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Jamie needed to blow off some steam. This week had been absolute shit, and he was close to cracking under pressure. He was frustrated with himself and with his brother since last night, when a conversation at the dinner table about whether or not they were thinking about schools and jobs surfaced with a side of mashed potatoes. Jamie had lost his appetite soon after that, and hid away in his room for the rest of the evening staring blankly at his textbook while the words swam in circles.
It wouldn’t be the first time he came to the fields late at night, long after the girl’s practices would have been over for the evening. Pushing the creaky chain link gate open, James hefted his soccer duffel higher on his shoulder and squinted at the figure on the otherwise vacant turf. His breath puffed faint clouds in the crisp night air, the stadium flood lights buzzing faintly in the background while moths flickered.
Any other time, he might have kept walking towards the far end of the turf, let his cleats sink into the soft rubber track until he reached the other end zone, where another goal was set up. However, he knew the figure striking at the west net, her swearing carrying lightly over the cool air. When she kicked the neon cone for added measure, Jamie couldn’t help the slight beginnings of a grin on his lips. He took a fleeting glance down at the opposing empty end of the field and dismissed his desire to be alone and sulk, choosing instead to help this pitiful solo practice along.
“I can’t believe it,” Jamie shouted at her back with a smile, ambling over to the sideline of the turf and dropping his gym bag. “Lily Bones, the best right shooter Warwick High has ever seen?” he’d caught her attention now, and as he kicked off his sweatpants from over his cleats, Jamie was grinning like a fool. She didn’t seem pleased to see him, as she normally didn’t, but he never took it personally. “Mind if I shoot with you? Maybe we could even have a little friendly one on one, later, if you’re down,” he offered enthusiastically, lowering his voice once she was in earshot.
Lily had just kicked the ball up to catch it on her knee when she heard his voice. That voice. Needless to say, she didn't catch the ball with her knee, instead it dropped next to her foot as she turned around to see the newcomer.
It was like she saw him walk in slow-motion. Oh Jamie Buchanan. Always with his signature smile, the spark on his deep brown eyes, and his beautiful, perfect hair. Jamie, who she had known since they were mere infants in elementary school, who had always been so funny, smart, and so. kind. The boy that made her insides go all insane. Like a bunch of butterflies, or a bunch of bees.
How dare he.
How dare he kick off his sweatpants so Lily could see his muscled legs? How dare he call her "the best right shooter" and grin with that stupid grin? Lily's face had unconsciously and immediately gone into a frown the moment she saw him, because years of practice make perfect.
"There is another goal over there, Bucky." She retorted as she kicked her ball slowly toward the cones, trying to ignore the fact that she was 1) extremely sweaty after hours of being out there (which would reflect in her armpits AND forehead), 2) wearing shorts that clearly showed the fact that she hadn't shaved, and 3) failing miserably at something that she was supposedly good at. "I actually do better alone, thank you."
For a girl with a name as delicate as Lily, she was far from it, and seem repulsed by the idea of him coming anywhere near her. She seemed to be the only human being at this school who despised him, at least certainly the only one who scowled when he smiled. It had always been this way, since they were kids running around on the playground. He never figured her out, but he supposed some mysteries were to remain unearthed- and that was okay. Jamie didn’t mind the annoyance that rippled from her sweaty body in waves, her frown illuminated by the strong fluorescent field lights.
He couldn’t help but laugh at her immediate defensive stance. As if that would scare him. Knowing someone like Lily for so long, he knew she was harmless, and was hardly put off by the rude things she said to him sometimes. “Yeah, I know,” he replied cheerfully with a dimpled smile, kneeling to adjust his cleat laces. It was clear she had been out here a while, probably since the girls team stopped practicing nearly an hour ago. It was no secret to him that she was a hard player since his team was always at the girls’ game nights, huddled in blankets and sweats with posters for most of the varsity.
“Come on, Lily, we can score on each other. Here- I’ll go goalie first,” Jamie tossed his ball in her direction, letting it bounce a few times before it rolled towards her feet. Squatting by his bag, he rummaged for his gloves and slipped them on, wriggling his fingers inside for a good fit and strapping the velcro across his wrist. “Ready?” Jamie winked from behind a loose strand of dark hair, smoothing the unruly mess from his eyes.
Nudging her stubborn arm towards the goal, Jamie broke off into a joke, sore muscles from training yesterday wincing with every cold movement. “Whenever you’re ready, yeah?” he shouted across the field at her, shoulders hunched with anticipating hands poised in front of his stomach. “Don’t go easy on me,” he teased, watching her forehead crease with concentration. With Lily, he didn't feel like she was constantly putting on an act to get his attention. She was raw and painfully honest, and it kept him grounded- he liked that.
If there was one thing Jamie could do well, it was rile Lily up. And that was saying something, because Jamie wasn't just a soccer player, he was the cocaptain of the varsity team, just as he was of the lacrosse team, he was an asb board member, and as far as she knew, he was doing well in his grades. Jamie seemed to be good at anything he tried. Sure, he had ADHD, she knew that, but somehow he always seemed unfazed. Always with that stupid perfect smile on his face, laughing with his friends or joking or shining at whatever he was doing at the moment.
Unlike Lily, who had few friends, who barely made it to cocaptain of the team this year due to her bad temper, and whose grades were yet another complaint her mother had of her, among the fact that she had no romantic prospects and no social life. Then again, her mother wanted a picture perfect daughter, calm and obedient, girly and polite, and Lily was far from being that girl. She often wondered if she could just do a spell to get her off her back. She had never tried because well, she was afraid that something would go wrong and she had never been as mad as to risk anyone's life. She was actually not that bad at witchcraft actually, mostly due to her grandpa's patience in teaching. But of course, the one thing she was good at, had to be a complete secret.
Lily stood by the neon cones, her arms crossed and her muddy cleats firm on the bright green grass, the frown never disappearing from her face. She could never understand why after so many years of teasing and making fun of him and scowling, he always greeted her with that silly grin and nice words. He was just too good. What a perfect, beautiful idiot.
She knew he wasn't going to give up. He had already put on his gloves, he had thrown her his ball, he was set up. Lily sighed angrily and kicked her ball aside, dribbling his in place while he talked. She knew she had the advantage of being warmed up (the sweat was there to prove it), and frankly, scoring on Jamie would bring her a great deal of satisfaction. What was there to lose?
