Getting Back at the Quarterback

This is a short story which continues the plot of Getting back at the Quarterback ch 3. As has become tradition, the half chapters are more about the characters and their relationships rather then the spicy stuff. Sorry this chapter took so long. I hope you enjoy it and if you do please rate this 5 stars, comment, favorite this story, and follow me on here as I really would appreciate it. All of that helps motivate me to keep writing these stories. Thank you and enjoy.

All characters are over the age of 18.

***

Justin waited for Clark in the woods after school.

After their tryst in the coach's office Justin was in pretty high spirits, but as the minutes ticked by and Clark failed to join him Justin slowly began to worry. He knew Clark didn't have practice today so he'd expected to see him after school. Had something happened? Justin pulled his phone from his pocket and typed out a message for Clark. He stood there staring down at his phone waiting for a response until he began to feel silly. After a minute Justin sighed and pushed his phone back into his pocket and waited some more. Five minutes became ten, ten became twenty, twenty became forty, forty became an hour.

He knew it wasn't rational to worry just because Clark wasn't there one day after school but knowing that still didn't make him feel better. What if everything between them actually some kind of prank? Or a fling? What if he'd done something to drive Clark away? He shook his head trying to shake loose the insidious thoughts, the lies, but they held fast and stuck with him all the way home.

He messaged Clark again after dinner but by the time he was ready to turn in for the night he still hadn't gotten a reply.

When Justin woke up the next morning the first thing he did was lunge for his phone, excited to see the replies from Clark that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt were waiting for him there.

Only there weren't any messages.

Unable to bear it any longer he decided to abandon messaging all together and just call Clark. He put the phone to his ear and waited. The call only took seconds to connect but that felt like an eternity. When a voice finally spoke on the other end of the line it was the crushing sound of an automated voice telling him that he could leave a message at the tone.

Dejectedly he hung up and tossed the phone onto the bed without leaving a message. There had to be some other way to reach Clark, but if there was Justin didn't have it. Their whole relationship to this point had been such a whirlwind it was surprising he even had Clark's number. The more Justin thought about it the more he realized he barely knew anything about Clark, not where he lived, not if he had siblings, not even what kind of movies he liked. Hell he knew basically nothing at all about him that didn't involve sex. He tried to keep that realization from sending him spiraling into depression, but that caused his mind to fill up with so much noise, so many questions, and so much anxiety that it felt like his head was going to explode.

Justin screwed his eyes closed and took a deep breath, holding it for a second before letting it out again. It was going to be okay. He was going to see Clark today at school. They were going to spend lunch together. They'd get the chance to talk things through and it was all going to turn out to be a silly misunderstanding.

Only Clark wasn't there and his phone still went straight to voicemail.

Justin spent the morning frantically searching for any sign of the missing quarterback. He kept his eyes open and head on a swivel all day but it was all for naught as Clark was nowhere to be seen. It seemed to take forever but when lunchtime finally came Justin made sure to rush to the Coach's office before the older man could go out for lunch.

"Hello." Justin said timidly, first knocking then sticking his head around the half open door to the coach's office.

Mr. Webb was sitting at his desk filling out paperwork and scowled when he looked up, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

"Who are you?" He demanded. "What do you want?"

He squinted up at Justin for a moment, a look of confusion on his face as he tried to place the boy in front of him.

"Oh you're the kid tutoring Clark." Mr. Webb said finally recognizing him.

Justin nodded.

"Don't worry about it today." The coach said dismissively, and turned his focus back to the papers on his desk.

"Oh okay." Justin said feeling strangely nervous in this man's presence. He almost let it overwhelm him and began to turn to leave but stopped and turned back, refusing to let his fear and anxiety about the situation overtake him. "Did something happen?"

The coach snorted as if Justin had said something funny, or stupid, or maybe it was just a derisive snort. It was hard to tell.

"Don't worry about it." Mr. Webb said again.

