#eipis

The Foxes had lost their last game, only by a point, but Neil had missed that last penalty. Their captain had let the score slide, the papers had read. It shouldn’t mean anything; it hadn’t, not until he let his mind wander back over the article.  Long hours stuck on the coach had worn Neil out and yet he exhausted himself further, not doing any particular drills. His aim was just to play and to get past the weekend.

He pushed himself to where the exy balls had collected, scattered in the far corner. He heaved the net high in the air, gratified as the air rushed past his ear. The ball struck the far wall of the court, skimming the goal. He tried again, and it fell short. He swung higher and faster and grimaced as the next hit the post and rebounded back towards him. He took a step forward and attacked as the ball flew towards him. He fell to a halt as a searing pain went through his wrist and the racket clattered to the floor, echoing through him.

Neil pushed himself off the court walls, muttering swears under his breath. With his dominant hand cradled to his chest he began fumbling with the lock on the gate leading to the outer court. He had left his arm guards on the bench amidst his rage. Grumbling, Neil sat beside them, his hands shaking as he wrapped his fingers around the grating of his helmet and he pulled it over his head, letting it drop beside him. He shook his head, his hair sticking up at all angles, laced with sweat. With a grimace Neil jumped to his feet.

“You fainted... straight into my arms.” Neil blinked twice, and pulled his heavy eyelids apart. Andrew Minyard was leaning against the wall, but Neil’s head was resting on his lap. Quickly Neil lifted his head to relieve the pressure, but Andrew just shook his head and pushed him back down. “You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.” Andrew’s grin spread across his face and he finally looked down at Neil. 

Andrew pushed a bottle of water over in Neil’s direction, and he heaved his cumbersome and heavy body up again. He reached out to grab it, but found his thumb stuck to his fist. It was wrapped in bandages pulled tight.

“Make sure I’m there when you tell Kevin,” Andrew said, resulting in a scoff from Neil. 

“He’s going to flip his shit,” he groaned, giving his wrist a twist, testing its limits, as well as Andrew’s. He was watching Neil intently; Neil suspected he would tighten the bandages more so if he kept pulling at it, even if it cut off his blood supply. Neil crushed the plastic in his left hand and dropped the bottle into his helmet, watching it spin to a stop before he leant tenderly back into Andrew’s lap. Andrew’s hands fell against Neil’s head; he could fill the warmth from his palms and his hair tug against the fabric of his bands. Neil’s curls became weaved between Andrew’s fingers, and they just sat there in the silence, letting the light from the inner court filter down the corridor.

thats like 600 words there, so much for my writers block aa ty for this