The Football Boys (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Thirty Two : Moreau House

My breathing was heavy, unable to handle the intense pain I was feeling as I let out ragged pants of hot air. Beads of sweat dripped down the sides of my face, drenching my hair and making it stick to my forehead as I groaned in agony. My core felt like it was on fire and my arms felt like they would give away at any second but at the same time the burn sent tingles through out my body, and I almost enjoyed it.

"I can't do this any longer, Dakota."  I said panting furiously as my chest rose with each breath only to fall, not certain if I could keep going.

"You have to."

"The game is a couple days away, these work outs will shape you up." Dakota said, patting my shoulder. I couldn't hold the plank position and fell to my chest, my face buried in the grass with no care what might've been on it.

"This is torture." I said turning over on my back, lying still and out of breath.

"Least you're with me." He said with a smirk before lying down beside me on the ground. I turned on my side, so that I was face to face with him, trying desperately to catch my breath. I was beginning to doubt whether I was fit enough for football but we'd been doing this for hours.

"Have you talked to your parents yet?"

"About what?"

"You know what." His eyes wavered from mine for a moment and it went quiet before he spoke again.

"No. They wouldn't understand. It'd only make things worse knowing that their only son is an alcoholic." He said, trailing off.

I nodded, knowing what he meant. Sometimes I forgot that so much pressure weighed down on him. It was expected of him to succeed, to be the perfect golden boy his father desperately wanted him to be to make up for his mother's imperfections, so it fell on Dakota to strive to be the best.

"Well, the first step is admitting it." I said with a somber smile. He shrugged before nodding in agreement.

"Wanna come inside?" He asked with a mischievous smirk before getting up, quickly changing the seriousness of our conversation and I didn't bother lingering on the subject. I nodded, struggling to stand to my aching feet. For the past week, we've been training together. The football practices weren't enough, not if I wanted to prove to Mr.Hugh that I was willing to do whatever it takes to secure my spot on his team. Dakota didn't need it, he was already up there but I was lacking and I needed to improve. I'd do anything.

Dakota opened the front door of his house and before I could even step a foot inside Mr.Moreau already had a smile spread across his face.

"Luka, my boy. How've you been? It's been a while." He stood up from the bar stool he was sat on and walked over to us before pulling me into a hug, almost suffocating me with his thick bear like arms.

"I hear you been scouted!" He patted my shoulder, almost knocking me over, seemingly more excited that I was, not that I wasn't. I'd rather celebrate on the inside, rather than the outside.

"Yes, sir."
"That's great, son. That's great." He said before grabbing a stack of papers from the counter.

"Great that you two boys resolved whatever was keeping you apart. Friends are everything, teammates are everything, they're the key to succeeding." He said, his tone serious as he patted each of our shoulders. I nodded, taken aback by his words and the intensity of his tone.

"Well I'm off boys. Look after mom while I'm out."

Dakota nodded before dragging me to his room, it looked like a tornado went through it but mine had been worse before. I turned on his 64, setting it up as Dakota cleared his bed of debris. I was itching to ask about Mrs.Moreau and how she'd been since the last time I seen her. Did she quit drinking? Did she have it under control yet? Dakota mentioned before that her sobriety was a front so that people wouldn't talk bad about the golden family of the town.  Before I could ask, Dakota spoke aloud, almost as if he read my mind.

"No, she's not better if that's what you're wanting to know." He sat on the edge of his bed.

"We had this big fight the night of Queenie's party." He said, so quietly I almost didn't hear. It all became clear to me after he said those words and why'd he'd gotten so trashed that night, it was out of spite and anger, two things that Dakota could never control no matter how hard he tried.

"She came in here, completely wasted out of her mind. Telling me how much she loved me, how she didn't want me to turn out like her. Guess I let her down, huh?" He said with a somber smile, shaking his head.

"I said some things to her that I shouldn't have but I was so angry, I couldn't stop the words from coming out. They want me to be this perfect son that never makes mistakes, always wins, and I can't- I can't be that!" He broke down with his head hung low, wiping at his face with the back of his hand and I could feel a lump forming in my throat at the sight of him. I'd always known he was pressured, but I never would've thought it'd get this bad. A wave of guilt washed over me after realizing that I pushed him away. He'd said he had needed me and I just fucked off, what kind of best friend is that?

"Hey, listen to me." I grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Nobody is perfect, nobody. Megan Fox isn't perfect, okay?" I said with a somber chuckle. He looked up at me with streaks of tears running down his face, but he still managed a genuine smile. I'd have to admit, even though he was crying like a blubbering mess, he looked beautiful. From his doe hazel eyes which were rich brown edged with a deep forest green that I always ended up getting lost in, to his ashy brown that I loved running my fingers through, his freckles that were scattered about his face like some constellation in the sky. I could feel myself getting sucked back into the black hole that was Dakota Moreau, the longer we gazed at one another.

"From now on, we tell each other how we're feeling, got it?" I said to him, wiping his face with the back of my hand. He nodded with a sniffle, before pulling me into a amorous hug, burying his face deep into the nape of my neck, and I could feel the wet tears falling onto me as he stifled his sobs. For some time we just sat there, comforting each other.

A/N short chapter, sorry but i hope you enjoyed! vote, comment and let me know if you feel bad for dakota!