Music - Born This Way by the Lady Gaga

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Todd

"Oh come on, Todd," Hollie whined in annoyance as she twirled her pasta, the usual cafeteria noise blending in with her nasally high-pitched voice. She continued, "Joanne seems like a nice girl. She's very pretty and I think she's into you."

"Hol, stop. With the way she sounded over the phone, I thought she really do want to improve her maths." I told my friends while I sliced my meatloaf. I then asked, "I really didn't get to know her at the party, where does she study?"

"She goes to a public school downtown. Jaxon High I think?" Phil said. "I don't know though, I was half-drunk when she and Hollie were chatting."

"Yeah, it's Jaxon High," Hollie confirmed. "But seriously, I think you and Joanne would look cute together."

"Nah, I really don't have the time. I'm actually going to the tryouts later, I've already talked to Gray about it." I explained, and they exchanged looks.

"About that," Hollie dropped her fork on her plate, then asked, "did Gray return your phone already? How did it go?"

I shrugged, "Well, he had lunch at home," I said. Truthfully, everything escalated quickly. Gray originally came to return my phone but hormones happened, and we had a deal. A deal that even my best friends should not find out. "my mom insisted he should, so while we were eating, I told him I wanted to join the team. That's it."

"Damn, Todd you should have grabbed the opportunity and made friends with him," Phil said. "Would be nice to be friends with a popular guy."

I rolled my eyes, "Why does it matter?" I asked. "But he's a nice guy, I'll give you that."

"Yo guys, seven o'clock," Hollie announced as her eyes signaled us to look behind. She was pointing at Gabin Moreau, our art class' sculpture beast. His creations had always been the best. Each and every sculpture he made evoked emotions that most sculptures lacked. He was a professional. As I stared at his face, he looked tired and seemed lost in his thoughts. He was barely touching his food.

"What about him?" I asked.

"He's not with Phoenix Jacobs. You know Jacobs?" Hollie asked us and while Phil nodded and I shook my head. I never heard of Phoenix Jacobs before. "Rumors say Jacobs was sent to a military school because he and Moreau were caught making out in his room."

'"Where in the world did you get that rumor?" I asked Hollie and she smirked.

"Kristy Jacobs," Hollie replied. "Yep, Kristy 'Miss Prom Queen 1997' Jacobs, his sister."

I felt remorsefully bad for Phoenix. His sister just outed him in the entire school and that was never right. It shouldn't be. I took another glance at Gabin when a group of seniors, gathered around him. They were football jocks, one of them was Kristy's boyfriend, Felix Hughes.

My friends and I stayed in our spot as we watched what was happening. Gabin looked up at the buff guys, his eyes dead and uninterested. He seemed unnerved by them. Felix had a wicked grin on his face while one of the boys talked to Gabin. With how loud the cafeteria was and how far we were from Gabin's table, I really couldn't hear what they were saying to the artsy kid.

I was taken aback with eyes wide open as Felix swiftly grabbed Gabin by his hair and slammed his face into his food. I was about to run to the poor kid when Phil grabbed my wrist, and when I turned to face him, he was signaling me to not interfere. When I looked back at Gabin's table, he was no longer there, only the jocks were, and they were laughing their butts off as if what Felix did was a funny joke.

It was a terrifying scene to watch and watching it unfold right in front of my eyes, I realized, Gray and I were keeping a dangerous secret.

"What a bunch of assholes." Hollie hissed as I returned to my seat.

"Let's be real here, sex between two guys is fucking disgusting." He continued and I bit the side of my cheeks and controlled myself from speaking. Phil could be an asshole sometimes and I had to bear with it a lot. "I don't get how it works. It feels very unnatural."

"You don't have to understand how it works though, you just have to mind your own business." Hollie said. She had just finished eating her pasta and wiped her lips with her handkerchief as she stared judgingly at Phil. "Whatever they do in the bedroom, it's theirs to keep."

"Whatever, Hol. Todd, if you were gay, what would you do?" Phil turned to ask me, but I avoided his gaze and shrugged. I just didn't want to be involved in their discussion. He then added, "I'd rather shoot myself in the face than choose to be gay."

If only he knew it wasn't a choice.

I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath. "Shut up, Phil." I hissed, holding back my annoyance and the anger boiling inside me. "You really should just mind your own business. And for Christ's sake, you really should stop shoving that way of thinking up your ass."

Hollie gasped and Phil was a little surprised, yet he still had that smirk on his face. "Woah, dude, chill." He snickered.

"I will be if you just stop acting stupid." I sighed, taking in my last slice of meatloaf. I pulled my phone in my pocket as soon as it vibrated. I checked my messages and found a text from Gray.

From: Gray
Tryout's at 4:30. Don't be late. Impress me. Haha.

I grinned at the text and returned my phone in my pocket.

"Okay, what's that wide smile about?" Hollie asked and when I turned to look at my friends, they were exchanging looks with smirks on their faces. "Is it Joanne?"

