Heart and Soul - Chapter 53: Chapter 53

There was a beat of silence in which nobody moved, before all five of them complied. Seth picked his bag up from the floor and dragged his feet behind Carter, as they followed Coach Mason to the principal's office.
The young woman behind the desk looked up from her paperwork to look at them. She smiled openly at Coach Mason, before reigning it in once she saw the grim look on his face.
"Principal Trevino is on the phone. It shouldn't be long if you don't mind waiting a couple of minutes," she said.
Coach nodded, gesturing for Carter and Seth to take a seat in the shabby chairs pushed up against the wall. In his three years of high school, Carter had sat in those chairs maybe twice, tops, waiting to go into the next room. He had never had Coach standing before him, with a piercing look of stern disappointment, though.
"I get that you boys have your problems," Coach started in a low voice. "You're entitled to your divergences and disagreements. I even accept that you handle your feuds your own way, outside this building," his voice started to raise slightly as he continued. "But the school has a very strict no fighting policy. I expect my players to follow the rules. It's bad enough to learn there was a fight inside the team—but to see both my co-captains involved doesn't really sit well with me. It makes me feel like I'm owed a serious explanation."
Carter felt a little queasy. Still, he opened his mouth to say, "I'm sorry, Coach."
Unsurprisingly, that didn't seem to be enough.
"I need to know what happened," Coach told them. "What you did was still a violation of the rules, and I will still have you both go into that office and stand responsible for your actions, but I expect an explanation."
Neither of them answered. Coach's eyes widened, urging them to speak up.
"Well?"
"It was just a fight, Coach," Carter said. "They taunted us, we responded."
"I responded," Seth corrected.
"Because he was standing up for me," Carter was quick to add.
Coach didn't seem charmed by their words. The look he gave Carter bordered a little on exasperation.
"Why did you need standing up for?"
Carter clammed up at that. He didn't know what to say. Where to start? What to leave out? Johnny still seemed really firm about not wanting his dad to hear about his problems at school. Even though Carter knew Coach was aware, and probably even had his suspicions. He could just tell the man everything and end the whole thing, right there. But something told him Johnny wouldn't forgive him.
One glance at Seth, who was staring at him attentively, was enough to tell Carter he understood. So they both stayed quiet.
"I'm not dumb, Parrish," Coach said. "But I can't do anything to correct a situation if no one tells me what happened."
"I acted rashly and I will accept the consequences of my actions," Seth spoke up, drawing Coach's attention to him. "Carter didn't do anything. He tried to stop me."
"I didn't, actually."
"He did," Seth asserted. "It's on me. I got into a fight with Meyers and Gonzalez."
As he said that, the door to the principal's office swung open.
Principal Trevino was a middle-aged man with snow-white hair and a sun-tanned face. Adjusting the glasses on his nose, the man invited them to come inside. Carter and Seth followed Coach in and sat down on the leather chairs placed in front of the principal's desk.
"What brings you by?" The man asked, sitting on his own cushioned chair to look at them.
Neither one of them spoke.
Coach sighed loudly. "Right now, the story is that Queens got into a fight with Robert Gonzalez and Scott Meyers in the hallway, while Chaz Wheeler and Parrish seemed to be only witnesses."
Principal Trevino eyed them from across his desk. He interlaced his fingers over his lap. "Is this what happened?" He asked calmly.
"Yes," Seth answered.
The Principal let out a long breath. "We have no tolerance for violence in our school. Although, this isn't the first time I've had the pleasure of meeting with you for this same violation, Mr Queens." His eyes fell on Seth's guarded frame, as though waiting for a reaction. When he didn't get one, he looked up to Coach Mason. "Where are Mr Gonzalez and Mr Meyers?"
"Nurse's office." Coach sniffed. "They were pretty banged up, but I'll have them come in after that too."
"May I ask who started it?"
"I did."
"It wasn't unprovoked," Carter added swiftly.
"May I ask what happened as provocation?" The principal asked evenly.
"Just dumb locker room banter," Seth said.
"Certainly something graver, to warrant such an extreme reaction," Principal Trevino countered.
Seth shook his head. "I'm in a bad mood." He shrugged.
The principal sighed, pulling off his glasses so he could massage his temple with one finger. "I see," he mused, slipping his glasses back on. "Will the others confirm this version of events?"
"Probably," Seth replied.
