***Zeke’s POV***

                “He’s going to break up with me if I’m not careful,” I groaned.

                “Calm down Zeke. I explained everything to Kory, and he convinced his mom to take him out to the mall for the day for school shopping. He won’t be at the soccer field. You won’t see him around today. Everything will be fine,” Trace assured.

                “Trace, I can’t lose Tommy. He deserves so much better than me, but I don’t want to lose him,” I whispered.

                “Zeke, calm the hell down. You won’t lose Tommy. Now get up and let’s go to the soccer field before everyone thinks we ditched,” he said, yanking me to my feet.

                We left the house and made our way to the soccer field. The guys I had invited were talking and waiting on the play set.

                My eyes searched until I found Tommy. He was sitting on top of the monkey bars, staring up at the sky with a blank, thoughtful expression.

                “Hey guys,” I greeted.

                They turned and waved to me and Trace. Tommy slowly turned to look at us. Our eyes met and I didn’t have to hear him thank me to know how grateful he was that I hadn’t invited Kory.

                Tommy jumped off the monkey bars and came over to me. “Ayo,” he greeted. I smiled softly and wrapped an arm around his waist as we began to walk towards the field to practice.

                “Alright, get shooting,” Trace called as he pulled his goalie gloves on and positioned himself in front of the goal.

                The guys I had invited, Phil, Kaleb, and Jeff, began to shoot as I watched Tommy tie his shoe. He stood up and took my hand in his.

                “Let’s scrimmage,” he said after a few minutes of everyone shooting on Trace, barely scoring.

                We split off into teams. Me, Trace, and Phil against Tommy, Kaleb, and Jeff.

                “Trace, here!” I called. Trace passed the ball and Tommy charged at me. I felt him grab my shirt and yank me back.

                He jumped forward and took the ball. I moved to get it, and Tommy elbowed me roughly in the stomach. So that’s how he wanted it, huh?

                I tangled my leg with his and shifted so that Tommy thudded to the ground. He quickly got back to his feet and caught up to me before I had taken more than three steps.

                “Go Tommy!” Jeff and Kaleb cheered, watching in amusement.

                “Oomph!” Tommy grabbed his stomach as I elbowed him with more force than necessary. Shit, I had to learn to ease up a little. I didn’t want to actually hurt him.

                Still, Tommy wasn’t discouraged by the pain. He stomped on my foot and slammed his shoulder into me. I grabbed the back of his shirt and we toppled to the ground together.

                Our mini teams weren’t even trying anymore. They were just watching us fight it out on the soccer field.

                Tommy gained his feet before I did and got the ball. I shouldered him in the back and he stumbled forward a little from the force of it. He nearly tripped over the ball, but managed to stay up.

                I snatched the ball from his feet and began to dribble away from him. He sprinted after me and hooked his arm with mine, quickly throwing me off the ball and pulling his arm away.

                I staggered to the side and caught my balance before chagrining at Tommy. Time to turn his own tricks against him.

                I crushed his foot under mine and threw my weight against him. Tommy let out a strangled cry of surprise as he crashed to the ground, me on top of him. He sucked in a breath of pain and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, slowly releasing his breath.

                “Tommy! Shit Tommy; are you okay!” I asked in panic, rolling off of him.

                The others ran over to us as I slowly helped Tommy sit up. Panic and fear were coursing through me now. Dammit, dammit, dammit! I hadn’t meant to hurt him like that!

                Yes, Tommy was tough. But he was still younger and smaller than me. I was heavier than him, and I had just crushed him beneath me. The momentum I had hit him with had to have hurt a hell of a lot. I would be lucky if I hadn’t snapped his ankle. I thought I had heard something crack when we landed.

                “Tommy, are you okay?” Jeff asked in concern, kneeling next to him as the others surrounded him.

                Tommy nodded at me and Jeff. “I’m fine. Just help me up,” he mumbled. I stood up and offered him my hand. He took it and I carefully pulled him to his feet.

                “Does anything hurt?” I demanded.

                Tommy shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I’m fine Zeke. Really,” he said, brushing dirt off of his shorts.

                “Tommy, I feel so bad. I’m so sorry,” I said miserably.

                He shook his head again and offered me a slight smile. “Don’t worry about it. When I play dirty, I expect to have it handed right back to me. It’s fine Zeke.” He leaned forward and pecked my lips.

                “You’ve gotten better Tommy. I can barely see you pulling those tricks, and I’m looking for them. Zeke, you could use some work,” Phil said and the others laughed. I blushed a little.

                “Sorry I’m not a dirty player,” I whined, putting my arm around Tommy’s waist.

