Sam and Aaron

It was homecoming. Not for Aaron, though, but for the school he was playing against that late September day, the leaves threatening to go to amber and gold now that all the remaining wisps of summer had finally disappeared from their hands. He scanned the field he would soon run out into, watched the rows of stadium stands filled with fans of his opposition flashing school colors and enthusiastic cheers. How solemn he suddenly felt under the bright white lights. His memories, his life, it all melted away when the game began and the world fled. After the whistle blew and the football got punted meters into the air and he felt another player crashing into him. He loved this game, he loved what it gave him, and more than anything he loved what it took away. 

Last summer was a long one. He worked as much as he possibly could, begging his manager for more hours even when his feet ached to a pain. She was a sweet lady, southern and big hipped, and she worried for him like he remembered his mother used to do. Darling, do you really think you can do all that? Darling, now I know you need a break. Take it easy, take it easy. Another shift? I’ll see what I can do… He heard her voice now as clear as if it were echoing out of the big speaker on the scoreboard at the far end of the field. He watched it flicker to life, bright red LED’s spelling out all zeros in the aging wood, paint peeling at the corners of the board. It hadn’t been easy since his mother died, his poor mother, with her tender manner and pretty blond hair. At least he was not alone- he had his little sister who he would do anything for. At least I have Lily, Aaron thought to himself, and would have gone on thinking had it not been for his coach grabbing him by the shoulders all excited and telling him to “Focus, Wilson! There's a game to win! Are you gonna let Raymond High whoop your ass, in front of all these people?!?”

“No sir!” He said it with a grin. 

“Are you gonna let your foolish teenage brain interfere with your win, your victory?” His coach's eyes were wild with energy, some of his teammates seemed to notice it and his spirit was infectious. 

“NO SIR!” Aaron shouted. “And, no need for the insults, sir!” But his voice was light and the quarterback laughed. 

“Then, FOCUS, Wilson!” The coach slapped the top of his helmet a bunch of times just as Aaron was putting it on, his big paw of a hand making a big noise. Aaron’s smile was toothy, it wasn’t hard just then to forget his mother or the long long hours working or all his trials and failures to do the right thing for Lily. He didn’t wonder if his dad knew about everything that had happened to them. 

“Yeah Aaron!” Jacob joined in on the bear paw drumming with a whoop. “Get your head in the game!” 

Aaron battered the hand away and the other boy chuckled. “Cut it out man! You’re gonna give me a headache ‘fore the game’s even started.” 

“We got this, our main defense guy!” 

“I thought that was Thompson.” 

He shrugged, the two lines of black zinc under his eyes underlining  the years and years of big smiles and late video game filled nights. “Well, our second most valuable defense guy.” 

Aaron could just barely make out some of Jacob’s black hair framing his face as he put on his helmet, had it been more accessible in that moment he would have roughed it up at the remark. “Dickhead! I said nothing about value, I said main.” He playfully shoved at Jacob’s shoulder and the other man laughed again. 

The moment for friendly banter left and suddenly they were all huddled together, breath coming out cold in the air that had quickly gone to full night. A few inspiring words, a couple last-minute pointers, the formation called, and they were out in the field. Aaron was on the end, ready to take down whoever had the sorry luck to be tackling him. He would have gotten a more involved position but… well… he had been busy that summer, and he hadn’t been able to come to almost any of the practices. No matter though, the show goes on. 

The man on the other side of him was broad shouldered and slightly bigger than him, and instantly he felt like this would be a fair fight. “Dude, that’s Sam,” Jacob tries to whisper in his ear, but Aaron doesn’t hear it. 

“What?” he asks, but the other man waves him off.

He turns back to his opponent. The man very notably has long pink hair, it’s pulled back in his helmet but Aaron can still clearly see it. A warm feeling like fun settles in Aaron’s chest and he can’t resist a little trash-talking. “Let’s go, cotton candy. Did you lose a bet?” 

The man just raises an eyebrow at him, crouched down, face serious. The impassiveness only encourages him and Aaron knows he has to win tonight. 

The football flies above his head and the other man rushes toward him, colliding with him and almost knocking him to the ground. He grunts and shoves back, trying to get around him and get open, but before anything can be done the whistle is called and Aaron looks back to see their team lost a couple yards of space. Damn, he thinks. 

The game goes on, neither team making much headway, with an unclear winner. Aaron gives it his all, and he feels happy to be back. He’s watching the field like a hawk, doing his best to make sure nothing slips past him. 

But then Sam catches the ball in midair and starts tearing down the field. Aaron barrels into him at full speed but can’t knock him down! He keeps going, taking it all the way home, and in a flash Sam’s over the line. The announcer is shouting “Touchdown! Touchdown! Raymond High with a touchdown!” 

Ah, thinks Aaron, blinking to process what he just saw, That is probably what Jacob was trying to warn me about.