I shook my head and glared at Hollie. She really wanted Joanne and I to happen. It wasn't going to happen. "Stop it, Hol. It's just my dad. He just got back from his trip to London." I told them. It wasn't entirely a lie, my dad really was going to be home tonight.

•••

After class, I went straight to the court and saw a number of guys warming up. Some were doing stretches, others were doing pushups and a couple of freshmen were running around the court. My eyes wandered the place to look for any familiar faces and found Gray on the bleachers. He was wearing a navy blue headband and he was on his jersey. Not really knowing anyone in the crowd, I made my way towards the blond jock as I waved my hand in the air to get his attention.

"Hey," I dropped my duffel bag and sat beside him. "Came here to watch me?" I teased him and he smirked as he turned his eyes on me.

"Well, I'm coach's assistant today so technically I'll be watching you, along with these guys." He said and returned his gaze to the aspiring players. For some reason, he seemed a little reserved and stiff than when he was in my house. His energy was off. "You better not disappoint, Hitcher."

I chuckled and I shook my head. He looked stiff. "No pressure, coach." I nudged his elbow playfully, trying to loosen him up.

I guess with the recent rumor regarding Moreau and Phoenix, he was trying hard not to look soft - not that looking soft was an indicator really, but people loved to speculate on stereotypes. I could tell he was very aware of the people around him and he didn't want to get caught. Honestly, no one would ever suspect him to be gay. When he told me he was, I was beyond surprised.

"Trust me, Gray, you're fine." I tapped his thigh to comfort him. "Just relax."

"Todd, don't touch me...not here." He brushed my hand off his thigh. "Please."

I sighed. Gray was so far gone in the closet. Not that I wasn't though, but I wasn't really a popular kid so people wouldn't care as long as I didn't do anything scandalous. With Gray, a single mistake could ruin him as all eyes were on him. "You know what, I'm gonna go to the locker room and change," I told him as I grinned.

"Why are you telling me this, Hitcher?" He asked, his eyes focused on the people.

I smirked. "Nothing. I'm just letting you know...I'll be there." I told him as I picked my duffel bag and left.

When I got to the locker room, no one was there. I put my bag on one of the benches and zipped it open to take out my PE uniform. Again, I looked around before I began to undo my vest. It was halfway unbuttoned when I heard the front door open as footsteps echoed around the room. Just as I expected, it was Gray.

"I'm changing," I said as I took off my vest. "Why did you follow me here?" I asked, flashing him a playful smile.

"Getting to know you's very interesting. You really don't seem like the shy guy I thought you were. It still surprises me." Gray said as he stepped a little closer to me and began to unbutton my shirt.

"I am shy alright," I said. "but I'm not shy around people I know."

"Yeah?" He chuckled, his voice a little quieter than usual. As soon as he was done unbuttoning my shirt, he peeled it off my body and let it fall to the ground. His eyes roamed over my pale torso. 

I rested my forehead against his and looked straight to his eyes. I held both sides of his waist and carefully guided him until he was leaning on one of the lockers. "And I certainly am not going to be shy around a guy I just made out with last Sunday." I leaned forward and gave him a short kiss on the side of his lips. Feeling a little more confident, I rained him butterfly kisses from his jaw up to his ear as I whispered to him, "I can't wait for Sunday..."

With yet another sly smile , I stepped back and resumed changing into my PE uniform. I knew Gray was watching, so I slowed down a little just so he could savor the moment. He'd appreciate a little show.

•••

As we got back to the court, Mr. Strauss, the coach, was already there and the boys were lined up. I turned to look at Gray before running my way to the line as so did he to Mr. Strauss. "Alright, boys. As you all know, I decided to kick half of my team out due to their incompetence and inability to attend practices." Coach Strauss explained. He then added, "So right now, we are totally in need of new recruits. Rules are simple, just do your best and you're good in my book."

I adjusted my glasses that were slightly slanted while I focused my attention to Coach Strauss who was giving the instructions. He was holding two basketballs in his hand and so was Gray. I looked around and there were about fifteen of us, most were freshies and sophomores, while the remaining were seniors including myself. The juniors never participated in anything.

Coach Strauss explained the drills which were about ten, including the scrimmage. With all the drills he mentioned, I knew I'd do well with anything that involved testing my agility. Years of swimming made it easier for me to carry my own body weight so I knew I was swift.

We started out with a circle passing drill. Coach Strauss instructed us to get the ball going and whenever we get our hands on the ball, we yell our names. "In a team, it's important that you know everyone. Their skills, their strengths, and weaknesses. You should know these things to execute a perfect strategy." He said. Because there were fifteen people, he divided us into two circles, seven people on the other group and eight in ours. As we were passing the ball, Mr. Strauss explained the importance of getting to know our teammates. He added, "If you're not a good shooter, don't try to be the goddamn messiah by shooting the ball. Unless you don't have a choice, pass it to someone good and don't hog the game."

