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What is the difference between Rugby and Football?
Hell if Riley knows. He only plays the one. Football. Then there was his best–nope. Former best friend. Chase.
Was he mad at him for picking the other sport? Kind of. Could he blame him? Not really. Chase was from New Zealand, Rugby was that special sport that New Zealanders played.
He wasn't mad at him for playing his home sport, he was mad because their practices didn't clash and they couldn't hang out anymore. When Riley was free Chase had practice and when Chase was free Riley had practice. Chase was the one who said it was best to just break off the friendship since there was no way for them to hang out.
Before Riley and Chase pretty much became rivals, they were inseparable. To say Riley missed Chase was an understatement. He's completely lost without him.
Riley wasn't afraid to admit to himself he was head over heels in love with the Kiwi boy. In fact, admitting it to his new best friend—one of the cheerleaders—was probably the best-worst mistake he's ever made. "Really Ri? Chase? You can't be gaga over him, he plays Ruby. Those guys are jerks." Shelby argued.
Riley had the perfect argument. "Shelby Watkins! You cannot bitch me for liking Chase when you, ma'am have goo goo eyes for Tyler! Who just so happens to be Chase's Co-captain!" Shelby's face turned red.
"Don't you pull that shit on me Riley! That's not fair," Shelby pouted. Riley giggled. "It's just payback babe, deal with it." No. They were not dating. Riley decided to call her 'babe' after they became besties. He's gay so he has the right.
No one knows about Riley's nickname for Shelby. She also had one for him if anyone was wondering. "Honey, you are lucky you are my best friend and I love you." Riley grinned. "I know. Love you too," Shelby playfully rolled her eyes and took Riley's hand. "Come on, we both have practice." Riley intertwined their fingers and the two skipped to the field out in the yard.
*_*-~
As Riley was getting his uniform on, he bumped onto an unfortunate someone in the locker room. "Chase? What are you doing here?" The brunette looked up at him. "Just finished practice... you?" Riley put his helmet on.
"About to start practice," he answered.
Now it was just awkward.
"I-" Both started. "Sorry." Both said. "You go first." If this goes on it'll just be frustrating. "Go first, Ri." Chase insisted. Riley blushed. Chase hadn't used that nickname since Freshman year.
"I uhm... how... have you been?" Could you blame him? It was awkward, Riley didn't know what to say. It was his damn crush he was talking to. "I.. I've been good. I was... planning on asking Kaylee out. I like her a lot." Damn. That was harsh.
Riley's heart broke into pieces. "Oh.. that's.. nice." Chase could notice there was something off about him. But he decided not to pry. "What about you? How's yours and Shelby's relationship going?"
'He fuckin serious right now?'
"Shelby and I are not dating. She's my best friend." Chase frowned. "So I see you've already replaced me." Riley frowned too. "Replaced you? Have you forgotten you were the one who ended our friendship in the first place?" Chase narrowed his eyes.
"It's not my fault our practices prevent us from hanging out! What was I supposed to do?" Riley rolled his eyes. "I don't know! We could still be friends!" He argued. "I play Rugby, you play Football. The players are not friends. They're rivals." Chase gritted his teeth. "What about us? The friendship we had before we decided to play different sports." Riley was still mad, but he was also starting to get upset.
"Well, you're just going to have to deal with us being rivals instead of friends." Chase snarled. His sadness vanished. Now Riley was seriously pissed.
"You're an asshole, you know that?" He growled. "Me? I'm an asshole? You're the one who's angry because you can't accept the fact that we can't be friends!" Riley took off his helmet, he walked up to Chase and shoved him.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?!" He demanded. Chase was mad too. He shoved Riley back, more than once until he was against the lockers and Chase pinned him there.
"It means you're a coward and can't accept the truth." Chase spat–not literally but you know.
Riley was shorter than him so he had to look up in order to be able to look Chase in the eyes. "Well if I'm a coward then you're a jerk. If you want us to be rivals, fine! We'll be rivals." Chase didn't say anything. He and Riley just stared at each other for the next five minutes.
Riley still had an angry expression on his face. Chase's softed, his eyes went from Riley's eyes to his lips. He found himself beginning to lean in.
Riley's heart sped up and he closed his eyes. Chase was going to kiss him. That's all he ever wished for. Chase's lips were barely an inch away from Riley's when the Football coach decided to be a bitch about it—not on purpose though—and ruined their moment.
"Griffin! Get your ass out here!" Riley pushed Chase away, grabbed his helmet and bolted out of the locker room.
Chase was left standing there now questioning all his life choices. He was just so confused now.
*_*-~
"Griffin! Focus! Don't slack!" Riley was so not focused on Football right now. He couldn't stop thinking about the almost kiss he had with Chase in the locker room.
"Griffin! Look out!" Riley had no time to react when the ball hit him right in the head. He was wearing his helmet but still.
It was unexpected so he was knocked over anyway. The Coach approached him and hovered above him, not happy.
"What's wrong with you today? You can't focus on playing. Take ten and go clear your head so you can focus properly." Riley nodded and walked to the bench.
Shelby and her cheer team were practicing. She noticed him and told the girls to take five. Shelby was the cheer captain. Shelby walked over and joined Riley on the bench. "What happened?" She asked, like she already knew something happened to him. "I ran into Chase in the locker room while I was putting this on," Riley began, gesturing to his Football uniform. "Oh... what else?" Riley sighed.
