The first time Leo saw Freddie he was seventeen. A guy in his juniors team had dragged him along to a party thrown by someone he went to school with. Leo didn't know anyone there, but he didn't want to be at home so he stayed. He was a skinny kid at that point, a massive growth spurt had taken him off guard and he hadn't been able to fill out his new form. He was uncomfortable in his body, and uncomfortable in his mind. Coming to terms with his sexuality at the same time as he was being told he might have a future in football. When Leo saw Freddie, sitting in the middle of a large circle, telling a joke everyone laughed at, he was the opposite of everything Leo felt. Freddie was effortlessly confident in such a spectacular way that he drew the attention of the whole room. Even people not looking at him seemed to be moving in his orbit, it was mesmerizing.

Leo lent into his friend Chris as asked, "who's that?"

Chris followed his eyes line until he feel upon Freddie, "mate that's Freddie Cook."

He said the name like it should mean something. Leo looked at him for clarification.

"Freddie Cook?"

Leo tiki tee his head in question.

"He's in the year below us but he's like a legend," Chris explained. "Why'd you wanna know? Do you know him?"

Leo wasn't really listening, he was watching Freddie. Noticing the way he softened in conversation with one particular girl, the only sign that he was making any effort at all. His curly hair, and brown skin was lit perfectly by the lamp he was standing next to. Leo was aware he was staring, but he couldn't stop, couldn't blink in cased he missed a moment.

"Aw man," Chris said throwing a hand around Leo's shoulders. "You sure do know how to pick him. Freddie's as straight as they come."

Leo stopped looking then and turned to search Chris's face for a sign he was joking but all he found was sympathy.

"Come on let's get you a drink," Chris suggested.

Leo followed Chris to the kitchen and tried to stop looking at Freddie. He couldn't, he kept him in his eye line until he saw him walk out of the party with the girl he'd been soft with on his arm. He tried not to dwell on how much he wanted to be her, he had other things to worry about.

Leo's life fell apart as his dreams came true. He forgot about Freddie, his mind was consumed by Artie. The boy in his bed, the boy on his mind. They were just messing around, he always said, it wasn't serious. Just two guys, getting off together because it was easy. Leo was easy. It wasn't easy for Leo. Every time Artie pushed him away, every time he went home with a girl, Leo's heart shattered a little bit more. He threw himself into football because he couldn't handle anything else. There was something about making the ball do what he wanted that made anything feel possible.

The day the Pelican's called him up he felt invincible. He had made that happened. His feet, his legs, his body, he was the one who did that and the only person he wanted to tell was Artie. Leo texted him to meet at their house, no one was home, they'd be alone. Too excite, Leo sat on the stoop of his step dads house waiting for Artie to arrive.

"What's with the smile you finally get laid or something?" Artie asked as joined Leo on the stoop.

"I'm gonna be a Pelican," Leo said trying to sound casual, like it was just another thing to share with his best friend.

"No way!" Artie shouted.

He jumped up an pulled Leo into a hug. It was intoxicating and Leo was already high so he pulled back from the hug and said the words that had been at the back of his mouth for two years.

"I love you," Leo said punctuation the words with a kiss.

Artie seemed to kiss back and for a second Leo thought he would have it all. Football and the boy he loved. That's when his stepdad opened the front door. At the interruption Leo pulled away from Artie. Leo froze in place, unable to move as Artie pulled his fist back and smashed it against Leo's mouth. He didn't stop to check if he was okay at all before storming off to his car shouting at Leo to stay away from him. Heart broken, Leo barely heard his stepdad yelling but he felt it when he pushed him off the front porch onto the grass. His stepdad had a lot to say but the gist of it was Leo wasn't welcome in his house anymore. Leo ran, Sadie found him sitting in the middle of his local football pitch in the rain later that night. He cried in her arms tears drowned out by the rain. Eventually Sadie made him call Chris for a place to stay. It was supposed to be for a night, Leo ended up staying almost a year.

For the lowest moment in Leo's life it actually ended up being the best thing that happened to him. Chris had two mums, which was why he was the one Leo told when he started to question his sexuality. Leo had never met Lucy and Bernadine before but when they heard what had happened they open their home to Leo without question. Chris was a friend that became a brother, and Leo decided he would never hide who he was again.

Lucy and Bernadine were with Leo when he told the Pelican's captain Kye he was gay. They went through all their options and Leo ultimately decided he didn't need the world to know not because he was hiding but because it wasn't their business. There was some backlash in the team but Leo had enough support that anyone who tried to say anything was cut down quickly. Leo learned to love himself enough not to care if someone wanted to move their locker away from his and in the end he played well enough that people stopped cared what he did with his dick.

When Chris moved to Melbourne to play in the local league down there Leo decided it was time to find a place of his own. Kye helped him rent an apartment in his building, close to their training ground and Leo figured he'd officially moved on from the life he used to have. Then Sadie turned up on his doorstep.

"I'm a lesbian, dad doesn't know, can I move in with you?" she said not waiting for an answer before pushing her way into the apartment.

Leo couldn't say no, and the truth was he hated living alone. So Sadie moved into his spare room, he got her a job at the sports centre and finally everything settled down. He was starting games and scoring goals and sometimes even seeing boys behind closed doors. Leo was happy.

That was when Freddie Cook walked back into his life.