two ;
h a l e

HALE FELT LIKE HE was on top of the world as he raced across the field, the whole pitch spread out before him and the wind tearing through his hair. He knew Dylan and Elliot were on his heels in the hopes of stealing the ball from his possession, but his attention didn't stray from the goal straight ahead of him, with only one thing in mind. Get the ball in that net.

Will, who was playing defence for the other team, skidded in front of him and blocked his path with a mocking grin. Hale was quick to return it as he feinted to the right and easily sidestepped, twisting his stick at the last minute to avoid Will's check. He ran past Will and called over his shoulder, "Better luck next time, dumbass!"

"Eat a dick!" Will yelled back.

"Ryves, Chen!" Mr Lewisham blew his whistle impatiently from the sidelines and jabbed a finger at Hale. "Keep  the trash talk to the changing room, ladies, and make that shot!" 

Hale tapped two fingers to his temple as he sprinted past Lewisham and continued to the goal. The goalkeeper, Oli, lowered into a ready stance at Hale's approach but Hale saw his uncertain expression through his grated helmet and seized the hesitation. Oli wasn't a bad player but his lack of confidence was his downfall, and Hale was one of the stronger players on the team. He aimed for the far left corner of the goal and flicked his racquet, the ball a red blur as it streaked through the air.

Triumphant whoops and cheers from Hale's team sounded as the ball slammed into the netting. Hale wheeled around to face his teammates with a grin, bumping fists and clapping shoulders as they congratulated him on the shot. Hale revelled in the attention and remembered why he loved lacrosse. He'd been among the others earlier in the changing rooms groaning and griping about having to play in such arctic conditions, while Lewisham was entirely unconcerned about their plight.

As much as it sucked dragging himself out into the frigidly cold air, freezing his ass off on the frosty field while Lewisham barked orders at them off pitch bundled up in a huge coat with a hot coffee, nothing would beat the rush of adrenaline and energy that came with outstripping the other team and landing a goal. Yeah, the exercise was good and his body was in great shape and all that shit, but Hale really just enjoyed lording victory over the other team when he smashed defeat in their face.

Okay, so he was a little competitive. So what? Lewisham didn't care how he won as long as he did.

"Hey, fuck you," Will said cheerfully, miming hitting Hale over the head with his racquet. "You think you're the shit just 'cause you can make some fancy shots, huh?"

"Oh, William, jealousy is not a good look on you," Hale smirked. "Maybe if you actually gave a shit about this game you'd win."

Will laughed, truly unconcerned. "Yeah, maybe, but that's just way too much effort."

William Chen was a walking contradiction. He was lazy as fuck, but he played on the football and lacrosse team with Hale. Hale suspected he only joined out of boredom and because all their friends did, because Will never expended much energy into the game beyond catching the ball when it was passed to him and making jokes at inappropriate times. Hale knew he was pretty good at not giving a shit, but Will took it to a whole new level because he really didn't give a shit.

About anything. It was pretty badass, actually. It was one the reasons they'd become friends, Will's absolute lack of caring about anything or anyone beyond sleep and food. One week into year seven and Hale dared him to jump into the school pond, more as a joke to amuse the class than anything he expected to be taken seriously. When eleven-year-old Will had actually done it, clothes and all, he'd been given a stern talking to and Hale had found his new best friend.

Hale jogged back to his starting position and glanced to the side of the field. Students and various other spectators had gathered to watch the practises, gathering in groups and pairs on the grassy slope outside the PE block. He spotted his usual friends, Elsie with Coralie and Kara, giggling and chattering as they openly ogled the lacrosse players. They claimed they were just waiting to hang out with Hale and the others after practice, but it didn't take a genius to figure out they were just here to drool over abs.

Anjali was there too, waving enthusiastically when she caught his gaze. He returned the gesture with an acknowledging nod, wondering when he'd given her the impression of ever wanting a relationship. Nope, that one was entirely on her. He was about to turn away, uninterested in the other vaguely familiar faces, when he paused. It was that guy, Brooks fancy-surname-something-or-other (he wanted to say Montecarlo but that didn't sound right), hugging his textbooks to his chest as he leant against a tree.

