A/N: Well, muse for this story is coming back strong. Have another chapter and thank my lovely fiancée for this quick update.

Fantooome: Thank you!

CptCrossFitJesus: Thanks!

TakersDarkLover: Thank you so much for the continued support and I hope you keep liking it!

AnetteBP: I LOVE YOU!

…

TriggerWarnings: mentions of child [emotional] neglect

...

Seth sighed, looking up to the ceiling and loving that his mind was peacefully blank at the moment. Nothing was going through his head as his fingers moved over Randy's growing hair. The teen had just enough for Seth to tangle his fingers through and then give a slight tug. So he did. He grinned when Randy grumbled in his sleep, leaning over to place a light kiss on the male's forehead. That made Randy's eyes flutter open and Seth grinned. "Morning."

"Shit."

"Yeah.. a few hours. Don't worry about it. I slept too. Just woke up a few minutes ago."

"Time is it?"

"Six."

Randy sat up, cursing and rubbing his eyes. "I'm fucked."

"Not yet."

He laughed and swatted Seth playfully, "Shut up."

"No.. not what I meant.. although, now that you mention it.." he teased, grinning at his friend but not officially boyfriend yet. "I used your phone to text Nate, let him know you'd be spending the night since you always have extra clothes in your car anyway."

Randy smiled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and stretching. "Life saver."

Seth couldn't even get over how cute Randy was when he was half asleep. The two-toned male ran his fingers through Randy's hair again, "You're the one that stayed up all night to help me study for this test."

"I know.. it's getting long again." He murmured, thinking of cutting his hair because he knew Elaine would give him hell for it if it got even two inches long.

"I like it."

Randy smiled at the smaller man, unsure why they haven't done anything after Friday night or why they haven't even talked about it. But Randy had a feeling it was because he wasn't ready to open up completely to someone. Hell, John knew him his whole life and even he didn't know the full story.

"Randy?"

He looked at Seth and smiled, patting his shoulder in that way he did when he wanted a kiss but wouldn't ask for it. Seth leaned in immediately and Randy relaxed, kissing back slowly before chuckling and pulling away. "Mornin' breath.. gross. I'm gonna get ready."

"School isn't for another two and a half hours."

Randy lifted a brow as he looked at Seth, "You promised me breakfast, Rollins. I didn't slave over Calculus for you to not give me eggs and pancakes."

Seth snorted, rolling his eyes and nodding "I'll get on it.. I needa get ready too though."

Randy looked at Seth and nodded, "Let me just brush my teeth and I'll change out here. I showered before comin over last night anyway."

He smiled softly, "Sure. Thanks again.. you sure you'll be okay for the game later?" he felt bad. Randy had stayed up all night studying and the man had a qualifying game after school.

Randy nodded, stretching his arms over his head and yawning quietly. His shirt revealed the first few inches of his stomach and he pulled it down as he locked gazes with Seth, "I've gone into a game with much less than four hours of sleep the night before. I'll be fine." He leaned over and kissed Seth's lips quickly before getting his bag and looking for his toothbrush.

Seth blinked in surprise at the kiss but didn't say anything. The Iowan got up after Randy left to the bathroom, choosing his clothes. He really just grabbed the tightest pair of jeans he could find and a slim fit tee with AvengedSevenfold lyrics written across the chest area. He had gained considerable muscle weight in the past month of swimming training and weight room and he was pretty damn proud of it. He heard Randy come out of the bathroom so he took his clothes and went straight into the bathroom, giving a quick nod at the football captain before shutting the door and setting the water.

Randy picked up his phone, smiling when he saw Nate's reply to Seth's message. { ohhhhh ;) I get it. I'll make sure to tell dad if he shows up. ;) stay safe! } his little brother had higher expectations of Randy than Randy thought. He was sure the imaginary versions of Seth and Randy did more in Nate's mind than they've done in real life. The brunette chuckled and shook his head as he undressed and changed into his usual wear. The thin, long-sleeve shirt had gray swirls on it and his jeans were dark blue today but other than that, it was the same thing he usually wore. Randy buttoned up all but the last button and stretched, looking at himself in the mirror and frowning as he noticed his hair was just long enough to fall on his forehead but not cover much of his face. "We needa get you cut." He messed with his hair a bit, completely missing when Seth came into the room minutes later.

