"Great news, Steven!" Judy said as she entered the break room. The small white room had a couple of couches, a TV, and a kitchenette. The members of the All Starz team had been chatting with each other from their seats before their coach had entered. Now they were all focused on Judy, especially Steve.
"Well, what is it?" Steve asked curiously.
Judy flourished a piece of paper right in front of Steve's face. "This!" she exclaimed triumphantly.
Steve crinkled his nose as he cautiously took hold of the sheet. "This is..." he trailed off as he scanned the page. His eyebrows shot up as he looked at Judy. "Is this for real?" he asked.
"Yup! Isn't it great?" Judy smiled brightly at the teen.
"Um, do you guys mind telling us what's going on?" Michael asked, slightly annoyed.
Judy flashed her grin to the team's captain. "Steven is welcome back to his football league! After reviewing his case, the coaches decided that he was unfairly forced off of his team, and they want him to return."
"What? You're not gonna leave our team, are ya?" Michael shot a look towards his teammate.
"Uh," Steve answered dumbly.
"Well it's only natural," Judy replied in Steve's stead. "Steven only joined our team because I asked him to when he was forced to quit football. It was mutually understood that he was only partaking in our team to help keep him in shape. He would much rather play football than beyblade, isn't that right?."
The other members of the All Starz looked at Steve, worry etched in their eyes. The teen felt extremely pinned down by their stares. Of course, Steve loved football. He probably loved it even more than beyblading. But Steve loved his team so much more than any sport. When he'd played football, his teammates had always feared him and tried to stay away from him. But Michael, Emily, and of course Eddy all trusted and respected him. They were his best friends. "Well," Steve began. He cleared his throat and said, "I don't have to go back or-"
Judy shook her head. "Don't be silly, Steven! We'll find someone else to join the team in no time, so you don't have to feel bad about that." She smiled cheerfully at the footballer.
Steve glanced at his teammates. They were all looking around the room, refusing to make eye contact with him. Steve frowned sadly.
Finally, after a moment of hesitation, Michael forced on a smile and spoke. "Yeah, man! And we'll go cheer you on at your games, too! This is great, right guys?" Michael looked at the other two members of the All Starz.
"Oh yeah, of course!" Emily said, accompanied by a fake laugh.
Eddy was silent, however. He kept staring at the ground intensely.
"Then it's settled!" Judy beamed. "I'll go inform your coach right away. This is just so exciting, isn't it? Oh, I'm so happy for you Steven. And, of course, I'm curious to see how my training regimens have changed your body for something other than beyblading..." she continued as he left the room.
Once Judy had left, Steve turned back to his teammates, his eyes wide. "Guys, I-"
But Emily cut him off. "We're going to miss having you on the team, but like Michael said, we'll cheer you on at your football games, and we can still hang out and stuff." She smiled an honest, sad, smile at Steve. "And maybe now I can be a regular," she joked halfheartedly.
"I'm sure you'll have a lot more fun playing football again, anyways," Michael assured.
Eddy continued to not say anything. At least he looked at Steve, but it was with sad eyes and a crooked smile. It honestly broke Steve's heart.
"Yeah..." Steve trailed off. He felt so confused by all of the sudden changes that were happening. He wanted to play football and beyblade, why did he have to choose? Steve stood up and immediately left the room. Why did he have to choose? "Judy!" he called as he saw her walking ahead of him in the hallway.
Judy turned around and looked at Steve. "Oh, hello Steven. Did you want to accompany me when I spoke to your coach?"
"Not really. I actually wanted to tell you that I intend on staying with the All Starz," Steve said confidently.
"What?" Judy asked, shocked.
"Well, I don't see why I can't be a member of the All Starz and a football player. I want to do both. I'll just beyblade during the off-season!" Steve smiled.
