sometimes a good squabble is what you need fr fr
By Valor and Arms.
By Valor and Arms.
By Valor and Arms.
Chapter Sixteen: Where the Heart Resides
James was left guarding the air as Elijah spun past him before laying it up near the rim to the sound of oohs and ahhs.
"Block his shit," Joshua demanded from James, passing the ball aggressively to his older brother who was now face to face with their father.
"Keep cooking his ass," James Sr. told his youngest son with a smirk as the ball was checked.
Not one lacking confidence, Elijah quickly asked for the ball and faced up Joshua with a few between the leg dribbles before picking up the pace, hesitating a move to the right -- his dominant hand -- before snatching the ball to his left hand and euro stepping his way through James' attempted swipe at the ball before floating it into the heavens.
"Game out," Elijah shouted to no one in particular as he paraded around the make shift court in their driveway.
Joshua looked at James with disgust, hunching over to catch as his breathe as the last two games had not gone down the way he expected them to.
"I don't know why you keep looking over here," James scoffed, "He ended the game on you!"
"I should have guarded him from jump," Joshua shook his head, standing upright and walking towards the house, "Now he's going to be talking all week."
"I sure is," Elijah cackled, sharing a high-five with his father, "I don't know what they thought was going to happen."
"You know they're not right in the head," James Sr. continued to pour some salt while Joshua was still within earshot, "I dropped them a few times so it's really my fault when you think about it."
"We're out of shape is all," Joshua finally rebutted back as he swung the front door open, "Y'all play all the time still, we don't."
"Just wash up," James Sr. commanded to Joshua but really all of his sons, "Go help your momma up inside."
"If we were allowed to actually foul you, it'd be a different game. Just know that," James told his younger brother as they walked into the house.
"Jealousy does not look good on you," Leanne remarked to James with a wink, "I heard you giving them the business out there, baby."
"You know me," Elijah boasted as he took a seat on the couch but the praise was short lived.
"Get your dirty butt out my furniture!" their mother snapped at him, drawing a snicker from Pearl as she helped out in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on Sunday's dinner.
"I done told y'all to clean up already," James Sr. quickly made his presence felt as he entered the house, "Junior, I got the cut ups for McClain so hurry your ass up, I'm trying to watch the game tonight too."
Just as James started heading towards the bathroom he shared with his brothers, he looked down at his ringing phone, "I'll be right back."
He took a quick whiff of his armpit and was pleasantly surprised as he opened the door and started walking towards the sidewalk where she was waiting for him.
"You were working out?" Anabelle asked after they exchange a brief hug.
"Just hooping," James pointed his head towards the rim that hung above their garage door.
"I'm surprised your dad let you," Anabelle scoffed.
"Makes two of us," he shrugged, "I guess he was in a good mood or something."
They both just stood there for what felt like minutes before James opened his mouth to say something only for Anabelle to break the silence at the same moment as well.
"You go," James forced a smile.
"I just wanted to see you again before tomorrow, this morning felt...weird."
"It was," James nodded, reminiscing back to their cold exchange before church and an awkward kiss on the cheek afterwards where Anabelle had pulled away just as James' lips met her cheek.
"I'm not even going to lie to you, I was pretty fucking mad and I'm still a bit irritated about everything that happened."
"I told you, nothing happened, I don't...."
"It's okay," she sighed, "Like I said, I'm going to be pretty fucking irritated because like I told you, how would you feel if I was getting drunk as fuck with your friends and falling asleep at their house or something?"
"I'd be pretty irritated too," James admitted.
"But you're my boyfriend and I love you and this is just something that we're going to get past so I can't promise you that I won't be mad but Homecoming is this week and you still haven't picked a suit that I sent you."
"So this is what this is really about?" James teased her, testing the waters, "You want to win Homecoming Queen."
"Goddamn right," she sarcastically flipped her hair, "You know damn well that's what this is about."
They shared a laugh and then a hug and then a kiss.
...
Jarvis kept looking at his watch, growing with impatience as another minute would go by. He contemplated waiting until the next morning as doing it at school was his original plan but the thought of waiting another day had driven him into near insanity.
His heart skipped a few beats at the sight of Summer's mom's car exiting the garage before disappearing into the night for her shift at the hospital. Bringing his hand near his mouth, he smelled his breath, popping a mint just to be safe and then exited the car with the flowers and poster in hand.
...
As the moon shun on Holliman Athletic Center, the coaches' office on the second floor remained lit as they continued to burn the midnight oil with all eyes fixated on the whiteboard that commanded their every waking minute.
"We can't have a repeat of last year," coach Mullen reiterated, "We bring one guy in and he's out before the summer, can't have that."
"I feel really good about Sandberg," Coach Koenning emphasized, "We're in a really good spot with him, even with the baseball thing."
"It's not just a baseball thing," coach Mullen scoffed, "What, they're talking about the kid being a first round pick or something?"
"I don't know about that, he'll get drafted for sure but when I talk to him, when I talk to his folks, they're all sold on him playing football."
"It's one thing to say that now," coach Brewster interjected, "It's another thing to say that when you got a million dollar check or whatever in front of you, it's a whole different conversation."
"I still want us to take two," coach Mullen nodded in agreement, "Where are we with Williams?"
"He's still receptive," coach Koenning sighed, "It's just going to be a tough sell, is all, when you got a guy like Sanberg already committed in the class, we knew this when we took his commitment."
"You pushed for it," coach Mullen was quick to remind his assistant, "If he's going to have options with baseball, we better make damn sure we got options too."
...
"What are you doing here?" Summer asked with a smile before looking down at Jarvis' hands and realizing what was going on.
She brought both her hands to her mouth, covering her audible gasp. A giant smile grew on Jarvis' face as he started to get into his spiel.
"Summer, you're like the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I would love to take you to..."
"I'm sorry," she shook her head, "Jarvis, I mean, I like you and everything....but I can't."
Jarvis was taken aback, lowering the flowers and poster as he looked at her with a puzzled look on his face, "What? What are you saying?"
"You're like a friend," she tried to comfort him but he pulled away from her.
"You always do this shit!" he exclaimed, "Fuck around and play with a niggas feelings and shit. You know I've always fucking wanted you, always taking advantage of a nigga."
"It's not that," she held back approaching tears, "It's just....it's Michael."
"What?" Jarvis was once again stopped in his tracks, "Michael?"
"It wouldn't be right."
"What wouldn't be right? What are you talking about?"
"He never told you?"
"Told me what? That motherfucker don't even come to school no more, he's just a fucking mute at practice now."
"Oh," she cleared her throat, "Me and Michael, we've like fooled around and stuff."
"You and Mike?"
"I never told you because he didn't want people finding out," she defended herself, "We didn't want to make things weird or anything with the group but it just wouldn't be right, especially with everything going on."
"You fucked him?" Jarvis said with disgust, "That lame ass white boy? You let him hit?"
"Come on," she pleaded, "Don't be like that."
"You're a fucking loser," he scoffed, throwing the flowers and poster at her feet.
James was left guarding the air as Elijah spun past him before laying it up near the rim to the sound of oohs and ahhs.
"Block his shit," Joshua demanded from James, passing the ball aggressively to his older brother who was now face to face with their father.
"Keep cooking his ass," James Sr. told his youngest son with a smirk as the ball was checked.
Not one lacking confidence, Elijah quickly asked for the ball and faced up Joshua with a few between the leg dribbles before picking up the pace, hesitating a move to the right -- his dominant hand -- before snatching the ball to his left hand and euro stepping his way through James' attempted swipe at the ball before floating it into the heavens.
"Game out," Elijah shouted to no one in particular as he paraded around the make shift court in their driveway.
Joshua looked at James with disgust, hunching over to catch as his breathe as the last two games had not gone down the way he expected them to.
"I don't know why you keep looking over here," James scoffed, "He ended the game on you!"
"I should have guarded him from jump," Joshua shook his head, standing upright and walking towards the house, "Now he's going to be talking all week."
"I sure is," Elijah cackled, sharing a high-five with his father, "I don't know what they thought was going to happen."
"You know they're not right in the head," James Sr. continued to pour some salt while Joshua was still within earshot, "I dropped them a few times so it's really my fault when you think about it."
"We're out of shape is all," Joshua finally rebutted back as he swung the front door open, "Y'all play all the time still, we don't."
"Just wash up," James Sr. commanded to Joshua but really all of his sons, "Go help your momma up inside."
"If we were allowed to actually foul you, it'd be a different game. Just know that," James told his younger brother as they walked into the house.
"Jealousy does not look good on you," Leanne remarked to James with a wink, "I heard you giving them the business out there, baby."
"You know me," Elijah boasted as he took a seat on the couch but the praise was short lived.
"Get your dirty butt out my furniture!" their mother snapped at him, drawing a snicker from Pearl as she helped out in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on Sunday's dinner.
"I done told y'all to clean up already," James Sr. quickly made his presence felt as he entered the house, "Junior, I got the cut ups for McClain so hurry your ass up, I'm trying to watch the game tonight too."
Just as James started heading towards the bathroom he shared with his brothers, he looked down at his ringing phone, "I'll be right back."
He took a quick whiff of his armpit and was pleasantly surprised as he opened the door and started walking towards the sidewalk where she was waiting for him.
"You were working out?" Anabelle asked after they exchange a brief hug.
"Just hooping," James pointed his head towards the rim that hung above their garage door.
"I'm surprised your dad let you," Anabelle scoffed.
"Makes two of us," he shrugged, "I guess he was in a good mood or something."
They both just stood there for what felt like minutes before James opened his mouth to say something only for Anabelle to break the silence at the same moment as well.
"You go," James forced a smile.
"I just wanted to see you again before tomorrow, this morning felt...weird."
"It was," James nodded, reminiscing back to their cold exchange before church and an awkward kiss on the cheek afterwards where Anabelle had pulled away just as James' lips met her cheek.
"I'm not even going to lie to you, I was pretty fucking mad and I'm still a bit irritated about everything that happened."
"I told you, nothing happened, I don't...."
"It's okay," she sighed, "Like I said, I'm going to be pretty fucking irritated because like I told you, how would you feel if I was getting drunk as fuck with your friends and falling asleep at their house or something?"
"I'd be pretty irritated too," James admitted.
"But you're my boyfriend and I love you and this is just something that we're going to get past so I can't promise you that I won't be mad but Homecoming is this week and you still haven't picked a suit that I sent you."
"So this is what this is really about?" James teased her, testing the waters, "You want to win Homecoming Queen."
"Goddamn right," she sarcastically flipped her hair, "You know damn well that's what this is about."