"We had an argument. He shoved me against the lockers, and... he almost kissed me. Almost! Coach yelled for me to get my ass on the field, I got out of there quickly." Shelby nodded in understanding. She picked up her pom-poms. "Come on, we about to give this man a whooping. These pom-poms can do some serious damage." Riley's eyes widened.
"No! Shelbs! It'll just make things worse!" Riley ran after her—his Football uniform was not helping with his stamina—trying to stop her from doing something stupid.
"Shelby!" Riley cried out after her but he was too exhausted from running with his uniform on. She had already vanished. Shelby plus pom-poms plus Chase equals bad news.
He had to avoid Chase as much as possible. Like it would be game over if he ran into him. He didn't have practice today, so he had a lot of free time.
Maybe he could take the approtunity to actually learn what Rugby was and how it's played. Obviously he would have to stay hidden because he can't let the Rubgy jocks know a Football "jock" was watching them play.
Also he couldn't let his own team know he was watching the Ruby jocks because they don't associate with eachother.
Riley placed himself under the bleachers and watched through the gaps at the team. Number two caught his eye. It was Chase.
He looked extremely attractive in his jersey and shorts. Because Rugby players don't wear equipment like Riley did in Football. Then he looked over at Tyler. Number one. He kind of understood why Shelby liked him. But for Riley, he definitely preferred Chase.
Riley wasn't even paying attention to the actual game, he was watching Chase the whole time. His heart beating faster every time he got a good look at his face.
Riley let out a sigh, he put his elbow between the bleacher seats and leaned his head in his palm and stared at Chase for the rest of the practice.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one watching. The cheerleaders were there too. That included Shelby.... and... Kaylee. She was basically Riley's rival for Chase's attention.
He watched as she cheered, her eyes watched Chase. He was so caught up in secretly glaring at her, that he almost missed—almost—Shelby running over to Tyler and jumping into his arms. His mouth dropped open in disbelief. That's when he stormed out from behind the bleachers and made his presence known.
"Shelby Rebecca Watkins get your ass over here right now!"
Tyler looked passed her and saw how angry and pissed off Riley look. "Okay... he does not look happy. Did you not tell him about us?" Shelby winced as Riley used her full name.
She knew that meant he was really, really angry. "I was going to tell him, but how do you tell your best friend you're seeing his ex-best friend's new best friend?" Tyler hummed in agreement.
"That would be hard. But here's what you can do: tell him that you're with his ex-best friend's new best friend. Simple."
Shelby gave him an unimpressed looked and placed her hands on her hips. "Yea... now I understand why you're going to have trouble telling him..." Shelby gave him the 'duh' look. Tyler glanced at Riley one last time. "I think you should get over there..." He mentioned. "Ya think?" Shelby looked behind her shoulder, then back at Tyler. "Wish me luck." She kissed his cheek then began to jog towards Riley.
"Good luck!" Tyler called out after her.
Shelby stopped in front of Riley. "Hey..." She began. "Don't 'hey' me, girl, since when were you with Tyler of all guys?!" He demanded.
"Well, it happened after you told me about Chase.. so I went to find him... and I ran into Tyler instead and kind of forgot what I was doing. We got talking and he asked me out. He said he liked me, I said I returned his feelings, he asked me to be his girlfriend and we've been together ever since." Shelby explained with a dreamy expression.
"So you've been dating a week?!" Riley's voice was still loud but not as loud as when he yelled Shelby's name. "And you didn't tell me?" Riley added frustratdly. "Listen, I know you're mad and I don't blame you, because well, it's Tyler. But I really like him. And he's kinda my boyfriend and I just want you to support me..." Riley turned around and screamed into his hands.
He sighed before turning back to face Shelby. "Are you kidding? Of course I support you. What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't? And I'd be a hypocrite if I judged you for being with him. He's not that bad... and then here's me... I.." At that point Riley began to break.
"I-I like Chase...." Shelby pulled him into her arms without hesitation and let him cry into her shoulder. "I know..." She whispered.
Tyler watched them. Chase ran over to him. "Aren't you worried about how close they are? She is your girlfriend and she has a guy best friend..." Chase reminded him. "I'm not worried." Tyler said.
Chase looked back at Riley and Shelby, then Tyler. "Are you sure?" He asked. "Yep." Tyler confirmed. "Why?" Chase looked at Tyler expectingly. Tyler looked back at him.
"Maybe you should ask Riley about that..." Shelby had told him about Riley being gay on their date.
~Flashback~
"Come on, we about to give this man a whooping. These pom-poms can do some serious damage." Riley's eyes widened.
"No! Shelbs! It'll just make things worse!" Riley ran after her but she was already gone.
As Shelby made her way to find Chase and wack him with her pom-poms, she ran into Tyler. Quite literally but he caught her before she could fall over.
"Whoa, careful. You good?" She nodded. He helped her stand up right and she dusted off her cheerleading uniform. Completely dazed by Tyler, forgetting what she came to the field to do. Whoop Chase's ass with her "deadly" pom-poms.
"I don't think we've properly met. Even though you're a cheerleader and I'm a star Rugby player. I'm Tyler," He held out his hand.
"I'm Shelby.." She took his hand, a blush forming on her cheeks. Tyler noticed and his own blush formed.
"Hey... uh, do you wanna maybe, go and get a bite to eat? Get to know eachother better?" Tyler asked shyly.