"But-" Justin tried to protest.

The coach got up from his chair and walked over to the door, grabbing it with one hand and placing the other on the frame so that he blocked the entrance and Justin was forced to step back into the hall.

"Don't. Worry. About. It." Mr. Webb said his tone clear and definitive, making sure he enunciated every word before he closed the door harder than necessary in Justin's face.

What was going on?

In his mind Justin ran through a thousand and one different horrible scenarios, each one worse than the last. Obviously something had happened to Clark but what? Was he hurt? In trouble? How the hell was Justin even supposed to find out? Did he just have to wait for Clark to show up again? Would Clark show up again? Could he?

Justin tried to get his emotions in check. He tried to calm himself down. But his thoughts and heart just kept racing. He closed his eyes and tried to empty his head, yet he couldn't help but picture Clark hurt or arrested, locked up in a police holding cell or unconscious in a hospital bed.

It wasn't that bad. Justin told himself. It was probably nothing.

Probably.

The rest of the day passed slowly in a haze of anxiety. All he wanted was for the world to stop spinning long enough for him to get his bearings but life rushed on. Unable to do anything else Justin went along with the day as if he wasn't slowly losing his mind worrying about Clark. In class he got questions wrong that he knew the answers to, repeatedly missed being called on, and he didn't take more then a few hastily scribbled sentences of notes all day, something which he hadn't done since he was in second grade. It got so bad that more then once his teachers had to stop and ask what was wrong. Yet all he could do was apologize and try to turn his mind to the subject at hand, though inevitably his thoughts wandered back to Clark and the nightmare scenarios he may have found himself in.

When the final bell rang Justin had to fight to keep his body from sprinting out the door. He couldn't bear to spend one more minute trapped in that place. All he wanted was to get as far away from the school as fast as he could.

As soon as he cleared the doorway he broke into a light jog, then that jog became a dash and that dash became a headlong sprint. He was flying down the road, arms pumping, feet slamming into the pavement. He was breathing deeply, panting from the exertion. His lungs were burning but the pain felt good. He couldn't hear anything but the wind in his ears. All of the fear and anxiety he'd felt all day came pouring out, fueling a desperate, wild, directionless flight. He didn't have to think or worry or concern himself with anything at all. The only thing in his world was putting one foot in front of the other.

Then suddenly he was slamming through the treeline and into the woods where he and Clark had first hooked up. He tried to stop but the dirt gave way under his feet and he found himself suddenly, gracelessly, crashing to the ground. Pain ripped through his knee, shooting up his leg. His shoulder hit the ground hard with a crack that he prayed wasn't a breaking bone. His face scrapped into the earth, glasses flying off, leaves and dirt covering his face and mouth.

He came to a slow, aching halt in the dirt and didn't get up. Instead he just lay on the ground and cried, the tears coming hot and fast, huge salty drops that fell from his face and darkened the ground.

The pain was almost too much, both physically and emotionally and Justin needed to let it out.

"Are you okay?"

Justin's head snapped up.

Right there, right in front of him, was Clark, holding out Justin's glasses, a look of genuine concern on his face.

Defiantly, almost angrily Justin sat up, fiercely shoving his arm across his face desperately trying to wipe away the tears and detritus which covered it. He grabbed his glasses from Clark and shoved them back onto his face.

"I'm fine." He said pulling his backpack back up onto his shoulder.

"That was some fall." Clark said coming over and kneeling beside Justin, his long hair falling across his face, his expression one of soft comfort and concern. "You sure you're okay?"

Gently, almost tentatively Clark reached out a hand and touched Justin's face, his thumb cautiously rubbing away some of the muddy dirt which clung there.

"What happened?" Justin demanded. "Where have you been?"

Clark pulled his hand back and looked away from Justin, suddenly the shy timid boy that Justin had only met a few days ago.

"I...uh..." He stammered, stumbling over his words, struggling to put together a sentence.

