The day of reckoning had arrived. I stood at the mouth of hell- at the end of the world- the opening to the basilisks' cave. In other words, I was boarding the bus to football boot camp. It hadn't helped that Connor and Daxx had both insisted on dropping me off at the bus. I loved them and everything, but they didn't exactly know when to cool the PDA. I could feel the glares from my team-mates already.

I felt like I was the karate-kid and Felix was my Mr. Miyagi. I had received all my training and now I was going to defeat the final boss. Was I ready? I stilled. God, I was sounding more and more like Felix. The drama queen.

Coach had told me to get on the bus already, since they were leaving in a second. Connor and Daxx both wrapped around, giving me a big group hug and Connor yelled 'I love you' as I entered, making the boys on the bus snicker. I slumped into an empty seat and waved through the glass. I had noticed Jimmy wasn't on the bus and that made my mood darken further. Sure, I was avoiding him, but he was my only possible protection when it came down to it.

The bus doors had closed and it pulled away from the curb, beginning to move down the road. I sighed. He definitely wasn't coming then. I looked out the window and saw something out of the corner of my eye- it was flailing it's arms. I patted Coaches shoulder and pointed it out to him and he got the bus to stop, pulling to the side of the road.

The figure came running up to the bus doors and scrambled on clumsily. Jimmy Wellot. I breathed a sigh of relief; at least he was here. He was like my mole on the inside. Sure, he may betray me when it suits him, but he's better than nothing. Jimmy flopped down in the seat across the aisle from mine and I could instantly feel his eyes trained on me.

Was he surprised I was here? I sure was. What the fuck was I doing here? Was I really such a cash cow that I would jeopardise my own safety for scholarship money? I was here, so I guess so. It was too late to turn back now- I doubt the bus driver would be happy stopping for a second time in thirty seconds.

I plugged in my earphones, blocking out all of the sounds from around me. I let the screaming lyrics of Asking Alexandria take my mind off of things. I watched out of the window as the pavements and buildings gradually turned to fields and trees, moving further and further out of the city. I jumped at a pinging notification, my phone startling me.

Felix: Are you dead?

I smiled at my phone and shook my head, replying that I was fine so far.

Felix: Kicking and screaming, remember?

Me: Kicking and screaming.

The bus eventually pulled into a small dirt road after about an hour of driving, which was a relief because my legs were numb. Coach stood up and announced that we were just pulling up to the camp now and that we should remain seated while they check in with reception. The bus came to a stop and he and the driver both went inside the reception, leaving me alone with a group of people who hated me.

"Did everyone see the faggot with his fag brother and his fag boyfriend?"

I flinched, tears threatening to come up. I pushed it down; it didn't matter what they said. Kicking and screaming. You're okay, Andy. You know you have a better family dynamic than any of them could even dream of.

"I think you mean his husband... and I would be concerned if his husband wasn't even a little bit gay." I shrugged, refusing to let them get to me.

They started to yell something about gay people ruining marriage, but Coach came back before the guy could come over. I breathed a sigh of relief. I really shouldn't rial them up, but I couldn't help defending my family. They can talk shit about me all they want, but not about them.

"Right, your cabins have been assigned to you. Head to reception to see the notice, you'll find your cabin number and cabin mate's name there." Coach clapped, dismissing everyone off the bus.

Despite being near the front, I stayed sat as everyone rushed off the bus. I was in no rush to see who I would have to spend the next few days of hell with. As one guy walked past, he slapped the back of my head, making me wince. Coach didn't notice. Once I was the last person left on the bus, I got up to leave and Coach looked around before stopping me.

"Just so you know, I put you and Jimmy together. Since he came to me to help you, I thought... you know? That he would be nicer to you than some of the other boys. You're cabin seven, here's your key." Coach stated awkwardly.

"Thanks." I nodded, truly meaning it.

He didn't have to do that, but I was grateful he did. At least I would be able to sleep peacefully over the next few days. I wouldn't have to have eyes in the back of my head. I hopped off of the bus, avoiding reception. I could hear them teasing Jimmy for having to share with me. Sucks to be him.

I walked up to cabin seven and unlocked the door. It smelt woodsy in here. It was basically a glorified shed. There were two standard single wooden beds with green mattresses and a pile of sheets on top of the bed. I guess we have to make them. There was a bathroom in the corner and two wardrobes. That was pretty much it.

I walked to the bed closest to the bathroom- as far away from the door as possible- and set my stuff down. I unpacked my clothes into the wardrobe and got to work making my bed. It was at that point that Jimmy walked in, lugging his own bag. The atmosphere was tense. We hadn't spoken in something like three weeks- since he had told me he was gay.

He had retreated and ditched our study session; I had thrown myself into exams. Now, however, there was no hiding- no distractions... Fun.

Jimmy unpacked his bag, just as I had, before looking at the sheets curiously. I had finished making my bed and I laid down on top, pulling out my phone. No signal. Of course. Fucking fantastic. I sighed and plugged in my earphones, pressing play on my music again. I tried to not look at Jimmy, but it was hard when he was making such a dogs dinner out of his bed. I pulled my earphones out.