"Since the rules were broken, I will assign you three with detention for the rest of the week," the Principal dictated. "None for Mr Wheeler and Mr Parrish if it is confirmed they weren't involved in the physical altercation."
"I understand." Seth nodded.
Carter squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, but Principal Trevino didn't seem to notice. He was too busy staring back at Seth.
"Do you, Mr Queens?" He asked. "Because I've been dealing with complaints regarding your behavior for nearly three years. Usually, Coach Mason stands as an active advocate on your behalf, but now he's the one bringing you to my office. I'm not sure what to make of this, to be honest. Normally, if we were in football season and a player was brought to my office with recurring behavioral issues of this magnitude, I'd correct it by having you removed from the team for the rest of the year. However, this semester is nearing its end.
"On the other hand, you are co-captain of the team. A captain should be an example of sportsmanship, responsibility and commitment. Currently, I see none of it from you. I generally trust Coach Mason's judgement in regards to his own team, but in this situation I believe I need to put my foot down."
Carter didn't like any of those words, and the tone in which they were said, or the resigned look on the man's face as he said them. He glanced nervously at Coach Mason, before looking at Seth. For the first time, his friend actually seemed to be on the edge of his seat.
"I can't have you as captain of the varsity football team anymore," Principal Trevino decreed. "I don't believe you should be on the team at all. That applies to your senior year as well."
"What?" Carter blurted. "You can't."
"I can, actually, Mr Parrish. I believe I should have, a while ago. Perhaps the reduced strain on Mr Queens's schedule will allow him to work on his grades, next year."
Seth looked down wordlessly, and Carter looked up at Coach in a silent plea. The man didn't meet his gaze, but he still said something.
"Perhaps we can discuss this later, before making any final decisions."
Principal Trevino sighed. "We can discuss it if you like, but the decision is final."
Coach Mason rubbed a hand down is face. Carter looked at Seth to see him staring at his feet, head hung low.
Shit. This was all wrong.
Principal Trevino's secretary knocked on the door to inform him Bobby, Scott and Chaz were waiting outside. Coach told Carter and Seth to leave. Seth walked calmly out the office, without deigning a glance at his three former teammates as he stormed out. Carter ran after him.
"Seth, wait," he called out as they rushed through the parking lot.
"Not now, Cart. We'll talk later."
He nearly crashed into Johnny, who had started walking toward them when he saw them leave the school building. Carter stopped chasing him, allowing his friend to get in his car and take off.
"What's gotten into him?" Johnny asked.
Carter sighed. A lot of the panic that had been hidden behind the adrenaline of the moment was now starting to overlap everything else.
"Fuck," he hissed.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Johnny asked, worry coming into play. He rested a hand on Carter's shoulder, trying to catch his eye. "Wanna come into my car and sit down?"
Carter nodded silently, following Johnny to his car.
They were supposed to meet after Carter's practice and drive to Carter's place together, but in the middle of everything, Carter didn't even have time to text him to let him know he was being delayed. Still, Johnny had apparently waited for him.
"Wanna tell me what happened? Did you two fight?"
"We didn't fight," Carter said promptly. "Not with each other."
Johnny raised his eyebrows from the driver's seat. "Did Seth get into a fight with somebody else?" He asked, slowly.
Carter looked at him, biting his lip. "He beat Bobby and Scott. In the locker room."
Johnny's neutral expression hardened. "Of course he did," he muttered dryly.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"He's a bully. They're bullies. It just fits," Johnny declared.
Carter pulled back, nearly hitting his head on the car window. "Seth is not a bully," he stated firmly.
Johnny scoffed. "He's a confrontational person who resorts to violence as a conflict management tool," he argued. "He gets into fights all the time. It kinda surprises me you're this riled up over just another one."
Carter frowned. "I'm riled up, because he was defending me," he shot back, just before his own words hit him at full force. His stomach dropped. "Fuck. I'm a really shitty friend," he groaned, filling his fist in his own hair and pulling.
"You're not responsible for his actions," Johnny said. "His shitty decisions don't make you a shitty friend."
"Shut up."
It was Johnny's turn to pull back, eyebrows raised. "Excuse me?"
Carter shook his head. "I'm sorry, but... You just don't know him, okay?"
Johnny rolled his eyes, looking at Carter with a condescending, skeptical look. "I know picking up fights is nothing new to him," he scoffed.
