"Happy Zava day," Billie smirked as Jamie's eyes fluttered open, the morning sun dancing over his skin as he lay on his stomach beside her in her bed.

"Fuck off," Jamie mumbled as he leant forward to kiss her.

"You gonna be a good boy today?" Billie hummed, running a hand through his highlighted hair, pushing the loose strands out of his face.

"For you? Yeah," Jamie sighed as he rested his head on Billie's chest, wrapping his arms around her waist, "For everyone else? That depends."

"Today's going to be fun, J," Billie assured him as she toyed with his messy hair, "Training's been cancelled for this Zava event, gives you a rest day."

"I don't want a rest day," Jamie huffed, as he looked up at Billie with those eyes that made her immediately weak, "I want to be better."

It was the truth, Jamie had been intent on becoming an even greater footballer since Richmond's promotion at the end of the last season. It was why he'd been working out six days a week, eating salads and drinking protein shakes. He wasn't obsessive with it, just dedicated, not because he thought it would make him marketable if he wanted to move in the next transfer window (because he didn't want to leave), because he wanted to be the best.

He did have one goal that he hoped to achieve that year, he wanted to be selected for Gareth Southgate's England squad, and Jamie knew that he needed to be seen as a strong, capable and reliable team player to achieve that.

"Just don't work yourself too hard, alright?" Billie whispered, kissing the top of his head, "I love you just as you are."

"Yeah, but what if I can't keep up?" Jamie chose to voice the doubts that had been fluttering around inside his head like birds in a cage since Zava's transfer was announced, he could trust Billie, he knew that.

"I don't think there's any danger of that, babe," Billie insisted, because she had seen Jamie on the pitch, she'd seen how agile he was, how he commanded the ball when it was at his feet.

"We aren't going to need three strikers, what if they get rid of-"

"Jamie," Billie sat up straight, encouraging him to do the same, "You are not going to lose your spot on the team just because Zava's here, we had two aces up our sleeve, and now we've got three."

"But-"

"J, you worked so fucking hard to better yourself and return to your spot on the team, you fucking deserve to be where you are, I know that, Roy knows that, the fans know that, deep down you know it too," Billie insisted, because she really wanted him to believe in himself the way he usually did, "And Zava being here doesn't fucking change any of that, okay?"

"You're the wisest fucking person I know," Jamie sighed with a slight smile, kissing her forehead, "Thank you."

"You never have to thank me for loving you," Billie soothed, running her hand over his cheekbone, "It's not a chore to love you, Jamie Tartt."

Billie didn't quite know just how much Jamie needed to hear those words, but he really did. Until Billie, his mother had been the only person to make him feel like loving him wasn't an ordeal, and on some of his lowest days as a teenager, he had wondered if his mother only loved him out of some sort of motherly obligation. But as he got older, he realised that his mother loved him for who he was, because she stuck around, and Billie stuck around too.

"Right," Billie quickly pecked his lips with a kiss, "I'm going to make us breakfast, you just do what you need to do to get ready, pretty boy."

"You're magic, Billie Kent," Jamie sighed as he laid back on the bed, watching Billie climb off of the bed, slipping Jamie's hoodie on with a pair of shorts.

"I know," Billie blew him a kiss before slipping out of the bedroom.

"You're up early," Madison looked up from her bowl of fruit and granola, laying eyes on Billie with a fond smile.

"It's Zava day," Billie sighed, wandering over to the fridge, collecting the various half full packets of fruit before kicking the fridge shut.

"How's Jamie?" Madison asked, her knowledge of young minds allowed her to understand the workings of Jamie's mind in a different way to how Billie did. Not that Jamie was a teenager, just that some aspects of his childhood had stuck with him, and in turn he was unknowingly hanging on to his younger years, not because he wanted them back, but because they had shaped him into the man he was.

"He'll be okay," Billie replied, "He's spent so long being Richmond's starboy, I think having to compete for that alongside Zava reminds him of when he was at City."

"That makes sense," Madison nodded.

"Anyway," Billie decided to divert the topic of conversation, not wanting to discuss Jamie without his knowledge, "Is Alfie around?"

"He didn't come home last night," Madison told her, "Did you see the groupchat? He said he was staying at that guy's house."

"Do we think it's serious?" Billie asked.

"He does seem very protective of the relationship, it's been a while and he still hasn't even told us his name, all we know is that it's a guy," Madison replied, "But he'll tell us when he's ready."

