Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“But Andy, you have to go!” Mardy insisted as they approached their lockers to store their books on their way to lunch.

“I don’t have to do anything,” Andy stated firmly as he fiddled with his lock, making it clear this wasn’t something that was up for debate. “If I’d rather sit at home, I can sit at home. It’s my prerogative.”

Mardy sighed, watching as Andy continued to struggle. “It’s our senior prom.”

“So?” Andy asked as though it were no big deal, taking a moment to look up at Mardy. “Who cares?”

“You will,” was his response. “One day you’ll look back and regret it, especially since you didn’t go last year.”

Andy temporarily gave up on the lock, turning his full attention towards Mardy. “To begin with, I was sick last year. Stupid mono,” he muttered. “Secondly, I wouldn’t have gone anyway. I mean, it’s a stupid, pointless ritual that everyone does just to say they did it. Sorry, but I refuse to do something just because everyone else does. I’m not conforming to society’s standards, especially since that’s what they want me to do.”

‘Paranoid much?’ Mardy thought to himself, rolling his eyes. “I get it, really I do, but I refuse to see you squander this opportunity. You’re going even if I have to tie you up and drag you there myself.”

“Oh, really?” Andy asked raising an eyebrow and going right back to the lock. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Okay,” Mardy conceded, “Give me one good reason why you won’t go.” When Andy started to fire off his fallback reply, Mardy cut him off. “No, I want a good reason, not your paranoid, ‘damn the man’ crap you’ve been spouting ever since the invitations went out and the flyers went up.”

Andy stood his ground, determination in his eyes, already having his excuses ready. “Tell me, what would I do there? I’ve got two left feet, so it’s not like I can dance, which pretty much leaves standing around the spiked punch bowl all evening, watching the nerds get drunk as they’re forgotten by their dates, if they even have dates, and the jocks try to score with their brainless, cheerleader girlfriends.”

‘Leave it Andy to become overly dramatic,’ Mardy thought as he waved the reason off without batting an eye. While he knew what Andy was saying was true, he also knew there was more to it than simply not being able to dance. “Is that all? Well, that’s easily solved. We just need to teach you how to dance and you’ll be fine, no problem.”

“Oh, and I suppose you’re going to teach me,” Andy said with a smirk, knowing Mardy wasn’t much better than he was.

“Yeah right,” was the reply. “I’m almost as bad as you are.” Seeing Andy’s smirk grow, he added, “I said almost, almost. You’re by far the worst dancer I’ve ever seen.”

The smirk disappeared but the determination to be out of the present situation remained. “But this still takes us back to square one: me unable to dance.”

“I told you, you’re going to learn, just not from me.” As soon as Andy showed his confusion, Mardy clarified. “I know a guy.”

“You know a guy?” Andy asked incredulously. “Let me guess, Fred Astaire’s doppelganger. Or is it Gene Kelly?”

Mardy sighed. “Just trust me on this, alright? Now, what other reasons do you have for not going? And yes, I know you, there’s bound to be more than one.”

“I don’t have a date,” Andy admitted, averting his gaze briefly to stare at the ground. “I can’t go to senior prom without a date, and no, don’t even say it. I’m not going stag, so you can forget that right now.”

A grin appeared on Mardy’s face as he listened to his friend rant, though he was surprised he’d given in so easily. He was expecting at least one more flimsy excuse. “Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. The real reason you won’t go; you don’t have a date. It’s nothing to be ashamed about.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you have one,” Andy pointed out.

Mardy found there was nothing he could say to dispute the fact; Andy was right. Still, he wasn’t ready to give up on him just yet. He was going one way or another and Mardy still had some ideas.

“I’m sure we can find you a date,” Mardy tried, sounding confident that they could. “You just need to find someone and ask them.”

Andy rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You make it sound so simple.”

“Uh, that’s because it is,” Mardy said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You just go up to someone and say, ‘Hi, would you go to the prom with me?’ See? It’s simple, easy, and to the point. After all, what’s the worst that could happen, the person turns you down?”

“Yes!” Andy exclaimed, as though he found the idea to be a fate worse than death. He also found the lock still wouldn’t budge. “Open up, you fucking piece of metal,” he cursed under his breath.

As luck would have it, Roger Federer, star of the school soccer team, just happened to be walking by and noticed Andy’s plight. Walking over, he took a hold of the lock in Andy’s hands, causing Andy to immediately relinquish his hold on the metallic item and drop his own hand to his side, as though he had just been burned.

“Uh, you really don’t have to do that. It’s not like it’ll open anyway,” Andy managed, slightly stunned at what he was seeing. Roger never talked to him. As far as he knew, Roger didn’t even know he lived on the same planet.

Roger just looked at him with a grin. “If I’m wasting my time, it’s my time to waste.”

Andy simply nodded, unable to say anything as Roger went back to the task at hand. A turn of the dial and a flick of the wrist later and the lock came right off.

“How?” Andy asked, unable to form a coherent sentence. There was no way Roger Federer had just opened his locker for him. He had to be dreaming.

Roger shrugged, smiling kindly at Andy. “Just lucky I guess.”

With his brain and mouth unable to work together, Andy just nodded again.

If Roger noticed he was acting strange, he didn’t show it, saying, “I better be going or I’ll miss lunch. I’m glad I could help.”

As he walked away, Andy stared after him, trying to convince himself he hadn’t just imagined the whole thing.

Seeing the exchange between the two, an idea started forming in Mardy’s head. Shaking his head in amusement, he patted Andy on the shoulder, pulling him back to reality, and continued their previous conversation. “You’ll be fine. All that remains is figuring out who you’re going to ask, which should be easy enough.” Upon seeing Andy staring at him skeptically, he continued. “Just answer one question for me: if you could go with anyone in the entire school, who would it be? And for the love of God, don’t say Maria Sharapova,” he added before Andy could answer.

Just imagining the thought that Mardy had placed in his head was enough to make Andy turn pale. “Please tell me you didn’t just say that. To begin with, she’s not my type. Secondly, she looks like she’s still twelve years old. It would give new meaning to the phrase, ‘robbing the cradle’.”

Mardy laughed. He’d known when he’d suggested it what Andy’s answer would be, just like he knew who Andy really wanted to go with, though he’d never willingly admit it. “Okay, back to the original question: date for prom, give me a name, go!”

Andy sighed. “This is stupid, Mardy, okay? Let’s just quit while we’re ahead,” he said, adding, “While I still have my dignity and can say I haven’t totally embarrassed myself. Is that really too much to ask?”

“You just don’t want to say it,” Mardy confronted. “You don’t want to admit that the person you wish would ask you, who would show up to your door, sweep you off your feet, and take you to prom is none other than Roger Federer.”

Staring at Mardy in stunned silence and almost dropping his books in the process, Andy tried to make a quick recovery, all the while knowing he wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all Mardy. “N-no,” he quickly denied. “Why would I want to go with him? That’s just ridiculous.”

“Is it?” Mardy challenged.

Andy, growing frustrated, glared at his locker as he took his books and shoved them in, slamming the door shut when he was done. “Enough Mardy!” he all but yelled, turning on him. “I don’t want to go to prom and I don’t want to go with Roger. I don’t want to go with anyone, so end of discussion!”

Before Mardy had a chance to respond, a voice broke through. “Aww, having trouble getting a date to the prom, Roddick? I bet one of the nerds in the AV department would go with you if you ask nicely enough, though even they have some standards.”

“Shut up, Djokovic,” Andy ground out, turning around to face him with the same glare he’d just given his locker.

Novak laughed. “Nice comeback, Roddick. How long did it take you to come up with that?”

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be, other people to be bothering?” Andy hinted, hoping he’d go away.

“It’s lunchtime and the halls are empty outside of the three of us, so no,” Novak said, as though he almost wished there were. “But seriously, I hear Sharapova’s free if you want to ask her. I’m sure she’d love to go with you. In fact, I overheard her say she was waiting for you to ask, which is why she’s turned down half of the male student body.”

Andy grimaced at the thought. “Uh, no thanks. I think I’ll pass.”

Novak shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He started to leave, but then suddenly stopped as something else came to him. Turning back, he said, “Oh, by the way. You do know that you don’t stand a chance of getting Roger to go with you, right?”

“Why not?” Mardy challenged. “Everyone knows Roger’s still on the market and Andy’s got just as a good a chance as anyone else.”

Novak shook his head in amusement, arms crossed and a smirk in place. “You’re kidding, right? Everyone may know Roger’s still available, but they also know it won’t be for long. He and Rafa have been spending a lot of time together and I must admit, they look like they’ve been getting pretty cozy. The only question at this point is how much longer it’ll be before they officially get together. So for all practical purposes, yes, he’s taken and it’ll be Rafa who ends up being his date.”

“Wow, Djokovic, I never took you for the school gossip,” Mardy said, amused himself.

The smirk disappeared from his face. “I’m not. It’s not gossip it just hasn’t been confirmed…yet.”

Mardy laughed. “Same thing,” he said, waving him off. “Aren’t you going to lunch?”

“Aren’t you?” Novak asked back.

“Fine,” Mardy conceded, tired of playing games. “Let’s go, Andy. I’m hungry and I’m not going to miss lunch on account of him.”

Andy shook his head. “You go ahead, I’m gonna go outside and get some fresh air first.”

“Okay,” Mardy said with a shrug, heading off towards the cafeteria.

“Lose your appetite, Roddick? It’s a bitter pill to swallow, I’m sure.”

Andy turned towards Djokovic and glared. “Do you want me to stuff you in my locker? Because believe me, I will, and no one will find you until after lunch.”

“As though you could,” Novak said calmly, though his eyes gave him away, showing he was slightly nervous at the prospect.

“Try me,” Andy practically growled back at him.

Novak shook his head, “No thanks, I’m good.”

Andy sighed, leaning against his locker. “What do you want, Djokovic? I really don’t have time for this.”

“You,” Novak said simply, smirk back in place.

“Excuse me?” Andy choked out, eyes widening, sure he was hearing things.

“You heard me. I want you,” he repeated.

“No, I don’t think so,” Andy said as he struggled to regain his composure. “I’m not your type and you sure as hell aren’t mine.”

Novak sized him up, eyeing him hungrily as he said, “Oh, I don’t know. I think I’d be willing to make an exception for you. What do you say?” Seeing Andy immediately pale, he laughed. “God, Roddick, learn to take a joke. As though I’d actually want you. I do, however, want something from you.”

Glaring at him, Andy asked, “I’m really not surprised, but what seriously makes you think I’d want to help you?”

“Because I think that ultimately, we’re both after the same thing,” was the reply.

“You want Roger?” Andy asked, clearly confused.

Novak raised an eyebrow. “So it seems I was right after all. You really do want him.” As Andy cursed for giving himself away, Novak laughed. “Relax; it wasn’t that hard to figure out, you only confirmed what I’d long suspected. Oh, and just for the record, I don’t want Roger, I want Rafa.”

“Rafa? You want Rafael Nadal?” Andy asked, making sure he had heard the Serb correctly. Then he broke out laughing. “And you think I don’t have a chance. Have you looked in the mirror lately? What would Rafa possibly want with you?”

Novak glared at him, saying, “I’ll have you know that I’m quite desirable. Rafa would be lucky to get me. At least I’ve talked to him, what have you managed with Federer before the incident a few minutes ago?”

“That was different,” Andy said defensively. “And since you and Rafa are such great friends, what do you need my help for?”

A frown appeared on Novak’s face. “I can’t ask him to go with me because we are friends. Imagine how things would be if it were you and Mardy.”

Suddenly Andy looked and felt as though he were going to be sick. “Never, I repeat, never say something like that again unless you want to see my lunch reappear on your shoes.”

“As wonderful as that sounds, I think I’ll pass,” Novak said, wrinkling up his nose in distaste at just the thought. “The point is, if I were to ask and he didn’t feel the same, things would be awkward between us. That’s why I need to get him to ask me instead.”

Andy laughed. “Novak Djokovic turned passive aggressive. Now I’ve seen it all.”

“As though you’re any better,” Novak said with a glare. “I just need to get him to see me in a different light. He belongs with me; he just hasn’t realized it yet.”

“And yet he’s going to end up with Roger,” Andy reminded him, somewhat depressed at the prospect himself.

“Yes, that would be the problem, which brings me back to what I want from you. I want you to be my date for prom.”

Andy looked at him as though he had grown a second head before he broke out laughing. “Good one. For a moment there, you almost had me.” He turned to leave when Novak stopped him.

“I’m serious, Roddick. I want you to agree to be my date to prom,” he said in exasperation.

Slowly, somewhat in shock, Andy turned to face him. “You are serious.”

“That’s what I said, didn’t I?” Novak said, unable to believe Andy could be this dense, adding, “I think you may just be dumber than a box of rocks.”

“Keep that up and I won’t go with you,” Andy threatened, causing a slight smile to appear on Novak’s face.

“You mean you’ll go?” Novak could hardly believe his ears. He hadn’t expected Andy to so willingly agree to the idea.

“I never said that,” Andy quickly denied. “But if I were to agree to this, and that’s a big if, what do I possibly get out of this? And don’t tell me the pleasure of being your date, because we both know that’s not going to do it.”

Despite feeling as though he should be insulted by that remark, Novak grinned. “Easy. I get Rafa and you get Roger.”

Andy rolled his eyes. “Okay, excuse me for not being psychic, but how do you figure that one?”

Novak sighed and felt like he was explaining things a five-year-old child. “Listen and listen carefully, because I’m only explaining this once and I want to make sure your pea sized brain catches it. We’re not really going together; we just need to make everyone else think we are, more specifically, Rafa and Roger. For the next two months, we are going to make them so jealous they can’t help but want us. Then they’ll take us instead of each other.”

Raising an eyebrow, Andy replied, “Okay, then make sure you hear this loud and clear. That is by far the single most idiotic idea I’ve ever heard!”

“You’re being shortsighted, Roddick,” he said, shaking his head. “I think this will work.”

“And what happens when it doesn’t?” Andy asked, sure it was doomed to fail. “We’ll be stuck going with each other. Brilliant plan, there.”

Novak shrugged. “Not like you had a date anyway. Besides, I heard you telling Mardy you didn’t even want to go. What do you really have to lose?”

“You mean besides my dignity?” was the response, getting a smirk and a raised eyebrow in return. He hated to admit it, but Djokovic was right. As crazy as it sounded, there was little downside to trying this. Sighing, he finally broke down and agreed. “Fine, I’ll do it. But if this fails in any way, I’m…” he trailed off as he tried to think of something horrible he could do to him.

“You’ll do what?” Novak asked with a smirk. “Shove me in my locker?”

Andy smirked as well. “Why wait? I can do that right now.”

Novak laughed. “Sure Roddick, whatever you say. Just remember, from this moment on, you’re taken.”

Andy begrudgingly nodded. “I think I’ve got it, Djokovic.”

“It’s Novak now. Call me Djokovic and people will get suspicious.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to call me Andy, won’t you?” he threw back, smirk on his face as Novak frowned.

“Fine,” Novak begrudgingly agreed.

“We done here?” Andy was more than ready to leave, in part to get away from Novak, but also because he’d miss lunch if he didn’t leave soon.

“I suppose. Just don’t screw this up,” Novak warned.

Laughing, Andy said, “If one of us were to screw this up, it would be you.” Before Novak could add anything else, Andy turned away and walked off, shaking his head in amusement as he left Novak seething.

"Please tell me you didn't," Mardy groaned as he and Andy walked through the front door of his house after school, heading down the hall and towards the kitchen. Andy had given him the Reader's Digest version on their way home, causing Mardy's face to display a wide range of emotions throughout his tale.

Andy shrugged, saying somewhat defensively, "I did. It seemed like a bad idea at the time-"

"But you agreed to it anyway," Mardy finished, knowing what he was going to say before he’d said it. Part of him knew he shouldn't expect any less from him after all these years. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd done something that backfired horribly, and it probably wouldn't be the last. "You realize you're now stuck going to the biggest event of our senior year, graduation aside, with Djokovic? And you hate Djokovic."

"Only if it fails," Andy pointed out, leaning against the counter.

"Which it will," Mardy muttered as he reached in the fridge and grabbed a Coke, adding, "Want one?"

Andy nodded his head and caught the can that was thrown at him, opening it and taking a drink. "Okay, so what if it does? If you remember correctly, I didn't even want to go in the first place, so what do I have to lose?" Here his eyes widened as he listened to what he was saying, adding, "Oh my God, I'm actually starting to sound like Djokovic. If it happens again, promise you'll shoot me?"

"I swear, you are such a drama queen,” Mardy said, rolling his eyes. "I really don't know what to tell you. I still think you should have asked Roger pointblank instead of going with this deceptive harebrained scheme, but I suppose it's too late to change your mind."

Andy shook his head vehemently. "No. I can't just ask him. There's no way he'd go with me, especially not with Rafa in the picture."

Mardy sighed. "I think you're wrong, but I can understand the fear of rejection. What I don't understand is this fear coming from you. Usually you're the first to rush into these things, taking risks, living life without regret. What changed?"

Andy averted his eyes as he took another drink of his Coke so he wouldn't have to answer.

Mardy's eyes widened with realization. "Oh.” He couldn’t help but think, ‘This complicates things.’

"Yeah, 'oh'," Andy said bitterly, looking up. "Rejection? That would just about kill me."

"I really didn't know," Mardy tried by way of apology, Andy waving it off.

"It's fine," he insisted, seeing the skepticism on Mardy's face and adding, "No, really. Like you said, you didn't know. That's why I'm trying this instead. Yes, it's Djokovic, and yes, it's probably doomed to fail from the start, but I have to try and this is the best way. This way he can't reject me."

Taking a drink from his own Coke, Mardy thought, 'Yes, but there's more than one form of rejection.' Unfortunately, he was afraid his friend would have to learn that lesson the hard way.

Chapter Text

The next day at school, Andy and Mardy walked to their lockers only to see Novak standing there waiting for them, a smirk on his face as he watched them approach.

"Great," Andy muttered, sending up a prayer that he wouldn't have to kill the Serb by the end of the day. "I wonder what he wants."

"You're dating now," Mardy reminded him, enjoying this far too much for Andy's liking and getting an eye roll in return.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he has to stalk me." It was bad enough they would be spending a lot of time together now, something he hadn't given much thought when he'd agreed to this but now wished he had.

"Good morning, Andy. How are you?" Novak asked with a smile, trying to appear as genuine as possible despite how fake it sounded. Leaning closer, he added so only Andy could hear, "Smile or they'll never believe this. You look like you've swallowed a lemon."

Andy managed to paste a smile of his own on his face, returning the greeting with, "Morning, Nole. I’m just fine.”

“‘Nole’? Who said you could call me that?” Novak asked, dropping all pretense.

“It’s what your friends call you, isn’t it? Or is your boyfriend not your friend?” Andy asked with a smirk, having far too much fun with this.

“Watch it,” Novak warned. “With that attitude we won’t fool anyone.”

"You’re the one who freaked out,” Andy argued. “Besides, it’s not like they're really buying this anyway. Do you know how fake this looks?"

Pinning him to his locker, Novak leaned into his personal space so that everyone could see. "Oh, I think it's about to get a lot more real, especially when I sit next to you in history this morning." Noticing Andy’s shocked state over finding himself so intimately acquainted with his own locker, Novak grinned. He then pulled away and turned his attention to Mardy. "Sorry, Fishy. I'm afraid you'll have to find somewhere else to sit so I can be with my boyfriend. I’m sure you understand.”

Closing his locker door, schoolbooks in hand, Mardy shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, sure. That’s no problem at all. In fact, I’ll just head on over and find a new place to sit since I’m sure my presence isn’t wanted right now.”

Before Andy could protest, mind already thinking of the many different ways he could kill Mardy and get away with it, Mardy took off down the hall.

Glaring, Andy opened his own locker, grabbed his books and slammed it shut. He was about to turn back to Novak when he saw something out of the corner of his eye that quickly caught his attention. Just down the hall he saw Roger standing at Rafa’s locker, the two talking and laughing about something Roger had just said. Watching the scene before him, Andy sighed, wishing he could be the one that made Roger feel that way.

Noticing Andy’s attention was elsewhere and seeing the source of his distraction, Novak had an idea enter his head, one that he really didn’t want to act on but knew he’d have to at some point. Deciding now was as good a time as any, he tried not to flinch as his hand darted out and grabbed Andy’s.

Feeling the Serb’s hand in his, Andy’s head snapped around in shock. Shuddering in disgust, he eyed him suspiciously. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Novak rolled his eyes at Andy’s obtuseness. “Think about who you were just staring at and what we agreed to yesterday. If we’re going to get to them, we have to be convincing.” Realizing how uncomfortable he was making Andy, and enjoying every moment of it, he maliciously added, “Unless you’d rather I kiss you instead?”

The reaction was immediate.

“Don’t even think about it.” Andy then leaned into Novak’s personal space, in much the same way his own had been violated moments before, Novak taken aback by the unexpected move. “Try it and I’ll deck you; consequences be damned. Got it?”

Novak looked a little wary but tried to hide it behind his cocky demeanor. “If you think I’d actually kiss you, you’re dumber than I thought. I would never sink so low.”

