Chapter Text
Karl should have been quarterback, and everybody knew it.
When the team roster was posted at the end of practice and Karl read Sapnap’s name at the top, he almost didn’t believe it. Karl had spent the entire summer falling into his role as team leader: he was commanding and vocal at practices, he led the team through conditioning- hell, he even drove underclassmen to and from the field. He had been saving a spot on his varsity letterman jacket for a Team Captain patch to be embroidered since freshman year.
All for some cocky jackass to steal it from him.
Sapnap’s ego was through the roof. Although, Karl supposed it was slightly justified- the guy practically breathed, ate, and slept football. He was constantly at the field or in the weight room. It paid off, too. Sapnap was damn good at the game. And he was built like…
Well, he was built like a quarterback.
Alright, fine, maybe Karl was jealous of him.
But he still deserved to be on the field, not warming the bench. What Karl lacked in skill (only slightly, might he add) compared to Sapnap, he made up for in morale. He was the one who would lead the karaoke sessions during team bonding and chest bump his teammates in celebration after a good play. He was friends with everybody on the team.
Well, almost everybody.
Going back to middle school football, where 20 uncoordinated and unhygienic 13-year-olds would run around a patchy field with no real grasp on the game, Karl and Sapnap had always rivaled for the position of quarterback. It started out as healthy competition with no real consequences.
But as they moved into highschool and things started to get serious, the two definitely had some tension. Karl had tried to ignore it and focus on improving himself and his game. His dynamic with the team had him convinced he was going to beat out Sapnap.
Yet here he was in the locker room after practice, angrily shoving his helmet in his bag, while Sapnap talked with the coach in his office. Most of the team had filed out of the locker room, but Karl lagged behind, grumbling as he aggressively put his pads in his bag. George, the kicker of the team, took notice of Karl’s attitude and asked him what was wrong. Karl turned to face him, eyebrows furrowed in irritation.
“Didn’t you see the roster? What do you think is wrong?” Karl said flatly. George tried his best to be comforting, despite the anger radiating off of Karl and his sour attitude.
“Aw, man, don’t get too down on yourself. You’ll still get playing time, you’re one of the best players on the team.” George patted Karl’s shoulder stiffly. Emotional reassurance wasn’t really his forte.
“Clearly not better than Sapnap,” Karl said with a roll of his eyes. “Apparently sucking up to the coaches is a good replacement for actual hard work.”
George responded, “Karl, you don’t actually mean that, you’re just upset and-” before Karl interrupted him.
“No, George, I bet you he’s in there right now sucking coach’s dick,” said Karl, gesturing to the office.
George stepped back in surprise, holding his hands up in mock surrender.
“Woah, dude, calm down. It’ll be alright, I promise.”
Karl said nothing in response, continuing to throw things into his bag with no intent to organize it and then zipped it half closed. He swung it over his shoulder and mumbled a weak “see you tomorrow” to George before walking out of the locker room.
As soon as he sat in his car Karl regretted the things he had said. His initial anger and frustration upon seeing the roster had dissipated. Karl took a deep breath and brought himself back down to earth. Sapnap was a good player, and he deserved to be a starter. He couldn’t let his jealousy get to head like this.
Karl’s role on the team was his spirit. He was the glue that held the boys together, whether he was running the plays or cheering them on. He had to accept that Sapnap was the quarterback and he wasn’t. It wouldn’t benefit anyone to sit on the sidelines all year with envy.
Besides, Karl knew he still had lots of chances to prove himself. The season hadn’t even officially begun, and George was right- he would still get bountiful playing time. He would just have to work extra hard.
He had finally got his head screwed on straight when none other than Your Majesty Sapnap walked out of the gym with that stupid overconfident look on his face. All of the resentment Karl had just got out of his system came flowing back twice as strong. Even the way he walked seemed to say “I know I’m better than you, Karl!”
Karl didn’t realize he was glaring knives at Sapnap until he caught his eye and did a double take. Sapnap raised an eyebrow in question, but Karl returned it with a scoff and a roll of his eyes as he pulled out of the parking lot. He couldn’t stand to see his smug face anymore.
When he got home, Karl ate dinner with his mom, took a quick shower, and then collapsed into his bed. He welcomed the tranquil embrace of sleep with open arms, the bitter events of the day evaporating into a listless slumber.