"Yeah."

Alfie Sykes was used to a one night stand, to waking up on the wrong side of a bed that felt unfamiliar, and yet for the past few months he'd been waking up on the right side of the same bed, a bed that wasn't his. He loved it, he loved being in love, he adored that he had found his person, he just wished that he lived in a world where he didn't have to love in the dark.

Billie had left Jamie in her office, musing over photos from his most recent photoshoot which she had taken for him, as she wandered into the coaches' office, dressed in a pair of black wide leg trousers, a white shirt and a blue sweater vest, (Richmond blue, obviously).

"So obviously Zava's gonna be moving into our starting lineup," Ted told Beard as he and Roy stood in front of the whiteboard, "Which means, if my maths...are corrects, we gonna have to sit someone."

"Well, I think it's gotta be Colin," Beard was quick to suggest as Billie stood beside Trent.

"Ouch."

"Colin's a chameleon, he can change depending on a situation," Roy told the group, which was true, Colin was incredibly remarkable regardless of where he was placed on the pitch.

"Bigger issue is, you put Zava up front, either Jamie or Dani's gonna have to drop back to midfield," Beard reminded the group, because there was no need for three strikers up front, they all knew that.

"So, who do we think will take the news better?" Ted asked the group, "Dani or Jamie?"

"Dani."

"Yeah, Jamie's a lot like my mom's Precious Moments figurines collection," Ted remarked with a smile.

"I have no idea what that means," Trent looked around the room for guidance.

"He can be a little bit sensitive," Billie offered an accurate description, without delving into the intricacies of Jamie's psyche, keeping their conversation from the morning to herself.

"He's a fragile little bitch," Roy answered, earning a glare from his sister.

"Brevity is nice, but sometimes clarity is the true soul of wit," Ted sighed, "Thank you, Roy."

The office door promptly opened and in walked Higgins, who appeared noticeably nervous, "It's almost ten o'clock, we should probably get going."

"You feeling okay?"

"A little bit nervous," Higgins answered honestly, "Had some diarrhea earlier this morning," He looked at Trent with concern in his eyes, "Please don't put that in the book."

"I've never been sure on the spelling, so I probably won't," Trent smiled simply.

"D-I-A, double R, H-E-A," Beard told the group, "Except in England, you have a silent O, as in 'Oh, no, you've got diarrhea."

"Hey, I'm in the same boat, Higgy Bear, my tummy's got more knots in it than Wayne's World one and two smooshed together," Ted offered insight into his physical state, "I don't know why, I've been around great athletes all my life, heck, Roy, you're a great athlete."

"Not like Zava," Roy exhaled heavily.

"Come on, don't sell yourself short," Ted insisted, "If anything, sell yourself tall and get it altered later."

"No, Zava's different, just watch," Roy replied, having played against the man at both club and international levels several times, he knew just how much of a machine the man was.

"We can't just watch, we gotta make this fella part of the team," Ted told his colleagues.

"I'm not sure he's the sort of guy who'd enjoy team bowling trips," Billie sighed, recalling the monthly trips the Richmond team would take to the local tenpin bowling alley.

"Coaching a superstar can't be all, 'How do you solve a problem like Maria?'" Ted mused, "Although, if you ask me, the Nazis were the real problem in that story, am I right, Coach?"

"Yeah, come on, Mother Superior, let's have a little perspective," Beard remarked.

"Sorry, Roy, I know you don't like all this musical theatre talk this early in the morning," Ted smiled, recalling Roy's previous efforts to set a curfew on musical theatre based conversations.

"No, I'll allow it," Roy sighed and Billie grinned, "I used to fancy Julie Andrews, well, I still do to be fair, the voice, the eyes, the way you know she'd tell you off if you'd been bad."

Someone's got mommy issues," Billie muttered under her breath, earning a frown from her brother, "Who said that?" She mimed looking over her shoulder in shock.

"Alright, we gotta do it, all time favourite Julie Andrews character, go!" Ted declared.

"Fuck it, Maria!" Roy exclaimed.

"Resolute as always," Ted nodded, turning to Beard, "Coach, what you got?"

"Eliza Doolittle."

"Ooh, audio only performance, I love that," Ted grinned, "Professor Higgins?"

"Come on you Poppins!"

"Same, I'm right there with you," Ted nodded, "You got any light to shed for us, Sporty Spice?"

