If there was one thing Ben Brittle could give Royal Woods, it was that they were a pretty proud and tightknit community. While he knew what school spirit could do for a town, he had never imagined that so many people would show up for a single football game. The bleachers were completely filled, and there were people who brought their own chairs just to sit on the sides and watch the game.
Some people brought coolers and small grills to cook food, and everyone seemed pretty familiar with one another. It was kind of nice actually.
But what was even more amazing was that there were just as many people on the opposite end. The supporters for the Hazeltucky Hockers were shouting just as fiercely as those of Royal Woods, and the game hadn't even started yet. His old school had their rivalries, but he wasn't sure anything matched this.
"Is this… is this normal?" he asked.
Luna, who sat beside him along with most of the Loud and Brittle siblings, nodded. "Yeah, the town tends to get pretty heated when it comes to sports. Especially against the Hockers," she explained.
"Yeah! Let's go! We're going to crush you stupid Hazelnuts into the dirt!"
Luna looked behind her and raised an eyebrow. "Dude, is that-"
"That's my aunt yes," Ben said trying to ignore her shouting. She hadn't even been here a month and she was acting like she was born here. He knew it was only because Bruno and Bruce were playing, but still. "You're going to hear a lot of that… in fact, you might want to text your mom and tell her to cover Lily's ears."
"You could say your aunt as a Foul mouth, get it?" Luan said leaning towards them.
"Wrong sport Luan," Lynn said rolling her eyes.
"Aw c'mon, cut her some sack," Beck said chuckling.
Ben narrowed his eyes at them. "Did you seriously set that up?" he asked in disbelief. They both started chuckling. Ben sighed and looked back down towards the field. He could see Oliver carrying out a large water dispenser. "You know I have three classes with that kid. I just never noticed him before. That's so weird right?" Ben asked.
"I've been here my whole life and never noticed him," Luna countered. "I guess he just doesn't like standing out. Or maybe he's just shy or something. We should make sure we hang with him outside of practice. He seems like a pretty cool dude."
Ben nodded. "Yeah… oh hey, there they are…" Bruno and Bruce had taken off their helmets and were walking to the middle of the field. "Crap, it's time."
"Yes! It's time!" the twins cheered.
Beck pumped his fist. "Show time."
The Loud siblings looked at them confused. "Time for what?" Luan asked. They didn't answer. Instead the brothers just pulled out some kind of paint and slide it across their cheeks, making a red and yellow line on each side.
Luna looked at them with a smirk. "No way, you guys are seriously going to do it?" she asked.
He sighed. "Just… don't laugh okay? It's a culture thing, so you can't laugh." They got up and headed towards the front of the bleachers.
"Be back in a sec ladies," Beck said bowing.
"Now you get to see how real warriors prepare for battle!" Brady said excitedly.
Many of the spectators looked confused as they saw the brothers making their way down. They all stood side by side at the bottom of the stairs. Ben cracked his neck. "It's been a while since we've done this. You all remember the steps right?"
Beck scoffed. "Of course. You just try and keep up. Ready to put on a show?" Beck asked smirking towards the twins.
"So ready!" Billy cheered.
"Super ready!" Brady shouted.
Bruno took a deep breath before suddenly shouting out. "SAMOA!" Each of the Brittle brothers stomped their foot forward and stuck a pose. Bruno continued to shout out, slapping his knees and elbows as he continued to stomp about.
"Tatou o e tau le taua!
Tau e matua tau!
Fai ia mafai!
Le Manu!"
Suddenly all of the Brittle brothers began yelling out and following the exact same movements as Bruno. They sung along following the eldest Brittle's lead.
"Sau ia!
Le Manu Samoa e ua malo ona fai o le faiva
Le Manu Samoa e ua malo ona fai o le faiva
Le Manu Samoa lenei ua ou sau
Leai se isi Manu oi le atu laulau
Ua ou sau nei ma le mea atoa
O lou malosi ua atoatoa
Ia e faatafa ma e soso ese
Leaga o lenei manu e uiga ese
Le Manu Samoa
Le Manu Samoa
Le Manu Samoa e o mai I Samoa
Le Manu!"
They finished with once final pose and a mighty shout into the air. The Royal Wood's crowd let out a loud cheer and applauded as the brothers' battle chant came to an end. Bruno and Bruce bumped fist before returning to the sidelines, while the four younger brothers returned to their seats, getting pats on the back and compliments as they did.
"Dude, that was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. If the other team wasn't freaking out before, they gotta be now," Luna said.
Ben smirked and shrugged. "Well, it is a war dance. If it doesn't intimidate a little then we're not doing our job."
