Oh, I forgot to say this for the first 2 chappies, but I don't own Scott, Martin Barringer, or Elaine. Everyone else is mine :)
Scott woke up in the nurse's office. He was lying on his back in a very uncomfortable bed, and the pattern on the ceiling danced and twirled as he tried to remember what had happened. He started to sit up, but was immediately pushed back down by a pair of very strong hands.
"It's okay Scott, you just need to lie down until the nurse comes back."
The voice sounded very familiar, and it took him a second to figure out who it was. "Dad?"
"Don't worry, everything is fine. Chad and Randy saw you on the floor at the end of class and brought you down."
In spite of his father's warning, Scott sat up and leaned back on his forearms. "What are you doing here?"
Mr. Barringer smiled. He could always leave it to his son to get right to the point. "The meeting was adjourned early, so I decided to head on back and catch your football game. Then, when you win, we can go out and celebrate. What do u say to some Chinese and ice cream after?"
"Okay, sure." Scott was a little confused, his father never came home early. If anything, the trips extended on and right into the next one. That was one reason his mother had been so depressed during the months before they separated, she was always alone. Now that he had married Elaine, he made an extra effort to come home when he was supposed to. It was kinda nice to see his father more often, it upset him to think that if he had made that effort before, his parents would still be together. He snapped out of his thoughts when a hand squeezed his shoulder.
"So how are you feeling?" The nurse smiled down at him warmly as she stuck a thermometer in his mouth.
"Ffffne," he mumbled around the object.
"Good to hear it." She then turned to his father. "From what Chad told he, he wasn't feeling well in class, and he vomited before he left. It was most likely just a dizzy spell, maybe he hadn't eaten well or drank enough in the past few hours."
Mr. Barringer merely nodded his head at the information. He didn't know if either was true, but his bet was that his son had forgotten something and freaked out. He was not a nervous person, but Elaine told him that lately he was prone to anxiety attacks. Though from what, he couldn't be sure. He watched Scott, but he seemed to be fine now. Whatever it had been, it wasn't bothering him now.
But it was. As the nurse lectured him on eating and drinking healthy, "especially since you're playing football everyday," she added, he was thinking back to the series of events that led him to where he was sitting. He felt like throwing up all over again, but he managed to keep calm.
"Scott, I want you to drink this bottle of water before practice and have another one after, okay?" She raised her eyebrows at him when he took too long to respond.
"I-um... yeah, okay." He took the water from her and stood up.
She shoved a package of saltine crackers into his hand. "I almost forgot these."
He stared at them dully, then lazily looked back up to her face. "Gee, thanks."
Mr. Barringer followed him out of the office. "Son, I'm going to home and rest for a little while, but I'll bring Elaine to the game, and then we can go eat like I promised you."
Scott's face fell at the mention of her name, but his father barely noticed. "Okay," Scott said softly to the tiles, as Martin retreated to the nearest exit.
The rest of the day was pretty mundane, even lunch, when a bunch of girls crowded around him to make sure he was alright. Right after school, he hurried to the locker room to change into his uniform and put on his padding.
"Nice ass, Barringer," Randy said as he smacked the cushioning on the seat of Scott's pants.
He picked up his towel and snapped it back at him, smiling when it hit him in the back of the head. "Nicer than yours, man."
"Hurry up ladies, we have a game to win!" The coach bellowed from just inside the doors.
The boys rushed on to the field as the cheerleaders started up. Scott looked for his father in the crowd, but he couldn't find him. After the ceremonious huddle, the players took their positions. The plays went back and forth for both sides, but in the end, the Reddingham Ravens were victorious. Amidst all the hands that patted him on the back, Scott spotted his father's dark gray jacket. He looked up and smiled at his father's expression.
"Wonderful touchdowns, son!" Martin exclaimed as he pulled son into a man-hug. "Those scouts will be all over you by the end of the year."
Scott laughed, but it stopped when he saw Elaine making her way towards him.
