A/N: Sorry for the wait! I did already write some of the next chapter before this one so fingers crossed you won't have to wait as long!

Love you all.

The Game

"Good luck!" Kevin wrapped his arms around Clyde's neck and kissed him briefly on the lips with a smile.

"You're going to need it," added Craig in an already bored tone.

Clyde smiled at Kevin and then turned to Craig. "Thanks for that, asshole."

Craig shrugged. "Just being honest." Kevin stared up at him with a raised eyebrow. Craig looked down at Kevin and frowned. "What?" He looked over again at Clyde and sighed. "Good luck, Jock. Have fun playing this stupid, boring game I despise. Try not to get hit in the head."

Clyde rolled his eyes. "I will. Thank you." He hugged Kevin tightly a final time and then ran to where he was already late being.

Craig sighed and began walking. "Come on, let's go join the others. They've secured a good view to watch this excuse of a game."

"Yes, let's go." Kevin walked alongside Craig and swung his arms by his side casually. "Stan's waiting after all."

It had started well. After the first points by Adam's County, Park County had been quick to take the lead.

Twenty minutes into the game was when Clyde's concentration suddenly turned to something else. Before that point he'd been focused on his moves and extremely in-sync with the rest of the team, almost to the stage where he wondered if the whole Kevin situation had been one long dream he'd only woken from on the court.

On the left side of the court, moving to keep by the ball in his team's possession, he had to make an emergency halt. He looked up into the face of an Adam's county player. He was tall, perhaps almost reaching Craig's height. He had blond hair in a sweeping style, broad shoulders and an arrogant smirk. Clyde knew he was being looked down on in more ways than one.

"Oh look if it isn't captain Donovan. I remember you from last year... when you lost."

Clyde looked at the opposing Jock in the eyes, trying to keep his face straight. He wanted to remain concentrating on the game but worried ignoring this person would make them angrier. He too remembered them from last year and ignoring didn't work.

"Look I'm just here to play ball," he replied calmly.

"Awww someone doesn't want a confrontation. What a pussy!"

Clyde did ignore him that time, running past him, alongside Token who had taken control of the ball. The blond stayed hot on his trail, undeterred.

"Don't run away from me."

Clyde watched as Token passed the ball away. He turned back to the opposing player. "We're in the middle of the game. If you have something to say to me, say it later." Or hopefully not at all.

The player shrugged. "We'll win anyway."

Clyde gritted his teeth and ran back the other way, skilfully touch-passing the ball to Token the second it was directed to him and succeeding in tricking the player that seemed stuck to him.

"Really? You seem to be losing."

The other Jock narrowed his eyes. "Not for long."

"You should probably start playing properly then."

"You should watch it, fag." He smirked. "That's right. Everyone knows."

"So? I don't care." Clyde noticed Token looking back over his shoulder at him, probably wondering why his head was suddenly not completely in the game. He flicked his eyes between Token and the opposition, causing Token to look at him too. Token immediately realised who it was and remembered him as an agitator, or to put it more plainly: a total dick.

"You should."

Clyde attempted to get past, keeping his eyes fixed on the ball as Jason lined up to shoot. He knew he needed to get nearer to assist.

"I'm not done with you."

"Well I'm done with you." Clyde could hear Token yelling him over.

"Awww, am I upsetting you? Are you going to go home and cry to your mommy?"

Another Adam's county player ran up to join him at that point. This one shorter (though still tall) with closely shaved black hair. Clyde saw no way of getting past both of them, but wondered if anyone else was noticing them practically out of play. He also took a few seconds to consider the reason these two people would want to attempt winding him up in such a pathetic way. Then realised they didn't need a reason.

"Can't do that can you?" continued the second player with a sneer at Clyde. "Because you killed your mommy." Clyde felt a buzz in his ears as everything fell into a hazy quite around him. He sucked in air through his teeth and stared forward.

"Get out of my way," he said slowly. "Now." He saw Token approaching them with a furious look on his face, and knew he must have overheard. He stepped in front of Token while still maintaining eye contact with the other players. He felt Token trying to push past him and instinctively reached a hand back to hold one of his arms.

"Dude..."

"Why are you stopping me?" growled Token. He flicked his eyes to the opposing players. "Let me sort these fuckers out."