Seth chuckled at the sight of Randy fighting with his hair, shaking his head and pulling his shirt the rest of the way down as one hand fiercely towel-dried his long hair. He walked over and picked up his brush, moving Randy's hand away and brushing the hair down enough to tame it before putting some mousse onto the palm of his hand. Nimble fingers worked through Randy's slightly long hair until most strands had enough mousse in them to keep them calm until the game. "There."

Randy grumbled, eyes flicking from Seth's arms to the male's face. "Thanks." He sat on the bed, putting his shoes on quickly then packing all their school things into the respective bags since half were still strewn across the bed as the other half was scattered on the floor.

Seth nodded and got to work on his own hair, brushing out the worst of the knots and humming to himself. He forgot what song he'd even been humming before Randy started singing the words. He looked at Randy, blushing slightly but keeping the melody going as they both finished getting ready.

No sooner had Seth put his hair up in the bun than Randy called out, "BREAKFAST!"

Seth chuckled, "Shut up. I'll get your breakfast."

Randy didn't admit it to Seth but it'd been a long time since he'd had anyone make him breakfast and that was why he was this excited. As soon as they opened the door out of Seth's room, the smell of bacon assaulted their senses and Randy groaned softly.

"Gonna make me jealous if you keep that up."

Randy's cheeks heated up slightly. He wasn't sure at what point Seth became the bold and teasing one but he had a feeling it was around three days after the game when Randy admitted he was hesitant. "Well you'd get me to moan like that if you cooked me breakfast." He teased right back.

Seth scoffed, "Hey! I promised you breakfast, never said I would be the one to cook it." That's when they walked into the kitchen and Seth gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "Morning, ma."

Randy smiled at his friend's mother, "Morning, ma'am."

"Call me mom, sweetie. Anything but ma'am."

He nodded, blushing a bit as he sat at the table next to Seth.

"So.. how long have you two been dating?"

Seth almost spat out his juice, coughing a bit and staring at his mom. "What?!"

"Come on, Seth.."

Randy fidgeted a little, "I.. uh, no disrespect, Ms. Rollins but, we.. uh, we are not dating."

"Huh.. Why not?"

Seth felt his cheeks heat up as he looked at his mom then at Randy. He groaned loudly, hiding his face in his hands. He could hear Randy laughing and muttered to the male under his breath.

Randy cleared his throat after laughing at Seth, "Because.." he looked at the two-toned male and shrugged, exhaling slowly "I.. dunno. Guess we have other things on our minds?"

"Well Seth has definitely had something on his mind since the night he walked to the beach.. I have a feeling that isn't Calculus."

"MOM!"

She put her hands up, setting down the pan full of scrambled eggs next to the plate stacked with hotcakes and on the other side of the bacon pan. The toast was brought to the table next along with everything else she'd forgotten to place there. The woman walked over and placed a kiss on the top of Seth's head, "Enjoy breakfast. I am just going to make some coffee then I'll join in."

Randy looked at the two-toned male, something close to awe in his eyes as he watched the interaction between the two. That was why Seth was so open to the more affectionate things, why all Randy could really initiate was physical-based need whereas he depended on Seth to know when to be affectionate. He smiled, looking at Seth once the woman left. The look on Seth's face let Randy know Seth was embarrassed but Randy just smiled, "I like her."

"Because she picked on me."

"That was just a bonus. She's nice."

Seth chuckled, muttering an obscenity at Randy only to get screamed at by his mother who he forgot was standing a few feet away. "Sorry."

Randy grinned, "Mhm." He teased before grabbing a plate and topping it with just about everything he could fit on it, not counting the toast because he had that in his hand and was buttering it as he looked at Seth. "You feelin ready for this test?"

Seth nodded, "Yeah. I'm going to ask him to grade mine first.. just so I can start making up the old one sooner."

Randy smiled, tucking into his food and groaning happily the further he got into the meal. He blushed when he noticed Ms. Rollins looking at him, swallowing the food that was in his mouth. "Sorry."

"No. I'm glad you like it."

"It's great. Haven't had breakfast like this in a really long time."