They shared a laugh and then a hug and then a kiss.
...
Jarvis kept looking at his watch, growing with impatience as another minute would go by. He contemplated waiting until the next morning as doing it at school was his original plan but the thought of waiting another day had driven him into near insanity.
His heart skipped a few beats at the sight of Summer's mom's car exiting the garage before disappearing into the night for her shift at the hospital. Bringing his hand near his mouth, he smelled his breath, popping a mint just to be safe and then exited the car with the flowers and poster in hand.
...
As the moon shun on Holliman Athletic Center, the coaches' office on the second floor remained lit as they continued to burn the midnight oil with all eyes fixated on the whiteboard that commanded their every waking minute.
"We can't have a repeat of last year," coach Mullen reiterated, "We bring one guy in and he's out before the summer, can't have that."
"I feel really good about Sandberg," Coach Koenning emphasized, "We're in a really good spot with him, even with the baseball thing."
"It's not just a baseball thing," coach Mullen scoffed, "What, they're talking about the kid being a first round pick or something?"
"I don't know about that, he'll get drafted for sure but when I talk to him, when I talk to his folks, they're all sold on him playing football."
"It's one thing to say that now," coach Brewster interjected, "It's another thing to say that when you got a million dollar check or whatever in front of you, it's a whole different conversation."
"I still want us to take two," coach Mullen nodded in agreement, "Where are we with Williams?"
"He's still receptive," coach Koenning sighed, "It's just going to be a tough sell, is all, when you got a guy like Sanberg already committed in the class, we knew this when we took his commitment."
"You pushed for it," coach Mullen was quick to remind his assistant, "If he's going to have options with baseball, we better make damn sure we got options too."
...
"What are you doing here?" Summer asked with a smile before looking down at Jarvis' hands and realizing what was going on.
She brought both her hands to her mouth, covering her audible gasp. A giant smile grew on Jarvis' face as he started to get into his spiel.
"Summer, you're like the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and I would love to take you to..."
"I'm sorry," she shook her head, "Jarvis, I mean, I like you and everything....but I can't."
Jarvis was taken aback, lowering the flowers and poster as he looked at her with a puzzled look on his face, "What? What are you saying?"
"You're like a friend," she tried to comfort him but he pulled away from her.
"You always do this shit!" he exclaimed, "Fuck around and play with a niggas feelings and shit. You know I've always fucking wanted you, always taking advantage of a nigga."
"It's not that," she held back approaching tears, "It's just....it's Michael."
"What?" Jarvis was once again stopped in his tracks, "Michael?"
"It wouldn't be right."
"What wouldn't be right? What are you talking about?"
"He never told you?"
"Told me what? That motherfucker don't even come to school no more, he's just a fucking mute at practice now."
"Oh," she cleared her throat, "Me and Michael, we've like fooled around and stuff."
"You and Mike?"
"I never told you because he didn't want people finding out," she defended herself, "We didn't want to make things weird or anything with the group but it just wouldn't be right, especially with everything going on."
"You fucked him?" Jarvis said with disgust, "That lame ass white boy? You let him hit?"
"Come on," she pleaded, "Don't be like that."
"You're a fucking loser," he scoffed, throwing the flowers and poster at her feet.
Last edited by Soapy on 25 Sep 2023, 15:33, edited 1 time in total.
By Valor and Arms.
Chapter Seventeenth: You Can't Always Come Home
"I don't know if I liked that," Anabelle responded with a smirk to Alexis' remark, "For real though, they were yelling your name all night long."
"Now it's going to be your turn," Alexis continued to tease, causing James to blush a little bit.
Even with a boneheaded interception near the endzone, James had followed in the footsteps of all of those that came before him and used McClain as a stat padding game, putting together one of his better performances since defenses had adjusted to East Side's pass happy offense. The schedule had lined up perfectly with two more lowly ranked teams left before the end of the season in one-win Ruleville Central and winless Velma Jackson.
Even with the sold out crowd on Friday night, the game against McClain was simply the appetizer to the main course of the weekend.
"You look so good!" Anabelle remarked as Summer came out of Alexis' mother room with her makeup all done, "I need it just like that Ms. Fay."
"You got it," Alexis' mother nodded with a smile as she admired her work, "Lexi, I know you offered them something to eat?"
"They didn't want anything," Alexis defended herself.
"I know y'all going to be drinking so try to get something in you," she winked at Rose, who was known to have a good time.
"Thanks again," Anabelle thanked Ms. Fay who had volunteered her skills as a professional makeup artist and hair stylist to the crew of girls that had shown up to her house around noon.
Once Ms. Fay disappeared back into the room with Anabelle, Rose was quick to hop off the couch and returned to raiding the liquor cabinet.
"You heard her," Rose smiled towards James, Summer and Alexis, "We need a nice base for the night, get going early."
...
"I just don't think it's a good idea," Pearl sighed, realizing she was now in a losing battle with her bone headed brother.
"Why not?" Joshua shot back, drawing a tilted head and frown from his sister, "It's not just their night."
"You'll have your own Homecoming, shit, you'll even have next year if you want to go."
"People aren't going to start loving gay people next year," he scoffed, "Or the year after that, or the year after that so what the fuck am I going to do, just keep waiting around?"
"There's been a lot going," Pearl emphasized, "You know this, stop acting slow."
"I already told Dre that we're going," Joshua continued to get ready in his room as Pearl stood by the door.
"I know you're built for it," Pearl approached him, "I've known it, since the day that you told me, that you were going to be fine. I always knew that. But is he? Is everyone else at your school? Everyone else in your group? What you're going to do is going to have a lasting effect on all of them. I'm not telling you not to go, I just hope you know what you're doing."
"I got forced into this shit," Joshua voice cracked, "I didn't ask for this, any of it but I'm not.....I'm not just going to keep living in the shadows, hoping not to piss somebody off or be worried about what they're going to say. "
"You better serve some fucking looks then," she smiled.
...
Far worse than his red zone interception, James had shown a real lack of judgement as he leaned up against the wall, trying to stop the room from spinning. The pregame had gotten out of hand and before he even stepped a foot in the decorated ballroom, he had gotten more than just a buzz.
"This is Leigh," Anabelle introduced yet another indistinguishable face to James who tried to force a smile onto his face, "She's in my AP Lit class, she's the reason I'm passing. This is James, my boyfriend."
"Hi," she shook James' hand, "I saw you play yesterday, my dad is a big fan, he went to school with your dad."
"Thanks," James slurred.
The conversation continued but James faded out of it, eventually walking away without notice to try to find a more calming environment. It seemed that everywhere he went, there was somebody shoving their hand in his face for a handshake or a hug. He eventually got dragged into a semi circle of football players and their dates.
"I'm going to miss this nigga," Chris looked longingly at his quarterback, "No offense Alex but your little bro is big trash."
"Chill," Alex laughed, "He's just learning the position is all, I'm going to get him right this summer."
Ryan, Alex's brother, was the sophomore backup quarterback that James' had beaten out in camp and for the first time all season, he had gotten some action in the game against McClain during the blow out only to throw a few ground balls near his receiver's feet, including Chris.
"Some bullshit," Chris, who was prone to complain, shook his head, "I need my thousand-yard season, man, we could have had that nigga, just stay back one more year."
"Shut up," James swayed a bit, "You was bitching in the beginning of the season too."
"Because you was ass," Devon interjected, drawing a laugh from the crowd, "I ain't going to hold you, though, you turned up though."
"For real," Craig nodded, "You might be better than Rog when it's all said and done."
"Easy," Alex agreed, "Roger was cool and all but my boy might throw for four thousand!"
"Forty touchdowns too," Thien added, "Yeah, y'all know I'm the stat guy. Speaking of which, I need about five more catches for twenty-five on the season, hook it up my nigga, I ain't asking for much."
"Unlike this man over here asking for a thousand yards like he's Calvin Johnson or something," Craig teased Chris, who he had taken under his wings over the years.
"Walk before you crawl, nigga. That's the problem with these young niggas," Devon leaned on his date, "They be wanting the world before they nuts drop so you gotta crack they shit every now and then."
"Fuck you," Chris responded.
Devon's interaction with his date reminded James of his, sending his head spinning to try to spot her once again. He roamed the dance floor, looking for her lavender dress but was instead greeted by the sight of the seas parting for a late entrance.
...
D'Ondre kept his head down and distance from Joshua but it was no avail as all eyes were fixated on them. His instinct was to bolt for the door and his nervous energy was felt by Joshua who calmly held his hand as they continued their walk into the ballroom.
The familiar faces helped ease his nerves as their group of friends' face lit up when they saw him, helping drawn out the snickers that came from the various mouths in the crowd.
"I'm so glad you guys came," said one of their friends, hugging both Joshua and D'Ondre who wore matching baby blue suits, "You guys look adorable!"
"Thanks," Joshua cleared his throat, not realizing he had been holding his breath for most of the walk. He continued to greet his friends, mainly from the support group with the exception of one notable hand that was extended.
"My guy," James dapped up and then hugged his brother, "You're looking clean, my nigga!"
Joshua was taken by surprise, simply smiling through it. Despite being brothers, they hadn't interacted much at school and school outings, even before Joshua had came out or rather been forced out. This was a surprise, a pleasant one, but a surprise nonetheless.
"This is how you dress," James looked back towards the group of football players he was just with, "With the lapel and everything, take notes!"
"That boy do look clean," Devon came over, dapping Joshua up, "I ain't tell you at the time but what y'all did at the bus, that was some real shit."
"Thanks," Joshua hadn't spoken to Devon since he left the football team and was surprised that he even remembered him.
"That suit looks good," Alex came over as well and was soon followed by the rest of the football team and their dates.
...
"He's going to throw up," Anabelle said in frustration, trying to stop the tears from ruining her makeup, "It's going to be so fucking embarrassing."
"No, he's not. He'll be fine," Rose massaged her back, "Come on, you can't let people see their future Homecoming queen like this."
"Look at him," she angrily pointed towards James who was in obnoxiously loud conversation with Joshua, Devin and some of the other people from the football team with a drink in his hand that was more than likely spiked, "He was drunk before he even got here."
Alexis felt the sting of Anabelle's comments and jumped into action, "We'll get him right, I promise."
"How?" Anabelle asked.
"My mom always drinks this thing when she's drunk," Alexis assured her, "They sell it at like CVS or Walgreens, anyone of them."
"Don't leave," Anabelle grabbed her, "I don't want to be here by myself."
"Rose can stay with you," Alexis suggested, "I'll go with Summer, we'll take Jarvis' car and we'll be back before they announce anything, I promise."
