Playing For The Other Team [REMAKE]

Chapter 20

"Hey, dude," Josh pats Nathan on the shoulder as he sits down next to him on the bench. "You okay over here?"

Nathan nods, and they sit for a moment and watch their teammates mess around on the court. Practice had ended some time ago, but the boys had agreed to stay for a friendly match. "I'm good," he says. He takes a long sip from his water bottle. The water is far from cold, but it's refreshing nonetheless.

"I don't know if it was just me imagining things, but it looked as if Stephens is giving you a hard time," Josh mumbles. "Did you get in trouble or something? He can't still be mad about you skipping that one lesson."

Chuckling, Nathan shakes his head. "No, it's nothing like that. He's pushing me because he thinks I can pick up a scholarship if I do well in the coming games," he explains. "I guess I've been a little out of my head lately, so it's nice that someone's keeping track of me."

Josh snorts and reaches for his own bottle. "Being Prince Charming is though," he says. "Girls will do that to you. They take your money, your energy, and your time. It's totally worth it, though."

"I really don't think that's my problem," Nathan says. "And maybe you shouldn't spoil your girlfriend so much?"

Josh flashes him a sheepish grin. "I know. I just can't help it. Don't get me wrong, I know it's probably bad, but I want to spoil her." He shrugs. "Feels good to take care of someone, even if it's little things like getting them food or something. It's hard to explain."

"You don't have to. I get it," Nathan assures him. And he does understand. He likes to spoil Jonathan, and he thinks that the feeling might be mutual with the way Jonathan sometimes goes out of his way for Nathan's sake.

The two friends sit and rest for a moment more before Josh gets back up. "Geez. I'm going back out there to show those dorks how it's done. You coming?"

Nathan shakes his head. "I've had enough for today. You give them hell, okay?"

"Always," Josh says with a grin. "See you later."

After a quick goodbye, Nathan retreats to the locker room. He sends a text message to Jonathan before stripping down and heading into the showers.

When he exits the shower, there's a message from Jonathan waiting for him saying, This math homework is turning me into a wreck. Any chance you can help me out?

I'll help. Where are you? Nathan texts back.

In the library. Come find me when you're done.

Nathan gets dressed and stops by his school locker to pick up his backpack before making his way to the library. It's quiet and relatively empty like usual, and Nathan finds Jonathan in his usual spot at the back of the room.

Jonathan smiles at Nathan when he spots him. "There you are. I hope you're ready to help me decipher these hieroglyphs." He nods down at the books before him. "I heard you were pretty good at this kind of thing."

Laughing softly, Nathan takes a seat next to the blond. "It just so happens that I am," he admits. He scoots his chair closer. "Now, what's the problem?"

The questions and equations aren't particularly tricky, and Jonathan doesn't seem to have too much of a problem solving them. He squirms in his seat when Nathan leans closer to point something out, and he looks nervous in a way that makes Nathan believe that he didn't call him over there to help with the homework.

But even as they finish things up, Jonathan keeps avoiding the tension. "You're good at tutoring. You know, you should charge for it."

"I don't exactly like doing homework," Nathan says. "But I'll make an exception for you. Free of charge."