"Haven't you ever made a bed before?" I frowned, gesturing to the absolute mess of his bed.

"I have a fitted sheet at home. I didn't even know some sheets were just... sheets." He sounded flustered, probably from his sad attempt at bed making.

I rolled my eyes and got off of the bed, going over to sort his out. I wasn't having him tossing and turning all night because his bed was uncomfortable- it would keep me awake. It took me less than five minutes to make his bed properly.

"Were you listening to 'Asking Alexandria' on the bus?" He asked, "It was on pretty loud. I wasn't looking at your phone."

I raised an eyebrow at him. Somebody was defensive. I flopped back onto my bed and nodded. I was surprised he listened to them- I don't know what I thought he listened to, but it wasn't that. He seemed pretty excited about it.

"They're my favourite band." He stated, leaning back on his own bed like I was.

"Cool." I nodded.

The room returned to a suffocating silence, which was making me feel progressively more awkward. A weekend of this was going to kill me. I looked over the schedule for today and saw we had training and then dinner next. I rolled off of the bed and went to my dresser, grabbing a change of clothes, some shorts and one of Daxx's shirts to train in.

"Mind if I use the bathroom?" I asked, pulling my shirt off and stretching.

My body had been aching a lot recently- probably because I had been going at training pretty hard in order to impress Coach. I noticed Jimmy's eyes run over my naked torso and I grew bashful. It wasn't a good sight- I knew the marks were obvious as Felix had many a time gasped whenever I took my shirt off. He nodded at me and I dashed into the bathroom.

I used my flannel to give myself a quick refresh before rolling on more deodorant and sticking my shirt on. I didn't bother with a shower, since I'd need one after training anyway. I pulled off my jeans and replaced them with my football shorts, tightening the drawstrings. I wetted my hair in the sink and washed my face. The bus had been pretty stuffy, so the cold water was refreshing.

I left the cabin bathroom, Jimmy's head whipping towards me as I did. He seemed pretty jumpy. I coughed awkwardly and he looked away, staring intently at the wall. I sighed, sitting on the edge of my bed facing him.

"Look, if we're stuck together all weekend, then let's just try to get along. Don't worry, that doesn't mean you have to be buddy buddy with me in front of people. I just mean while we're in here. I won't tell anyone, I promise, so you don't have to be jumpy around me." I reasoned, "Truce?"

He seemed to consider it, looking out the window at the guys milling about just down the path and then back at me. He eventually nodded and I nodded back, heading for the door. I left him behind to change as I walked through the woods, back towards reception. There I found a map which pointed me to where we would be training. I wanted to get a head start.

I strolled over to the training grounds, my earphones in. It was nice, I must admit. The whole camp had a rustic theme and it made me feel oddly nostalgic, despite me not liking camp as a child; I would cry until they let me ring Daxx.

I did my stretches, warming up, before breaking out into a steady jog. I lapped the field several times before I was red in the face. My stamina had certainly improved. I slowed down to a walking pace for a while, trying to get rid of the stitch I had in my side. It wasn't long before Coach and the others joined me. As I walked over to their meeting, I was shoved, somebody calling me 'pet' and 'eager'. I rolled my eyes- we were all eager that's why we're at a stupid football boot camp in the first place.

"Right. Five laps around the field." Coach announced, clapping his hands.

I groaned- I had just done that. I think Coach did it on purpose to teach me some kind of lesson. What the lesson was, I wasn't sure yet. I set off at a steady pace once again, running through my stitch. Some of the idiots set off sprinting from the get go, astounding me. They were going to tire themselves out too easily.

My feet pounded the floor rhythmically as I ran the first three laps, but by the fourth I was absolutely done. My lungs were burning so badly and my legs were wobbling as I ran. I noticed that I was one of the only people left running. There were about four of us, including me and Jimmy Wellot. I was about to give up- slowing to a stop- when Jimmy ran past me.

He looked over his shoulder and mouthed 'you can do it' at me. I smiled at that and nodded, pushing a little harder. Screaming and kicking. Jimmy slowed down to match my pace and ran alongside me. Every time I stumbled or shook my head to say I give up, he would tell me it was only a little longer. By the time I finished my final lap, I completely collapsed.

My legs were twitching from how much my muscles hurt and my lungs were burning so bad. Coach threw a water bottle at me and I practically inhaled it.

"Why is it that the kid who took five weeks off can run circles around most of you? He ran around this thing ten times. Ten. Some of you couldn't make it around once. Billy, I'm looking at you." Coach yelled, making Billy lower his head in shame.

"I thought this was football, not track." A voice piped up, receiving a glare from Coach.

"This is football. Seeing some of your attitudes towards it is shocking. You think it's a race, trying to beat one another. It's about teamwork, not showing off. You should be approaching it tactfully, not making impulse decisions." Coach lectured.

I could barely breath. I didn't have asthma, but I imagine this is what an asthma attack feels like.

"Alright! Next exercise. Use your brain this time." Coach yelled, clapping his hands together.

I groaned loudly, covering my eyes with my arms. Had I signed up to torture? My sentence: exercise until death.