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TITLE: In The Game - Chapter Seven
SUMMARY: Rough was not the way to describe the game. Brutal might have done it justice. But that was nothing compared with John ending up with yet another friend annoyed with him.
CATEGORY: high school AU, drama
RATING: PG-13
WORDCOUNT: 2,175
NOTES: Short chapter, rather brutal, adding coils. I may have been a little harsh on Teyla, but I figured that something was coming with her position on the team. And the next chapter will be long! The whole story still isn't finished - in fact, I'm beginning to wonder if it ever will be! It's presently at 43,000 words and we might be about 2/3 of the way through!
Chapter Six - Storm Clouds Gathering
Friday Night Fights
Rough was not the way to describe the game. Brutal might have done it justice.
The weather matched the game; the night wind had a wintry bite that was just a little too chilly to be refreshing, even at the height of play. More than once John gritted his teeth at the blast of frigid wind that sneaked under his shirt and padding, and stained his cheeks with burning cold. Other players seemed to be doing the same.
Oh, Shermer won against Genii High - the only other team in the district league that fielded a girl on their team - but the play was hard and vicious.
Admittedly, John wasn't telling his team-mates to hold back. He'd never been fond of the Genii, even before he crossed Aaron Kolya last semester and ended up with an unexpected enmity on his hands. Besides, he wasn't feeling pleasant tonight, so if Coach didn't say anything, John wasn't going to say anything.
His team-mates hadn't commented on the rumours - at least, not to John's face. But there'd been a few sideways looks from the guys and a couple of conversations had petered out when John walked onto the bus.
He kept his calm in public, and channelled his frustration and his anger into the game.
John called the plays, played the game, got his fair share of bruises from the Genii defence, scored a touchdown in the second quarter, and shook hands politely at the end even though his ribs ached.
In fact, there was precious little team spirit from either side, and the handshaking at the end of the game was more of a rough slap of palms than any show of good sportsmanship. Of course, that might have been the cold. Most players were heading off the field as fast as they could.
John gritted his teeth and shook hands. He could afford to be polite; his team had won.
"Good game," said the Genii captain with a smile that did nothing to comfort John. Ladon Radim wasn't half the menace Kolya and Cowan had been two years ago, but John didn't entirely trust the smooth-speaking boy with the dirty-blond hair. And if the Genii had played down-and-dirty, Ladon hadn't reined in his team-mates.
"And you." John returned shortly before moving on to the next Genii player and the next, jogging briskly along the line until he reached the edge of the field and began heading for the change rooms.
In spite of the rough-and-tumble of the game, he still felt edgy, restless, hankering for a good fight and the chance to bruise someone else. He knew better than to start one with the Genii, of course, especially at a district game.
That didn't stop him from the slow burn of resentment he felt when he glanced back to check where his team was, and found Teyla halted just shy of the edge of the field, chatting easily with Ladon Radim and ignoring the glances she was receiving from both team-mates and Genii opponents.
"Friendly," Aiden commented, pausing alongside him.
"She came from their district," John said, playing fair, even if he was annoyed at her obvious friendliness.
"So did Dex, and he's not that friendly with them." The sophomore made a face. "Then again, he's not friendly with too many people."
John didn't quite wince. He wasn't thinking of Ronon right now. Instead, he broke into a jog, eager to get out of the wind. "I could really do with a hot shower."
"Not the only one, man," Aiden muttered, now a few yards behind. "It's gonna be a fight for the showers."
"First in, best washed," John quipped, pushing through the door to the locker room.
Most of the guys were already in there, in various stages of undress. John let his gaze slip over Bates and the defencemen, over on the other side of the locker room, and eyed Harrison, who was already down to his jocks. "Teyla's still gotta come through and grab her bag," he reminded the other boy.
"Then she'll get an eyeful of my ass," said Harrison with a smirk as he grabbed for his towel and slung it around his waist.
"Hey, your ass ain't much to look at," Aiden said as he dumped his helmet. "I wouldn't want to look at it if I was Teyla."
Harrison grinned. "Good thing you're not, then."
"Where is she anyway?" Markham complained.
John glanced over at the centre. He could understand the other boys' impatience and frustration. Things had to work differently on a team with a female player - they always had to cater for Teyla. During the game, her stuff was left with everyone else's, but afterwards, she grabbed her stuff and usually headed for the cheerleader changerooms.
It was inconvenient; but Teyla had been invaluable to the team this year, and John made sure the other boys recognised that.