He was chatting to a short black girl, her curly hair bouncing as she gestured wildly and enthusiastically, while an Asian guy stood with them and appeared disinterested in the conversation entirely. Hale didn't know why he even bothered learning his name. Brooks was one of those nerds who was part of school council and debate club, always top of the one class they shared.

He was one of those weirdos who actually enjoyed school. Hale didn't trust people like that, and he also didn't bother wasting his time with them because they were either boring as hell or full of condescending judgement that he wasn't as nerdy or smart as them.

Brooks suddenly turned his head as if sensing the weight of Hale's gaze and his unusual blue-green eyes found Hale's. It was slightly unnerving how easily it was to look past Brooks, forget his very existence, and then how impossible not to notice him when his inquisitive and thoughtful gaze was on you. The kind of gaze you didn't want to look away from.

"Hale!" Dylan knocked him in the shoulder as he ran past, shooting him an irritated look. "What the hell are you doing? The new play's started!"

What the hell was he doing? For fucks sake, he was in the middle of practice, and he'd let himself totally zone out in a manner that would have made Will proud. This wasn't like him. He cared too much about winning, even in a lighthearted unimportant match like this, to let any girl ever distract him and certainly not some random nerd.

It took Hale a couple of seconds to reorientate himself to the game, and another to locate the ball as it was tossed between the players. He cursed under his breath and headed after Dylan, not letting himself glance back at Brooks or his friends. Right, get his head back in the game. He could do that. He just had to play it cool, like nothing happened, which was his talent.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Hale teased Dylan, knowing full well it would piss him off. That was another talent of his, pissing people off. "I'm not even on your team, mate."

"It's not just about winning," Dylan snapped. "You're here to practice, not stare at girls or whatever, okay? I expect your full concentration and dedication when you're on this pitch."

"Jeez, sorry mum," Hale smirked. Behind Dylan's back, Will jogged past backwards and faked a yawn, clearly not impressed by the telling-off anymore than Hale was. "No distractions. No girls. Yep, got it. Anything else you'd like to deprive me of?" 

Lewisham's loud whistle interrupted any further conversation. "Stop gossiping and haul ass!" he shouted, glaring pointedly at them. "This isn't a goddamn tea party!"

"Yes, sir," Dylan said, and Hale just smirked.

Dylan was actually pretty cool, when he wasn't stressing his shit over nothing. It was when he stepped onto the field that his inner control freak came out. He took lacrosse pretty seriously as captain of the team, and wouldn't hesitate to chew anyone out if he thought they were slacking. Will was his main target, seeing as the guy managed to slack at life, but he'd lecture anyone he didn't think was trying hard enough.

Practice was called to a finish with Hale's team pulling ahead by two points, much to Dylan's chagrin. Any semblance of warmth Hale had managed to dredge up by running all over the field was wasted when Lewisham called them in for a huddle, forcing them to stand in the winter weather and slowly freeze over while he relayed improvements and tactics. Quite frankly, Hale couldn't give a shit about using his feet more if they'd already fallen off from frostbite.

Finally, they were allowed to return to the warmth of the changing rooms. "About fucking time," Elliot grumbled, almost breaking the door in his urge to get inside. "Christ, I think my balls have frozen off. I can't feel then anymore."

"What balls?" Hale said, earning sniggers from the others. "Grow a pair first, Elliot."

Elliot flipped him the finger. "Screw you, I have plenty of balls."

"Oh yeah?" Dylan scoffed. "Is that why you can't even talk to Kara, forget date her?"

Elliot scowled and attempted to muster up a retort, but he turned a bright red that had nothing to do with the cold. It was common knowledge among the guys that Elliot had a huge and pathetic crush on Kara, something he refused to do anything about beyond pining and mooning from a safe distance. How the girls hadn't figured it out was beyond Hale, seeing as none of them were even remotely subtle about it.

