by me
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Mine, all mine.
Summary: Kyle, Damien, and Liz go out for ice cream, Ryan makes another appearance, and Coach Titon enters the picture.
Notes: I have a lot of ideas for this story. Unfortunately, it's going to be really tough to pace them throughout the season. I have a CoachMuse now, so expect a part from his POV, soon.
I waited with Kyle outside the girl�s locker room until his sister emerged. She was a lot smaller than she�d looked on the ice, although, the enormous equipment bag did look bigger than she did. She grinned at Kyle. �Hat trick.�
�Fourth one this season,� he replied, taking her bag and leaving her to carry the two hockey sticks. �Damien this is my sister, Liz. Lizard, Damien.�
�The one you played with last night?�
�That�s right,� I jumped in, putting out my hand. She shook it, giggling. �So, Liz, I think a hat trick entitles you to some ice cream, don�t you?�
She turned immediately to her brother. �Can we, Kylie?�
�My treat,� I offered, and he nodded.
�Three goals deserves it, I suppose.� He put an arm around his little sister, who was bouncing at the thought of ice cream, and winked at me. I smiled back and followed him to his car, half-listening as he explained it wasn�t really his, but his father didn�t leave after 5:30 so he could use it then. He noticed my silence as he started the car. �Damien?�
�Yeah,� I said, starting out of thoughts.
�Are you ok?� he frowned. �You look...distracted.�
�Yeah, sorry, I�ve just got a few things on my mind.� I forced a smile and tried to get some of the stuff Ryan had told me tonight out of my mind.
�Ok,� Kyle said warily.
I asked Liz her favorite flavor, and that conversation occupied our driving time to Ben and Jerry�s. Once we were seated, she became absorbed with her Phish Food, leaving Kyle and I to talk about school and baseball and stuff until we were finished. They took me home and Kyle smiled at me again and thanked me for coming and I don�t know why it affected me the way it did, but whatever.
I�m gay, I guess. I mean, I�ve had attractions to guys and not really any to girls. But I�ve never had a real connection with either, so I wasn�t you know counting out straightness. I�ve never felt as comfortable with someone as I do with Kyle now, and we�ve known each other 2 days. I�m drawn to him. This is a good thing, since it looks like we�ll be the main members of the rotation this year. Kyle hasn�t mentioned anything, but the burning in his eyes when he talks about baseball lets me know he�s hungry for a championship this season. I�m hoping to help give it to him.
I realized Sportscenter was coming on and flipped on the television, paying a little closer attention to the hockey stuff than I had before. I didn�t even know there was a hockey team in Raleigh, but apparently so, and apparently they aren�t bad. Hm.
As SportsCenter finished up, Ryan walked through the door, tossing his keys and bag on the counter. �Hi,� he said, walking into the living room.
�Hey,� I said, stretching and flipping off the TV.
�Hey, Dame, I�m...I�m sorry to put that all on you today. Probably wasn�t the right time.�
�I don�t mind. I like hearing about him.�
He nodded and smiled sadly. �Yeah. I bet you do. I�m sorry I can�t talk about him more.�
�Quit apologizing for things that aren�t your fault,� I said, suddenly. �It�s not your fault he died!�
I know he thought for a while it was. He was an intern when it happened, and he didn�t have enough clout � though he claimed he was just afraid to speak to the Chief Resident � to get his shifts switched on short notice when the babysitter was sick, so Dad had to do it, and had to take a more dangerous night shift a couple days later instead. And he never finished the shift. Ryan looked at me for a minute, then stood up. �Good night,� he said softly, and started up the stairs. Halfway he stopped and started back towards me, unfastening something from around his neck as he did. �Damien, I�ve worn this long enough. It should�it should belong to you.� And he pressed the necklace into my palm and left.
Startled, I examined it. Simple silver chain, simple silver ring. The inscription inside the ring was my father�s name and the words �love always.� My father always wore it, and Ryan�s matched, I remembered playing with them when I was a little kid, when one of them picked me up I always felt for the chain. I guess I never thought about what happened to this one, or that Ryan might be wearing Dad�s instead of his own. Blinking sudden tears from my eyes, I clipped the necklace around my neck and went to bed.
