"You really don't need to threaten him more than you already have," Jeremy told Chloe, who had her lips pursed in annoyance after Jeremy had asked his friends to go with him to the football game that night.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I have weapons I could use."
"Honestly, if he was going to fool around with anyone on that team, Jimmy is probably the best of the bunch," Ethan pointed out. "Everything I've heard about him is positive, and it seems like he goes into everything with honesty and being genuine."
"Fine," Chloe huffed. "But I reserve the right to remind him and his entire team if I feel the need to, by flaying the skin off of their bodies if need be."
Jeremy shook his head at his friend. "We need to get you some anger management courses or something. How not to be a murderer?"
"I'm perfectly comfortable with my bloodthirsty side, Thayer," Chloe commented.
"Are you sure we should go to this game tonight?" Ethan asked. "I mean, even here in Ohio, reporters know you. They know us. They could still come sniffing around for more comments about the controversy, and if they hear you cheering for Jimmy?"
"It will be fine," Jeremy said casually, though it was clear to them that he was tense about that idea. "Honestly, we'll just stay in the crowd. I've heard the games here are crowded, so it should be easy enough."
"Alright, but we're going dressed up," Chloe said as she moved forward on the couch so she was sitting on the edge of the cushion. "And this time? I'm dressing us! All of us, Ethan."
Ethan rolled his eyes at that but he knew he would relent eventually. Telling Chloe no was not in Jeremy's best interest, or really his own once Chloe got an idea in her head, so he allowed her to just do her thing.
Friday night brought the team getting ready in the locker room before the game, as everyone tried to get in the zone. The offensive side had seen the kiss between Jimmy and Jeremy for themselves, and it had ended up being the talk of the football team. While the offensive line seemed to be taking it in stride, some of the defensive side were acting colder towards Jimmy than they had before. There were definitely whispers behind his back, and awkward silences when he showed up.
He didn't let it get to him. The coach let him know that he was starting tonight, so he was busy getting focused for the game. He was the Center, so he didn't have the luxury of worrying about what was going on behind his back when most of the other team's line wanted to crush him in order to get to the Quarterback. He warmed up like he normally would and checked with his line to make sure they were cool.
Outside, the stands were getting filled up, and the crowd was huge. Chloe was leading their small group through the crowd, ever the large presence despite her small stature. She had them all wearing the school colors, blue and gold, and had used some face paint, writing things like KSU and making little drawings of black squirrels, the unofficial KSU mascot, on their faces with the paint. She had wanted to do more full face paint but Jeremy had vetoed that, mostly because he didn't want to have to wash his face before he actually spent time with Jimmy tonight. The plus side was that the makeup meant they would be harder to recognize.
"Are you still hoping to get laid by one of the footballers?" Ethan asked as they sat down in the stands, not too far from the fence.
"Depends on them," Chloe said with a wink and a smirk.
They watched as both teams came out onto the field, doing warm ups to get ready to start the game. Jeremy couldn't help but smile when he saw Jimmy out on the field, and Chloe elbowed him in the ribs lightly to tease him about it. He lightly pushed her away and rolled his eyes, his face flushing from having his friends see the way his face had lit up just at the sight of Jimmy.
"Go sportsball!" Ethan called out, earning laughs from his friends, but it also got some attention from some of the football team. Most of those from the offensive side that gave them any attention seemed to be more curious than anything, but Jeremy noticed they were being shot dirty looks by some of the other players.
"Well, jocks talk," Chloe grumbled.
"Those aren't good looks," Ethan pointed out.
Jeremy sighed. "Well of course not. Some guy shows up and turns one of their big players gay? It's not a good thing."
"That's not how it works. You can't just show up with tight jeans and chest hair, and turn a man gay. Either he had the capacity for it, or he didn't!" Chloe complained, and all Jeremy could do was nod that he agreed with her there.
The pre-game warmups were over and the coach was irritated. He pulled Jimmy aside. "Sparks, what the hell is going on?"
"Sorry Coach, they saw me kiss a guy the other night and I guess it's got some of them distracted," Jimmy told him.