"Thoroughly Modern Millie."

"Nice," Ted nodded, "Trent? You have one? You don't have to, you got one?"

"Clarisse Renaldi, Queen of Genovia," Trent remarked with a smug grin.

"Fuck yeah, Princess Diaries," Roy nodded in approval, having watched (and enjoyed) the movies with Billie on countless occasions.

Billie glanced out into the locker room where the boys were staring at the corner of the room, like Gru's minions looking up at the moon, "I'm going to see what all the fuss is about," She smiled at the men and slipped out into the locker room, looking up to see that the four corner lockers had been taken over, especially for Zava.

"I can't believe it's really happening," Bumbercatch smiled in awe, as Billie weaved her way into the group, propping herself up on Colin's shoulder.

"When I was a boy, I played in Zava boots, I slept in Zava boots, I made love for the first time to Zava boots," Dani declared passionately as his teammates and Billie frowned out of concern.

"Please tell me you mean 'in Zava boots' Dani," Billie sighed.

"No."

"You know, last night at the restaurant, as the painters were finishing up, I spent a very pleasurable hour on Youtube watching Zava's greatest goals," Sam smiled fondly, "By the end my head was spinning, but it may also have been the paint fumes."

"A man after my own heart," Billie held a hand to her chest, "I used to do that all the time with One Direction performances, I still do...Their 2014 San Siro performance of Best Song Ever deserves a notable mention."

"The way Zava moves on the pitch," Richard sighed, "Like a panther, so sexy, huh?"

"Sound a bit gay, bruv," Isaac chuckled harmlessly.

"Well I'm gay..." Richard replied, "For Zava."

"That's true, some men have a charisma that transcends orientation," Sam remarked, always providing intelligent perspectives on such situations, "Paul Newman, Idris Elba, Norm Macdonald, Niall Horan."

"I raised you well," Billie grinned at Sam.

"Zava is definitely one of those charisma unicorns," Jan added in agreement.

"Okay, you guys have convinced me, I'll have sex with Zava," Colin joked, earning laughs from the rest of the team as Jamie entered the room, the only player yet to change into his training kit.

"Hey, what's up, man?" Zoreaux smiled as Jamie stared up at the Zava shrine.

"What the fuck is this?" Jamie muttered, slowly removing his orange tinted glasses that he'd kept from his Beckham costume at Billie's birthday party.

"Alright fellas, come on, showtime," Ted made his way into the locker room, "Let's everybody head out to the pitch," He promptly took note of Jamie's appearance, "Hey Jamie, come on, man, hurry up and get dressed, we don't want to keep our newest teammate waiting."

Billie lingered by Jamie's side as the rest of the team slowly began to leave the locker room, she gave him a gentle nudge as he stayed glued to his spot, "You okay, pretty boy?"

"Huh?" He looked at her with a lost look in his eyes, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"You tell me the second you're not, okay?" Billie insisted, "Now, get yourself dressed, my beautiful boy."

Jamie smiled nervously, never getting tired of when she'd call him beautiful, pretty or gorgeous. She had no idea how much she was healing him with those words.

Billie began to turn away from Jamie, with the intention of joining Isaac, Sam and Colin who had waited for her by the locker room door, but Jamie interlocked his hand with hers, pulling her back to him.

"I love you," He smiled down at her, kissing her gently.

"I love you too," Billie blushed, aware that they had an audience.

"Young love," Sam sighed, holding his hand to his chest, "It's so beautiful."

"And to think they thought none of us knew."

Billie knew divas were bad at time keeping, that was a given, because a diva likes to keep people waiting, to know that their presence is craved. But two hours of complete no show, now that's just disrespect.

"Where the hell is he?" Rebecca, who was seated to Billie's right, hissed, before turning to Higgins, "Leslie, we do have a signed contract, don't we?"

"Of course, we have an e-signature, that's legally binding," Higgins smiled in assurance, "I think."

"That sounds watertight," Billie leaned into the conversation.

"I'll make a call," Higgins assured the women before promptly disappearing.

"His agent hasn't heard from him, but she's tracked his phone which is currently in Mykonos," Keeley told the two women.

"If he has changed his mind again, I'm going to look like an absolute arsehole," Rebecca whispered.

"Maybe we can try and cheer them up somehow?" Keeley suggested, looking around the stadium for inspiration.