Shelby brightened. "Sure. I'd love to." She agreed. He smiled. "Great. I'll just go get changed, rinse off and I'll meet you back here." She nodded and watched him run off into the change rooms. Shelby realized she was in her cheerleading outfit and went to quickly change too. She was back before Tyler was. He came back not too long after, he didn't want to leave Shelby waiting. They went to the Dino Bite Cafè. They talked, laughed and had a really good time. "I'm actually surprised you agreed to go out with me. You know, with you and.. what's his name..? He plays Football. Well, you and him, being a thing." Shelby stared at him, then burst out laughing.
"I'm sorry.. it's just, Riley and I aren't dating. He's my best friend." Tyler looked at her, confused.
"But I thought you were..." Shelby shook her head. "I'm not his type." She said simply. Although she figured Tyler might not get what she was hinting.
Tyler had to think about it long and hard. "Oh... Oh. Oh." He understood now. "I guess I was worried for nothing..." He laughed nervously. "Wait, were you jealous?" Tyler blushed. "No... I mean maybe a little... it just never crossed my mind that Riley was gay." Shelby gave him a serious look.
"You don't have a problem with that, do you?" She asked. "No, of course not. I know what they say about the Rugby jocks in movies, they're these assholes who pick on the gay kids. I'm not like that. I'm cool." Shelby smiled at him.
"Riley was seriously against me liking you because of the whole him playing Football and you playing Rugby. But I'm a cheerleader... so I don't know how that makes sense. I pretty much cheer for both sports. It's kinda my job." She giggled.
"I understand why. He's just protective of you. It's what a best friend does. Sometimes I wish Chase did that for me. You know, like be protective. But I'm tough, I can take care of myself." Shelby smiled.
"Speaking of Chase... he and Riley used to be best friends before they went off to play different sports. I could tell Riley was really hurt because it sort of ended their friendship." Tyler nodded. "Yea. Chase was pretty bummed out about that. Hey, did Riley tell you what happened between them in the locker room? Cause Chase told me... so I assumed Riley told you." Shelby's eyes widened. "He told you about that? You know, I was actually on my way to beat him with my pom-poms when I ran into you. Riley just finished telling me." Tyler snorted.
"Really? So does that mean bumping into me may have just saved Chase's life from being beaten by pom-poms?" Shelby leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest with a smug smile on her face.
"Huh... I guess you did. I got distracted and totally spaced out and forgot what I was about to do." Tyler grinned. "Oh? What made you so distracted that you forgot to smack my best friend with those scary pom-poms of yours?" Shelby blushed and looked away to avoid his eyes.
"Was it me..?" Tyler asked in a whisper. Shelby looked back at him. "Yea... it was..." She whispered her answer. Tyler reached over the table and grabbed Shelby's hands. "I like you, a lot." He confessed. "I like you too.." Shelby admitted.
"I know this is only our first date, and it's probably too soon to ask, but I really don't want to wait any longer. Do you... wanna be my girlfriend?" Shelby's face lit up more than it did the first time.
"I don't wanna wait either. Yes!" Tyler smiled. "Great! I'm glad we made it official."
"Me too." Shelby agreed.
~End Of Flashback~
"You think? Because ever since what happened in the locker room, he's been avoiding me. Like all the time..." Chase looked over at Shelby and Riley, she was still comforting him.
"I know you miss him. You were best friends. What happened to that? What, two different sports got in the way?" Tyler asked. "I feel awful. I ended our friendship. I've known him since even before High School. And I let the stupid rivalry between Rugby and Football players get in the way of that." He said.
"Maybe you can patch things up with him and be friends again." Tyler suggested. "Easier said than done. You are a star Rugby player, you're my Co-captain but you have a girlfriend, she's a cheerleader too, I know Kaylee likes me and she wouldn't hesitate to accept my invitation for maybe dating, but ever since that incident in the locker room with Riley... I can't stop thinking about him. He's always on my mind and I feel myself wanting to be around him all the time. I can't help it... I just want to be close to him... like I was before going to play different sports..." Tyler never stopped listening to Chase's rant.
"This is just my opinion dude, and I don't want to just decide that's it's the case, but... I think you might like him." Tyler told him. Chase looked back at Riley and Shelby, it looked like she told him something funny to cheer him up and now he was laughing his head off. Seeing him laugh sped up Chase's heart. He just looked really cute. Thinking Riley was cute when he laughed made Chase's face heat up.
Chase remembered what happened in the locker room, when they were so close to eachother. How badly Chase wanted to kiss him before Riley's coach yelled at him to get onto the field.
*_*-~
"It's just really frustrating. One minute we're best friends, then rivals, sort of, then we're in the locker room... and I had him pressed against the lockers, and I just... wanted to kiss him.. so badly. And now every time I see him I get the sudden urge to shove him against the wall and kiss the living daylights outta him, you know what I'm saying?"
The two-year-old baby in front of him giggled and clapper her hands together. "Abba! Abba!" She reached out her tiny little arms. He chuckled before he reached over and picked her up. "I guess you wouldn't know what I'm saying. You will, but you little miss, can't date until you're at least thirty." She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder.
Chase noticed her eyes getting heavy. So he rocked her back and forth in his arms until she fell asleep.
Chloe came into the room. "Hey," she greeted her older brother. Chloe was ten, Chase was seventeen and little Chelsea was two. Chase had two little sisters he now had to raise on his own after their parents died in the car crash almost two years ago.
