Working Boy

Chapter 15

"Hey Samuel! Catch!" One of the jocks tossed a football to the blonde, the jock catching it immediately.

"Hey man," Samuel flashed a small smile, sitting up on the little bench table with his boys.

It was break, so all of the students went to their respective cliques. Chase, of course, chilled with his friend. He never really hung with the jocks despite his position on the football team. He never truly got along with them.

Throughout the crowd of rambunctious jocks, he just couldn't help but zone in on a familiar stocky blonde. Samuel seemed to notice, for he tilted his head ever-so-slightly and flashed him gentle smile. Chase smiled back and sighed, satisfied.

"Uh Chase? You're gazing..." Jace tapped him, noticeably concerned.

"I can't help it Jace... I really wanna hold his hand..."

"Um, is that a euphemism for something? Because I'm gonna start beginning to think you're a girl or some s**t," Jace sassed with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I wanna hold 'that' too, but I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate hearing that," Chase winked.

"CHASE!" He slapped him on the arm. "You can't say stuff like this here!"

"Ow! Sorry...you're right," Chase held his arm, sheepishly and sighed once more. "I just really wish we didn't have to hide it."

"But you know you'll have to. They will literally crucify you if this ever gets out," he cautiously warned.

"I know, I know," he frowned.

His friends were pretty homophobic. Not to mention racist. Samuel was far too good to be with them. They didn't deserve a friend like him. But then again, he was one of them before.

One of Samuel friend's, a brunette, turned to glare at Chase. Chase narrowed his eyes in response before turning away.

Castiel Cardona.

Samuel's best friend and former running back of the team. He was so irritating to deal with. Before he even became the quarterback, he would plan sabotages to throw him off his game. But since he became the quarterback, Castiel had no choice but to give him respect, albeit begrudgingly. He really disliked Castiel. Him and Samuel together was double trouble.

Castiel went to whisper something to Samuel before turning back to look at Chase with a smirk. Samuel looked back briefly as well, though he wasn't wearing the same look of malice. It seemed more...concerned.

"They better not be plotting s**t. Samuel knows better," Jace growled. The bell rang, signaling their return to class.

"Be careful, man. You might be dating Samuel, but I still don't trust him," he scowled at the retreating jocks.

"Mm," he nodded, gathering his things to go inside.

-After School-

"Oh c'mon Samuel, it'll be GENIUS!" Castiel nudged him as they strided into the locker room for football practice. They normally didn't come in this early, but they decided to drag him in today.

"Castiel," he sighed. He was his boy, but Chase he wouldn't be able to take having another person humiliate him like that.

"What? Oh, don't tell me you actually like him now?" He stopped right in front of him with a deadpan expression.

"Huh? Of course I don't f*****g like him. He's a dumbass," he muttered, cringing internally as he spoke those venemous words.

Castiel narrowed his eyes in an attempt to read him. But he stopped, smiling as he pat his back.

"Good! I thought I was losing you for a second," Castiel piped up, leading him towards Chase's locker where the other boys were.

"Hey, got the picture?" The brunette asked one of the boys.

"Yeah, it's right here," a slimmer, tan male with sandy brown hair pulled out a picture that was clearly photoshopped.

"Hey Sam, come look at this," Castiel took the picture and showed it to him.

It pissed him off- more so because he couldn't openly express his disgust. The picture was a man being hung with Chase's face photoshopped into his face. His face hardened; a deep, unsettling anger growing in the very pit of his stomach.

"Funny right? Awhhh man, imagine the look on his face when he sees this," his former best friend laughed, taking the picture from him.

"Hey guys! Chase is coming!" A short, husky male sputtered in a hushed voice.

"s**t! Where's the tape!" Castiel panicked before being tossed a small roll of tape. He quickly taped it to the locker and joined the others, dressing in his football uniform.

Chase, poor Chase, came in with his dufflebag slung over his shoulder. He silently nodded to Samuel, being careful not to let his eyes linger too long, and went to the back towards his locker.

He put his dufflebag on the bench and turned to open his locker. He paused.

There it was, the photoshopped picture of him being hung.