"Whenever you're ready, yeah?" She repeated with a mocking voice, as she walked to fix the cone she had kicked in anger. She was closer to the goal so she turned to make a face at him, to make sure he knew she was not having his jokes. She saw him getting ready out, and smiled smugly while crossing her arms. "Wasn't planning to." She walked back to the ball, her cleats slightly digging on the dirt below, moving her forearm to wipe some sweat from her forehead, making a mental note to wash her shorts and long-sleeve as soon as she got home. She turned to him, her heart pounding as a result of the bright lights and the challenge, and maybe his face she wasn't sure, but she stretched her legs and narrowed her eyes in concentration. She dribbled between the cones and kicked the monochromatic ball with all the intention of scoring on his smug face.
Only to of course have him catch it in a second.
(view spoiler)
Shooting with Lily was the perfect distraction, and one he desperately needed after a whole day of harboring ill thoughts toward his brother. He’d always had Danny on his side, no matter what kind of shit was thrown at him. If his grades tanked, he could expect Danny’s long hugs after reports came in and his parents looked at him with disappointment. If Danny suddenly collapsed on the rug wheezing as he sometimes did, Jamie could count on Danny to be the one who squeezed his hand while he was in hysterics on the way to the hospital.
But now? Now, it was Danny. Danny wanted to go off to some university he’d never heard of, clear on the east coast- without him. Art had always been his passion, but it had never been something Jamie thought the guy would go to school for. They always used to promise each other that they’d stick together, no matter what- go to the same schools, live in the same neighborhoods until they died. Jamie knew it wasn’t right of him to assume that that still was any bit true, but how was he supposed to swallow that, and pretend like it didn’t hurt?
It might not have made sense for him to want to be around someone who was constantly putting him down and tossing snarky comments his way, but already he could feel the stress and tension melt away from his shoulders. She mimicked him with a high-pitched tone, defiantly declaring that she didn’t intend to go easy on him. It was on.
In seconds, Jamie was sprawled on the turf with his arms outstretched, the ball triumphantly in between his gloved hands. “Close one, Bones,” Jamie commented with a low whistle, rolling the ball back her way. She appeared immensely bothered, staring at the rejected ball as if it had betrayed her. The shot had been a good one, but Jamie had happened to be a slightly better goalie. “Go again, you got this,” he clapped, repositioning his feet for a ready position once again.
If he knew Lily, the dissatisfaction of missing against him would fuel the power behind her next few rounds at him. As expected, the third kick was swifter than the second, the fourth with more velocity, but by the seventh goal, Lily was discouraged. Some shots never even made it near the goal, missing the box by several feet in some cases, others swatted out of the air by Jamie’s hand. He felt sorry; should he have let her score one, just for the sake of motivation? He knew she wouldn’t want a pity goal, but he couldn’t keep this up. Lily’s confidence was withering.
Now having worked up a proper light sweat, Jamie’s forehead glistened with beaded perspiration. She needed a light breather, a chance to step away from soccer if but for a moment to regroup her focus. “Hey, you got a hair tie?” he called out and left the goalie box. He began to jog towards her, pointedly running his hand through the hair that flopped in his eyes now that the gel was losing hold. As usual, Jamie didn’t let her catch on to the fact that he felt bad, instead laughing through his breathless words at her skepticism. “I’ll give it back to you, I swear, you know I’m good for it,” he clasped his hands in front of his chest in a silent plea, his chest rising and falling heavily.
Lily wasn't having a good night. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she had been practicing for more than two hours, if it was the fact that she was sure her phone would be blowing up with texts and missed calls from her hysteric mother, or if it was the fact that it was him. Despite the fact that the second involved her shitty living situation and would mean a great deal of shouting and punishment when she got home, Lily dreaded the possibility of the last one the most. She had liked him for a while, and known him for just a little longer, and she had gotten very good at hiding how giddy he made her feel. Even when he went to her games with the rest of his team, she was so committed to destroy the other team that she drowned those butterflies.
But now they were alone. Good God they were alone.
When he caught the ball the first time, she only rolled her hands into fists and scowled at the ball at her feet. "You got this," she mocked again, this time muttering under her breath while she kicked the ball up (just a little bit too hard) to catch it with her knee and grabbed it "You can bet your ass I've got this you grinning idiot," she continued muttering as she walked back to her original position "I swear to God you and your stupid smile and perfect hair..."
When he stopped it the second time, Lily huffed loudly and didn't even reply when he tried to motivate her and keep her going. He was going to get it.
When he stopped it the seventh time, Lily was LIVID.
She was angry at everything. Angry at the cones she had to dribble, angry at the lights that were too bright, angry at herself for missing so many times consecutively, and especially angry at Jamie for being...being so Jamie about it all. Throwing encouragements, compliments when she did something good, always a smile when he threw the ball back, not one jab or tease. If they switched places, Lily would've mocked him hundreds of times for sure. No question. But it made sense: Jamie was all smiles and kindness, while Lily was all punches and bitterness.
She had kicked the ground like fifty times already, her anger and stress bubbling up inside and making her heart pound, her armpits sweat, and her huffs make puffs in the winter air. Lily was cursing and muttering under her breath when she heard him call out, her ponytail flipping as she turned to watch him jog toward her. She was already quite upset at the whole ordeal, but now he had the nerve, the audacity to run his hand through his hair? Was he deliberately trying to make her drool? Because it sure looked like it.
Lily raised her eyebrows at his request. Did she have hair ties? Her left wrist had about four black ones. Her long ginger mane required multiple ties to stay out of her way. Was she going to give him one?
"You know," she sighed, taking the first one from her wrist and taking all the strays from her ponytail and tie them back up. "I did have some," she continued, taking the second one to tie up the braid she made while talking. "Like really, I did," she said as if trying to reassure him, taking the third one to wrap the braid up in a messy bun. "But you see now," she took the last hair tie and twirled it between her fingers. "I need this one for my bun." Lily pouted exaggeratedly before waving it around, almost daring him to get it. "If you wanted your hair out of the way you should've thought about it." She smiled smugly "Tough luck Bucky."
Something like compassion flickered faintly over Lily’s face that filled Jamie with hope, but her fleeting consideration was swiftly replaced by something that looked alot like cynical contempt for him and his existence. He knew she had four hair ties, there were four on her arm along with a fifth in her ponytail. Why one person needed that many elastics was beyond him, but he was new to the long hair game- what did he know? Despite his sweetly-worded plea for a single hair tie, Lily shot him down. The best part of it all was that she seemed to enjoy herself, one by one removing every single one from her wrist and using it in her red locks. Her voice feigned sympathy as she mocked his sincerity in equal measure, to the point it only became ridiculous.