“Glad to see we understand each other,” Andy said, a maniacal smile on his face as he tightened his grip on Novak’s hand and watched as the man failed to hold back a grimace of pain. “Now let’s do this.”

The two walked down the hall and towards their history class, noticing all the while as their fellow students stopped what they were doing to stare and whisper at the newest, and what most would have considered the least likely, couple. There was no going back now.

Pretending they weren't noticing the attention they were attracting, they entered the classroom and walked to where Andy and Mardy typically sat, Novak taking what had come to be Mardy's spot.

Andy noticed Mardy sitting across the room, getting a small wave and a grin from his best friend. In return, he shook his head, sighed, and took his seat, already dreading what the next two months had in store.

When class let out, Novak quickly gathered his things and walked over to Andy's desk, causing the other man to stop what he was doing and look up at him.

"What?" Andy asked in exasperation. It was only first period and he had already had more than enough of the Serb to last him a lifetime.

Novak rolled his eyes, a mix of exasperation and amusement. Leaning in, he whispered in Andy's ear, "And you thought I'd be the problem. You have to act like you at least like me. We are supposed to be dating."

"No kidding,” Andy sarcastically ground out. “But going from hating your guts to… I suppose not imagining you suffering a fate worse than death, isn’t exactly easy for me.”

"And you think it is for me? Just keep your eye on the prize and everything will work out."

Andy wanted to say that Roger wasn't some prize to be won, but he wasn't given the opportunity.

Before Andy could say anything, Novak pulled away. "Try not to miss me too much this morning. I'll see you at lunch," he commented as sincerely as possible, voice loud enough so everyone could hear. He then winked and took off for his next class, causing Andy to just shake his head.

"You know, he's actually doing a better job of this than you are."

Andy jumped slightly at Mardy’s sudden presence, so caught up in Novak he had missed him walk over. "Shut up," he told him with a glare.

"What? He is. Look, I know you hate him, but you're the one who agreed to this. Obviously, he's getting enjoyment out of rattling you, so I say beat him at his own game."

"Just what are you getting at?" Andy asked, his brain not quite connecting the dots.

"Djokovic wants you to play along, right?"

“So?”

"Then play along. Right now, he's got you off guard, getting in your personal space and pretending to be nice to you. Well, do the same thing back. Act like you're so in love with him, you can't imagine life without him. He won’t expect it." Seeing Andy scrunch up his face in disgust, he added, "Not only will you make the whole student body believe you, you'll make him just as uncomfortable as he's made you. Make it a game and the next two months will be easier to get through."

A grin slowly formed on Andy’s face as the implications hit him. "Mardy, I do believe you're a genius. That's perfect!"

"I know," Mardy replied with a shrug, all the while looking quite proud of himself.

Andy laughed. “Let’s go, Einstein.”

Having made it to lunch, Andy didn't know if he wanted to rejoice or scream. On one hand, he was happy to have a reprieve from classes, thinking if he ever saw a Spanish irregular verb again it would be too soon. On the other hand, lunch was now another time in his day that would involve interacting with Novak. In retrospect, maybe those Spanish irregular verbs weren't so bad after all.

Entering the cafeteria, Andy glanced around the room before his eyes caught on something and he completely froze. Without even thinking, his hand shot out and grabbed hold of Mardy's arm, surprising the other man as he was halted in the process.

"What?" Mardy asked, not understanding why they were stopping and blocking traffic. "Is something wrong?"

Not even turning to look at him, he continued staring off into the distance at what he now considered his impending doom. "Whatever happens, don't make me eat lunch with him by myself,” he shakily said by way of answer.

Mardy glanced in the direction Andy was staring and laughed in amusement. "Wow, I can't believe you're afraid of Djokovic."

"No,” Andy quickly denied, immediately spinning around to face him. "I just… You can’t… I don’t…” Unable to explain it to Mardy, he gave up even trying. “You know what, never mind."

"Ah, insecurity. Interesting,” Mardy said, clearly amused. He hadn’t expected Novak to get to Andy so thoroughly.

“This has nothing to do with Djokovic,” he insisted, getting a raised eyebrow in return. Realizing he wasn't going to win this, Andy sighed and pulled Mardy along. "Just forget it. Come on."

They went through the lunch line, trays in hand, and were about to go to their usual table, when suddenly Andy heard his name called. Looking in the direction of the voice he had heard, he saw Novak waving him over, a grin on his face that Andy didn’t buy for a second. All previous hesitation was forgotten, replaced by irritation towards the Serb. Turning to Mardy, he ground out, "Please tell me you're coming with me. If you don’t, I can’t be held responsible for my actions. I may have to kill him before we sit down."

Glancing across the cafeteria to where Novak was sitting, Mardy now had a better understanding of what had been bothering Andy earlier. Being on the school soccer team, Novak ate lunch with them every day. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten that fact, but based on Andy’s reaction earlier, he had as well. As he noticed Roger and Rafa sitting at the opposite end of the table from the Serb, deep in conversation, he could only imagine what was going through Andy's head.

Still, that didn't stop him from grinning in amusement as his decision was made for him. "And miss this? I don't think so. This is better than TV.” Seeing the annoyance on Andy’s face, he added, “Just remember the plan."

'The plan. Right,' Andy thought to himself, crossing the cafeteria as he headed towards the waiting Serb.

"Sit here," Novak told him, gesturing to the empty seat next to him.

"Hope you don't mind if I join you," Mardy said, placing his tray down and taking the seat across from Andy before Novak even had a chance to answer.

"No, not at all," Novak replied. It was clear from his tone that he did mind, smile starting to wane. Deciding to shrug it off, he grabbed hold of Andy who was still standing while wondering just what he was getting himself into and yanked him down into the seat.

Neither noticed Mardy, looking down at his tray and pushing the food around with his fork, struggling not to laugh.

"I can sit. I don't need help," Andy huffed, getting a chorus of laughter from the table.

Novak rolled his eyes. "Then next time, do it." He then looked down the table at his friends and said, "Guys, this is Andy, my boyfriend." He emphasized the last part to make it clear to everyone that one, he was serious, and two, they weren’t to bother him.

“So, you really are dating him,” Andy Murray said, both amused and slightly stunned by the confirmation. He shook his head. “I didn’t believe it when I first heard. Nole here has never indicated that he even fancied anyone, so you can imagine our surprise to learn he’s dating you. Especially since we all thought you hated each other.”

“Believe me, I was shocked as well,” Mardy chimed in with a mischievous glint in his eyes that only Andy caught as he groaned and began stabbing his lunch with his fork. Mardy was sure that if looks could kill, that plus the stabs would have long since obliterated Andy’s food, but he didn’t mention it. “I never even saw it coming. You think you know someone, but I guess these things happen.”

There were several nods of agreement followed by Ferrer asking the one question on everyone’s minds. “How did you two get together?”

Having never discussed this before, the two in question looked at each other as the entire table, including Roger and Rafa, turned their attention to them.

For the first time since they'd started this charade, Novak's confidence disappeared as he became speechless, mind drawing a blank, unable to think of a viable story.

Thinking fast on his feet as he saw Novak quickly approaching the deer in the headlights phase, Andy rolled his eyes and took over, gaining the confidence Novak had lost. "It was yesterday before lunch. He came over to my locker and insulted me, as usual, and I insulted him back, as usual." Here everyone laughed before he continued. "But then something seemed to change, and things felt different. We both realized the hatred we thought we'd had was actually a far different emotion. You know, the whole 'there's a thin line between love and hate' and all of that. We talked about it and decided to try out a relationship. It’s too early to say if it will last, but we’d like to think it will. We honestly couldn’t be happier.”

Completing the act, he took hold of Novak's hand before he could talk himself out of it. He gently caressed it as he turned to look at him with a faked smile, eyes shining with what the others believed to be love, but that both Mardy and Novak knew to be otherwise. There was a devious glint in his eyes as he tried to make the Serb squirm, succeeding as Novak continued struggling to form coherent thoughts. Seeing this, he silently chalked it up as a small victory.

Meanwhile, almost everyone was smiling at the supposedly heartfelt confession Andy had just given, including Mardy who was smiling more out of amusement. The most noticeable exception to this was Novak who appeared stunned more than anything else, unable to believe what he had just seen and heard, especially since their roles had been somewhat reversed that morning. It was clear to Andy that his ‘boyfriend’ hadn’t thought he was actually capable of pulling this off. He also looked like he was going to be sick, something only Andy picked up on as his smile grew at having successfully turned the tables.

"You made him speechless," Murray teased, snapping Novak out of his shock and resulting in a glare sent his way for the jab, Andy's grin growing all the while. “No one’s able to do that.”

"No he didn't," Novak quickly denied, drawing laughs and knowing looks from the rest of the table.

"I think it's nice," Del Potro interjected, adding, "I wish I had a boyfriend like that."

Novak looked at him like he'd grown a second head, slowly saying, "But you're straight."

Del Potro shrugged. "Yes, but I’d like one if I wasn’t."

As Novak immediately began to argue the logic of that statement, yanking his hand out of Andy's as he moved it around wildly while he talked, Mardy turned his attention to the only other two people at the table who hadn't seemed happy at this newfound couple: Rafa and Roger.

Rafa appeared to be staring at Novak as though he were a scientist scrutinizing a specimen in the lab. It was almost like he was seeing the Serb in a new light, seeing things he may not have noticed before.

Roger, meanwhile, was alternating his gaze between Andy and Novak, trying to piece some things of his own together with little success, as though he were working through an equation and kept coming up with two plus two equals five when he clearly knew it should equal four. There was also another emotion present, one betrayed by his eyes, but Mardy wasn't quite able to place his finger on it and chose to file it away for later.

'Huh,' Mardy thought, starting to put some of his own pieces together, pieces he wasn't even sure existed but was willing to grasp at all the same. 'So, the golden couple might not be so golden after all. Maybe this plan isn’t as harebrained as I thought. Well, it looks as though things just got interesting.'

"I should get a freaking Oscar for that. Did you see the look on Djokovic's face?" Andy asked Mardy with glee as they grabbed their books from their lockers after lunch. "I swear, I thought he was going to faint or maybe be sick... Or maybe both. That would have been amazing!"

“I know,” Mardy said. “In case you forgot, I was there.” He purposely ignored Andy’s sour expression at the remark, though he silently conceded his friend did have a reason to gloat.

All through lunch, Andy and Novak had been trying to outdo the other on how sickeningly sweet they could be. Their mutual dislike fueled their enjoyment in rattling the other and overrode the disgust they’d initially felt at having to make physical contact. The hesitancy from earlier was gone, replaced with a need to one up the other and raise the stakes further.

While everyone else thought it was cute just how enamored they appeared to be since they couldn’t seem to keep their hands of each other, Mardy was biting his tongue so hard it almost bled as he tried to keep from laughing at the sight across the table. Andy held Novak’s hand and Novak whispered things in Andy’s ear, things that would cause him to blush, that Novak knew would cause him to blush, and suddenly Andy’s hand found its way from Novak’s hand to his thigh, turning the tables again.

Sighing, Mardy added, "You've been talking about it ever since we left the cafeteria, but maybe it’d be a good idea if you kept your voice down, or better yet, stopped talking about it all together." Seeing the confusion on Andy's face, he explained. "Did you ever think what would happen if someone other than me were to hear you? They'd know this entire thing was a sham."

Andy shrugged. "Making him miserable is about the only thing that makes this bearable. So far, we haven't managed to make any headway with either Rafa or Roger. In fact, the two of them left not long after we sat down for lunch. Maybe you were right. Maybe this is a stupid idea.”

Mardy didn’t say anything, but he had noticed the two leave the table during lunch as well. One minute they’d been silently sitting there, the next they’d exchanged a glance and a nod before standing up and walking out of the cafeteria to only God knows where. Everyone had assumed the two wanted to be alone, that single action just further confirmation the two were romantically involved, though there still hadn’t been any official word on the matter from either man. However, Mardy felt it wasn’t as simple as all that, based on the glances they’d been giving two of the other occupants at the table. Still, he wasn’t completely sure what was going on or what they felt. He also didn’t feel it was his place to say anything even if he did know.

As Andy slammed his locker closed, Mardy noticed the dejected look on his friend’s face. Trying to offer his friend some hope, he finally said, “Look, maybe it’s not as stupid as I thought. I mean, I admit I don’t think this is the best way of going about this; I really do still think you should just come out and tell him, but maybe… I suppose it could work.”

Andy looked at him skeptically. “Uh huh, because it’s worked so well so far. Outside of making Djokovic squirm at lunch, tell me, what has this accomplished?” Before Mardy had a chance to say anything, he answered his own question. “I’ll tell you what; absolutely nothing.”

“Because you haven’t given it enough time,” Mardy said in exasperation. “It’s only been one day. I know patience has never been a strong point for you, but you’re not going to get him after a few minutes at lunch. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?”

Hesitating for a moment, Andy begrudgingly nodded. “I guess you’re right.” A smile then reappeared on his face. “We have class with Roger next period.”

“And Djokovic,” Mardy reminded him, “which means you’ll be sitting next to him again.”

“Which means I can see how much damage I can do to him without getting a detention,” Andy clarified.

As Andy started plotting how he could accomplish that during pre-calc, his smile turning maniacal, Mardy just shook his head. ‘I should have known he’d like that too much,’ he thought to himself.

“Why are you shaking your head at me?” Andy asked in confusion, breaking off from his gleeful planning.

“Oh, no reason,” Mardy said, getting a raised eyebrow in return. “Let’s just get to class before we’re late. The last thing you need is another detention from Henman.”

Nodding his head in agreement, Andy silently cursed Henman and whoever invented math.

Chapter Text

Although they appeared to be the perfect pair, Andy and Novak continued to find ways to make the other’s life hell. Over time, it became a sort of competition, reaching new levels in the second week when the two began having – or rather, causing – a series of accidents.

Having made his way through the lunch line, Novak turned too quickly and ran into Andy, his tray upending all over the American.

“Oh, I’m sorry! How clumsy of me,” Novak said with amusement in his eyes, making it obvious he wasn’t sorry at all.

Andy, now wearing the Serb’s lunch, just glared before storming off to the bathroom to clean what he could off of his clothes.

“It seems Andy won’t be joining us today,” Novak said as he took a seat at the table sans lunch, ignoring the raised eyebrow from Mardy.

“Right,” was all the more Mardy said before quickly finishing his own lunch and leaving to check on Andy.

“You know he did that on purpose, right?” Andy asked from the sink as soon as Mardy had entered. He had barely glanced up, frantically scrubbing at his shirt even though it wasn’t doing much good.

“Obviously. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

Oh, Andy had more than a few ideas and it wouldn’t be long before he’d have an opportunity to get back at the Serb.

Having spent the remainder of lunch in the bathroom trying to salvage his clothes, Andy exited and found Novak waiting for him outside, standing against the wall with his arms crossed and a smirk – one the American desperately wanted to knock off his face. Despite the spike of anger that he felt, he knew he had to play it off and opted to ignore Novak, making his way to his locker to grab his books. When the Serb followed closely behind, Andy made his move, tripping the other man.

“Fuck,” Novak cursed as he hit the linoleum, books falling out of his arms and going every which way.

“You okay?” Andy asked him, stopping to spare him a look of concern though not offering to help him up. He knew with his luck Novak would pull him down to join him on the floor. Being the kind and caring boyfriend that he was, he did pick up a couple of the books that had fallen near his feet.

“I’m fine,” the Serb spat out, quickly grabbing the other books before Andy could. He then pushed himself up and yanked the books Andy had picked up out of his hands.

“If you say so,” Andy said with a shrug, heading on towards his locker, not even bothering to see if Novak was coming. After a couple minutes spent fighting the lock, he managed to get his books just in time for the door slam on his hand, his books falling unceremoniously to the floor.

“Son of a bitch,” he hissed, holding his hand in pain. Out of the corner of his eye, standing next to his locker, he saw Novak with a grin. “What the hell?”

Novak shrugged nonchalantly. “It was an accident. Are you okay?”

Andy glared at the other man, giving a quick nod despite the burning pain traveling down his fingers. As he bent down to pick up his books, he had an idea. “Here,” he said as he dumped the stack on top of the ones Novak was already carrying, finding some enjoyment at the Serb’s discomfort at being laden down. “It’s the least you can do, seeing as I can’t carry them and it’s technically your fault.”

Although he wanted to protest, even throw Andy’s books back onto the floor, he saw they had attracted the attention of the nearby students. Begrudgingly, he nodded his assent. “Of course. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t help you?”

The two made their way down the hallway towards pre-calc, both knowing retaliation was imminent, starting the cycle again.

Throughout it all, Mardy just rolled his eyes, wondering how soon it would be before one of them wound up in the hospital, knowing it would be useless trying to talk any sense into either one of them. They were hell-bent on seeing this plan through to the bitter end, which Mardy feared may prove fatal at the rate they were going.

Even Rafa had picked up on it, stopping Novak in the hall one day to express his concern.

“You are hurt, no?” he asked, worry evident in both his eyes and the tone of his voice. He hated seeing any of his friends hurt, but Novak especially.

Novak swallowed for a moment, not sure what to say. While it was true that he was sporting a nice bruise on his head from where he had an encounter with Andy’s locker, an encounter that ended several minutes later with Andy limping after being knocked into a row of desks, he couldn’t admit what was actually happening. If he did that, it would destroy everything they’d built the last couple of weeks. Besides, his pride wouldn’t allow him to admit the American had gotten the better of him, even if only for a moment.

Seeing Rafa watching him intently, patiently waiting for answers, he opted for, “I had a run-in with a locker door,” thinking to himself, ‘It’s the truth, even if Roddick was the reason that I ran into it.’

Rafa nodded warily, skepticism on his face. “Okay. In future, be more careful. I worry, Nole.”

Very briefly, Novak’s eyes widened. ‘It almost sounds like he cares. Is that possible?’ Then, shaking his head, he thought, ‘He’s your friend. Of course, he cares.’ Noticing the strange look that he was getting from the Spaniard, he quickly assured, “Don’t worry. I will be fine. I promise.” He was about to continue on his way to his next class when a hand reached out and grabbed him, stopping him in place.

“You will tell me if something is wrong, yes?” Rafa asked, all but begging the Serb to agree.

“Yes,” Novak agreed with a nod.

“Promise?” Rafa needed to know he meant it.

Again, Novak nodded. “I promise.”

“Okay.”

The two just stood there like that for several moments before Novak finally said, “Um, I need to go to class.”

“Oh,” Rafa said, slightly embarrassed as he realized where they were and what they were doing. “Yes.” Reluctantly, he slowly released his grip on Novak’s arm.

Even after he let go, they just sort of stood there, an understanding of sorts passing between them before Rafa finally tore his gaze from Novak’s and hesitantly walked down the hall, leaving the Serb with more questions than answers.

“Shut up, Djokovic. At least you got that much,” Andy complained later as they walked to lunch, having listened to Novak alternate between gloating and questioning Rafa’s intentions. “How’s that fair? You get concern and I get nothing. Most of the time Roger doesn’t even notice I exist.”

“That’s life,” Novak said smugly. He wasn’t about to tell Andy that he was dead wrong, that Roger knew he existed a lot more than he realized, because letting him know just wasn’t as much fun. He’d let him figure it out on his own. ‘Which will be never given how blind Roddick is,’ he thought before telling Andy, “I can’t help that I’m making progress with Rafa.”

“Yeah, well I’m still waiting for him to drop Roger and ask you.” Andy knew he had struck a nerve when a frown appeared on Novak’s face as doubt set in.

“He will,” Novak replied, voice laced with uncertainty.

Andy nodded; his eyebrow raised skeptically. Much as he hated to admit it, he hoped the other man was right, for both of their sakes.

It wasn’t until Monday of the third week that an unexpected opportunity presented itself.

As Henman droned on about tangents, Andy and Novak were passing notes back and forth whenever he had his back turned. While the rest of the class believed they were passing love notes, Mardy had the suspicion that was the furthest thing from the truth. If he had to guess, he would say they were more likely barbs being exchanged between the two. He could only shake his head, wondering how long they could keep this up before someone caught on to the ruse.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Andy began quickly gathering up his things, eager to get out as soon as possible. Before he could make a run for it, he was stopped by the voice of his teacher.

“Mr. Roddick, I’d like you to stay for a few moments. I have something I’d like to talk to you about,” Henman said, causing Andy to groan as he wondered what he’d done this time.

“In trouble again?”

“Shut up,” Andy said as he stopped next Novak’s desk, going out of his way to elbow him and earning a snicker from a Mardy.

Novak scowled. “That’s no way to treat your boyfriend.”

“Of course not, it was a total accident. I must have tripped on something,” Andy said innocently.

“Yeah, your own two feet,” Novak muttered under his breath, before adding, “I hope you’re okay. I’d hate for something to happen to you.”

Andy nodded. “It’s so cute how you worry about me,” he said, adding so only Novak could hear, “Even though you’d totally push me off a building if you ever got the chance.”

“Only because I know you feel the same way.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” He quickly walked towards Henman’s desk before Novak could say anything else. Putting the Serb out of his mind, he looked up at Henman and asked, “You wanted to see me?”

Waiting until the rest of the students had filed out, Henman said, “Yes, I wanted to speak to you about your grade in this class. You currently have a C in here, which although a passing grade, is not where I’d like to see you.”