Although he couldn't see his face, Samuel could already feel the seething anger and hurt from him seeing it.

"...What is this?" He murmured, half to himself. Chase was shocked, though he knew it shouldn't have been much of a surprise now. Him being a quarterback meant nothing to them. As long as he had this melanin in his skin, he would never truly gain their respect.

His hand trembled as he snatched the paper off of the locker, his vision becoming blurry from the tears.

"Psst! I think he's crying!" One of the jocks whispered to another and snickered.

Chase bit his lip before dashing out of the locker room, his head bowed so nobody could see him cry.

Samuel sighed, listening to them laugh at his demise. He couldn't stomach it anymore. After he was finished, he excused himself and left; leaving Castiel both perplexed and paranoid.

"Chase, are you oka-?" Mr. Barr could barely get a word in before the Trini took off behind the school.

"Chase!" Samuel dashed quickly after him.

Slowing down to a paced jog, he finally reached the back alley of the school where there were a few overgrown shrubs. He threw his belongings to the ground in anger, his lower lip trembling as he struggled so hard not to just burst out in tears. There was an almost burning sensation in his chest, he could literally feel his blood boiling.

"s**t! GOD f*****g DAMMIT!" He shouted to the top of his lungs.

Fuck courtesy, he needed to let that out. The frustration of being teased for things he couldn't control really wore him down. All this added stress, his relationships- such a whirlwind of problems that was driving him completely up the wall. That Trini temper certainly kicked in overtime. He needed an outlet, SOMETHING that could relieve him. He punched at the old tree that hung in the back, the splinters getting in between his knuckles. But of course he didn't care.

"Yo! Hey, stop that!" Samuel ran up and apprehended him, holding his arms behind his back.

"GET YUH BLASTED HANDS OFF ME, YUH MUDDACUNT*!" He cursed him in his Trini dialect as he struggled to get him off of him.

(*"muddacunt": a vulgar curse word cursing a mother's v****a. Also used when angrily suprised by a situation. Can also be used as an insult.)

"Wait, what?" Samuel paused, clearly confused. This gave Chase the opportunity to slam him against the wall so Samuel could loosen his grip.

The blonde jock grunted, staggering back and holding his own arm with a hiss.

"Chase, I really don't wanna fight with you," he tried to reason with the now pissed Trini that was now approaching him. "C'mon, can we at least try to go a week without fighting?" He backed up, sliding down the wall with his hands out defensively. All of this fighting was beginning to wear him down. He wanted to keep the peace for once, but it seemed like every other day was another argument. s**t, they might as well be married.

"Allyuh white boys ah bunch of badjohn*! Allyuh sneak so and cause all bacchanal* an' now you wan' come all bol'face* gobar* about yuh no want to fight? I oughta lick-up* yuh rass*!" He slapped him upside the head.

(*"badjohn": bully;

*"bacchanal": commotion/wild party/ fight between family or friends;

*"bol' face": a brazen or demanding person, a person who speaks or acts using indiscretion

*"gobar": talking nonsense

*"lick-up": to hit/to punish

*"rass": another word for "ass")

"Lick..up...my... rass?" Samuel asked, his head tilted in confusion.

"Shut yuh blasted mouth, nuh!" He slapped him again.

"..."

Samuel, much unlike himself, rubbed his head still confused about the change of dialect. It was confusing and strange... but oddly arousing. Seeing Chase beyond fired up, his hazel eyes intensely glaring at him with his uniform shirt undone was one of the sexiest sights he ever seen. Was he secretly a masochist? Maybe, but it was definitely noted as m**********n material for later.

"Chase," he rose to his feet, dusting the dirt and leaf bits off of his compression pants. "I understand that it was horrible what they did to you. And it's completely unfair- I'm with you all the way. But acting out like this isn't going to get you anywhere," he gently took Chase's hand into his. "Please calm down. I'll...I'll fix this... for you. Okay?"

"..." He looked away, a pensive yet anxious look playing on the features of his face.

"Okay?"

"Fine," he finally grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Now get over here, Island-Boy," he pulled him close before tickling his sides, drawing out fits of giggles from the other.