"Probably still chatting up Radim," sneered Bates across the room.
"She seems to have a thing for football captains." Stackhouse commented, spreading his hands wide. "I'm just saying..." He broke off as the door opened, but it was only Sam Mayhew pushing open the door, his broad shoulders set against the wind, and a couple of guys after him.
"So, Sheppard," Bates asked spitefully as the door slipped closed, "Is she any good on her knees?"
The breath sucked out of John's lungs as he stared at Bates, furious at what the other guy had just implied. Someone sniggered, someone else choked, Aiden began a protest, and Bates took a step back.
Teyla leapt out from behind Mayhew, shadowed and sheltered from view by the guy's bulk. John caught a glimpse of her furious, set face, before her right hook took Bates in the jaw like a sledgehammer, sending him reeling back. No words, no protests, no warning - just the punch and the tense fury of her pose as Bates stumbled against the lockers. Markham was already up, grabbing her arm and hauling her back. She lashed out at him, and John leapt forward, getting in and pulling her away before Markham could lose his temper and take a swing at her, too.
"Teyla! Hey, calm down!"
She wrenched herself from John's grip, caught up in a fury that John felt, too. The difference was that he knew better than to start a fight here. Teyla wasn't thinking, she was just reacting. "Teyla!"
From the corner of his eye, John saw Aiden stepping in as Bates' mockery rang loud and clear through the room. "You want a piece of me, Teyla? Fine. Come and get it."
Teyla's eyes were black with rage as she glared at Bates over John's shoulder, but her retort was mostly calm, with only the undercurrent of fury to colour it. "The only piece of you I would take is your balls, Bates," she said. "And I would shove them in your mouth, because they would come nowhere near mine!"
"All right, that's enough." The entire team spun to look at Coach, standing in the entrance to the locker room with his hands on his hips, clearly displeased. "I see that we're in slight need of a pep talk tonight," he said in a voice rich with irony. "Does anyone want to explain to me why Teyla's just offered to feed Bates his balls?"
Silence.
Coach looked at John. "Sheppard?"
Teyla tossed her head, and shoved John away, her cheeks brilliantly pink. "Bates implied that I have been trading sex in exchange for my position on the team." She spoke more coolly than John could imagine any other girl saying such a thing, although insulted pride poured off her like steam off a hot brick placed in an icebox.
"I did not!" Bates protested.
"Close enough," said Aiden, weathering the hard look Bates gave him.
Coach Caldwell's eyebrow lifted. "Markham?"
Markham glanced at Teyla, then at Bates, then at the coach. "It was just a joke, sir."
"If it was, it was a really bad one," John snapped.
P.J. offered Bates's exact phrasing in a terse voice, glowing like a firefly.
"And does anyone else have anything to add to this situation?" Caldwell asked.
Silence.
"All right, then," said the coach, resting his lean bulk against the back of the door. "Looks like I am going to start with the team pep talk after all. You're all here because you're the best in the school - all of you. If you don't believe that, then I'm surprised that we've gotten this far as a team - and we probably won't get much further. What you think defines how we act out on the field. And in the middle of the district playoffs isn't a time to start doubting your team-mates. Capische?"
John nodded - as did most of the guys. Teyla's jaw shifted slightly, setting in a stubborn line.
"Good. Now, about this... Teyla, you're going to apologise to Bates for socking him one, no matter how justified it was. Bates, you're going to apologise to Teyla for what you said because it was both insulting and crude. I don't expect either of you will mean it, but you're going to apologise now, loud enough for your team-mates to hear."
No threat was made, but none was needed. There was no arguing when Coach spoke in that calm, reasonable voice.
Apologies were given, cold and insincere, and hands were shaken, then dropped like poison.
"One last thing," Coach said, easing himself off the door and regarding the entire room. "If I ever hear about any of my players saying such things about their team-mates in future - and I don't think I need to elaborate exactly what - they're not only off the team, but whatever credits they were to get for this sport this year are revoked. You're a great team and the best players this school has to offer, but you'll only be that as long as you're not tearing each other down. Understand?"
They understood.
"Good." Coach glanced at Teyla. "Ms. Gormley is waiting outside to take you to the girls' locker rooms, Teyla. We'll meet you at the bus."