Judy let out a short bark of a laugh. "Steven, I don't think you understand; that wouldn't work! The muscles needed for beyblading and playing football are so different, that you couldn't possibly remain in perfect shape for both sports. And it wouldn't be very fair to the All Starz as well. Once I get your replacement, I can't just ask them to leave whenever you want to come back and play with your friends. That's not professional." Suddenly Judy regarded Steve seriously, all laughs aside. "Steven, it's for the best of both teams; the All Starz and your football team."
Steve wanted to say something. He had to say something. He didn't want to leave the All Starz! But he just couldn't think of anything to say to Judy. For some reason, she seemed pretty set on Steve going back to football.
When Steve continued to be silent, Judy turned heel on him. She took a few steps down the hall before stopping again and calling over her shoulder, "Oh, your things will be moved out of our facilities as soon as you can find somewhere else to reside. If you want, your coach offered to help you get a suitable place to stay." And then she walked away.
Steve couldn't believe it. Out of nowhere, he lost his team, his friends, and his home. Overwhelmed, Steve leaned his arm against the wall of the hallway. He slowly sank down the wall until he was seated on the floor. He buried his face in his arms. What was going on?
"Oh, hey..." Eddy awkwardly said as he walked into the bedroom that he and Steve shared within the All Starz's training quarters.
"Hey," Steve responded. After he'd finally gotten himself up from the hallway, Steve had gone to their room and spread himself out on his bed. A few hours had passed since he'd first gotten the news.
Eddy cleared his throat. "I'm happy for you. I know how much you love football, so I'm glad that you can play it again." As he spoke, Eddy walked to his own bed and sat on its edge.
A nod was all that Steve could manage as his reply; his throat felt tight.
"At dinner, Judy told us that you have your first practice tomorrow," Eddy muttered.
Again, Steve just nodded. The paper that Judy had given him earlier said that the offer started immediately, and he knew that it was already late into the training season. It only made sense that he'd have to go to practice tomorrow.
Eddy eyed Steve for a few moments before he sighed and laid back onto the bed.
The two boys spent the rest of the night in silence.
Steve woke up early the next day. He was used to being up relatively early anyways, but he'd slept poorly all night, and the sunrise was enough to get him out of bed. He stumbled into the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a quick shower. When he got dressed, he threw on some baggy shorts, a T-shirt, and his running sneakers. After he was ready, he left the dorms and went to the building's small cafeteria.
"Oh, Steven!" Judy exclaimed as she entered the room. "I was just about to get you up. A car will take you to practice in about 30 minutes, just meet the driver in the front lobby."
Steve nodded without looking up from his grapefruit.
The rest of his breakfast went by uninterrupted, and soon Steve found himself in the back seat of a black Honda Civic. The drive took about half an hour, in which the car's driver never said a single word. When Steve exited the car at the stadium, his thanks was only acknowledged by a curt nod.
Steve walked into the familiar football stadium and looked around. His old coach was sitting on the bench, scribbling in a notebook. Nobody else was around, but that was expected. Steve knew that he was pretty early, if the schedule was the same as when he was on the team before. He crossed the wet astroturf towards where the coach was. "Hello, Coach K," Steve greeted.
The middle-aged man looked up from his notes and smiled. "Stevie, 's good to see ya. Yer lookin' perty good, boy," he drawled. He stood from his seat and reached out a hand for Steve to shake.
"Coach K, I'm sorry about what happened before," Steve offered.
"All's good, Stevie. Let by-gones be by-gones," he waved off.
Steve smiled slightly. He really had missed all of this. The field in the early morning, the cool air filling his lungs, the smell of sweat and footballs. But... Steve glanced around and observed the other players who were slowly starting to file in. They all looked nice enough, but they weren't the All Starz. With a sigh, Steve walked over to his teammates and began to warm up with them.
Once practice was over and everyone had showered and cleaned up the locker room, Steve curiously wandered to the same spot he'd been dropped off at in the morning. He was surprised to see the same Civic with the same driver pull up just as he approached. He silently got into the back seat and was promptly driven back to the All Starz's facilities.
