Chapter Text
The beer bottle in John's hand had turned warm, and he picked at the corner of the label, peeling it back into a damp strip. By his fourth one, he could already feel his limbs start to loosen. He was bone-tired, and he should have been icing his hip after that hit against the boards, but he stayed rooted to his spot in the kitchen, leaning against the counter.
A laugh rang out from across the room.
He scanned the crowd in search of the source, but he already knew who it was before he saw him.
He always knew.
A high table littered with beer and shot glasses was set up near the entrance of their shared house. Garrett stood there, Gatorade in hand, with their teammates all huddled around the table. He threw his head back when he laughed, unguarded, like he always did, and John found himself laughing too as he watched.
Garrett leaned to his right, bending slightly to hear something the girl beside him said. It was Wellsy, the tutor he was… Well John didn’t know what was going on with them. They were obviously close. He knew that, because in their house, everyone was in everyone else’s business like that all the time. That just happened when you spent hours a day in overlapping classes, at practice, and living together. John couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Before he could look away from the table, his eyes locked with Garrett’s. He hadn’t done anything wrong, so why did it feel like he’d just been caught? His skin prickled and he suppressed the urge to look away too quickly. Instead, he held up his beer, trying for a convincing smile.
Garrett frowned at him and mouthed you good?
John nodded. Usually he’d be at that table now too. He had been earlier, but something was off. It started the moment Garrett handed him the captain’s patch in the locker room before the game. It was temporary, but it had been one of his proudest moments, that he had been trusted with it. Still, something was… different. Something he couldn’t name.
He needed a distraction. Or better still, he’d just leave. His brain was in that weird state of being too wired, exhausted, and a little drunk all at once. He told himself that's what it was.
His beer made a foamy glug as he dumped it in the sink, and grabbed two ice packs, before trudging up the stairs to his room.
After stripping off his t-shirt, he collapsed onto his bed, cradling the ice pack against his hip. He stared at his ceiling as he listened to the muffled sounds from downstairs.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been lying there when he heard soft tapping on his door.
“Hey dude!” Garrett called out. “Is it safe?”
John groaned. He didn't want to see anyone right now, not even his best friend.
Get your shit together.
He sucked in a sharp breath and sat upright.
“Yep!”
Even before he fully answered, his door cracked open and Garrett’s head peeked into his room.
“Just came to check in on you. Sure you good?”
Garrett invited himself in and the mattress dipped as he sat next to John.