by Harlow Layne
“We can’t,” I started.
“I know, but it would be effective.”
Our steps quickened once we passed by, and in no time at all, we were walking through the doors of The Bar. It was busy with a crowd of people standing, but we found a small table in the corner that fit two. It was strange being here without the rest of the guys. I didn’t know how to be around or speak to Fin like this.
“Even though I’ve been a literal slug this week, I’m going to have a burger and onion rings,” Fin said as he looked over the menu. Lowering it, he eyed me. “What do you say we get a pitcher of beer?”
Frowning and hating to tell him no, I had no other choice. “I wish I could, but I’ve got to play tomorrow.”
His eyes scorched me as he continued to stare at me from across the table. “Maybe I’ll have a pitcher all to myself, and I can forget for a couple of hours.”
“Or you can talk about it,” I suggested.
“What’s there to talk about? I’m out for the season; I might be homeless by next week, and I… never mind. Why don’t we talk about you?”
“I think you’ll find my life boring.”
“Probably,” he laughed out. “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?”
My head swam. I felt like I had whiplash with this Fin. Playing his own game, I shot back. “Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
Fin’s eyes narrowed before one side of my mouth tipped up slightly. “I haven’t found one I’m interested in.”
“Why don’t—”
“Stop,” he gritted out. “I can’t do this now.” Or ever, I swore I heard him say under his breath.
“Fine, let’s just eat and get the hell out of here. I still have homework to do.” This dinner couldn’t be over fast enough.
Tiffany took our orders, and we ate silently across from one another. Every time she came to check on us, it was obvious Tiffany could feel the tension radiating off of us, but she didn’t say anything. At least Fin left her with a big tip to make up for his lack of civility. His only response had been to grunt and nod. Once we were done, we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I’d never been happier to have homework to do in my life.
Walking back, we were quiet. I wasn’t sure how to navigate this new Fin who wanted to spend time with me. Sometimes at least. It was difficult not to get my hopes up when I saw the earlier side of him. That was until I hinted at his sexuality. If I went by his reaction to when I was drugged, Fin didn’t seem homophobic, except when it came to himself. For some reason, he denied himself what he wanted. It was too early in our quasi friendship for me to ask any questions, but if things continued like they had this last week, then I’d find out why.
“Hey fag, is that your boyfriend?” someone called from the lawn of Alpha Mu.
I couldn’t make anyone out, so I wasn’t sure how they knew it was me. Fin stiffened beside me as his head swung in the direction the voice came from. His hand found mine, and for a second, I jolted at the touch until he shoved something hard in my hand. “Record this, but don’t make it obvious.”
I gave him a stiff nod and tightened my hold on the phone he’d placed in my hand.
“Scurry along, queers, before we finish what we started,” another person called out.
“Who knew the entire football team was sticking it in each other’s asses?”
Three guys were suddenly standing on the edge of Alpha Mu’s property. It was like they knew exactly where to stand so that if we acted on their words, it would be Fin and me who’d get in trouble. They’d spoken to their lawyers; that much was clear.
Fin started to move their way until I caught him by his good arm. “Don’t. They’re trying to get a rise out of you, so they have the right to defend themselves.”
“Fucking assholes,” Fin growled out, and for one brief moment, I thought he was going to let me guide him toward our house until he shrugged out of my hold and was in their faces. “What are you going to do when you don’t have your prey drugged? Do you have the balls to try and lay your hands on us now when we’re conscious?”
Shit!
Moving to Fin’s side, I squared my shoulders and got a good look at the guys that were standing in front of us. I kept the phone in my hand down by my waist and aimed it at the Alpha Mus. We were at even heights, even with them standing on the curb, but Fin and I definitely had the muscles in the group.
If they hadn’t drugged me, there was no way they would have gotten the jump on me. Puffing out my chest, I glared at them. Fuck these assholes. After tonight, they’d no longer have any hold over me. I wouldn’t be attending any more parties, and if I did, I wouldn’t let anyone else get me a drink.
“If you weren’t a gimp, we’d take you, you fucking gay sympathizer,” Guy One said. It was hard to identify them in the dark, which was probably why they were harassing us.
“Are you going to drug and beat up anyone who doesn’t hate someone because of their sexual orientation or the color of their skin?” Fin asked in a deathly calm voice. It sent a shiver down my spine. I knew at any moment he could blow up.
“If you don’t shut your mouth, we’ll do to you what we did to your boyfriend,” one of the guys said.
Fin seemed to grow in size right before my eyes. Had he been trying to seem smaller so the Alpha Mus would be less intimidated?
Fin let out a humorous laugh. “I’d like to see you try, asshole. You and your army of pussies can’t touch me.”
I was sure he was going to punch whoever just spoke or egg them on to hit him.
“We can touch whoever we want. We have been for years, and no ass licker is going to stop us.” All three laughed and patted each other on the backs.
Stepping up to them, I held back from ripping them limb from limb. “What gives you the right?”
“You need to learn your place and to keep your filthy mouth shut, fag,” the guy in front of me snarled.
My hands clenched into fists, reminding me that I held Fin’s phone in my hand, and I was recording this whole incident. Alpha Mu had pretty much admitted what they’d done and more. We had them.