By the time Steve returned, everyone had just gathered for dinner. Steve awkwardly approached the table in the cafeteria and greeted, "Hey guys."
Michael, who hadn't seen the green haired teen approach, jumped slightly in his seat. He whipped his head around and offered a grin to his former teammate. "Hi Steve! How was practice?"
Steve sat at the table and shrugged. He wanted to tell them how much he missed them all, how strange it felt to not use his Tryhorn once during the day, how lonely he was. But he didn't want to make them feel bad for him. So he settled for, "It was fun. I kinda forgot how much I like football." It wasn't a lie; he had had fun, but not enough to make up for the fact that he wasn't with his friends.
"Well that's good!" Emily said in a voice that was a bit too happy.
"How were things around here?" Steve asked.
The All Starz all looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously shifting their gazes towards the ground. Something was up.
"Huh?" Steve asked, looking at the three other teens.
"Well," Michael began. "Ya see-"
The captain was cut off by a loud voice. "Ahh, looks like Greeny is here," a tall teen with dark skin and white hair boomed.
Steve stared at the boy. "Who are you?" he asked after a minute.
"Your replacement, chump," was his reply.
Michael offered a small smile and introduced, "Steve, this is Rick. He's going to be joining the All Starz."
Steve's eyes widened. He'd only been gone for a day! How could they find someone else so quickly? Unless...
"I think he'll be perfect for the team," Judy beamed, seemingly having appeared out of thin air.
Steve stared at Judy for a moment, incredulous, before looking back at his former teammates. The three of them were all frowning, but Eddy especially caught Steve's attention. The usually cool basketballer had his eyes clenched tight, and Steve could have almost sworn that he saw the glitter of tears forming. With a shake of his head, Steve reached out his hand towards the new beyblader. "Hey, I'm Steve."
The teen, Rick, raised an eyebrow as he regarded the shorter male. He rolled his eyes as he returned a very brief handshake. "Rick," was all he said. He walked away to grab his dinner.
"He seems friendly," Steve growled as he took the empty seat next to Eddy.
"Tell me about it," Michael said with a huff.
Emily forced out a smile and tried to change the subject. "Steve, you should really eat something! You've been working hard all day."
But, at that moment, Steve really wasn't in the mood for eating. He shrugged. "No, I have other things I should be doing..." Steve trailed off as he glared in the direction of Judy, who was standing right next to Rick. "I have to find somewhere to live," he finished after a moment.
"What?" Eddy finally spoke up. He turned his worried eyes to Steve. "Why?"
Steve frowned. "Judy told me that, since I'm not on the team anymore, I have to leave. I even asked her if I could be on the team during football's off season, but she said that I couldn't."
"But you can't leave!" Eddy said in a surprisingly loud voice.
"I wish I could just stay," Steve whispered.
Eddy reached out a hand and grabbed Steve's wrist. "Then do it. You could stay on the All Starz!"
Steve slowly shook his head. "Man, Judy already replaced me. I kinda get the feeling that she didn't really want me here."
A hum caused Steve to look over at Emily. She reasoned, "It is rather odd that Judy was able to get Rick so quickly... Maybe she planned this! You know, the whole 'you getting back on your football team' thing."
"Are you saying that Judy was able to convince my coach to let me play football again just so she had a reason to get rid of me?" Steve asked.
"Maybe," Michael chimed in.
Steve thought about it a moment before saying, "She was pretty adamant about me going back to football. Honestly, she didn't really give me a choice!"
"Hey guys, what are you getting so worked up for?" Judy laughed as she and Rick sat down at the table the All Starz were at.
Steve frowned as he answered, "I'm glad you asked. We were just talking about you."
Judy raised a finely sculpted eyebrow. "Oh?" she asked as she started to eat her salad.