"I can stay," Summer quickly interjected, trying her best to continue avoiding Jarvis who had made it easy that night.
"Is Jarvis even here?" Anabelle asked, looking around for him.
"I'm sure the football guys will know," she waved him off and headed towards James.
...
"How do you even know this shit?" Jarvis asked Alexis as they continued to peruse the shopping lane for the item that Alexis was looking for.
"Have you met my mom?" she joked, "You can't let a good time get in the way of a great opportunity she always says."
"What does that even mean?"
"Sober up," she flashed the bottle of Pedialyte in front of Jarvis' face.
"That shit?" Jarvis laughed, "That's like for cramping and shit."
"And for sobering your ass up," she hurried over to the register before turning over to Jarvis, "You got any cash on you?"
"How you take somebody to the store with no money," he shook his head before pulling out a wad of dollar bills out of his wallet, "Y'all women be aggravating a nigga sometimes."
Using the self checkout, Alexis didn't even bother bagging up the lone bottle and instead headed straight towards Jarvis' truck. The wind had picked up a bit and the temperatures had lowered with the moon providing the perfect backdrop for the clear skies.
They entered Jarvis' truck to find a passed out James in the back to the surprise of no one. Alexis shook him a few times, trying to wake him up but he'd just roll away from her in the backseat as he tried to return back to sleep.
"It's worse than I thought," she sighed, placing the bottle in the drink holder that separated the passenger seat from the driver's seat.
"He can't handle his liquor," Jarvis shook his head, "You sure can though."
"He was going hard at the house," she laughed, "Anabelle is going to be so pissed, like even worse than last time at your house."
"That was a crazy night," Jarvis brushed his hair with his hands, "I know you was feeling on a nigga that night, I saw your eyes."
"What?" she scoffed, "What are you even talking about right now?"
"Don't worry," he smiled, "I'm not trying to fuck on your friend or anything like that, we just friends."
"What?"
"Summer," he said emphatically, "Don't feel like we can't have a good time because of her or nothing, we're not like that, you know."
"Eww," she looked away, "I don't know what you're getting at but let's go, we'll wake him up once we get back."
"Fuck you mean 'eww'? You fucking on that white boy too?" Jarvis tone raised.
"Jarvis, what the fuck are you talking about?"
"Oh, I see. This is what you like," Jarvis moved his hand past the barrier that separated them and placed them on her inner thing, causing Alexis to jump, "Relax, baby, I can tell you like a nigga that just do instead of talking."
"What are you doing?!" Alexis tried to move his hand away but Jarvis didn't' budge.
"You're probably wet as fuck right now," Jarvis smirked as he continued to move his hand up her thigh.
Alexis turned to face Jarvis and punched him in the face, causing him to recoil back and away from her hand. She groaned in pain, grabbing her right hand which had suffered the worst of the exchange. Jarvis returned the volley, smacking her in the face in the back of his hand. She tried to open the car door but he quickly reached over, shutting back close and almost caught her foot.
The sound of the door slamming woke James out of his slumber, slowly sitting himself up as Alexis began to scream. Jarvis was trying to hold her by the hair but she had managed to pull away by pushing her legs up against the dashboard, eventually reaching over to the car door and opening it this time with success.
Before James could figure out what was going on, Alexis stumbled out of the car.
"What the fuck?" James muttered to himself, unsure where he was at yet alone what was going on.
He quickly got an idea as to what was going as Jarvis chased after Alexis, grabbing her from the back by the throat and dragging her back to the car, wrapping his arm around her mouth to cover her screams.
They were soon joined by James who quickly got out of the car and rushed over, pushing Jarvis with all of his might to the ground and in doing so, freed Alexis from his grasp. She didn't hesitate and quickly bolted, leaving just Jarvis and James in the parking lot.
"What the fuck?" James asked Jarvis, still unclear as to what had just happened.
Once back up to his feet, Jarvis pushed James out of his way and scrambled into his truck, disappearing into the night.
...
"I'm going to kill them," Anabelle continued to seethe while Rose and Summer tried to comfort her, "They'll be here any minute."
The minutes had gone by with no sign of Alexis nor James who remained unresponsive to text messages or calls.
"Your 2012 Homecoming Queen is....."
Anabelle tightened her grip on Rose and Summer's hands as only one thing could make a tumultuous night even worse.
"Anabelle Nasri!"
She took a sigh of relief before being hugged by Rose, Summer and soon the rest of her friends before finding her way onto the stage. She looked out onto the crowd with a smile, half hoping now that he wouldn't show up in a drunken state and ruin her moment.
"Devon Henry!"
The sound of the familiar name snapped Anabelle back into reality, sharing a hug with her Homecoming King while his date looked on and hers was nowhere to be found.
...
"We both got the same suit on!"
"It looks different on me though," Joshua flexed, "You need to hit the weight rom, baby."
"That's the kitchen, not no damn weight room. You can fool them," D'Ondre shook his head, "You can't fool me, I've seen it all."
"I'm going to get shredded next year," Joshua laughed, "You ain't gonna be the only one with a six pack."
They continued to walk towards D'Ondre's house, stopping about a block away to share a goodnight kiss and a hug away from the prying eyes of his parents. They were more accepting than most but it still felt weird for either of them to show affection in public. Joshua shared a brief exchange with his parents at the porch before heading on his way towards his house to call it a night.
He was surprised to see his parents outside the house, painting the front wall at this time of the night. James Sr. took meticulous care of the house that he had grown up in and vowed that six more generations would live under the same roof but even for him, this was a bit extreme as they continued to work under the moonlight in the wee hours of the night.
"What are you doing?" Joshua said with a smile before realizing the aim of their task.
They had managed to quickly paint over most of it but the last vestiges of that word, specifically 'GGOT', gave it away and sent Joshua scrambling into the house in shame. He was quickly intercepted by his father who stopped what he was doing and held his crying son in his arms.
...
"I'm surprised, I didn't know James got down like that."
"Devon," his date, a sophomore named Jessie, hit him on the arm.
"It's fine," Anabelle waved her off, "He normally doesn't, he just chose tonight to be one of those nights."
"It's that nigga Jarvis," Devon joked, "He's a bad influence, you need him to start hanging out with me more, I'm the evangelical one of the team."
"That's a big word for you," Jessie rolled her eyes, "Don't listen to him, he might be the worst of the bunch."
"He can't be all that bad," Anabelle smiled, "Appreciate the invite."
The night had started to wind down and with Homecoming over with, Summer and Rose had found respective bachelors to finish the night with and instead of going home, Devon and Jessie had convinced Anabelle to head down to the local McDonalds for a night cap. It was filled with fellow high school seniors that weren't ready to call it a night on their last Homecoming just yet.
"We're going to be on our way," Amari came over and told Devon, "Y'all still sliding?"
"For sure," Devon dapped him up, "Just text me the room number."
"There's an after party if you want to come," Jessie filled Anabelle in.
"Where?" she asked.
"It's a hotel room," Jessie answered, "Not like that, it's just like a party so we can drink and stuff, Amari's brother got it for us. We do it all the time, it's super fun. You don't have to worry about the cops and stuff crashing it."
She didn't recognize many of the faces that were now heading out the door but the night still felt young.
"Yeah, I'll go."
***
***
"I don't even know who else could you win, they were loving on you yesterday."***
"I don't know if I liked that," Anabelle responded with a smirk to Alexis' remark, "For real though, they were yelling your name all night long."
"Now it's going to be your turn," Alexis continued to tease, causing James to blush a little bit.
Even with a boneheaded interception near the endzone, James had followed in the footsteps of all of those that came before him and used McClain as a stat padding game, putting together one of his better performances since defenses had adjusted to East Side's pass happy offense. The schedule had lined up perfectly with two more lowly ranked teams left before the end of the season in one-win Ruleville Central and winless Velma Jackson.
Even with the sold out crowd on Friday night, the game against McClain was simply the appetizer to the main course of the weekend.
"You look so good!" Anabelle remarked as Summer came out of Alexis' mother room with her makeup all done, "I need it just like that Ms. Fay."
"You got it," Alexis' mother nodded with a smile as she admired her work, "Lexi, I know you offered them something to eat?"
"They didn't want anything," Alexis defended herself.
"I know y'all going to be drinking so try to get something in you," she winked at Rose, who was known to have a good time.
"Thanks again," Anabelle thanked Ms. Fay who had volunteered her skills as a professional makeup artist and hair stylist to the crew of girls that had shown up to her house around noon.
Once Ms. Fay disappeared back into the room with Anabelle, Rose was quick to hop off the couch and returned to raiding the liquor cabinet.
"You heard her," Rose smiled towards James, Summer and Alexis, "We need a nice base for the night, get going early."
...
"I just don't think it's a good idea," Pearl sighed, realizing she was now in a losing battle with her bone headed brother.
"Why not?" Joshua shot back, drawing a tilted head and frown from his sister, "It's not just their night."
"You'll have your own Homecoming, shit, you'll even have next year if you want to go."
"People aren't going to start loving gay people next year," he scoffed, "Or the year after that, or the year after that so what the fuck am I going to do, just keep waiting around?"
"There's been a lot going," Pearl emphasized, "You know this, stop acting slow."
"I already told Dre that we're going," Joshua continued to get ready in his room as Pearl stood by the door.
"I know you're built for it," Pearl approached him, "I've known it, since the day that you told me, that you were going to be fine. I always knew that. But is he? Is everyone else at your school? Everyone else in your group? What you're going to do is going to have a lasting effect on all of them. I'm not telling you not to go, I just hope you know what you're doing."
"I got forced into this shit," Joshua voice cracked, "I didn't ask for this, any of it but I'm not.....I'm not just going to keep living in the shadows, hoping not to piss somebody off or be worried about what they're going to say. "
"You better serve some fucking looks then," she smiled.
...
Far worse than his red zone interception, James had shown a real lack of judgement as he leaned up against the wall, trying to stop the room from spinning. The pregame had gotten out of hand and before he even stepped a foot in the decorated ballroom, he had gotten more than just a buzz.
"This is Leigh," Anabelle introduced yet another indistinguishable face to James who tried to force a smile onto his face, "She's in my AP Lit class, she's the reason I'm passing. This is James, my boyfriend."
"Hi," she shook James' hand, "I saw you play yesterday, my dad is a big fan, he went to school with your dad."
"Thanks," James slurred.
The conversation continued but James faded out of it, eventually walking away without notice to try to find a more calming environment. It seemed that everywhere he went, there was somebody shoving their hand in his face for a handshake or a hug. He eventually got dragged into a semi circle of football players and their dates.