"Do you want me to take my shirt off and run across the pitch?" A woman Billie didn't know leaned between Billie and Keeley from the row behind.

"You must be Shandy," Billie smiled awkwardly, unsure what to make of the woman.

"Shandy's shadowing me for the day," Keeley explained to Billie and Rebecca, "To get the hang of things, you know?"

"So nice to finally meet you," Shandy told Billie, "I'd love to go for a coffee and pick your brain sometime, I mean, what was it like being with Brad Barker?"

"Shandy," Keeley was quick to interject, "Would you go to concessions and start selling merch at half price?"

"Great idea," Shandy nodded, "Oh-"

"Keep your shirt on," Keeley told her.

"Right, of course," Shandy nodded before leaving the three women to it.

"She's a live one," Rebecca exhaled, glancing down at her watch, "Shit, now I'm late."

"For what?" Billie and Keeley replied in unison.

"Nothing," Rebecca insisted, "It's silly, I'll tell you later."

"I love mysterious Rebecca," Keeley grinned as Ted appeared in Higgins' empty seat.

"Hey, guys, are we sure that Zava has the right address?" Ted whispered to three women, "I'd hate to think he's sitting in the middle of Virginia right now waiting on us."

Higgins returned to the group, clutching his phone, "So I just talked to legal about Zava's contract, and an e-signature is one hundred percent binding. Tiny wrinkle, instead of signing his name, he signed 'you're welcome.'"

"Shit, what are we going to do?" Rebecca hissed, panicked how the whole situation would look.

"Look, superstars play by their own rules," Ted assured his friends, "Back in '98, I waited over three hours for Public Enemy to take the stage of this joint called The Cubby Bear, when a man with a giant clock around his neck is that late, it ain't about time, he's making a statement."

"Right, I'm calling it," Rebecca sighed, second to take action, "We're going to go upstairs and figure out what we do next," She gestured to Ted, Billie and Keeley, "Leslie, I want you to talk to the crowd and tell them...something."

"Of course, Rebecca, I got this," Higgins assured her, "Back in uni, my DJ name was Damage Control."

"You DJed?" Billie raised her eyebrows, immediately impressed.

"I didn't actually, but I had the name ready if I ever started," Higgins replied.

"Shit, right, let's go," Rebecca stood up, Ted, Keeley and Billie following behind, the latter offering Alfie, who was sat a few rows back in the media pack, a reassuring thumbs up.

"Actually," Billie halted her three friends, "I'm just going to check in with Alf, make sure the press aren't saying anything they shouldn't."

"Good idea," Keeley nodded before the three of them hurried back inside.

"Welcome to the Dogtrack!" Higgins spoke into the microphone as Billie made her way towards Alfie, sitting in the free seat beside him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Someone in the crowd heckled.

"Apologies for the wait," Higgins told the crowd, "We've just been experiencing a few delays, much like travelling on the M25, which, if my knowledge of British motorways is correct, is most likely where our newest arrival is..."

"Full disclosure," Billie whispered, checking over her shoulders, ensuring she was clear of prying ears, "No one has a clue where he is."

"Really? I had no clue," Alfie teased.

"Fuck off," Billie rolled her eyes, "Get up to anything fun last night?"

"Nothing that I'd consider safe for work," Alfie smirked.

"How long has this been a thing?" Billie asked, feeling as though she had barely seen her best friend in recent weeks.

"About five months," Alfie admitted, having barely spoken to his best friends about the relationship, not because he didn't trust them, but because he had never really experienced a relationship that meant so much to him, he wasn't sure that any of his previous romantic endeavours came close to this.

"Are you happy though?" Billie asked her friend, "Because all that matters to me is that whoever this person is, they make you fucking happy."

"I'm very happy," Alfie assured her, and he meant it, every word.

"Good," She kissed his cheek, "I should probably check in with the boys, update them on the Zava situation, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Alfie smiled, "You home tonight or you going back to lover boy's?"

"Not sure yet," Billie sighed, "We could always have a night just me, you and Madds...we haven't done that in forever."

"I'd love that," Alfie grinned.

Billie adored Jamie, and she loved spending time with him, but she also knew that it was healthy for both her and Jamie to spend time with her own friends, to do their own things. She knew that it didn't alter their love in any way, she knew that Jamie would understand, and he'd probably like an evening with the boys.