Coach blinked at him, as if reassessing his estimation of his player, then gruffly told him to get back in line. He didn't say anything about it right away, but Jimmy suspected if folks didn't focus up before halftime, Coach was likely to have some words for them. He gave them their typical pre-game pep talk with a warning about the opposing team's Offensive Line being particularly aggressive before sending the Kickoff Return team onto the field to get the game going.
The first quarter went okay, though the Offense on the other team seemed to be chewing up the Flash Defensive Line and spitting them out. Jimmy managed not to get injured himself, but only barely. The opposing team's Defense was particularly focusing on the center and Jimmy suspected they were probing for weak spots elsewhere on the Line as well. He let the QB, which was Wayne, know at the next huddle and his best friend nodded and made the necessary adjustments with some audibles on the next play.
No one scored the entire first quarter, but the constant pressure from the other team's Offense got them a Touchdown just before Halftime. Coach threw his clipboard as the Defense tried to prevent a two-point conversion and failed miserably. It seemed like the players who had a chip on their shoulder toward Jimmy weren't pulling their weight. When they got back to the Locker Room, Coach lit into the entire Defensive Line and told them to "figure their shit out or stay in the Locker Room." He also swapped Jimmy out with the second-string Center, so Jimmy caught him up on how the other team's defense was playing. He hated riding the pine again but he saw the necessity.
Coach had no sooner left the room to chat with the Defensive Coach when: "Maybe Sparks is too distracted by his fucktoy in the stands," one of the defense said, which managed to travel enough through the locker room that both Jimmy and Wayne heard it.
"No more than I was when your mom came to watch me play, Jones!" Jimmy said in response. "Seriously, why does it matter to you who I'm interested in?"
Jones rolled his eyes. "No, no, I see why you like him. He's very feminine. I bet so long as he's shaved recently, you'd never know the difference."
"Dunno for sure, to be honest. If he grew a beard I may mistake him for your sister. Her dick isn't as big, though," Jimmy answered back, smiling. He knew Jones had declared his Freshman sister off-limits to the team earlier this season, so she was definitely one of his hot buttons.
Jones, of course, looked pissed off, and seemed to have run out of things to say, but one of the other members of his little group, Foster, gave a rather wicked smile. "I guess you'd just better hope no one else decides to take him for a ride. They might break him."
Jimmy shrugged, saying, "I don't think he's into the group thing like your dad is, Foster, but I guess you could ask him. Really, guys, like you've never thought about kissing me. Is that why you're so pissed about this?"
Before anyone could respond, Coach hammered on the door and everyone started heading out to the field. Jimmy hung back while the team rushed out and retied his cleats, figuring some second-string Defensive Lineman would want to have words with him, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that standing up to their crap and ribbing back seemed to have satisfied them, for now.
Jones, though, on the way out, made a crude gesture towards Jeremy when he knew the Coach wasn't looking, and Chloe was up before either man next to her realized she was trying to march toward the field. Ethan swore and jumped up to grab her before she could do anything, carrying her back to their seats while she yelled at him to put her down, making everyone around them look at them they were ridiculous. Jeremy blew out a breath that made his hair fly away from his eyes as he watched Jimmy go back over to the bench.
"Ethan, you can't watch me at all times," Chloe grumbled as he put her down back in her seat.
"That's fine," Ethan replied. "Destroy them later, but not in public. Plausible deniability. You learned this too."
"They benched him," Jeremy said softly, so softly they almost didn't hear it.
"I mean, they probably just need to try something different out," Ethan tried to excuse it, but Jeremy was shaking his head. "Help me, Chloe. I don't sportsball."
"You played baseball, dude," Chloe told him.
"Only in high school, and really only because dad made me play a sport," Ethan replied. "So come on, help me."
"I mean, they aren't exactly doing great," Chloe pointed out.
Jimmy sat, fuming inside a little, on the sidelines. He wasn't even paying attention to the game any more and Coach seemed upset with him about it, but why should he care what happens when he'd been benched for homophobia? Just as he was exploring that thought, he heard Wayne, as the QB, call for a snap and then heard a sickeningly juicy popping noise. He looked up and Steve, the second-string Center who had just gone in was down. He was screaming and holding his knee and it did not look like it was in good shape.
