Boyfriend Shirt

Chapter 8

Christian's POV

"Hey, are you sure about this? He is really bad, from what I've seen." The coach's brow furrowed, watching me carefully.

I nodded. "Don't worry, It'll help me, too. I'll get a better idea of how to do things by explaining them to someone else."

The coach scratched his head. "Can't argue with that. Okay."

I grinned, my plan set in place. The coach seemed pretty intent on having us practice football during class, so I told him to partner us, the football team, up with another student. What better way to learn than to teach? I got him to reluctantly agree to my being Jones's partner.

---

I walked towards the bus loop, making my new daily visit to see the boy. I half expected to see Nick here, teasing or beating him. Instead, I found the boy talking animatedly to his brother.

His brother, Josh, had a small smile on his face while his brother talked. The boy seemed to realize he'd been rambling, blushing and looking down. Josh chuckled and ruffled his brother's hair. Brothers or not, I felt a surge of jealousy.

The boy looked up, his eyes twinkling as he spoke once more. "Will mom be home tonight?"

Josh's face fell slightly, his gaze wandering away from his brother. "Well... No... She has an extra shift tonight."

The boy's eyes stopped glowing. "But today's her day off!"

Josh shrugged. "She's filling in for a coworker."

The boy muttered something under his breath, causing a sympathetic look from his brother before they both got into the car. I felt bad for him. My own mother was a big support at my football games, and was always trying to get involved. I couldn't imagine not having her. Even my father was always around. I watched the car roll away. He at least has his brother and father, right?

---

I waited for the football practice to end, the coach dismissing the team, before I grabbed Nick, pulling him off to the side. He cocked an eyebrow, looking at me. "What's up?"

I ran my hand through my hair. "Well, you know that kid you mess with?"

"Jones?"

"Yeah... Him... Well, could you... Maybe... Leave him alone? Just for a month or so?"

Nick's eyes narrowed, his voice dangerously low. "Why exactly would I do that?"

I swallowed. "Uh... Coach asked me to... Teach him. Help him get his grades up. Don't want him getting hurt and blaming me, you know?"

Nick's gaze softened. "... Yeah... Yeah, okay. But only until the unit's over."

I nodded, giving him a forced smile. He returned it and left, calling out to the team. I watched them cheer and laugh before turning to leave. Now that everything was set into place, all I had to do was gain the boy's trust. It couldn't be that hard, right? Besides, he'll have to tell me his name anyway. It'll be easier to teach him when I can call out to him instead of calling him 'boy' or 'you.'

---

The next day at lunch, I waited at my locker once more. As usual, the large crowd came and dispersed, many people greeting me in some way. After, the boy came out of the class, peeking his head out. When he spotted me, he froze and looked around, searching for Nick. When he didn't find him, the boy eyed me warily, making his way slowly to his locker.

He stared at me as he opened his locker and grabbed his lunch, his body stiff and ready to run if need be. "Don't worry, Nick's not here."

The boy said nothing, but his posture loosened slightly, barely enough to be noticable if you weren't looking. I smiled. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you. It's important."

He looked at me, biting his lip. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just want to talk."

Slowly, he nodded, allowing me to lead him outside to the field. He sat down, pulling out a small bag. As he ate, he watched me. "You don't say much, do you?"

He looked down, shrugging. "... Not much to say, is there?" His voice was quiet, like a whisper.

"Well, actually, I wanted to tell you that the coach and I have been talking, and we've decided to-"

"To expell me from gym class?" The boy looked hopeful, but I shook my head.

"No... We've decided that I'm going to tutor you!"

His hopeful look disappeared, and he frowned. His eyes darted around the area, as if hoping to escape. "Why... Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Being nice to me, offering to teach me."

"... Well, isn't it to your advantage?"

The boy played with his shirt, shrugging. "Not really. I've always failed gym."

I could see why. It wasn't just his small frame that made him bad at it, it was his lack of self-confidence, along with his lack of interest and motivation. Well, I suppose it could also be his lack of endurance. Either way, it wasn't just a physical reason.

He pulled his legs to his chest, resting his head on his knee. I swallowed. "Well, don't you want to at least try?"

"Try to what? Be as good as the football team? Because, knowing the coach, that's literally the only thing that will get me an A, and that's also the only thing that's impossible for me to achieve. And it's not just because I'm scrawny. In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a lot of self-confidence, and I'm not exactly the type of person others want to hang out with."

He huffed, his cheeks red and his breathing slightly labored. I guess he doesn't talk that much around anyone. It made me feel... Special. Sure, he was just ranting, but the point still remained.

I moved closer. "I can help. I can't change your physical ability, but I can at least try to help you improve your self-confidence. That would be better than not improving, right?"

He glanced at me sideways, saying nothing.  Slowly, he nodded, his face red. I grinned. "Great! But first, I wan- I mean, I need to know your name."

"... Why?"

"Well, I'm going to be tutoring you, right? I should at least be able to know your name. I'm Christian, by the way."

He muttered something that sounded like 'I know,' then sighed. "My name... Is Keegan."