"Did you make my football coach take me back so that you could replace me with this Rick guy?" Steve asked. He saw no reason to beat around the bush; he wanted answers and he wanted them now.
Judy looked up at Steve, clearly surprised. "Steven, I have no idea where this is coming from. But, let me assure you, I would do no such thing."
Rick snickered at the interaction, but remained silent.
With a frustrated sigh, Steve stood up and left the cafeteria. It was obvious that Judy wasn't going to tell him what he really wanted to know, so he saw no point in hanging around where he clearly wasn't wanted. Steve went to what used to be his and Eddy's room. He slammed the door shut and immediately began to gather all of his belongings. He shoved the majority of his clothes into a backpack and his gym bag, and grabbed what few personal items he had lying around.
"You're actually leaving, aren't you?" a sad voice asked from the doorway. Eddy walked into the room and sat on the bed that had been Steve's.
As he shut his eyes, Steve quietly admitted, "Yeah, I guess I am. I have no other choice." He forced on a smile and turned towards Eddy. "I'm really gonna miss everyone," he beamed. Steve reached out a hand and fist bumped Eddy as he said lowly, "but I'm especially gonna miss you, man."
And that was it. No more words. No tears. No turning back. Steve walked out of that room and, he thought, away from the All Starz.
About three weeks after Steve had left the All Starz, he had his first regular season football game. The nose tackle had been living in a cheap motel room near the stadium, thanks to some financial help from his coach combined with everything that he'd had saved up. It wasn't ideal, but the situation let him focus solely on football and forget about beyblading.
"'Kay e'rybody. Dis is it! Game time! Jus' go out 'ere and get'em!" Coach K instructed from his seat on the bench.
"Yeah!" everyone on the team cheered as they ran out onto the field. They'd lost the coin toss, and so they were on the defensive first.
Steve took a few deep breaths as he got into position. He was confident in his abilities, but as a defensive tackle, he knew that the pressure was on him from the very start.
The ref blew the whistle and the first quarter officially started.
During half time Steve was sitting on the bench, drinking water, as he smiled at the scoreboard. They were winning 14 to 0. The other team was good, but their team was that much better. And, Steve had to admit to himself, he was having a lot of fun.
"Steve!" an excited voice shouted all of a sudden.
Steve whipped his head around towards the stands, full of family, friends, and neighbors. He hadn't expected anyone he knew to be there. But, as he scanned the crowd, he spotted a familiar figure wearing a purple jacket, waving at him. "Eddy?" Steve called in confusion. He got up and ran over to where his friend was standing.
"Man, you're doing great out there!" Eddy complimented as Steve approached.
A huge smile covered Steve's face. "Thanks... But what are you doing here?"
Eddy winked. "Well we had the day off from practice, so I thought I'd come support my best friend."
A slight blush sprinkled over Steve's cheeks. "That means a lot, Eddy, thanks." Then, after a pause, he teasingly asked, "So I guess that means you don't consider Rick your best friend?"
With an exaggerated gag, Eddy rolled his eyes and said, "Dude, you have no idea what the team is like now. I wish you could come back."
Steve opened his mouth to reply, but just at that moment Coach K started yelling at the players to gather around before the third quarter began. "I have to go," he sighed.
"Good luck out there," Eddy smiled.
Steve nodded and trotted back to the rest of his team.
With two minutes left on the clock for the fourth quarter, the score was still 14 to 0. Both teams were really putting up a fight.
"We just have to hold them!" Steve called, nearly out of breath, as they set up for the opposing team's offense.
Their quarterback got the ball, and was looking for an opening, just as a huge guy ran right into Steve. He fell onto the ground hard, and the other kid tripped over him. The breath was forced out of his lungs, and before he could get up, another person fell into the pile. The second person, however, fell right where Steve's leg was exposed at an awkward angle. If his lungs were full, Steve would had screamed. Instead, he had to try pushing the other two boys off of him so that he could escape. It felt like it took an hour, when it took just a matter of seconds for the boys to pick themselves up. Once the pressure was off his chest, Steve was able to take in enough air to finally let out a loud cry of pain. "Aaahhhh!" he shouted with all he could.