Chelsea was only an infant. She was hardly two months old.
~Flashback Of Two Years Ago~
"We didn't hire a babysitter to look after the girls. We might just have to take them with us." Chase's mom sighed. "I can look after them." He suggested. His parents looked at him. "Honey, you're only fifteen, taking care of your sisters is going to be a huge responsibility. And Chelsea is only two months. But.. alright, I'll give you a receipt for formula and a list of things you must do." Chase's father patted his shoulder.
"You're doing a good thing, son. Stepping up and being a big brother." Chase smiled up at his dad. Having no idea it would be the last time he saw his parents.
Chase and Chloe gave their parents a huge hug before they left and both kissed Chelsea on the head before walking out the door.
Chase held Chelsea in his arms and Chloe was hugging his waist as their parents got into the car.
Chase had no idea offering to look after his sisters saved their lives.
*_*-~
A knock at the door made Chase hurry and put the milk formula in the bottle and hold it to Chelsea's mouth while she drank.
His face went pale when he saw the flashing red and blue lights outside the window. "I'll get it!" Chloe declared.
"Wait Chloe!" Chase followed her slowly and then his suspicion was confirmed when the police officer standing in their doorway had a sad expression on his face with his hat off.
Chase gave Chelsea to Chloe, "Take her to the couch and just feed her the bottle, alright? I'll talk to Mr. Policeman." Chloe nodded and walked over to the couch and gently put Chelsea in her lap and fed her the bottle of milk.
Chase turned back to the door and tried not to cry. "Are they dead?" He croaked out. "Yes... I'm so sorry son... your father was gone when we arrived but your mother said something to me before she died of her injuries. She said her son saved her daughters lives because he offered to look after them. You saved your sisters Chase, they would have died if your parents took them along. I know you're sad about your parents, but you should be so glad you offered to take care of your sisters because even with your parents gone, you still have them because you saved them." Chase wiped away the tears and nodded.
"I had no idea that offering just to look after them would save them. I'm so glad I did..." Chase was only fifteen. The officer opened his arms and Chase fell forward and cried into his chest.
He patted his back. Just like his father did before he left. Chase pulled back and sniffled. "I'm Officer Brent, if you ever need someone to talk to, come find me." He handed Chase a card with his number on it.
"Thank y-you..." He whispered. Officer Brent gave him once last small smile before he left. "Chase..?" Chloe called from the couch quietly. "Where's mommy and daddy?" Oh gosh. How was Chase going to tell his eight-year-old sister their parents died?
Chase walked over to Chloe and knelt in front of her, Chelsea was asleep. "Mommy and daddy are in another place now. I'm going to be looking after you from now on. I'll take you to school and take Chelsea to daycare. Both are on the way to my school. Then I'll pick you up and make us dinner. Okay? Every day from now on." Chloe understood what he was saying.
She cried silently as Chase pulled her close to him. They cried together.
~End Of Flashback~
"It's past your bedtime. I'm putting Chelsea to bed, go get ready and I'll be there to tuck you in." Chloe nodded and ran out of the room. Chase put Chelsea in her crib and kissed her forehead before turning off the lights and closing the door.
He sighed from exhaustion and made his way to Chloe's room. She was in her bed. "I kinda heard your "conversation" with Chelse, you know she's a baby right? She can't really understand let alone respond." Chase smiled.
He sat down at the end of her bed. "Yea. I know." He chuckled. "So.. how much of it did you hear?" He asked. "All the way until the part where you wanted to shove Riley against the wall and kiss the living daylights outta him." Chase blushed like mad and avoided his sister's eyes.
"Okay. No more bed time stories. You have school tomorrow." Chase leaned down and kissed her forehead and tucked her in under the blankets.
He walked to the door. "Night Chloe." He whispered. "Night Chase." He turned off the light and walked out.
He yawned. He had lots to do before he could go to bed. He put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, wiped the table, cleaned up the kitchen, put away the toys, and then went to put the laundry on.
His mom taught him how to do it a little while before the accident. He did everything around the house. He was close enough to the age to be his sisters' legal guardian.
Chase took put the laundry and hung it out to dry. It was quarter past eleven by the time he was done doing what he needed around the house.
But he's done this for two years already. Now he knew how moms felt. He felt like a mom. Maybe because he was. To his sisters.
Chase got ready for bed and collapsed on his bed and was out like a light the second his head hit his pillow because of how tired he was.
*_*-~
"Chase! Wake up!" He was in such a deep sleep Chase missed his seven a.m alarm. Chloe was jumping on his bed.
"Okay! Okay! I'm up!" Chase groaned. He made Chloe wait outside his room to let him change and get ready.
He was glad Chloe was up and ready to go. He went to get Chelsea and made himself and the girls some breakfast. Eggs and bacon for him and Chloe and warm milk for Chelsea.
He lived close to the daycare, Chloe's school and his own school. They were all walking distance. Chloe's school was so close to the daycare it was pretty much part of it.
That's why he wasn't really that surprised when he found construction workers around both buildings.
He found an adult and asked what the heck was going on. "A pipe burst, they have to fix it. No kids can go in either building." She explained. "Where will they go?" He asked. "Guess they have the day off. There is a daycare across town." She told him. "Across town? I can't go across town. I'll be late. I'm a senior. I can't be late. What am I going to do?" He had Chelsea in his arms and Chloe was holding his hand.