"No," said Clyde firmly, praying and still amazed that they weren't getting noticed.

"Why not?! They need it."

Clyde backed, slowly moving Token with him. "You know I don't like violence, and neither do you. Let's all just get back to the game."

"And then after the game, you can go give head to your boyfriend and cuddle up," sneered the blond, "like the little faggot you are."

Clyde hummed. "That's not a bad idea. I will do that! Thanks for the suggestion." He narrowed his eyes in concentration as he spotted the ball and he made his break to get back in the game, successfully getting past his momentarily stumped opponents.

God damn, he wanted to rip them to pieces, but he also didn't want to give them the satisfaction. All people like that ever wanted to do was break you. Ignoring them wasn't easy, but it was a hell of a lot easier than dealing with the consequences of losing his scholarship if he didn't get back in play or started fighting on the court.

He sensed Token running next to him and smiled.

Craig clenched his fists and attempted to stand up again. "Something's obviously happened!"

Kenny pulled him down again. "Yes, we've established that, but it's over now."

"Relax, dude." Stan held onto Craig's arm and tried to keep him calm, moving his hand to briefly entwine with Craig's fingers, then letting go and scratching his head. It was enough.

"Yeah." Craig slouched in his seat and paid Stan a short smile.

Kevin bit his lip, the events making him worried rather than angry. Though, he knew that Clyde was extremely capable of dealing with uncomfortable situations, if something made him upset then things could go wrong.

Kenny put his arm around Kevin. "It's okay, Kevster. Whatever they blocked him for is over now. Let's just hope it doesn't distract him from his game."

Kevin patted Kenny's hand. "I have a feeling Clyde won't let it."

Kenny nodded and grinned. Kevin smiled as well and glanced down to the court, checking on his boyfriend, who seemed back on his usual form. Kevin sighed in relief. Knowing that he needn't worry about Clyde, he next looked over Kenny to his right, where Craig and Stan had not stopped smiling at each other, and had even begun to ever so slightly lean closer.

He caught Kenny's eyes and raised his eyebrows, motioning to the two of them in a meaningful gesture. Kenny licked his lips and glimpsed at them, then turned back to Kevin and nodded.

Kevin leant over and waited to catch Craig's eye before speaking.

"I won't tell Clyde just yet."

"Tell Clyde... what?" asked Craig uncertainly. Stan turned away and pretended to be suddenly interested in the game again. His slowly shading red ears showed that he was not-so-secretly listening.

"That you two are together."

Craig glanced around nervously and then smiled lightly. "Thank you, Stoley."

"You should tell him soon though. I can't keep a secret that big from him for long. It wouldn't be fair."

"We are! I was going to!" Craig pulled on the flaps of his hat. "Stuff just kept getting in the way."

"Okay then, because you shouldn't worry about his reaction. I'm sure he'll be really excited." Kevin smiled. "He'll probably suggest going out for celebratory tacos or something."

Craig raised his eyebrow. "Probably."

Kevin kept his eyes on the game, watching Clyde closely but went on the ask them how it began.

Kenny slid down next to the shorter blond in front from his place beside Craig, having listened to and eventually becoming disinterested in hearing the formation of his relationship with Stan again. God, Craig could talk a lot if he was interested in something.

Kenny poked Bradley in the back. "Hey, Biggle!"

Bradley jumped and looked up from his book with an annoyed expression. "Yes?"

"I've never seen anyone reading a book at a basketball game before." He laughed. "Well, I've never seen anyone reading in the gym before at all."

"I'm only here because Kevin forced me to take an interest."Bradley looked down at his book again.

"Wow, that worked. You're showing a lot of interest."

Bradley didn't look up. "Mmhmm. Just look at the way the talented basket-heads are dribbling. It's very impressive." He turned the page, which just emphasised how unimpressed he was.

Kenny grinned. "I heard that things are going well with Red." Bradley did look up at that and blush. "Ahhh, got your attention now."

"What did you hear?" Bradley shut his book.

"That she's fast becoming your girlfriend and you're a really cute couple." He paused. "Well, I heard the first part and decided the second for myself."

Bradley blushed further. "...Thanks."