Andy winced. He couldn’t say this came as a surprise, knowing exactly what was on the test he’d just gotten back, but it didn’t make it any easier to think about. “I know. I’ve been trying, really, I have. It’s just that math has never been my strong point. Numbers and I don’t exactly get along very well.”

Henman nodded. “Yes, well be that as it may, a poor score on one of the remaining tests could result in your failure in the course and subsequent inability to graduate. I just think it would be in your best interest to get some help. Perhaps a tutor would be of value.”

Nodding, Andy agreed. The last thing he wanted was to miss graduation over something as simple as a poor math grade. “Okay. Who do you recommend?” He was already running through the names of possible students in his head, praying Henman didn’t suggest Novak. He found it a struggle not to kill him as it was. Having the Serb for a tutor would be enough to send him over the edge.

Clearly pleased with Andy’s willingness to improve, Henman said, “You’re probably hoping for Mr. Djokovic, but I’m sorry to say I ruled that out given your current relationship. I fear little would get done.”

‘Thank God for small favors, though that wasn’t a mental image I needed,’ Andy thought, trying not to imagine what Henman thought would happen if he left the two alone. He’d just had lunch and he really didn’t want it to be making a repeat performance. Swallowing to keep the bile from rising in his throat, he nodded. “Understandable. I couldn’t agree more.”

“Really?” Henman asked, surprised at the eager acceptance. “I’m glad to see you taking your studies seriously. As I was saying, you will not be partnered with Mr. Djokovic, but I have found someone I feel is suitable. I have already talked to Mr. Federer and he has agreed to tutor you for the remainder of the year.”

The color drained from Andy’s face as his brain registered the name, the world seeming to stop. That was the one person he hadn’t even considered, though in retrospect he supposed he should have. He also wondered how he would ever manage to get through tutoring with Roger when he could barely manage coherent sentences. Just to make sure he had heard correctly, brain still reeling, he repeated, “Roger Federer?”

“Yes,” Henman confirmed slowly, noticing the sudden change that had come over him. “Why, is that a problem?”

“No,” was the quick and vehement denial, Andy furiously shaking his head. “No problem at all.” He knew the odds of him making a complete fool of himself in front of Roger were better than good, but he also knew not to pass up an opportunity to spend time with the other man. ‘Rafa-free time,’ his brain silently supplied.

“Good,” Henman said happy to have that resolved. “Then I leave it up to you and Mr. Federer to work out a schedule.”

Andy nodded. “Of course. Thank you, sir,” he said before walking out of the classroom.

“So?” Mardy asked him as soon as he exited the room, having waited for him near the bank of lockers by the door so he could get details, as well as Andy’s reaction.

Rolling his eyes as they headed down the hall, Andy scoffed. “Don’t act like you don’t know. You were waiting by the door, so you probably heard everything.”

Mardy didn’t even try to deny it. “Tutoring with Roger. That’s rough. But I think this could actually work in your favor.”

“How?” Andy asked, crossing his arms and looking at him as though he’d grown a second head.

It was a look Mardy returned, thinking there was no way his friend could be that dense. “Think about it, Andy. You’ll be spending time with him, just the two of you. It’ll give you a chance to get to know each other better, maybe even get him to return your feelings.”

“Yes, I’m sure he’ll just fall for my inept math skills,” was the sarcastic response.

“Don’t sell him short. Just be yourself and I’m sure it’ll be fine. What can it hurt?”

Andy slowly nodded his head as he considered the idea and realized just how right Mardy was. A smile formed on his face at the possibilities. “You know, I think you’re right. This is an opportunity and I need to go for it.”

“Okay, so when’s your first tutoring session?”

“No clue,” Andy said with a shrug. “I’m supposed to set something up with him.”

Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, Mardy grinned. “Well, don’t look now but I think this is your chance.”

“Huh?” Andy asked in confusion. Mardy pointed to his left and Andy turned, eyes widening as he saw Roger standing by his locker. “That’s my locker,” he said dumbly, causing Mardy to roll his eyes.

“No kidding, genius. Any other insights you want to share?” Mardy really wondered sometimes how his friend had managed to get through life so far.

Andy turned away from Roger, who had yet to notice him, and stared at Mardy with panic written on his face. “Roger Federer is at my locker,” he said in shock, adding, “Oh God, do you think he saw me?”

“Okay,” Mardy drew out, feeling like he was talking to a small child. “You realize you’re acting like a thirteen-year-old girl, right? I swear to God, I think you actually lose IQ points when he’s around. How’s this whole tutoring thing going to work when you can’t even look at him without freezing up?”

“I don’t know!” Andy exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down so as not to draw too much attention to himself, but clearly failing as he got some strange looks and a few raised eyebrows from some of the students walking past him. “I haven’t figured that out yet.”

Mardy shook his head in amusement. “Wow, you really do have it bad.” He started to walk away and towards where Roger was standing when Andy latched onto his arm, stopping him and pulling him back to where he’d been two steps before. “What?” he asked, though already having a good idea.

“I can’t go over there,” he hissed, making it sound like Mardy had just asked him to walk into a minefield.

“You’re going to have to face him sometime and it may as well be now,” Mardy tried to reason, watching as Andy shook his head vehemently.

“No. Can’t I just, I don’t know, wait until later? I haven’t even had time to think about this! I need a game plan.”

Mardy laughed, getting a glare in response. “Your English books are in your locker. You can’t just go to class without them.” When Andy appeared to actually be considering it, something that really didn’t surprise him, he added, “Well I’m not going to class without mine. You can do whatever you want, but Roger will think it’s strange if you don’t come.”

“What do you mean?” The panic was gone as it was replaced with confusion, only to return with Mardy’s next words.

“Oh, I don’t know. What could he possibly find strange about you avoiding him?” Sighing at Andy’s cluelessness, he explained. “He’s looking right at you. I don’t think you can dodge him any longer without making a fool of yourself. Well, a bigger fool,” he amended.

“I-I,” Andy stuttered, unable to form words, eyes appearing to all the world as though they were going to pop out of his head. He hated how Roger’s mere presence could turn him into a puddle of goo when most of the time he was never without something to say.

Rolling his eyes, Mardy grabbed his arm, trying to force him to move him towards Roger. “Come along, Romeo. Don’t make me drag you or you really will have something to be embarrassed about.”

Nodding his head, Andy forced his legs to turn him in the right direction, seeing Roger staring right at him and causing him to gulp. “You’re not going to leave me there, are you?”

“You have real abandonment issues, you know that?” Mardy asked in exasperation. “But in answer to your question, no. The last I checked, my locker is located right next to yours and as I said before, I need my books before I head to class. Unlike you, I’m not afraid of Roger.”

A sudden change came over Andy, shaking off the uncertain love-struck teenager demeanor as indignation set in. “I’m not afraid,” he insisted. Even as he said it, he knew the words weren’t entirely true.

“Oh no?” Mardy challenged, knowing full well Andy wouldn’t be able to resist. “Then prove it.”

Determination on his face, contradicting the butterflies in his stomach and the frantic beating of his heart, Andy walked past him and went straight up to Roger, ignoring Mardy shaking his head with a grin on his face as he continued to his own locker. He would prove to Mardy that he wasn’t afraid to talk to Roger. He’d just go right up to him, open his mouth and charm him with his wit and eloquent speech. Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do.

“Hi Roger,” Andy greeted. ‘Okay,’ he thought, both surprised and proud of himself for managing to get that out without stumbling over the words, ‘it’s not Shakespeare, but it’s something. At least it’s coherent.’

“Hello Andy,” Roger returned, his usual friendly smile present, the same one that made Andy weak in the knees and lose all of his bearings.

Andy swallowed as he felt his mouth start to go dry, trying hard not to completely lose it in front of Roger. ‘You can do this,’ he told himself before saying aloud, “I just talked to Henman and he, uh, says that you agreed to tutor me?”

Roger nodded. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yes,” Andy said, almost a little too eagerly, watching as Roger’s grin grew. “When would work for you?”

“Today, after school in the library?” Roger suggested.

“Okay,” Andy agreed, screaming at himself to say something else, yet unable to come up with anything else to say. It didn’t matter, however, for the opportunity was lost as Novak chose that moment to come over.

Standing next to Andy, placing an arm possessively around his shoulder, Novak smiled at him. “Hi there. I thought I’d walk with you to class.”

Andy raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “I thought you were upset with me.”

“You mean the elbow thing in math? Why would I be? As you said, it was an accident,” Novak said, pretending to shrug it off when they both knew he was actually plotting a way to get back at him.

“Okay,” Andy said skeptically, not believing him in the least.

Novak rolled his eyes. “So, can I walk you to class or does Mardy have that honor?” he asked, eyeing Mardy with distaste.

Hearing the hasty closing of a locker door, three sets of eyes focused on the man in question.

“Nope, go ahead,” Mardy agreed genially. “I was just leaving.”

Andy muttered something about friends who break promises and abandon people, causing Mardy to laugh.

“Two words: abandonment issues.” Mardy didn’t even wait for Andy’s response before he started down the hall.

“What was that about?” Novak asked in amusement.

“Nothing,” Andy denied far too quickly. “Absolutely nothing.”

Now it was Novak’s turn to laugh. This just got better and better. “You have abandonment issues?”

Andy glared at him, the nervousness he’d felt from being around Roger vanishing completely as anger took over. “You need to learn to mind your own business. I don’t have abandonment issues.”

Novak looked in the direction Mardy had gone as Andy finally turned his attention to his locker and got out his English texts. “That’s not what I heard.”

Slamming his locker door and turning back to Novak, Andy gritted out, “I don’t care if you are supposed to be my boyfriend, you’re not walking me to class.” He was about to leave when he remembered Roger silently standing there, watching the whole thing. Turning to him, some of his anger fading away, he said, “I’ll see you after school, Roger,” and proceeded to walk down the hall before Novak could say anything else.

Leaning against the now abandoned locker, arms crossed and a scowl on his face, Novak glanced over at Roger and noticed the smirk directed his way. ‘Roddick, you’re blind,’ he thought before saying, “Don’t even go there, Federer.”

Roger shook his head. “Wasn’t going to,” he said far too happily.

“You left me again,” Andy said, taking his seat next to Mardy in English and cutting him off when he opened his mouth. “And don’t say abandonment issues. I don’t have them.”

“Sure, you don’t,” Mardy sarcastically replied, staring at Andy who was refusing to look back. “And I left you because you appeared to be doing quite well on your own. How could you possibly need me when you had both Djokovic and Federer at your locker? The only person missing was -”

Andy’s head snapped in Mardy’s direction. “Don’t you dare say Sharapova. Anything but that.”

Mardy simply blinked for a moment as the name registered, finally bursting into laughter and causing Andy to groan. “I was going to say Nadal, but I suppose that works just as well. You realize you’re going to be the envy of all of the school as it is?”

“If they want Djokovic so badly, they can have him. Sharapova and Nadal too, while they’re at it.” He glared at his desk in the hopes no one else would try to talk to him. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side.

“First fight, huh?” Murray asked, stopping at Andy’s desk on his way to his own seat. Seeing Andy’s averted glare directed at him, he added, “Well, first since you became an item.”

“Became an item?” Sam Querrey repeated as he suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, sitting in front of Andy and turning in his seat to join the conversation. “Who the hell talks like that?”

“No one who isn’t a gossiping girl?” John Isner chimed in; taking the seat to Sam’s left, he mock-whispered, “I think they make you turn in your man card for that.”

“Apparently that includes British exchange students,” Sam added, getting a glare from Murray. “What? It’s true! You just used it. I bet you’re just waiting for them to start ‘going steady’ so Andy can give Djokovic his class ring to wear on a chain around his neck. Or would it be the other way around?”

Mardy choked on a laugh, muttering, “God, it’d be just like an episode of Happy Days. If Happy Days had been gay.”

“Except Murray’s no Fonz.”

John nudged Sam. “Be nice.”

“Why? He brought it on himself,” Sam defended. “Besides, he’s harassing Andy.”

“No, I’m not,” Murray said indignantly, trying not to sound like a five-year-old as Andy immediately declared he could stand up for himself just fine, thanks.

Mardy was finding the whole thing far too entertaining. “Play nice children.”

Groaning, Andy looked up at the ceiling as he wondered what he’d done to deserve this. He just knew that he should have listened to that voice in the back of his head telling him this was a bad idea, yet he’d chosen to squash it instead. Yes, he really needed a louder, more demanding conscience. Still staring up, as though expecting a response, he asked, “What do you want from me?”

“I was trying to be sympathetic and tell you that while Nole can be an arse, he can be a decent bloke if you give him the chance,” Murray explained despite the question being directed towards the heavens and a much higher being.

“Uh huh,” Andy said as he turned his gaze on him, tone making it clear he didn’t believe him. “And why are you telling me this?”

“He may be one of my best mates, but he’s utter crap at relationships,” the Scot replied. “I’d hate to see him botch this up because he can be thick at times.”

Rolling his eyes, Andy turned his gaze towards John and Sam. “Let me guess, you two wanted to offer your two cents as well.”

“I was just going to ask you about dance lessons,” John added in with a shrug, not caring like Murray whether his input was appreciated or not.

Murray looked at Andy confused. “You’re giving dance lessons?”

Mardy broke out laughing, confusing Murray further, amusing John and Sam, and causing Andy to roll his eyes. “Andy, dance? He’s the worst dancer I’ve ever seen, and I mean the worst.”

“Yeah,” Sam added with a smirk. “John offered to help him out, not the other way around.”

“Thanks,” Andy dryly replied. “You two are great friends. I bet you kick puppies in your spare time for fun.”

“Okay, that’s just wrong,” John said, the mental image sticking in his head and making him cringe. “But the offer still stands.”

Andy eyed him skeptically as a thought hit him. “You know how to dance? Since when? I remember you stepping on Woz’s foot at homecoming last year when you agreed to dance with her. We were sure you broke it and you swore you were never going to dance again.”

“Isn’t that a George Michael song?” Murray asked as Mardy and Andy started singing, causing Sam and John to wince. “Okay, I retract the question. Just stop.”

John groaned at the thought of that night, as well as the way his friends were butchering a song he had liked, up until that moment. “Guys, you still can’t sing, and I don’t even want to think about homecoming. Look, it’s a long story, but I took lessons.”

“His mother made him,” Sam translated. “She didn’t want him subjecting anyone else to that kind of torture.”

“Thanks for that,” John said wryly. Turning back to Andy, he added, “But he’s right.”

Sam nodded. “And it seems with the right instruction, he can dance. Maybe that’s all you need.”

“You don’t know how to dance?” Novak asked, having just walked over and caught the tail end of the conversation. “You better learn if we’re going to prom. No date of mine is going to be waltzing across my toes.”

“Andy doesn’t know how to waltz,” Mardy muttered under his breath to a chorus of snickers.

“Where the hell is Connors? Class was supposed to start five minutes ago,” Andy commented out of nowhere as he noticed the time, wishing the man would show up so class could start, and this personal hell could end. He then turned his gaze to Novak, defiantly asking, “And who says I’m going with you anyway?”

Novak snickered. “ADD much? In case you forgot, you agreed when I asked you two weeks ago.”

Raising an eyebrow, Andy replied, “Yeah, but that was two weeks ago, before you decided to treat me like crap. Why should I still go with you?”

Novak looked at him incredulously. “Because you’re my boyfriend. Who the hell else are you going with?”

“I could always stay home,” Andy threatened.

“Home?” Novak couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “It’s the biggest event of senior year, outside of graduation, and you want to stay at home?”

“Thank you!” Mardy said, practically shouting. “That’s what I said.”

Murray shook his head. “You have to go,” he insisted. “Don’t let something Nole said destroy your relationship and ruin your year.”

“Great, Murray’s turned into freaking Dr. Phil and is giving me advice on my love life,” Andy muttered, adding, “Remind me, how’s that working for you?”

Murray chose to ignore Andy’s sarcasm and tried reasoning with him instead. “If you break up with him every time he says or does something daft, this relationship will never go anywhere.”

“Hey!” Novak cried in indignation, Andy laughing for the first time since this whole mess had started, thinking maybe Murray wasn’t so bad after all.

Murray shrugged. “It’s true. You do say and do a lot of asinine things. You can be a right prat when you want to be. Now apologize to him or you’re going to be dateless as well.”

Novak glared at him, wanting to protest, but instead he turned to Andy and ground out, “I’m sorry for what I said. Will you please still go to prom with me?”

Everyone looked at Andy expectantly as he considered it. Although he really wanted to say no, he knew that that would destroy the plan they’d come up with, something the two of them had almost managed through their own stupidity. Realizing there was only one thing to do, he begrudgingly said, “Fine, I will.”

Murray smiled, Sam tried to stifle a laugh, John rolled his eyes and Mardy shook his head, turning his attention to his desk where he was writing something.

“It appears my work here is done,” Murray said in self-satisfaction. Looking at Novak warningly, he added, “Try not to do this again. I can’t keep sorting out your cock-ups.” He then walked across the room to take his seat, Novak following behind complaining about how it wasn’t really his fault.

“Murray’s humbleness astounds me,” Sam said shaking his head, having expected no less, John laughing in response.

Connors chose that moment to enter the room, apologizing for his tardiness and asking everyone to take their seats as Andy thought about how he’d never been so happy to see the man before in his life. His musings were soon interrupted, however, as Mardy quickly passed him the paper he’d been writing on while Connors had his back turned to the board. Unfolding it, he read the note that had been scribbled out.

‘It’s only been two weeks and you two are already on the verge of collapse. If you don’t get it together soon, there is no way this is going to work for the next month and a half.’ Here Andy rolled his eyes as he imagined Mardy saying, “I told you so” before reading on. ‘Thank God Murray was able to fix things even if he doesn’t know the full extent of what he’s fixed. You can’t count on that always being the case. I know you hate Djokovic, but either call a truce with him or drop this plan all together. The people at this school may be blind, but they’re not all stupid and someone will catch on.’

He was about to write a reply when he noticed something a little farther down the page.

‘And for the love of God, let John teach you how to dance. If by some miracle this works, you don’t want to be stepping on Roger’s toes all night.’

Rolling his eyes, Andy hastily scribbled down two words, ‘Okay mother’, and managed to return the paper to Mardy without getting caught, receiving an exasperated sigh and shake of the head in return. Moving his gaze from Mardy to Novak, Andy groaned. He knew Mardy was right, that if he wanted this plan to succeed the two of them would have to reach an understanding of sorts, and he was desperate enough to get Roger that he was willing to do just about anything. ‘Even if it means getting along with Djokovic,’ he thought. Oh, he’d do it, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. Somehow, he got the feeling the Serb would agree with him on that.

Chapter Text

“You’re in a hurry,” Mardy commented, leaning against his own locker as he watched Andy frantically tossing books in while pulling other books out and shoving them haphazardly into his bag.

“Yeah,” was the short response, cursing as his math book slid out of his grasp and fell to the floor.

Mardy shook his head, leaning down to pick it up while Andy sorted through the rest of his items, handing the book to him with an eyebrow raised. “Slow down. Didn’t anyone ever tell you haste makes waste?”

Andy rolled his eyes. “Thank you, Benjamin Franklin, but I don’t have time.” The last thing he wanted was to make a bad impression on Roger by showing up late.

“It takes less than two minutes to get from here to the library and that’s if you walk it. Knowing you, you’ll run all the way, so I think you’re good,” Mardy assured, getting a look of exasperation in return. “I’m honestly more concerned with how you’re going to manage talking to him. It’s amazing just how flustered he makes you. I’ll have to ask him how he does it.”

“Are you accusing me of having a big mouth?” Andy asked in mock annoyance.

“Around Roger? No, but around the rest of us? Well, if the shoe fits…” Mardy answered his own question with a shrug, getting a small smile and a gentle nudge in return. “I’ve said it before, Andy. Just be yourself and he can’t help but like you.”

Sighing, Andy nodded. “Yeah, sounds like a plan. Now if I can just get my brain to work and not draw a total blank, I might be able to do this.”

Mardy patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. “You’ll be fine. Just remember, he’s human just like the rest of us.” As Andy started to dispute that, he held up a hand, effectively silencing him. “No, I guarantee that behind that perfect veneer there is an actual person. He seems perfect to the rest of the school because they idolize him. He seems perfect to you because you… Well, let’s just leave it at that.”

Andy gave him a small smile in appreciation. “Thanks, Mardy.”

“Don’t mention it,” he replied, waving it off as nothing. “It’s what I’m here for. But this time you really should be going. You don’t want to be late, right?”

“Damn it, Mardy,” he cursed, grabbing his things, closing his locker and taking off down the hall, oblivious to Mardy shaking his head.

“Don’t be late for practice,” Mardy called after him. “Courier will be mad if his star player’s not there.”

Andy winced as he remembered the hell that he’d been put through the last time he’d been late. The memory alone had been enough to ensure it was never a problem again.

Slowing down upon reaching his destination, he took a moment to collect himself, thinking through all of the things Mardy had told him in an attempt to calm him down. Realizing he couldn’t put it off any longer, he walked into the library, looked around and noticed Roger sitting at a table near the back, flipping through a book and jotting down what he assumed were notes on a piece of paper. He was nervous, but he took a deep breath and headed over, desperately hoping he didn’t do anything to completely embarrass himself.