"I'm going to miss this nigga," Chris looked longingly at his quarterback, "No offense Alex but your little bro is big trash."
"Chill," Alex laughed, "He's just learning the position is all, I'm going to get him right this summer."
Ryan, Alex's brother, was the sophomore backup quarterback that James' had beaten out in camp and for the first time all season, he had gotten some action in the game against McClain during the blow out only to throw a few ground balls near his receiver's feet, including Chris.
"Some bullshit," Chris, who was prone to complain, shook his head, "I need my thousand-yard season, man, we could have had that nigga, just stay back one more year."
"Shut up," James swayed a bit, "You was bitching in the beginning of the season too."
"Because you was ass," Devon interjected, drawing a laugh from the crowd, "I ain't going to hold you, though, you turned up though."
"For real," Craig nodded, "You might be better than Rog when it's all said and done."
"Easy," Alex agreed, "Roger was cool and all but my boy might throw for four thousand!"
"Forty touchdowns too," Thien added, "Yeah, y'all know I'm the stat guy. Speaking of which, I need about five more catches for twenty-five on the season, hook it up my nigga, I ain't asking for much."
"Unlike this man over here asking for a thousand yards like he's Calvin Johnson or something," Craig teased Chris, who he had taken under his wings over the years.
"Walk before you crawl, nigga. That's the problem with these young niggas," Devon leaned on his date, "They be wanting the world before they nuts drop so you gotta crack they shit every now and then."
"Fuck you," Chris responded.
Devon's interaction with his date reminded James of his, sending his head spinning to try to spot her once again. He roamed the dance floor, looking for her lavender dress but was instead greeted by the sight of the seas parting for a late entrance.
...
D'Ondre kept his head down and distance from Joshua but it was no avail as all eyes were fixated on them. His instinct was to bolt for the door and his nervous energy was felt by Joshua who calmly held his hand as they continued their walk into the ballroom.
The familiar faces helped ease his nerves as their group of friends' face lit up when they saw him, helping drawn out the snickers that came from the various mouths in the crowd.
"I'm so glad you guys came," said one of their friends, hugging both Joshua and D'Ondre who wore matching baby blue suits, "You guys look adorable!"
"Thanks," Joshua cleared his throat, not realizing he had been holding his breath for most of the walk. He continued to greet his friends, mainly from the support group with the exception of one notable hand that was extended.
"My guy," James dapped up and then hugged his brother, "You're looking clean, my nigga!"
Joshua was taken by surprise, simply smiling through it. Despite being brothers, they hadn't interacted much at school and school outings, even before Joshua had came out or rather been forced out. This was a surprise, a pleasant one, but a surprise nonetheless.
"This is how you dress," James looked back towards the group of football players he was just with, "With the lapel and everything, take notes!"
"That boy do look clean," Devon came over, dapping Joshua up, "I ain't tell you at the time but what y'all did at the bus, that was some real shit."
"Thanks," Joshua hadn't spoken to Devon since he left the football team and was surprised that he even remembered him.
"That suit looks good," Alex came over as well and was soon followed by the rest of the football team and their dates.
...
"He's going to throw up," Anabelle said in frustration, trying to stop the tears from ruining her makeup, "It's going to be so fucking embarrassing."
"No, he's not. He'll be fine," Rose massaged her back, "Come on, you can't let people see their future Homecoming queen like this."
"Look at him," she angrily pointed towards James who was in obnoxiously loud conversation with Joshua, Devin and some of the other people from the football team with a drink in his hand that was more than likely spiked, "He was drunk before he even got here."
Alexis felt the sting of Anabelle's comments and jumped into action, "We'll get him right, I promise."
"How?" Anabelle asked.
"My mom always drinks this thing when she's drunk," Alexis assured her, "They sell it at like CVS or Walgreens, anyone of them."
"Don't leave," Anabelle grabbed her, "I don't want to be here by myself."
"Rose can stay with you," Alexis suggested, "I'll go with Summer, we'll take Jarvis' car and we'll be back before they announce anything, I promise."
"I can stay," Summer quickly interjected, trying her best to continue avoiding Jarvis who had made it easy that night.
"Is Jarvis even here?" Anabelle asked, looking around for him.
"I'm sure the football guys will know," she waved him off and headed towards James.
...
"How do you even know this shit?" Jarvis asked Alexis as they continued to peruse the shopping lane for the item that Alexis was looking for.
"Have you met my mom?" she joked, "You can't let a good time get in the way of a great opportunity she always says."
"What does that even mean?"
"Sober up," she flashed the bottle of Pedialyte in front of Jarvis' face.
"That shit?" Jarvis laughed, "That's like for cramping and shit."
"And for sobering your ass up," she hurried over to the register before turning over to Jarvis, "You got any cash on you?"
"How you take somebody to the store with no money," he shook his head before pulling out a wad of dollar bills out of his wallet, "Y'all women be aggravating a nigga sometimes."
Using the self checkout, Alexis didn't even bother bagging up the lone bottle and instead headed straight towards Jarvis' truck. The wind had picked up a bit and the temperatures had lowered with the moon providing the perfect backdrop for the clear skies.
They entered Jarvis' truck to find a passed out James in the back to the surprise of no one. Alexis shook him a few times, trying to wake him up but he'd just roll away from her in the backseat as he tried to return back to sleep.
"It's worse than I thought," she sighed, placing the bottle in the drink holder that separated the passenger seat from the driver's seat.
"He can't handle his liquor," Jarvis shook his head, "You sure can though."
"He was going hard at the house," she laughed, "Anabelle is going to be so pissed, like even worse than last time at your house."
"That was a crazy night," Jarvis brushed his hair with his hands, "I know you was feeling on a nigga that night, I saw your eyes."
"What?" she scoffed, "What are you even talking about right now?"
"Don't worry," he smiled, "I'm not trying to fuck on your friend or anything like that, we just friends."
"What?"
"Summer," he said emphatically, "Don't feel like we can't have a good time because of her or nothing, we're not like that, you know."
"Eww," she looked away, "I don't know what you're getting at but let's go, we'll wake him up once we get back."
"Fuck you mean 'eww'? You fucking on that white boy too?" Jarvis tone raised.
"Jarvis, what the fuck are you talking about?"
"Oh, I see. This is what you like," Jarvis moved his hand past the barrier that separated them and placed them on her inner thing, causing Alexis to jump, "Relax, baby, I can tell you like a nigga that just do instead of talking."
"What are you doing?!" Alexis tried to move his hand away but Jarvis didn't' budge.
"You're probably wet as fuck right now," Jarvis smirked as he continued to move his hand up her thigh.
Alexis turned to face Jarvis and punched him in the face, causing him to recoil back and away from her hand. She groaned in pain, grabbing her right hand which had suffered the worst of the exchange. Jarvis returned the volley, smacking her in the face in the back of his hand. She tried to open the car door but he quickly reached over, shutting back close and almost caught her foot.
The sound of the door slamming woke James out of his slumber, slowly sitting himself up as Alexis began to scream. Jarvis was trying to hold her by the hair but she had managed to pull away by pushing her legs up against the dashboard, eventually reaching over to the car door and opening it this time with success.
Before James could figure out what was going on, Alexis stumbled out of the car.
"What the fuck?" James muttered to himself, unsure where he was at yet alone what was going on.
He quickly got an idea as to what was going as Jarvis chased after Alexis, grabbing her from the back by the throat and dragging her back to the car, wrapping his arm around her mouth to cover her screams.
They were soon joined by James who quickly got out of the car and rushed over, pushing Jarvis with all of his might to the ground and in doing so, freed Alexis from his grasp. She didn't hesitate and quickly bolted, leaving just Jarvis and James in the parking lot.
"What the fuck?" James asked Jarvis, still unclear as to what had just happened.
Once back up to his feet, Jarvis pushed James out of his way and scrambled into his truck, disappearing into the night.
...
"I'm going to kill them," Anabelle continued to seethe while Rose and Summer tried to comfort her, "They'll be here any minute."
The minutes had gone by with no sign of Alexis nor James who remained unresponsive to text messages or calls.
"Your 2012 Homecoming Queen is....."
Anabelle tightened her grip on Rose and Summer's hands as only one thing could make a tumultuous night even worse.
"Anabelle Nasri!"
She took a sigh of relief before being hugged by Rose, Summer and soon the rest of her friends before finding her way onto the stage. She looked out onto the crowd with a smile, half hoping now that he wouldn't show up in a drunken state and ruin her moment.
"Devon Henry!"
The sound of the familiar name snapped Anabelle back into reality, sharing a hug with her Homecoming King while his date looked on and hers was nowhere to be found.
...
"We both got the same suit on!"
"It looks different on me though," Joshua flexed, "You need to hit the weight rom, baby."
"That's the kitchen, not no damn weight room. You can fool them," D'Ondre shook his head, "You can't fool me, I've seen it all."
"I'm going to get shredded next year," Joshua laughed, "You ain't gonna be the only one with a six pack."
They continued to walk towards D'Ondre's house, stopping about a block away to share a goodnight kiss and a hug away from the prying eyes of his parents. They were more accepting than most but it still felt weird for either of them to show affection in public. Joshua shared a brief exchange with his parents at the porch before heading on his way towards his house to call it a night.
He was surprised to see his parents outside the house, painting the front wall at this time of the night. James Sr. took meticulous care of the house that he had grown up in and vowed that six more generations would live under the same roof but even for him, this was a bit extreme as they continued to work under the moonlight in the wee hours of the night.
"What are you doing?" Joshua said with a smile before realizing the aim of their task.
They had managed to quickly paint over most of it but the last vestiges of that word, specifically 'GGOT', gave it away and sent Joshua scrambling into the house in shame. He was quickly intercepted by his father who stopped what he was doing and held his crying son in his arms.
...
"I'm surprised, I didn't know James got down like that."
"Devon," his date, a sophomore named Jessie, hit him on the arm.
"It's fine," Anabelle waved her off, "He normally doesn't, he just chose tonight to be one of those nights."
"It's that nigga Jarvis," Devon joked, "He's a bad influence, you need him to start hanging out with me more, I'm the evangelical one of the team."
"That's a big word for you," Jessie rolled her eyes, "Don't listen to him, he might be the worst of the bunch."
"He can't be all that bad," Anabelle smiled, "Appreciate the invite."
The night had started to wind down and with Homecoming over with, Summer and Rose had found respective bachelors to finish the night with and instead of going home, Devon and Jessie had convinced Anabelle to head down to the local McDonalds for a night cap. It was filled with fellow high school seniors that weren't ready to call it a night on their last Homecoming just yet.
"We're going to be on our way," Amari came over and told Devon, "Y'all still sliding?"