"Are you okay?" one of the guys who'd fallen on him asked.
Steve grabbed at his left leg and started to shake his head. Tears were running down his dirtied cheeks, but he didn't care. "It's broken," he finally forced out. By that point, the refs had stopped the game and were running towards Steve, Coach K was already calling an ambulance, and all of the players, from both teams, were surrounding the fallen boy.
Amongst the commotion, however, one voice rang loud and clear in Steve's mind. "Steve!" Eddy was shouting as he hopped onto the field. The tall boy quickly made his way through, saying, "I'm his best friend, okay!?" to anyone who gave him a questioning look. He was able to get to the front of the crowd and kneeled down next to Steve. "It'll be okay, it'll be okay," he said repeatedly.
Even though he was in agony, Steve managed a smile; Eddy was always a worry wart. "I'm sorry, everyone," he was able to get out.
"Ain't nob'dy's fault, Stevie," Coach K assured.
Steve nodded. He tried to focus on just taking deep breaths and not moving his leg.
Soon, the ambulance arrived. Steve thought it was overkill, but he wasn't going to complain as he was being taken off the field in a stretcher. Coach K was the only one allowed to go with him, but Steve had insisted that the game be finished first, and then if he wanted to see him at the hospital he could. So, the paramedics brought Steve to the closest hospital and put him in a room to wait for his x-ray.
No matter what, hospitals are always slow. It's not their fault that so many people always need to be taken care of. But, because of that, it took hours for Steve to get his leg looked at and finally set in a cast. Though the break was, thankfully, clean and would thus heal quickly.
"You doing alright?" Eddy's deep voice could be heard before he could be seen. He entered the room and explained how he had asked Coach K to take him to the hospital with him.
Steve nodded. His leg had just been put into a red cast, and he was waiting for the nurse to bring him some crutches. "It'll be fine in a few weeks. How was the rest of the game?"
Coach K laughed. "Good ol' Stevie, always carin' more 'bout the game 'an 'imself. We won acourse!"
"Well, then it was worth it," Steve decided with a laugh.
Just then the nurse returned with some crutches and a wheelchair. "Okay, Steven. These crutches are for you to use, but try and rest for the next couple of days."
Again, Steve nodded.
"And if your ride is here, you're all set to leave. I'll just take you to your car in this wheelchair," she explained.
Eddy and Coach K exchanged a look. "Actually, our car will be here in a few minutes," Eddy said.
Confused, Steve asked, "What do you mean?"
Eddy continued, "Well Coach K and I think that it'd be better if you came back with me and spent a few days at the All Starz building. We just don't want you staying in that motel all alone when you're like this. And so, our car will be here in a minute. I called the driver who brought me to the game and just asked him to come here."
Steve didn't know what to say. He honestly was so touched that his friend cared so much about him (because he'd known Coach K long enough to know that it was all Eddy's idea). But, he was also slightly worried. "Will it be okay, though? Like, won't Judy be mad if I'm there...?"
Nonchalantly Eddy waved his hand and replied, "Don't sweat it. Actually, your old bed is still there, so it's not like anyone will have to go out of their way to accommodate you. Just focus on resting and I'll handle Judy." Just then, Eddy's phone vibrated, and he looked at the screen. "Time to go then!"
The nurse helped get Steve into the wheelchair, and all of them took the elevator down to the front of the hospital. Everyone helped get Steve into the back of the car, and then the nurse returned to the building and Coach K said his goodbyes and went to his own car.
The ride to the All Starz's facilities was filled with chatter as Eddy and Steve caught up on the last few weeks. So, it felt like no time at all before they were pulling into the front of the building. Eddy helped Steve out of the car and towards their room.