As Andy was depositing his bag on the table, Roger looked up from what he was doing and smiled the moment he saw who had joined him, noticing as the American glanced at his watch. “You’re not late. I have study hall at the end of the day and requested to spend it here instead,” he explained as he closed his books and packed them in his bag, pulling out his math text and calculator in the process.

Nodding, Andy took the seat next to Roger, unzipped his bag and grabbed the items he needed, not saying a word. When Roger didn’t say anything, he glanced over and noticed the Swiss watching him intently. “What?” he finally asked, curious as to why he was being stared at in that way. It was somewhat unnerving.

A grin appeared on Roger’s face. “I wondered how long it would be before you said something. I notice you don’t say much when I’m around.”

Andy shrugged. “Yeah, well maybe I don’t talk much.”

Shaking his head, Roger disagreed. “No, you do, just not to me. With everyone else, it’s hard getting you to shut up. What makes me different?”

‘How am I supposed to respond to that?’ he thought. “Well, you’re you and I’m me.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Roger wasn’t offended so much as confused by the answer.

Sighing, Andy explained. “You’re Roger Federer; captain of the soccer team, senior class president and straight-A student. It’s like there’s nothing you can’t do. And I’m… I’m just Andy; another student who happens to go to school here.”

Completely dumbstruck by Andy’s revelation, Roger asked, “Is that really how you view it? That I’m above you?”

Andy laughed incredulously. “No, that’s how everyone views it,” he answered honestly. “We’re from two different worlds. It’s like you’re on the A-list and I’m on the… Is there something lower than Z?”

“You’re wrong, you know,” Roger disagreed, surprising him. “You’re not just Andy, you’re more than that.”

Andy eyed him skeptically. “Oh yeah? Tell me how you figure that.”

“Okay,” Roger complied. “You’re the star of the basketball team.”

“Which would mean something if the people in this school cared about basketball half as much as they care about soccer,” Andy disputed. “The soccer team is high school royalty and the basketball team is… Well, it’s something the students can get behind while they wait for soccer to start again.”

“So, you’re saying there’s a difference?” Roger asked, sounding like he already knew the answer.

Andy nodded. “Think about it, Roger. We don’t exactly run in the same social circles.”

“You’re dating Djokovic,” Roger countered.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t take a genius to see how that hierarchy works.” Getting an inquisitive stare from Roger, one asking for further explanation, he complied. “He’s the worst player on the team and he sits at one end of the table. You and Rafa, the two best players, sit at the other. You want to tell me I’m reading too much into that? Best case, I’m running in the very bottom of the social circle you reign over simply because of who I’m dating. We couldn’t be farther apart if we had an ocean separating us.”

Instead of getting upset with him as Andy had expected, Roger just laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Andy asked, not getting it.

“You,” Roger answered, smile on his face. “I think that’s the most you’ve said to me ever.”

“Huh,” Andy said, surprised by how easily the conversation was flowing between them. Maybe Mardy had a point. “I suppose it is.”

Roger opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly stopped as something caught his attention, smile fading. Instead, he nodded in the direction he was looking. “There’s your boyfriend.”

Turning his attention to where Roger was indicating, Andy saw right away what had caught the other man’s attention and groaned, knowing this couldn’t possibly end well. The second the Serb reached their table, he asked him, “What are you doing here?” Thoughts of strangling the other man passed through his head.

“I came to see you,” Novak said with a grin, taking the seat across from Andy.

“Okay…” Andy drew out, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Cocking his head as though thinking long and hard, Novak finally said, “You know, Murray’s right. I haven’t been treating you the way you deserve, and I’d like a chance to make up for it.”

“But you did make up for it,” Andy pointed out, trying to hide his annoyance. He’d been expecting something like this, especially after being humiliated earlier, but that didn’t make it any easier. “Remember in English? You apologized then.”

Novak shook his head. “That wasn’t enough. Those were just words. I want to show you I’m sorry.”

‘I’m really going to regret this,’ Andy thought before asking, “Just what do you have in mind?”

Appearing for all the world like the cat who got the canary, Novak answered, “I want everyone to see just how much I love you.”

Andy paled. “Uh, really, that’s okay. I believe you.”

Pulling a sheet out of his pocket, Novak unfolded it. “No, I want to do this for you. It’ll only take a moment.”

Before Andy could protest further, Novak jumped up from his seat, walked over to the center of the library where he climbed up onto the nearest table and loudly cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention. “As you all know, Andy and I have been dating for a while now. What you may not know is that I hurt him today through my insensitive actions, but I want to make it up to him.” He then turned his attention to the American. “Andy, I’d like to recite a poem telling you just how much you mean to me.”

As everyone looked at him, the girls gushing over how incredibly cute it was and the guys snickering in amusement, Andy turned bright red and groaned, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him, though not before he had a chance to kill the man causing his embarrassment. Better yet, maybe the floor would open up and swallow Novak.

After a moment’s pause for effect, Novak looked down at the sheet and began reading, everyone’s attention shifting back to him. “‘How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…’”

‘Oh, God, make it stop,’ Andy thought, chancing a glance at Roger. The Swiss appeared stunned by what he was seeing, no other reaction forthcoming, resulting in Andy quickly averting his gaze back to the Serb who was contently and dramatically droning on as his eyes never left the paper in his left hand, waving his right around for emphasis. Swallowing, Andy sunk down in his seat, hoping the action would allow him to disappear.

“It’s a bit much,” Roger commented, causing Andy to snap his head in his direction.

Andy nodded. “More than a bit,” he muttered. He then glanced around the library, adding, “Where’s the librarian when you need her?”

“If he’s trying to make amends, why the theatrics?” Roger asked in confusion. “He’s clearly embarrassing you.”

Andy looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “This is Djokovic we’re talking about.”

Roger simply nodded his head in agreement, unable to dispute the statement.

“‘…I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, --- and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death,’” Novak finally concluded to a chorus of applause, taking a dramatic bow and turning back to stare at Andy smugly. Receiving an annoyed look in return, he jumped down and made his way back to the table, sitting again and waiting for the American’s reaction.

“You stole that from Elizabeth Barrett Browning,” Andy accused, less than impressed and earning a small snicker from Roger.

Novak shrugged. “I never claimed to be a poet, only that the words expressed my thoughts. However, if you’d like me to give it a try, I think I can come up with something.”

“No!” Andy immediately declined. “That’s really not necessary. The message came through loud and clear.” And it did, one he wouldn’t soon forget. Calling a truce was going to be harder than he anticipated considering the current situation. ‘If Roger wasn’t here, I’d kill him right now.’

“Good,” was the reply as Novak refolded the paper and put it away. “That’s what I was hoping for.”

Andy rolled his eyes. “Wonderful, but don’t you have somewhere else you have to be?”

“You sound like you’re trying to get rid of me,” Novak said amusedly, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back comfortably in his chair. “Now why on earth would that be?”

Sighing as he realized Novak wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, Andy was about to resort to begging him to leave, something that the Serb would no doubt lord over him for the rest of eternity. Right now, he didn’t really care, desperate to get rid of him.

Fortunately, he was spared the humility as Roger suddenly spoke up.

“We’re working on the homework for pre-calc.”

Novak stared at the pair for a moment, but then his face lit up as something clicked. “So that’s what Henman kept you after class for. If you need help in math, why didn’t you ask me? Why didn’t he ask me?” he added, slightly insulted that their teacher hadn’t thought of him over Roger, who was now smirking at him in the most infuriating way.

Andy raised an eyebrow. “Because he was afraid we wouldn’t be able to keep our hands off each other.”

“He thought about us fucking? I don’t know how to feel about that,” Novak said, paling at the thought.

“I know, it’s pretty disturbing,” Andy found himself agreeing. “But now that you know what I’m doing, do you think you could leave? You wouldn’t want me to fail, right?” Seeing a mischievous glint in Novak’s eyes, he thought, ‘I swear to God, you better leave now, or I will reach across the table and strangle you with my bare hands.’ He began impatiently tapping out a rhythm on the table’s surface just to keep from doing that very thing.

Smirking at the American’s impatience, Novak cocked his head. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I wanted that? Of course, I can leave. I’ll see you later.” His tone made it clear that this was far from over, but he kept his word. Getting up out of his chair, he walked over to stand behind Andy, leaning down and whispering in his ear, “You’re blind, Roddick, completely blind. Maybe you should try opening your eyes.” Ignoring the confused look Andy was shooting him, he gave Roger a nod and left.

‘What the hell did that mean?’ Andy thought to himself, but his mind quickly went elsewhere as he turned back towards Roger and noticed him staring after the departing Serb. For a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw something akin to jealousy in his eyes, but almost instantly, it vanished. Positive his mind was playing tricks on him, he decided not to give it anymore thought and pushed it away, turning back to the subject at hand. “Sorry about him. He can be, well…” he trailed off, not sure how to appropriately finish that statement, though several inappropriate words came to mind.

Snapping his attention back to Andy, Roger waved his apology off. “It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault.”

Andy simply nodded, wanting nothing more than to kill Novak for interrupting what had been a nice and comfortable conversation with Roger. ‘The first and only time that’s ever happened,’ his brain supplied bitterly as he silently seethed.

“Hmm,” Roger said thoughtfully, causing Andy to stare at him curiously. “Maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to forgive him. You’re quiet again.”

Sighing, Andy said, “It’s not you. I’m just thinking what an idiot he is.”

Roger chuckled. “I take it he annoys you.”

“He annoys everyone,” Andy stated and they both knew it was true. “Dating him doesn’t change that, it just means I get to deal with it more than everyone else.”

“Then why are you dating him?”

Leaning back in his chair, Andy crossed his arms as he thought about it. “Honestly?” he asked after a while, getting a nod in return. “I sometimes wonder. He drives me crazy, infuriates me even to the point I could scream.” He then shook his head with a smile on his face, adding, “But then I remember all of the reasons I started going out with him in the first place and I realize no matter what he does, it’s all worth it in the end.” And as he thought about just what those reasons were, he knew that it was the truth.

For several minutes, Roger didn’t say anything, causing Andy to wonder if he’d said something wrong. Then, suddenly, he broke the silence by saying, “That’s actually kind of sweet.”

“You really think so?” Andy asked.

Roger nodded. “I do. If anything, I wish someone would say something like that about me.”

“I bet a lot of people feel that way about you, they just don’t say it to your face.” Seeing the skeptical look that he was getting, he added, “Oh come on, you’re Roger Federer! Most of this school worships you.”

“We’re back to that again,” Roger said, amused.

Andy shrugged. “Hey, at least we’re talking. That’s what you wanted, right?”

“It is,” Roger admitted. Noticing the math text in front of him, he added, “Although maybe I should be helping you with your math skills instead of discussing your relationship.”

Raising an eyebrow, Andy asked, “Skills? What skills? When it comes to math, it’s all Greek to me.”

“Let’s see if we can change that,” the Swiss said. “So that I know where to start, what’s been giving you the most trouble?”

“Uh, everything?” He had decided that honesty was the way to go on this one. There was no point lying since the truth would come out anyway.

Roger chuckled. “I think I’m beginning to see why Mr. Henman wanted you to get some help. How do you manage?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Andy answered.

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Why don’t we start with today’s lesson on tangents and go from there?” Roger suggested.

Andy nodded. “Okay.”

Cracking open their books, the two got started, Roger explaining and Andy attempting to apply it, trying to keep his mind on what was being said and not on the person saying it.

Meanwhile, Novak was sitting on a bench outside of the school, working on his own homework. When a shadow fell across his book, he laid it and his pen down. Glancing up, he found himself staring at Rafa.

“You are sitting out here,” Rafa stated obviously. “Why?”

Novak held up his worn copy of Crime and Punishment, getting a raised eyebrow and a grin from Rafa at seeing the book’s condition. The worn spine, torn cover and dog-eared pages were proof it had seen better days.

“You need to take better care of your books,” Rafa chastised, adding, “But you are working here. Why not the library?”

“Because I was kicked out of the library,” Novak answered with a grin.

Rafa nodded knowingly. “Ah, Roger and Andy, no?”

“Yes,” Novak begrudgingly admitted. “How did you know that?”

“I know you,” was the simple reply. Seeing the confusion on Novak’s face, he added, “Roger tell me he is helping Andy. Was not hard to figure out you bother them.”

“You know me that well?” Novak asked sardonically.

“You are my best friend,” Rafa answered honestly, adding, “and I see what you did. You embarrass him, no?” Getting a somewhat guilty nod in response, he said, “Is ok. Is thought that counts.”

Novak didn’t want to mention that if it was the thought that counted, it was probably far worse than it appeared, but that was the least of his concerns. Although he was touched to know Rafa thought so highly of him, it also hurt to know that he would never be any more than a best friend. Swallowing the bitter disappointment those words brought, he quickly pushed it from his mind and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for Roger.”

He tried not to wince, thinking, ‘Of course he is.’

“You are waiting for Andy, no?” Rafa asked him when he didn’t say anything. When he nodded, Rafa said, “Is nice, Nole.”

Novak blushed despite himself. “You know why I’m out here. Why are you? Did they kick you out as well?”

Rafa laughed, shaking his head. “No. Is nice what Roger is doing. I didn’t want to disturb them, so I come out here.”

“Since we’re both waiting, do you want to sit with me?” He froze as soon as the words had left his mouth, heart beating as he feared rejection.

Hesitating for a moment, Rafa considered it before finally shaking his head. “No. You are busy. I would distract you. I should probably leave.”

As Rafa started to do just that, Novak quickly called out to him. “Wait!”

Rafa stopped and turned back around, staring at him inquisitively.

“Don’t go. We can talk. I was getting tired of this book anyway.” As he said it, he tossed the book to the side, not caring as it slid across the bench and to the ground.

Giving him a look that said he wasn’t really surprised, Rafa walked over and picked up the book, carefully placing it in Novak’s bag since he clearly didn’t trust the Serb to do it. Then, picking the bag up, he moved it and took the spot on the bench it had previously occupied, placing his own bag carefully on the ground next to him. “It’s been awhile,” he admitted.

Novak shrugged, trying to pretend it didn’t bother him that he’d lost not only his unrequited crush but also his best friend over the last few weeks. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Roger. It’s fine.”

“No,” Rafa was quick to disagree. “You are my friend. I should have time for you.”

“But Roger comes first, I understand.” And he did. If he had been in a relationship with Rafa, or God forbid a real relationship with Andy, he’d have less time for his friends. Yes, he understood, but it didn’t mean it hurt any less.

“He is different,” Rafa said, “not first. I need to be a better friend and make time.”

“We have time now,” Novak pointed out.

Rafa nodded his agreement with a grin. “We do. Tell me everything I miss.”

For the first time since before this had all started, the two sat there and talked as though the last two weeks had never happened, and if Novak smiled just a little brighter, neither noticed.

“…I think I’ve got it.”

“You have the right answer. Again,” Roger said as he looked over Andy’s work.

“I do?” Andy asked hopefully.

“Ja,” the Swiss answered, earning a small smile from the American and offering a smile in return.

Andy shook his head in amazement. “Wow. I can’t believe my homework’s finished, let alone that I got it right. You’re amazing, Roger.” Then, realizing what he’d just said, he blushed and averted his gaze.

Roger laughed. “No, I only showed you what you were doing wrong and explained how to fix it. You worked the problems yourself,” he said as he stretched and glanced at his watch. Seeing how long they’d been there, he added, “We’ve been sitting here about an hour. I think that’s enough for today. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes,” Andy eagerly agreed, tossing down his pencil and closing his book. Realizing how that probably sounded, he immediately snapped his head up and said, “I mean… Well, math has never been my thing. I’m just not very good at it like you are, not that there’s anything wrong with that, and…” Finding himself rambling, he trailed off, adding, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s fine,” Roger assured, Andy telling he meant it. “I’m really not offended. Math isn’t for everyone, though I wouldn’t say you’re bad at it.”

Andy scoffed. “Yeah right; Henman wanted you to help me for a reason and it’s because I suck at math. There’s just something about the numbers that escapes me.”

Roger shook his head in disagreement, having seen what the American was capable of accomplishing. “You were doing just fine a few minutes ago. I think the problem isn’t so much that you’re bad at it as you have a hard time focusing in class and applying yourself. Maybe you’re bored or you just don’t have an interest in it. Either way, you’re a lot smarter than people give you credit for.”

Sitting there totally stunned, Andy felt his heart swell at that. Roger had just complimented him and thought he was smart? “Wow. Really?” he finally managed to ask.

“Really,” Roger answered sincerely.

Andy couldn’t help it as a brilliant smile broke out on his face at hearing that. “No one’s ever said that before. Thanks.” He suddenly felt like an awestruck teenage girl, something that wasn’t unusual for him when around Roger, though Roger didn’t seem to notice. Or if he did, he didn’t say anything.

“You’re welcome,” Roger replied. Then, as he remembered the time, he packed up his things and stood up, saying, “I should be going. I’m supposed to be meeting Rafa.”

Feeling like someone had just punched him in the stomach and knocked the air out of him, Andy nodded his head at that admission, trying not to show the pain that statement caused. “Yeah, of course. I should probably be going as well. Basketball practice.”

“Right, I can’t have you late for that,” Roger said as Andy began packing up his things. “Same time and place tomorrow?”

Andy nodded, pausing and looking up from what he was doing. “Sounds good.” He wanted to take whatever he could get from Roger.

“Good,” Roger echoed, offering him a smile. “Tomorrow then.”

Watching Roger walk away and out of the library, Andy softly said, “Yeah, tomorrow.”

He packed up the rest of his things, grabbed his bag and slowly walked out of the library, heading to his locker to drop off his math book. As he walked down the hall, he looked to his left and happened to see Roger and Rafa talking by what Andy knew to be Roger’s locker, Roger laughing at something Rafa was saying. Seeing that only served to make his heart ache more, his brain screaming that no, he was not going to cry, but as Roger suddenly looked his way and their eyes locked, Andy found it was a losing battle. He quickly averted his eyes and continued his way down the hall, surprised to feel a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he came face to face with Novak.

“Where did you come from?” Andy blurted out.

“I was standing outside the library, but you obviously didn’t see me,” Novak explained. “So, I followed you.”

“Oh,” was all Andy said, turning back around and continuing his trek, the Serb keeping pace.

“It hurts, doesn’t it,” Novak said sympathetically, his eyes showing the same pain Andy felt. “Seeing those two together,” he added when Andy failed to say anything.

Reaching his destination and opening his locker, Andy nodded, having never thought they could agree on something. “Yeah and it sucks. But what are you doing here?”

“What, I’m not allowed to wait for my boyfriend?” he asked, trying to lighten the situation, but falling flat all the same. Sighing, he said, “Okay, here’s the thing. For this to work we need to be able to get along, at least for the next few weeks.”

Gesturing back in the direction of the library, Andy asked, “Then what was that in there?”

Novak shrugged. “Just some payback for earlier.”

“And you think that makes us even?” was the skeptical reply.

“Oh, I think so,” Novak said confidently. Getting a glare from Andy, he added, “Especially based on the looks Roger was sending me.”

Andy felt his stomach drop. “What?”

“Clearly he dislikes me,” Novak explained.

“So do I,” Andy pointed out, “but that doesn’t prove anything.”

Novak rolled his eyes. “You don’t view me as a threat. He does. I think he’s jealous.”

Putting his books in his locker and closing it, Andy shook his head. “There is no way.”

“Oh, but there is,” Novak insisted. “I think you’re getting to him. Or at least my being with you is.”

“Fine, we’ll call it even,” Andy conceded, even if he didn’t necessarily believe the Serb. “Where does that leave us?”

Dead serious, Novak answered, “I want to call a truce. A real one this time.”

“Did Mardy send you a note too?” Andy asked, not in the least surprised.

“How do you think I knew you were in the library with Roger? You didn’t say anything,” Novak said irritably. Then, as though remembering what he’d just said moments before, he added, “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

Andy thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. He had to be hearing things, right? “Did you really just apologize?” he asked in disbelief. “That actually sounded like you meant it.”

“I can take it back and start insulting you again if that would make you feel better,” he offered.

“No, that’s okay,” Andy immediately declined. “But you’re right. We’re going about this the wrong way. As much as it pains me to admit it, we have to be able to work together, otherwise the only thing we get out of this is one-way trip to the ER. I guess that means we’re on the same team now.”

“Team, huh?” Novak asked amused.

Andy nodded. “I help you and you help me. The way it was supposed to be before we started trying to kill each other.”

“Let me make sure I have this straight. No more embarrassing displays of affection, outside of what’s strictly necessary, and no more physical abuse?”

“That pretty much covers it,” Andy confirmed. “That work for you?”

Novak smirked. “Oh, I think so. Nice to see we’re in agreement on this. Who knows? You might even realize I’m not such a bad guy.”

“Okay, don’t push it,” Andy said crossing his arms.

Shrugging, Novak said, “It was worth a shot.”

“Look, as fun as this has been, I really have to get going. Courier is going to kill me if I’m late,” Andy said with a sigh. Seeing the look on Novak’s face, he added, “Don’t get any ideas.”

Novak rolled his eyes, but then an idea hit him, and his face lit up. “Are you meeting with Federer after school every day?”

