Scott ducked his head as Liam's doctor (and apparently his stepfather) walked past him. Glancing both ways - he wasn't technically supposed to be in here - he made his way into the room, where he was greeted by the sight of an ugly bruise.
"Hi," said Liam. "Scott, right? I thought you left." He put on a brave face, but he looked bad. Really bad. Scott could smell the pain coming off him in waves.
"I was going to, but..." Scott sat down next to the bed. "I didn't get a chance to say sorry."
Liam shrugged. "Not your fault. Lacrosse is a violent sport. I should've known better than to try and humiliate two juniors...twice." He added the last word with a grin and Scott couldn't help but smile back.
As casually as he could, he slid his hand so it was touching Liam's leg. "Does it hurt a lot?" he asked, trying to distract him. He already knew the answer.
"A bit. It's not bad," Liam replied. His heartbeat said otherwise. "I've had worse."
Huh. That part was true.
Scott began drawing his pain away. As always, it stung a bit, but he could take it, deserved to take it, more than Liam did. Trying to keep the boy's focus away from his black-veined arm, he kept talking.
"Well, get better soon, okay? We need more players like you. You're probably the best on the team."
Liam glanced at him quizzically. "About that...I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but aren't you supposed to be like, really good?"
Scott struggled to keep his face steady. He was almost done. "I had an off day," he said, adding a wink for good measure. Liam laughed, then looked at his injured leg in confusion. "Is something wrong?" asked Scott. He finished and removed his hand.
"No, it's just...it doesn't hurt anymore." Scott inwardly sighed in relief. It was the least he could do.
As he said goodbye and started walking out of the room, Liam's stopped him. "Hey, Scott."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