"You go to the High School not far from here, correct?" She asked. "Yea." He answered. "Well, I happen to know your principal personally. She's my sister-in-law. I could ask her if it's okay for you to bring your sisters to school and just let the staff watch them. At least Chelsea. I'll ask her if Chloe can just spend the day with you. Don't worry about a thing, Chase." When she said all three of their names, Chase remembered who she was.
"Miranda?" She nodded. "It's been a while. I haven't seen you little rascals since your parents funeral. You've grown so much. Especially you, Chase. You stepped up to raise your sisters when they needed you the most. I know your parents would be so proud of you." Miranda was a close family friend. She was Chase's babysitter when he was little. But she had her own kids to look after. Chase's mom became a stay-at-home mom to look after the girls.
Until the night both her and his dad died. He watched her for years on how she ran the house. And when his parents had to go out, there was a feeling in his gut telling him he should offer to look after Chloe and Chelsea.
He didn't think about it much, but boy was he glad he listened.
"Thank you Miranda. This means the world to me." Miranda smiled before she got on the phone. Chase waited patiently. "Perfect! He's going to be so happy." She hung up and looked at Chase.
"Great news. Chelsea can stay in the staff room and Chloe can spend the day with you. It would be a good chance for her to experience High School and know what it's like so she'll be ready." Chase looked at her with a greatful face. "Thank you. I can't thank you enough for doing this." He said.
"Your mother was my best friend, it's the least I could do for her." He waved buy to her and took his sisters to High School.
"Here we go. Be glad you don't have to come here for another four years. And Chelsea gets twelve years before she has to suffer High School life." Chloe shrugged. "I think it'll be fun." She said cheerfully.
Chase walked inside with Chelsea and Chloe. The Principal was waiting. "Hello Chase." She smiled at him. "Your mother was also a very close friend of mine. Your father was my husband's best friend. He was devastated when we heard the news. I can't believe it's been two years already. How have you been? You've done so well despite what you've been through. You're very strong Chase, it would make your parents proud." Chase never really interacted much with Mrs. Porter. But his father had talked about her husband a lot, so he does know her.
"Wow. These two young ladies have grown quite a bit, haven't they?" Chase nodded. "Yep. I think Chloe might just be a miniature version of me. And Chelsea seems to be our mom's double." He chuckled as he bounced her up and down and she giggled.
"Come along, the staff lounge is just over here," Mrs. Porter led the Randall siblings through the hallway and stopped at a door. She unlocked it and invited them to come in.
"We have some visitors. The daycare and public School are unavailable at the moment. I assume you all know Chase, these are his sisters. Their parents were very close friends of mine and I have given permission for Chelsea to stay with us while Chloe spends the day with him gaining early experience of High School." Most of the teachers 'awed' at how adorable Chelsea was and made her giggle and laugh. She was getting so much attention and loved it. Mrs. Porter clapped her hands and turned back to Chase and Chloe. "Alright, off to class you two, you're already late, I'll escort you so you don't get detention." She escorted them to Chase's class.
The teacher was about to scold him when he noticed the Principal and Chloe. "Oh! Mrs. Porter, what a pleasant surprise. Were you with Chase?" He asked. "I was. There was a problem with his little sister's school and I'm allowing her to spend the day here." The teacher nodded. "Of course. Take a seat." Mrs. Porter waved buy and left the room.
All eyes were on Chase and Chloe as they walked to two empty seats at the back. Chloe took the seat next to the window of course, Chase sat beside her. He was actually glad she did because then he would have full access to shield her from anyone who goes near her. All eyes were still on them. But a pair green eyes were the ones he was focused on the most. It was Riley. And he was sitting at the desk to his left. Riley knew about Chloe. Chase had told him about her when they were kids. She was only a baby then and Chelsea wasn't born yet. It was long before she was even thought of.
It's been so long since he'd seen Chloe. He almost didn't recognize her with her being so much older than when he first met her.
The teacher snapped his fingers and got the attention of—most of—his class. Riley and Chase were still starting at eachother.
Chloe raised her eyebrow at them. "Gosh, the sexual tension between you guys makes me want to shove the two of you in a room together until you fuck." She muttered under her breath. Only Chase heard her.
His mouth dropped to the floor as he stared at her. He looked back at the teacher and payed attention to the rest of the lesson and tried to rid his mind of what his ten-year-old sister just said.
*_*-~
Chase had to focus on practice right now. Chloe was watching him from the stands. It was after-school practice. She had Chelsea in her lap.
Chloe had secretly begged Riley to come watch Chase practice. After what felt like hours of nagging him, he finally agreed.
Riley caught Chase's eye and he almost fell over tripping over his own feet. Kaylee and the other cheerleaders were cheering on the team.
Kaylee cheered louder when Chase glanced her way. She showed off what her body looked like in her uniform. Usually Chase's heart would race like crazy when he saw her, but it didn't.
Then he looked at Riley, that's when his heart raced. Tyler and Chloe were right. He did have feelings for Riley. At least Tyler used appropriate words to say he thought Chase had feelings for him. Chloe used words he wished he knew where she'd learnt them from. Chase shook off the feelings Riley made him felt so he could focus on playing.
He was able to focus on the game and that was a stress release because he was worried Riley would distract him the whole time.
After the game Kaylee figured she was free to walk right over to him and flirt. Chloe gasped in shock when she saw. She looked at Riley and could see the pain, hurt and slight jealousy in his eyes that he was trying so hard to hide.
