6. THE GAME

Saturday morning I woke up sober as hell. I wasn't going to ruin my chance of going on a date with Jennifer so I didn't drink much the night before. I was really looking forward to the match. I rolled out of bed and practically ran down the stairs. I'd been dropping little hints at my dad all week. I really wanted him to come. It would mean the world to me if he finally saw me play. We were going to win tonight, I could feel it. I just wanted him to see me do well and be proud of me for once.

I opened the door to the kitchen and found my dad at the table pouring himself a coffee.

"Hey dad." I said.

"'Morning son." My dad greeted.

I threw a couple waffles in the toaster and grabbed the milk carton. I leaned against the sink and took a sip.

"So dad,"

My father looked up from his coffee.

"Remember that match I told you about?"

"Match? Oh, you mean football." He nodded.

"Yeah. It's tonight." I looked at him hopefully.

"Tonight? You sure?"

"Yeah. Do you think you can make it?"

"Well.. I took over someone's shift at the factory.."

"Oh.." I tried to hide my disappointment.

"What time is it again?"

"It starts at six.."

"Hmm.. Well, if I leave early I should be able to make it just in time. It's been a while since I've seen you play." My dad grinned.

I couldn't control the excitement I felt.

"Really?!"

"Yes. I'll be there. I'm sure you'll make me proud."

I was smiling from ear to ear. I turned away.

"Alright, I'm heading out, son. Do your best in school, yeah?"

"I don't have school today, dad."

"Right... Then.. do your homework."

"Sure thing." I nodded.

"Good luck tonight, I'll be there. Front row." Dad smiled at me and went out the door.

I was so happy I could barely believe it. I felt like my dad was maybe finally doing better. On Saturday mornings he was usually already drinking but today he'd just been sipping coffee. And he took over a shift for someone at work. Sounds like improvement to me.

I smirked and took the waffles out of the toaster.

I wondered about Timothy. What was he doing right now? What was he wearing? It was stupid but I kind of wished I could see him. That's when I remembered his dad had mentioned something about coming to the game today. The thought made me a little nervous. Would they really come? Or maybe Timothy would stay home. He wasn't really the sports type I figured.

I scarfed down my waffles and got dressed. It was almost noon and some guys were meeting at school before the game to get riled up together. No need for that. I was already riled up enough.

✪

All throughout lunch I kept staring out the window and tapping my foot impatiently. Like Timothy would show up this early. Plus, I didn't fucking care if he came or not so.. Why was I like this? It's not like I cared about him or liked him or anything. I just wanted to see what kind of ridiculous thing he would wear. That was all. I just wanted a good laugh.

"Dude, what the hell." Taylor said. "Are you nervous? You're never nervous."

"Of course not!" I snapped. "I just.. can't wait to win the game." I was a great liar.

"Because you think you'll make the winning shot?" Dave said.

"I will. Like always." I said confidently.

"Oooh!" The guys all said simultaneously.

"Well, not this time, pal. I'm winning that date with Jen. And then I'll be the one to finally tap that sweet ass."

Oh yeah. I'd totally forgotten about our little agreement. Damn. How could that have slipped my mind? I got even more excited.

"I'd love to see you try."

We all laughed and then the conversation was taken over by the topic we loved most: Girls.

That went on for several hours until we were in the dressing room getting changed. The game would start in a couple of minutes. My heart was pounding.

I pushed my shirt over my head and inevitably my mind went back to that blonde smurf. I slammed my head against the locker. What was wrong with me?

"Dude!" Dave pulled me towards him.

"What?"

"The game! Come on!"

I followed Dave out to the field. We already heard the rowdiness of the crowd. I watched the bleachers. Slowly more and more people sat down on their seats. My heart was pounding again. My dad would be here.

I searched the bleachers quickly without much success. Oh well, it was early. He did say he might be a little late.

Coach told us to huddle up.

"Alright guys, it's now or never. We've been practicing for this match our whole lives. First game of the season, let's start out strong. We win this, we're legends. We lose, we're losers,"

Great speech. Dave and I give each other a look and chuckle.

"What do we wanna be?"

"Legends!" We all screamed in unison.

"I can't hear you! What do we wanna be?!"

"LEGENDS!" We all roared at the top of our lungs.

"That's right! Let's go!" Our coach made his way to the sidelines and we all got in place. I glanced at the bleachers and there he was.

