never will you ever ⇒cashton s.s. [completed]

five

(the next day)

ashton dropped his bag on the bench in the locker room. it was strange being the only one in it when he was so used to seeing it filled with his teammates. calum and the coach hadn't arrived yet.

suddenly, the door opened and coach avery poked his head in. "there won't be a drills competition this morning. i just heard that calum won't be with us today."

"w-why not?" ashton had gotten to school early just for this; he didn't want to have come here this early for no reason.

"he had an accident last night while riding his bike. he's a little banged up, but he'll be on the field again in no time. you'll be taking the kickoff tonight." coach avery shut the door.

ashton sat down on the bench, his mind reeling. calum had biked to his house last night in a thunder storm. then he'd left...it was ashton's fault.

(game time)

ashton jumped up and down,  bouncing on his heels. it was almost time for him and his team to take the field. his eyes raked the bleachers, searching for his antisocial best friend. michael almost never came to his games; he was so nervous around people. but he'd promised to try to come to this one, and only if he was allowed to bring a book. ashton kept looking, not seeing a shock of unnatural red hair yet. instead, he found blond streaks mixed in with black...calum. ashton fought the urge to do a double take. calum was sitting in the stands in his varsity jacket. he had a few minor bruises that ashton could see. they made eye contact and ashton quickly looked away. he had to focus now.

the teams took the field, and the game began.

ninety minutes later, the final score was 3-2 and ashton's team had won the game and were headed to the playoffs. the bleachers erupted in cheers and applause. as ashton and his team all celebrated in a huddle, ashton looked out at the stands and made eye contact with calum again. calum was smiling and cheering and clapping with the rest of them. he smiled at ashton, who grinned back. calum raised his hands higher and clapped harder. ashton looked down and blushed before getting pulled into the center of the huddle and punched in a celebratory way for his two goals.

(one hour later)

ashton pulled his shirt and pants on. he was the last one left in the locker room. he slid his varsity jacket on and pulled open the locker room door as someone else pushed it open.

"oh christ, sor–oh. hi ashton." calum blinked at him nervously.

"...hi," ashton said. "you okay? you never returned any of my calls"

"i'm fine. it's nothing. i just... didn't know what to say. i wiped out on my bike riding home."

"what were you thinking about?"

"how easy it would be if i wiped out," calum said with a sigh. he seemed very deflated. "i'm kind of done with soccer."

"i used to feel that way."

"obviously you got over it," calum replied quickly. he took a breath and looked ashton in the eyes for the first time since the field. "how did you get over it?"

"i guess i started playing for myself. i quit trying to be better than everyone else on the team and i just relaxed."

calum laughed dryly. "sounds fun." he turned around and began to walk away.

"when's the last time you played for fun?" ashton asked earnestly.

calum paused, his head turning to the side. "couldn't tell you," he said, and then left the gym.