"You what?" Justin demanded fiercely. "What happened?"

"I got into a fight." Clark admitted, turning and looking up at Justin. "I got suspended."

Justin blinked up at him.

"You got into a fight?" He asked.

Clark nodded.

"Why didn't you text me and let me know you were okay?" Justin demanded.

"I dropped my phone in the scuffle and the screen is completely shattered. I can't use it at all." Clark admitted. "I ordered a replacement but the new one doesn't come until tomorrow."

Suddenly Justin could breath again, and the tension faded from his body as relief flooded in. That's all it was, just some stupid fight.

"What was it about?" Justin asked, his voice suddenly calmer. "The fight I mean?"

Clark didn't say anything at first but instead just offered a tight lipped smile. Then the quarterback raised his wrist and showed Justin the familiar blue ribbon that was tied there.

"What happened?" Justin asked confused, looking from Clark to the ribbon and back again.

"One of the guys in the locker room saw it and started asking questions." Clark explained. "The questions turned into teasing and then they were just talking shit and just saying all kinds of fucked up things."

He looked away, pausing for a moment, clearly back in that moment, reliving the memory in his mind.

"I couldn't help myself," He went on softly. "It felt like they were making fun of us, of you."

Clark took a deep breath and paused a second before continuing.

"I just lost it." He admitted. "I went off on the guy. I beat the ever living shit out of him."

"Is he alright?" Justin asked.

Clark nodded.

"He's fine." Clark told him. "But this got damaged in the scuffle."

Clark held up his arm again showing off the once necklace now bracelet.

Justin smiled at him, reaching out to turn Clark's face towards his.

"It looks good as a bracelet." Justin told him. "More your speed."

Then Justin leaned forward and kissed Clark tenderly. Clark melted into the kiss, his whole body softening, finally letting loose the tension that had been filling him.

"You're not mad?" He asked, looking deep into Justin's eyes, searching his face for any sign or anger or disappointment.

Justin shook his head before leaning forward and giving Clark another short kiss.

"I'm not mad." He said honestly. "I've never had anyone get into a fight for me before. You defended our honor valiantly, like a knight."

Clark took another second to make sure that there was no hint of sarcasm, dishonesty, or deception in Justin's words before he finally let out a sigh of relief and smiled. Then another thought crossed his mind and he became serious again.

"And I'm still yours?" He asked. "Nothing got messed up because I took it off?"

Justin couldn't help but laugh at that.

"It's not the ribbon that's important." He pointed out. "It's how you feel that matters."

"You still want me?" Clark asked, looking for all the world like a puppy that was terrified of being scolded.

Justin nodded.

"More then ever." He said.

Clark broke into a huge beaming smile and dove forward wrapping his arms around Justin and knocking him to the ground.

"Ow! Hey! That hurts!" Justin complained as Clark buried his face into Justin's chest breathing deep of the other man's scent.

"I'm sorry." He said, "Just give me a second."

"Hey." Justin said looking down at the quarterback, waiting for him to look up again before continuing. "I realized I never actually made it official."

Clark didn't say anything, instead he just waited and looked up at Justin confused.

"Will you be my boyfriend?"

Clark nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes. Yes. Yes!" He declared happily, trying to squeeze Justin even tighter. "Of course!"

"Ow! Wait! You're hurting me!" Justin said and the pain in his voice must have cut through Clark's jubilation as the other man let go of him suddenly and pulled back.

"I'm sorry!" Clark said. "I just got caught up!"

"It's okay." Justin said smiling as he readjusted his legs and shifted his weight so that he was sitting up properly. He winced as he moved and both men looked down at his leg.

"Oh wow you're really bleeding!" Clark almost shouted as he looked down at Justin's knee.

Sure enough where he'd fallen there was a hole in Justin's pants and dirt and blood covered the area where the bare skin of his knee should have been visible.