"Hold the baby," she gave Chelsea to Riley. "What-" She stormed off the bleachers and made her way over to Chase and Kaylee.
She flipped her hair as she stepped between her brother and Kaylee. The cheerleader didn't look pleased. "I would much appreciate it if you stepped away from blocking me from my boyfriend." Chloe's mouth dropped open in shock. The nerve of this girl! "No." She crossed her arms over his chest and stayed put. Kaylee leaned down to her level and looked Chloe right in the eyes. "I don't like little girls like you who get in the way of me and my boyfriend." She still had the nerve to claim Chase was her boyfriend when they were clearly not dating.
"I don't like a whiny bitch like you who thinks she can just claim my brother as her boyfriend." Chloe snapped. Kaylee stood up straight and stared down at Chloe with narrowed eyes.
"You're his sister, huh? Well, for your information, Chase and I will be together whether you like it or not. And soon enough, I'll turn him against you." Kaylee expected Chloe to break at that point, but she smirked instead.
"What are you smiling about?" She demanded. "You were so busy being a bitch you forgot Chsse was right behind me." Kaylee paled and looked up to see Chase with a very angry look on his face.
He was glaring at her. "We are never getting together Kaylee. Don't even try." He snarled. He put his hands on Chloe shoulders and walked her and himself away from Kaylee and back to Chelsea who had fallen asleep on Riley, who had fallen asleep on the bleachers.
Chase and Chloe chuckled at how cute they looked. "You get Chelsea and I'll get Riley. We have to make sure not to wake them up." Chase whispered to her. "Got it." She whispered back.
Chloe gently lifted Chelsea off Riley without waking her and Chase picked Riley up without waking him.
"It's too late to take him home, he can stay with us tonight. I'll just call his mom. I hope she remembers me." Chloe nodded in agreement. He gathered his and Riley's stuff before he and Chloe walked to their house with Riley and Chelsea in their arms.
Chase opened the door and Chloe went straight to Chelsea's room and put her to bed.
She came back out to the living room. Riley had adjusted himself in Chase's arms and made himself more comfortable. He was still asleep. Chloe smirked at their position and walked down the hall to get herself ready for bed.
Chase went to his own room and placed Riley on the bed. He opened his phone and looked for Riley's mom's contact. He never removed it from his phone. He even still had Riley's number. He clicked Riley's mom's contact.
He sent her a text.
To: Mrs. Griffin
From: Chase
'Hey, this is Chase. Riley is with me right now. He fell asleep watching my practice so I hope you don't mind I took him to my place.'
She responded within seconds.
From: Mrs. Griffin
To: Chase
'Oh Chase dear, it's so lovely to hear from you! That's perfectly fine. I hope this is your chance to patch things up with him. He missed you a lot. Make sure you get to School on time. Have him text me when he wakes up.'
He send an 'okay' and put his phone down. He glanced at Riley's sleeping figure. He didn't know if he would regret this later or not, but he leaned down and kissed Riley on the temple. "G'night, mate.." He whispered.
Riley scrunched up his face, Chase held his breath, but Riley relaxed again and went back to his sleeping.
Chase changed into his pajamas. He didn't know if Riley was comfortable sleeping in the jeans he was wearing.
Chase had an old pair of pajamas that were too small for him, but they might fit Riley, as he is just a little bit smaller than him.
Chase had to change him as quickly as he could. All without waking him up. He just hoped he could do it. Chase avoided looked at Riley's chest as much as possible when he removed his shirt. Guy had a damn six-pack.
Sure, Chase himself had abs, but that's because he worked out and played Rugby. Riley played Football. Did he also work out and Chase just never noticed?
Did he go to the same gym and they just never crossed paths? Or was it purely just Football that gave him such a ripped body?
Anyhow, Chase didn't want to think about Riley's extremely attractive body any longer and just get the stupid pajamas on him, cover him with the blankets and never speak of this night ever again.
Though when he took his pants off, it was very tempting to take the rest of his clothes off. Chase ignored the tightness in his pants and just quickly put the pajamas on Riley. Chase let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in. Chase changed into his own pajamas and then climbed into his bed. His back faced Riley. No way was he going to fall asleep looking at him.
The only problem was that even when he wasn't facing Riley, Chase couldn't fall asleep. It might be the little situation in his pants but he's not going to admit that, not even to himself.
It came to the point where it was painful. Chase's erection was yelling at him to take care of it. He wanted to, but he couldn't. Not with Riley so close to him.
He was never going to get to sleep if he left his boner alone. He should have looked away when he took Riley's clothes off. There were other ways to get ride of it without 'taking care' of it.
Chase just had to think of something extremely unpleasant and it'll go away on its own. What would be so unpleasant that it'll make Chase's boner go away on its own?
Then Chase thought of something. He thought of Kaylee. He thought about her doing sexy posses in her cheerleading uniform, then she took it off, very, very slowly.
Chase cringed so hard he stuck his tongue out. He even made a little gagging sound when he did it. Thinking about Kaylee stripping down naked made him want to puke.
The tightness in his pants went way down and he was in a more comfortable situation. He hoped he would be able to sleep now, with the tent in his pants no longer there.
It wouldn't have been there in the first place if Riley's body hadn't been so damn sexy and threw bisexuality at Chase and have it smack him in the face.