Emo boy and his dad sat down in the exact middle. Timothy seemed to be complaining about something, probably being here, and his dad looked excited. I couldn't get over how cute Timothy looked. He was wearing a bright red knit hat with a pom pom on top. A white and black striped scarf around his neck and and a black winter coat. He looked so fucking cute..

"Go.. Falcons!" The cheerleaders cheered.

That's when I was reminded of where I was. And what my goal was today. I peered over at Jennifer and she was smirking at me as she cheered us on. Her skirt was barely even there and look at those legs..

I looked back at the crowd. Timothy seemed to be looking directly at me.

I snatched my eyes away and searched for my dad again. I couldn't see him. I looked at the clock.

He wasn't gonna make it.

The disappointment I felt was familiar. Nothing new. He never does what he says. I really thought it would be different now.

"Dude, who cares if your dad's not here! Look who is!" Dave grabbed my shoulder and pointed at the crowd.

He knows me.

I looked at the crowd of people but my eyes only went to one person. I needed him to see how good I was. I wanted him to know.

"You're right. Let's go."

I felt a whole new energy in my veins. I discarded all the negativity and just focused on winning him the game.

We were all in position waiting for the whistle. And then we heard it. And we ran.

✪

I was being pushed in all directions, everyone was screaming at me and suddenly I was up in the air as my team mates lifted me up.

The cheers of the crowd and the team were overwhelming. I felt high.

"Josh! Josh! Josh!" They all cheered.

Even Dave, despite the fact that he lost our wager was all over me.

I looked at the crowd. I searched for Timothy but he was gone.  When did he leave? Didn't he see me destroy everyone else?!

I got the guys to put me down again and despite all the glory and love, I felt a bit down. The crowds made their way to the exit. Fathers and sons made their way home and I was just standing there and I suddenly felt so alone.

"Josh!" I heard from above me. "Josh!"

I looked up at Timothy's dad and next to him.. Timothy. They were standing on the lowest bleacher, close to me.

I made my way towards them.

"Hey! You came!"

"Of course. We're glad we did. That was awesome!" Joe laughed. The team spirit and youthful joy was gleaming off of him.

I looked at Timothy. God, look at that. His nose and cheeks were bright red. He looked so fucking cute.

No homo. Just an observation.

"Good job, Josh. You were great out there." He smiled his signature shy smile. I tried not to show how happy I was to hear him say that. His voice was so beautiful. It'd been too long since I'd heard it.

"I told you it would be good!" Joe teased his son.

"Alright, dad!"

"He didn't want to come."

"Dad!"

Joe chuckled. "If I didn't make him he would never leave his room."

"That doesn't surprise me."

Timothy stared at his feet.

Behind me I heard the guys yelling and making noises.

"Josh! You talking to your boyfriend?!" Dave yelled, resulting to a loud roar of laughter from the others.

"Hey, fuck you, Dave!" I yelled back.

"Well, we'll leave you to celebrate. Good job." Joe patted my shoulder.

"Thanks." I smiled and watched them leave. I really wished I could come with them. Now I was supposed to go home to an empty house or a drunk dad. Neither of those options seemed nice.

I returned to the guys.

"What did they want?" Taylor asked.

"Uh.. nothing. They just congratulated me on being the star of the team." I smirked.

"Yeah, I'll say." Jennifer appeared in front of me. And I remembered my prize.

I smiled at her.

"So I won us the game."

"I saw." She was giving me those flirty eyes.

"So what's my prize?"

Jennifer leaned in and began to whisper in my ear. I felt chills all over.

"I'll text you my ideas later.."

Irresistible. I grinned and nodded.

✪

I was staying with Dave, thankfully. I had my own room since this house was massive and the rooms were endless. I couldn't sleep though. My mind kept wandering back to Timothy's rosy cheeks and his blue eyes and bright smile and bright hat.. It was ridiculous! I was going on a date with the hottest girl in school and I was thinking about some idiot emo!

I grabbed my phone and went through my contacts. I stopped when I saw his name.

𝕿𝖎𝖒𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖞

In that ridiculous font he'd picked. I thought about calling him. Maybe he could help me sleep. His voice was soothing, calming. Almost like a lullaby. It wasn't a bad idea... except... He would probably wonder what the fuck was wrong with me!

Then again, I had just won our school the first match of the season. I was practically royalty. And he could help out a prince. A king, even. Who wouldn't do it?

...Who was I kidding? He would never start reading poetry because I wanted him to. Hmm... well, I could always threaten to destroy him if he didn't.

I rolled over and sighed into my pillow. Something was massively wrong with me.