"I thought it hurt an awful lot for a bump." Justin said wincing again as he tried to move to get a slightly better look at the injury. He straightened his knee and that sent a bolt up pain shooting up his leg causing him to cry out in pain.

Then suddenly the world was moving, shifting wildly beneath him.

"Whoa what the-" Justin started, and then suddenly realized what was happening as Clark lifted him into the air, holding the other man as if he weighed nothing. "Wait what are you-"

"You need help," Clark said. "A bandage, gauze, a-"

The words were cut off, lost in a yelp of surprise as Clark started running.

It was all Justin could do to hang on.

He closed his eyes and clung tightly to Clark, his hands gripping the quarterback's leather jacket and pressing his face into Clark's shirt, breathing deep of the other man's scent.

Then suddenly it was over and they were still once again.

Slowly, tentatively Justin opened his eyes.

They were standing on his front step.

He looked up at Clark who was panting, out of breath.

"Clark-" Justin said softly and the jock turned his head, looking down at the man he held in his arms.

"I can walk." Justin said with a smile. "And stand. I'm okay, it's just a scrape."

Clark flushed, suddenly shy again. But he gently set Justin down, who winced as he put weight on his wounded leg. Justin wrapped his arm around Clark's shoulder and hung on.

"I'm sorry." Clark said helping Justin to the door. "When I saw that you got hurt I couldn't help myself, I just kind of-"

Justin reached up, caressing the side of Clark's face with his hand, before slowly moving it over until it covered the other man's lips.

"Shhh." He said. "It was cute."

Clark blushed again.

Justin smiled, then unable to contain himself he leaned forward and kissed Clark. It was a sweet kiss, tender and full of love, slow and deep. Both men simply lived in the moment and enjoyed the sensation and the emotion behind it.

"What the-" a woman exclaimed.

Justin and Clark pulled away from each other, turning together toward the voice.

There before them stood Justin's parents, holding bags of groceries and looking from one boy to the other.

"What is going on here?" Justin's dad asked confused.

"It's not what it looks like" Justin said holding up his hand in protest.

"I mean it's kind of-" Clark started before letting his words trail off as Justin turned to look at him.

Everyone fell into an uneasy silence.

"Uh-huh." Justin's dad said, not sounding convinced. "Well when you two boys decide if it is or isn't what it looks like come talk to us and tell us what it actually is."

"Or not." Justin's mom added. "If you don't want to or don't feel comfortable talking about it you don't have to."

"Absolutely." His dad agreed. "No pressure."

Both boys nodded but neither said anything and the four of them just stood there awkwardly.

"Honey?" Jason's mom said after a moment.

"Yeah mom?"

"You're blocking the door."

Both boys scrambled to get out of the way.

Justin's dad chuckled as he pushed by.

"We'll be in in a second." Justin called after his parents who simply smiled and waved in acknowledgment.

Once they were sure they were alone and that no one could hear them Justin turned to Clark.

"We don't have to tell them anything." He said.

Clark reached out his hand and timidly took hold of Justin's.

"It's okay." He said. "I want to."

There was a moment of silence as Justin processed what he'd just heard.

"You want to tell them?"

Clark nodded.

"But only if you want to." He added quickly.

"Are you sure?" Justin asked, squeezing Clark's hand.

Clark nodded again and squeezed his hand in return.

"I spent so long lying to myself about who I am." Clark said in his soft timid voice. "I think it's time to try being honest, to everyone."

Justin nodded and put his free hand on Clark's face, tilting the other man's head towards his own.

"If you're sure." He said.

"I am." Clark said and leaned down to kiss Justin.

The two of them stood there together, their lips pressed together, each taking solace and comfort in the other's touch. Then they pulled away and stepped back, but they didn't let go of one another's hands.

Together they took a deep breath and opened the front door.

"Mom, Dad." Justin said stepping into the living room where his parents were waiting. "I'd like to introduce you both to my boyfriend Clark."