John caught her eye as she turned. She tossed her head and broke the eye contact. He would have liked to squeeze her shoulder as she stalked across the room to grab her bag, but he wasn't quite ready to do that after Bates' comment - not with every eye in the room watching him. Call it cowardice or self-preservation, he had enough shit going on right now without adding to it.
Instead, he turned back to his own bag and didn't look up until the door closed behind Teyla.
"Bates?"
"Sir?"
Coach eyed him with a level look. "A man who uses either fists or insults about sexuality against a woman isn't much of a man."
Bates didn't flush, but he shot one furious glare at John. "Yes, sir."
John ignored it.
"You played well tonight - a hard, tough game." Coach glanced around the room, meeting all the gazes, including everyone in the praise. "All of you did, including Teyla and I'll be telling her so later. Keep it that way, and there's no reason we can't make it to the Championships."
"Yes, sir."
"Now get cleaned up." The older man's smile snaked out, wry and unexpected. "You all stink."
As he showered, John was reminded of why he admired Caldwell. The old coach - Sumner - had been a martinet to the core, more like a drill sergeant than a coach. It probably didn't help that Sumner reminded John of his own father. He'd nearly been thrown from the team in his sophomore year - only Caldwell's support had kept him on.
Sumner would never have countenanced Teyla on the team.
John shoved his face beneath the spray and scrubbed a lick of soap through his hair. God, Teyla. And Ronon. And Liz. He was going to have to sort things out with them all.
It would be easiest to start with Teyla. She was mad, but not at him, and he was pretty sure she wasn't the sulking type. Elizabeth - now, Elizabeth could do huffy as good as Rodney - but she probably wouldn't be that difficult to deal with now that she knew John wasn't responsible for the unwelcome rumours.
Which left Ronon.
Sooner or later, John was going to have to take matters into his own hands and talk to Ronon about this whole situation. Stress that he wasn't out to steal Liz from Ronon - and never had been, and that he wouldn't do that to another guy - let alone a buddy, even if he'd been interested in Liz - which he wasn't.
And maybe - if John was really lucky - Ronon might leave him in a condition to at least stagger home.
As he scrubbed himself down, John reflected that it was a big 'if'.
- tbc -
SUMMARY: Rough was not the way to describe the game. Brutal might have done it justice. But that was nothing compared with John ending up with yet another friend annoyed with him.
CATEGORY: high school AU, drama
RATING: PG-13
WORDCOUNT: 2,175
NOTES: Short chapter, rather brutal, adding coils. I may have been a little harsh on Teyla, but I figured that something was coming with her position on the team. And the next chapter will be long! The whole story still isn't finished - in fact, I'm beginning to wonder if it ever will be! It's presently at 43,000 words and we might be about 2/3 of the way through!
Chapter Six - Storm Clouds Gathering
Friday Night Fights
Rough was not the way to describe the game. Brutal might have done it justice.
The weather matched the game; the night wind had a wintry bite that was just a little too chilly to be refreshing, even at the height of play. More than once John gritted his teeth at the blast of frigid wind that sneaked under his shirt and padding, and stained his cheeks with burning cold. Other players seemed to be doing the same.
Oh, Shermer won against Genii High - the only other team in the district league that fielded a girl on their team - but the play was hard and vicious.
Admittedly, John wasn't telling his team-mates to hold back. He'd never been fond of the Genii, even before he crossed Aaron Kolya last semester and ended up with an unexpected enmity on his hands. Besides, he wasn't feeling pleasant tonight, so if Coach didn't say anything, John wasn't going to say anything.
His team-mates hadn't commented on the rumours - at least, not to John's face. But there'd been a few sideways looks from the guys and a couple of conversations had petered out when John walked onto the bus.
He kept his calm in public, and channelled his frustration and his anger into the game.
John called the plays, played the game, got his fair share of bruises from the Genii defence, scored a touchdown in the second quarter, and shook hands politely at the end even though his ribs ached.
In fact, there was precious little team spirit from either side, and the handshaking at the end of the game was more of a rough slap of palms than any show of good sportsmanship. Of course, that might have been the cold. Most players were heading off the field as fast as they could.
John gritted his teeth and shook hands. He could afford to be polite; his team had won.
"Good game," said the Genii captain with a smile that did nothing to comfort John. Ladon Radim wasn't half the menace Kolya and Cowan had been two years ago, but John didn't entirely trust the smooth-speaking boy with the dirty-blond hair. And if the Genii had played down-and-dirty, Ladon hadn't reined in his team-mates.
