❝You want the moon, girl watch me grab it,
Now I never seen a star this close,
You got me stuck by the way you glow.❞
- Rocketeer by Far East Movement.
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Chapter Seven: "Hammerhead"

Theo's mind ran like the Flash trying to figure out how he had ended up in that situation.

He curled tighter into himself on the cold asphalt ground as the guy in front of him cocked the gun and pointed it at him, smirking.

"Let's see you get out of this."

×××
Two hours earlier

"Theo!"

Theo turned his head to see the entire basketball team sitting a few steps above him on the bleachers.

"Come join us!" Dave said tapping the place beside him.

Theo headed up and sat down as the entire crowd shouted on top of their voice. He glanced at the scoreboard. The home football team was winning by twenty points.

"I didn't know you watched football," Dave commented.

"I don't. Just wanted to skip maths." Theo shrugged.

Dave smirked. "I've been there, my man. You know there was a time when I joined a drama group just to skip biology."

Theo glanced at the group beside him. Anyone could tell that they were jocks just by looking at them. With their sleeked back hair and bright orange jackets, it was hard for them not to stand out in a crowd.

The basketball team was more friendly than the football team. It was almost as if the coach just picked all the bullies out of the group and said "Use your talents for good. Go knock out those players!"

Beating someone up, however, isn't really a talent. Don't bully, kids.

"Dave!" Jaxon, a great point guard for the team, walked up to them. He gave Theo a fist bump and gave Dave a quick kiss on the lips and sat down on his other side. "Theo, my man! How you been?"

"Good! Haven't seen you for practice in a while. What happened?" Theo replied yelling over the cheers of the crowd.

"Had some personal issues to take care of!" Jaxon replied, his voice lowering as the crowd began to take their seats again.

Theo didn't ask more. He, more than anyone, knew to respect another person's boundaries.

The crowd erupted again, ten times louder than the last time. Theo watched as the players jumped on each other, removed their shirts, kissed the cheerleaders and expressed their obvious joy of winning.

The crowd slowly began to disperse.

"Man, you going to the after party? The basketball team gets a free pass...to the VIP lounge...you know...drugs and free drinks." Jaxon wiggled his eyebrows in Theo's direction. "Also, you might enjoy the girls. Sadly, they're all homophobic so they won't let half-naked guys walk around."

That earned him a punch on the arm from Dave.

"Ow!" Jaxon exclaimed, holding his arm as if Dave had just chopped it off. "I'm hurt! Someone help!"

Dave rolled his eyes and turned to Theo. "You should come."

"I'm really not in the mood," Theo replied slowly shaking his head.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. I don't know what's going on in your life, but I'm not going to let you ruin the rest of it by mourning in silence. Its been a month... the month of parties and I still haven't seen you in a single one." Dave said.

"And he says, with all the love in his heart, shut the fuck up and part-ay," Jaxon added.

Dave sighed. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I agree with the hammerhead."

"Of course you d- wait...hammerwhat?" Jaxon replied.

As they bickered, Theo rethought his choice of not letting anyone into his life again. Dave and Jaxon seemed so comfortable with each other, Theo couldn't help but romanticize a life where he would find someone.

"I'll come." He said. His voice, however, was drained by the bickering. So he repeated it louder until they realised he had agreed. "But I can't stay that late."

"Progress," Dave replied as he and Jaxon fist-bumped each other without looking. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Progress," Theo repeated, already regretting his choices in life.

✘✘✘
I already feel Jaxon becoming my favourite character. Am I the only one who likes the side characters more than the main ones?
In both books and movies, I'm always rooting for the happiness of the side characters. It's weird.
Like my friends' fangirl over the hot main character while I go "You see that scrawny kid in the background who helps the main character make amazing choices in life? Yeah, that's the one I want to marry."

Anyway, Vote and comment!