Kenny grinned. "I've got to find myself a girl to keep as well." He looked around and then down at the cheerleaders. After seeing that there weren't any left from his team that he hadn't already slept with, tried to sleep with or in a few cases, actually dated, he looked across at the opposing team.

He'd done enough observing earlier to know that the blond Jock, who had blatantly been trying to agitate Clyde on the pitch, had a girlfriend among them. It didn't take him long to observe and work out which one. With a satisfied smile he leant back in his seat. He knew exactly who his new interest would be.

Clyde sat down and ran his hand through his hair, standing face-to-face with Token. Despite the fact they'd won and all the players had done a significant amount of jumping around together, Token had managed to privately pull him away to have a quite word.

He looked at his old friend now, and felt something other than anger pass through him. Thinking back over Token's desperation to defend him, wanting to perform actions that would terribly jeopardise his position on the team and worse, Clyde felt like he was finally ready to openly listen.

Token clucked his tongue and ran a hand over his sweat-beaded forehead.

"I get it now. I should never have opposed Kevin so badly."

Clyde folded his arms. "You're right. You shouldn't."

"He's done nothing wrong."

"He hasn't."

"I'm the one that's been doing things wrong," concluded Token. "This whole time I was blaming Kevin, but it was me. Look I know I've been a shit friend. I want to do whatever it is I need to do to make it up to you."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yes, because I know that you are one of the best mates a guy could have. Ever."

Clyde smiled, because he saw in Token's eyes that this was meant. "Thank you." Token smiled back and Craig could see the relief in his eyes. As he spoke, he could hear the relief in his voice:

"I have something for you."

Clyde raised his eyebrow. "Oh?" He looked at Token expectantly. Token smiled wider and fumbled in his backpack, his hands slightly shaky with what could only have been anticipation or nerves. Clyde had never realised he could have such an effect. Token pulled out a single vinyl rectangle and handed it to Clyde hesitantly.

"This is not a dig at you. This is me supporting you... in my way."

Clyde curiously looked at the present in front of him and stared at it with a blank expression for a few seconds as he took it in, then burst into laughter and grinned at Token. The peace-offering was a bumper sticker with 'Sorry girls, I'm gay,' written in bold black letters in front of a multi-coloured rainbow.

"I just saw it and thought it was perfect for you," explained Token in a cheerful voice. "The guy in the store must have thought I was gay when I bought it because he tried to hit on me."

"And what did you do?"

"I panicked and did what I thought was the easiest thing: I-uh-flirted back. He gave me his number... I feel pretty bad that he'll never get called, but it felt like the easiest thing to do at the time!"

Clyde sighed. "Token, you are terrible, dude." He looked the bumper sticker again and rolled his eyes at it."It's like this was made for me."

"You were obviously made to be the guy the ladies can't handle."

"I'm that amazing."

"Clyde, you are." Token put a hand on his shoulder. "You're the best captain, you're the best friend and I'm an idiot."

"Yeah you are."

"I'm so sorry for - uh - trying to catch you out the other night."

"Let's... not talk about it."

Token bit his lip. "I'd ask you to mine for a drink - with Kevin to - but I've got to go to a dinner party with my parents." He rolled his eyes. "But we'll do something soon... right?"

Clyde smiled. "Totally, dude. Have a nice time." He held his smile for a bit longer and then patted Token's back. Token grinned and threw his arms around Clyde in a quick, but tight hug. He pulled away almost as quickly and nodded his head.

"See you soon."

Clyde left Token to find Kevin with a wide smile on his face. The smile showed that despite the comments, the anger of the game and the possible disastrous consequences, the Adam's County players had unwittingly brought him close to his old friend again. He'd taken the time to pause and properly see Token's view, and that was a very positive thing. He grinned happily, not smirked, at the next player he saw and almost skipped away to meet Kevin.

The best way to celebrate a sporting victory for Clyde was to do something nerdy to compensate.

"Hell yeah, what you got, bitch? You got nothing!" Clyde laughed and poked Kevin with his elbow as he exaggerated his movements, repeatedly pressing the A button faster than the speed of the small device could take. "You useless!"

Kevin sighed. "Clyde, for the last time, stop talking like that."