Fin stepped in front of me, pushing me back slightly while he stayed on the street. Did he know what he was doing?
“You need to—”
Fin started to threaten them until all three guys seemed to move in one choreographed moved and circled closely around him. First, one shoved Fin in the back and into another guy. Next, the biggest asshole of the bunch grabbed Fin by the shoulder. Fin fought back, swinging his bad arm at the guy who held him by the shoulder and hit Big Asshole in the face, making him stumble back a few steps. Catching himself, Big Asshole pulled his hand back and slammed his fist into Fin’s injured shoulder before he kneed Fin in the stomach, grabbed his hair, and slammed his head down on the curb.
Fin let out a strangled sound as he stood up, clutching his shoulder while blood dripped from his forehead as he kept on the move.
Dropping Fin’s phone to the street, I grabbed two of the guys by their shirts, wishing I could do them damage like the other guy did to Fin and threw them to the side so I could rip the Big Asshole away from Fin.
“Get the fuck off him,” I growled out as I tried to yank the asshole off Fin. Instead, he moved forward, making me fall on top of both of them. A painful grunt escaped Fin before I could pull myself off them. Whoever this asshole was, rolled to the side, giving Fin the perfect opportunity to jump up and kick him in the side.
Hard.
Fuck that had to hurt, and I almost felt bad.
“You’re fucking pathetic. All of you.” Fin spun in a circle, looking at all of them. “The only way you can take me on is when I’m injured, and it’s three against one.”
“Do you want us to kick your ass more?” one of the guys I’d thrown to the side taunted.
Ripping his arm out of his sling, Fin stepped forward, his entire body tense. “Bring it on, assholes.”
“Fin? West?” a voice called from down the street. “What�
�s going on?”
“We’re fine, Fitzgerald,” Fin called back without looking away from the three standing in front of us.
Turning to look at Ford over my shoulder, I noticed a crowd of Alpha Mus had gathered. They were cowards, standing in the shadows.
Ford, of course, didn’t listen. He took fast strides toward where we stood in a standoff in the street.
“This doesn’t look like a family reunion. If these guys are giving you trouble, I’ll happily help pound their faces into the ground,” Ford called as he moved closer.
“I knew there was a reason I liked you,” Fin grinned, looking evil with blood dripping down his face.
Ford rounded us, and his eyes went wide as he took in Fin. “Fuck, dude, did these douchebags do this to you?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s get the hell out of here. They’re not worth it.” Fin sighed and started walking toward our house.
“What the hell happened?” Ford asked as he looked over his shoulder, back at the Alpha Mu house.
Not looking back to see if they’d gone back inside or were watching, I kept my eyes on Fin, who held his shoulder as he turned to walk through our yard.
“We were walking home from The Bar.” I noticed Ford turned to give me a strange look, but I continued. “When they started calling me out for being gay. At first, we couldn’t see them, and then all of a sudden, they were at the edge of their property egging us on. It all went downhill from there.”
“I guess so. Do you think he’s okay?” Ford nodded to where Fin had walked inside.
“No idea, but I doubt he’ll admit if he isn’t.” I held the front door open for Ford to move past me. “Thanks for coming to help us out.”
“Anytime. No one fucks with Willow Bay’s football team and gets away with it.”
I left him at the stairs and went to the kitchen to make an ice pack for Fin. I was sure he’d need it.
“What are you doing?” Ford called from the kitchen doorway. He must have followed me.
I slammed a pan down on a towel full of ice to crush it. “Making an ice pack.”
“I don’t know why we’ve got some cheap ass fridge without crushed ice.” Ford scowled at the offending refrigerator.
I wondered what he’d think if he saw the fridge I had at my house where you had to fill an ice tray.
“Where’s Oz tonight?”
“Something with his sister, but he’s supposed to be back for the game tomorrow,” I answered as I shook the ice into a baggie.
“Good luck with Fin. Call me if you need any help with him.” He laughed as if he knew I’d need his help.
Little did Ford know, I’d worked my way under Fin’s skin. Or at least I hoped so.
19
Fin
Walking out of the bathroom, I found West hovering by my bedroom door with a towel in his hand. He looked up as I drew closer, and I took in his casual stance that I knew was anything but casual.
“I thought you could use this.” He shook what he held in his hand.
My brows pulled together. “A towel?”
“An ice pack for your shoulder, but now that I’ve seen you, maybe you should go to the hospital. Your head’s still bleeding.” His eyes grew large. “Shit, you might have a concussion.”
“I’m fine, but thanks for thinking of me,” I said as I grabbed the ice pack from him and placed it on my throbbing shoulder.
“I’m serious, Fin.” He sighed heavily.
“So am I. Now, let me be so I can get some sleep,” I said as I pushed past him into my room.
“You can’t go to sleep. What if you have a concussion?”
“Do you really think that pussy was able to concuss me?” I laughed. I couldn’t believe those assholes got the jump on me. At least, now we had the proof they’d drugged West.
“You should take your health seriously. What if you die in your sleep?”
It would probably make my parents happy if I did.
