theo beiste

Meadow forced out a sigh, trying to collect her scattered thoughts before answering. “It’s mostly the same. It feels more chill, but that’s probably because I’m older, and generally more chill myself… but I guess it might be fun to have you back. You were always one of the more tolerable coworkers… and I’ve been getting a bit more freedom in the kitchen, recently, so if you want to be my guinea pig for recipes, that can be arranged.”

🏈

With his back pressed against the wall, Theo let out a chuckle as Meadow detailed the vibes at Breadstix these days. “You can say you like me, no one’s gonna come for you if you do,” he teased, gently nudging her with his elbow before resuming his relaxed position with his hands in his pockets. “It seemed chill though,” he observed, glancing over his shoulder at the front door. At the mention of being some sort of taste tester, Theo perked up. If there was one thing he liked almost as much as he liked girls and football, it was food. “Yo, I can be your guinea pig now,” he assured her, “what kinda shit do you cook?”

𝙾𝙿𝙴𝙽 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁

where: behind breadstix

when: night, april 19th

who: open

Hearing the footsteps on the pavement, Meadow sighed, her head tilting back against the outside wall with a sigh. She couldn’t tell who it was, not just by the footsteps, but she could make a guess. “You know, I have 5 more minutes on this break, and not even god herself can make me go back to work before my break is up.” She took a slow breath in of the night air, savoring it for all it was worth. Finally, fortified by the cool air in her lungs, she chanced a look to her new guest. “Labor unions fought for this, you know. Literally… this. Breaks. Kind of crazy, right?”

🏈 

Theo felt like he’d taken L after L these days, but after a heart to heart with his dad while he was home for the weekend, he decided it was time to somewhat take control of his life again. So football was out of the question, and that fucking sucked, but he couldn’t sulk forever. He had to find a way to do something productive with his time. With summer right around the corner, Theo decided it was time to start making plans...which included a job. He’d arranged a meeting with his old manager at Breadstix and after a quick fifteen minute meeting, he was told his job was there for him as soon as he was ready to claim it. What a relief. After shooting the shit for a while with his old co-workers, he headed outside and was on his way to his truck when he spotted a familiar face. “Yo,” he greeted, crossing his arms and leaning against the brick wall beside Meadow, “long time no see, Bukowski.” As she rattled off about being on her break and labor unions, Theo let out a casual chuckle. “Relax,” he teased, shaking his head, “I’m not here to fuck up your break. I need advice.” He let out a sigh as he stared out at the near vacant parking lot, “is this place still as much of a shit show as it was a couple of years ago? ‘Cause I need a job for the summer and I gotta figure out if this place is fuckin worth it or not.” 

WHO: @mayaacrawford​ & theo beiste WHERE: rosalita’s roadhouse  WHEN: friday, 4/9

Theo had been advised by his doctor’s not to partake in any rigorous physical activities during his recovery period. He wasn’t even off his crutches yet, but when he’d gotten a text from a sorority girl about some social at Rosalita’s Roadhouse...well, who was he to say no? When Jordan hit him up and said he’d be going with some of his fraternity brothers, it felt like a sign that Theo should show up...crutches and all. 

So there he was, standing by the wall on crutches surrounded by a group of guys who were all chugging their beers and laughing way too loud. Theo was sufficiently drunk and even though he felt like shit deep down, the new friends he’d made recently had been helping him feel less bad about his current situation. He was having fun. With a cowboy hat atop his shaggy head of hair, Theo was wearing his dimpled grin like he hadn’t just undergone knee surgery or gone through a break up. He’d been talking girls here and there at the party, flirting a little, being Theo. No one had really caught his attention though until he locked eyes with a petite brunette who was going off like a firecracker across the bar. He raised his beer in her direction, wondering if their prolonged eye contact meant that she’d be making her way over. When she did, he took a sip of his beer and adjusted himself on his crutches. “I was hoping you’d come over,” he said, bending down to talk to her over the loud music, “what’s your name?”

ljholls: love u tho

theobeiste: stfu ll cool j lmao

STERLINGDUVAL: lmao right and ur name’s not theo STERLINGDUVAL: i’ve been thinking about it but i’m not convinced yet STERLINGDUVAL: what does a weekend at osu entail

STERLINGDUVAL: not a dm but figured a snap would be ok too STERLINGDUVAL: it’s like you want zoe to kill me

there was no hiding the small laugh and eye roll being shot in theo’s direction. “somehow i think that’s impossible,” she responded quickly to his exaggeration. though she wasn’t one to actively keep up in the world of college sports, sterling did know that lima’s golden boy always had a way of landing on his feet. “yikes,” she visibly recoiled at the mention of him tearing his acl. “all this just to toss a ball down a field?” perhaps if she had at least one athletic bone in her body,  sterling would understand the desire to return to something that had fucked her up physically… well. at theo’s apology, sterling shook her head and sent a warm smile his way. “i wanted to know,” she assured him before adding, “besides, it’s not every day i get the opportunity to talk to the prom king.”

