Carter and Johnny met in the library after school, every day of the following week.
Carter discovered Johnny's provision of cats or physics-themed memes extended well past what should be considered healthy. He also learned Johnny's interest in physics bordered on a raging passion, which he found fascinating to watch. Usually, Carter the one rambling. But when it came to physics, the other boy could talk a mile a minute.
Johnny told him he had only been asking his dad for a drone for Christmas so he could take it apart and see how it worked. And then he planned to build one with pieces he would acquire himself. Johnny even showed him the few people he had already contacted online for the partd he already knew he would need.
When Carter asked him why not simply keep the drone he got from his parents, Johnny's answer was a reluctant scoff. "That's not the point," he'd mumbled.
On Tuesday, they even had a short conversation with Mrs Lewis after closing hours. She relished in the chance to gush about her grandchildren to willing ears. Johnny drove Carter home afterward, nearing dinner time.
On Wednesday morning, Carter had no qualms in asking Mike to drive him to school after Seth texted him in very few words he couldn't do it. Carter didn't really think about it again, until practice time rolled in and Seth still hadn't showed up.
Coach asked Carter to stay back after practice, while everyone else went into the locker room.
"Did Queens tell you anything about not coming today?"
"Uhm, family stuff," Carter said, even though Seth had not told him anything.
Coach nodded knowingly. He hummed gruffly, looking thoughtful before he asked, "How's he doing with math?"
Carter stood quiet for a second. He stopped himself from glancing in the direction of the locker room. He didn't want to look impatient, but Johnny was expecting him to show up in the library after four. It was now decidedly closer to five. Carter didn't want Johnny to think he was going to stand him up, but he couldn't dismiss Coach Mason either.
"I don't know, sir. He hasn't said anything," Carter said politely. "But I can check."
Coach nodded, seemingly pleased with his answer. "You do that," he said. "You can go now. Kept you long enough already."
Carter made a conscious effort not to sprint to the locker rooms, at least until he was out of sight. His teammates were either in the showers or waiting for room to clear so they could go in. Carter ignored their boisterous banter, hastily reaching into his locker for his stuff. He normally hated changing without showering—especially after an extended practice—but Johnny was waiting. Hopefully, he was still waiting.
Flushed, damp-haired and with his heart pulsing anxiously inside his ribcage, Carter bolted out of the locker room and into the library. His shoulders dropped with relief when he saw Johnny sitting in front of his laptop in his usual corner. He approached quietly.
Johnny didn't remove the earbuds immediately as he saw him, only after Carter sat down.
"It's two minutes after five. You're lucky Mrs Lewis let you in," Johnny mused casually.
Carter sighed. "I'm sorry. Your dad drilled us way past the end of practice, but I tried to get here as fast as I could after," he rushed out.
For a moment, Carter could swear he saw Johnny gaze at his disheveled state and he wondered if maybe he shouldn't have risked taking a little longer for that shower after all. He just hoped he didn't smell.
At last, Johnny showed him a half-smile that was only half-reassuring. "It's okay. You got a game to win next Friday," he said in a matching tone.
"Yeah," Carter agreed tentatively. "But I also have a Physics test tomorrow."
Johnny closed his laptop. "You'll do fine," he said, pushing his chair back smoothly to get up. Carter mimicked him. "And if you need anyone to remind you of the Law of Gravitation, you can just DM me, I guess."
"Right," Carter said, as Johnny slipped all his things into his bag. With a hand scratching behind his head, he cleared his throat. "Or I could just call you," he suggested, going for his best relaxed tone. "If you gave me your number."
Johnny stared at him for a while with an indecipherable expression. "Yeah, you could do that," he finally said, neutrally.
Carter smiled, reaching for his phone inside his jeans. Taking it from Carter's hand, Johnny typed his number in. As they walked together for the parking lot, Carter gave him a quick call and hung up just before they slipped inside the car.
Before he could turn the key in the ignition, Johnny shot him a curious look. "Did you shower?"
Carter smiled sheepishly. "I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer, in case you had already waited this long," he explained.
Johnny hummed noncommittally. "You were right. I would've left with or without you," he stated, starting the car.
Carter laughed, running a hand through his hair. Unwashed hair. He hated the feel of it.
"You would've waited at least two minutes," he tried.
Johnny shot him a sideways, unaffected glance. "Maybe one."
Carter grinned. "Good enough for me."
"If you can shower in one minute, then you might be doing it wrong," Johnny retorted with a reproving look.
Carter shook his head. "I meant it's good enough for me knowing I'm worth a minute of your time," he said smoothly.
Johnny didn't shoot back an immediate answer. In fact, he said nothing at all, keeping his eyes trained forward on the road. But Carter could have sworn he saw the muscles around his lips working to fight a smile. And that, as far as he was concerned, was another victory he took home that evening.
Next day, as he sped through the hallways to get to the library again, Carter hoped Johnny's words really were true. Sure enough, he was still there.
"Late practice again?" Johnny asked quietly.
"Your dad really wants us to win," Carter said, sitting in front of him. He was a little breathless.
"Guess I can't blame him. It is his job," Johnny mused, still not looking up at Carter since the short-lived glance he'd deigned him when he pushed back a chair.
Carter brushed a hand through his damp hair. He had time to go into the showers this time, so it was fresh from a recent wash and not greasy from a long practice. Johnny did look up then.
"How was your test?" He asked.
"It was good." Carter shrugged. "I think," he added. Johnny raised his eyebrows. "I might get a B, but I don't want to jinx it. Though... that's kind of what I just did."
Johnny smiled a little. Carter matched it involuntarily.