When the two boys were right outside Eddy's bedroom door, a voice called down the hall. "Steve!?" Michael's excitement was evident on his face as he jogged over to the other boys. "What are you doing here? And what happened to your leg?!"
Steve laughed lightly and answered, "Football happened, man. But hey, it's great to see you!"
"Yeah! Wow, I have to go tell Emily! She'll be so happy to see ya," Michael exclaimed.
Eddy put his hand on Michael's shoulder. "Wait. Just be quiet about it, okay? Nobody else knows that he's here, not even Judy."
Michael's eyes widened, but he nodded and walked off to find Emily.
"I don't want you to get in trouble," Steve said shyly.
"Like I said, don't worry about it," reassured Eddy. He opened the door to his room and led Steve in.
Steve smiled at the simple room. "It looks exactly the same," he said as he sat on the bed that used to be his. The drugs the doctor had given him were starting to wear off, thus he could feel a dull throbbing from his leg. He laid back and made himself comfortable. Then he glanced over at Eddy, who was perched on the edge of his own bed, watching over Steve. "Thank you, for everything," Steve blurted out.
Surprised, Eddy just shook his head lightly. "It's nothing. You'd do the same for me, so whatever."
Steve was just about to answer, when suddenly Michael and Emily burst into the room. "Steve!" Emily said cheerily. Normally she liked to play it calm and cool, but not as much when she was with her friends. She could actually be quite loud and chipper.
"Hey Emily," Steve smiled at his old teammates.
Quickly the four began to all talk about beyblade, football, and just life in general. Steve was appreciative of the distraction from the pain growing in his leg. They all chatted for over an hour before Steve finally had to ask, "Uh... can I get an Advil or something from one of you guys?"
Emily smirked and said, "Eddy can do it."
"No prob, I'll go get some," Eddy said, and jumped off his bed and jogged off to find something to ease Steve's pain.
With Eddy out of the room, Michael and Emily shared a glance before looking at Steve expectantly. "So?" Emily asked.
"Huh?" Steve had no clue what they were talking about.
Michael offered a sly grin. "You gonna tell him?"
Steve frowned, getting slightly annoyed. "Tell who what?"
Exasperated, Emily rolled her eyes. "Are you going to tell Eddy how you feel about him?"
"What!?" Steve nearly choked on the air.
Michael raised one of his brows. "Dude, it's so obvious how you two are totally crushing on each other."
Steve's face became a dark shade of red. For the past few months, he'd had a huge crush on his best friend, Eddy. Steve had come to terms with his sexuality a couple years prior, so it wasn't the fact that it was a guy that had him so flustered, it was the fact that it was Eddy. Steve had always gotten along with the tall basketballer, but as the two became closer, even just the little things that Eddy did made Steve fall that much more for him. The way Eddy laughed, how he always put others before himself, how kind he was, his athleticism, his gorgeous body; Steve loved it all. And he'd thought that he'd done a good job keeping it secret, but maybe he had been a bit obvious.
"So, Eddy likes me, too?" Steve quietly asked.
Emily giggled. "Of course! He's head over heels for you! Jeez, we thought you knew."
Steve shook his head.
"Hey, does Tylenol work?" Eddy asked, out of breath, as he came back into the room suddenly.
"Looks like we should be going," Michael said, standing up and dragging Emily towards the door. "We'll catch ya later."
Emily winked. "Take care now!" Then they disappeared.
Eddy raised a questioning brow. "What was that about?" He turned to Steve and handed him the medicine and a bottle of water. "Hey, you're all red! Are you feverish?" Eddy worriedly asked, placing a hand on Steve's face.
The attention just made Steve blush even more. "I'm okay, thanks." He quickly downed a couple of pills. After a moment of awkward silence, Steve cleared his throat and said, "Eddy, I need to tell you something."
"You can tell me anything, man," Eddy said. He sat down on Steve's bed and laid his hand on the other's.