"Talking like what? I aint talking like nothing, fool!" Clyde grinned and continued on his quest to beat Kevin in any way possible. Kevin rolled his eyes and continued playing the game with Clyde, much calmer and with a great deal more skill than his boyfriend's 'repeatedly press the A button and run from side-to-side' method. Clyde suddenly yelled out in fury.

"Hey, stop jumping on my head!"

Kevin smirked. "I'm sorry." He continued what he was doing, calmly trapping Clyde in a corner and beginning to take away everything his boyfriend had worked so hard (with a lot of shouting) to gain.

"No fair!" whined Clyde. "You have me cornered against a wall with no way to get to the pipe!" He tried every button he could, even shaking his DS, but there was nothing he could do. "You're stealing all my stars!"

Kevin decided it really wasn't worth the pain Clyde could inflict on his ears and moved to collect the next star he could see. Clyde quickly smirked and jumped from where he got stuck, bouncing off Kevin's head and flipping to grab a stolen star.

"Hell yeah, he's back. This little plumber is dominating you."

"That is dirty playing, Clyde!" yelled Kevin. "You tricked me!"

"You fell for my masculine charms, girl. You think I rock the red." Clyde winked at Kevin. "Come see me later."

"I'm not a girl!" Kevin leaned over and pointed at himself on Clyde's screen to emphasise his point. "I have a moustache, and would you please stop talking like that!"

"Like what, girrrl?" Clyde asked with a chuckle. Kevin forcefully paused the game, happy to be the one with the control when it came to the game cartridge, and turned to Clyde.

"That's it," he shouted, hitting Clyde on the head with his DS. He was aiming for light and playful but the blow delivered may have been slightly harder... He laughed at Clyde's shocked face and resisted the urge to rub his head. "You are banned from this game!"

Clyde gasped. "What did I do?" He rubbed his head and smirked. "Gosh, darling Kevin, I was just trying to peacefully play Mario and you start yelling and hitting me."

"Objection, your honour!" Kevin hit his fist down on his knee. "He was purposefully goading me."

"Oh, Kevin, I was not." Clyde rolled his eyes. "You just get worked up over video games."

"That's it! I'm shutting you up." Kevin jumped on Clyde and threw a hand over his mouth. "Say one more thing out of line and you... you won't get any food tonight." Clyde let out a muffled gasp and didn't dare say anymore. Kevin smirked triumphantly. "Yeah, I knew that would work." He hesitantly took his hand away.

"Dude, I'm sorry. I am so excited for your mom's cooking!"

"I know! And I'm so excited that she actually asked you to stay for dinner." Kevin grinned widely. "I think things are finally working out."

Clyde put his finger to Kevin's mouth playfully. "Don't say that. They'll hear you and mess everything up again."

Kevin chuckled. "Sorry." He hit Clyde again and looked around him. "Look, things aren't working out. I'm being abusive towards him."

Clyde snatched the device from Kevin's hand and threw it to the other end of the bed. "I hate you." He pouted. "Kiss it better."

Kevin leant forward and pressed his lips against Clyde's forehead. "Okay, you big baby."

Clyde wrapped his arms around Kevin and pulled him down. "I want a cuddle." He stroked Kevin's hair absent-mindedly as he spoke. "I forgot to mention, after that whole thing with Token at the game-" Clyde paused to wait for an acknowledgement from Kevin, which came in the way of a small nod. "- Craig told me he wanted to see me tomorrow. He seemed to suggest he had something he wanted to tell me."

"Right."

"So, I may be busy tomorrow."

Kevin smiled and kissed Clyde's cheek. "That's fine. Bradley's been bugging me about going to some book fair anyway." He waved his hands dismissively. "Do what you have to do."

Clyde kissed Kevin back. "Kay, dude." He glanced at the game again. "Now let's finish the game. We can't quit when I was about to win!"

Kevin sat up and chuckled, grabbing his device again and resting on his stomach. "You were losing."

"Well it was a moral victory."

"You were the one that tricked me!"

"Kevin, let's not start this again. You really need to calm down." Clyde chuckled and pushed Kevin's hand away before he could do anything more. He leant over resumed the game on Kevin's screen, quickly taken back into a world where he constantly annoyed his boyfriend, never won as a result and didn't give a flying turtle shell about it.