Of course he was fine with being bisexual, but why did it have to be Riley he had to fall in love with to make him realize he was? He knew Riley hated him. He didn't want Riley to hate him. Chase wanted them to be friends again. Like they were in middle school.
He missed his friendship with Riley. But he missed something more than the actual friendship, he missed Riley himself.
He missed his smile, his laugh, his sarcastic remarks, the way he was able to sass people like it was nobody's business, and he was really cute when he's angry.
He's one of the few people who try to look scary when angry but actually look fucking adorable.
Chase was so busy thinking about Riley, he forgot to sleep. His seven a.m alarm blared in his ears.
That included Riley's ears. "Ah-! What the-!" The blonde was so startled he fell off the bed with a loud thud onto the floor.
Chase crawled over to check on him. "Are... you okay?" Riley's eyes shot open at the sound of his voice. "Chase?! What the hell are you doing in my house?!" Chase made a guilty face.
"Uhm... this is my house.." He swallowed hard after he said that. Riley stood up and looked around the room, realizing it wasn't his.
"Why am I in your house?!" He changed his previous question to something that was accurate.
"You fell asleep yesterday during my practice and it became too late to take you home. I texted your mom so there won't be any missing person report. But she wanted you to text her when you woke up." He explained.
Riley stood up straight. He felt for his phone, but then realized he wasn't wearing his own clothes. He was just relieved he was wearing something, even if they weren't his own clothes. "Did you... change me?" Chase knew he couldn't avoid the question. "Nothing happened. I just didn't want you to sleep in jeans. It would've been uncomfortable." Chase sputtered.
Riley turned to the nightstand and grabbed his phone and texted his mom. He put his phone back where it was and then looked back at Chase.
"Where are my clothes?" He asked. "Laundry. They won't be dry yet. You can borrow some of mine." Chase offered.
Riley stared at him with his mouth agap but didn't speak. Chase walked over to his closet and threw a shirt and a pair of pants to Riley.
He grabbed another set of clothes for himself and headed for the washroom. Chase changed in there and Riley changed in his room.
Chase's clothes were obviously a little big on him. That was no surprise to either boy. The shirt sleeves went past Riley's hands and the pants were long and loose. Chase himself had to turn away to hide he was trying to hold in his laughter. Riley grew angry and stepped in front of Chase so he could see him.
"Are you laughing at me? It's not my fault your clothes are so damn big. They should be able to fit me. I work out! This isn't fair!" Chase watched the sleeves flop around as Riley waved his arms to express his frustration to being small in Chase's clothes.
Riley crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. He turned his head and closed his eyes, not looking at Chase.
"Do you want me to help you fit into them a little better?" Riley opened one eye and peaked a glance at Chase. He closed it again and went back to "ignoring" him.
"No. I'm fine." Riley said stubbornly. Riley walked towards the door, the pants fell in front of his foot and he tripped on them. 'Great. This is how I'll die.' If Chase hadn't caught him, Riley would have fallen. Not to his death of course, he just would have gotten hurt.
Riley no longer felt himself falling, instead, he finds he is face-first into what felt like a strong, brod, firm, muscular chest.
He also felt his face burn up. He put his hands on said firm chest and pushed himself away. He felt warm, hot, like he was on fire, like he was swimming in lava in an active volcano.
The point being, Riley was really embarrassed. Of course he was, he face planted into the chest of the guy he's been crushing on for mont– err ... correction, years .
Riley has been crushing on Chase for years. And it took the ending of their pretty much life-long friendship for him to realize it.
"Are you okay, Ri?" Chase asked with concern in his voice. 'That nickname again.' Riley thought. Riley looked up and faced Chase. Green eyes were met with grey-silver ones. Riley caught himself staring at Chase's lips.
The Kiwi boy stepped closer to him. Riley's eyes immediately looked somewhere other than Chase's very kissable looking mouth. Chase moved his hand and placed it on Riley's cheek.
Chase caressed that side of Riley's face with his thumb. The younger—and shorter—boy couldn't help but lean into his touch.
Riley and Chase just stared at eachother—for a long time—before Chase began to lean in, very, very slowly.
Riley stood up on his tippy toes and met Chase halfway to connect their lips. Once he realized he was in love with him, Riley imagined what it would be like to kiss Chase.
And now that he's doing just that, it's better than he ever imagined. This kiss made up for the one they didn't have in the locker room. It also made up for the years of being in love with eachother and being too goshdarn blind to see it.
Chase pulled Riley closer and kissed him deeper. Riley wrapped his arms around Chase's neck and put his fingers in his hair.
He took a leap of faith—literally—and jumped, wrapping his legs around Chase's waist making the two of them tumble back onto the bed. Riley on top of Chase. They were still kissing. But now it was a clash of not only lips, but teeth and tongue too.
Chase wrapped his arms around Riley's waist, and then he switched their positions. He was now on top of Riley. He pulled away and looked onto his eyes.
"Hi."
"Hey."
Both boys looked at the situation they were currently in. "Does... being boyfriends sound good to you...? I... I love you, Riley." Chase whispered.
Riley swallowed. "Yea. It does. And I.. love you too, Chase." He answered.
*_*-~
It was a couple years after they graduated. A couple years since Riley and Chase officially became boyfriends.
There was a small little festival going on. Tyler, Shelby, Riley, Chase, Chloe and Chelsea were all going together.