Jamie laughed behind his disappointment. A defeated sigh left his lips, his optimism shattered. He tried time and time again to get something out of Lily, anything really, just to prove that she was a good person. It had never worked, not once in his life, but he never felt that desire to win her over so strongly as he did now- especially after she called him Bucky. It was a name that started in elementary school, when their coed rec coach had used it with him after ‘Buchanan’ was deemed too lengthy of a name to put on his jersey. Lily was the only one who called him that, and even if he pretended sometimes to scoff at it, he quietly appreciated that she had a nickname for him that she alone used.
Bemused, Jamie just shook his head and looked down at his cleat laces. What was he going to ever do with her? “Lily Bones,” he sighed heavily, “why do you hate me?” He snorted at the end as if to make it appear he was joking, but it was a question that had deeply bothered him for such a long time. Grade school, middle school, high school- she couldn’t stand him, and he couldn’t see why. What had he done, all those years ago? What was her prejudice? Would it take a few rude remarks of his own to get her to respect him? Obnoxiously combing his hair out of his eyes, he tossed his head to flip the obnoxious locks off his forehead- Bieber style to make a point.
Deciding he’d rather not wait and see what crass answer she’d come up with knowing she full well wouldn’t tell him any sort of truth, Jamie stepped forward hesitantly and reached for her arm. She flinched, her hand shooting way out of his reach behind her where it would have been extremely uncomfortable to try to retrieve the last elastic now. “What do I have to do to get that from you?” he proposed, stubbornness gleaming in his hazel eyes. “Anything you want.” If he wanted to, he could have manhandled her arm and pried it away, but what kind of person would he be if he broke those moral boundaries? Besides, he wasn’t a monster, and he knew Lily wouldn’t respond well to touch.
Jamie was a touchy kind of guy; he hugged everyone, had handshakes, made a habit of slinging his arm around Danny whenever he was feeling chummy- which was, all the time. It didn’t matter if you were a stranger or an old friend, anyone could expect one of Jamie’s classic bear hugs or shoulder squeezes, spanks after good plays if you were one of his fellow soccer players. But Lily? Lily he had known since before either of them had hit puberty, and he gave her a wide berth whenever it came to personal interaction. With soccer, the opportunity came more often than it had in the past, but it never felt right.
Jamie respected Lily, and with how much she couldn’t stand him now, the last thing he wished to do was drive her away. She was a project, of sorts, one he didn’t work on too often, but still had every intention of resolving before senior year was up, and he never saw her again.
(view spoiler)
Lily had expected the laugh. Jamie always managed to turn everything into a joke with a punchline he alone was privy to. While Lily really, really, liked his laugh, sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if her words were the joke, if unknowingly she was the butt of the joke. She usually whisked the thought away, not thinking Jamie of being that cruel. But then again, hadn't she always been cruel to him?
Well, cruel was a harsh word. Had she teased him? Yes. Had she mocked him, sometimes in front of friends? Of course. But what else could she do, if every single time she looked into his eyes her knees went weak and her heart beat like there was no tomorrow? They had been very young when she had first felt that way, elementary school probably, when he shared half his lunch with her when her mom punished her for punching a neighbor. (A slightly older kid who was terrorizing his little sister, but that was worthless information to her mother). And from that moment Jamie Buchanan took a seat right at the center of Lily Bones' hardened heart, refusing to leave despite years of trying to get rid of him. Those strange feelings that invaded her and the fear of his reaction to them were always the root of her bitter disposition towards him. It was much easier to make fun of him and call him Bucky than to admit the naked truth. What was she supposed to do, tell him how she felt? That certainly would get a real good laugh out of him.
Lily did not expect him to ask her that question. It took her by surprise, making her smug smile disappear and her shoulders fall in an instant. While at first he seemed to get serious (or as serious as Jamie could be), he snorted and Lily knew he must not have been serious. Hate him. He was asking her why she hated him? The girl had spent years trying to hate him! She had poked and prodded him, trying to find a way, an excuse, to despise him. That would've been much easier! How on Earth could she explain that she nowhere near hated him, that she actually-
And then he goes and does an obnoxious hair flip and how can is she supposed to answer?
Before she could even process what was going on, Jamie reached out.
Toward her.
The sudden movement scared her and she pulled away, painfully aware of her rapid heartbeat and jagged breaths. Lily wasn't a very touchy person. Her grandpa was the only one in her family that hugged her, occasionally, and after a really horrible kiss in a summer camp (one of the attempts to evict Jamie from her mind), she had gotten jumpy about personal space. She never want to feel as uncomfortable and insecure as she felt that night. Everyone knew it: Lily would join in a team cheer and push the other team around, but she would knock the teeth out of anyone who got too close.
She almost didn't hear him when he spoke. He was back to his smiling and annoyingly charming self. Anything you want. Oh boy. He was really trying to give her a heart attack, she was sure now. Lily sputtered and blink a couple of times before crossing her arms, hair tie in hand, feeling safe in the default reaction to his antics. She had to compose herself before she looked like an idiot, if it wasn't too late. She made a face pulling her lips sideways. "Does this mean you owe me a favor or do you want a challenge?" She asked, if only a tiny bit curious in Jamie's answer.
(view spoiler)
“Well why don’t we make it one of each,” Jamie suggested generously, “a favor, and a challenge.” He didn’t know what to expect from her, but he knew she wouldn’t make it easy for him to get that hair tie and let him win. It was always some sort of competition, something that had to do with her pride and need to be “right.” Although he never saw it that way, he played along with Lily’s games, even now in their last year of school together. It never got easier to get through to her and finally reach that point of having a friendship, Lily Bones had made it very outwardly clear that she didn’t want anything to do with him, and yet she put up with him every time he came around trying to be Mr. Nice Guy. It made him think, could there be some part of Lily that didn’t mind him so much, that almost enjoyed the one sided banter that they always passed back and forth?
With his hands patiently on his hips and one foot absently rolling the soccer ball in a circle, Jamie observed her. The gears in her head were turning, and while she was distracted with plotting something horrible (and probably impossible) for him to do, her facial expression was far less defensive than it had been all night. The crease in her forehead had faded, her lips twisted instead in concentration as silence lapsed between them. This had ought to be good; Lily didn’t seem to be the kind of girl that was merciful about things like dares.