In the end they lost, secretly no big deal to Aaron, since he was just happy to be playing. The team packs up and gets ready to go home. Aaron gets separated from the group for a minute because he was helping carry some of their heavier equipment and it was a bit unwieldy, so he had paused to adjust it. Suddenly he was alone under the white street light that illuminated the entrance to the school, the red bricked arch looking ominous in the dark. He could hear the laughter of his teammates echoing to him from the parking lot and he could tell where they were, but rather than rush over to them he found himself pausing. He looked up at the hanging moon and the sparse handful of stars littering the sky. The pale ivory set into the inky black captured his attention and suddenly he was staring. 

“Hello,” says a voice to his right, and Aaron immediately snaps to attention. 

“Uh, hi.” He flusters a little and tries to regather the stuff in his arms, a little embarrassed to be caught at such an oddly private moment. 

“Lovely night out, isn’t it?” 

“Yes. You’re- oh you’re the guy I was playing against.” Aaron looks up at the man. He’s not in his football uniform anymore, instead in simple blue jeans and a button up shirt. His hair is tied back and his face looks clean- like he splashed water on it a few minutes ago, which is probably what happened. “What’s your name again?” Aaron asks. 

“Sam.” 

“You really do have noticeable hair.” 

He smiles. “Yeah, I get that a lot.” 

Aaron nods a little awkwardly. “Are you dressed up for something?”

Sam looks at him pointedly. “The homecoming dance.” 

“Oh right, right.”

“Didn’t your school have one?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t go.” 

“Why not?” 

The things in Aaron’s hands suddenly seem heavier. “I couldn’t. I had to work.” 

Sam looks down, and kicks at the pavement gently with his dress shoes. “Well. Do you have to work tonight?” 

There’s a long pause where neither says anything. “I don’t,” Aaron answers, finally. 

“Well… I don’t have a plus one. What do you say, football star, join me for a party at your rival school?”

“Football star? Why are you trying to butter me up.” 

He laughs lightly. “Hey man, I’m just saying things!” 

“You won this game.” 

“This time! You guys might get us next month.” 

“What!? Oh, you’re definitely going to kidnap me.” 

Sam laughs genuinely, the noise startling out of his chest, leaning forward a little as it does so. Aaron can’t help but smile in turn and he takes a step closer, instinctively. 

“Alright, I’ll come with you. Just let me put these things in the car. And then tell the team someone is picking me up, or something. You better still be standing here when I walk back, and not like, hiding in the bushes with duct tape or something.”

Sam rubs his eyes and straightens, still grinning. “Can’t promise anything,” he says warmly.

_ _ _

Aaron was a little underdressed with just a spare pair of clothes he had in his bag- white T shirt and jeans, and a belt. Sam gave him his tie to help him blend in. 

“There you are, it fits like a king!” He is adjusting it around Aaron’s neck and watching in mild amusement as Sam looks a little ruffled about it. 

“Of course it fits, it’s a tie, it’s adjustable. And I could do this myself.” He tries to bat the other man’s hands away but is received only by insistent fingers that jokingly mess with the fabric much more than is needed.

“Hey!” Shouts Aaron, and it quickly results in a wrestle that is to be resolved by a chaperone suddenly walking down the hall, and the two of them jumping apart, then trying to hide their laughter as he looks suspiciously between them. 

They head into the auditorium where the dance is taking place. Music is blasting from big speakers on a stage, a posh looking DJ with spiked hair standing between them and nodding his head to the music. He pauses and presses a few buttons, and the song changes from intense EDM to an old pop song Aaron recognizes from his childhood. 

“It’s still good,” Sam shouts to him, like he could read his mind. 

“Hell yeah. This song used to be all over the radio.” 

The lights at the dance are dim and coming from brightly colored LEDs that line the stage, pink, blue, and electric green. Gold and silver streamers cover the walls and reflect flashes of the chromatic light, there's a stand in the corner with punch and water, and the room is packed with a bunch of sweaty, well-dressed high schoolers who are all dancing and talking loudly. Truly the high school experience, Aaron thinks fondly, and a little sarcastically.

He motions for Sam to follow him to the punch table. “Hey let me get a drink, I’m so thirsty-” 

The other man grabs his hand, a cheeky look on his face. “Oh no no no, that’s the boring punch. Let's hit the bathrooms, that's where the fun punch is.”

“Oooh!” 

The pink haired man is leading him away, through the crowds of people to a doorway on the far side of the dance room. 

“I feel the need to bring up our agreement of no kidnapping on this fine evening.” 

Sam tisks. “I don't think I ever agreed to anything.”

“I remember it very clearly, you pinkie promised.” 

“Only verbally.” Sam adds, quite seriously.

“Hah! Okay, now I’m worried.” Aaron jokes, being careful not to bump into anyone as they beeline to the bathroom. 

