Irreversible Moments

Immovable Pain

Arriving early to practice was never something I normally did. Usually, I would show up a little late with just enough time to get ready, and the coach would let me off with a slap on the wrist, but with a big game next Friday, I knew he wasn't going to be as nice.

I look around to find some of the guys already dressed and on the field, of course they were mostly just chatting and sitting around, and since I wasn't ready yet I headed straight towards the locker rooms.

"Hey, Orion! Glad to see you actually arrive on time." I hear a voice say as soon as I walk into the locker room.

I look over and see José, he was new to the school but a great football player and overall a pretty good guy. Me and him didn't really talk much when he first arrived, but one night at a party, he was really nervous and stayed in the conner freaking out until I brought him outside so he could take a breather. We had a really good time getting to know each other while he calmed down.

"What's up, dude? I didn't see you during fifth period today. Decided to finally skip?" I ask, walking up to my locker to start changing, he sits down on the bench near me so he can get his shoes on and still hold a conversation.

"Haha, very funny. No, I didn't skip, I had to have a talk with the principal, and then they called my dad down."

"Oh shit, what happened?"

"Nothing bad. They were actually talking about getting me into a private school a little bit away from here. Something about 'with his academic skills this school would be able to provide him with blah blah blah and help with blah blah blah' I wasn't really paying attention honestly." He says, sitting on the bench waiting for me to finish changing.

"What do you want to do? What did your dad say?" I respond. He deserved to go to a good school, but he hated change, and I already knew his answer before he said it.

"I said I didn't want to. Why go to a different school when I'm doing good here, y'know? My dad doesn't really agree though, says that it would be good for me and I could always make new friends. Sometimes, I wish my mom was still around. She would listen to me and make us all sit down and talk so we could understand each other." He sighed, looking at me for advice.

As I finished getting ready, I looked at him. He was a year younger than me, and you could tell that he was still just a kid. He had a baby face that grandmas would surely pinch,  and fluffy hair that he complained about getting in his face all the time, but he refused to ever cut it.

"Later tonight at dinner, tell him how you feel. Your dad wants the best for you, tell him why you think staying here is better for you. And get his insight, too." I look at him, and we walk out of the locker room, "He just wants you to succeed in life. Sometimes parents don't want to listen because they think they know what's best, don't fight with him, just talk."

He sighs in a way a child would when they are told they have to apologize about something stupid.

"Better idea than hiding in my room to avoid the whole thing, I guess." He laughs a little, and I can't help but laugh with him.

We walk up to the other guys on the field, and I look over to see Nick walking towards us. I put my up hand to wave at him until I noticed that he had a black eye, as if he got into a fight with someone.

Putting my hand down, I look at José and tell him that I'll be right back.

Some of the guys grab Nick and start asking questions before I can. As I approach, I hear them messing with him.

"Did your girlfriend's ex hit you?"

"Do you even have a girlfriend anymore?"

"Did you 'run into another wall' again?"

Nick laughs but doesn't answer.

As I get closer, I notice his lip is also a little busted up. I want to question him about it, make sure he's ok, but I decided I should just ask about it later.

He looks at me and I give a small smile. Seeing him was like seeing the moon. You never know where it's going to be, but it always looks so pretty. He smiles so big I swear you'd think he won the NFL or something. But he smiled a lot. Honestly, there wasn't a time when he wasn't smiling at least a little bit.

"Orion!" He yells, running towards me with open arms.

Nick's just slightly taller than me by an inch or so, but we were both pretty tall guys. He had bright blue eyes and short wavy blonde hair that I loved to play with. Freckles adorned his face as stars did the sky. Even with the black eye and busted lip you would think that his face was sculpted by the gods themselves.

I open my arms for him to jump into, and he does. He laughs as if he hadn't seen me in a week. It's only been four days, but usually, we hang out during the weekends, so it was a little weird not hanging out with him for so long.

"It feels like it's been so long since I last saw you. I was all alone!"

"What, no girlfriend to keep you company?" I say as I put him down. I wanted to ask about the black eye, but I knew he wouldn't say anything surrounded by so many people.

"Dude, I haven't been dating anyone for like... 2 weeks! So no, I was all alone!" He fake pouts, but I could tell he was trying hard not to smile.

"Well, you'd -"

"Nick!" A voice behind me yells, I look over to see José. Nick was the first person on the team to make friends with him, and they've been like brothers ever since. Nick runs up to him and ruffles his hair. They start talking about José's day, so I look away to go talk to some of the other guys.

But when I turn around, the other guys on the team give me a look as if they know something I don't. Most of them have smirks, and I can't help but feel awkward.

"What's with that look?" I ask, walking towards them.

"C'mon, don't tell me you don't see it. The way he jumped into your arms, you putting your hand in his hair. You were literally worried for him all day. There is no way you're this dull." I look around, and I start to connect the dots.

"Wait, you don't think I- I'm not - I mean, I am but not for him!" I exclaim

He stares at me with an unreadable expression, and I look back at Nick. Sure, we're close, but we're just friends.

"Alright boys, line up!" I hear a voice behind me say. I look back to see our coach, and I don't know whether I should feel relieved or not.