"For sure," Devon dapped him up, "Just text me the room number."
"There's an after party if you want to come," Jessie filled Anabelle in.
"Where?" she asked.
"It's a hotel room," Jessie answered, "Not like that, it's just like a party so we can drink and stuff, Amari's brother got it for us. We do it all the time, it's super fun. You don't have to worry about the cops and stuff crashing it."
She didn't recognize many of the faces that were now heading out the door but the night still felt young.
"Yeah, I'll go."
Last edited by Soapy on 25 Sep 2023, 16:09, edited 1 time in total.
By Valor and Arms.
Jarvis in about a week... 
-
Captain Canada
- Posts: 2208
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
By Valor and Arms.
Train incoming? I know your breed.
By Valor and Arms.
IM FIGHTING FOR MY FUCKING LIFE! I DIDN'T DO THIS!
ayo what that mean cuh lmao thats a nasty charge to lay on somebody
By Valor and Arms.
Chapter Eighteenth: When The Chickens Come
Mr. Nasri kept his coffee mug nearby, taking a sip every now and then. He’d occasionally look up from the weekend papers in front of him to take a gander out into the driveway for the sight of any activity.
The matters in the page in front of him didn’t particularly interest him but it was something he grew up watching his father do and like everything else, it was only right that he kept to the tradition.
His eyebrows perked up at the sight of the familiar scraggly figure making their way up the porch to the front door. He walked over before they could even get a chance to knock, swinging the door open.
He looked past James, hoping to see the sight of his daughter but to no avail, “Where is she?”
“She’s not here?” James was just as surprised as Anabelle’s father, taking a peek inside.
“No,” his tone quickly changed to an accusatory one, “She’s not with you? We’ve been waiting for her all night.”
“I lost my phone,” James staggered in his explanation, still a bit hungover from the previous night.
As Mr. Nasri stepped towards James, it was now clear to the young man that was standing in front of a former linebacker, “We’ve never had this issue before, James.”
“Something happened,” he explained, “We went to the store and....”
“Who is we?”
“Me and Alexis and my friend from the team,” James was quick to answer but careful to omit the rest of the happenings.
“What’s her name, Summer? Rose? Her mom called them last night, they said she wasn’t with them.”
The two men’s attention quickly shifted to the driveway as a beat up Chevy Suburban pulled into the driveway, a car that was foreign to Mr. Nasri but familiar to James.
Anabelle quickly got out of the car, not bothering to say goodbye to neither Devon nor his girlfriend that was sitting in the passenger seat, helping ease the emotions that were rising up inside of James.
They were not aided by the fact that Anabelle quickly averted her eyes from James as she went up the steps, walking straight past her father.
“Belle!” he yelled into the house, closing the door behind him and right in James’ face as he stood there with more questions after initially showing up there with plenty enough.
...
It was Jarvis’ turn to make his sheepish trek to a doorstep, albeit for much different reasons. He initially milled about the front yard after getting out of his car, hoping to catch a glimpse of Alexis in the outside window that had a direct view of the kitchen or perhaps even catch her leaving the house.
In his hands were the phones of James and Alexis along with a bouquet of flowers, bought from the same store he had purchased for Summer. He was hoping for much better results this time around.
He eventually got the courage to walk up to the door, knocking a few times before taking a step back, waiting for the door to open. The Mississippi State bound offensive lineman was all of six-foot-five and 320 pounds but at the moment, he felt smaller than a toddler.
He readied his mouth to say something but was disappointed to see the sight of someone that did look a lot like Alexis, just a few decades older.
“She doesn’t want to see you right now,” her mother said firmly yet somehow compassionately, given the situation.
Given her tone, he wondered if she knew the full extent of what had happened. He simply nodded, not wanting to test the waters before handing over the pair of phones.
“I’m not that guy,” he started choking up, “I don’t know what she told you but we were just all so drunk and shit..sorry, it just got out of hand.”
She didn’t look at him, simply grabbing the phones before disappearing into the house.
...
“I don’t know,” Joshua scratched his head, “I don’t think he’s that good. He ain’t fast, he ain’t big, he doesn't even have a better arm than Junebug.”
James hated that nickname, throwing daggers at Joshua with his eyes.
“It’s just the system,” Joshua concluded.
“It’s his brain,” James Sr. pointed to his head, “Look at the top guys, Brees and Brady, they don’t have any of that. Shit, Elijah can throw the ball further than your brother and he’s breaking all types of district and state records.”
James beamed with pride on the inside as it had been the first time that his father had vocally acknowledged his success that season. Despite breaking the aforementioned records in his first three starts of the season, he had yet to receive a single game ball or even an attaboy in front of the team.
“He’s aight,” Joshua teased, “You’re really cutting up though, Jay.”
“Are you still talking to coach Brown every week?” James Sr. asked James.
“Pretty much,” James shrugged, having already begun to grow tired of the recruiting process.
While he enjoyed the initial interactions with each coach where they would discuss James’ play, how he’d fit into their offense and their vision of the team overall, the calls and texts eventually became routine check-in calls where not much was being discussed.
“What about coach Buckley?”
“What is there to talk about?” Joshua scoffed, “They might not win a game all year.”
“Not really,” James had started to garner some attention from other notable schools the likes of West Virginia and Vanderbilt once more but for some reason, Southern Miss seemed disinterested in his recruitment.
“They’re probably just focused on the season,” James Sr. defended the actions of his alma mater, “State asked for your film.”
Just the mention of the Bulldogs, which James associated with Jarvis, turned his stomach. While the Golden Eagles reigned supreme in the Little household, Mississippi State was a close second as they were the preferred SEC alternative to that school in Oxford, for obvious cultural reasons.
He had been excited for Jarvis when he committed there as a junior and was hoping, as a fan, that Michael would end up there as well in order to perhaps score some free tickets. As the season progressed, James had begun to hope that the Bulldogs would eventually look his way and offer him a scholarship.
Those were now no longer his wishes.
The trio continued to watch the game with Elijah eventually joining them once he was wrapped up with his post-dinner homework. It had been awhile since they were all gathered up around the television, shooting the shit as they enjoyed their favorite pastime.
The bonding was soon interrupted by the knock on the door, which Leanne knew all too well she would have to answer or no one would.
“Hey Annabelle,” Leanne hugged her, bringing her into the house.
James turned around, both relieved and a bit anxious to see her face. He stood up from the couch, walking over to her as she waved to the rest of the family.
“Sorry to walk in like this,” she looked just as stunning as ever to James even in just some sweats and a crop top that revealed her midriff, “I have your phone.”
“Sweetheart,” James Sr. nodded towards her before returning to the game, pointing out the difference splits the receivers had during a replay to Elijah.
“We can go outside,” James led her outside following a brief embrace.
“We got food,” Leanne managed to get in before the teenagers slipped into the darkness of the night.
James wasn’t sure what to say or how to approach it as he was both apologetic and angry towards her. He led with his apology.
“I’m sorry for leaving you like that,” he started, “I mean, shit just got fucking crazy with Jarvis and then we were trying to come back to the dance but everyone was gone already and we were just..”
“Alexis told me everything,” Anabelle eased him, “It’s fine, I’m not mad or anything, not at you at least.”
“Yeah,” James sighed, “I mean, what the fuck, right?”
“I never liked him,” she said of Jarvis, “He’s just...anyway, I just wanted to see you.”
“What happened?”
“With what?”
“After the party,” James’ tone began to change, “I mean, you showed up to your house with Devon?”
“Oh,” she said with a surprised look on her face, “Yeah, we went to this after party since she didn’t want to leave me by myself.”
“Who’s she?”
“I actually forgot her name,” she forced a laugh, “I was also pretty drunk by the end of the night so we just crashed in the car.”
“You keep saying we,” James scoffed.
“It was multiple people,” she said sarcastically, “That’s typically how you describe that, right?”
“But who is we?” James pressed her.
“Devon, his girlfriend, some other people were with us at first but by the end, I don’t know, like I said, you’re not the only one that drinks on Homecoming weekend.”
“Well, I didn’t show up at your house still hungover coming out of another girl’s car.”
“But you did fall asleep with my friend?”
“What are you talking about? Alexis went home last night, I crashed here, there was like some whole other shit happening at my house.”
“Not last night,” she crossed her arms, “But a few weeks ago, passing out with Alexis and Summer and Rose. I mean, who knows what happened there either, right? With that creep Jarvis.”
“Here we go again,” James turned his back to her, “I thought we were past this shit.”
“You want to come at me,” she got in his face, “You’re the one getting drunk, like last night again, leaving me and shit.”
“We were waiting on you,” James defended his behavior, “At the house? You took forever to get ready so we got a little drunk, so what? I didn’t fucking spend the night with another bitch or something.”
“You’ve literally done that,” she pointed at him, “Like just a few weeks ago.”
“Not the same thing,” James waved her off, “Those girls...I don’t even look at them like that.”
“I don’t look at Devon any kind of way,” she shot back at him, “I wouldn’t have to be looking at him at all if you were there but once again, you were not because you got drunk as fuck with Alexis, again.”
“We’re not getting anywhere,” James spoke up after allowing a few moments of silence, “I’m just happy you’re safe, especially after everything that happened last night.”
Anabelle took a pause to reflect as well, biting her bottom lip.
“Yeah, what even happened here?” she said, pointing to the fresh coat of paint on the outside of the house.
“You don’t even want to know,” James shook his head, putting his arm around her and leading her back into the house.
Mr. Nasri kept his coffee mug nearby, taking a sip every now and then. He’d occasionally look up from the weekend papers in front of him to take a gander out into the driveway for the sight of any activity.
The matters in the page in front of him didn’t particularly interest him but it was something he grew up watching his father do and like everything else, it was only right that he kept to the tradition.
His eyebrows perked up at the sight of the familiar scraggly figure making their way up the porch to the front door. He walked over before they could even get a chance to knock, swinging the door open.
He looked past James, hoping to see the sight of his daughter but to no avail, “Where is she?”
“She’s not here?” James was just as surprised as Anabelle’s father, taking a peek inside.
“No,” his tone quickly changed to an accusatory one, “She’s not with you? We’ve been waiting for her all night.”
“I lost my phone,” James staggered in his explanation, still a bit hungover from the previous night.
As Mr. Nasri stepped towards James, it was now clear to the young man that was standing in front of a former linebacker, “We’ve never had this issue before, James.”
“Something happened,” he explained, “We went to the store and....”
“Who is we?”
“Me and Alexis and my friend from the team,” James was quick to answer but careful to omit the rest of the happenings.