The next morning, Karl felt significantly better. He went to school and even made it through the events of after-school practice with no conflict. Although still envious of Sapnap, Karl was beginning to accept his role on the team and fall back into his rhythm. The two didn’t interact much during the practice, and Karl figured it was for the better. He might have blown a gasket if he had to stand there and watch Pretty Boy prace around the field like he owned the place.
However, in the locker room after practice, it became apparent that Karl’s resentment for Sapnap was not one-sided. Karl had taken off his pads and was sitting on a bench untying his laces when Sapnap had approached him. Standing in a light gray shirt with the sleeves ripped off, exposing his obnoxiously ripped biceps, Sapnap towered over Karl on the bench.
“Are we gonna have a problem?” Sapnap asked. The hum of the locker room died away as people moved closer to see what was going on.
Karl stood up from the bench, raising to Sapnap’s height. He paused for a moment, looked Sapnap up and down, and responded.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Sapnap huffed and pressed his tongue against his cheek. He leaned his arm across the walkway against the lockers, effectively trapping Karl.
“Considering you don’t know how to keep my name out of your mouth, I was just wondering if this was gonna be an issue.” Sapnap cocked an eyebrow, waiting for Karl’s response.
Normally, Karl would have surrendered. He would have accepted defeat, said he was sorry, and gone about his day. He wouldn’t classify himself as a confrontational person.
But, today was different. Sapnap was different. The man got under his skin like no other, and especially after the events of the recent days, he wasn’t about to back down from the fight.
“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true,” Karl said, even though he knew it was a lie. He wanted to antagonize Sapnap- make him feel as irritated as Karl had felt. At this point, the rest of the team had circled around the two boys, feeding off of the conflict.
Sapnap nodded in disbelief, and then leaned in closer to Karl, lowering his voice.
“Karl, I’d watch it if I were you. Just cause you’re jealous I got quarterback doesn’t mean you can go around saying shit. I’m warning you right now it’s not gonna fly.”
“I’m not jealous , I’m mad that you got a position that you didn’t deserve,” Karl retorted.
Sapnap froze at that comment.
“What the fuck did you just say to me?”
“I said I should be quarterback. You haven’t done half the shit I do for this team. I deserve to be on the field. You don’t,” Karl said.
Sapnap stepped in and grabbed the collar of Karl’s shirt, like a jock from a 90s highschool movie. “You don’t know shit about me, Jacobs,” whispered Sapnap.
Karl retaliated and shoved Sapnap away from him. “You can’t just intimidate people into giving you what you want, you know. Sometimes you actually have to work hard for your goals.”
“Karl…” Sapnap growled, warning him to stop.
“Although, now that I think about it, you wouldn’t know, huh?”
“Back. Off.”
“I mean, I don’t really blame you. If I could sleep my way to the top, I probably would too-”
Karl was interrupted by Sapnap grabbing his shoulders and slamming him backwards against a locker, his skull colliding into the metal with a resounding clang. The team gasped in shock, and Sapnap quickly realized he had taken it too far. A few of the boys interjected themselves into the circle to stop the two from hurting each other more.
Karl’s hand snaked up to the back of his head, a tender bump already forming. He made eye contact with Sapnap, who looked like he wanted to say something. He lost his opportunity, however, as people started asking Karl if he was okay and if he needed ice.
Karl watched as Sapnap turned, picked up his stuff, and walked out of the locker room without a second glance. He would have felt more angry if he wasn’t preoccupied with the knot that now resided on the base of his skull. He already had a headache, and practice was going to be a bitch tomorrow, but Karl could tell there wasn’t any serious damage.
Karl, along with the rest of the team, knew he had to keep this on the down low, because if coach had found out they had gotten into a physical fight then both boys would be benched, no matter who was a better quarterback.
So, Karl grabbed a bag of ice, held it to his head, and drove home. Whatever esteem Karl had once held for Sapnap was gone- he hadn’t even bothered to apologize. Granted, Karl was the one who instigated the entire thing, but Sapnap knew better than to physically hurt another teammate. As much as he hated to admit it, they were all on the same side and working towards the same goal.
Karl wasn’t sure how they were going to proceed from that incident, but they’d have to find a way. The team still had an entire season to play through. Karl resigned to deal with it tomorrow. For tonight, he just laid in bed and tried to sleep through the pounding in his head and the anger in his veins.