The light crashes back into Sam like a tidal wave, like he had been holding it back this whole time, his look melting away into a brilliant, wet grin. “Don’t be!” The expression is so contagious Aaron finds a dam in his chest break, and he feels truly free for the first time in a while. 

Sam pushes open the door and it creaks as they walk in. 

“Hey! It’s Sam!” A brawny man sitting on the sink yells and starts whooping, and his friends join in. “That’s our MAN! Star player, baby.” He hops off the sink and pats Sam’s back enthusiastically. Two boys sitting on the floor in the corner look Aaron up and down and he tries to give them an easy smile. 

“Not this season, that’s old Johnny.” 

Must be the name of their quarterback, Aaron thinks. 

A goofy fellow guarding the big stall brings them paper cups filled with sweet mixed drinks. It’s red and Aaron takes a big sip of it. It's sharp at first and he fights to keep his mouth steady, but then it’s sweet and mellow and he takes another sip. They’re all drinking now, the boys he just met rowdy and high energy with ties undone, threatening to take down the little bathroom with their heavy handed fists and loud noises and sitting on things they aren’t supposed to. Aaron’s cup empties and he asks for another one, it’s handed to him graciously. He sways on his feet and leans into somebody accidentally. 

Sam’s hands are on his shoulder, righting him. “Woah there, party animal.” Aaron wonders if it’s the alcohol making him so ambitious or the strange new place he’ll only be in for one night. In any case he refills his own cup- “Nuh-uh, you gotta pay for thirds!” a voice behind him calls, to whom he tugs a five dollar bill out of his pocket and slaps it in his hand- before dipping out of the bathroom and pulling Sam along with him. 

“You’re pretty tipsy,” the man says to him in a barely concealed whisper. 

“What, it’s homecoming!” He replies sheepishly, “Are you not gonna dance? Not even a little? You’ll regret it if you don’t.” 

The crowd of people in the center of the dance floor honestly looked a little unappealing to the both of them.

“I’ll pass.” Sam deadpanned, making Aaron laugh. 

Aaron suddenly felt the urge to get out of that sweaty, crowded room. The other man must have read the change on his face because between the garish flashing lights and pounding music, Sam is leading them both to the exit. 

Once outside, the cool air hits his face and Aaron can suddenly breathe again. He finishes off his drink. 

Aaron doesn’t answer, instead choosing to sit down on one of the wooden benches lined outside the entrance of the school. He noticed that they were dedicated to former students, and after a second of thinking, he walks past a few of them until he finds one with the armrest inscribed Theodore Watson. He sits down, and runs his finger over the lettered carving thoughtfully. 

He feels Sam take a seat next to him. After a heavy second Sam quietly asks, “Why this one?” 

Aaron’s expression is peaceful “He was an Alumni here, Dr. Watson. Graduated top of his class. He’s the best doctor in the area.” 

Sam seems a little confused at this, since Aaron didn’t go there. “I know him. How… how do you know him?” 

“He treated my mother. He was a great doctor, but she didn’t make it. Brain cancer.” He gazes at the name again, the light falling into the grooves. “It was worth it.. All the money we spent on her. Sometimes a thing stops being hopeless when you really try for it. Like it gains reason just by wanting it to work out so badly.” He looks up and finds Sam’s expression surprised, then somewhat solemn and glassy. He puts a hand on Aaron’s shoulder to comfort. Both of their breaths come out as wispy steam in the cool autumn air. 

“I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s okay.” Aaron says, and he feels like it really is. “How come you know him?”

“He’s my father.” 

Now it’s Aaron’s turn to be surprised. “What? Really?”

“Yeah. I’m Sam Watson.” 

“Woah.” Aaron blinked at him in shock.

“Yeah.” 

For a long moment, neither of them seemed to know what to say. Finally Aaron said, “You know, you’re not that bad for a Raymond High kid.” 

Sam laughed. “You’re not so bad yourself. You know, there’s a party this friday at Jackie’s house, uh, the guy in the bathroom who sold you the booze. It's open invite so, you’re invited!” 

“What an honor. I know I’m working that day, but maybe I can get out an hour or two early and swing by.” 

“That would be great. Yeah, I never miss a Jackie party. That dude is crazy.” 

“We'll, I’ll be there.”

“Awesome. I’ll be there too.” Sam looked happier. 

Aaron suddenly stood up. “But tonight, let's get back in there and socialize or something! And I wanna get another look at this Jackie fellow.” 

“Alright, let’s go! And I want another cup, if you know what I’m saying.” He nudged Aaron slyly. 

“Yeah, before their operation gets busted!” 

“They might have moved to the locker room, let’s go check.” 

“Uh, one more thing. What is with the hair? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it looks very cool and all. But it’s bold.” 

“Oh. I lost a bet.” 

“Hahaha. I called it.”