"And you." John returned shortly before moving on to the next Genii player and the next, jogging briskly along the line until he reached the edge of the field and began heading for the change rooms.
In spite of the rough-and-tumble of the game, he still felt edgy, restless, hankering for a good fight and the chance to bruise someone else. He knew better than to start one with the Genii, of course, especially at a district game.
That didn't stop him from the slow burn of resentment he felt when he glanced back to check where his team was, and found Teyla halted just shy of the edge of the field, chatting easily with Ladon Radim and ignoring the glances she was receiving from both team-mates and Genii opponents.
"Friendly," Aiden commented, pausing alongside him.
"She came from their district," John said, playing fair, even if he was annoyed at her obvious friendliness.
"So did Dex, and he's not that friendly with them." The sophomore made a face. "Then again, he's not friendly with too many people."
John didn't quite wince. He wasn't thinking of Ronon right now. Instead, he broke into a jog, eager to get out of the wind. "I could really do with a hot shower."
"Not the only one, man," Aiden muttered, now a few yards behind. "It's gonna be a fight for the showers."
"First in, best washed," John quipped, pushing through the door to the locker room.
Most of the guys were already in there, in various stages of undress. John let his gaze slip over Bates and the defencemen, over on the other side of the locker room, and eyed Harrison, who was already down to his jocks. "Teyla's still gotta come through and grab her bag," he reminded the other boy.
"Then she'll get an eyeful of my ass," said Harrison with a smirk as he grabbed for his towel and slung it around his waist.
"Hey, your ass ain't much to look at," Aiden said as he dumped his helmet. "I wouldn't want to look at it if I was Teyla."
Harrison grinned. "Good thing you're not, then."
"Where is she anyway?" Markham complained.
John glanced over at the centre. He could understand the other boys' impatience and frustration. Things had to work differently on a team with a female player - they always had to cater for Teyla. During the game, her stuff was left with everyone else's, but afterwards, she grabbed her stuff and usually headed for the cheerleader changerooms.
It was inconvenient; but Teyla had been invaluable to the team this year, and John made sure the other boys recognised that.
"Probably still chatting up Radim," sneered Bates across the room.
"She seems to have a thing for football captains." Stackhouse commented, spreading his hands wide. "I'm just saying..." He broke off as the door opened, but it was only Sam Mayhew pushing open the door, his broad shoulders set against the wind, and a couple of guys after him.
"So, Sheppard," Bates asked spitefully as the door slipped closed, "Is she any good on her knees?"
The breath sucked out of John's lungs as he stared at Bates, furious at what the other guy had just implied. Someone sniggered, someone else choked, Aiden began a protest, and Bates took a step back.
Teyla leapt out from behind Mayhew, shadowed and sheltered from view by the guy's bulk. John caught a glimpse of her furious, set face, before her right hook took Bates in the jaw like a sledgehammer, sending him reeling back. No words, no protests, no warning - just the punch and the tense fury of her pose as Bates stumbled against the lockers. Markham was already up, grabbing her arm and hauling her back. She lashed out at him, and John leapt forward, getting in and pulling her away before Markham could lose his temper and take a swing at her, too.
"Teyla! Hey, calm down!"
She wrenched herself from John's grip, caught up in a fury that John felt, too. The difference was that he knew better than to start a fight here. Teyla wasn't thinking, she was just reacting. "Teyla!"
From the corner of his eye, John saw Aiden stepping in as Bates' mockery rang loud and clear through the room. "You want a piece of me, Teyla? Fine. Come and get it."
Teyla's eyes were black with rage as she glared at Bates over John's shoulder, but her retort was mostly calm, with only the undercurrent of fury to colour it. "The only piece of you I would take is your balls, Bates," she said. "And I would shove them in your mouth, because they would come nowhere near mine!"
"All right, that's enough." The entire team spun to look at Coach, standing in the entrance to the locker room with his hands on his hips, clearly displeased. "I see that we're in slight need of a pep talk tonight," he said in a voice rich with irony. "Does anyone want to explain to me why Teyla's just offered to feed Bates his balls?"
Silence.
Coach looked at John. "Sheppard?"
Teyla tossed her head, and shoved John away, her cheeks brilliantly pink. "Bates implied that I have been trading sex in exchange for my position on the team." She spoke more coolly than John could imagine any other girl saying such a thing, although insulted pride poured off her like steam off a hot brick placed in an icebox.
"I did not!" Bates protested.