"You guys sure were En-chanting!" Luan said elbowing Beck who laughed. The others all groaned. "Aw c'mon, you have to give me that one."
"Well, I think that joke was a touchdown," Ben complimented.
More groans followed as the teams both made their way onto the field. They did the coin flip, which the Roosters won, and Bruno and Bruce unsurprisingly were both starting. Lynn looked excited. "Man! I can't wait to get back at those stinking Hockers! I hope your brother's totally crush them!"
Beck chuckled. "They will. Both figuratively, and literally…"
"Ladies and gentleman, if you are just tuning in you have missed one heck of a game so far! I'm here watching the Royal Woods Roosters go up against the Hazeltuckey Hockers, and it has been one of the most intense back and forth of any high school game I've had the pleasure of announcing!"
"Until recently it looked as if the game was over. The Hockers having a two touchdown lead at the start of the fourth quarter and in possession of the ball. But after an unbelievable interception made by Bruce Brittle and two amazing rushes by his brother Bruno Brittle, the Roosters have managed to even up the game!"
"WOOO! Those are my boys! You flatten those Hazeltuckey Hacks!"
Ben ran his hand over his face as he listened to his aunt shout. He knew she was excited, and even he would admit he was pretty invested in the game. But did she really have to make so much noise? "Wow, you weren't kidding. She's really going for it," Luna said.
"Auntie has always been supportive of us. Just maybe a little too much sometimes," Beck said looking just as embarrassed as Ben. A breeze went by and he saw Luan shiver. "Ah, it is starting to get a little chilly. I get so used to coming to their late night games I just bring a jacket everywhere. Here, take it," he said taking off his jacket.
"Are you sure?" Luan asked.
He put it around her shoulder. "Of course. It's just the gentlemanly thing to do you know," he said looking proud of himself. Another breeze came by and he shivered slightly, but he quickly tried to play it off. Luan giggled.
Ben glanced at Luna and noticed she had her arms crossed as well. He sighed as he took his own jacket off. "Man…" He threw his jacket around her and she looked at him surprised.
"I'm not-"
"You're shivering, and my aunt will kill me if that idiot actually acted like a gentleman and I didn't. Besides, can't have you getting sick before opening day," he said.
She stared at him for a few seconds and then shrugged. "Thanks I guess…"
The twins looked towards Lynn. "What?" she asked annoyed.
"I ain't given up my jacket," Brady stated.
"Me neither," Billy added.
Lynn scowled. "I didn't ask for either of your jackets you mutton heads."
"I could use a jacket," Leni said raising her hand. Both the twins quickly held their jackets out towards her, both with goofy smiles on their faces. "Aw, thanks you guys. So sweet."
Ben and Beck looked at them shocked. Did the twins just… show chivalry? They didn't know if it was because they had fallen for Leni, or were just trying to spite Lynn. "Touchdown!"
The crowd cheered and they all looked down to see Bruno strutting around the end zone like a rooster. "Wow, your brothers are literally on fire today," Lori said amazed.
"Today? They're always like this. I don't think there's a sport Bruno can't dominate," Beck said shrugging his shoulders dramatically. "And so we're stuck living in their superstar shadows. Such is the fate of the younger Brittle brothers."
Though he was obviously joking, Luan spoke up anyway. "Well for what it's worth, I think you're the high card of the Brittle brothers."
Beck smiled back at her. "And you milady are the Ace of the Loud siblings," he complimented.
"I'd prefer being the joker, but-"
Ben suddenly stood up. "You know what, as much as I love sitting here and listening to you two flirt with each other with puns, I'm going to go get a snack."
Luan and Beck both blushed. "We weren't flirting!"
"Are you serious? I'm probably the most romantically challenged person here, but even I can tall that's like the most blatant flirting I've ever seen. But whatever. Anybody want anything? I'm buying." he asked ignoring the rest of their protest.
"Hot dogs!" the twins yelled.
"I could go for some peanuts," Lincoln said.
"Hot dog please!" Lynn said.
"Three hot dogs and a bag of peanuts. Got it." He made his way down the bleachers and towards the small stand the school had set up for snacks and the like.
He bought everyone's things and got a hotdog for himself. "Lucky you kid, you got the last one," the man running the stand said.
Ben smirked was about to thank him, but he heard somebody behind him sigh. "Aw man…" he heard someone mutter behind him. He turned around saw a girl standing behind him. She was blonde, and had blue highlights in her hair. She wore white shirt, a light blue jacket, purple jeans, and dark purple boots.
He turned back to the guy running the stand and sighed. "Ugh, give me some nachos," he said handing him a few more dollars. He turned around towards the girl and handed her his hotdog. "Here, you can have this one."
