Running From The Past

CHAPTER 4: CAR RIDE HOME

4.

Conan's hands began to sweat at Owen's offer. He wasn't too fond of the idea because he hated inconveniencing people, but it didn't seem like he really had any other option.

"What about practice?" he asked, playing with the ends of his sleeves nervously.

"It's just about over now anyway." Owen nudged him to follow him back onto the field. "If you wait five minutes for me to wrap up and change then I can drive you right home after."

Before Conan could respond he had already run back over to the other guys. He watched the way the sun glinted off of his flawlessly tanned skin, his muscles shifting as he moved. His blatant staring went unnoticed as the session wrapped up and all the players ran into the locker room to change before going home.

The crowd eventually dispersed as Conan retrieved his belongings from where he had flung them onto the grass. He wiped some dirt off of his new backpack with a grimace.

"Hey, you ready?" Owen's loud voice startled Conan who resisted the urge to flinch. He was doing his best to seem chill, to come across indifferent like every other guy would.

He deepened his voice and squared out his shoulders a little. "Yeah."

"Okay cool." Owen grinned at him and nodded toward the parking lot. "How's the school been treating you?"

The two walked side by side, Conan feeling nervous while Owen babbled on about anything that popped into his mind. He was a bit of a talker.

"I remember my first day," he reminisced., "I wet myself and had to go home to change."

"Excuse me?" Conan laughed, surprised by his bluntness. The boy had no shame.

"What? I was six!" he defended.

"No judgment there. I hate school too," Conan agreed. "Maybe not enough to pee my pants though."

"I'd pee my pants every day if it meant I didn't have to go to this shit hole." Owen sighed and squinted at the big building as if it could respond back to defend its honor.

"Why do you hate it?" Conan knew why he himself didn't like school, but he figured someone like Owen would love it.

In all honesty, Owen hated school because it made him feel stupid. The only good part about it was that he got to play sports after class. If he didn't have football then he wouldn't have been able to get through the years.

"Homework," he lied - well it was only partly a lie - and scrunched his nose up in distaste. "You?"

"Same," Conan mumbled back, expecting a more complex response, something he could relate to. But then again, he was talking to a jock.

The gravel crunches under their shoes as they reach Owen's car. He was a little anxious about Conan seeing his car and thinking he was some stuck-up snobby rich kid.

He had a shiny black Tesla that was absolutely spotless. He was grateful for the vehicle and took pride in it but in situations like these, he got slightly insecure. He liked Conan and didn't want him to see him the way Owen saw his own family.

Though Conan didn't make a single comment, sliding into the passenger's seat when Owen unlocked the door before plugging in his charger.

"My house is down this road for about two miles before taking a left." Conan pointed at the street behind them while buckling up. "I appreciate you doing this for me, by the way."

Another of Owen's signature lopsided smiles showed upon his face, his heartwarming when Conan didn't mention his expensive car. Everyone always made some kind of snide remark or started to treat him entirely different, like they were beneath him just because of his parent's wealth. But not Conan.