"For a while now," Steve began. He paused and took a deep breath, starting over. "Eddy, I'm gay."
The tall boy stared at him, clearly not having expected such a confession, but nodded. "Okay. You know that doesn't matter to me. But I'm glad you're comfortable telling me." He offered a supportive smile. "Steve, I'm actually," Eddy coughed and turned away slightly, trying to hide his blush. "...I'm actually bisexual, so..."
Steve blankly looked at Eddy for a moment. "Oh," he said lamely.
The atmosphere in the room was palpably awkward. Neither boy said anything, and they just stayed where they were, Eddy's hand still on top of Steve's.
Finally, with Emily's words echoing in his mind, Steve decided to take action. He turned his hand over so that he could comfortably interlace his fingers with Eddy's. "And well, I have a crush on someone," Steve whispered.
Eddy squeezed Steve's hand. "Me too," he replied in his low voice. He leaned in close to Steve, closing his eyes as he did so.
"Good," Steve breathed against Eddy's lips. He tilted his head up and connected their mouths. The heat and passion that was expressed was nearly overwhelming for Steve, who'd never kissed anyone before that. He was somewhat nervous, but also excited. Every inch of his skin felt like it was on fire, whilst his lips burned with desire. Steve tentatively draped his arms over Eddy's shoulders. He brought the other's head that much closer to him, so that he could deepen the kiss. After an impossibly short infinity of bliss, the kiss was broken so that both boys could gasp in air.
Panting, Eddy managed to say, "Wow, Steve."
Steve smiled and admitted, "That was amazing. Definitely a great first kiss."
Eddy's eyes widened comically and he stuttered, "Th-that was y-your first k-kiss?"
"Yeah..." Steve said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh. Well I'm glad that I got to have that honor," Eddy whispered. He leaned back in and placed some light kisses on Steve's neck.
The sweet ministrations tickled Steve, causing him to laugh lightly. "You know," he said through his giggles, "if I hadn't broken my leg, this never would have happened."
Eddy thought about it a moment before nodding. "I guess you're right!" he laughed, before continuing to cover Steve's blushing face with soft butterfly kisses.
Everything so perfect, when suddenly the door to the bedroom slammed open and Judy shouted, "Eddy! Steven! What is going on here?!"
Eddy sprang away from Steve and stood in the middle of the room, blushing dark red. "Judy?" he asked incredulously.
"Well, well, well," Rick chuckled from the doorway.
"Rick informed me that you two were here, and I demand to know what's going on. What is Steven doing in these facilities?" Judy angrily yelled.
Steve sat up on his elbows and began, "I'm sorry, this was all my fau-"
But Eddy immediately cut him off. "Judy, this was my idea. Steve got hurt at his game, and he needs someone to help care for him!" Having collected himself, Eddy set his face determinedly and puffed his chest boldly.
"You went directly behind my back, Eddy. I'm sorry, but if you can't listen to me, your coach, than I can't have you on my team," Judy said quietly.
"No!" Steve yelled. "This is my fault, please, don't kick Eddy off the team!"
Eddy put his hand on Steve's shoulder. "No, it'll be okay. Don't worry about it." He nodded towards Judy. "I'll get my things and leave immediately."
Judy huffed. "Very well. It was a pleasure to have worked with you." Then she left, Rick snickering in toe.
"You can't do this!" Steve pleaded with Eddy.
But the basketballer just smiled sweetly at Steve. "I'd rather just leave and get to be with you than stay in this place. Like I said, it'll be okay."
A warm feeling of being loved suddenly blossomed in Steve's heart. He nodded and sat up properly in the bed. Steve opened up his arms and let Eddy snuggle in close to him. He wrapped his strong arms tight around the taller male.
Things were far from perfect, but it was only the beginning. Together, they'd be okay.
Hope it wasn't too rushed! Thanks for reading! And as always, any review or criticism is very much appreciated.