"You played wonderfully! I think all of those hours on the treadmill paid off." She winked at him when his father turned away to congratulate the coach, and slid her fingers up his arm. He stiffened, but no one seemed to have noticed the fact that Elaine was petting him in public.
"Come on you two, time to celebrate!" Martin grabbed Elaine's free hand and started walking towards the car. Scott followed at a distance, his good mood ruined completely.
The restaurant was upper-class with candles lit all around the room, creating a warm amber glow. Scott was glad that he had gone home and showered, it was definitely not the place for a football player in a dirty uniform. He wasn't much for luxurious things, but it made him feel proud that his father wanted to take him somewhere as nice as the restaurant was to celebrate whatwould probably seem like a small thing to the business associates and couples that were already seated.
The comfort of the cozy booth made Scott sleepy. His eyes stayed closed for longer and longer periods of time as Elaine and his father talked about the business trip. From what he understood, it had been very successful, and his father had made a lot of money from the deal. His mind drifted into dreamland as the world continued slowly around him.
He was jerked out his daze by a hand on his leg. His father had gone to the bathroom to take a business call, and Elaine was staring at him.
"Are you okay, Scotty?"
He pulled his arms tightly against his body and looked away from her gaze. "Yeah."
"All that work today must have worn you out." Her finger slid up the front of his thigh and made its way to his waist.
Scott became very uneasy. He had a feeling that she wasn't talking about the football game. What was she doing? His father could come back at any second. Maybe he would, and then he would catch her with her hand on his leg and figure out what she was trying to do. He'd kick her out for sure, then Scott would never have to see her again.
Her finger moved down to the inside of his thigh and gently rubbed up and down. He gritted his teeth to keep from making any suspicious noise. He closed his eyes painfully, and she quickly pulled her hand away.
"Are you alright son?" Martin was worried by the look on Scott's face, hopefully he wasn't feeling sick again.
Scott knew that his father hadn't seen anything, but he still couldn't bring himself to look at him. He nodded, keeping his eyes on the salt shaker in front of him.
"Are you sure?" Martin felt his son's forehead, but there was no indication of a fever. He was just tired, that was all it could be. Maybe dinner hadn't been such a good idea, he should have considered the fact that Scott probably had homework to finish. He silently chided himself for being so dumb.
"Do you want to take a rain check on the ice cream?"
Scott nodded silently, but he was afraid to get up. Luckily, the waiter took a few minutes to get the bill. He grabbed his jacket and followed his father and Elaine out of the restaurant.
When he got home, Scott immediately went upstairs to his room. He lay down on his bed and decided to take a small nap. He could finish his homework after he woke up.
Martin headed up the stairs to change into more relaxing clothes. Dress pants were not the most comfortable things. He stopped at his son's room to make sure that he was feeling well. The door creaked softly as he opened it, taking care to be as quiet as possible in case his son was sleeping. Sure enough, he spotted a rumpled form lying on the bed. He walked over and reached out his hand to shake him gently awake.
Scott's eyes shot open when he felt a hand on his back, and fear crept into his heart. Was it Elaine? Where was his dad?
"Scott?"
Relief swept over him as he realized that the voice definitely did not belong to a woman. He turned over to look at his father.
"Mmhmm?"
"I just wanted to make sure that you aren't ill. I can get some medicine if you need it."
Scott sighed deeply. "I'm fine Dad, I'm just a little tired. I was up late doing homework last night."
"I don't want to disturb you here, but you should probably get to that now so you aren't as worn-out tomorrow."
Scott slowly got up as his father left the room. Not only was he tired, he was also hungry. He regretted not finishing his meal at the restaurant, shrimp and pasta was his favorite, but he could easily go downstairs to get something to eat. As much as his tummy grumbled, his legs wouldn't budge. He gave up altogether and fell back onto the bed. Homework could wait until tomorrow.
And that's it for chapter 3, please review and tell me what you think, if I'm moving too slowly... it might be at least a few more chapters until he ends up at Horizon, do u think I should write about the first season or skip around to a few episodes? Thanks for reading!