Even if it was only for a hair tie, however, Jamie was willing to play. He could have been tying athletic prewrap around his forehead for a makeshift soft pink headband to keep his hair at bay, but Lily needed this distraction- and he wanted some sort of break through. It would be nice to be able to wave to her in the hallways and get a wave back, rather than that foul scowl of hers that surfaced whenever he so much as breathed her way.
Lily was quiet for a while, and he was beginning to think she didn’t exactly have anything for him- maybe he’d cornered her, and she finally didn’t have something terrible to say. To lighten the tension, Jamie puffed air from his cheeks to blow the hair from his eyes, followed by another exaggerated flip of the hair. “Come on, we don’t have all day, and I could really use that lil’ hair tie you’ve got there,” Jamie drawled slowly, “do your worst.”
(view spoiler)
She bit her lip, more weird and deep in thought than sexy flirting, her arms still crossed tightly and her feet tapping the grass rhythmically. She had been silent for a while, running in her mind the various scenarios she could suggest. She could always have him do something really embarrassing, or maybe something so hard he'd have to just give up and tell her off. Lily had known him for a really long time. He'd always been the bright golden boy of Warwick, smiling for everyone and making jokes. And in all the time that she had known him, she couldn't recall a time where he had gotten angry, or even a tiny bit upset. Not in all the years of teasing and mocking. He really was so perfect. But maybe a dare would get him ticked off. Maybe he'd scream at her and push her away. Maybe finally she'd get him out of her mind.
Lily narrowed her eyes at his impatience. "You're really going to regret saying that Bucky." She wasn't exactly sure why Jamie was down for both a favor and a challenge just for a hair tie, especially since she wasn't being the nicest person. Then again, she really wasn't the nicest person, like, ever. She found that the harsher and meaner she was, the less likely he was to find out how she really felt. But it had been years, years of going back and forth, and for some strange reason he would just not budge. He would laugh her jabs off, grin and compliment her, and kept looking for her. And so Lily kept on being mean.
"I think I'm going to keep the favor," Lily decided, reaching to flip her ponytail only to find an empty space. Right. The bun. She dismissed it with a hand twirl that she hoped wouldn't look too weird and kept talking to change his focus. "That way, when you're being especially infuriating," she gave him a fake smile "I can make you do something especially embarrassing."
She unfolded her arms and began to stretch, taking her foot and folding her leg back. "And I'll give you the hair tie," Lily began, switching feet "If you manage to beat me." She snapped the hair tie back to her wrist and smiled smugly. "I bet I can run this entire field twice in less time than you."
(view spoiler)
The favor. She didn’t have one for him right in the moment, but she was taking him up on his offer nonetheless. Pleased with this response, Jamie nodded in agreement, wondering if it would be too weird to reach out a hand to shake on it. He decided against it, instead pocketing his cold fingers under the armpits of his sweatshirt. Now that they had been standing awhile, the cold was starting to get to him and numbed his bare legs. Should he put the sweats back on? “Fair enough,” Jamie laughed at her odd but sound logic, partially left wondering at what instances he had been infuriating to her. He just hoped that whatever it was that she asked of him, he didn’t blow his entire reputation.
Lily began stretching, a twinkle in those mysterious eyes of hers, and kept him entranced with that sly look on her pink lips. What was she up to now? She proposed her challenge; a classic. A race. Jamie lit up, immediately following suit in hopping in place and stretching his muscled calves, warming them up as best as he could with the limited amount of heat in his body. He was considerably quick on the team, and running perhaps was one of his favorite things next to soccer. A footrace was the perfect thing, and he felt fairly confident he could win. While he normally might have gone easy and let her win for the sake of preserving her pride, he needed that hair tie- and loved a good challenge.
“Are you sure about that?” he teased, pulling his foot behind him to stretch out his thigh, then digging his heel into the turf with his toe up to stretch his hamstring. He was still tight, but it was no matter- he would warm up in no time. His acceptance to the challenge had roused something that looked like a smile from Lily, and that was all he needed. Grinning ear to ear like a fool, Jamie sauntered backwards towards the edge of the field where a cement track ran along the perimeter. Lily followed, adjusting her hair and talking smack about how she could beat him.
“Don’t be so sure, I may surprise you,” he raised his eyebrow impishly, tossing a wink her way before he turned back around and walked straight with Lily falling into step. “A race? Man, Lily, you gotta be more creative with this stuff,” Jamie nudged her elbow as their cleats hit the hard asphalt, the two lining up side by side at an imaginary start line. “So? Around the track, back to this spot?” He suggested, staring at the ground for some sort of marker. Seeing as there were none, Jamie bent over and tugged his sweatshirt off, cool air hitting his stomach when his shirt accidentally came most of the way with it.
Speaking nothing of his accidental flashing, Jamie tossed his sweatshirt on the grass to mark their starting and finishing line, smoothing out his shirt. After a quick adjustment of the hair out of his eyes, Jamie got down in a ready position as if he were about to run an 800 meter dash. One foot extended behind him and another was bent, his hands on the surprisingly warm cement to balance him. “On your count!”
(view spoiler)
Lily saw him lit up and start warming up and couldn't help but think of how cute he looked. He seemed excited to race, which shouldn't have come as a surprised as he was one of the fastest runners on the team. She knew because she went to pretty much all their games by coach's directive to "foster team spirit". To be honest Lily was just glad she had an excuse to go see Jamie without looking weird. She made an effort to look at the other players every once in a while but her eyes always drifted back to Jamie. It was in these games that she had seen how great of a player he was, how happy and relaxed he got and, of course, how fast of a runner he was. Maybe Jamie was right and she wasn't thinking this through.
But there was no way she'd give him the satisfaction. "You're damn right I'm sure," she retorted, following the silly boy whilst stretching out her arms. "I can run this track with my eyes closed Bucky," she started, teasing with ease "you may be the fastest one on the boys' team, but you haven't raced against me."
She was getting excited about the race, and she wondered if it was his energy that was contagious. She was also very competitive, so that was also a pretty strong factor to her anticipation to their race. As he walked towards her something tugged in her stomach, making it drop the second he winked at her. She just rolled her eyes while trying to focus on something, anything, but she was interrupted by his slight nudge. He touched me, oh my god. "Be more creative...I'd like to see you come up with something better!" She stuck out her tongue because she was, well, a toddler apparently, before nodding. "Yeah, yeah, whatev-"
Lily felt her body warm up immediately. One thing was seeing him in shorts, which she had, multiple times in the aforementioned soccer games. She had enough exposure to not go into a frenzy every single game. But when Jamie pulled his sweatshirt off he pulled up his shirt too. If she was being honest, and she would never admit to this, she had most definitely imagined him shirtless. Like, she was a teenager who had a ten year old crush, sue her. However, she was most definitely NOT ready to see real-life, Jamie Buchanan's semi-defined six pack that night. Seeing as he was an all-star athlete she shouldn't have expected less, but she was taken completely by surprise and all the cowbells and alarms ran in her head.