The girl looked at him wide eyed. "What? Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Yeah, it's cool. I was in the mood for nachos anyway."
The girl took the hotdog from him and smiled. "Thanks man… hey, weren't you one of the guys who was dancing in the stands earlier?" she asked.
Ben flinched slightly. "Uh… yeah. That's a Samoan thing…"
"Well, I thought it was pretty cool. Really got the crowd hyped up," she said before holding her hand out. "By the way, I'm Sam, nice to meet you."
He reached out and shook it. "Ben, Ben Brittle," he introduced.
Sam looked at him in thought for a moment. "Oh, I thought you looked familiar. You're one of the new kids. The one who made the round pancakes."
"Is that what I'm known for now? Being the brother who made pancakes?"
"To be fair I heard they were really good pancakes," she complimented.
"Yo Ben!"
They both turned and saw Luna coming towards them. "They wanted me to come and tell you to hurry up with the… Sam," she said suddenly freezing in her tracks.
The blonde smiled and waved at her. "Hey Luna," she said before looking between the two of them. "So wait, you guys know each other?" she asked.
Luna laughed shyly, which Ben was pretty surprised at. If there was one thing he was absolutely sure Luna Loud wasn't, it was shy. "Well, you know. We met when he moved into town…"
"She totally crushed me in Guitar Gladiators," Ben said bluntly.
"Oh yeah, I did hear one of you guys took the top score in the arcade for a bit. Even heard you two faced off. Not many people can say they went toe to toe with Luna Loud in that game," Sam said impressed.
Luna blushed at the compliment, and Ben raised an eyebrow. "Well, it wasn't exactly easy. Ben is pretty good too," she said rubbing her arm.
"I'll bet. So, you guys here together?" the blonde asked.
Ben and Luna both looked confused, until it hit them. They had been hanging out pretty much every day, coming and going to school together, and she was still wearing his jacket. Seeing them standing right next to each other right now they kind of looked like…
"Wait, no way!"
"It's not like that!"
"We're not together! Not a chance!"
"Yeah, I mean me and her?!" Luna turned towards him with narrowed eyes. Ben realized what he'd just said and quickly tried to correct himself. "Not that I wouldn't mind it! I mean you're a total babe and stuff, so if we were dating then I'd be stoked, but we're not and we never would and I can't stop talking, please make me-!"
Luna elbowed him in his side, nearly causing him to drop the food. "Sorry dude, but that was getting way too uncomfortable…"
Ben groaned. "No, you made the right call… thank you…"
Sam covered her mouth the keep from laughing at the two. "Well, either way you guys seem like you… get along well," she said clearly amused by the two.
Ben sighed. "I hope so. Otherwise we're gonna end up totally humiliating ourselves tomorrow…" he muttered.
Sam looked at him confused. "Tomorrow?" she asked.
"Oh. My aunt's café is opening tomorrow and we're going to be playing on stage."
"You guys are forming a band? Wow, that's awesome. Why didn't tell me Luna?" Sam asked.
Luna laughed nervously. "I-I guess I just forgot. I mean it's not like it's anything major. We're just doing a few jams for the costumers, you know…" Ben looked at her in utter disbelief. Luna had been amped up about this whole thing since day one. She was the one who started it!
"Well, I'm definitely gonna swing by and check it out. Especially if it means I get to taste those legendary pancakes," she said winking at Ben.
He smiled. "I'll save a batch just for you," he said giving her a thumbs up.
Sam turned and began leaving. "I'm holding you too that! Catch you guys later then!"
When she left, Luna let out a sigh of relief. She then looked up and saw Ben staring at her. "Uh, what's up?" she asked looking worried.
"What the heck was that?" he asked in disbelief.
She smiled innocently. "What was what?"
"You! The whole being nervous thing. Is there something up with you and her? Is she like your secret rival or something? I can't act like I've known you that long, but that just seemed… weird for you," he said looking a little concerned.
Luna waved him off. "I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"It didn't seem like nothing. The way you were acting it seemed like you had a… wait…" he looked down towards Luna who was looking pretty pale right now. "Luna, are you… are you… I mean are you… playing for the other team?" He phrased. He didn't want to ask it directly. Not in front of all these people. Especially not if it was a secret.
The girl stood there for a few moments. Then she grabbed his shirt and started dragging him away. Ben was surprised, but followed her. They went far behind the bleachers where she was pretty sure no one would hear them. She turned towards Ben looking frantic. "I… I'm…"
"You're gay," Ben finished for her.
She looked down embarrassed. "Bi…" she corrected.
Ben stood there for a few seconds. "Hmm… that's interesting."