“I think so.” He hadn’t set anything in stone, but that was the basic understanding he and Roger had come to.

“Hmm…” Novak said with a maniacal grin on his face.

Andy noticed and frowned. “What’s with that look? I don’t like that look. What are you plotting this time?”

“You want to make him jealous, right?” Getting a nod, he continued. “And I want to make Rafa jealous, but we haven’t gotten very far.”

“So?” Andy asked, wishing he’d get on with it.

“So I have a better idea.”

Considering it, Andy nodded. “Okay, but walk and talk,” he demanded, taking off for the gym with Novak on his heels. “What do you have in mind?”

Chapter Text

Novak’s plan had been quite simple.

“Divide and conquer. We need them to spend less time with each other and more time with us.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Andy questioned him skeptically.

“If today was anything to go by, Roger was jealous. He was,” he insisted just as Andy opened his mouth to deny it. “And I think we can use it to our advantage. All I have to do is walk you to the library every afternoon, drop you off with Roger, and then return an hour later to pick you up.”

Andy could see the plan had some merit, even if he didn’t believe the Swiss was jealous. That still left him with one question. “And what do you get out of this?”

“Besides the enjoyment of antagonizing Roger and knowing he’s actually jealous of me for a change?” Novak asked with a smirk. “Think about it. While I’m waiting for you, Rafa is waiting for Roger. That is one hour I can spend with him without Federer around.”

Coming to a stop in front of the door to the locker rooms, Andy mulled it over. “You know, that might just work.”

Novak grinned. “Exactly. But I think we can manage better than that.” Getting a nod to continue, he asked, “Who’s your partner for the history project?”

“The one McEnroe hasn’t even assigned yet? I don’t know. I haven’t even started the paper he did assign.”

“Typical,” Novak muttered, rolling his eyes. “You’re working with Roger now.”

Now it was Andy’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Why, because you say so? He’ll work with Rafa. He always works with Rafa, which limits my options to you and Mardy. Excuse me if I’d rather work with my best friend.”

“He won’t work with Rafa if someone else partners up with Rafa first,” Novak argued.

“Yeah, because that last plan of yours worked so well,” Andy replied sarcastically.

Novak groaned. “You’re an idiot, Roddick. I told you it is working. At least it is for you. Federer will be yours in no time, just wait and see. I’m the one who isn’t making any progress. Rafa still only sees me as a friend.”

‘And he thinks I’m the idiot,’ Andy thought as he remembered the way Rafa seemed to light up whenever Novak was around. Although he knew Novak would deny it as nothing more than the Spaniard happily greeting a friend, he also knew that no one including Roger warranted a smile that bright. Rolling his eyes, he considered Novak’s proposition, slowly nodding. “Okay. It’s simple, but I suppose it could work.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you,” Novak said, resulting in Andy just shaking his head as he pushed open the door and left the Serb standing behind in the hall.

It really had seemed so simple, but now that it was time to put the plan into action, Andy was beginning to have his doubts. After all, things rarely were as simple as they seemed.

‘Especially when Djokovic is involved,’ he told himself.

Tuesday morning Andy found himself struggling to open his locker. Again.

“Would you relax, Roddick?” Novak asked as he leaned against the bank of lockers, frustration mixing with a hint of amusement. “All you have to do is be yourself. On second thought, that might be the problem.”

Andy dropped the lock he’d been fiddling with and turned to face him. “Shut up, okay? I’m not nervous.” Getting a raised eyebrow in reply, he insistently added, “I’m not!”

“You’re fidgeting,” Novak pointed out.

“I’m trying to open my locker, but the damn lock won’t open.” As he said it, he turned back and tugged on the resisting piece of metal, flinging it out of his hands as it still refused to budge, watching in annoyance as it clanged against the locker door, holding its death grip on the latch.

Shaking his head, Novak impatiently pushed Andy aside, saying, “Of course it won’t. Not when you’re trying to open it like that. Here, let me try.” He picked up the lock and was about to turn the dial when he realized something. Turning to look at Andy, who was smirking at him, he said, “Don’t even say it.”

“Oh, so you don’t want to know the combination for the lock?” Andy asked nonchalantly. “That’s fine.”

“God you’re infuriating. You know what I meant,” Novak hastily explained, getting a chuckle in return. As the combination was recited to him, he turned the dial to the corresponding numbers, giving it a tug following the last one. When it failed to open, just as Andy had predicted, he tugged again, harder this time. Still it refused to budge. “Open up you fucking piece of metal!” he started to curse at it.

Andy broke into laughter at the Serb’s struggles. “I told you,” he got out between laughs.

Novak dropped the lock and turned to him. “Yes, that’s incredibly helpful,” he replied dryly.

“You two are actually getting along,” Mardy said, startling both of them. “Or at least you’re not trying to kill each other anymore. I can’t believe it.”

“Yeah,” Andy agreed. “We came to a mutual understanding.”

“One that’s very beneficial,” Novak added, making it clear that he was only doing this for his own personal gain and not out of some desire to help the American.

“As long as neither one of you ends up in intensive care, I don’t care what you do,” Mardy replied, opening his locker with ease and changing out his books. It was obvious he was skeptical but wasn’t going to question it. Then, noticing Andy standing there, no books in hand and his locker shut, he added, “I see your locker’s giving you fits again.”

Andy nodded. “It’s the lock. It’s just so temperamental.”

“Like you,” Novak added without missing a beat.

“As though you’re any better,” Andy retorted, effectively shutting Novak up.

“If only Roger were here,” Mardy teased as he closed his locker. “He could open it for you.”

“Yeah,” Andy said with a sigh, wishing it were so before going back to tugging on the lock, cursing every so often as he did so.

Novak laughed. “Does cursing really help the situation?”

“It makes me feel better, so yes,” was the reply, futilely continuing in his quest to get his books.

Mardy rolled his eyes and walked off down the hall, leaving Andy to curse at his locker while Novak watched on in amusement. Seeing Roger and Rafa standing at the Spaniard’s locker talking, he approached them, the two immediately quieting upon noticing his presence.

“Hello Mardy,” Rafa kindly greeted. “You need something?”

Nodding, Mardy replied, “Yes, I was wondering if I could borrow Roger for a moment.” Getting an inquisitive glance from the Swiss, he explained. “Andy’s lock is stuck again and he’s going to be late for class if he can’t get his books out. Since you were able to get it last time, I was wondering if you could help.”

Upon hearing Andy’s name, Roger’s face lit up. “Sure,” he automatically replied before remembering something, or rather, someone. Turning to Rafa, he asked, “Uh, do you mind?”

Rafa chuckled at the sheepish expression on the man’s face and shook his head. “No. I see you in class. Go. Help Andy.”

Roger smiled appreciatively at him before quickly heading over to the American’s locker where said American was cursing as he twisted the metal every which way. “I don’t think that’s going to work,” he said, causing Andy to groan and drop the offending object from his grip as he turned to face him.

“I told you,” Novak smugly told Andy, getting a sneer in return.

“Yes, because you did so well yourself,” Andy remarked.

Shrugging, Novak said, “I tried.” Then, noticing Rafa down the hall, he added, “Clearly you don’t need me here. I’m just going to catch up with Rafa. See you in class?”

“Yeah, sure,” Andy said, nodding.

Novak smiled and leaned in to whisper in Andy’s ear, “You have Roger to yourself. Work it to your advantage.” Pulling back, he turned to Roger. “Good luck with that lock. Try not to make my boyfriend late, okay?”

“I won’t,” Roger agreed, watching as Novak left and walked over to Rafa, quickly engaging the Spaniard in conversation.

“So,” Andy said, breaking Roger’s train of thought and bringing his attention back to the matter at hand. “My lock?”

“Sorry,” Roger replied sheepishly. He picked up the troublesome item and dialed the combination as Andy recited it to him. Then, with a twist of his wrist, the lock came right off.

Andy shook his head. “Unbelievable. You really do have magic hands. Thanks.”

Roger smiled with a shrug. “It’s no problem. As I said before, I’m just happy I could help.”

“Thanks all the same,” Andy insisted, grabbing his books out of his locker. As he closed the door, he noticed Roger was still standing there, watching him intently. “You know, someone would almost think you were waiting for me.”

“I am,” Roger admitted, surprising Andy.

“Why?” He knew he shouldn’t be questioning it, but he found himself unable to contain his curiosity.

“I thought we could walk to class together,” was the simple reply.

Andy nodded. “Okay.” He started to head down the hall when he realized Roger wasn’t following. Turning back and seeing the other man staring at him thoughtfully, he asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Ja,” Roger said, snapping out of his daze and catching up with him. “I think Djokovic will have my head if I make you late.”

“Eh, he’s talking to Rafa. He probably wouldn’t even notice.” Andy knew he would notice, he just wouldn’t care outside of to give him a hard time about it, but Roger didn’t need to know that.

“Does that bother you?” Roger asked, causing Andy to furrow his brow in confusion. “That he spends time with Rafa,” he clarified.

Still confused, Andy shook his head. “No. Why would it?”

Roger simply shrugged.

After a moment, his brain caught up and Andy figured out what Roger was implying. “Oh. No, I’m not jealous if that’s what you mean. Rafa’s his best friend so it’s only natural that he’d want to spend time with him,” he said, all the while thinking, ‘It doesn’t hurt that he has the world’s biggest crush on him, either. If he ends up with Rafa, at least I’m rid of him.’

Roger nodded as he thought it over. “That makes sense.”

“Does it bother you?” Andy asked back, genuinely curious if Roger was jealous.

“No,” Roger echoed Andy’s answer. “Why would it?”

Andy chuckled. “Fair enough.”

Entering the classroom, Andy started towards his seat when suddenly he felt a hand grab his wrist, sending a jolt through his body and stopping him in his tracks. Turning around, he saw Roger staring at him, a question on his lips. He nodded at him to go ahead and say whatever it was that was on his mind.

“I thought about what you said yesterday, and you were right.”

“About what?” He’d said a lot of things yesterday, most of them he couldn’t even remember. It was hard keeping track of just which one Roger meant.

Roger hesitated for a moment before saying, “Everything. I, uh, talked to Rafa and we both would like it if you and Djo- uh, Novak would sit with us at lunch.”

“We already do,” Andy pointed out. “We’re just down the table.”

“No, I mean we’d like it if you sat at our end.”

“You mean that?” Andy asked in surprise. He hadn’t expected his words, little more than a throw away comment, to make an impression on the other man.

“Ja,” Roger confirmed, and for a moment, Andy would have sworn he appeared nervous, as though afraid Andy would decline.

Mentally shaking his head, he thought, ‘As though anyone could deny him anything, least of all me.’ Realizing Roger was waiting for a reply, he said, “Uh, yeah. That’d be nice. I’ll have to talk to Nole about it, but I’m sure it’s fine.”

Roger released the breath he’d been holding and smiled. “Good.”

Looking down, Andy saw that Roger still had a hold of his wrist. Roger must have realized the same thing, for he quickly let go and took a step back.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

“It’s fine,” Andy softly said, trying to appear like it was no big deal even as he was still reeling from the contact. “I’ll, uh, see you at lunch then.”

Roger nodded and headed for his seat while Andy berated himself for not thinking of something better to say. Sighing, he walked over to his own seat, seeing it occupied by Rafa who was in an animated discussion with Novak.

“Oh, hi Andy,” Novak said once he noticed him standing there, Rafa turning to look at him as well.

“Hey,” Andy returned, telling Rafa, “Thanks for keeping my boyfriend company while I was away. I know he gets bored when he doesn’t have anyone to talk to.”

“No problem,” Rafa said with a shrug. “Is always nice talking to Nole.”

Andy nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been occupying a lot of his time lately. Sorry about that.”

“Is okay,” Rafa assured, starting to get up. “I should go.” Even as he went to move, he appeared hesitant.

“No,” Novak quickly said, stopping him. “You can stay there. I’m sure Andy wouldn’t mind sitting with Roger, would you Andy?”

Andy wanted to roll his eyes at how obvious the Serb was being, but he refrained. “No, I wouldn’t mind at all, but I feel like I’ve monopolized enough of Roger’s time as it is. Poor Rafa here would probably prefer it if I didn’t sit with him.”

Rafa shook his head. “No, is fine. You can sit with Rogelio and I sit with Nole. If you don’t mind,” he added.

‘Someone’s more than a little eager to hang out with Djokovic,’ Andy thought in amusement. Smiling, he said, “Nope. No problem at all. Take care of him for me?” Seeing Rafa nod his agreement, he turned to Novak. “I suppose I should tell you we’re invited to sit with him and Roger at lunch.”

“Really?” Novak asked, looking to Rafa for conformation.

“Yes, is true,” Rafa answered, watching Novak’s eyes light up as a grin overtook his face. “Will you?”

Novak looked to Andy, a silent exchange going between them, one Rafa watched with interest.

“We’d be happy to,” Andy finally answered for him, noticing the unease in the Spaniard along with what appeared to be disappointment. It didn’t take him long to identify the source of that emotion. ‘He thinks Djokovic only agreed because of me and it looks like he’s jealous. Things just got a little more interesting.’ Turning back to Novak he said, “I have to go for real this time. McEnroe will be here any minute and the last thing I need is to get in trouble again.”

“Whatever will I do with you?” Novak asked, shaking his head. “I think you live in detention.”

“I try not to,” Andy said defensively. “It just seems to happen.” Mardy had often teased him that he had the worst luck in the world when it came to getting into trouble.

Novak sighed dramatically. “Well, go then. It’s hard to date you when you spend all your free time here, but at least I have Rafa.” He was completely oblivious to the blush that found its way to Rafa’s face, but Andy wasn’t.

“You’re such a drama queen.”

“But you love me anyway,” Novak finished with a smirk.

Andy slowly nodded, trying not to cringe as he did so, and noticed as the Spaniard paled a bit. “Against my better judgment.”

Novak laughed. “And you say I’m the drama queen? Just go already.”

Rolling his eyes, Andy did as Novak requested, trying not to laugh at the relief that appeared on Rafa’s face at his departure. ‘Yeah,’ he thought again as he made his way to the other side of the room and the seat next to Roger. ‘I’m the blind idiot here.’ As he laid his things down, Roger looked up at him inquisitively.

“What are you doing here?”

“I can tell you’re happy to see me,” Andy replied sarcastically, words out of his mouth before he even had a chance to think as he took his seat. As soon as he said them, he wished he could take them back.

A hurt look crossed Roger’s face, but he quickly hid it, though not before Andy had a chance to catch it.

“I’m sorry,” Andy immediately apologized. “I didn’t mean it like that.” Nodding his head in the direction of the Serb and Spaniard, he explained. “They wanted to sit together so I agreed to come over here. I wish they’d just find a room and be done with it.”

“So, you are jealous,” Roger said knowingly. As Andy tried to deny it, he added, “It’s okay if you are. It’s understandable.” He glanced from Andy to the two friends chatting away, pain and disappointment on his face as he watched.

Thinking about how Novak’s road to getting Rafa was far easier than his own to getting Roger, and much closer to completion if the current situation were anything to go by, Andy found maybe there was some truth to that statement after all. “Maybe I am jealous,” he admitted.

Before Roger could comment, McEnroe entered the room and began addressing the class, doing a double take when he saw Andy and Rafa had switched seats, but not commenting. Mardy did, however, from his seat behind Andy.

“It’s okay, Mr. McEnroe. We’re just playing musical chairs.”

As the class laughed, McEnroe just shook his head, asking them to quiet down.

“Are you okay, Andy?” Mardy whispered, leaning forward in his seat. All he got in return was a nod. Glancing at Roger, he noticed him eyeing Andy in concern and muttered to himself, “He’s got Roger’s undivided attention, he just needs to open his eyes and see it.”

When lunch rolled around, Novak strolled into the cafeteria, went through the lunch line, and took a seat next to Rafa. “Where’s Federer?” It was unusual these days to find one without the other.

“He want to find Andy,” Rafa answered, picking at his food, concerned as well. “He is worried about him since history.”

A silence descended on the two as Novak thought about that and the impact it would have on Rafa. “Doesn’t it bother you?” he asked, breaking the silence and getting a blank stare in return. “He’s been spending more time with Andy lately,” he clarified. He was afraid of what the answer would be, but he found he had to know all the same.

“No. Why?” Rafa asked, furrowing his brow, confused why it should.

Novak didn’t say anything, though he was becoming frustrated. The Spaniard simply refused to be jealous over anything, be it his relationship with Andy or Roger’s developing infatuation with said American. Apparently Rafa was just too nice.

“You mean Andy,” Rafa said, causing Novak’s head to snap up. “I no care if he is with Roger.” When Novak didn’t say anything, he asked, “You are okay, no?”

Considering the question, Novak finally nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.” His voice had a tone of finality to it.

“You are happy with Andy?” Rafa asked, not ready to drop the subject yet.

Unsure where this was coming from, Novak nodded again. “Andy and I are both getting exactly what we want out of our relationship.”

Rafa looked like he wanted to say something but decided to bite his tongue and remain quiet instead.

“What?” Novak asked, curious as to what the Spaniard had been about to say. When Rafa shook his head in refusal, he added, “No, we’re friends. You can tell me anything.”

“Okay,” Rafa agreed. “Just be happy.”

“That’s it?” was the incredulous response. He somehow felt there was more that his friend wasn’t saying.

Nodding, Rafa said, “I want you happy, Nole. If Andy make you happy, good.”

“I am happy.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. Sitting here with Rafa, he could honestly say he was happy.

At that moment, Roger sat down at the table across from Rafa, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

“What?” Novak asked. He was confused as to what the Swiss wanted from him. He was also frustrated that his time with Rafa had been interrupted.

“Having a nice conversation?” Roger asked curiously, sounding more amused than he had any right to be.

Novak rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what you think this is, but it isn’t.”

“How do I know it isn’t when you don’t even know what I supposedly think it is?”

Thinking about it for a moment as he tried to work through what Roger just said, Novak shrugged. “I don’t know, but it isn’t.”

“You make my head hurt,” Rafa said, unable to follow the conversation and giving up.

“He’s right. You two are hard to follow,” Murray agreed, stopping and taking the seat on Novak’s other side.

“Thank you for that brilliant insight,” Novak remarked dryly. Then, noticing the empty seat on the other side of the table for the first time, he rolled his eyes. “Okay Federer, where’s my boyfriend?”

Roger shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Novak eyed him skeptically. “How do you not know? Rafa said you went looking for him.”

“I did,” Roger admitted, “but I couldn’t find him.”

“Great,” Novak muttered. “He’s only been going to school here four years, but somehow he managed to get lost on his way to the cafeteria.”

“Who was the last to see him?” Murray asked, everyone trying to remember who had Spanish with the American.

“Doesn’t Mardy have that class with him?” Novak vaguely recalled Andy mentioning that at one point.

Roger nodded. “I think so.” Scanning the cafeteria, he found Mardy standing in the lunch line. “Mardy!” he called, waving him over.

Sighing, Mardy left his place in line and approached the assembled soccer team. “Yeah?”

“Have you seen Andy? He seems to be missing.”

Mardy carefully thought it over. “He said something about returning a book to the library, but that was ten minutes ago.”

“Well that was helpful,” Novak replied sarcastically. “How do you lose your best friend?”

“The same way you lose your boyfriend,” Mardy retorted, sitting across from Murray.

“Who said you could sit here?” Novak asked indignantly.

Mardy raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been sitting with you since you started dating Andy. He’s my best friend so I don’t see that changing just because you moved down the table. I didn’t realize I needed your permission to sit here while I waited for him.”

Getting some pointed looks from the table’s other occupants, Novak sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to win this. “Fine, but that still doesn’t tell us where he is.”

“Right there,” Mardy nonchalantly answered, nodding towards the door.

"I knew the library was a bad idea," Andy muttered to himself as he entered the cafeteria. Glancing around, he quickly spotted Mardy before he noticed the others, all of them staring in his direction. He didn't have time to think about what that could mean as he hurried towards them, Maria Sharapova hot on his heels.

“Can you please stop following me?” he asked her as he came to a stop next to the table, resulting in Mardy rolling his eyes and Novak smirking in amusement.

“Not until you answer me,” she replied.

Andy sighed. “Not until I give you the answer that you’re looking for is what you mean.” Seeing the expectant look on her face, he shook his head. “As I’ve told you a thousand times before, I’m not going with you.”

“Why not?” she asked defiantly.

“Because I’m going with him,” he answered, pointing back at Novak. “What part of I’m taken do you not understand?”

Maria glanced at Novak, appraising him with a raised eyebrow before turning her attention back to Andy. “Only for now,” she finally answered. “When you change your mind, let me know.” Before Andy could say anything else, she walked away.

“Every single day,” Andy ground out as he watched her leave.

“Let me guess, she cornered you in the library,” Mardy said knowingly, causing Andy to groan as he took the empty seat between him and Roger.

“She won’t leave me alone,” he said by way of affirmation. “You’d think after so many rejections she’d get it through her head that I’m not going with her.”

Novak laughed. “She’s not very smart, but she’s persistent.”

“There should be a program like witness protection for situations like this.”

“She doesn’t want to kill you,” Novak pointed out, enjoying this far too much. “She just wants a date.”