“What’s her name, Summer? Rose? Her mom called them last night, they said she wasn’t with them.”
The two men’s attention quickly shifted to the driveway as a beat up Chevy Suburban pulled into the driveway, a car that was foreign to Mr. Nasri but familiar to James.
Anabelle quickly got out of the car, not bothering to say goodbye to neither Devon nor his girlfriend that was sitting in the passenger seat, helping ease the emotions that were rising up inside of James.
They were not aided by the fact that Anabelle quickly averted her eyes from James as she went up the steps, walking straight past her father.
“Belle!” he yelled into the house, closing the door behind him and right in James’ face as he stood there with more questions after initially showing up there with plenty enough.
...
It was Jarvis’ turn to make his sheepish trek to a doorstep, albeit for much different reasons. He initially milled about the front yard after getting out of his car, hoping to catch a glimpse of Alexis in the outside window that had a direct view of the kitchen or perhaps even catch her leaving the house.
In his hands were the phones of James and Alexis along with a bouquet of flowers, bought from the same store he had purchased for Summer. He was hoping for much better results this time around.
He eventually got the courage to walk up to the door, knocking a few times before taking a step back, waiting for the door to open. The Mississippi State bound offensive lineman was all of six-foot-five and 320 pounds but at the moment, he felt smaller than a toddler.
He readied his mouth to say something but was disappointed to see the sight of someone that did look a lot like Alexis, just a few decades older.
“She doesn’t want to see you right now,” her mother said firmly yet somehow compassionately, given the situation.
Given her tone, he wondered if she knew the full extent of what had happened. He simply nodded, not wanting to test the waters before handing over the pair of phones.
“I’m not that guy,” he started choking up, “I don’t know what she told you but we were just all so drunk and shit..sorry, it just got out of hand.”
She didn’t look at him, simply grabbing the phones before disappearing into the house.
...
“I don’t know,” Joshua scratched his head, “I don’t think he’s that good. He ain’t fast, he ain’t big, he doesn't even have a better arm than Junebug.”
James hated that nickname, throwing daggers at Joshua with his eyes.
“It’s just the system,” Joshua concluded.
“It’s his brain,” James Sr. pointed to his head, “Look at the top guys, Brees and Brady, they don’t have any of that. Shit, Elijah can throw the ball further than your brother and he’s breaking all types of district and state records.”
James beamed with pride on the inside as it had been the first time that his father had vocally acknowledged his success that season. Despite breaking the aforementioned records in his first three starts of the season, he had yet to receive a single game ball or even an attaboy in front of the team.
“He’s aight,” Joshua teased, “You’re really cutting up though, Jay.”
“Are you still talking to coach Brown every week?” James Sr. asked James.
“Pretty much,” James shrugged, having already begun to grow tired of the recruiting process.
While he enjoyed the initial interactions with each coach where they would discuss James’ play, how he’d fit into their offense and their vision of the team overall, the calls and texts eventually became routine check-in calls where not much was being discussed.
“What about coach Buckley?”
“What is there to talk about?” Joshua scoffed, “They might not win a game all year.”
“Not really,” James had started to garner some attention from other notable schools the likes of West Virginia and Vanderbilt once more but for some reason, Southern Miss seemed disinterested in his recruitment.
“They’re probably just focused on the season,” James Sr. defended the actions of his alma mater, “State asked for your film.”
Just the mention of the Bulldogs, which James associated with Jarvis, turned his stomach. While the Golden Eagles reigned supreme in the Little household, Mississippi State was a close second as they were the preferred SEC alternative to that school in Oxford, for obvious cultural reasons.
He had been excited for Jarvis when he committed there as a junior and was hoping, as a fan, that Michael would end up there as well in order to perhaps score some free tickets. As the season progressed, James had begun to hope that the Bulldogs would eventually look his way and offer him a scholarship.
Those were now no longer his wishes.
The trio continued to watch the game with Elijah eventually joining them once he was wrapped up with his post-dinner homework. It had been awhile since they were all gathered up around the television, shooting the shit as they enjoyed their favorite pastime.
The bonding was soon interrupted by the knock on the door, which Leanne knew all too well she would have to answer or no one would.
“Hey Annabelle,” Leanne hugged her, bringing her into the house.
James turned around, both relieved and a bit anxious to see her face. He stood up from the couch, walking over to her as she waved to the rest of the family.
“Sorry to walk in like this,” she looked just as stunning as ever to James even in just some sweats and a crop top that revealed her midriff, “I have your phone.”
“Sweetheart,” James Sr. nodded towards her before returning to the game, pointing out the difference splits the receivers had during a replay to Elijah.
“We can go outside,” James led her outside following a brief embrace.
“We got food,” Leanne managed to get in before the teenagers slipped into the darkness of the night.
James wasn’t sure what to say or how to approach it as he was both apologetic and angry towards her. He led with his apology.
“I’m sorry for leaving you like that,” he started, “I mean, shit just got fucking crazy with Jarvis and then we were trying to come back to the dance but everyone was gone already and we were just..”
“Alexis told me everything,” Anabelle eased him, “It’s fine, I’m not mad or anything, not at you at least.”
“Yeah,” James sighed, “I mean, what the fuck, right?”
“I never liked him,” she said of Jarvis, “He’s just...anyway, I just wanted to see you.”
“What happened?”
“With what?”
“After the party,” James’ tone began to change, “I mean, you showed up to your house with Devon?”
“Oh,” she said with a surprised look on her face, “Yeah, we went to this after party since she didn’t want to leave me by myself.”
“Who’s she?”
“I actually forgot her name,” she forced a laugh, “I was also pretty drunk by the end of the night so we just crashed in the car.”
“You keep saying we,” James scoffed.
“It was multiple people,” she said sarcastically, “That’s typically how you describe that, right?”
“But who is we?” James pressed her.
“Devon, his girlfriend, some other people were with us at first but by the end, I don’t know, like I said, you’re not the only one that drinks on Homecoming weekend.”
“Well, I didn’t show up at your house still hungover coming out of another girl’s car.”
“But you did fall asleep with my friend?”
“What are you talking about? Alexis went home last night, I crashed here, there was like some whole other shit happening at my house.”
“Not last night,” she crossed her arms, “But a few weeks ago, passing out with Alexis and Summer and Rose. I mean, who knows what happened there either, right? With that creep Jarvis.”
“Here we go again,” James turned his back to her, “I thought we were past this shit.”
“You want to come at me,” she got in his face, “You’re the one getting drunk, like last night again, leaving me and shit.”
“We were waiting on you,” James defended his behavior, “At the house? You took forever to get ready so we got a little drunk, so what? I didn’t fucking spend the night with another bitch or something.”
“You’ve literally done that,” she pointed at him, “Like just a few weeks ago.”
“Not the same thing,” James waved her off, “Those girls...I don’t even look at them like that.”
“I don’t look at Devon any kind of way,” she shot back at him, “I wouldn’t have to be looking at him at all if you were there but once again, you were not because you got drunk as fuck with Alexis, again.”
“We’re not getting anywhere,” James spoke up after allowing a few moments of silence, “I’m just happy you’re safe, especially after everything that happened last night.”
Anabelle took a pause to reflect as well, biting her bottom lip.
“Yeah, what even happened here?” she said, pointing to the fresh coat of paint on the outside of the house.
“You don’t even want to know,” James shook his head, putting his arm around her and leading her back into the house.
Last edited by Soapy on 25 Sep 2023, 16:15, edited 1 time in total.
By Valor and Arms.
Chapter Nineteen: On the Line
“The season’s almost over and my quarterback isn’t communicating with the line!” James Sr. yelled from the sidelines, pointing to his watch, “Let’s fucking go!”
“Even,” James muttered haphazardly before getting under center, “We’ve got press on the outside, single high.”
“Where’s the robber?” coach Harrison asked as he stood behind him.
“Weak side,” James pointed out the JV callup that had been assigned to the scout team defense.
“So when he’s there, single high isn’t really single high. They might...”
“Rotate him pre-snap into two high,” James finished his sentence.
He thoroughly enjoyed the chess match that football often was and Monday’s practices were his favorites as it was an easy day with more scheming than throwing, scouting and preparing for the next week’s opponent.
“We’re good?” James Sr. asked from the sidelines, getting a nod from his offensive coordinator before blowing his whistle.
It was a relatively quick practice, even for a Monday and the players quickly hurried to the locker room once they were dismissed. James was not accompanied by Jarvis in their usual walk back inside as they had avoided each other like the plague.
Jarvis couldn’t avoid the power of the tongue though.
“You be pressing for pussy?” Greg, the towering nose tackle, teased him as they approached the locker.
“Fuck you talking about?” Jarvis tried to play ignorant but knew his secret wouldn’t last long, not with a popular girl like Alexis.
“Head down to them hotels,” Amari chimed in, “You can get a handy for like fifteen dollars probably.”
“I heard your momma do it for twelve,” Devon joined in on the fun, even at the expense of his best friend.
Jarvis was glad the attention was off him as Devon and Amari started their usual roasting of each other but the conversation ultimately turned.
“What I don’t get,” Greg sat down right next to Jarvis despite his locker being all the way on the other end on the account of being on defense, “Your boy fucks bad bitch, respectfully of course.”
James ignored the comment and continued to get dressed.
“Mike, wherever the fuck he is, he fucks bad bitches too, on the low. I’ve seen his work, even as a white boy.”
“He’s a quiet sniper,” Devon agreed, “Them girls love them some Big Mike, pause, even with everything going on.”
“I always see you with bitches,” Greg wasn’t going to relent, “But now, I’m thinking they just scared to tell you to fuck off.”
“Fuck you,” Jarvis pushed Greg away as he began taking his pads off.
“I ain’t even mad at you, sometimes you gotta smack a bitch. Ain’t that right, Devon? I be smacking your momma all the time.”
Before Greg could even begin laughing at his own joke, his mouth was soon full of his own blood as Jarvis swung on him, connecting on the first two punches. He missed the next few, allowing Greg to regain his balance and begin swinging back as the two bears exchanged blows next to the lockers.
“Hey!” one of the coaches yelled out, “Break that shit up!”
No one was too eager to get in there but Jarrick, a fellow offensive lineman, finally did and managed to pull Jarvis away.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” James Sr. finally emerged from the coaches locker room, “Everyone, on the fucking line! You’ve got fucking thirty seconds!”
...
“This is some bullshit,” complained a player who had just completed the endless number of gassers in just his boxers and socks as he was in a hurry to get to the field.
The majority of players were too tired to even say anything while Jarvis’ and Greg’s swollen lips remained sealed. They had continued to give each other dirty looks between sprints but eventually exhaustion got the best of them and they turned their attention elsewhere.