She looked at him in disbelief. "That's it? Interesting? That's all you have to say?"
He held his hands up. "I guess? I mean how did you want me to react…? Scratch that, you clearly didn't want me to know so I guess you didn't want me to react at all. But still, I don't think it's that big a deal."
She looked confused for a few moments, and then sighed. "I guess you're right dude. I just… it's been a thing for a while now and you're the first person I… uh!" She ran her hands over her face. "I don't know. I just don't know man…"
Ben gave her a sympathetic look. He may not have thought this was a big thing, but clearly she did. It wasn't like he could know what it was like in her shoes right now. "So, you haven't told your family yet then?"
She quickly looked up at him. "No way! And you can't either!"
"Luna, I don't really know them that well, but I don't think they would-"
She reached up and grabbed his arm. "I'm not telling them. Not until… not until I'm ready. Promise me you won't say anything to anyone!"
"I think you're overreacting-"
"Promise me!" she said squeezing his arm tighter.
"Okay! Okay, I promise."
Luna kept staring at him for a few more seconds, then hung her head and sighed. "I'm sorry bro. I just… I know my parents and sibs wouldn't be like that. They'd love us no matter what. I just can't stop hearing this small part of me freaking out about it and I'm just…"
"Too scared to find out right?" he asked. She nodded. Ben did the only thing he could think of right now. He stepped forward and gave her a hug. She flinched at first, but then seemed to relax. "Sorry, you just looked like you could use a hug, you know?"
She chuckled. "Thanks…"
They stood there for a moment. Then a few more. Then Ben was pretty sure it was getting awkward. He stepped back and cleared his throat. "So, uh… I tried to blind myself when I was younger…" he said suddenly.
Luna looked up at him shocked. "You what?!"
Ben smirked nervously. "Didn't like seeing my mom's eyes whenever I looked in a mirror. Don't think my brothers did either. So I figured if I blinded myself nobody would have to look at them anymore. In hindsight it was kind of stupid."
"That was way beyond stupid dude! You were going to blind yourself just because you didn't like your eyes!" she said in disbelief. "You're nuts!"
"I was ten," he said shrugging his shoulders. "Auntie stopped me. But my brothers have no idea. Didn't want them to feel guilty about it so I never told them. She made me go to therapy for like a month though. Kind of sucked."
Luna frowned. "That's heavy dude…"
"Yeah. But now we both got a secret on each other," he said smiling. "We're even."
Luna rolled her eyes. "Dude, I'm nervous about coming out. You tried to physically impair yourself. I think yours just might be a little more worrisome."
"You know I thought this moment would play out a lot cooler in my head."
Luna elbowed him lightly. "Definitely not. But I appreciate it bro."
"No problem. And just so you know whenever you do decide to tell your family, I'll have your back no matter what happens. And that's a Brittle Brothers promise. Totally binding."
She smiled up at him. "Thanks… well, we should probably get back soon. The others will want to know where their grub is." The two began heading back towards their seats. "Oh, and by the way," she said turning back towards him. "I like your eyes just the way they are."
Ben blushed and turned his head away. "Uh, thanks…" With that the two headed back to their seats.
A/N: Well, there you go guys! Another chapter, and one with a pretty big reveal. I was thinking of saving Ben finding out about Luna later, but that just seemed a bit too cliche. I also didn't want to make it too overdramatic either. I hope it came off smoothly. Let me know what you think.
The next chapter will be finally be the opening. We'll get some more time with Olly too, since he's going to be a part of their group of friends. Now, time for some reviewer responses.
0198: Nope, I wish I could write an original song that good! The song is called 'Bloody Stream'. It's an opening from the anime Jojo's Bizzare Adventure, but these were from an English cover of the song by a guy named Y. Chang. I really reccomend you check it out.
Jonesy: Ask and you shall recieve! Yeah, I thought it was about time I at least introduce Sam into the story. I didn't want to seem like I was milking her appearance or anything. I'm a little worried about writing for her since she's had little to no air time though. But that should change with upcoming episodes since she's confirmed to reappear.
tylerchavis97: Thanks for reading I'm glad you're enjoying the side story. And as for that suggestion, I think a Ninja AU would be awesome. You already got my creative juives flowing! Thanks for reding.
lttlgreg: Yeah, I wanted to throw in some casual conversation with them, and that part just happened to pop up. Glad you enjoyed it though. Thanks for your support!
HardWrapping: Thanks, though I felt like I was giving Olly the shaft this chapter. Introducing a character and then not really letting them get any air time. But I'd already set up the game so I knew I'd have to save it for next chapter. Also glad you like the bounus. I was going for a Game Of Thrones type deal. Though with much less killing and violence.