“She wants to shoot me with a tranquilizer dart, tie me up and force me to take her to prom,” Andy warily ticked off as his mind imagined the scenario. “It’s pretty much the same thing.”

Before Novak could fire back a reply, Mardy shook his head and stood up. “Look, as great as this has been, I’m getting some lunch. You coming?” he asked as he turned to face Andy.

“No, I’m fine,” Andy declined, not wanting to leave his spot by Roger.

Realizing he wasn’t going anywhere, Mardy sighed. “Okay, suit yourself, but I better not hear any complaints from you when you get hungry later.”

“Yes, mother,” Andy muttered as he watched him walk back to the lunch line.

“He’s right, you should eat.”

Andy turned his attention to the Swiss and shrugged. “I’m really not hungry.”

“Is he always like this?” Roger asked Novak.

The Serb chuckled. “You should try dating him.” If he noticed the almost wishful expression that briefly crossed Roger’s face, he didn’t say anything.

As Andy glared at Novak, he found something was suddenly shoved in front of him.

“Here,” Roger said, offering up half of his sandwich. “Take it.”

“I’m not taking your food,” Andy refused. He knew he’d feel guilty if he accepted.

“And I’m not having you starve in class this afternoon,” Roger argued. “Take it.”

Knowing he wasn’t going to win, he asked, “If I get something, will you stop forcing your food on me?”

Roger simply gave him a pointed stare, refusing to back down as he continued to hold out the proffered item.

“Fine,” Andy said with a sigh, taking the half of sandwich. For several moments he simply stared at it, feeling bad for taking the other man’s food, though a small part of him was silently jumping up and down over the kind gesture.

“I hope you aren’t trying to steal him away from me,” Novak suddenly said, causing Andy’s eyes to snap up as he wondered what the Serb was doing.

A frown appeared on Roger’s face. “No. Why would you think that?”

“No reason,” was the reply. “Although you have to admit, Andy’s pretty perfect. Sharapova has been after him for months, but I’m the one that got him.”

“You must feel fortunate then,” Roger said, trying to sound like he was indifferent to the whole thing even though his expression said otherwise.

Novak nodded. “Oh yes. If I hadn’t snatched him up when I did, who knows what would have happened. There’s no telling how many others secretly wanted him as well and I easily could have lost out.”

Roger examined Andy for several moments, appearing to be searching for something. Finding what he was looking for, he stared Novak right in the eyes and saying in a determined voice, “At lunch two weeks ago he declared his love for you. I seriously doubt he would have chosen someone else over you.”

“Yes, but I couldn’t expect him to wait forever,” Novak reasoned.

“I think he would,” Roger said, sounding confident and making Andy’s heart swell.

Novak raised an eyebrow. “And just what makes you an expert on my boyfriend?”

A fire suddenly lit in Roger’s eyes as he said, “Nothing, but I clearly have more faith in him than you do. You obviously don’t trust him. Maybe you should ask yourself if you really love him as much as you claim to.”

“And maybe you should ask yourself why you care so much,” Novak retorted.

Roger didn’t say anything as he simply glared at Novak who was clearly getting under his skin.

Novak smirked at him, surprising both Andy and Roger. “Interesting. You’re really just full of surprises, aren’t you Federer?”

Roger stared at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Novak shook his head, smirk still in place. “Oh, nothing at all.”

“So, Rafa,” Murray interrupted, trying to lighten the tension that had come over the table. “You never told me. How was the movie?”

Rafa shrugged. “Was okay, I guess.” That earned him a laugh from several people at the table, causing him to scrunch up his face in confusion. “What?”

“I know you have no complaints about the company,” Feliciano said suggestively with a knowing leer, causing Novak to pale and Rafa to groan in embarrassment. He then turned his attention to Roger. “Roger, what do you think?”

Roger, who had been watching Andy, looked up upon hearing his name. “What?”

Rafa rolled his eyes at his friend’s lack of attention, a knowing smile on his face. “The movie,” he emphasized, adding, “Last night. What you think?”

“The action sequences were really good, but the plot could have been better,” Roger answered after thinking about it for a minute.

“That’s it?” Murray asked incredulously.

Roger gave him a hard stare, one that told the entire table to drop the topic, and firmly said, “That’s it.”

Murray shrugged and soon he and the others were off on their old standby of soccer.

Throughout the entire exchange Andy had kept his eyes on the sandwich in his hand, trying to pretend it wasn’t happening, willing himself to think of something else to block it out. He never once looked up, knowing it would make the whole thing all the more real if he did.

“Are you okay?” Roger asked with concern when he noticed Andy wasn’t eating.

Andy’s gaze snapped up at the question and he offered a small smile. “I’m fine,” he lied, knowing Roger wasn’t buying it for a second. Then, to emphasize his point, he took a bite of the sandwich in his hand. He slowly chewed at the small bite before swallowing, not even registering the taste.

Tutoring was going to suck.

This was awkward. No, this was beyond awkward. In fact, Andy was positive he could hear the sound of the clock ticking on the other side of the room. He must not have been the only one.

“You haven’t said a word to me since you got here,” Roger finally said, breaking the silence. “Did I do something wrong?”

Andy looked up from the math problem he’d been working on and furiously shook his head at the question. “No. You didn’t do anything. I just… I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

Roger eyed him skeptically but nodded. “Okay.” He watched as Andy went back to the math problem though he didn’t appear to be working it, simply staring at it aimlessly. Hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Setting his pencil down, knowing he wasn’t going to be getting anymore done until this was out of the way; Andy glanced up again and sighed. “There really isn’t much to say.” There was, but he couldn’t exactly explain it to Roger seeing as it concerned him.

“Well, how’s basketball going?” Roger asked, changing the topic.

Knowing what Roger was trying to do and appreciating the gesture, Andy paused for a moment as he considered the question, mood beginning to lighten. “Honestly? I’m kind of nervous,” he admitted. “As team captain, everyone’s depending on me. It’s my last game, my last chance to make an impact, and our last chance to get the championship that’s been eluding us.”

“I know the feeling,” Roger told him, having been there himself earlier in the year when he’d led the school soccer team to their third consecutive championship. “Don’t overthink it or put too much pressure on yourself and you’ll be fine,” he assured, adding, “Just try to enjoy the moment and give it your best shot. That’s all you can do.”

“Easier said than done,” Andy muttered, Roger laughing in return. “Hey, you didn’t have the added pressure of choking the last two years,” he defensively added.

Roger shook his head, eyes full of sympathy. “No, but you can’t let that get to you. I know,” He added before Andy could, “easier said than done. Trust yourself and trust in your abilities. You can do this.”

Andy scoffed. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because,” Roger answered honestly and sincerely. “I’ve seen you play, and I know what you’re capable of. I believe in you.”

Those words stunned Andy, but they also made his nerves lessen a little knowing someone like Roger believed in him. “Thanks,” he managed, getting a smile in return. Then, curiosity taking over he asked, “Will you be there Saturday? I mean, I’m sure you have something better to do than go to the state finals -.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Roger cut him off mid ramble. “I’ve been to every other game, why would I miss one this important?”

“You’ve really been to all of them?” Andy asked incredulously. He was having a hard time believing it despite having just heard the words. “No way.”

Roger nodded. “Yes, all of them. Even last year’s final that I’m sure you’d rather forget.”

Andy winced at the reminder. “Yeah, that one hurt.” A moment of silence descended on them before he added, “I guess it makes sense you’d go. It’s great that you support the other sports.”

“Something like that,” Roger answered noncommittally, leaving Andy to wonder just what that was supposed to mean as he detected there was something more Roger wasn’t saying.

The Swiss was proving to be an enigma; one that Andy planned to solve.

Chapter Text

Thursday afternoon found Novak standing at his locker, glee apparent on his face as he was happy to be done for the day. The anticipation of seeing Rafa certainly didn’t hurt. It was also the reason he was rushing to grab his books, sorting out the ones he needed to take from the ones he should probably take, but could get away with leaving behind. One by one he would give the cover a quick glance before haphazardly tossing the book either into his locker or into his bag. He was making record time, but soon found himself pausing when he came upon a familiar, well-worn book. The dog-eared page alone brought a smile to his face, his original manic jubilance replaced by something far less sinister.

For several moments he lost all sense of time and place as he simply stared at the worn novel in his hands. He knew that if anyone were watching him, they would think him insane, but he didn’t care. That was the furthest thing from his mind as it drifted to earlier in the week and the far-too-short period he had spent with Rafa, invoking the same feelings he had felt then. The same mixture of contentment, belonging, happiness and love combined with the bittersweet realization it couldn’t last.

It was almost like the paperback alone could return him to that moment in time; a drug that gave him a temporary fix before bringing him crashing back to earth, leaving him wanting more. For the inanimate object was just that, an object. It could never truly replace the person his heart longed for and yet he found himself welcoming the small relief it afforded him.

“Crime and Punishment… You actually like that book?” Andy broke into Novak’s thoughts as he read the title over the Serb’s shoulder, startling the other man in the process. Eyebrow raised, he added, “I never took you as the literary type.”

The moment broken, Novak immediately tossed the novel into his locker without giving it a second glance as he simultaneously grabbed his bag and slammed the locker door. Andy obviously hadn’t picked up on his real motive for developing an attachment to the classic and he intended to keep it that way. The less opportunity he gave the American to ask questions, the better.

“You really should take better care of your books,” Andy remarked offhandedly as the two walked down the hall and in the direction of the library.

Hearing the American echo the same words he had been reliving in his head just moments earlier, Novak faltered in his steps. Swallowing, he mentally pushed it to the back of his mind and tried to focus on the present, as well as the task at hand. “And I’m sure every book in your locker is immaculate.”

Andy rolled his eyes. “I’m surprised you even know that word,” he muttered.

“People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” Novak recited with a smirk as he paused in front of the library door and gestured inside. The smirk soon turned into a light chuckle upon seeing the look Andy sent him, knowing the other man had gotten the message loud and clear.

“Are we going to do this or not?”

Novak nodded firmly, grin still present. “After you.”

It didn’t take Andy long to find Roger, sitting in the same spot at the same table, and he couldn’t help but smile as he took in the concentration the Swiss exuded. Though it soon become clear that the other man wasn’t as lost in his work as he first appeared, not hesitating to drop what he was doing the moment Andy stopped on the other side of the table, offering him a warm smile in return.

“Hello, Andy.”

“Roger.”

Novak, watching the exchange from his spot at Andy’s side, rolled his eyes.

“Novak,” Roger finally greeted with a curt nod as he noticed the Serb for the first time, his eyes briefly darting over in question, before returning to Andy.

“Feds,” Novak returned, smirk returning at Roger’s irritation. “I can’t stay long, I’m afraid. Just dropping off my boyfriend.”

Knowing his part, Andy turned to Novak with a grin, the first he’d directed at the Serb that hadn’t appeared as though it had been plastered on, and said as sincerely as he could, “Thanks Nole. See you after?”

Novak placed a hand on Andy’s shoulder, stared straight into his eyes, and firmly assured, “Count on it.” After a moment’s pause, he removed his hand and turned to Roger, saying, “An hour, right?”

Roger ripped his eyes from where Novak’s hand had been resting on Andy’s shoulder. He then stared at Novak in confusion as his brain struggled to catch up with what he’d been asked. Finally, it seemed to register what the Serb had asked him and he nodded his head.

“Great, it’ll give me time to finish my homework.”

Andy eyed him skeptically. “Uh huh. And how do you plan to finish that essay for Connors when you left your book in your locker?”

“Eh, minor detail,” Novak said, brushing it off as though it were no big deal. “It’ll get done.”

“You do realize osmosis won’t help here, right?” Amusement rang through his voice as he asked it, tinged with sarcasm though without its usual malice.

Novak rolled his eyes. “There goes my backup plan.” He then glanced down at his watch. “Seriously, I should go. Try to learn something?”

“Only if you actually write something for Connors,” Andy countered. “Something decent this time?”

“I always write well,” Novak stated haughtily. “It’s not my fault he can’t understand my genius.”

“Right…”

Novak shook his head. “Fine, don’t believe me. It doesn’t matter, I’ll see you later.”

Andy noticed Roger relax once Novak turned to leave, followed by annoyance as the Serb called out, “See you, Feds.” He couldn’t help the smile that graced his own face as he heard Roger start rifling through his bag while mumbling a litany of German, none of which he understood though he could guess at the general meaning behind it. He also couldn’t help the slight surprise he felt course through his body as the table jolted, Roger placing his math text down more forcibly than either anticipated.

“Problem?” Andy finally asked after both just sat there for a moment, watching the Swiss’ eyes widen a fraction at the book before jumping to meet his own.

“Uh, no,” came the uncertain sounding denial.

Although Andy knew otherwise, he didn’t see any reason to press the issue and simply shrugged, calmly grabbing his own math text. He then placed it on the table, far gentler than the man across from him, and paged through to the day’s assignment before glancing back at Roger in anticipation.

Roger watched the entire display, anger slowly dissipating. Upon seeing Andy’s expectant face staring back at him, he frantically opened the book before him. “Why don’t we get started?”

Picking up his pencil, Andy couldn’t help but grin. It was progress.

Fingers brushing over the cover of Crime and Punishment, Novak tore his eyes away before he wound up losing himself in the same manner as earlier and quickly stuffed the book in his bag, heedless of anything else he may have damaged in his rush. Again, he slammed the locker door, not even bothering with the lock, and spun on his heel with the intention of finding a place to do his work. Maybe even head back outside to the same bench he’d been using yesterday. However, that all flew out of his mind as he found himself face to face with the very man who had been plaguing his thoughts lately.

“Rafa…”

“Holla, Nole.”

Novak’s heart soared just seeing the large grin on Rafa’s face, a grin he found to be infectious as he couldn’t help but return it. Then common sense broke through as his brain started back up and his brow furrowed, asking, “What are you still doing here? Waiting for Roger?”

He expected an affirmative, so it completely blew him away when Rafa quickly replied, “No. I wait for you.”

For several moments he was speechless, though the smile on his face and the way his eyes danced easily conveyed his happiness. Still, there was a question that needed to be asked. “I… Me?”

Rafa nodded. “I know you wait for Andy every day, so I think I wait with you. We can talk or do homework. Is up to you.”

Novak didn’t think his grin could get any bigger. “Yeah, that sounds great,” he agreed as they began walking down the hallway in companionable silence.

“You are going to the basketball game?” Rafa suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

Snapping his head up at the question, it took Novak a moment to figure out just what he was being asked. Once he remembered the basketball team was playing this weekend, the pieces fell into place and he nodded. “My boyfriend’s their best player. I should be there.”

Rafa nodded as well, opening the door as the two made their way out of the building and towards their spot from the day before. He then smiled knowingly as his friend dropped his bag onto the ground with no thought as to the contents within.

Aware of what was going through Rafa’s head based solely on the man’s facial expressions, Novak chuckled. “I know what you’re thinking. You’ve told me countless times before.”

“Yes, because you don’t listen,” the Spaniard teased. “So careless.”

Novak raised an eyebrow. “Me? Careless? What about you? You forget I’ve seen your room.”

The only answer he received was a sheepish glance accompanied by a small shrug.

Shaking his head, Novak grabbed his bag and pulled out his unfinished essay, not wanting to use the book just yet even as he attempted to push all thoughts of it from his mind. As to his essay, saying it was unfinished was an understatement. In fact, the page was completely blank aside from his name at the top. Sighing, he pulled out a pen and pressed it against the paper, pausing as he realized he hadn’t a clue what he wanted to write. Struggling to come up with anything, he tapped out a steady rhythm while staring aimlessly at the empty lines before him, as though doing so would cause the words to magically appear before his eyes.

‘I wish,’ he thought.

Rafa, meanwhile, simply stared at the Serb, unable to take his eyes off the sight before him.

“Are you okay?” Novak asked, not even bothering to hide the concern written all over his face upon seeing the blank, dazed look on Rafa’s. He quickly laid down the pen and paper he’d just been using, not caring as the breeze threatened to blow his work away.

The sound of the Serb’s voice was enough to snap the Spaniard from his reverie. Blinking his eyes a few times, he finally managed to focus and took in the question he’d just been asked. His response was simply a nod. However, all it took was a skeptical glance for him to smile and reassure his friend, saying, “I’m fine. Really.”

Novak nodded, but it was evident from his facial expression that he still didn’t believe what he was being told. “You’d tell me if something was wrong? Because we’re friends and I’d like to think you’d say something.”

“Is nothing,” Rafa insisted, trying to pass it off with a small laugh. “Only thinking.”

Opening his mouth with the intention of interrogating Rafa further, Novak hesitated before immediately shutting it, halting that train of thought entirely. He was eager to know what was on Rafa’s mind but decided not to push the issue. He’d simply trust the other man to come to him when he was ready to share.

As he stretched his arms over his head, the Serb glanced at his watch and made a quick note of the time. Making a spontaneous decision, he grabbed the handful of items he had strung across the bench, including his still unfinished essay that had surprisingly not flown off with the wind, and threw them back into his bag. He then stood up and stared down into the expectant and curious eyes locked on his every move.

“Come on,” he said, motioning Rafa to get up and join him.

“What about your paper?” the Spaniard asked even as he proceeded to do just as he’d been requested.

Novak merely shrugged, getting a smile and an eye roll in return. “It’ll get done,” he answered, disinterest in his voice making it clear he didn’t care whether he managed to finish it or not. Right now, his attention and focus were concentrated elsewhere, on someone he considered far more interesting and important.

Eyeing Novak skeptically, Rafa grabbed his own bag and followed. Walking alongside the Serb, he asked, “Where are we going?”

A smile lit Novak’s face, one that made Rafa’s breath catch. “You’ll see.”

They walked in companionable silence for several minutes, past the school and off the grounds entirely, Rafa taking a quick glance back at the building. It was obvious to Novak that he was wondering about the two men they had left behind despite not saying anything.

It wasn’t long before they came upon a copse of trees.

He knows them well, they both do, the entrance to the woods on the edge of the school property, just past the fence that marked the boundary line. Almost as though they’ve reached an invisible barrier, they both stop before they enter.

Novak noticed the question in Rafa’s eyes, but merely raised his eyebrow in reply before he turned and walked through the wall of trees. He couldn’t help but wonder if the Spaniard would follow him, having seen the hesitation. There was nothing in there that could harm them, much as they thought otherwise as children, and the forest was too small for them to get truly lost, though they had once managed just that when they were far younger and had wondered off the path from their parents. Before he knew it, he reached a small clearing and stopped to wait.

It wasn’t long before he could hear Rafa’s voice call out, “Nole?”, the man appearing only a few moments later, appearing confused.

Without another word spoken between them, Novak started walking again, Rafa following behind but from a much closer distance.

They walked along for a couple more minutes, this time coming to a very small parking lot, one that appeared quite out of place amongst the trees with only a small single lane road leading to it. Novak said nothing, crossing the vacant lot and making his way to a path on the other side. It was narrow, made entirely of dirt and littered with small twigs that snapped when they stepped on them, the noise echoing though the otherwise quiet forest. It was also short, ending almost as soon as it began.

Rafa hadn’t been expecting as he nearly ran into Novak’s back causing the Serb to stop abruptly.

“What -?” Rafa started to ask, but the words died on his lips as Novak latched his hand around the Spaniard’s wrist, pulling him forward so that they were standing side by side. No further words came as Rafa took in the sight before him.

It was a small pond, the light from the sun peaking down through the canopy of branches from the trees that completely encircled it and reflecting off the water in small patches like sparkling diamonds. There wasn’t another soul in sight, the only noticeable animals a small number of fish blowing little bubbles through the water’s surface, a frog perched haphazardly on one of several Lilly pads along the pond’s edge, and the countless insects buzzing about, including several dragonflies lazily flapping their wings.

It wasn’t much, but in that moment, it was everything.

Countless days were spent here with Rafa, back in a time and place where Roger and Andy hadn’t existed, when it had just been them and only them. The woods had been their refuge from the rest of the world, a place they could come to just get away and block out everything and everyone else, and the pond had been the location of many a discussion on both everything and nothing. They had talked about things that had seemed so important, life changing, but now were so meaningless, like the time Marko had lost Novak’s soccer ball after he took it to the park without asking. They had also talked about things that truly were important, the many ever-changing plans they had for the future, including that all-important day where Rafa realized a sports-oriented career could mean a life without Nole always by his side, both knowing soccer just wasn’t in the cards for the Serb despite his love of the game.

That day had been especially bleak.

However, despite what the forest, especially the pond, represented, neither had been there in years. As though through some unspoken agreement they quit venturing there not long before they started high school. They were starting the journey from childhood to adulthood and this magical place seemed to belong to the former rather than the latter, getting shelved along with everything else they were leaving behind. In retrospect, it was both nostalgic and saddening.

“I, uh, came here yesterday evening,” Novak said, breaking the silence and gaining Rafa’s attention in the process, the Spaniard’s eyes snapping to him in an instant. “I mean, not here here, but the park on the other side of the woods. Djordje was playing with some friends, I came to get him, and… I guess I started thinking about things.” He stopped when he realized he was rambling, averting his gaze to the path beneath his feet, his shoes and the patterns they were making in the dirt suddenly seeming interesting. Even more so once he noticed he still had hold of his friend’s wrist, slowly uncurling his fingers to release his grip all the while hoping Rafa didn’t notice.

