"Oh! I'm Ben." He smiles at me. The door opens and the doctor steps in, a tall man with brown hair. My vision clouds again and I can barely make out the words, "What've we got today?" I can hear a noise next to me which must be Ben talking. His lips are moving, but I can't make out what he's saying.
Every so often he glances at me. My vision is full of black, and I lose my bearings as everything disappears.