Chapter Text
Looking back at it he should have definitely told Jan Maas the second time he overheard him. Jamie had just gotten back on the team and the whole ‘I don’t know you, but I don’t like you!’ mishap had just happened. Which truth be told had felt a bit out of place for Jan. Sure, he was blunt and brutally honest to the point that it came of as rude and even offensive at times, but it was never without cause or a well-thought-out reason either. Considering that Jan didn’t even know the guy and always acted morally superior, refusing to gossip with the others, it made no sense that he would confront him like that without a good reason. Sure, he could have heard something that painted Jamie in a negative light, but then again what did Jan have to do with it? Why would he willingly involve himself in this can of worms? It’s safe to say that coach Beard was quite stumped on this little outburst for the rest of the training.
“You’ve been zoning out an awful lot lately coach, what’s the matter?”
“Didn’t you think what Jan said to Jamie earlier felt a bit out of place?”
“Well of course not, you know how he is. He’s just being Dutch. As I see it it we need someone who can give us no-nonsense reality checks, like when we’re performing terribly or when our hair looks like we switched from pomade to bacon fat. He also does rock a track suit.”
“Another Glee reference? You’ve been on a roll lately.”
“Well I’m rewatching it till season 5 ‘cause I don’t think my heart can handle the ache again. But if you feel that way maybe you should have a little chat with him, see what’s up. I’m pretty sure he’s still roaming around here somewhere, he didn’t join the other fella’s when they all left.”
“Yeah I think I”ll do that, thanks.”
“Anytime, you go get this club together and bring us to nationals.”
Finding Jan Maas didn’t take as much effort as he thought it would. He however didn’t expect to find him pacing the floor in the training room looking very upset at his phone with his jacket and bags scattered all over the place. Well there’s no better time than the present, but before he could say something a phone started ringing. The blonde finally stopped walking but still looked awfully tense, sighing deeply he picked up the phone.
“Hai- ja sorry voor het storen maar ik moest echt even met iemand praten.”
(“Hey-, i’m sorry for bothering you but I really needed to talk to someone.”)
“Ik weet niet wat er is, opeens komt die ene Jamie terug en ik heb al deze verhalen gehoord dat hij een verschrikkelijke pestkop is en ik wil gewoon niet dat het weer gebeurd…”
(“I don’t know what’s wrong, but suddenly Jamie came back and I’ve heard all these stories about what an awful bully he is and I just don’t want it to be like that again.”)
“Ik was bang dat als ik niet zou zeggen dat ik hem niet mag dat de andere jongens misschien boos zouden worden op mij? Ik weet het eigenlijk ook niet maar ik wou in ieder geval niet dat ik weer een doelwit zou worden net zoals bij mijn vorige club.”
(“I was scared that if I didn’t say that I didn’t like him that the other guys would get upset with me? Honestly I’m not sure, but I didn’t want to become a target just like at my previous club.”)
“Ik begin eindelijk een soort van band met de rest op te bouwen, maar ik kom vaak verkeerd uit de hoek. Dan zeg ik wat wat ik best normaal vind en dan kijken ze me vreemd aan, vooral als het over anderen gaat. Ik ben echt mijn best aan het doen maar het lijkt alsof ik steeds maar weer de verkeerde dingen zeg. Ik kan soms maar beter niks zeggen.”
(“I’m finally building some sort of bond with the rest of the guys, but they keep misunderstanding me. I’ll say something that I find perfectly normal and they’ll look at me like I’ve gone mad, especially when we’re talking about other people. I’m really trying my hardest but it feels like I just keep saying the wrong things. It’s better if I just stop talking.”
“Ik ben bang dat ze mijn woorden weer tegen mij gaan gebruiken, je weet hoe het toen was. Het constante gevoel dat mensen over je lachen en niet met je, de nare dingen dat ze over mij zeiden en gewoon de kinderachtige grappen dat ze telkens uit haalde.”
(“I’m scared that they’ll use my words against me, you know how it was back then. The constant feeling that people are laughing at you and not with you, the awful things they said about me and the childish pranks they kept playing on me.”)
“Ik denk niet dat het weer zo gaat worden. Maar soms kijken ze naar mij net zoals ze toen naar mij keken, alsof ik een alien ben die net hier op aarde is beland. Ik dacht dat ik hier mijn plek kon vinden, maar als het niet bij Richmond kan, waar kan het dan wel?”
(I don’t believe that it’ll get to that point. But sometimes they look at me like they would used to look at me back then, like i’m an alien and I just landed here on earth.” I thought I could find my place here, but If it can’t find it at Richmond, where can I?”)
“Maar weet je waar ik het meeste mee zit? Dit is wel een plek vol met acceptatie maar wat als die acceptatie opeens op is? Jamie is al weg gestuurd en het is duidelijk dat niemand blij is dat hij is terug gekomen.”
(But you know what the worst part is? This place is full of so called acceptance but what if that acceptance is just suddenly gone? Jamie was sent a way and it’s clear to me that nobody is happy that he came back.”)
“Wat als ik perongelijk weer iets verkeerd zeg? Of wat als ze mij weer verkeerd opvatten? Zou ik dan dezelfde behandeling gaan krijgen?”
(“What if I say the wrong things again? Or what if they misunderstand me? Would I get the same treatment?”)
“Ik zou dan niet weten waar ik dan naartoe moet. Ik heb mijn carrière in Nederland opgegeven zodat het misschien hier anders zou gaan.”
(“I wouldn’t know where I would go. I gave up on my career in the Netherlands so that maybe this time could be different.”)
“Ja misschien heb je wel gelijk, ze hebben nog niks gedaan. Ik maak me gewoon zorgen doordat Jamie terug is. Ik heb gehoord dat
(“Yeah maybe you’re right, they hadn’t done anything yet. I’m just worried now that Jamie is back.”)
“Nee dat klopt, het zal vast beter gaan deze keer. Ik denk ook niet dat coach Lasso en coach Beard niks zouden doen als het zo ver zou komen.”
(“No you’re right, this time will be better. I don’t belive coach Lasso and coach Beard would let it get to that point.”)
“Dankje voor het luisteren, het gaat alweer wat beter. Ik moet alleen mijn verhaal kwijt denk ik.”
(Thanks for listening, i’m doing better already. I just had to talk to someone I guess.”)
“Doei, k hou ook van jou.”
(Bye, I love you too.”)
Thankfully Jan hadn’t noticed him yet. He should say something, he had to say something. But what was there to say? Words had never come easy for him and this was no light topic. Would this make him even more upset? Would he be mad that somebody saw him this vulnerable? Would he lose all the trust he placed on his coach? Coach Beard realised that he was not prepared for this side of coaching at all, if he were Ted he could have guided Jan out of these difficult emotions and gotten him somewhere more stable, maybe he could have even felt more at home. But sadly he wasn’t, he was just staring at the other man’s back waiting for his next move.
Snapping out of his daze Jan started picking up his stuff and coach Beard couldn’t help but flee the scene. This was nothing like the last time he eavesdropped, this was deeply personal and he should have said something, but he didn’t. Sitting down at his desk he got a glimpse of the Dutch man leaving, he looked a lot less upset than he did before. He even looked quite content. Looking closer he noticed that this time he wasn’t alone, he was talking to someone. He was talking to Richard, had he waited all this time for him? Well he was in good hands atleast, no reason to talk to him now he could just keep a close eye on him, no need for direct interference. Right?