They found themselves in the locker once more, this time hopefully for good as the players hastened their approach to getting out of there. While part of James enjoyed Jarvis getting tuned up, another part of him felt guilty for him not being the one to do it.
“James,” his father asked for him, poking his head out of the coaches office before disappearing back into it.
James started his trek over there but couldn’t help but overhear Devon’s conversation as he walked past with his usual stooges of Amari and Kendrell.
“It’s hard trying to please multiple bitches at the same time but you know me,” Devon bragged, “She had some fire though and I was trying not to bust in front of my girl and shit, I know she would have been tight if I busted in something else before her.”
Before James could turn around to eavesdrop some more, James Sr. had gotten his attention once more.
“Get your ass in here,” he instructed from inside, “What the fuck was that about?”
James was still trying to process what he had overheard, “What?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, coach. I didn’t hear you, sir.”
“Fuck we got going on?” James Sr. looked at his other coaches who simply shook their head with a smile, “I got this one here looking all concussed and shit and I got two of my best guys fighting in the locker room, what the fuck?”
“Just some personal stuff,” James was often asked to be the jailhouse snitch for a lack of better term and had learned over the years how to please both sides, “You know, girls and stuff.”
“He fucks his hand up throwing a punch,” James Sr. explained to James, “He can’t snap, he can’t block. You don’t have a center, we don’t have a center and we’re out in the first round after going undefeated.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tighten that shit up,” James Sr. commanded, “I’m tired of Devon always having to be the leader of this fucking team, you’re the quarterback.”
James Sr. comment cut deep, deeper than he could ever know.
...
“Let’s try to get out of here by 9:30,” Dan Werner looked to his recruiting coordinator, Maurice Harris, “Is there anything else we really need to discuss?”
“Emphasis on really,” added a low level staffer which drew a raised eyebrow of disapproval from Dan.
“Not really,” Maurice skimmed through the notepad in front of him, “We’re in a good spot, a really good spot so I think we can start pivoting to the next cycle and getting ahead on those guys.”
“We’re still solid with Ryan and DeVante,” Dan agreed, “If something changed in that situation, anyone you think is worth kicking around on, keeping them warm?”
Maurice once again skimmed through his notes, “We finally got some full game film on one of the 2013 guys that we spoke about last week, kid out of Cleveland.”
“Ohio?”
“Mississippi,” Maurice replied, “About two hours from Oxford.”
“I got excited,” Dan smiled, “I thought we were about to get some Midwest cats up in here.”
“His numbers are ridiculous,” Maurice guffawed at the stats in front of him, “But looking at the tape, definitely not SEC caliber. Not a plus athlete, not a pro arm, at all. Super slender, don’t see a lot of room for growth either on his frame. I would need an in-person visit to get a close look at him out of pads but I don’t even know if he’s worth that.”
“We’re real solid with Ryan and DeVante,” Dan nodded along, “We’re good there.”
“The season’s almost over and my quarterback isn’t communicating with the line!” James Sr. yelled from the sidelines, pointing to his watch, “Let’s fucking go!”
“Even,” James muttered haphazardly before getting under center, “We’ve got press on the outside, single high.”
“Where’s the robber?” coach Harrison asked as he stood behind him.
“Weak side,” James pointed out the JV callup that had been assigned to the scout team defense.
“So when he’s there, single high isn’t really single high. They might...”
“Rotate him pre-snap into two high,” James finished his sentence.
He thoroughly enjoyed the chess match that football often was and Monday’s practices were his favorites as it was an easy day with more scheming than throwing, scouting and preparing for the next week’s opponent.
“We’re good?” James Sr. asked from the sidelines, getting a nod from his offensive coordinator before blowing his whistle.
It was a relatively quick practice, even for a Monday and the players quickly hurried to the locker room once they were dismissed. James was not accompanied by Jarvis in their usual walk back inside as they had avoided each other like the plague.
Jarvis couldn’t avoid the power of the tongue though.
“You be pressing for pussy?” Greg, the towering nose tackle, teased him as they approached the locker.
“Fuck you talking about?” Jarvis tried to play ignorant but knew his secret wouldn’t last long, not with a popular girl like Alexis.
“Head down to them hotels,” Amari chimed in, “You can get a handy for like fifteen dollars probably.”
“I heard your momma do it for twelve,” Devon joined in on the fun, even at the expense of his best friend.
Jarvis was glad the attention was off him as Devon and Amari started their usual roasting of each other but the conversation ultimately turned.
“What I don’t get,” Greg sat down right next to Jarvis despite his locker being all the way on the other end on the account of being on defense, “Your boy fucks bad bitch, respectfully of course.”
James ignored the comment and continued to get dressed.
“Mike, wherever the fuck he is, he fucks bad bitches too, on the low. I’ve seen his work, even as a white boy.”
“He’s a quiet sniper,” Devon agreed, “Them girls love them some Big Mike, pause, even with everything going on.”
“I always see you with bitches,” Greg wasn’t going to relent, “But now, I’m thinking they just scared to tell you to fuck off.”
“Fuck you,” Jarvis pushed Greg away as he began taking his pads off.
“I ain’t even mad at you, sometimes you gotta smack a bitch. Ain’t that right, Devon? I be smacking your momma all the time.”
Before Greg could even begin laughing at his own joke, his mouth was soon full of his own blood as Jarvis swung on him, connecting on the first two punches. He missed the next few, allowing Greg to regain his balance and begin swinging back as the two bears exchanged blows next to the lockers.
“Hey!” one of the coaches yelled out, “Break that shit up!”
No one was too eager to get in there but Jarrick, a fellow offensive lineman, finally did and managed to pull Jarvis away.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” James Sr. finally emerged from the coaches locker room, “Everyone, on the fucking line! You’ve got fucking thirty seconds!”
...
“This is some bullshit,” complained a player who had just completed the endless number of gassers in just his boxers and socks as he was in a hurry to get to the field.
The majority of players were too tired to even say anything while Jarvis’ and Greg’s swollen lips remained sealed. They had continued to give each other dirty looks between sprints but eventually exhaustion got the best of them and they turned their attention elsewhere.
They found themselves in the locker once more, this time hopefully for good as the players hastened their approach to getting out of there. While part of James enjoyed Jarvis getting tuned up, another part of him felt guilty for him not being the one to do it.
“James,” his father asked for him, poking his head out of the coaches office before disappearing back into it.
James started his trek over there but couldn’t help but overhear Devon’s conversation as he walked past with his usual stooges of Amari and Kendrell.
“It’s hard trying to please multiple bitches at the same time but you know me,” Devon bragged, “She had some fire though and I was trying not to bust in front of my girl and shit, I know she would have been tight if I busted in something else before her.”
Before James could turn around to eavesdrop some more, James Sr. had gotten his attention once more.
“Get your ass in here,” he instructed from inside, “What the fuck was that about?”
James was still trying to process what he had overheard, “What?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, coach. I didn’t hear you, sir.”
“Fuck we got going on?” James Sr. looked at his other coaches who simply shook their head with a smile, “I got this one here looking all concussed and shit and I got two of my best guys fighting in the locker room, what the fuck?”
“Just some personal stuff,” James was often asked to be the jailhouse snitch for a lack of better term and had learned over the years how to please both sides, “You know, girls and stuff.”
“He fucks his hand up throwing a punch,” James Sr. explained to James, “He can’t snap, he can’t block. You don’t have a center, we don’t have a center and we’re out in the first round after going undefeated.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Tighten that shit up,” James Sr. commanded, “I’m tired of Devon always having to be the leader of this fucking team, you’re the quarterback.”
James Sr. comment cut deep, deeper than he could ever know.
...
“Let’s try to get out of here by 9:30,” Dan Werner looked to his recruiting coordinator, Maurice Harris, “Is there anything else we really need to discuss?”
“Emphasis on really,” added a low level staffer which drew a raised eyebrow of disapproval from Dan.
“Not really,” Maurice skimmed through the notepad in front of him, “We’re in a good spot, a really good spot so I think we can start pivoting to the next cycle and getting ahead on those guys.”
“We’re still solid with Ryan and DeVante,” Dan agreed, “If something changed in that situation, anyone you think is worth kicking around on, keeping them warm?”
Maurice once again skimmed through his notes, “We finally got some full game film on one of the 2013 guys that we spoke about last week, kid out of Cleveland.”
“Ohio?”
“Mississippi,” Maurice replied, “About two hours from Oxford.”
“I got excited,” Dan smiled, “I thought we were about to get some Midwest cats up in here.”
“His numbers are ridiculous,” Maurice guffawed at the stats in front of him, “But looking at the tape, definitely not SEC caliber. Not a plus athlete, not a pro arm, at all. Super slender, don’t see a lot of room for growth either on his frame. I would need an in-person visit to get a close look at him out of pads but I don’t even know if he’s worth that.”
“We’re real solid with Ryan and DeVante,” Dan nodded along, “We’re good there.”
Last edited by Soapy on 26 Sep 2023, 09:39, edited 1 time in total.
By Valor and Arms.
Chapter Twenty: Like Old Times
James continued to read through the menu, unenthused about all of the options that were in front of him.
The end of the regular season meant a light at the end of the tunnel as East Side wrapped up their season with a pair of wins over teams that had one win in the entire season among them. While they were far from the stat padding games that James had hoped them to be, he still managed to break the school record for every single season passing record that there was, including becoming the first quarterback to lead the Trojans to an undefeated season.
“I feel like I always get the shrimp scampi and hate it,” Anabelle was at odds with her menu as well, flipping it over time and time again in hopes of new options.
“Don’t get it then,” James said flatly, tossing his menu on the table.
“I don’t know,” she sighed, “It just looks so good on the menu, you know?”
“You’re just going to complain about them.”
“Is that what I do? I complain about things? That’s me,” she scoffed, “The girl who complains, y’all.”
James was already regretting his decision to take her out on a date despite them sparingly talking the past few weeks.
“I try to do something nice,” James sucked his teeth.
“Taking me to this little restaurant is something nice?” she laughed, “How fucking lucky am I? Thank you so much.”
“I’m sorry we’re not some nice ass hotel or some shit.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” James snapped back, “You didn’t think I’d found that the after party you went to was at the fucking Hilton?
“And? You’re still talking about this shit?”
“Don’t act like it’s not an important detail that you conveniently left out.”
“I didn’t think it mattered,” Anabelle defender herself, “It was a fucking party, you’ve never heard of a party at a hotel?”
“Not any that I would want my fucking girlfriend to go to,” James stressed, “I feel like I keep having to find out about shit from people other than you.”