                Tommy smirked. “There’s nothing wrong with playing dirty as long as you don’t get caught,” he said simply.

                “True that,” Kaleb agreed, slapping Tommy on the back with a grin.

                I looked at everyone as they laughed. How could these guys let Kory replace Tommy? Yes, Kory was a much better player than Tommy. He was extremely talented. Probably a better player than all of us.

                But we had all been playing together since we were 4. We had been a team for 13 years, and Tommy had been a part of that team for 11 years. How could they just kick him off? Heart could be just as important as skill when it came to sports, and Tommy had the heart. He was a member of this team. If we got rid of him, it would break that heart.

                I bit my lip nervously. It wasn’t fair! Just because Tommy was the youngest on the team, he would get kicked off if Kory tried out. Tommy wasn’t the worst player on the team, but he would still get cut just because of his age.

                “What’s wrong Zeke?” Tommy asked curiously, noticing me.

                I looked at the others and sighed. “You guys wouldn’t want Tommy off the team, right?” I asked silently.

                Trace’s eyes narrowed a little, but I didn’t pay much attention to him. Phil, Jeff, and Kaleb shook their heads wildly.

                “No way,” they all said at the same time.

                I smiled weakly. “Good. Just wondering,” I said and kissed Tommy. I ignored the look Trace was giving me. He wanted Tommy off the team, because he wanted Kory on the team. And why not? He was in love with Kory. Kory was his boyfriend.

                “Let’s shoot some more,” Phil suggested and we all nodded.

                I watched Tommy carefully as he shot. He was shooting with his left foot, and he was a righty. I narrowed my eyes.

                “Tommy, why are you shooting with your left foot?” I asked suspiciously.

                Tommy rolled his eyes. “Zeke, you know I’ve been practicing with my left foot. If it makes you feel better, here.” He took a shot with his right foot and shrugged at me.

                After about a half hour, we all decided to leave and meet up again some other time. I went over to Tommy and crouched in front of him. He jumped on my back and I smiled.

                “See you later Trace,” I said, waving. He grunted out a reply and I rolled my eyes and carried Tommy towards his house.

                I felt a lot better. Tommy was okay, and I think our little scrimmage actually made things between us less awkward. Maybe foul play on the field was what we needed. A way to vent our anger and frustration with each other and call it friendly competition after. It had definitely been good for the two of us.

                “I feel better about us Zeke,” Tommy said, as if he could read my mind.

                I smiled and nodded in agreement. “Every time we get in a fight, let’s just scrimmage,” I said and Tommy nodded, laughing a little. He kissed my cheek as we reached his house.

                “Bye Tommy,” I said, setting him down and pecking his lips.

                “Bye Zeke,” he said and hugged me. He kissed me again before turning and heading into his house. I frowned after him. He had looked awful pale. He was probably a little overheated. It was hot out today.

                I shook it off and made my way back home. I ate dinner, took a shower, and went to bed, deciding to take Tommy and head back to the field tomorrow. Maybe practicing together could strengthen our relationship a little. It seemed  to be the only thing that had helped us even a little bit so far.

                I didn’t want to lose Tommy. I was really falling hard for that gorgeous boy. I loved everything about him. His looks, his eyes, his personality. I loved the way he’d greet me with his signature “Ayo”. I loved when he gave me a true smile.

                I wouldn’t let myself lose Tommy. I wasn’t going to fuck this relationship up. I was really starting to fall in love with Tommy.

                The next day, I got dressed and ate breakfast before leaving for Tommy’s house. I got there and rang the doorbell, waiting patiently until his mom opened the door.

                “Hi Sally! Is Tommy home?” I asked with a polite smile.

                She bit her lip nervously and slowly shook her head. “No Zeke. Tommy’s not home right now,” she said quietly. I frowned, seeing the concern for her son in her eyes.

                “Sally, what happened? Where’s Tommy? Is he okay?” I asked, trying and failing to keep the panic and fear out of my voice.

                Sally cleared her throat nervously and shook her head. “No Zeke, he’s not okay. My husband took him to the emergency room this morning.”

                “What? Why?” I demanded in terror.

                “He hurt his ankle yesterday at the soccer field. We’re not sure how yet. He just said he fell on it wrong. Anyways, he was coming down the stairs this morning before we knew he’d hurt his ankle, you know that boy and not telling when he’s hurt, and it gave out on him. He fell down the stairs,” she said quietly. “Brady thinks he broke his ankle and possibly his wrist.”

                I slumped against the doorframe, my knees going weak and my breakfast threatening to come back up. “Tommy,” I whispered, realizing this was all my fault.