"Can't jinx it," Johnny said. "If it went well, it went well."
"I guess," Carter agreed. "I can never tell with tests though. Every time I think it went right, I get a C. Every time I think I flunked it, I get an A."
Johnny cocked his head. "I can't relate," he confessed. "I always know exactly what I did right and what I'll definitely get wrong when I leave the room."
"Wish I was like that," Carter said honestly. "I'm only that sure in games. But that's football. It's straightforward
You either completed the pass or you didn't, scored or not, win or lose."
Johnny just stared back at him for a while, thoughts veiled by a well-guarded expression. Carter sometimes wished he was better at reading people. Reading looks. Especially in these moments of silence with Johnny. He often felt like he would give his throwing arm just for an idea of what went on inside the other boy's head.
"I think I might call it a day," Johnny said, drawing Carter's attention back to the here and now. "Unless there's something you really want to get done here."
Carter shrugged. There was never anything he really wanted to get done in the library. He had always done his school work at home. He only came for the company. Because he liked spending time with Johnny, practically just the two of them. But since he didn't say that, or anything else, they packed up and drove home.
When Johnny stopped in front of the Santoros' house, Carter hung back for a second. Johnny caught his gaze with a small smile.
"I guess I won't see you in the library tomorrow," he muttered.
Carter bit down on his bottom lip. "Yeah, no... Game night," he answered lamely. "And I guess I won't see you at Jenna's party after?"
Johnny's lips twitched with something unlike a smile. "Probably not."
"Right." Carter cleared his throat. This was where he said something. It didn't have to be too witty, but smooth enough to avoid going back to their awkward parting rituals.
He wished he could have come up with something before Johnny said, "Bye then."
Carter smiled awkwardly. "Bye," he replied, grabbing the handle to open the door.
So, definitely not something witty.
————
Carter only saw Seth again on Friday, right before the game. He walked into the locker room when everyone else was getting ready, after missing two whole days of school, practice included. Carter looked at him as Seth dropped his black duffel bag into his locker.
"Did you talk to Coach?" He asked quietly.
Seth didn't look at him as he stripped off his leather jacket. "I did."
"Is he letting you play?"
"He is."
Carter pursed his lips, assessing the tension around Seth's shoulders and the stiffness behind his jerky movements.
"Is everything okay?" He asked, barely above a whisper.
Seth merely shot him a brief stoic look, jaw tightly locked. Carter knew better than to push any further.
They walked onto the field a few minutes later for warm up with Coach. They won the game after that too, but it was nowhere near an easy win. Their opponents made them work for the victory. Which, naturally, in the heads of Carter's teammates, only meant they deserved to celebrate it even more.
"Congratulations!"
Carter turned around, disentangling himself from Joey's grip around his shoulders to face Jack Santoro. He stood on the field, to where many people had descended from the bleachers, after the last whistle blew. Bella, Luca, Frankie and Mike, with Charlie perched on his shoulders, stood behind him.
"Hey! Thanks," Carter said with a smile. "I didn't know you were coming home this weekend."
"He doesn't always warn beforehand," Luca told Carter, nudging his older brother's arm.
"Great game," Frankie praised. "Both of you," he added as Seth joined Carter's side.
"Thanks," Seth said, meeting Frankie's hand for a five-section handshake-fist-bump thing. Carter didn't expect that kind of familiarity between his stepbrother and his best friend. It made him feel like he was somehow missing some context.
"I guess you were alright," Bella mused aloud, her hands shoved into the pocket of the remarkably oversized UF Gators sweatshirt she was wearing.
Jack laughed. "No, you were really good," he countered. "Seriously."
Carter chuckled self-consciously. "Thanks," he said once more.
"I assume you're celebrating now," Jack said, in a tone that made it sound like a statement bordering on a question.
Joey popped up between Carter and Seth then, lacing an arm around each of them and practically dangling off their shoulders.
"Hells yeah," the sandy-haired wide receiver hooted. "Party at Jenna's! Fuck the showers, don't be late!"
"Right," Carter said as Joey vanished after that. "I'm showering first... but what he said. You coming?"
Jack laughed, putting one arm around Bella's shoulders. Her head nestled against his side, at chest-level due to the incredible height difference.
"I'm way past my high school party days," Jack said. "We'll probably just be heading home. Maybe get something to eat before. Give my dad and your mom some alone time in the house, you know."
Carter nodded. His mom always came to his home games, whenever she could. But she never came down to the field to mingle with the messy celebrations. She normally left her congratulations for the next day, when there weren't sweaty, shoulder-padded teenagers jumping onto each other.
"We'd invite you, but you deserve to celebrate with your team," Jack added swiftly.
"And we don't really want you to come," Bella topped it off with a cynical smile.
Jack squeezed her against his side, non-too-gently, smooching her cheek against his rib cage. "We'd love if you came with us. But we can hang out some other time this weekend," he assured him.
Bella's closed fist collided with his stomach and Jack let go, but he didn't seem terribly assaulted by pain.
"Bye," little Charlie waved from Mike's shoulderd.
Carter smiled. "Bye."
"Have fun," Mike chimed in with a grin. "And congratulations."
Luca, Frankie and Jack bid him goodbye in an unsyncronized chorus, before taking off. They walked away with happy chatter and easy laughter, like siblings. Carter assumed. He wouldn't really know.
Seth nudged his shoulder.
"Need a ride to Jenna's?" He asked, after the Santoros were gone.
Carter twitched his lips into a failed attempt of a smile. "Yeah."
***
This chapter got too short and the next one too long, so I added the first scene of the next to the end of this. Hope it still works.
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