Seth didn't miss the look his mom sent his way and he just shook his head, signaling for her to drop it. Thankfully, the woman did and the rest of breakfast went by rather quickly. His mom asked Randy about his team and school work and Randy seemed to pass whatever test the woman had set up for him because at the end of breakfast, she told him to feel free to come over whenever he wanted to.

Randy smiled politely, thanking the woman and waiting for Seth and Ms. Rollins to finish their meals. He looked at the large amount of leftovers and frowned but that's when Seth's cousin stumbled down the stairs with his mom rushing him. He smiled at both of them and introduced himself. As the pair settled down to eat, Ms. Rollins stood up to clear the table and Randy got up too, shaking his head. "You cooked us breakfast, ma.. Ms. Rollins. Is it okay if I clean up?"

Seth grinned, looking at Randy with a soft gaze before gently taking the plate from his mom and kissing her cheek again. "Go relax before work. We got this."

…

He grinned as they walked out of Calculus together, "You finished with like 10 minutes to spare."

Seth blushed, nodding as he shoved his hair out of his face, "Yeah."

Randy patted his friend on the back "Let me know how it goes after school."

"Uh?... Are we.. I thought we didn't study on game days?"

"Oh. We don't. I .. was hopin you'd come by? Varsity starts at seven." He rubbed the back of his neck, frowning in frustration when he felt the soft strands of hair. Randy pushed his hair back down and waited for Seth.

"S-sure. I'll just go after practice." The smile he got from Randy in return made him smile just as wide. Seth nodded, looking at the bigger male "I'll see you later."

…

Seth fidgeted in his seat, looking out at the game though he had no idea what was going on. He knew it wasn't good because they were at the last half of the fourth quarter and their half of the bleachers was mumbling in disappointment and even the band was pretty dead. The swimmer looked at AJ and frowned a bit "How bad?" Just then the whistle blew and the team huddled.

"…Coach Calaway never calls time… it's bad."

He nodded, looking at the scoreboard and seeing that they were 12 points behind and from what he heard people saying, the other team was close to scoring another touchdown. Seth frowned and looked over at Randy. The teen looked pretty beat up, he'd been targeted throughout the entire game and he'd only scored one touchdown this time because it seemed the other team knew he was involved in most of Coach Calaway's plans. Seth sighed and watched helplessly as the team started heading back to the field. He called out for Randy and waved at him quickly just to try and give him more amped up.. and possibly because he felt terrible for keeping the teen up half the night.

April started cheering a few minutes later, half the stands joining in with her because there was a spark of hope for SBSH after the touchdown Roman made. Coach had made the executive decision to make Roman the quarterback again, pushing Randy to the side and leaving him out of just about every play. The co-captain didn't look very happy about that but at least now he wasn't on the floor all the time. She cheered when Dean lined up for the kick, hoping that the blond would get them that much closer but when the whistle blew Dean missed by a few inches only turning over the play to the opposing team. AJ sat back down, back to tugging at her hair and bouncing her leg in that way she did when she was extremely focused or extremely nervous.

Seth looked at the clock, two minutes left of play and the ball was mid-field. Even he knew this was pretty much it. He noticed about one third of the crowd left because they didn't want to see the ultimate disappointment of SBSH coming so close to nationals only to lose it by 6 points. The whistle blew again and Seth found himself mirroring AJ's actions, at the edge of his seat as he winced every time one of their players was tackled down or shoved over. The next set of moves threw him for a loop because John came out of nowhere and took over the play from Roman, leaving the man surrounded but Roman stood up right after he was tackled down. If Seth hadn't been paying as much attention as he was, he would have missed the slight nod the male gave. Seth missed who it was for but the game continued. Last 40 seconds of play, John was surrounded and Roman was in the safe zone but instead of John doing the obvious, he sent it towards the side to Randy who caught it flawlessly and charged into the safe zone. The crowd inhaled sharply as a hoard of teens charged towards Randy ready to tackle the male down. They took him down but Randy dove and managed to keep the ball in hand, the leather barely making it past the white line. It wasn't until the ref signaled for the six points to be added to the board that the crowd even realized Randy had scored. Cheering erupted again and Seth looked at the clock, - five seconds – he turned to AJ. "That's it right, they qualify?"