Jamie and Billie were great together, everyone around them knew that, and it was the people that they surrounded themselves with that helped make them so great. Relationships of all kinds needed boundaries, and space was important too, because without space, love doesn't have as much opportunity to grow.

Billie and the team had returned to the locker room, awaiting news from Ted or Rebecca regarding Zava's whereabouts. She was sitting beside Jamie, who couldn't be less interested in the conversation about Richmond's newest addition.

"I said I'd spend the evening with just Alf and Madds tonight, if that's alright with you?" Billie told him as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Of course, babe," Jamie nodded, "I'm still gonna drive you home, Alfie can have a lift too if he's still about."

"You gonna hang out with the boys?" Billie asked, hoping that he wouldn't be at home on his own all evening.

"Only if they don't spend every fucking minute talking about Zava," Jamie remarked, because Zava was all that any of the boys wanted to talk about.

"Well, he's still yet to materialise, so their Zava filled dreams could end up pretty short lived," Billie told him honestly.

Right on cue, Ted wandered into the locker room, as though he were looking for something, or rather, someone, "Hey, did Zava come through here?"

"He's here?" Bumbercatch spoke in shock, as the rest of the players, except Jamie, stood up in excitement, "You saw him?"

"Yeah, he was upstairs just a second ago," Ted explained.

"What? He's here?" Zoreaux exclaimed, "In this building?"

"Yeah, he should be here," Ted replied as he headed into the coaches' office, while the boys jumped up and down in excitement and Jamie simply pouted in disbelief that his teammates were so hysterical over someone like Zava.

"This is ridiculous," Jamie scoffed as Billie elbowed him gently.

"This is literally what I was like when we saw Harry Styles on tour," Billie reminded him.

"Yeah, but that was fucking cute," Jamie assured her, "This is just..."

"Okay," Ted returned to the locker room; "Maybe we should all just split up and go-"

Ted's words were cut off by the locker room door opening, a man who everyone recognised as Zava slowly strolled in, as though he knew that his reputation preceded him. He gently patted Zoreaux on the shoulder before he reached Roy, offering the man a nod, having played against each other in several international matches over the years.

"He's like an angel," Dani muttered in complete awe.

"Why are you downgrading him?" Jan whispered, "He is clearly a god."

Zava continued his journey to the front of the room, walking at a purposefully slow pace until he reached his 'stage' right in front of Ted, blocking the coach's view of his team.

"I will begin by addressing the most important person in this room," Zava told the group, who all assumed he was referring to one of the coaches, "Which of you is the kitman?"

The players stood in silence, glancing amongst the room for Will, who had managed to hide himself, purely because of his nerves at meeting such an icon. Zava pointed at Jamie, who seemed offended by the notion, while Roy couldn't help but smirk to himself, and Billie, well she didn't know where to look.

"That's me, I'm Will," The youngster made himself known as he stepped forward, "I am..."

"Will," Zava remarked proudly, stepping in front of Ted yet again, "I too worked as a ball boy for a club when I was just eleven years old."

"I'm twenty," Will gulped.

"Your passion is why I play," Zava told him before turning to the rest of the team, "And you, my team, my brothers, breathe with me."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the rest of the team following his lead, except Jamie, Roy, Ted and Billie who didn't know what to think as the team's newest addition led the group in a breathing exercise that lasted far longer than it probably needed to.

"We are now one," Zava pressed his hands together, "There is no me, there is no you, there is only the 'we' and the 'us,' and the we in us."

"Wenus?" Billie mouthed at her brother.

Without another word Zava headed into the coaches' office, closing the door behind himself as the team instantly relaxed, overcome with excitement.

"Okay, Coaches, let's head in there and have a word really quickly, before he scurries off," Ted told Beard and Roy, "Everybody else, just go ahead and keep breathing amongst yourselves."

"This is insane," Jamie muttered.

"They'll get bored eventually, J," Billie patted his cheek as she stood up, "I'll have to love you and leave you, got some big girl work to do in my office."

"I'm coming," Jamie stood up, following her out of the office, "Can't be asked with all this egotistical 'we are one' nonsense."

Billie wasn't quite sure what to make of Shandy, of course she was an old friend of Keeley, but she was an interesting character, which is a nice way of saying Billie couldn't imagine inviting her out for drinks any time soon. Billie also wasn't entirely sure what qualified her to work for a PR agency with a roster of such high profile clients. She knew that she could trust Keeley's integrity, and Billie was willing to give Shandy the benefit of the doubt until she'd seen how she worked, which is how Billie wound up in a publicity brainstorm session with Keeley, Shandy and some of the boys.