Jamie's shirtless, I mean practically shirtless, like technically shirtless, like Jameson Buchanan had pulled. off. his shirt (or well sweatshirt whatever) and I, Lily Bones was the only one to witness it in this night right here like there is no way he did that on purpose.
Practically drooling already, it took a second to pull her eyes away from the boy in front of her and remember what was going on.
Ah yes, the race.
With her ears a bright crimson, her heart pounding, and her insides flipping out, she mimicked Jamie's position to begin the race, barely hearing him call out to her. "Uh..." she cleared her throat with difficulty and replied. "Ready," Jamie Buchanan touched me and winked. "set," I just saw Jamie's abs. "go!"
I am so fucked.
(view spoiler)
#
The moment she said go, Jamie took off. For the first couple meters, Lily matched his speed, her legs pumping as their cleats clacked on the cement. Technically this would be wrecking their shoes and definitely not the most comfortable running situation, but did Jamie think often? Not exactly. Despite a cramping in his side that came almost immediately, he sprinted around the bend and passed Lily with ease. His long strides and energetic bounds put him several feet in front of her, and he could hear her frustrated cries when he gained speed. This was easy; he raced the boys often and most always came out on top.
His lungs burned from the sudden exertion, but Jamie didn’t even think to pause until he bolted right past the limp grey sweatshirt on the grass. “Hell yeah-!” Jamie hooted, throwing his arms up victoriously as he let his body cool down, his hands settling behind his head as he panted heavily. His cheeks were red and ruddy, and his hair had fallen into his face again, but Jamie was well pleased with himself watching Lily come trotting in last. “Looks like we have a winner,” he declared breathlessly, snickering when her lips twisted into a pout.
“Pay up, Bones, I won fair and square.” Jamie expectantly held out his hand, shaking his head in amusement at all the flustered excuses that came out of her mouth. He didn’t accept any of it. Once she begrudgingly handed over his prize, Jamie celebrated with a foolish victory dance. Even if he looked stupid, he didn’t care, because even Lily was stifling a smile. “Better luck next time, eh?” Without thinking, he heartily slapped her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “Should we get back to it, then?” he gathered his sandy hair and managed a passable but poor sweaty man-bun that would have to make do.
(view spoiler)
After the...distraction at the beginning of the race, Lily did try her best to focus back on the race. She tried to get her eyes on the prize, proving Jamie wrong, imagining his smile wiped from his face...
But then he shouted in celebration right as he passed the marker. His sweatshirt, which honestly was the one at fault here. She began to slow down until she stopped and placed her hands on her knees. She unsuccessfully tried to hide her panting, her cheeks red with exertion and stray hairs standing up and the bun and braid had come undone: her previously carefully wrapped hair now was in shambles.
Like her pride.
"This is ridiculous!" She shoot upright with her hands above her head, the usual frown returning to her face. "It wasn't fair! You-" she immediately stopped herself from continuing that sentence. She was about to say: You cheated because you winked and showed me your abs so I got distracted! But then she'd have to explain why his abs and winks were distracting and that was a conversation she'd much rather not have. "Winner my ass." She muttered, crossing her arms and pouting.
Lily groaned loudly as he held out his hand, and stomped her foot, digging her cleats on the ground, before taking the hair tie from her wrist. She dropped it on his hand and groaned loudly again. And then he began to dance? Ugh he looked so ridiculous...and...ok fine he also looked cute and he was making her smile and as soon as she noticed she deepened her frown. He was dancing to her defeat. She couldn't be smiling!
Lily felt his hand on her shoulder and she immediately went stiff. The unfamiliar touch made her slightly lightheaded. This wasn't a jab, this was something more, and Lily's feelings for Jamie and her aversion to touch were making a not very successful combination inside of her. Part of her wanted to ring all the alarms of excitement as she'd done before, but a small part of her she couldn't control had its hands on the EXTREME DANGER GET AWAY button. She closed her eyes tightly for a second, trying to decide what to do next. She heard Jamie's voice ask her a question, and she opened her eyes.
"Oh we're getting back to it alright you new age hipster," she smiled, referring to his man-bun. She walked decisively to her soccer ball and kicked it up so hard it immediately reached her hands. "I'm getting a rematch" She declared narrowing her eyes at him. "I bet I can score you a goal. Right. Now." Her heart was pounding fast and her face was red and wet with sweat. She still had her crushed, undamaged, but now it was a matter of pride, and if there was one thing she'd protect with tooth and claw besides her grandfather it was her pride.
He teased her again, which alright, she hadn't scored before so he had reasons, but this only served to fuel Lily's rage. But she just took a breath, knowing she would be good on her word. "Go on Bucky," she said, waving to the goal with one hand "Get ready."
After he had put his gloves back on and set a stance as goalie, he shouted one final comment, all while smiling like it was all a big fat joke. Lily just smiled, took some steps back before running to the ball, and kicked.
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#
Could he have put his hands up sooner? Maybe. Should he have put his hands up sooner? A resounding, fuck yes. Caught up in the giddiness of having proved Lily Bones wrong and taken her off her pedestal for the sake of winning a damned elastic for his unruly hair, Jamie had been distracted. Her jab at his hairstyle as well as her desperate attempts to redeem herself in his eyes had his mind buzzing. She wanted a rematch, she wanted so badly to be back on top that it was eating her alive, and Jamie was soaking up every last minute of it. Lily was an odd character, but he liked her. She wasn’t like other girls… she never failed to surprise him.
He diligently jogged off to the goalie box again and strapped in his gloves, shouting pointless banter over the chilly air at her to rile her already wildly competitive side. He wasn’t the best goalie, but he would try to be just for her. If he blocked it and sent her home huffing and puffing with her arms crossed and her lips in a frown, he would be pleased. Sometimes he couldn’t really tell if she were actually irritated with him at these kinds of situations, or if it was all in good fun. Whatever it was, Jamie liked to think that they would be on friendlier terms after tonight, even if her definition of friendly was her growling at him in the hallways.
