Chapter 2

Casey didn't see Ted until a few days after the losing game, when he had worked up enough courage to visit him. He first bought some flowers as a get-well gift, then he entered into the hospital that they were keeping Ted at. He was first cleared to visit by the nurse at the front desk, and then he got directions to where he could find his friend. After navigating the hospital for a few minutes, he came to the room where Ted was staying. He then knocked on the door, and after hearing a faint 'come in' from inside, he entered.

The room was decorated with get-well gifts and cards, and the window was opening to let some light in, as it was a clear day outside. Ted was lying in bed, wearing nothing but a hospital gown, and his left leg, the one that was damaged, propped up. It was bandaged, braced, pinned, and all other things that were fixed into it. There was also an IV inserted into Ted's right arm, which that used to inject him with morphine for his leg. The look on his face was one of anger, dejection, and sorrow. This frightened Casey a little, as it was a far cry from how he would usually see his friend, who was normally cheery and laughable.

"Hey buddy, how you doing?" Casey asked, trying to sound casual, yet kind.

Ted didn't respond, but looked away in anger, like he was giving him the cold shoulder. The tinge of worry in Casey's mind continued to grow, as he placed the flowers on a table, which had some more get-well gifts on it. Casey then pulled up a chair beside his friend, yet Ted continued to ignore him.

"How bad is it?" Casey asked, his tone now somewhat worried.

"They're saying it's a career-ending injury," Ted snarled out, much to his friend's horror. "My knee and lower leg are now jacked up, and it won't heal right, not without surgery and physical therapy. They say I'm going to have to take the rest of the year to heal, and even then, I probably won't be able to play again. They told me that I might as well retire, and try to find another pursuit."

"No, no, no, no…" said Casey, his tone now distressed. "That can't be true - can't they fix it a certain way, so that you can play again?"

"No, they can't," Ted replied, his tone angered and dejected. "I'm done for - my career is over before it even began."

"Oh man… I'm… I'm so, so, sorry Ted." said Casey, his tone apologetic.

"Oh sure, you're sorry!" Ted lashed out, causing Casey to jump back startled. "You're sorry! You're able to walk, you're able to run, but I'm stuck in here bed with both my leg, and my future destroyed, and you say you're sorry! This is all your fault that I'm here! You did this to me!"

"My… my fault?" Casey asked in surprise, before asking angrily, "It's all my fault?! You're the one who came behind me without warning, and tried to slide for the ball just when I did! If anything, you're the one to blame for being here!"

"I told you! I did tell you I was going to come up behind you, but you didn't listen! You were too busy getting angry, and trying to get revenge on the star player for making you look bad, that you didn't even hear me!"

"You did not tell me, you did not come up from behind me and say anything! You thought I was going to do what we always did, but I decided to things my way for once, and you weren't going to allow it! We always have to do it your way, 'cause we're the 'dynamic duo' of soccer!"

"We always do it my way?! I made sure that we are equals, and I made sure that we both were treated the same way! I could've gone on to join that one team that offered to take me, but I didn't, 'cause I wanted to stay with you!"

"You've should've joined that team, you jerk, 'cause then this wouldn't have happened!" Casey spat back.

"My life is ruined all because of you, you halfwit!" Ted yelled in anger. "I was going places, but now I can't go anywhere, and it's all your fault!"

"So maybe it is my fault!" said Casey, his tone equally angry. "But you know what?! I don't care about you and your stupid career! This actually works in my favor, 'cause now there's only one best player on the team! I'm the one who's going places, I'm going to be the one who's famous, I'm going to be one of the greatest athletes of all time! While you, and your busted leg, are just going to fade out and be forgotten! You're nothing but a has-been before you even started your career!"

Suddenly, in one quick motion, Ted grabbed the bottle that was on the stand next to his bed, and he threw it as hard as he could at Casey! It had Casey in the shoulder, bounced off and hit the wall, making a loud 'CRASH' as it did so!

"Get out of here, you moron!" Ted yelled. "I'll never forgive you for doing this to me, and we're done being friends!"

"You're not my friend anymore either; you can rot for all I care!" Casey replied, before going out the door and slamming it.

Ted fell back on the bed and cried bitterly He couldn't stand up, he couldn't get up and out of bed - he was stuck. He had dreamed of being a famous soccer player, and now, just like that, it was all over. He was going to be forgotten - in a couple of days, they'll would bring in some new recruit, fresh off the local teams, and he would take his place. Or worse, just like he said, Casey was going to go on to be famous, while he was going to go off to be a nobody. He was right - he was going to be a has-been before he even started.