"So, boys, exciting stuff," Keeley told them as they all sat in the press room that was out of use for the day, "We've got a lot of interview requests coming in for all of you."

"Oh, I'd love to get the word out about the restaurant," Sam was quick to reply.

"Well, right now the press would like to focus on Zava joining the team," Keeley explained.

"I would rather talk about Zava than myself any day," Dani insisted.

"What do you want us to say?" Colin asked.

"Well, that's up to you," Keeley replied, knowing that the boys were all very competent in being interviewed, thanks to their thorough media training, "Go for it, say anything."

"Just stay positive and keep it light." Billie added.

"Or say something so shocking your interview goes viral," Shandy suggested and Billie tried her hardest not to appear visibly concerned, "Like you eat your own hair."

"Definitely don't do that," Billie was quick to offer preemptive damage control.

Before anyone else could make a point, or Shandy could contradict Billie's advice, the door opened and in walked Roy.

"Hi, Roy," Keeley smiled.

"Keeley, sorry to interrupt," Roy nodded, "Higgins told me to check in on some dumb interview shit."

"Roy," Billie raised her eyebrows at her older brother.

"I mean, some important interview shit," Roy corrected himself.

"Don't worry, nobody in the press wants to talk to you," Shandy was quick to respond.

"No, that's not actually true," Keeley corrected her, "The press knows that Roy doesn't love doing interviews."

"Yeah, but it's okay, I'll do one for you if you need me to," Roy replied, because he was making efforts to be better, taking his sister's advice.

"I'll interview you," Shandy quipped, "Why'd you dump my friend?"

"Fucking hell." Billie pinched the bridge of her nose as she exhaled heavily.

"Oooh-" The boys sighed until Roy offered them a harsh glare.

"You're fun," Roy focused his attention on Shandy before looking back at Keeley, "Who the fuck is this?"

"This is Shandy, we work together," Keeley explained.

"Why?"

"She's an old friend of mine," Keeley told him, "I definitely told you about her."

"Oh, yeah, Shandy," Roy nodded, "You used to eat your own hair, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Fuck me, it's like Shakespeare," Billie muttered, earning a laugh from Colin.

"Well, nice to put a face to the hair," Roy replied before leaving the room.

"You ready to go, J?" Billie smiled as she entered the locker room, Jamie sitting on the bench on his own, all other players having gone home for the night.

"Yeah, I just...well..." Jamie's voice trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Billie asked as she approached him, running a hand through his hair.

"I really don't think this Zava guy is right for the team," Jamie told her, "I don't think we need him."

"Have you told Ted?"

"No."

"Well, my sweet boy," Billie smiled at him, "As much as I'd love to help you, Ted and Beard are the only people who can resolve this for you."

"Alright," Jamie sighed, slowly approaching the coaches' office, stopping and looking over his shoulder at Billie, "Will you join me?"

"Of course, babe."

"Hey, Jamie, how you doing?" Ted smiled as he noticed the Mancunian striker hovering in the open doorway.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, you can talk to me as long as you want," Ted replied, "Though I do have a tendency to doze off around 1AM, what's up?"

"So look-" Jamie paused as Roy entered his area of the office, "I know we're all excited that Zava's here, I get that, but I know a lot of players like him, and they're all just self absorbed glory hunters who only care about themselves."

"Jamie, don't you think that coming from you that's a little bit ironic?" Beard spoke up on behalf of his fellow coaches.

"Don't know," Jamie frowned, "But the point is, we don't need this guy, I think we've got a good thing going here, and he's already fucking it all up."

"Hey, Jamie, I hear what you're saying man," Ted attempted to assure the young man that he understood him, "But I think we've got to give it a game or two and see what's what."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, course, yeah," Jamie nodded.

"See, told you it'd be okay," Billie squeezed Jamie's hand.

"Well, thanks for hearing me out," Jamie told the coaches as he wrapped an arm around Billie's shoulder.

"Thanks for speaking your mind," Ted nodded, "And please continue to do so."

"Yeah," Jamie smiled as he and Billie headed for the door, Jamie turning to Beard at the last minute, "Oh, and I weren't being ironic, I was being hypocritical."

"Fuck, I love you," Billie beamed.