"Sammy no~!" He spoke in between laughter. "We can't do this here!" He exclaimed, wildly wriggling out of his grasp.

"Alright, alright. Later then. Let's go," the blonde smiled as they held hands and came from behind the school. Once they reached the field, they instantly stopped.

The team was lined up side-by-side with Coach Barr appearing to give a lecture. He must've caught wind of what happened. When they came closer, the others looked back at the two. Man, it probably looked eal/ suspicious that they were coming back together, huh?

"Well welcome back, you two! Junior, go join the others. Chase you come stand with me," Barr directed. After they did what was told, he began to speak again.

"So, Junior... since you missed majority of my little lecture, it appears that someone decided to do this," he held up the lynching picture. "According to the student handbook, which clearly no one reads," he added before continuing, "we have an Anti-Racism policy. This section states that 'harassment and discrimination of any kind whether it's for s*x, s****l orientation, disability, age, or race is prohibited. Violaters of this policy depending on its seriousness can and will result in a minimum of three days suspension, a minimum of a month of independent study, or expulsion. In addition, extracurricular activities and other privileges will be taken away'. So in short, you will follow a schedule where you will barely see your friends, you won't be able to go to the school trips or dances, and you will be banned from playing on any sports team," he took a minute to let it sink in.

"So since this person, or these people, felt that it was funny to Photoshop a fellow student being lynched, we have to follow protocol. So I will ask this once and only once. And if I catch anyone lying or don't get an answer at all, the punishment will be more severe. Copy?"

"Copy," the responded in unison.

"Alright, so who did it?"

There was an achingly long pause before Castiel decided to speak up.

"It was Samuel."

Some of the team murmured and looked around as Samuel and Chase exchanged glances. Samuel flashed a bewildered look to Castiel who was staring right ahead.

"I was at his house when he decided to do it. I guess he thought it was gonna be funny. I mean, I did too until just now," he continued.

"What?! I don't even know how to-"

"Yeah, he brought it in and showed us in the locker room. You know he always had a stigma against blacks. Especially Chase," the sandy-haired male from before spoke up.

Samuel looked back at Chase and Coach Barr helplessly. They actually threw him under the bus!

Chase returned the look, somber. No...something wasn't right. It couldn't have been Samuel, right? Sure he hated him before, but that was behind them, right? It was as if the universe itself was testing their relationship.

"Junior... is that true?" Barr rose an eyebrow.

"Of course it isn't!" His face was turning red now. "I've done a lot of f****d up s**t, but I would NEVER do that to h-!"

"STOP LYING!" Castiel shouted over him. "We ALL know how much you hate Chase! Remember when you told us how stupid he was for ever thinking that he could get close to you? Or will the part about how you said you refused to date stupid n*****s jog your memory?"

His baby blues widened. He was completely speechless. Did he know?

"Sam-?" the island native could only utter. Those vile words... surely they weren't true, right?

"Castiel, that's enough," Coach Barr spoke up.

"No," Chase shook his head. "It couldn't be him. Samuel is..." He thought of how to say this without tipping them off about the relationship. "One of the most trustworthy people I've gotten the chance to know. There's so much more to him than what people see on the surface. And if he says that he didn't do it... I trust him."

"Well DUH. I was his friend before you even reached America with your little wooden boat," he responded, obnoxious. "Look man, Samuel did it alright? That's all you need to know. Your 'friendship' is just a damn farce."

"If you were really my friend, then why the hell are you doing this!?" Samuel scolded.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A f*****g FAGGOT, SAMUEL!" Castiel bursted out. "You know, I tried to ignore the fact that you only had two girlfriends throughout your life. I figured, hey, maybe he just wasn't into too much dating. But then here comes this whole peer mediation s**t and now all of a sudden you and Chase are taking car rides together and s**t. You think I don't notice how you and him look at each other? It's f*****g DISGUSTING!"

As he was going on and on with his rant, Mr. Wedderburn had managed to make his way outside to spectate per Coach Barr's text.

"That's enough, Cardona. It appears that we have the true culprit in our midst," the elderly gentleman spoke up.

"What culprit? I didn't even make the f*****g picture!" Castiel argued, to no avail.