“I’m not going to the hospital.” I sat down on the end of my bed and tried to put my sling back on my arm. West must have picked it up off the ground before he followed me home.
“Let me help you with that. You’ll end up hurting yourself worse if you’re not careful.” West kneeled in front of me and slowly moved my arm while carefully maneuvering it to not cause any additional pain. It was strange to have someone take care of me with tenderness.
Wanting to change the subject and not think about the way his green eyes took me in, I asked. “Do you have my phone?” First thing tomorrow, we were taking that video to Coach Kyle and the Dean. Alpha Mu was going down.
“Yeah, it’s…” He pulled my phone out of his back pocket and tossed it on my bed. “Now, I’m going to grab my laptop, so I can finish my paper.”
“And I care why?” I was so caught up on my homework, I was ahead since I’d had so much time on my hands. Never had I been this guy before.
“Because I’m going to stay with you tonight to make sure you don’t have a concussion. Now be a good boy and find something to keep you awake and entertained.”
I found his demand funny but also strangely endearing. I would never understand why West was so nice to me after the way I treated him.
“You’re taking this too far, but whatever. I can’t promise to be quiet since I’m already finished with my paper,” I laughed and then groaned as I laid back on my bed. As if my shoulder wasn’t bad enough, that fucker had to hit me where it hurt.
“Did you take any pain meds?”
“Not yet. I was going to grab a drink downstairs, but you were standing at my door.” I didn’t like what the doctor prescribed for me. It made my whole body feel sluggish, my head fuzzy, and right now, I needed to feel in control.
“Fine, I’ll get you something before I come back.” West let out a deep sigh.
“You know you don’t have to take care of me if it’s such a hardship. I promise I’m fine.”
The look on West’s face told me he didn’t believe a word I said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t try anything stupid.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. What the hell could I possibly do that was stupid? I wasn’t going to jump out the window or try to do a handstand on my bad arm, let alone my good one.
Grabbing the remote, I turned on the TV I’d bought and had delivered a couple of days ago. Hitting the Netflix button, I signed in and started to scroll through to see if anything was new. It was Friday, so there should have been something new to watch.
First, I unlocked my phone and watched the video West had recorded of us outside of Alpha Mu’s house. While I couldn’t always see the three guys, the audio was damning. We had those assholes, and I couldn’t wait to watch them go down.
Settling on a zombie movie that was already at number four for the day, I moved back, placing a few pillows behind me so I could rest against the headboard.
West walked in with his backpack slung over his shoulder and a Gatorade in each hand.
“Here.” He handed me the blue I always drank.
Screams erupted on the screen, causing him to look that way. “I never would have taken you for someone who watched foreign movies.”
Popping a pain pill in my mouth, I chugged my Gatorade halfway before I set it down. “Some. If it’s shit, then no.”
So far, the audio dubbing hadn’t been too bad, and it was interesting.
Sitting down at the end of my bed, West dug through his backpack, pulling out his laptop and notebook. “What made you pick this, though? Don’t you have some homework you could do?”
“I’ve done all the work my teachers have assigned, and then some, plus watched just about everything on here. So, I thought I’d give this a chance.”
West watched the TV for a moment before he looked at me. “But a Korean zombie movie?”
“It’s not half bad. Plus, I like zombie movies. Have you ever seen Dawn of the Dead, the two thousand and four version?”
“The fact that there’s more t
han one and you know the year is a little scary.” He laughed out.
“I love horror movies,” I answered unabashedly.
“That doesn’t surprise me. Maybe if you liked… romantic comedies or something, you wouldn’t be so angry all the time.”
My head started to feel a little fuzzy from my meds, and I snickered at West. “Are you high or something? In what world would I watch rom-coms?”
“They’re not all bad,” West shot back with his cheeks pinking up.
With the pink mixed in with the light scattering of freckles, West was adorable. It took everything in me to not run my fingertips over his overheated skin.
I cleared my throat. “I’ll take your word on it.”
West went back to typing on his laptop. Every few minutes, he’d look up at the TV, shook his head, and then went back to work. After about an hour, he closed his laptop, set it down, and moved up to rest against the headboard with me.
“So, is this Netflix and chilling?” West asked with his brows drawn down. He looked so confused, and I couldn’t help but find it amusing.
I barked out a laugh. “This is far from Netflix and chilling.” Rolling my head to look over at West, I smiled. “Do you really have no clue?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I just love it when you make fun of me and think I’m stupid.”
I almost felt bad.
Lifting my good hand, I trailed my fingertip along West’s forearm. “Are we having sex?”
“What?” West sputtered out. “No, we’re hanging out. We’ve never even—”
“That’s what Netflix and chill means. We’re not here hooking up, but doing the actual watching of Netflix and chilling.” I interrupted and shook my head. “I don’t know what idiot came up with the term. I guess because it usually leads to… sex.”
Putting his head in his hands, he muttered, “Fuck, that’s embarrassing.”
And I wanted to see if I could make his cheeks turn a shade of red. “Are you saying you don’t want to have sex with me?”
West looked back at me, gaping. “I… are you okay?” Leaning forward, he looked back and forth between my eyes.