The drills went on and while I personally thought I did great with most of them, I didn't do well at the shooting drills, and I believe they were the important ones I needed to be good at. After the speed dribble drill, Coach Strauss gave us ten minutes to rest before moving on to the last one.

I wiped off the sweat that was cascading down my face with my arm. As I looked around, I could tell some of the freshmen were already exhausted after the agility and full court drills. Some were already on the floor struggling to breathe while others were in the corner downing bottles of water. My fellow seniors had their shirts off as they fanned their sweat-glazed bodies on the bleachers from the other side of the court. While I observed everyone, I noticed about five people already left and there were only just ten of us. We didn't even get to the scrimmage yet.

I saw Gray approaching my way with a bottle of water in his hands. "You're doing great, Hitcher." He smiled as he handed me the bottle. "Your leg work's pretty impressive. Do you play basketball a lot?"

"Not a lot, but whenever we spend our vacation in Dublin, I play with a couple of old friends there. They're obsessed with the NBA." I told him as I opened the cap off my water and downed it in about fifteen seconds. I didn't realize I was thirsty until the first drop of water touched my tongue. "I didn't like how I keep missing the ring though. My hands are pretty sloppy."

"You don't have to be a good shooter, Hitcher." Gray assured me as he patted my shoulder. He continued, "You have to show off, so if you're not good at shooting, show coach your other capabilities. You run like the wind and that is always an advantage. Whatever helps the team succeed, he'll take note of that."

Coach Strauss blew his whistle, signaling us to gather around the court. The ten-minute break was over. I tapped Gray on the shoulder and jumped out of the bleachers and jogged to the court. "The others have already left." Coach Strauss informed us as he dribbled the ball. With the way his eyebrows were scrunched and his determined smile from a while ago now gone, he was disappointed. "Don't be like those quitters."

Coach Strauss used to work at a public school before deciding to move in ours. He was our PE teacher last year and he loved to talk about how successful his basketball team was in the previous school he worked at. With the way some of the players skipped practices and the whole team eventually sucking at last year's big game, plus the fact that five people just left without any permission during today's tryouts, it was understandable that Coach Strauss would lose his motivation.

"Alright, let's get this thing over with, Ushkowitz, Johnson, Philips, Hitcher and Lopez, you'll be team A, the remaining will be team B." He split the teams into two and we went to our respective team and gathered around.

"Hitcher, Stewart, come here." I stepped forward for my team and I was faced with Cade Stewart while the others settled in their positions. Based on the color of his pants, Stewart was a sophomore. For a fifteen-year-old, his features were already developed and we were both the same height. I was barely six foot tall two years ago. "First team to get five points wins." Coach announced and tossed the ball in the air.

Everything went quickly, Stewart already slammed the ball into his team's direction before I even got my feet on the ground. I ran on my team's side of the court, my eyes focused on the player holding the ball. Two of my teammates, Ushkowitz and Philips were guarding him. He was about to jump and pass the ball to his other teammate when Philips snatched the ball in his hand, swiftly passing it to me.

Lopez, Johnson and I were the nearest to the ring and the other team seemed to have forgotten to put guards from our side of the court. Stewart was the only one there and he was guarding me, his eyes observing my movement. I continued dribbling the ball as I sneakily checked my area. There weren't enough guards around me, and I could pass the ball to either Lopez - who was standing meters away behind Stewart - or Johnson - who was literally just under the ring.

Two players from Stewart's team reached Lopez while the other two guarded Johnson. Again, no one was guarding the rest of my team from Stewart's side of the court. From my team, I knew Ushkowitz was the best shooter so I turned around and tried to make it as if I was passing the ball to Johnson but I shifted mid-air and passed the ball to him. He was free and had enough time to run near the ring.

Swiftly, he dashed towards our court and threw the ball in the air, landing perfectly on the ring. Coach Strauss blew his whistle, the first point was ours.

The game lasted for about fifteen minutes and we had to wait a little longer for the results. While I believed there were a couple of people in Stewart's team that really didn't do anything aside from running around and looking dazed the entire time, Stewart and his other teammate, Hosho, were sharpshooters and Ushkowitz was the only good shooter in my team, so they were the first to make five points. I attempted shooting a number of times and I missed them all.

Finally, Coach Strauss called us to come near him and Gray. "Alright, you boys did a pretty good job." He said. He then handed his clipboard to Gray. "Parker and I observed you since the very first drill. Parker, why don't you announce those who are thru."

Gray began to read the names on the clipboard, "Hitcher, Hosho, Stewart, and Ushkowitz, you guys are in." He announced. I sighed in relief and internally patted myself on the shoulder. I thought my lousy skills in shooting would get me in trouble, but apparently, it didn't. "Lopez, Johnson and Philips, you guys are reserved players. Still in though, good job."

It actually felt good to step out of my comfort zone.

--- end of chapter 5 ---

A/N - that tryout scene is short af yet it's one of the hardest scenes I've ever written.