The Brother I Never Wanted (Larry AU)

Chapter 6

Louis spits out a mouthful of dirt and grass for about the sixth time since practice started thirty minutes ago, his ribs aching and abused from collision after collision with the ground. He accidentally bit his tongue when he went down, and now there's a painful warm throbbing along the bone of his jaw that tells him he's not going to look pretty tomorrow. A groan leaves his parted lips as he rolls over onto his back, teeth grinding when his busted knee knocks against the cold, hard earth.

God, everything hurts. He's been pushed around before, but never to this extreme. It seems like every single player on the team is on edge -- high-strung and extra anxious about the semifinals coming up, and now they're aiming all that pent up aggression at their gay captain to show off for the coach.

They actually think that they have a chance of swaying Coach into rearranging the layout that Louis knows he already made and is dead set on executing. It's laughable really. He would be laughing if he wasn't already preoccupied writhing around in pain. They'll have to do much more than slide tackle into Louis' shins every time he has the fucking ball to make him change his mind.

Louis sits up slowly, wheezing - one hand pressed to his chest to ease the burn. Looking down, he's able to make a good assessment of the amount of damage inflicted upon him.

Cleat marks run up and down his thighs - even beneath the fabric of his football shorts - and based on the fire trailing across his skin, he has some on the back of his calves too. Scratches and turf burns mingle among the marks to lead up to his mutilated knee, colored green from the grass. The skin on his knee is split. It's cut fairly deep, blood dripping profusely and oozing down his leg in red streaks. Fuck. He's going to be out for at least a couple of days.

He brings a shaky hand down to touch it tenderly, gasping in agony as the sting spreads through his whole leg. There's absolutely nothing healthy about this scrape. There's small bits of gravel and dirt wedged into his flesh, and his skin is already turning purple. It's got an infection written all over it.

The coach's whistle blasts through the air. "Tomlinson! Why are you still down? Come on, let's go!"

Tears prick at the back of his eyes when he realizes he can't get back up. Not by himself. Every time he puts even the slightest bit of pressure on it, he whimpers pathetically and plops back down again. He feels frustrated. Completely and utterly humiliated and weak for not being able to stand in front of his own teammates. And the wind keeps blowing his bangs into his eyes, plastering them flat across the side of his face and irritating him further so he has to push it back.

"I c-can't, sir!" He yells back, voice only wavering a little. "My knees busted."

A hand reaches down for him to take, and with a grunt, he's hauled painfully to his feet. Louis may or may not have screamed softly, eyes scrunched and teeth grating. "Fuck," he growls. The hand holding his hand slides across his back and loops around his waist, the other tossing Louis' limp arm around his shoulder. The embrace is warm and tight, and he's blessed with a comforting feeling. He gives the shoulder a thankful pat, meeting sad light blue eyes as he thrusts all his weight onto his one good foot. He smiles weakly.

Coach reaches them within seconds, finishing scribbling a note on his clipboard before glancing up. "Tomlinson, I don't have time -" He immediately cuts off at the sight of his knee, face paling. Whether that's because he just lost his captain for at least a couple of days or because he doesn't like blood, Louis doesn't know. "Never mind. You're not fine then." He licks his lips nervously, clicking his pen. He clearly wasn't planning for this to happen. "Alright, Tomlinson. Here's what's going to happen. Go sit on the bench for the rest of practice . . . Horan, you get the first aid kit and fix him up. We'll rest you as long as you need - drink plenty of fluids and get some rest. If it's better on Thursday, I encourage you to try and play. A team isn't a team without its captain. We need you back out there as soon as possible."