After the shouting match was overheard between the two, the doctors and nurses came rushing in to check up on Ted. Though he was fine physically, aside from his busted leg, his spirit was now in tatters. And that was the one thing that, no matter how hard they tried, the doctors and nurses couldn't truly heal.

Despite being angry at him, and wanting to ignore what he was told, Casey couldn't shake that nagging feeling that, maybe, Ted was right. But he wasn't going to go back, because now Ted hated him with a vengeance. And he too hated him back - he hated him for blaming him for the injury, he hated him for trying to slide for the ball in the first place, and he hated him for this blaming him for this whole mess, when in fact was his fault. But Casey couldn't help but wonder what if it was truly his fault, and because of him, Ted was now out of a career?

Wanting to know the truth, Casey made some calls, and asked for the footage of the game, which included the accident. He was given a copy of it, and after some fast-forwarding, he found the accident. He watched as a player from the opponent's team tackled him and stole the ball. Casey rolled along the ground and recovered, but now he was angered by what had happened, and he wanted revenge. Then, much to his horror, he saw Ted come up beside him, right before he was about to run after him!

Casey's stomach lurched, and his face went pale - it was his all his fault for what happened! Ted had told him, in advance, that he was also going to slide tackle. But in his thirst for revenge, wanting to get back at that one player for humiliating him, Casey didn't pay him any attention. And now, because of him, Ted's career and dreams were over. Seeing this, Casey let out a low groan, put his head in his hands, and rested them on his lap.

They had lost the semifinals, and they had lost their opportunity to win another trophy. But for Casey, he had lost a close friend; Ted would never forgive him after all the things he said…

Ted wanted nothing to do with Casey after what had occurred, and neither did Casey want anything to do with Ted. The 'dynamic duo' was now split, and as Casey and the soccer team went on to play more and more matches, Ted was sent back to the states for surgery and recovery, having been let go due to his career-ending injury.

The first surgery fixed Ted's knee, but it required him to have three months of recovery. The second surgery fixed his leg, but it required four months of recovery. The third surgery allowed him to walk again, but he was left with a small limp, which required him to attend physical therapy, in order to straighten it out. Meanwhile, Ted's old team had moved on without him, and Casey was now attracting attention as an athlete. The media was in a frenzy over Casey's ability to play soccer, and soon, he was receiving sponsorships, commercial opportunities, talk-show invites, and all of the perks that came with being a soccer superstar.

But for Ted, the sports world quit on him. He tried to make calls to other teams to tryout, but they told him that he had his shot, and it was over. They told him that nobody wanted a player who was stuck on injured list, and that he should accept the fact he was not going to make a comeback. This only proceeded to make Ted even more bitter than he already was, and slowly, he started to believe what they were saying about him. Soon, he had given up on trying to restart his career as an athlete, and he started looking for work outside of sports.

He did accumulate a substantial amount of money from his soccer career, despite being forced to retire at an early age. Using the funds that he had, he was able to live quite comfortably, and he also bought a house and car. But Ted did take up a side job, as coach of a local middle school. That way, he could keep busy, and get out of the house every once in the while. It wasn't that bad of a job, despite having to deal with apathetic students, who came up with all kinds of excuses to avoid exercising.

Three years passed by quickly, and Ted had gotten used to the routine of his life. The sport he mostly taught at the middle school was soccer, since he was once a pro at it. However, he himself didn't play, despite having once revolved his entire life around the sport. The students would try and challenge him to a match, but he would just brush them off and decline. This earned him some ridicule from those he taught - for all the students knew, they were saying that Coach Ted got his knowledge of soccer out of a 'Soccer for Idiots' book, and had never played a day in his life.

Casey, on the other hand, had grown in popularity, and was well-known throughout the soccer and sports worlds. But with this obtaining of popularity, his ego had also grown, and adding onto the guilt of what had happened to his former best friend, he had become unfeeling, and detached. Oh sure, in the eyes of his fans, he maintained a friendly and outgoing image. But when the cameras stopped flashing, and he was left alone, there was nothing but anger and self-hatred.

And things would've carried on this way, if not for the hand of fate getting involved. For soon, Ted and Casey's paths would cross, but not in the way they would've expected…