“Let’s see what you’ve got!” Jamie had remembered shouting with that stupid grin on his face, his fingers flexing and clenching to readjust the fit of the gloves. He had made the stupid decision to fix one of the velcro straps as she took a few calculated steps back and sized up the goal, and there was his mistake. By the time the ball came hurtling at his head, he had barely enough time to raise his hands in defense. Jamie hadn’t been quick enough, and the ball cold-cocked him right in the cheekbone.
The force and his shock sent him flying backwards onto his ass, his face stinging as the ball bounced off his nose. All it took was the warm telltale trickle inside his nostril to know that he’d busted his nose and cheek, and that there would most definitely be some gnarly purple bruising by tomorrow morning. Jamie defensively held his face while he rolled onto his side, his skull still jarred from the impact. If this were a cartoon, he would have stars floating in dizzying circles around his head, because that was exactly how he felt. Vertigo washed over him and for a few quiet moments, Jamie had nothing to say as he caught his breath.
“Shit,” he swore softly, sensing Lily’s tentative footsteps towards him on the turf. She had got him good. Along his cheek a purple and red streak of popped blood vessels had already surfaced, while crimson blood trailed from his nose and onto his lip. Hurriedly, Jamie peeled his shirt off and pressed it to his face to stop the bleeding, sitting upright with his eyes closed to let the wooziness pass.
“You missed the goal, Bones,” Jamie said at last, his voice muffled behind the bloodied shirt balled in his fist. It hurt to keep his eye open, so he let that drift shut too. “You have to come get ice with me,” Jamie informed her, “in the locker rooms. Wanna help me up?” His head was still spinning, and maybe he was mildly concussed, but he was putting on a tough show for now. Surely it wasn’t all that bad, even if his face stung like a bitch.
Lily was paralyzed as Jamie fell to the ground. She had been so focused on winning, on beating him specifically, that she didn’t even notice he had been distracted. It all happened so fast: kick, ball flying, Jamie on the floor. She gasped, reaching to pull her hair. This was bad. This was really, really bad.
I just broke his nose. I legit just broke Jamie’s nose.
She pulled her face and hair in frustration. “Oh my God, oh my fucking god...” She muttered worriedly, biting her right hand fingernails. She didn’t see him moving and almost bit her actual finger. “Jamie?” She whispered, crossing her arms. Lily took hesitant steps towards the boy in the goalie box. Jamie was rolling sideways on the floor, reassuring her that at least she hadn’t knocked him out. How could she have been so reckless and idiotic? Jamie had done nothing to deserve a strike in the face. He was the nicest person ever. Everyone on the boys’ team and the entire school was going to hate her. He was going to hate her.
Oh wait, he was going to hate her. She was going to scream at her! He was most definitely going to be upset! She was finally going to have an excuse to not like him!
Aaaand now he’s shirtless.
If Lily had been freaking out before, now she was almost having a heart attack. He had just pulled his shirt off casually, like it was the most normal thing to do. Lily’s knees buckled and she gasped a little. She imagined seeing him shirtless in very different circumstances that’s for sure. Circumstances that she was sure would never happen. Circumstances that were far, very far, from reality. But there he was, in all his perfect shirtless glory. Telling her to go to the locker rooms. With him. Her imagination ran wild for a second and her face turned bright tomato red. She slapped herself mentally, telling herself to stop and get ahold of herself. She was acting like a frenzied teenager. But Jesus Christ...
“I gotta go.” She responded curtly. She crossed her arms tightly, looking down on the injured boy. He was bleeding really bad, a purple bruise across his cheekbone quickly taking form. “My mom is waiting.” She talked fast, shifting her weight between legs. Lily could see the line of blood. “You should call your brother. I gotta go.” She whispered to keep him from hearing her voice break. A part of his shirt was beginning to turn red. “I’m sorry.”
Lily turned and ran all the way to her soccer bag, not even bothering to close it before skipping over the bench and running to the locker room. The undone braid was swishing on her back, she used her entire body to push the door, almost falling through. She only stopped to change her shoes and grab her backpack before running to her bike and spinning away home. Her heart beating with every swing of her pedals.
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One moment Lily was there at his side, gasping at the mess that his face was becoming, and the next, she was running. He squinted out of his eyes to see sparkling shapes drift past his vision, a blurry silhouette of her crouching by her soccer duffel and digging about like a mad man. At first, Jamie supposed that perhaps she was getting him a bandaid, some water, or one of those girl things- like in She’s The Man. He could do with one of them right about now, as the sweat-wicking athletic shirt was hardly doing the trick to sop up his gushing nose. But then Lily began saying how she had to go, how she needed to leave- and that he had ought to call the last person he ever wanted to call tonight.
Jamie panicked, opening his eyes and searching frantically for Lily who was already zipping her belongings up into her duffel. “What do you mean-?” Jamie stammered, an edge of worry in his voice. She couldn’t possibly be leaving him, when she had kicked him in the face! Could she be that cruel, did she hate him that badly? Had she hit his face on purpose? “Where are you going? Lily-? Wait,” he pleaded, crawling to his knees with one hand still holding the shirt against his nose. The blood was tricking down his arm now and making a god-awful mess, but he wasn’t even paying attention. Jamie’s mind was swimming with questions, his words falling on deaf ears as Lily gave him one last forlorn look, before sprinting away from him with her bag bouncing against her hip.
He gave up, shivering in the cold as his pale eyes watched her disappear into the girls locker room, disappointed again when she didn’t emerge with ice or bandages or anything that could help his cause. Maybe she just was really that horrid. Maybe his brother was right, maybe he had ought to have listened all those times Danny told him that she was just trouble. Who was he kidding, trying to be the nice guy? If Lily couldn’t tolerate him after all these years of trying, then she never would. It was discouraging, to put that much faith into one person thinking that he could change her. It was pathetic. Somehow by being caught in the face with the ball and bleeding out, he was being abandoned.
Alone in the silence, Jamie didn’t know what to think. At first he thought he could sit it out, grit his teeth and just get home, but numerous attempts to stand up left him teetering over and goofy footed until he would double over again. Not to mention, he’d ruined his shirt, and his skin was tainted with blood in numerous spots where his shirt had dripped. The ringing in his ears almost definitely confirmed his minor concussion, accompanied by the tender puffiness on his cheek. “Fuck,” Jamie sighed into his knees, his eyes closed while the sensations passed.