I dreamed of Dad that night, clearer than I ever had. I was young, 4 or 5, in the dream. Nothing specific happened, I just dreamed of him...being my father. Things I thought I�d forgotten. His face had faded in 10 years, much as it pains me for that to happen. I woke up smiling, and I felt the cool metal pressing into my chest. That settles that. It�s never coming off. In a very good mood, I did my morning workout � hey, 99 mph fastballs don�t come easy � and took a shower, glad Ryan was here because he makes the best omelets ever. �When are you going back to normal daytime hours?� I asked through a mouthful of eggs and cheese.
He gave me a Look and I swallowed my food and asked again. �Monday. I�m in, like, get acquainted week. So I�m mixed up. Voluntarily, I want to know the night shift nurses and stuff.�
�And you�ve been dragging your poor intern around with you?�
He nodded and grinned without apology. �She�ll appreciate it some day.�
�I�m sure,� I rolled my eyes. I washed my last bite down with orange juice and stood. �See you...�
�Tomorrow morning,� he supplied.
�Tomorrow morning. Bye.�
�Bye, Dame,� he called as I shouldered my backpack and baseball bag and left the house. The walk to school was uneventful, though I was surprised to find that Kyle wasn�t in class first period. I saw him later in the hall and tried to talk to him, but he just said he was fine and smiled at me and went on.
So that was weird. After school, he wasn�t in the locker room changing, but I saw him leave the coach�s office and the locker room still fully dressed. So I guess he wasn�t practicing today. Shrugging it off, I reached in my bag for my spikes, but a shadow fell over me. I looked up at my coach, Coach Titon. �Can I speak to you for a minute, Damien?�
That was kind of surprising, he hadn�t said much to me yet. Well, we�d only been practicing for a day. I followed him into his office, and he shut the door and motioned me to have a seat, which I did, glancing around. There was a framed baseball card, Durham Bulls, on the wall which appeared to picture a younger version of my new coach. He noticed me looking and smiled. �Spent 4 years in the minors before I realized I wasn�t good enough to go anywhere and it was the wrong lifestyle for me. So I went back to school.�
�Oh,� I said. �Were you drafted by the Braves?�
�I was, and I�m impressed you knew Durham was an Atlanta farm team back then.�
�I have a tendency to retain useless information such as that,� I said, smiling, and he smiled back.
�First of all, since you�re new, I wanted some background info. You�re a...pitcher?�
�Yep.�
�How long?�
�Um...well, I guess I�ve always been one.�
�Where�d you play last year?�
�San Francisco Central.�
�They won the state championship, didn�t they?�
�Yes, sir,� I said, restraining my smile.
�Pitches?�
�Fastball, changeup, curve.�
�Power?�
�Lots of power.�
He looked me over carefully. �You hit 93?�
�Yeah.� I paused. �With my changeup.�
I could see him smiling a little. �Well, we�ll see. Anything to add?�
�Just that I think I�ll complement Kyle well, sir.�
His smile faded, and he set his pen down with a sigh. �Incidentally, Kyle is the other thing I need to speak to you about.�
�What about him?�
�You seem friendly with him.�
�Yeah, I guess.�
�He�s not terribly close to the other members of this team. As far as I can tell, he�s not terribly close to anybody. I think his play suffers because of it. Do you...� He paused, seeming to search for the right words. �Do you foresee the two of you remaining friends?�
�Absolutely,� I said. �Why?�
�He just...he needs someone to keep an eye on him.�
�What do you mean? Like drinking or something?�
�No, no, nothing like that. Just�look, I worry about him sometimes, his health. Just keep an eye on him.�
�Um, ok,� I said. �Is that it?�
�That�s it,� he said, and I stood and left wondering what the hell that was all about.
TBC...
Coming next time: A trip to the Raleigh ESA *g*