Whether the Spaniard noticed or not he didn’t mention it. Instead, he placed his hand on Novak’s shoulder, causing the Serb to hazard a glance, and smiled, sincerely saying, “Thank you, Nole. It means a lot to me.”

Novak grinned back, relieved that he hadn’t just made things awkward between them as he had originally thought. He had been a little uncertain about bringing Rafa here to share in a moment of their lives that long passed, but apparently, he had done the right thing after all.

This time they didn’t complain about whose sibling ate the last piece of chocolate cake or what activity they were grounded from this time. They didn’t share their hopes and dreams for the future, imagining what the world held for them and the many wonders that waited down the road. They didn’t even have a ground-breaking revelation that threatened to change everything they ever knew.

No, they simply stood there in silence enjoying the other’s company, but that was okay. This time that was enough.

“Didn’t Djokovic say he’d be back?”

Andy sighed at Roger’s question and glanced at his watch, noting Novak should have been there several minutes earlier as they’d planned. Having finished for the day, they’d already packed their things and were sitting at the table waiting, Roger kindly offering to stay until Novak arrived, though it was hard to say when that would be at this rate. For all Andy knew, he may have skipped out and headed home, laughing all the while at the idiocy of the American for trusting him the first place. Shrugging helplessly, all the while thinking up ways in which he could murder the Serb, he answered, “That’s what he said.”

Before either had a chance to say anything further on the matter, Andy’s phone rang, Bubbles’ “My Boyfriend” blaring out of the device much to Andy’s surprise. Getting a smirk and a raised eyebrow from Roger, Andy groaned as he realized his own ‘boyfriend’ had somehow snagged his phone and changed the ringtone. A glance at the screen also showed he had programmed his own number in under the name ‘my honey.’

Silently swearing vengeance, Andy answered, not even bothering with pleasantries. “You’re ten minutes late. Where are you?” He then resisted the urge to groan again as he realized how much that made him sound like a jilted girlfriend, something Roger must have noticed as well as he appeared to be trying not to laugh.

“I know I’m running late, and I sincerely apologize,” Novak offered, leaving Andy stunned, before adding, “I’m in the woods with Rafa. We went on a walk and lost track of time, but I can be there in ten minutes.”

Rolling his eyes, Andy realized the apology was solely for Rafa’s benefit rather than his own. “Fine. I’ll see you then.” Before he could say anything else, he found the conversation suddenly halted as Novak hung up, watching as the call ended on the screen before tossing the cell onto the table in front of him. “Apparently he went on a nature trek and lost track of time. He’ll be here in ten minutes, or so he claims,” he told Roger, who was watching him expectantly. “I have no idea when that will really be.”

Roger nodded in reply, though his face took on a thoughtful expression for a moment. “Call him back and tell him not to bother.”

“What?” Andy asked dumbly, completely lost.

“He’s with Rafa, he’ll be fine,” Roger said knowingly as he took charge of the situation, watching Andy who was stunned by that information. “Rafa told me he planned to spend the afternoon with your boyfriend.”

Unable to come up with anything to say, Andy nodded. He had to admit it made sense. His stupor, however, didn’t prevent him from noting the sour tone Roger used when saying ‘your boyfriend’, as though the words themselves were an affront to the English language.

Face softening, the Swiss said again, this time more gently, “Please, call him back and tell him he can do whatever he wants the rest of the afternoon. I’ll take you home myself.”

“You really don’t have to. I can manage,” Andy rushed to get out once he recovered his wits enough to speak. “It’s not like I live that far anyway and -.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Roger said with a kind smile, effectively cutting him off. “I want to take you. Grab your things and we can leave.”

Feeling like resistance was futile, Andy did as he was requested though he couldn’t say it pained him to do so. If anything, he was silently screaming in joy that Roger was voluntarily spending more time with him. Calling Novak back, eyes never leaving the Swiss, he said, “Don’t worry about getting me. I found a way home.” Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, he ended the call much as Djokovic had done earlier and put his phone away, telling Roger, “Okay, I’m set.”

The two exited the library, Andy following behind Roger, and made their way to the parking lot. Near the front of the lot they stopped, Roger as he dug out his keys and Andy as he eyed the man’s car. He had seen it before, everyone at school had since the Swiss had driven up in it on the first day of school, practically drooling over the red Mercedes SL, the vehicle nothing less than a masterpiece of metallic eye candy. Much like its owner, it fell under the category of should he dare he could look but not touch. Now he found himself frozen to the spot, unable to believe he was about to ride home in such perfection and with Roger no less. It was simply unbelievable.

“Are you going to get in or just stand there ogling it?” Roger asked him, a hint of laughter in his voice as he leaned against the car, paused in the open doorway.

The question didn’t immediately register in Andy’s mind as he stared in stunned silence at the sight before him. Once his brain finally engaged and screamed that Roger was staring, he snapped out of his stupor and slowly made his way to the passenger side, opening the door and sliding in, taking in the interior all the while.

Roger started the car, the engine’s purr managing to further distract his passenger. “I take it you like the car,” he said knowingly.

Andy nodded, eyes scanning every inch of the machine before he turned to face the other man, a smile making its way across his face. “I don’t like the car, Roger. I fucking love the car.”

“Good,” Roger answered with a smile of his own as he backed out of the parking space and shifted gears. “I do too.”

There was several moments of silence as Roger exited the lot, Andy staring out the window and watching the familiar scenery pass by while Roger occasioned a glance in his direction. Eventually Andy turned his gaze to the Swiss at the exact moment the other man had looked over, their eyes briefly locking before both quickly averted their attention; Andy back to what lay beyond the window and Roger to the road ahead.

“Why are you doing this, Roger?” Andy finally asked, his head turning to Roger the moment the words had left his mouth. When Roger gave no indication of having heard him, he considered where he should ask again or simply remain silent. The choice was soon taken away as Roger finally spoke.

“You needed a ride home, Djokovic wasn’t there, so I offered,” Roger listed as though it were obvious.

Andy wanted to say that wasn’t what he’d meant, but realized Roger knew exactly what he had meant and was playing dumb, something he certainly wasn’t. Knowing he wasn’t going to get anything further out of him, he merely nodded his head in resignation.

“You know, I don’t know anything about you,” Roger finally said after several more moments of silence had passed.

“Sure, you do,” Andy countered. “I suck at math, I’m dating Djokovic, and I love your car. What more is there to know?”

Roger gave him a pointed look. “You don’t suck at math,” he disputed, adding before Andy could disagree, “And I’m certain there’s more to you than that.” Seeing the look on Andy’s face, the one that seemed to say, ‘Oh yeah, like what?’ he asked, “What are your plans after graduation?”

“College,” Andy answered plainly. The way he said it made it sound as though he’d been asked the same question at least a dozen times before, which he had. “Shocking, I know.”

“No,” Roger assured. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t go. Where are you going?”

A smile crossed Andy’s face as he thought about his choice, the only choice when it came down to it. It was the school he’d been dreaming about since he was a child. “I’m heading to the University of Nebraska. My major’s pretty undecided right now. I’m leaning towards kinesiology, but I’m leaving my options open. Just don’t expect to see me in bioengineering.”

Chuckling, Roger replied, “It sounds nice, but Nebraska? That’s a lot different than California.”

Andy nodded. “Oh, I know. Middle of nowhere, corn as far as the eye can see; winter will be a killer compared to this, but what can I say? I love the Cornhuskers.”

“Cornhuskers?” Roger asked skeptically. “You’re joking, right?”

“Nope,” the American said with a grin, shaking his head. “Dead serious, but what about you? Going to be a professional soccer player, right? I mean, half of Europe has shown some serious interest in you. That’s got to be like a dream come true.”

“It’s nice,” Roger admitted though he didn’t sound totally convinced of it himself.

Andy raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Nice? Guys a continent away, a continent obsessed with the sport, want you and you think it’s nice? Way to show some enthusiasm.”

Roger sighed. “I just don’t know if it’s what I want.”

That was news to Andy. Actually, he was pretty sure it was news to everyone other than the man who had just spoken the words. “What do you want, Roger?”

“I don’t know,” came the honest answer. “No one ever asks me. It’s always been assumed I would make a career in football. I’m good at it, I love it, so why wouldn’t I?”

“Because maybe there’s something else out there,” Andy answered knowingly. “It’s not that you don’t want to play, it’s that no one ever gave you the choice to find out for yourself just what you wanted to be.”

The Swiss’s eyes widened before a small, sad smile made its way across his face. “You know, that’s rather insightful.”

Andy shrugged nonchalantly. “I have my moments.”

It wasn’t long before Roger pulled up in front of Andy’s house, parking the car and turning to the other man.

“Uh, I guess this is me,” Andy said, the words coming out a little shakier than he’d intended. Unbuckling his seatbelt and grabbing his bag with one hand while opening the passenger door with the other, he offered, “Thanks for the ride.”

“It was no problem at all,” Roger replied as the American exited and closed the door behind him. Before Andy could get very far, having taken a couple of strides up the driveway, he called out, “See you tomorrow?”

Andy turned around and saw Roger staring at him with what could only be described as a hopeful look on his face. It threw him for all of two seconds before a grin split his own face, calling back, “Definitely.” He then went to turn around, noting the twin grin Roger was sporting, and headed towards the front door. He rifled through his things for his keys, unlocked the door and entered the house, toeing off his shoes and placing his bag down as he did so. Humming a random song, he made his way towards the kitchen and got about halfway there when a thought suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks, stopping him dead in his tracks.

“How does he know where I live?”

Chapter Text

“So, he actually drove you home?” Mardy asked in disbelief.

Andy nodded absently, eyes never leaving the TV. “Yeah. Had me tell Djokovic not to bother and insisted on taking me himself.”

The two were sitting in the living room of Mardy’s house watching March Madness coverage, a tradition for the two, while Andy had relayed the afternoon’s tutoring session and subsequent ride home.

“That’s it?” Seeing Andy raise an eyebrow in question, he added, “I would have thought you’d be thrilled. This week you’ve gone from not being able to talk to the man to holding legitimate conversations and getting rides home. You’re even managing to pass calculus, something no one ever thought would happen. I don’t know about you, but that’s a major win in my book.”

“I was,” Andy conceded, a slight smile coming over his face as he thought about it. “It was great! And his car! It’s like you wouldn’t believe-.”

“I know,” Mardy stopped him. “You told me. In great detail, I might add. So, what’s the problem?”

Andy shrugged. “I don’t know… Everything was great, but then I got to thinking about him-.”

“Like that’s a surprise,” Mardy muttered, motioning Andy to continue.

“And I started thinking about what he’s doing, and then I realized that he’s probably out with Rafa.” Just thinking about it again, Andy groaned. “He’s always out with Rafa.”

“Maybe because they’re friends?” Mardy asked as though it were obvious. “Kind of like us? But that doesn’t mean we’re dating.”

Andy shuddered at the thought, a look of disgust on his face. “Never say that again.”

Mardy rolled his eyes. “My point is, it doesn’t prove anything. No one knows they’re together. They’ve never confirmed it so it’s still speculation at this point.”

“Speculation?” Andy asked incredulously. “They already went on a date this week, not to mention John heard it from Woz, who got it from Vika that Jalena and Ana spotted Roger and Rafa together at Rave.”

Mardy’s eyebrow rose as if to say, ‘Are you fucking kidding me? There is no way you’re that stupid.’

“I don’t think it gets any more real than that, short of kissing in the hall and shouting their love from rooftops.”

“Even if you’re right, you still have a shot here,” Mardy tried, frustration in his voice. “There’s nothing saying Roger can’t end it and get together with you. I mean, it’s not like they’re married.”

Andy paled at the simple idea of them exchanging vows and spending eternity together while he pined away in loneliness. “They may as well be,” he said bitterly, thinking of how the two were permanently joined at the hip.

Mardy sighed. “Look, you may not want to hear it, but don’t throw in the towel just yet. You may be down, but you’re not out.”

“I swear to God, if the next cliché out of your mouth is ‘there are other fish in the sea’…” Andy trailed off.

“I know, you’ll kill me,” Mardy recited, having heard the empty threat enough over the years. When Andy didn’t say anything, opting to sit and stare mindlessly at the commercials on the screen, Mardy groaned. “God, this is depressing. Can’t you be happy about the progress you’ve made?”

“What progress?” Andy asked sullenly. “It took me this long just to be able to talk to him. At this rate, I’ll snag him at our ten-year reunion.”

Mardy shook his head. “Okay, that’s it. I’m done with this.”

As Mardy stood from the couch, Andy’s head snapped over, watching him walk past and out of the room. “Where are you going? Mardy?” he asked. Getting no reply, he added, “Great. Just great.” After several minutes, he was about to get up and follow him when he heard footsteps coming back down the hall. When Mardy entered the room, he had a box in his hands, though Andy couldn’t quite make out the front. “What’s that?”

Mardy grinned. “Monopoly.”

“We’re playing Monopoly?” Andy asked miserably. “But I hate Monopoly.”

“I know. I can live with you complaining about how badly you’re losing better than I can deal with this.”

“I could win,” Andy pointed out, his melancholy demeanor quickly giving way to his competitive attitude. “What then?”

“Then I get to listen to you gloat, which is still better than this. Either way I win, even if I lose the damn game.” As he said it, he sat on the floor in front of the couch and began setting up the game, indicating Andy should join him.

“Fine,” Andy finally agreed, moving off the couch. “But only if I get to be the banker.”

Mardy rolled his eyes. “Like that’s a surprise,” he said, even as he handed over the money. “And let me guess; you want to be the racecar.”

“You know it,” Andy said as he started doling out the fake cash. “Pick your piece, roll the dice to see who goes first, and hope to God I don’t land on Boardwalk and Park Place because I am showing no mercy.”

“You know the orange properties get hit the most, right?” Mardy asked as he grabbed the thimble.

Andy shrugged. “I’ll gladly buy those too.”

“Yeah, he really hates Monopoly,” Mardy muttered, taking the dice. “The things I put up with.” He was about to roll when his phone rang. Sighing, he picked it up and quickly answered it upon seeing the name. “Hey… Oh, that’s good… Yeah, that’s totally fine… Uh huh… Okay, well I’ll see you in five… Okay, bye.”

“I thought we were going to play,” Andy said questioningly, almost disappointingly despite his earlier protests. “Who was that?”

“Oh, nobody,” Mardy replied nonchalantly.

Andy scoffed. “Yeah, like I buy that for one second. You may as well tell me, because you know I’ll annoy the hell out of you until you do.”

There was no denying that. “I invited John over to try and salvage the afterschool special you imagine your life has become,” he said, receiving a scowl in return. “Of course, where John goes, Sam is sure to follow, and you know what that means.”

“What? Monopoly night with the basketball team?” Andy asked.

Mock consideration crossed Mardy’s face despite the glare Andy was sending his way. If looks could kill, he’d be dead where he sat. “You know, that’s not such a bad idea. We should do that sometime. Maybe even invite Courier.”

“Don’t even,” Andy warned. The idea of an actual night designated to playing monopoly sounded like a nightmare.

“Hey, when it comes to Monopoly, the more the merrier,” Mardy reasoned.

“That’s what they want you to think.”

“Who?”

“Parker Brothers, Mr. Monopoly, sadistic people like you who force people to play this torturous game,” Andy listed off. Realizing he wasn’t going to win this one, he leaned back against the couch behind him and sighed. “Fine, we’ll all play Monopoly until we’re either passed out from the unending tedium or fitted for straightjackets in the loony bin.”

“Ah, group insanity. That’s the spirit.”

Andy just rolled his eyes and went back to watching the game, the board and pieces lying abandoned next to him on the floor. He wasn’t sure why he was so upset. It wasn’t like he wanted to play anyway. Deciding it wasn’t worth thinking about, he kept his focus on the TV. When the doorbell rang several minutes later and Mardy left to open the door, he didn’t even bother to turn his head when he heard the footsteps approach.

“Andy, aren’t you going to at least say hi?” Mardy asked when Andy failed to acknowledge anyone was there.

“Hey,” Andy said in greeting, not moving an inch. He was depressed, what with the love of his teenage life, not that he would call him that, being out on a date. Not only that, his so-called best friend was forcing him to socialize and play Monopoly under duress. The situation more than warranted sulking on his part. If anything, he thought they should be glad he wasn’t contemplating setting the entire school on fire in a fit of rage a la Carrie.

“Really? That’s the best you can do?”

Andy snapping his head up and groaned, seeing Novak staring back at him. Eyeing him suspiciously, he tried to work out why the Serb was standing before him before saying, “Gee, John. The transformation from Shaq to Frankenstein is astounding. But isn’t it a little early to be dressing up for Halloween?”

Novak tsked, shaking his head. “You can’t even recognize your own boyfriend. How tragic.”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Taking a seat on the arm of the couch, Novak said, “I’m deeply hurt by how unexcited you are to see me.”

“Your metaphorical pain is touching, really, and I can only hope to squeeze some very literal lemon juice into your wounds, but it still doesn’t explain why you happen to be here, in Mardy’s house, when you clearly aren’t welcome.”

Novak shrugged. “I was invited.” He made it sound as though saying those three simple words had been a real chore, offering no further explanation to his presence.

Andy turned his attention to Mardy. “You invited Djokovic? All right; who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“I invited them, he invited himself,” Mardy answered, making it all sound so simple. Then, looking down the hall, he called out, “Are you guys gonna get in here or do you plan on living in my kitchen?”

“Dude, there’s enough food in there to feed an army. I think we could live there quite comfortably. Besides, you’re the one who told us to make ourselves at home.” John’s voice could be heard getting louder as he made his way down the hall, Mardy rolling his eyes even as he shared a knowing look with Andy.

“Make yourself at home as in help yourself to something to drink, not take up permanent residence in my kitchen,” Mardy replied as John entered, soda in hand. He then peered around John and down the empty hallway before looking directly at him. “Don’t tell me they got lost in the short distance it takes to walk from the fridge to the living room.”

John turned around and noticed he was alone, shrugging as he turned back to face Mardy. “Okay, I won’t.”

Despite the good job he was doing pouting in the corner of the room, it didn’t take long for Andy to catch up with the conversation he had excluded himself from, turning towards Mardy in accusation. “Just how many people did you invite?” Then, before his friend could utter a single syllable, his face lit up as he hastily reached a conclusion. “You did invite the basketball team, didn’t you?”

And here he had thought Mardy had been joking earlier.

“No,” Mardy denied at the same time John choked out with a snort, “Wrong sport entirely.”

Novak was immediately insulted. “I don’t play basketball.”

Raising his eyebrow, Andy retorted, “I’m not so sure you play soccer either.”

“I’m on the team,” Novak pointed out.

“Yeah, much to their detriment,” Andy muttered, getting a glare in return. It had always been a sore spot with the Serb and he knew it.

“Play nice, Roddick, or I won’t give you your surprise.”

Andy scoffed, but was curious all the same. “What do you have that I could possibly want?”

Standing up, Novak walked over, got down on Andy’s level and sat next to him, placing an arm around his shoulder and saying so only he could hear, “Not what, but who.”

Eyes widening with realization, Andy whispered, “Roger. You brought Roger.”

Nodding with a smirk, the Serb appeared to be rethinking it. “I could always take him back. Get a refund since you clearly don’t want him.”

It took everything Andy had to bite his tongue and not yell a threatening “Don’t even think about it!” at the smug man next to him. Habit really was a hard thing to break. “Why would you help me?” he asked instead, suspicion lacing every word.

“I’m not as selfless as you make me out to be. I’m getting something out of this deal as well.” Never let it be said he did anything out of kindness.

After several moments, during which time Novak stared expectantly and somewhat impatiently at him, he finally got what the Serb was actually saying.  “Oh, right. Rafa.”

“Very good, Roddick, there just might be hope for you yet,” Novak replied as though talking to a dog, surprised to get a smirk in return.

“You’re forgetting one thing.” Seeing the confusion on Novak’s face, his confidence returned as he spoke. “You’re in here with me and they’re in there.”

Novak shook his head. “So impatient.” Standing up, he said loud enough so the other three in the room could hear, “I think I’ll get something to drink as well. The company in there has to be better than out here.”

Moments after Novak left, John noticed Sam approaching from the direction of the kitchen. “Are we playing red rover and someone forgot to tell me?”

Sam shook his head as he entered. “I was the only non-soccer player in there. I was feeling outnumbered.”

“Awe, you missed us!” John teased while Sam chose to ignore him. Turning to Mardy, he asked, “You called us here to play Monopoly? Really?”

“It was better than watching Andy sulk,” Mardy replied honestly, getting a glare in return from Andy.

Sam and John shared a look, silently communicating before John nodded his head in agreement.

“Oh, come on! If I have to point out the white elephant in the room I will. Roger and Rafa, right?” John asked sympathetically. “Heartbreak stinks, man. That’s tough.”

Andy stared at him in shock. “How did you know that?”

This earned him a raised eyebrow as John crossed his arms, clearly wondering how his friend could think him so clueless. “Uh, because I have two eyes and a brain? It wasn’t that hard to put together. You’ve been drooling over Feds forever; I’m just surprised it took you this long to go after him.”

“Let me guess. You figured out what’s really going on between me and Djokovic,” Andy said knowingly.