Somehow he had managed to stumble back to his duffel bag and pull on one of his other shirts, blindly mumbling for Siri to call Daniel. This was a conversation he didn’t want to have, but for how late it was, and his given circumstance, he didn’t exactly think it best to call anyone else. His friends he shared with Danny, and no doubt the word would get out. Besides, it wasn’t really like he could hide a full faced bruise and wounded feelings from his twin brother- they shared a bathroom, and their rooms were adjoined. His mother would kill him, then go after Lily for leaving him there. Ideally, he didn’t want to call anyone, but he was too much of a risk on the road to be driving the car that he and Danny shared.
“He-ey, Danny,” Jamie perked when his brothers sleepy voice answered the phone. “Listen, can you come by the fields? And bring an ice pack?” His voice was tentative and shy, uncharacteristic of his booming confidence and loud cheerfulness. It was still raw between them after they had fought and their unresolved text messages earlier that day, but he needed Danny to see past that right now. “Don’t tell mom, just- just please, no questions, okay?” Jamie chewed the inside of his cheek, knowing that he couldn’t possibly expect Danny to come running without some serious interrogating when he got here, but he would cross that bridge when they came to it.
After he hung up, he thought about calling Lily, but his thumb hesitated over the blurry phone icon. He couldn’t do it; the horrified sound of her voice, he couldn’t make out what it was. Disgust? For an athlete, was she that faint of heart about a nose bleed? Or was it the lack of sympathy, her running away so she wouldn’t have to help him? He still couldn’t wrap his head around it, and the pulsing in his skull made him want to vomit between his knees.
Danny hated fighting with his brother. Besides the fact that he was pretty much his only friend, Danny hated hurting his brother. From the moment they were born they had been practically inseparable, Jamie didn't let Danny's condition stop him from playing, running, and joking around. The condition didn't stop him, but his parents' certainly did. For years Danny had to get used to stay at home, to let Jamie be the one who played and ran and joked. Being in the hospital and in bed so often didn't help Danny become any more sociable. He was pretty sure his mom thought it was why he was so introverted.
He might've been an introvert, but he was far from antisocial. Jamie had done an excellent job at helping him meet more people, to laugh more often, to be more relaxed around strangers, and Danny was immensely grateful to his brother for this. He was grateful to have someone as kind and wonderful in his life as his brother.
But Jamie didn't get it. When they had promised to stay together until they were old men, he didn't understand that this meant that Danny could never be independent. The idea was nice, but the reality that it portrayed was one that Danny wasn't ready to accept.
He wanted to be free.
So that's why they had argued at the dinner table. Danny figured it was time for him to bring up the college talk, seeing as he was already applying to art schools far from Warwick, and it had all gone as well as you'd expect. Jamie stormed off to God knows where, and their mother was sobbing at the dinner table, making Danny feel like a complete asshole.
After a short text conversation with Jamie, Danny calmed down. He hadn't been angry exactly, but he had been upset at the fact that neither his mother or brother seemed to understand his wishes to be independent. They didn't understand because they had it. They didn't understand what Danny was missing.
So after calming their mother down and cleaning out the table, Danny decided to take a shower and go to bed. He figured he could talk to Jamie later and clear the issue up. It made him sick to think Jamie was still out in town, mad at him.
And it seemed like he conjured him up because shortly after falling asleep his phone rang beside him. It wasn't on silent just because Danny knew Jamie often forgot his keys, and he hoped that that would be a good time to talk. "Hello?" Danny answered, his voice groggy from being woken up.
Jamie's strange request made him sit up immediately. "What-what's wrong? What happened? Mom and I can-" He was interrupted by Jamie's voice, strangely devoid from his characteristic cheer, and he just nodded, forgetting that his brother couldn't see him. "Give me ten minutes."
Danny splashed water on his face to finish waking up before putting on some shoes, grabbing an ice pack from the fridge, and taking the keys. Sure enough he was in Warwick High in less than ten minutes, parking by the edge of the soccer field. He closed his door without bothering to lock the car, and jogged to his brother, who was sitting by the goal box, his shirt on his face with hints of blood. "What the hell happened to you?" He said, kneeling down and pushing Jamie's hand away to see the injury.
Even if they were fighting, Danny was good on his word. Within the next ten minutes, his mother’s suburban rolled into the parking lot and his brother came dutifully running across the field towards Jamie’s crumpled, lone figure, his head still between his knees and eyes closed. The bleeding had mostly subsided now, although a jarring headache kept him seated on the turf freezing his ass off. He never thought he would be this relieved to see his brother, his bloodied expression brightening at the sight of that familiar head of floppy brown hair jogging in his direction. Jamie managed a meek smile, for once not the bouncing bubbly happy boy that everyone knew him to be. It was still awkward because he’d blown up at Danny last and had yet to apologize for it, and yet here Danny was, wide-eyed with worry.
“Uh, hey,” Jamie managed shyly, dropping his gaze to the turf. His eyes had begun to hurt at the strain, and it burned to stare up at Danny’s lanky tall figure illuminated with the glaring flood lights. His brother was a no-nonsense kind of guy, and despite Jamie’s futile attempts to keep his face turned away just enough to keep Danny from seeing the swelling on his cheek, his hand was quickly swiped away from his injury. A gasp came from his lips, a curt demand to know what was going on ringing in Jamie’s ears. Should he lie? Tell the truth? It wasn’t as if he were humiliated by the idea that a girl could wreck his face with one kick, but he was more mortified to admit that the assailant had been Lily. Even if she had left him in a hurry, he still felt the need to protect her.
He didn’t need to give his defensive brother yet another reason to despise Lily Bones, and so Jamie pulled a white lie out of his ass. There were still elements of the truth weaved throughout it, but it had ought to be enough to satisfy the demands of his brother. “I was playing with some guy, and I was goalie- you know how those things go,” Jamie forced a laugh, “and well, I just didn’t get my hands up soon enough. It was just an accident, Danny, and he had to leave-” A passive shrug played into his act as Danny poked and prodded the tender bits of his face that swelled his eye halfway shut. “Just, can we go home…? I’m tired.” Jamie almost sounded sad, waving Danny’s caresses away and clutching his arm to help him stand up. An intense sensation of vertigo nearly took him right off his feet again, but Danny was there to keep him stable.
