connection

chapter four

this time noah was determined to find out that boys name. he ignored ty and charlie's questions as he marched over to where the wide receiver was being celebrated by the rest of the offensive team.

as he approached, the cheers of the boys around him died off and they parted away from each other so the quarterback could see the wide receiver boy in the middle of the group.

as noah got closer he became more and more anxious. is this awkward? i don't know! why am i overthinking this? i'm just going to say 'hi' and ask his name. that's it.

"hi." noah said, stopping in front of the boy. he was slightly taller than noah, by just about two inches, and he had taken off his helmet to reveal a mess of dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

"uhm, hey." the boy replied. he didn't know if this was a confrontation or something negative, so he didn't quite know how he should respond.

"what's your name?" the quarterback said, cutting straight to the point. he was awkward when it came to situations like this. i mean how often do you come across the exact kind of person you've been looking for for years?

"theo mckinley." the boy responded, looking amused. "and your name?"

"oh right," noah flushed sheepishly. he totally forgot the part where he introduces himself. "i'm noah taylor. the varsity quarterback."

all the boys around the two were quiet and watching the interaction with wide eyes. wondering what was going to happen next.

"well, its been nice to meet you noah." theo replied smirking. "i'm a little thirsty, so i'm gonna go get some water."

"oh totally. yeah, go do that. it's been nice to meet you too theo." noah was backing away as he was talking. he didn't know how to voice the way he was feeling. the connection he felt between himself and theo seemed like it was completely reserved for on the field. in person they couldn't be more out of tune with each other.

theo turned and left, headed in the direction of the tryout boys' bags and water bottles, as noah headed back over to where charlie and ty were standing, having obviously watched the entire awkward interaction from a distance.

"well that was awkward." ty said, once noah was standing in front of them.

noah groaned, "don't remind me. i'm already trying to erase that from my brain."

"did you think you guys would automatically be best friends?" charlie said, smirking at a glum-faced noah.

"maybe..." noah was disheartened. but found comfort knowing that even though him and theo may not have a mind reading connection off the field, they definitely found it in the game. there was still hope.

"well who cares anyway, i think he's still the one we've been looking for to win this season." noah said, cheering up.

"definitely." charlie said, his competitive side showing. "we're gonna crush everyone this season.

after that, the coach blew his whistle and the teams switched fields. the first offensive team against the second defensive team and vice versa. a quarterback sub was put in noah's place, so he sat out the next scrimmage, perfectly content with watching from the sidelines.

tryouts ended with the all the coaches lining up and telling the boys that the teams would be posted on friday on the bulletin board, and that practices would start the following week.

noah didn't have any more interaction with theo after that, and he was perfectly happy avoiding another awkward encounter with the boy. but he continued to relish in the feeling of passing the ball to theo effortlessly and scoring a point with him long after tryouts ended.

after noah, maverick, and charlie we're done changing out of their football gear, they all went to their usual diner that they ate at together.

they were all sitting around in the booth, laughing at inside jokes and eating french fries, just like they usually did.

"so, i was caught up in the offensive side during tryouts, but did you guys see if we found any good kickers or not?" noah asked, dipping a fry in ranch and plopping it in his mouth.

charlie and maverick beamed at him, giving him a not-so-subtle sign that whatever they were gonna say next was good news.

"yeah! we did!" charlie exclaimed, practically bouncing out of his seat next to maverick. noah was sitting on the opposite side of the table.

"we actually found two." maverick said, with equal enthusiasm, but less bouncing. "they were both really great. one was a freshmen named toby, and the other was a sophomore named mackenzie."

"coach had them both do kickoffs and field goals and the whole time they were head to head. an equal match up for sure." charlie explained what noah had missed. "i don't really care which one gets put on varsity, but i know that either one will really help our team out in the long run."

noah nodded. so many things were going right. they finally found a kicker, or two, and they also found an outstanding wide receiver. he was getting excited for this next season. he already imagined himself at nationals with his team, holding up a trophy that showed the world they finally made it.

"oh no, i know that look," maverick said, grabbing a fry and swinging it around in noah's face. "you're thinking about something, and it's either really good news or really bad news. now spit it out."

noah laughed a little. "i'm just thinking about how excited i am for this season. we found a great kicker, and we also found a wide receiver. now we can actually start winning some games."

charlie had a grin on his face, and maverick was smirking.

"i cant wait."

once they all finished up with their food, they each went their separate ways home.

noah unlocked his front door, yelled "i'm home!" to whoever was there, walked down the hall to his room, and then immediately laid down on his bed and slept. it was pretty late, and he was wiped out.

his last thought before going to sleep was:

i finally found him.

i know. it's kinda a weird thought. but you get what i mean right?
anyways. the last half was really half-assed. i just wanted to get it done haha.
also, like i said this is my first story to write. so thanks for your support! much love.