“Hate to love in nothing flat?” Sam broke in. “Give us some credit.”

“Excuse me?” John interrupted. “What was that?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Okay, give John some credit, he figured it out, though in fairness, I didn’t quite buy it either.”

“Great,” Andy sighed, combing his hand through his hair without thinking about it. “I bet the whole school knows.”

“Yeah right,” John scoffed. “We know because we’re your friends. They… Well, they think it’s cute.”

Now it was Andy’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Uh huh. Then how do his friends not know?”

“They’re not John,” Sam answered. “I swear he doesn’t miss a beat. Just trust us on this, okay?”

Seeing no other choice, Andy nodded his head. “If you can’t trust your friends, who can you trust?”

John grinned. “That’s the spirit.” Then, changing the subject completely, he said, “Mardy, man, I’m starving. I say we eat before we play. Do you mind if I make full use of your kitchen?”

“Sure,” Mardy answered with a shrug. “But I’m supervising. My parents will have a fit if they come home to the fire department.”

“This should be good.” A smirk graced Sam’s face. He then turned towards Andy, extending the invitation with the smallest of hopes his friend would take him up on the offer. No one could deny a depressed Andy was a sorry sight indeed.

“Want to join the party in the kitchen?”

Andy shook his head. “No. I think I’ll stay here.”

“No problem,” John assured, not wanting to push him. “We’ve got you covered. We’ll just fix you something right up.”

“As to whether it’s edible, well that’s another story,” Sam added, getting a nudge in return as they headed towards the kitchen, Mardy following behind and laying down the ground rules.

Alone with nothing but his thoughts for company, Andy pushed them to the back of his mind and turned his attention back to the game. 

Entering the kitchen, Mardy noticed Rafa and Novak talking near the counter opposite the fridge, Roger showing only mild interest as his eyes periodically darted around the room. He appeared to be searching for a means of escape. The way he looked, Mardy wouldn’t have been surprised to see him make a break for the window, smashing it through before jumping down to the lawn below.

Not that he could blame the man if he did. From what John had told him, Novak and Rafa had been engaged in a conversation so dull, he had wanted to bash his head in on the drive over and wondered more than once how Roger could stand to be around the pair.

John must have been along the same wavelength as he immediately walked over to the Swiss and grabbed his full attention. Not that it was that hard to do.

“Hey Feds, want some food?”

Roger’s attention snapped to the three Americans and shook his head. “No thanks.”

“Okay,” John said. “But you don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Yeah, food poisoning,” Sam interjected, getting a look from John. “Sandwiches are a safe option.”

John raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Sandwiches? Where’s your sense of adventure? Learn to live a little.”

“I am,” Sam retorted. “I want to live a lot, which is why sandwiches sound like a plan.”

Cutting him off, John turned to Mardy and asked, “What’s your vote?”

Mardy shrugged. “As long as you don’t burn down the kitchen, I don’t care.”

“Yes!” John exclaimed with a large grin as he bypassed Novak and Rafa, who had yet to realize Roger had excused himself from their little group, and went about rooting through the fridge, Sam just shaking his head and following a little too much like a puppy.

None of this had gone unnoticed by Mardy, just shaking his head as he took it in, but he had something a little more pressing on his mind. Or rather, a certain someone whose intentions towards his friend had yet to be known.

“So, you’ve been tutoring Andy after school,” Mardy commented, getting Roger’s attention.

Roger nodded. “He’s doing very well.”

“You certainly have more patience than I do. He may be my best friend, but I’d probably end up strangling him.” Although he meant it as a joke, Mardy knew Andy could try the patience of a saint, which Roger appeared to be.

“He’s not that bad,” Roger said, a smile on his face.

“Hmm,” Mardy said thoughtfully. “I suppose not seeing as you gave him a ride home. He obviously couldn’t have annoyed you too much if you volunteered to spend more time with him.”  

“Ah, Andy told you. Yes, Djokovic never showed up.”

“I was running late,” Novak piped in from across the kitchen, having heard his name. “I explained all of this to Andy.”

“Oh yes, the nature trek,” Mardy commented with a chuckle. “Get lost in the woods?”

Novak glared at him, but before he could say anything, Rafa interjected, “It was my fault. I was talking to Nole and we lost track of time.”

To say Novak was dumbfounded was an understatement, eyes wide as he just stared at Rafa. His brain seemed to kickstart as he opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance.

“Admit it, you can’t even boil water,” Sam’s voice carried from the stove.

“I’ve got this,” John assured, knocking Sam’s hands away as he tried to help. “You’re the one who almost burnt the house down trying to make toast the last time I was over.”

“I was distracted.”

Mardy rolled his eyes, pretty sure what – or rather who – was the cause of that, but wisely chose not to comment. He couldn’t help but notice he had quickly become a fifth wheel in his own kitchen and wondered yet again why he had thought this was a good idea.

“Aren’t you worried?” Novak asked, watching the two Americans bicker over the food they were trying, and apparently failing, to make.

“Them?” Mardy asked, glancing over and shrugging. “They’re harmless. Mostly”

Novak looked like he wanted to say something but was quickly pulled back into a conversation with Rafa, causing Mardy to shake his head in amusement. His house was full of idiots. He couldn’t help but wonder what it said about him that he was friends with them.

“In all honesty, I have no idea what Andy sees in him,” Roger muttered. Then, seeming to notice Mardy’s attention had switched to him, he added, “I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around their relationship.”

“Aren’t we all?” Mardy asked in amusement, fully agreeing despite knowing the real reason behind their relationship.

Roger nodded. After a pause, during which time he seemed to be debating with himself about something, he asked, “Can you tell me something, Mardy?”

“Sure.” He had to admit he was curious what the other man could want from him, though he had a suspicion.

Hesitating as he found the right words, Roger opened his mouth a few times as though to speak but failed to say anything. After an encouraging nod from Mardy to continue, he managed to get out the question that had been evading him moments before. “Does Andy like me?”

Those words completely stunned him. Of all the things he had expected to come out of Roger’s mouth, those particular words were certainly not what he had been expecting. He knew there were a lot of ways to take that question and at the moment, he wasn’t sure which one was running through Roger’s mind. Not giving anything away just yet, he asked, “What do you mean?”

“He acts differently around me. He’s more reserved.”

Mardy wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or annoyed. On one hand, he was glad he didn’t have to deal with Roger piecing together Andy’s feelings for him; it was bad enough he had to deal with it from Andy’s end. On the other hand, he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. ‘So freaking oblivious,’ he groaned to himself.

Not sure what to say, he just shrugged by way of response even as he knew exactly what the Swiss was referencing. Anyone who wasn’t blind could see Andy’s usual cocky demeanor, his whole personality even, flew out the window when Roger was around. Or at least it did until recently when Andy had finally allowed himself to relax around him. But apparently Roger either hadn’t noticed the change or didn’t care, probably wondering what had caused Andy’s initial reservations in the first place. He had yet to determine if Roger was too smart for his own good or stupidly oblivious; the jury was still out on that one. How the other man hadn’t noticed his friend’s quite obvious crush was beyond him.

“Did you ask him about it?”

Without hesitation, Roger nodded. “When we first started his tutoring sessions. He told me it’s because we’re different. He thinks I’m better than he is.”

“And you don’t believe him,” Mardy finished, getting another nod in turn. “Don’t ever tell him I told you this, he would kill me, but for all of his confidence, he can seriously doubt himself sometimes. It’s basically his defense mechanism.”

Roger thought for a moment. “That makes sense. He still seems to hold back around me.”

“All I can tell you is that you have it all wrong. Andy would be your friend in an instant if you’d let him and I can speak from personal experience that as infuriating as he can be, he’s also the greatest friend you can have. His brain may not always be there, but his heart is, and that’s what counts.”

“I know.”

“Good. Anything else you’ll have to either figure out yourself or get out of Andy.”

“And that’s not going to be easy, is it?”

Thinking off how stubborn Andy could be when he wanted to, Mardy shook his head. “No, but I think you’ll be happily surprised in the end. But now that I’ve answered your questions, can I ask one of my own?”

“Go ahead,” Roger said with a nod.

“Just what do you want with Andy?”

To say Roger was stunned would be an understatement if his expression was anything to go by. He clearly hadn’t been expecting that.

“Before he started dating Djokovic, you rarely spoke more than two words to him. Djokovic talked to him more and that was only ever to exchange insults. Now you’re here, in my kitchen, interrogating me on my best friend, the same one you barely had the time of day before. What changed?”

Roger shrugged. “I want to be his friend. Is that a problem?”

“No,” Mardy admitted. “It just strikes me as strange that you’d suddenly want that now.”

“All of those things you told me about Andy, I already knew them,” Roger said, shocking Mardy. “It just took me several years longer to see it than it took you. Now that I have, I want to get to know him better.”

He was still positive there was more the Swiss wanted out of Andy than he was letting on, but he’d leave it be for now. Eyeing Roger skeptically, he nodded his head. “Okay but know this. If you’re befriending him as a joke or out of some strange sense of charity, if you hurt him in any way, I will make your life a living hell. Got it?”

“Ja,” Roger immediately agreed.

No one could doubt he would do it, having been by Andy’s side through thick and thin and every last scrape and scheme the American managed to stumble his way through. They’d been brothers in all but blood since that first day of kindergarten when Andy sat next to him during snack time and offered him half his cookie, Mardy’s having been taken by Marat, before proceeding to punch the smug expression off Safin’s face. In the end, Andy had come out worst for the wear, but an unbreakable bond had been forged between he and Andy that day. 

After everything, after all this time, Mardy wasn’t about to let someone harm his best friend, intentionally or not.

“I hope for Andy’s sake you mean that.”

Roger nodded his understanding when, suddenly, he stopped as realization dawned on his face. “Where is Andy? I haven’t seen him yet.”

‘I was wondering how long it would be before he asked that,’ Mardy thought, wondering for a brief moment if he should tell him. In the end, he did what he thought was best for Andy. “He’s in the family room brooding.”

“Why?” Roger asked, voice laced in concern. “Is he okay?”

Mardy rolled his eyes in amusement. “He’s fine. Just overly dramatic. You know Andy. Lamenting this afternoon, his life, his place in the universe… The usual.”

“I thought today went well,” Roger commented, confusion on his face.

Mardy couldn’t help but chuckle as he remembered his friend’s theatrics earlier. “Oh, it did, but you’d have to know Andy to understand that.”

Roger eyed him skeptically, but accepted the answer, a question still hanging between them.

Guessing at it, Mardy gestured towards the doorway. “If you want to go in there, be my guest. It’ll probably do him some good.” Watching the other man leave, he took note of the four still in his kitchen and sighed. ‘I hate my life.’

Staring blankly at the screen, not even registering the game, Andy wondered what Roger was doing. ‘Probably still talking to Nadal,’ he thought bitterly. Although he could just as easily go into the kitchen like Novak had and see for himself, he didn’t feel he could handle watching his carefree interaction with the Spaniard. He saw it enough at school and that was more than enough for one day, thank you very much. Instead, he continued to stare at the screen, watching the game without actually taking in what was going on.

“Was today really that bad?” Roger asked as he dropped onto the floor next to him, snapping him out of his reverie.

He turned his head to look at the Swiss, not having heard him walk in. The words left his mouth before he could hold them back. “What are you doing out here?”

Roger smiled at him. “I thought I’d come say hi.”

‘Of course, he’s just trying to be nice,’ Andy told himself, trying not to get his hopes off; a futile effort if there ever was one. “Well, hi.”

Chuckling, Roger said, “Hi.”

“So how did you even get dragged into coming here?” Andy asked him.

“I was invited,” Roger answered.

Andy nodded. “I guess I thought you’d be with Rafa. You’re with him all the time outside of school.” He knew he was failing to keep the jealousy from his voice but there was little he could do to prevent it. Unfortunately, his mouth had developed a mind of its own and refused to listen to him.

“I do spend a lot of time with Rafa. And the other guys on the team,” Roger added. “We usually go out as a group. Like you and the basketball team.”

That one statement made Andy’s day appear far brighter than it had been just moments before. “Oh,” he said, trying not to reveal just how happy he suddenly was. “Then why are you here when you could be with them?”

“I see them all the time,” Roger answered as though it were nothing, even though it meant the world to the man sitting next to him. “It’s not very often I get to spend time with you. Or your friends,” he added almost hastily as an afterthought. “Probably because I’ve never been invited before.”

“You’ve never been invited because we don’t exactly hang out,” Andy pointed out.

It was true since they never saw each other outside of school and rarely even spoke then. Sure, there was the car ride home, but he considered that more of a fluke thing. If anything, his head was still reeling from and wondered if it had really happened at all or if it was yet another figment of his overly active, quite wishful, imagination.

A look of serious determination came over Roger’s face. “What if I want to change that?”

Andy eyed him curiously. “Why would you?”

“Because we’re friends.”

Stunned, Andy found he couldn’t move a muscle as his brain froze. There was no way he had just heard those words come from Roger Federer, soccer star, school golden boy and the very subject of his every fantasy. Roger actually considered him a friend? Really? He was having a hard time getting those words to compute.

“Are we?” He finally managed.

Roger nodded. “I think we are. At least, I’d like us to be. I suppose that’s up to you.”

Seeing an opportunity, Andy nodded. It wasn’t a declaration of undying love, but it was a start. It certainly beat being the nothing more than the inept math student Roger was stuck tutoring every day. “Okay.” There were a lot of questions going through his head, wondering why him? Why now? But he couldn’t get his mouth to work.

Roger glanced down at his hands for a moment before looking back up at Andy. “You don’t owe me anything, but I want you to know I really do want to be your friend, Andy. No strings attached. I know you have Mardy, John and Sam, even Djokovic. But now… You have me also. And if there was something I did today -.”

“No!” Andy quickly denied, eyes going wide. It didn’t take a rocket scientist for him to figure out Mardy must have said something to him in the kitchen, a thought that made him internally groan; he’d deal with him later. “No, Roger. You didn’t do anything wrong. You really are an amazing tutor, not to mention how great it was of you to give me a ride home when my boyfriend decided he was king of the forest creatures. I’m still surprised he didn’t get bit by a rogue squirrel,” he added offhandedly. “But there’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately, that’s all.”

“Thinking about the game tomorrow?” Roger asked knowingly, getting a small nod in return.  “I think I can imagine,” he added with a chuckle.

Andy grinned. “Yeah, I guess you can. But I doubt you came here just to give me another pep talk and reassure my pregame jitters.”

“Djokovic said something about playing a game. Would you happen to know anything about that?”

With a sigh, Andy motioned towards the floor in front of them where the abandoned board still lay, a handful of tokens and various denominations of bright colored money scattered haphazardly from where he and Mardy had dropped it what now seemed like an eternity ago.

Noticing the Monopoly board for the first time, Roger smirked. “Monopoly?”

“Tell me about it,” Andy groaned. “I think it’s the worst game known to man.”

“And yet you still play.”

Andy shrugged. “Mardy wanted to play, so here we all are.”

“What piece are you?” Roger asked curiously.

“I’m always the racecar.”

Roger grinned. “That’s the piece I always choose.”

“Then I guess one of us will just have to pick something else,” Andy teased.

“Let me guess. You want me to pick another piece and give you the racecar,” Roger said, amusement in his voice.

Andy didn’t answer, instead reaching over to pick up the token. He stared at it sitting in the palm of his hand for a second before holding it out to Roger. “Here, take it.”

The grin dropped off Roger’s face as he realized what was happening. “I can’t.”

“Well I’m not taking it, so you better,” Andy insisted, a small grin on his face as he added some levity to the situation. “Unless you’d rather Nole take it?”

Roger stared back at him before slowly reaching out his hand to grab the piece. As his fingers closed around the metal, they brushed against Andy’s hand, causing him to stop. Finally, pulling back with the piece in his hand, he said, “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Andy replied as he tried desperately to keep his voice in check, feeling the tension between them as they just sat there, neither of them moving or saying a word as they simply stared at each other.

“…oh, come on,” John said, breaking the silence and startling the two as he entered the room, Sam and Mardy following behind, “it wasn’t that bad.”

Sam snickered. “No, it was worse.”

“I’m not even sure what it was, other than inedible,” Mardy said, walking over to where Andy and Roger were sitting.

“That bad, huh?” Andy asked knowingly, his mood improved tenfold since Mardy had last seen him.

Mardy nodded, surprised to see Andy so happy, but relieved at the same time. “Inedible,” he repeated, the single word being all that was required.

“At least he didn’t burn down the kitchen,” Sam commented.

John shook his head with a smirk. “Funny,” he said dryly. “Especially coming from the guy who can’t make toast.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m not the one still trying to prove I can. Now are we playing Monopoly or not?”

Mardy looked questioningly at Andy. “I don’t know. Are we?”

“Sure,” Andy said with a shrug. “May as well.”

“Awesome,” John said with glee, rubbing his hands together as a maniacal grin took over his face. Taking a seat on the floor across from Andy and Roger, he grabbed the board and positioned it between them. He then picked up the pile of tokens and started sorting through them. “Aha! I’m going to be the dog,” he proclaimed, taking said piece and handing the rest to Sam, who was rolling his eyes as he sat next to John.

“No surprise there,” he muttered, just grabbing the first piece he came to and passing the rest on to Mardy who had taken the spot that was on Andy’s other side.

John took a look at what his friend had chosen. “The wheelbarrow?” he asked incredulously. “Really? The wheelbarrow?” The way he said it made it sound like Sam had just committed a crime against humanity, which in John’s mind, he probably had.

“Why don’t you say it a few more times,” was the sarcastic response. “I’m sure there are some people in China who didn’t hear you. We’d hate to leave them in suspense.”

“But the wheelbarrow?” John asked, shaking his head. “You do know that’s the least popular Monopoly token, right?”

Sam shrugged. “Then I guess it’s getting some use. Pick one, Mardy,” he said, diverting the topic elsewhere.

“Already did,” Mardy replied, laying the tokens on the board and picking up the thimble from where he’d left it earlier.

“The thimble…” John said in disappointment. “Ugh, you guys are so lame.” Turning to Andy, he said, “Okay, your turn, and please pick something good.”

Mardy chuckled. “Andy’s always the racecar,” he said, John giving Andy a thumbs up in appreciation. “He won’t give that up for anything.”

“Really?” Roger asked staring at Andy with a grin as said American averted his gaze to the remaining pile of pieces.

“Oh yeah,” Mardy answered. “It’s the only way he’ll even agree to play. For him, it’s the racecar or nothing.”

“I’m going to be the battleship,” Andy interjected, quickly snatching said piece and drawing stunned looks from everyone except for Roger.

“You’re what?” Mardy asked, positive he was hearing things. “Did you just say you’re going to be the battleship? What happened to the racecar?”

Andy shrugged. “I want to be the battleship, okay? Thought I’d switch things up for once. Roger’s going to be the racecar.”

All at once, understanding dawned on Mardy, John and Sam’s faces.

“Excellent choice,” John told Andy. “Still better than the wheelbarrow and the thimble.”

“Will you get off of that?” Sam asked peevishly. “Just pick up the dice and roll so we can see who goes first.”

“Wait a minute,” Andy interrupted before John could do as requested. “Aren’t we missing someone?”

John rolled his eyes. “Your boyfriend is in the kitchen with Nadal.” He then yelled towards the direction of the kitchen, “Hey you two! Get in here so we can play!”

“Someone’s eager to lose,” Sam said, getting a friendly nudge in return.

As soon as the Serb and Spaniard entered, sitting between Roger and Sam, John grabbed the remaining pieces and thrust them out. “Here, choose one.”

“You could ask nicely,” Novak said, even as he took the proffered items and examined them one by one, purposely drawing his decision out so as to further irk John. “Hmm… I will take the cannon.”

“We know,” Sam cut in before John could say anything, “it’s still better than the wheelbarrow and the thimble.”

“Well, it is,” John insisted while Novak laughed and asked in disbelief, “You took the wheelbarrow?”

“Shut up, forest boy.” Snatching the pieces out of Novak’s hands, Sam handed them to Rafa. “Your turn.”

Rafa scrutinized them carefully before finally taking the top hat, handing the leftovers to John.

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” John told Sam, holding out the tokens. “The man on a horse is still left.”

“I’m keeping the wheelbarrow and that’s final,” Sam insisted as Novak muttered, “Man on a horse? Because that’s so much better.”

John pretended not to hear Novak’s utterance and shrugged. “Fine, keep the lousy piece. Just don’t blame me when you lose. Now then, who’s banker?”

“Andy,” Mardy immediately answered as he handed over the Monopoly money.

Novak laughed without remorse. “Oh, this should be good. He struggles with math but we’re trusting him to count money. What could possibly go wrong?”

Rolling his eyes, Andy ignored the barb and began doling out the money to each player. Although he wanted nothing more than to reach over and strangle Novak right then and there, he decided he wasn’t going to rise to the Serb’s bait, taking the higher road while showing Roger he was capable of being mature. But all thought left his brain entirely, his breath catching as Roger said, “He’s smarter than you give him credit for.”

Pausing, he glanced up, his eyes locked with Roger’s and he saw the belief the Swiss had for him in his eyes. It was in that moment he decided, win or lose, maybe he didn’t hate Monopoly so much after all.