"Close enough," said Aiden, weathering the hard look Bates gave him.
Coach Caldwell's eyebrow lifted. "Markham?"
Markham glanced at Teyla, then at Bates, then at the coach. "It was just a joke, sir."
"If it was, it was a really bad one," John snapped.
P.J. offered Bates's exact phrasing in a terse voice, glowing like a firefly.
"And does anyone else have anything to add to this situation?" Caldwell asked.
Silence.
"All right, then," said the coach, resting his lean bulk against the back of the door. "Looks like I am going to start with the team pep talk after all. You're all here because you're the best in the school - all of you. If you don't believe that, then I'm surprised that we've gotten this far as a team - and we probably won't get much further. What you think defines how we act out on the field. And in the middle of the district playoffs isn't a time to start doubting your team-mates. Capische?"
John nodded - as did most of the guys. Teyla's jaw shifted slightly, setting in a stubborn line.
"Good. Now, about this... Teyla, you're going to apologise to Bates for socking him one, no matter how justified it was. Bates, you're going to apologise to Teyla for what you said because it was both insulting and crude. I don't expect either of you will mean it, but you're going to apologise now, loud enough for your team-mates to hear."
No threat was made, but none was needed. There was no arguing when Coach spoke in that calm, reasonable voice.
Apologies were given, cold and insincere, and hands were shaken, then dropped like poison.
"One last thing," Coach said, easing himself off the door and regarding the entire room. "If I ever hear about any of my players saying such things about their team-mates in future - and I don't think I need to elaborate exactly what - they're not only off the team, but whatever credits they were to get for this sport this year are revoked. You're a great team and the best players this school has to offer, but you'll only be that as long as you're not tearing each other down. Understand?"
They understood.
"Good." Coach glanced at Teyla. "Ms. Gormley is waiting outside to take you to the girls' locker rooms, Teyla. We'll meet you at the bus."
John caught her eye as she turned. She tossed her head and broke the eye contact. He would have liked to squeeze her shoulder as she stalked across the room to grab her bag, but he wasn't quite ready to do that after Bates' comment - not with every eye in the room watching him. Call it cowardice or self-preservation, he had enough shit going on right now without adding to it.
Instead, he turned back to his own bag and didn't look up until the door closed behind Teyla.
"Bates?"
"Sir?"
Coach eyed him with a level look. "A man who uses either fists or insults about sexuality against a woman isn't much of a man."
Bates didn't flush, but he shot one furious glare at John. "Yes, sir."
John ignored it.
"You played well tonight - a hard, tough game." Coach glanced around the room, meeting all the gazes, including everyone in the praise. "All of you did, including Teyla and I'll be telling her so later. Keep it that way, and there's no reason we can't make it to the Championships."
"Yes, sir."
"Now get cleaned up." The older man's smile snaked out, wry and unexpected. "You all stink."
As he showered, John was reminded of why he admired Caldwell. The old coach - Sumner - had been a martinet to the core, more like a drill sergeant than a coach. It probably didn't help that Sumner reminded John of his own father. He'd nearly been thrown from the team in his sophomore year - only Caldwell's support had kept him on.
Sumner would never have countenanced Teyla on the team.
John shoved his face beneath the spray and scrubbed a lick of soap through his hair. God, Teyla. And Ronon. And Liz. He was going to have to sort things out with them all.
It would be easiest to start with Teyla. She was mad, but not at him, and he was pretty sure she wasn't the sulking type. Elizabeth - now, Elizabeth could do huffy as good as Rodney - but she probably wouldn't be that difficult to deal with now that she knew John wasn't responsible for the unwelcome rumours.
Which left Ronon.
Sooner or later, John was going to have to take matters into his own hands and talk to Ronon about this whole situation. Stress that he wasn't out to steal Liz from Ronon - and never had been, and that he wouldn't do that to another guy - let alone a buddy, even if he'd been interested in Liz - which he wasn't.
And maybe - if John was really lucky - Ronon might leave him in a condition to at least stagger home.
As he scrubbed himself down, John reflected that it was a big 'if'.
- tbc -
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excellent chapter...poor teyla...i would have killed bates for saying that!!
loving where the story is going and can't wait for more!
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Anyway, I liked this chapter, even though I wanted to punch Bates myself. However, that's how I always felt about Bates on the show, too, so I'd say you're right on there. John is not exactly having his best time lately, is he? I hope Ronon doesn't hurt him too much. :)