“Yeah? Like who?”
Locker room chatter that James had overheard in the preceding weeks wasn’t exactly a reliable source, “Does it matter? It’s fucking true.”
“We’re not going to keep doing this,” she shook her head, “You left me because you were drunk as fuck so Devon and his girlfriend invited me to a party where there was a bunch of other people at a hotel, since that’s so fucking important, where we hung out and drank because they don’t really crash hotel parties.”
“How do you know so much about hotel parties? Since when?”
“I was talking to people, you know, that’s what you do at a party. Unlike whatever the fuck you think it is that we’re doing at those party.”
“You were with Devon and his girl all night?”
“Pretty much,” she shrugged.
“Were there any other girls with them, hanging out?”
“I don’t know, maybe? Why does it matter?”
“Just answer the question,” James moved the glass of water that was in front of him out of his way, placing his elbow on the table.
“I’m not doing this,” she waved him off, just in time for the waiter to arrive.
“Are we ready to order?”
“No,” they both said in unison, sending them on their way.
“For someone who regularly gets drunk with a girl, my friend might I add, you got a lot of fucking nerve to question me.”
“Regularly,” James mocked her, “It happened twice, stop acting like me and Alexis are fucking buddy buddy, that’s your fucking friend.”
“He’s your fucking teammate,” she snapped back, “If you fucking handled shit yourself, you wouldn’t be so fucking worried about what me and another guy are doing after you fucking abandoned me.”
“What does that mean?”
“When’s the last time you touched me? Hugged me? I don’t know, a crazy idea, how about fucking your fine ass girlfriend?”
“Here we go,” James sighed, “I was waiting for that to come out.”
“It’s true,” Anabelle shrugged, “I don’t know why you’re so worried about me fucking on someone else when you don’t even want to fuck me.”
“I hate it when you talk like that.”
“I don’t like you very much right now, either.”
The words lingered in the air as James retreated back into his seat, sinking into it as he looked across from him. She was still as beautiful as ever and he would never have imagined the next words coming out of his mouth.
“I think we need to take a break or something,” he muttered, “Like, I don’t know, shit’s just not working and I don’t really have the time right now to like to piece it together.”
“When are you going to have time?”
It was her turn to suck her teeth, “I mean, have you even applied to Delta State? Are we even still doing that?”
“Yeah, maybe, I don’t know, not like this.”
“I don’t even know if I want to go there anymore,” she admitted, “Like everything before this year was just so fucking clear to me and after everything, I don’t know, it’s just not anymore.”
“Yeah,” they finally found something to agree on.
“I don’t want half the fucking town to hate my guts or anything,” she started to gather her things, “Just focus on football, that’s what you love now or whatever, clearly this isn’t working right now.”
...
The cackling laughter from the coaches office was an unfamiliar sound as James made his way into the locker room, checking his attire at the mirror before entering the corridor that led to the office door.
It was usually open but it was closed this time, causing James to knock on the door. It swung open to reveal James Sr. speaking to two apparent coaches while Devon looked on from the corner.
“That’s him,” one of the coaches extended their hand out, “I’m coach Buckley, we’ve spoken before on the phone.”
James shook his hand, quickly recognizing the logo on his chest, the logo he grew up seeing all around his house.
“Coach Elliott,” the other coach introduced himself, “We were just catching up with your friend there, Devon.”
“The prize of the class,” coach Buckley laughed, “I’m just glad I won’t ever have to coach against him.”
“He’s alright,” James Sr. teased, “Appreciate y’all stopping by, especially during the season”
“Of course,” coach Elliott responded, “Obviously, the season isn’t going the way we want it to go but we’re excited about the future and guys like Devon, all I see is opportunity when you’re part of a rebuilding process.”
“We’d love for you to be part of it as well,” coach Buckley interrupted, directing his comment towards James, “I’ll be honest, whenever there’s a legacy kid or anything like that, I’m hesitant but you’re the real deal.”
“Thanks, coach.”
Despite their winless season, Southern Miss hadn’t spoken to him much outside of a few texts here and there from coach Buckley who James had spoken on the phone with maybe once or twice in relatively short conversations that didn’t end with a scholarship offer.
“I never offered spots as a high school coach and I’m not going to do it at this level either,” coach Buckley told him, “You have to earn that starting role, plain and simple but we certainly view you as someone that can come in and compete, right away, like your friend Devon there and help us turn the season around. It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be a lot of hard work but I don’t see why you can’t be one of the top guys in our quarterback room, I really don’t.”
James continued to read through the menu, unenthused about all of the options that were in front of him.
The end of the regular season meant a light at the end of the tunnel as East Side wrapped up their season with a pair of wins over teams that had one win in the entire season among them. While they were far from the stat padding games that James had hoped them to be, he still managed to break the school record for every single season passing record that there was, including becoming the first quarterback to lead the Trojans to an undefeated season.
“I feel like I always get the shrimp scampi and hate it,” Anabelle was at odds with her menu as well, flipping it over time and time again in hopes of new options.
“Don’t get it then,” James said flatly, tossing his menu on the table.
“I don’t know,” she sighed, “It just looks so good on the menu, you know?”
“You’re just going to complain about them.”
“Is that what I do? I complain about things? That’s me,” she scoffed, “The girl who complains, y’all.”
James was already regretting his decision to take her out on a date despite them sparingly talking the past few weeks.
“I try to do something nice,” James sucked his teeth.
“Taking me to this little restaurant is something nice?” she laughed, “How fucking lucky am I? Thank you so much.”
“I’m sorry we’re not some nice ass hotel or some shit.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” James snapped back, “You didn’t think I’d found that the after party you went to was at the fucking Hilton?
“And? You’re still talking about this shit?”
“Don’t act like it’s not an important detail that you conveniently left out.”
“I didn’t think it mattered,” Anabelle defender herself, “It was a fucking party, you’ve never heard of a party at a hotel?”
“Not any that I would want my fucking girlfriend to go to,” James stressed, “I feel like I keep having to find out about shit from people other than you.”
“Yeah? Like who?”
Locker room chatter that James had overheard in the preceding weeks wasn’t exactly a reliable source, “Does it matter? It’s fucking true.”
“We’re not going to keep doing this,” she shook her head, “You left me because you were drunk as fuck so Devon and his girlfriend invited me to a party where there was a bunch of other people at a hotel, since that’s so fucking important, where we hung out and drank because they don’t really crash hotel parties.”
“How do you know so much about hotel parties? Since when?”
“I was talking to people, you know, that’s what you do at a party. Unlike whatever the fuck you think it is that we’re doing at those party.”
“You were with Devon and his girl all night?”
“Pretty much,” she shrugged.
“Were there any other girls with them, hanging out?”
“I don’t know, maybe? Why does it matter?”
“Just answer the question,” James moved the glass of water that was in front of him out of his way, placing his elbow on the table.
“I’m not doing this,” she waved him off, just in time for the waiter to arrive.
“Are we ready to order?”
“No,” they both said in unison, sending them on their way.
“For someone who regularly gets drunk with a girl, my friend might I add, you got a lot of fucking nerve to question me.”
“Regularly,” James mocked her, “It happened twice, stop acting like me and Alexis are fucking buddy buddy, that’s your fucking friend.”
“He’s your fucking teammate,” she snapped back, “If you fucking handled shit yourself, you wouldn’t be so fucking worried about what me and another guy are doing after you fucking abandoned me.”
“What does that mean?”
“When’s the last time you touched me? Hugged me? I don’t know, a crazy idea, how about fucking your fine ass girlfriend?”
“Here we go,” James sighed, “I was waiting for that to come out.”
“It’s true,” Anabelle shrugged, “I don’t know why you’re so worried about me fucking on someone else when you don’t even want to fuck me.”
“I hate it when you talk like that.”
“I don’t like you very much right now, either.”
The words lingered in the air as James retreated back into his seat, sinking into it as he looked across from him. She was still as beautiful as ever and he would never have imagined the next words coming out of his mouth.
“I think we need to take a break or something,” he muttered, “Like, I don’t know, shit’s just not working and I don’t really have the time right now to like to piece it together.”
“When are you going to have time?”
It was her turn to suck her teeth, “I mean, have you even applied to Delta State? Are we even still doing that?”
“Yeah, maybe, I don’t know, not like this.”
“I don’t even know if I want to go there anymore,” she admitted, “Like everything before this year was just so fucking clear to me and after everything, I don’t know, it’s just not anymore.”
“Yeah,” they finally found something to agree on.
“I don’t want half the fucking town to hate my guts or anything,” she started to gather her things, “Just focus on football, that’s what you love now or whatever, clearly this isn’t working right now.”
...
The cackling laughter from the coaches office was an unfamiliar sound as James made his way into the locker room, checking his attire at the mirror before entering the corridor that led to the office door.
It was usually open but it was closed this time, causing James to knock on the door. It swung open to reveal James Sr. speaking to two apparent coaches while Devon looked on from the corner.
“That’s him,” one of the coaches extended their hand out, “I’m coach Buckley, we’ve spoken before on the phone.”
James shook his hand, quickly recognizing the logo on his chest, the logo he grew up seeing all around his house.
“Coach Elliott,” the other coach introduced himself, “We were just catching up with your friend there, Devon.”
“The prize of the class,” coach Buckley laughed, “I’m just glad I won’t ever have to coach against him.”
“He’s alright,” James Sr. teased, “Appreciate y’all stopping by, especially during the season”
“Of course,” coach Elliott responded, “Obviously, the season isn’t going the way we want it to go but we’re excited about the future and guys like Devon, all I see is opportunity when you’re part of a rebuilding process.”
“We’d love for you to be part of it as well,” coach Buckley interrupted, directing his comment towards James, “I’ll be honest, whenever there’s a legacy kid or anything like that, I’m hesitant but you’re the real deal.”
“Thanks, coach.”
Despite their winless season, Southern Miss hadn’t spoken to him much outside of a few texts here and there from coach Buckley who James had spoken on the phone with maybe once or twice in relatively short conversations that didn’t end with a scholarship offer.
“I never offered spots as a high school coach and I’m not going to do it at this level either,” coach Buckley told him, “You have to earn that starting role, plain and simple but we certainly view you as someone that can come in and compete, right away, like your friend Devon there and help us turn the season around. It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be a lot of hard work but I don’t see why you can’t be one of the top guys in our quarterback room, I really don’t.”
Last edited by Soapy on 26 Sep 2023, 09:44, edited 1 time in total.
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Captain Canada
- Posts: 2208
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
By Valor and Arms.
Annabelle hoe'd. Tell the truth.