Chloe was now twelve, Chelsea was four. "You guys go pick a table and I'll go get us some food." Chase said to Shelby and Tyler. He got a glance at his boyfriend who was giving him a look. He turned back to Shelby and Tyler. "Excuse me, we will get us some food." He corrected himself. Riley looked satisfied. He kissed Chase on the cheek before heading towards the food trucks. "You are one lucky Kiwi man," Tyler chuckled, patting Chase on the back. He watched Riley standing in line. He also noticed Chloe and Chelsea were with him. "Yea. I am." Chase sighed dreamily.
Riley returned to the table his friends chose and gave them their food. Chloe helped by carrying half of the food. Shelby and Tyler thanked them and Chase gave Riley a kiss. "Chase!" Chelsea reached her arms up. "Potty!" Chloe grabbed her hand. "I'll take her, I have to go too." She offered.
"I don't want you going alone." He said. "I'm twelve. I can take care of myself." She defended herself. "And I'm your legal guardian. I'll go with you," Chase was about to take his sisters to the washroom when his boyfriend stopped him.
"You, eat. I'll take them." Chase tried to protest but Riley shoved him down and forced him to sit. "We'll be fine." Riley promised, kissing his worried boyfriend's cheek to reassure him. Chase watched as his boyfriend and his sisters disappeared into the crowd. "Relax Chase, they'll be fine. Riley played Football. He can take care of himself. And the girls." Shelby assured him.
"Yea I know. He's tough. That's what I love about him." Chase put his hand in his palm. He let out another dreamy sigh.
Meanwhile, Riley, Chloe and Chelsea made their way to the washrooms. But it was getting really crowded. There were so many people.
Riley took Chloe's hand, and he took Chelsea's hand with his other hand. But there were so many people, it was like a tsunami. Just not with water. They got separated.
Chloe was swept away in the crown. "Riley!" She cried out. He tried to go after her but she had ro make sure he kept Chelsea with him.
But she also got swept away. "Brother Riley!" She tried to go after him but with being so small, the crowd didn't let her. Riley wasn't going to give up. No way was he going to lose both his boyfriend's sisters at once. "Chloe! Chelsea!" He called out their names, looking in all directions.
He was nearing the washrooms when he stopped Chelsea, she was wondering around and then entered the boys washroom.
Riley ran after her. Chelsea was only four. And being surrounded by three guys who were obviously much older than Riley, was definitely not good at all.
"Hey! Stay away from her!" He tried to hide the fear in his voice, but it was pretty visible. "She wandered in here on her own. We might as well make the most of it." The one guy smirked.
Riley moved forward and shoved him away from Chelsea. "You're disgusting! She's four! Back off!" He snapped. Chelsea clung to his leg in fear. Tears fell down her face.
"Fine. We'll just do you instead." Riley reacted and shoved him away. "Absolutely not!" He yelled. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." The other guys stepped forward and all three of them cracked their knuckles. Riley used his body as a shield to shelter Chelsea from the blows.
Chelsea screamed.
Chase was drinking his iced tea while he scrolled through his phone. The straw fell out of his mouth when he felt a sharp pain in his head. There was an echo of a scream in his ears.
-Sister: Chelsea
-Boyfriend: Riley
-Status: In Danger
-Location: Boys Washroom/Changroom
Chase stood up. And ran. He was so fast he would have been faster than Sonic the Hedgehog, The Flash and Fillysecond all combined. He left Shelby and Tyler stranded at the picnic bench.
"Do you think that was the danger radar for his sister or the one for his boyfriend?" Shelby asked her own boyfriend. Like it was no surprise that Chase ran off so fast it was like he teleported.
Tyler took a bite of the fry in his hand and took a sip of his drink.
"Both."
*_*-~
Chase kicked open the door—with completely unnecessary brute force—and was cracking his knuckles at the guys—three of them—who surround his boyfriend, who was shielding Chelsea.
"That's my sister and my boyfriend you bastards are messing with." He snarled. He had an evil smirk on his face, he was surrounded by this dark aura.
"Yea, you guys are totally screwed." Riley muttered under his breath. He escaped with Chelsea and they quietly and quickly made their way to Chase's side. He checked on Chelsea for any injuries. "I fine.. Brother Riley hurt." She pouted. She was just learning to speak. Chase looked at Riley. He was covered in bruises.
"They did this to you?" Chase cupped Riley's face. "They were going to hurt Chelsea... I couldn't let them. So I jumped in front of her to protect her. They tried to take me off but I didn't let them. So they beat me up. You came just in time." Chase slightly turned his head and sent the three guys his scariest death glare. The color drained from their pathetic faces–as Chase would call them that.
Chase turned to Riley and pulled him close. He kissed all the bruises on his face. He pecked his lips before he turned back around to face the guys.
But before that, Chase took off his headphones and put them on Chelsea's head. He found a Playlist that was appropriate for a four-year-old little girl and hit play. Riley looked at him oddly.
"I don't want her to repeat the words I'm going to say to these guys." Chase stepped towards the three guys who coward in fear and pressed their backs against the lockers.
Chase took a deep breath before he began to yell many, angry, curse words repeatedly at the guys. Their mouths dropped open from the words he used.
"Get lost." He finished with. The three guys stumbled to get away, Chase pretended like he was going to throw a fist to make them flinch and frightened.
They ran away. Chase walked back over to Riley and covered his face in kisses again.
"I won't ever let that happen again." He whispered.
"I promise."