"I also know he walks around school like he's too good to give anyone the time of day, or—God forbid—honor us peasants with his presence in fucking class more than a couple times a week. I know he doesn't have to care about his grades and getting detentions, because he's got the nice car, and the big house, and daddy's fucking money. I know until Bella he had no respect for girls, using them and discarding them like fucking tissues. I know he's a fucking jackass, but for some reason you keep defending every little thing he does—fuck knows why!"
"He skips classes because he has some serious problems at home," Carter argued back, and he didn't mean to yell, but he heard himself do it. He also didn't mean to share anything more, but he did it.
"His sister is fucking institutionalized and his mom is an addict who's barely ever home. When she's not drunk, she's high on pills. The big house is the one his mother got from the divorce, along with full custody of the children. The nice car was a crappy gift from his dad, who's too busy with his new family to see his other kids, because his stepmom doesn't like Seth. So the worthless asshole sends Seth money to make up for the fact he abandoned him to take care of his mom and sister on his own, when he should only be worried about grades, and extracurriculars, and college applications, like the rest of us.
"In the twelve years I've known Seth, he never once led a girl on. They just get attached to him because teen dramas convinced every girl of our generation that it's up to them to change the guys they meet, or whatever."
He let out a sound that sounded like half-scoff, half-humorless laugh. "So yeah, maybe his conflict management skills and sense of commitment aren't the best. He's confrontational, and detached, and bad at solving his issues without resorting to violence, and he doesn't like to connect with people outside his circle. Me, my family, our friendship—that's always been the only source of stability he's had in his life. And last year, I completely left him aside, because I was too busy dealing with my own shit.
"But, when I apologized, he forgave me. Because one thing Seth's not is judgmental. Unlike you, apparently," Carter finished, and he noticed his tone had lowered to normal volume along the way.
Johnny gulped under the heat of Carter's gaze. He didn't understand that strange glossy glimmer in Johnny's eyes, until he felt a warm tear stream down his cheek. He sniffed, wiping it immediately.
"I didn't know all that," Johnny murmured.
"No, you didn't," Carter agreed, shrugging. "Even though I tried to tell you. Because you think you always know everything."
"That's not fair." Johnny shook his head.
"Neither is the way you made your mind up about him, without even trying to get to know him," Carter shot back.
"Why does it bother you so much?" Johnny asked in a near-whisper.
"Because he's my best friend, Johnny," Carter said. "He's not perfect, but he's always been there for me. Despite everything he already has on his plate, he never let me down, no matter how petty my problems were. He helped me through deep shit, back when my mom and I were struggling, and shallow stuff like what to wear on my first date. And when I came out to him, despite how absent and selfish I had been before, he just listened and told me I was fine."
Carter let his head hit the headrest behind him, closing his eyes with a sigh. A headache was starting to bulldoze its way to the front of his skull.
"He always helped me the best way he knew how, and now he got kicked out of the football team—the only thing he had in his life to keep him straight—because of me. Because he was trying to defend me when those idiots called me..."
He opened his eyes, after trailing off, and let them find Johnny's. The other boy bit his lip, looking genuinely regretful.
"I'm sorry," Johnny said quietly.
"Yeah," Carter breathed.
"My dad won't let Seth get kicked out of the team, though. He adores him almost as much as he worships you," Johnny tried to console him.
Carter shook his head. "Your dad was there," he said, and heard himself sound as miserable as he felt. "The principal decided and he couldn't do anything. Not without an explanation."
"Why didn't you explain?"
Carter pursed his lips. "Because Seth only had to defend me, after we—he—had to defend you," he answered. "And you don't want your dad to know what's happening. Even though it's wrong."
Carter groaned, because it really was wrong. So wrong. It was infuriating.
"It's not fair how Seth's the one getting punished, and they get to graduate feeling invincible with their stupid football scholarships."
Carter turned his head, after Johnny failed to say something back for a few seconds. He saw the frown on his boyfriend's face, like he was debating with an idea that was hard to accept.
"Seth got kicked out of the team because he was trying to keep a secret... because of me?"
Carter shrugged. "Basically."
Johnny sighed, letting his head crash onto the headrest behind him. "Now, I feel like a dick."
Carter laughed, despite himself. "Yeah, well. I tried to stop you before you played the dick role, but you just always gotta know everything."