Hale didn't understand what the big deal was. Girls were easy to win over; smile at them, offer a compliment, and you were sorted. It required little effort or brainpower, and yet he'd heard so many guys moan and whine about not being able to understand girls. Hale's problems usually came after he had the girl, at the point he lost absolute interest in her after five minutes. There was just nothing to hold it, and all he could do was move on, hoping the next one would prove slightly more exciting.

He showered and changed out, using up all the hot water available which unwound his exhausted muscles. Unsurprisingly, he was the last one to leave the changing rooms, seeing as he took ridiculously long showers. Will was lying on his back across the benches and appeared to be sleeping when Hale joined him, one arm draped across his eyes. Hale might have thought he was waiting for him, but knowing Will, he'd just fallen asleep.

"It's only five, Will," Hale said, by way of greeting. "How are you able to take a nap so early?"

Napping had always been a strange concept to Hale. He felt like he was wasting daylight by trying to sleep anytime before midnight, and even if he did manage to get some shut eye while the sun was still up, he could never enjoy it knowing there were so many others things he could be doing. Sleep was a nuisance, as far as he was concerned, something he enjoyed in one long stretch and then promptly forgot about.

"Is that a real question?" Will didn't even bother removing his arm, but shifted it up slightly to crack an eye open to regard Hale blearily. "Are you really questioning my ability to nap at any time in the day? Because if you are, Hale, we can't be friends. And you're not allowed in my car anymore."

"Like I'd go willingly near anything you drive," Hale said with a snort. "You drive like a suicidal old grandma with serious vision problems."

"I drive like a fucking goddess, you shitstain," Will said, in a sleepily amused voice that undercut any real heat. Hale couldn't remember the last time he'd actually seen Will annoyed over anything. Being so unmotivated by the course of his own life most likely meant that anything that happened in it was of little consequence to him. "You wish you drove even remotely as well as me. You know," he added with a grin, "if you could drive."

Hale had, much to his irritation, a late birthday. Being born in July meant that he was one of the youngest in the year and man did he get hell for that, constantly teased about being underage and still being a baby. It sucked even worse now, when all his friends were turning seventeen and getting their licences, while he was stuck catching lifts and taking the bus wherever he needed to go. Will might drive like a lunatic, but it was still better than public transport.

"All in due time," Hale shrugged, nudging Will lightly with his foot to get him up. "Now get off your lazy ass and let's go. I need a hot drink."

The others were waiting outside for them, bundled up in coats and scarves and gloves in an attempt to ward off the bitter chill. "You took your sweet time," Elliot said accusingly, rubbing together gloved hands. "We should have ditched you nobs if you're going to take so long."

"Quit your moping," Dylan said, rolling his eyes. "We can go now."

"Juniper's?" Elsie asked.

Juniper's Cafe was the favoured hangout for the students of Lexus High School, seeing as it was a short ten minute walk from the school and the place catered to the sleep deprived students with caffeinated drinks. Hale and his friends were especially known there seeing as it was their daily place to go to, and the staff were on friendly terms with them. Especially Alec, only on the football team, who flirted with the entire female proportion of waitresses.

"Hold on," Will said, when Hale made to follow the others down the path out of school. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Hale eyed the sly grin on his face warily. "What?"

"Someone's waiting for you," he said conspiratorially, nudging Hale in the side. At the blank look he received, Will turned him around to redirect his gaze. "Someone who clearly wants to do more than talk."

Most people had cleared off home by now. For some reason, Hale thought he meant Brooks at first, still standing with his friends by the tree. Then he saw Anjali, bundled up in a pink coat by the PE block, already looking at Hale. When she saw his attention was on her, she smiled brightly and shyly tucked a lock of short black hair behind her ear. Hale barely suppressed a groan and turned back to Will.

"Yeah, not interested," he said shortly. "I don't know what she's doing here. I didn't invite her."

"Mate, you're seriously going to turn down a make out session?" Will shook his head in disbelief. "Look at her. She's fit and she's giving you the fuck-me eyes. You know you have to make the most of it when she gives you the fuck-me eyes."