"We absolutely cannot keep a student who doesn't value tolerance and equality. Let's go Castiel. I'm taking you into the office," he responded as two security guards stood on either side.

"Whatever man," he sighed, defeated. He turned to Chase to say one more thing. "But just know that you're just a fetish to him. That's all you'll ever be-"

"Let's go!" One of the guards pushed him toward the school.

Coach Barr sighed. It must've pained him to have one of his players off the team, especially considering that he was the running back. Chase looked over to Samuel who's eyes were practically glued to the ground. He hoped that the others wouldn't take what Castiel said seriously and shrug it off as a delusion.

Just as Chase was about to say something, Coach Barr spoke up once more.

"Alright boys, practice is cancelled for today. You're dismissed," he waved them off before trudging back to the school.

Everyone pretty much disbanded, leaving Samuel and Chase in the field. Some took a double take at the two before going their separate ways.

"Samuel? Are you okay?" Chase murmured, coming close to him.

"Uh, yeah. I just have to get my bag out of my locker," he turned to go.

"I'll come with you," the Trini spoke up a little too quickly.

He followed the jock back to the locker room and sat on the bench as he waited for Samuel to get his belongings. He felt really bad for him. He wouldn't be able to even cope if his best friend threw him under the bus. It must've hurt. Maybe Castiel was jealous. Well, that much was obvious.

The jock finally returned from his locker, waiting for Chase at the exit of the locker room. Chase made his way towards the blonde, hooking his hand around his arm. Samuel flashed him a bewildered look.

"What the f**k do you think you're doing? Why are you still here?" He drew his arm away, fast.

"I...I just wanted to say that if it so happened that you did say those things...I forgive you. I... I still like you Samuel, a lot more than I would like to admit," he looked away, pocketing his hands.

"Tch!" Samuel shook his head in contempt. "f**k your pity."

"It's not pity," he sighed. "I genuinely care for you. So please don't think I'm holding anything against you. I'm not doing it anymore."

"Why the hell are you being so nice all of a sudden? Just because the secret's out, it doesn't give us an excuse to go around acting like fa-" he stopped himself.

"Acting like WHAT Samuel? FAGGOTS? That's what we're doing now?" Chase interrogated. Hearing this from the blonde... it was unbelievable. "So what, are you with your boys, now?"

"Chase-"

"Even though we weren't official, I respected you enough to defend our relationship. But if you're gonna be like your dumbass friend and refer to us as 'faggots', then what was all of this for? Get your s**t together and start owning who you are," he scolded. "f**k what they think; you are a talented, handsome, and wonderful guy who happens to be gay. Like you said, it's no one's business but your own. And if they can't get past the fact that you're gay, then they were never your friends to begin with."

"Chase...it's not that easy."

"I know," he admitted. "It's hard. I'm struggling, too. But... if I have to own it, so do you. We'll get through this together," he took the blonde's hand into his. "I wanna be with you."

Samuel's eyes widened upon Chase's last sentence. Was he... was he asking him out?

"Ch-Chase...are you-?"

"Do you want to be with me?"

Samuel blinked, grasping the other's hand tight, his teeth clenched. All this time he was expecting to be the one to ask him, but it seemed that it was the other way around. He thought he was the stronger one- that's how it was supposed to be, right?

"Shit... you're so strong," he growled, squeezing it even tighter. "I'm supposed to be the strong one..." He voice quivered.

"Sometimes being strong for too long can kill you. It's okay be vulnerable, sometimes. I'll shoulder your burdens. I'll pick up the broken pieces and mend it if you let me. Just continue being you. That's enough for me," the curly-haired male smiled sweetly, tracing small circles on Samuel's cheek.

"Chase... I want you. No, I need you with me," he spoke lowly, both hands on his shoulders.

Just then, Chase kissed him without a single thought in the world. He didn't care where he was or who was watching. Yes he was a bisexual Trini boy- and maybe he wasn't certain where this relationship would lead- but he was ready and willing to try it.

"Then let's do it," he grabbed his hand after breaking away from the kiss. "And I...I wanna do 'it' again like it's my first time."