"N..no." she'd gotten even more nervous now and grabbed Seth's hand to steady herself. "D..Dean has to score the kick to win. Another tie would mean they'd bring it down to points and.. Oakland's team just had better games this season."

Seth cursed and squeezed the Puerto Rican's hand back, wincing when the whistle blew and closing his eyes. Next thing he knew he was being shoved wildly and his eardrums were almost blown out as the band erupted with the alma mater. He laughed, screaming with AJ and following her down to the field where the game just ended and the team was celebrating.

By the time the whistle blew to call the game, Randy was already crying because Dean had just scored the point. He screamed loudly and fell to his knees, feeling a few of his teammates hugging him and just doing the same because he couldn't believe they'd just qualified for national's using the game plan he came up with. Dean was being carted away and Randy was shaking with Cody and John and Roman huddled around him. He smiled, "Sh-shit.. guys, Calaway owes us a t-trip to Disneyland." Randy had to laugh it off because if he actually talked about it right now he would lose his voice and break down completely. The guys started laughing though and Randy was grateful.

Seth ran up to the group of guys that'd been holding Dean and couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the way one clear of AJ's throat got half the team to put Dean down as if they'd done something wrong. He turned away after that, looking for Randy and barely seeing him past Roman's helmet hair. The Iowan walked over and sat next to Randy, resting a hand on the male's padded shoulder. He wasn't even there for two minutes before John and Cody stood up, using some lame excuse to leave them alone and Roman following after them. He helped Randy out of the helmet, seeing that the male had been crying and wrapping his arms around the football player. "Congrats."

Randy buried his face in Seth's slightly damp hair, letting out a sob-like laugh as he squeezed him close. "Thanks for comin."

His skin prickled with goosebumps, heat rushing to his cheeks as he nodded and rested his hand on the back of Randy's sweaty hair. "Thanks for asking me to." He soothed his hand through Randy's hair until the male calmed down. Seth wasn't sure when that was but when they were getting off the cold grass, they were the last ones on the field except for the team that was cleaning up afterwards. He didn't say much to Randy because he knew how much this meant to the man and the teen was still semi-guarded because they were at school. It was something Seth picked up on rather quickly so he let Randy stay silent. When they got to the locker room, Randy hesitated and Seth smiled at him before letting him go. "I'll get your things. If you want you can get cleaned up at my house and then join them when you're ready?"

Randy nodded, thanking Seth quietly and watching him leave. He knew that Seth got why Randy was this way but it didn't stop Randy from feeling bad about being so reserved with his emotions. When Seth came back, Randy took his things from him and looked to the scoreboard once again, smiling wide and shaking his head in disbelief. "Damn.."

Seth's hips bumped Randy's lightly before he hummed and adjusted his own bag on his shoulder, "Believe it. Nationals, you guys made it." He paused when Randy stayed quiet, walking with him towards the car and grinning after a bit "…damn, this probably means I'll have to find another Calc tutor, right?"

Randy let out a loud laugh, shaking his head and nudging Seth as he dug around his bag for his keys "In your dreams. I know you're sicka me but not going to get rid of me that easily." As they packed their things into the car, Randy grinned a bit and pulled off his gear as well as his long-sleeve warm-up before sliding on a clean hoodie. The male stayed back there for a bit as he removed the bottom portion of his uniform as well and slid on some sweats. Once they were settled in and heading to Seth's house, Randy looked at the teen "Speaking of Calc.. how'd it go?"

Seth fidgeted a bit, cheeks warming up again as he looked out the window "C plus."

Randy smiled, clapping the teen on the lap and squeezing slightly "Good job."

"It's a C.." he played it down though he was actually surprised when he got the test back from Mr. Michaels half way through the day.

"It's improvement. We ain't quittin until you're getting consecutive As."

He smiled, looking at Randy again and nodding. "So if a C is improvement.. the B I got on the retake? What is that?" Seth laughed when Randy slapped his thigh again and made a big deal about that for the rest of the ride home. He'd retaken the test during their lunch hour after begging Michaels between classes to let him retake it that same day. Of course, it was a new version of the test with different problems but Seth still kicked its ass.

They got to Seth's house and Randy reached for his bag as well as Seth's before wrapping the smaller teen in a tight hug "I fuckin knew you could do it. We still gotta whip your ass into shape though.. you'll have an A in that class before term ends."