"Whatever," Hale muttered, brushing past Will and striding away from the field, away from Anjali and her supposed fuck-me eyes. The last thing he felt like doing right now was kissing Anjali, the thought of which was about as exciting as eating a piece of toast. At least the toast had flavour and satisfied his appetite. "You know what, I think I'm just gonna go home. Not really that hungry."

"Woah, woah, wait up." Will sped up to catch up with him and caught his arm. "Why the long face? Fine, ditch Anjali if you want, I don't claim to understand how you work. Hang out at Juniper's for a bit first."

But Hale wasn't in the mood to hang out anymore. He knew if he came the guys would just pester him about why he hadn't hooked up with Anjali, and the girls would accuse him of being heartless by ditching her without a reason why. "Nah, its fine," he said. "I've got lots of work to do."

Will looked sceptical. "Really?"

Hale didn't blame him doubting the validity of that. When it came to his priorities, school was always last on the list, something his teachers and parents weren't so pleased about. That he would choose homework over socialising was highly unlikely, but he couldn't be bothered to spin a more convincing lie.

"Yeah, some dumb maths assignment," he lied. "Gonna take ages, so I'll just catch a bus home."

"Alright," Will shrugged. That's what Hale liked about him; he wasn't nosy, and never pried into his business when it was clear it was unwanted. "You're still coming to my party tomorrow, right? No way can you ditch on me for that."

"Of course I'm coming," Hale said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Free booze and girls? Not a chance in hell I'd pass that up."

"Nice," Will laughed, bumping his fist and jogging backwards to catch up with the others. "See you later?"

"Yeah, see you."

Hale watched as he caught up with the others, slinging an arm across Coralie and Oli's shoulders, before doubling back across the grass to cut through to the bus stop. He had to make sure his route didn't take him past Anjali, and also avoided his friends so they didn't pester him about why he wasn't coming. That meant having to go straight past Brooks and his friends.

The black girl smiled enthusiastically when she saw him. "Hi, Hale!"

It took him only a second to place a name to the face. It was Calla, initially unrecognisable due to the fluffy white hat tugged over her curly hair. He'd spoken to her a couple of times, after they were paired up for mentoring. "Oh, hey," he said. "What's up?"

He spared a glance for Brooks and the final member of the trio, the surly brown-skinned guy who looked at him with an unimpressed expression. Brooks wasn't even looking at him, clutching his books tightly to his chest as he stared resolutely at his shoes as if they were the most interesting thing he'd seen in a while. He continue to look down at Hale's expectant gaze, and Hale felt inexplicably triumphant when Brooks' cheeks turned pink.

"Nothing much," Calla said, and it took him a moment to remember what he'd even said to her. "So, about Will's party tomorrow...are you going?"

"It's a given," Hale said. "I don't turn down parties, for anything. Life's too short not to get pissed on a weekly basis."

"Of course, you do get invited to every party," she laughed, tipping her head so her curls brushed his arm. Hale didn't miss Brooks rolling his eyes, even though he was pretty subtle about it. "I guess I'll see you at the party, then. I mean, I look forward to seeing you at the party. Save me a dance?"

Hale barely heard what she was saying, because he'd just spotted Anjali over her shoulder. She was marching straight towards him and she looked pissed, her face twisted in a scowl. "Yeah, got it," Hale said distractedly, already backing away. The last thing he wanted to deal with today was an angry girl. "I've gotta go. Have fun at the party."

He somehow managed to escape her by ducking behind a car in the car park, just as she stormed into view. He peered through the window as she looked around for him, and upon finding nothing, stomped back the way she came. He dropped his forehead onto the passenger door and blew out an exasperated breath.

Why did he even waste time kissing them in the first place? It never meant anything to him, and it just made them think he owed them his company or something. He had to do something about it. Tomorrow, at the party, there'd be loads of girls from the other local high schools. Surely, at least one of them would be worth more than an obligatory exchange of spit. Hale would pick one he actually liked and fix this problem, because it was really starting to bug him.

*

hope you liked!

hale in the multimedia + dedication to TigerLillyReads for the awesome casting suggestions that were so on point i just had to use them :)