He wondered what the hell was going through Lily's mind right then, whether or not she felt remorse for leaving him here or if she was upset. Just when he thought he had figured her out she surprised him, yet again, and it just felt like a major setback. Ignoring the blow to his feelings that Lily had inflicted by refusing him once again, Jamie wasn't nearly his talkative self. It didn't make a difference that Danny and him weren't exactly on the best of terms still, and had some sorting to do once Jamie's head had cooled.
He could tell his brother wasn't buying the bullshit, but at his request he obliged. Somehow they got him to the car in one piece, Jamie's limbs drooping like lead appendages and folded into the front seat of the SUV carefully by a doting brother who looked unsettled. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Jamie's story almost seemed unlikely, because such a person didn't exist in Danny's mind, and there was blood caked into his shirt, smeared across his hands and arms, and staining his nail beds. It was a gory sight to see Jamie collapse in the seat with defeat and exhaustion, his eyes closing momentarily while Danny fired up the car.
Danny had seen Jamie get hit by soccer balls, very often. He had gone to practically all his soccer games since he started playing, and he had seen it all: bruises, sprains, strains, bones broken, dislocated shoulders. The bad, the ugly, and the nasty. But he had also seen his brother smile through a broken nose, stand up and argue with the coach to continue playing, and refuse to use an ice pack when another team mate needed it. The Jamie he was seeing on the field wasn't just hurt, he was defeated.
"But why-" He began questioning, carefully touching his face to see where he had gotten hurt. He stopped when he heard his brother wince, and Danny suddenly remembered the ice pack, placing it slowly on his face. "He had to leave?" He asked, more skeptical than anything, unsure why anyone in their right mind would leave Jamie in this state. Danny sighed. "Yes, let's go home." He didn't believe a word that was coming out of Jamie's mouth, and he had every intention of finding out the truth, but he also saw his brother was hurting and his interrogation could wait until they were in the car.
Once Jamie was safe in the car Danny ran to the benches on the side of the field and grabbed Jamie's bag. He was about to head out when he noticed a colorful object in between the grass, and knelt down to find a purple scrunchie. Danny frowned in confusion, but thought it was probably a leftover from the girls' soccer practice. In any case, he put everything in Jamie's bag, including the soccer ball with a smear of blood on the side, and threw it in the backseat before turning on the car.
"So are you going to tell me what really happened?" Danny asked, as a popular song whispered on the radio. "Because someone leaving you like this sounds like a load of crap." Maybe Danny was being too direct, but more than upset at his brother he was upset at the situation he was in, all bloody and hurt, and sad.
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To think that they’d drive home in blissful peace while Danny lived on in ignorance to the situation was wishful and vain. They didn’t even make it past the parking lot when Danny opened his mouth with that dreaded question, a soft groan rising to Jamie’s throat. His story wasn’t all that believable on any counts, especially to someone who knew his every thought and experience as his twin. White lie or not, Jamie couldn’t pass off his excuse as credible, without Daniel pressing for more and more information.
“Let’s just listen to some music right now,” Jamie reached forward for the volume dial to turn up the song, even if it made his head pulse unfavorably at the noise. Danny immediately reached forward to turn it down again, stubborn as all hell to get the truth out of Jamie now that he had evaded spilling it twice. Frustrated that his brother couldn’t respect this Jamie huffed and stared out the window for several minutes. A brief side-eye at Danny during a stoplight proved that the bastard was still staring right at him, that hazel gaze of his unfaltering.
Jamie would never out Lily. Not Lily Bones, because she was his personal little secret. For some reason, she was the only person in the world that he had a connection with that Danny didn’t exactly know about. Sure, he knew that Jamie tried way too hard to say hello to her in the halls and struck up random and forced conversations with her in class sometimes, but it went much deeper than that. Ever since they’d had their first soccer practice together all those years ago he had been excited of the idea of being her friend, and when it never panned out to continue past that one soccer season despite the fact that they saw each other on the playground every recess in the fields, it had quietly bothered him. Now they were seniors and he was still trying to force a friendship that would never be.
With his cell phone in his lap, Jamie stared at the time and the overwhelming amount of notifications on his screen, not one of them a text from Lily asking if he were alright. He didn’t get that girl. Why had she run? The question would continue to nag at him the rest of the night, no doubt. “The only part that’s a load of crap was that… he left because he got freaked out at all of the blood, I guess,” Jamie said carefully, avoiding Danny’s raised eyebrows. “I don’t really know why he left. Maybe he isn’t fond of gushing noses,” he suggested, shrugging as he settled into his seat with his eyes closed to stop the vertigo.
“Its not a big deal, D. Just let it go, it’s just another soccer injury that I need you to help mom not freak out at, okay? You know how she worries.” Had they not been on sore terms he might have indulged a bit on his Lily situation, but things were still… tense. He didn’t feel like Danny would receive it well, anyway, without a little buttering up, and buttering up was not something Jamie had the strength or will to do right now. He just wanted a hot bath, some warm covers, and an early bedtime.
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Danny winced at his brother's groan, and hit the gas pedal just a little more to quicken their trip home. Jamie didn't look as bad as to need stitches or anything like that, but he did look hurt enough to have a concussion, so Danny had to keep him awake no matter what. At least until they got home and he could clean up properly. He had no idea who would be as selfish as to leave Jamie in that state, but you bet he was already planning on asking the coach to make an inquiry. Weren't they supposed to be a team? Protect each other? Or was that just some bullshit to get them to win games?
"No, we're not listening to music right now," Danny said, turning down the music and looking sideways at his brother before stopping at a red light. His silence was even more infuriating than his clearly made up excuses. It was very clear that he was trying to protect someone, prevent Danny from getting mad at him, which was very hard to begin with. But the fact that the guy hadn't even waited to see when Danny arrived...it just felt too strange to him.
"He got freaked out because of the blood, yeah, ok," He said sarcastically. "You're telling me the goalie can't stand a bloody nose?" He huffed, his eyebrows furrowed and his fingers tightly wrapped around the steering wheel. "When I tell coach someone left you like this there's gonna be hell..."
Danny usually wasn't this confrontational. In fact, if you asked anyone in school, he would be the last person to come to mind to make a big fuss with the soccer coach. But this was his brother that they were talking about. And besides, it didn't help his humor that they had argued before Jamie had left and through text. Danny still had the little prick in his heart of the earlier argument, and he didn't want to go to sleep without reaching at least some sort of resolution. He still didn't understand why Jamie couldn't support him. It hurt to see him with a purple bruise, but it also hurt, and angered really, to know that his own brother didn't have his back as Danny always did.