Seth grinned, nudging Randy before unlocking his front door and telling Randy to keep quiet since he knew everyone was sleeping at this time. "I don't know about that."

Randy rolled his eyes and followed Seth to his room, setting his things down and taking his shoes off before lifting a brow at the teen. "You're getting an A. If I have to stay up every damn night before a test.. I will."

Seth smiled, shaking his head and tossing a clean towel to Randy "Clean up. You smell like hell."

"If you wanted to see me naked you shoulda just asked." He winked, catching the towel flawlessly heading into the shower.

Seth was caught off guard by Randy's comment so much that he didn't even know what to say. The teen hadn't made any comments like that at him since the night of the team's last party and it was sudden and overwhelming for Seth to hear it again in this setting.

Randy chuckled as he shut the bathroom door behind him and started up the water, ridding himself of his clothes and hopping into the shower. The last few hours had been stressful and painful but it was all worth it because he'd get more time away from the house and that also meant scouts would have their eyes on SBSH's team so colleges might start recruitments soon. He was so happy from the win that he'd even showed Seth extra affection in public despite the walls he usually had up. The teen cleaned up as fast as he could but then stayed under the hot stream of water until it started getting cold. Randy shut off the water and patted himself dry, having to spend extra time on his hair. He cursed when he remembered his clothes were in Seth's room. The football player wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out. He grinned when he saw the look on Seth's face and reached down for his bag, "Relax. I'm only givin you this half tonight. I forgot my clothes." He chuckled and went back into the bathroom where he pulled on basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Randy dropped himself on the bed next to Seth when he was done, sighing and stretching, "Thanks for letting me do this."

Seth hummed, "Don't worry about it."

He went through his messages, telling his friends where he was and then glancing back at Seth. "Mind if I stay here for a bit?"

"What about the party?"

A shrug, "…I'm not feelin up to that tonight. I just want to celebrate, without all the extra stuff."

"What stuff?"

"… the mask. I don't want any of that right now, 'ts why I wanna stay here."

He smiled, "Okay. Well, I don't have much to do but we can watch some movies?"

Randy nodded and asked Seth to put on a horror movie before sitting up with his back against the bedrest. "Th.."

"If you thank me again, I'm kicking your ass out of my house."

He grinned, reaching over and messing up Seth's hair "Got it."

Seth rolled his eyes then put on Insidious. "Play with your own hair. It's long enough now."

Randy grumbled, running his fingers through his hair "Not that long."

Seth reached over, slender fingers running through the sandy locks "Still like it."

He chuckled, "I get it, you want me to keep my hair like this. Don't worry, I'll keep it."

"I.. uh.. y-you don't have to keep it. I'm just sayin I like it." his cheeks were flushing again, eyes at the screen now so he could avoid Randy's stare.

"I want to.. I'll get used to the feeling; besides, I've been wantin to try it."

He nodded, going to his desk and grabbing the bag of chips as well as two cans of Pepsi and sitting next to Randy on the bed. "Cool." Cheeks were still a little red but Seth just sat as close to Randy as he dared then directed his attention to the snacks and the movie. He hummed after a while, looking at Randy "What comes next?"

Randy looked at Seth blankly, "Well.. you hand over that soda then press play?"

Seth gave Randy the soda then smacked the teen's arm "Don't be a smart ass."

"That's impossible."

Another glare towards Randy as he sighed and pressed play, "I meant what comes next for the football team."

Randy smiled, "More practice.. after the trip to Disneyland.. and then traveling to Nevada for the nationals tournament."

He nodded, moving closer to Randy because he decided that if this teen was going to be gone more often at school then he might as well get his Randy fix while he could.

Randy noticed the shift in Seth's posture as well as the reaction to his comment. He switched the can to the other hand before wrapping his arm around Seth's shoulder and pulling him in close. There was nothing that came to mind for him to say but Randy just wanted Seth to know he was here and they were both okay. He set the can of soda between his legs and grabbed some chips, watching the movie and smiling to himself when Seth shifted as well and the smaller teen's arm wrapped around Randy's waist.

Seth kissed Randy's shoulder then watched the movie, content to just take this one day at a time. It'd been working out for them so far, maybe it'd keep working out.

A/N: Review?