sterling allowed her line of sight to follow his up to the direction of her apartment, before sighing and dropping back to meet his gaze at the sound of his words. sterling emitted a hm noise, trying to follow theo’s trail of logic. “pretty sure that’s about not sleeping with your coworkers.” as theo’s enthusiasm grew when discussing lj, sterling grabbed the marker and brought it to the sleeve of his cup. after marking what the drink actually was, she added a qb next to it. “she’s back. crazier than ever, that’s for sure.” sterling confirmed, matching the pure happiness he had been exhibiting. “i’ll let her know i saw you, but you should definitely text her. i’m sure she’d love to hear from you.” theo beiste was cute - that much was undeniable, and sterling would be a fucking liar if she said his dimpled grin wasn’t piquing her interest. in high school, they had run in similar circles and had interacted here and there at parties, but he was either always in a relationship or she was always fucking things up with rocky. there had never really been a moment where they’d truly flirted until… now? sterling wasn’t naive enough to not realize what theo’s words were implying, but what she was naive about was his relationship status. the last she’d heard, he was more than wifed up with the craziest bitch lima had ever created. “i have been meaning to get up to osu to see jaz,” and after a quick pause, she grabbed both cups and rounded the counter to theo’s side, only to use her hip to open the door wide enough for him to get through. when the sun touched her skin, sterling smiled slowly. “how’s zoe?”

🏈 

Theo pursed his lips slightly to contain his smile at her comment. He felt lower than low these days, so it was nice to be reminded that some people still thought of him so highly. “That’s nice of you,” he teased with a bashful shrug, “thank you.” He let out a short, breathy laugh at her observation. Maybe she was right. Was all this really worth it just to play football? He wasn’t sure anymore...but football was all he’d ever known. Before he could get lost in his thoughts, Sterling was bringing him back down to earth with another fun reminder of his highs. “Yo...prom king?” he shook his head and clicked his tongue, “you’re really gassing me up...are you trying to charm the pants off me or some shit?” A shrug, “it’s working.”

At the mention of sleeping with her coworkers, Theo smiled suggestively and quirked his brow. “That right?” a nod, “interesting.” Talking about LJ made Theo feel good. She was someone who’d left a mark on him in high school and he was glad to hear she was doing well. “I’ll hit her up,” he promised, grinning at the qb written on his cup. He’d been expecting Sterling to hand him the cups and send him on his way, so when she rounded the counter to his side, he looked at her confused. “You don’t have to do tha—” before he could even finish, she was already making her way to the door and holding it open with her side. Sighing defeatedly, he nodded. “You’re right,” he noted, chuckling lightly at himself as he crutched his way through the door and towards his dad’s car. He was in relatively good spirits until Zoe was mentioned. “Don’t know,” he answered curtly, shrugging as he looked at Sterling, “we’re not together anymore.” That was the simple truth. Once they reached the car, Theo had his dad rolled down the window and passed him the drinks that way before moving to the other side. “It was good to see you,” T said, eyeing Sterling with an intrigued gaze, “for real though...come up to OSU. It’ll be fun.” With that, he flashed his million dollar smile and got into the car, waving goodbye and watching with an exhilarated feeling as she walked away.

LJ: i'll try and drag her ass w me dw

LJ: would i lie to u??? it's true 3

LJ: oh fuck

LJ: well fuck her

LJ: ur gonna get better dude

LJ: im good man, i missed my mom

LJ: kinda stressin idfk what im gonna do for school come fall

LJ: but we can bitch abt how shitty things r when i see u in person next week and bring a recovery gift

THEO: tight

THEO: yeah fuck it. it is what it is

THEO: how's miss holliday doin 😏

THEO: u got options tho right like?

THEO: wait wtf do u even wanna do?

LJ: ohio can smd

LJ: dude they were fuckin great, sad to be back

LJ: i even shed a tear when i entered ohio bc it smells so bad )):

LJ: lmao

LJ: how r u?

THEO: fake lmao

THEO: can't wait to hear all about it fr u and sterling should come up next weekend no cap

THEO: damn didn't kno u were a drama queen now hahah

THEO: i'm chillin

THEO: z and i broke up. busted my fuckin leg and can't play football for the time being. peachy over here

LJ: hey u big bitch

LJ: u avoiding me or something?!

LJ: the way u skipped outta lima...u would think u owed me money or some shit

THEO: u fuckin clown

THEO: hilarious coming from the girl who has been jet setting everywhere but ohio for the past year

THEO: i didn't know ur ass was coming back! how the fuck were ur travels and shit?

sterling would be lying if she said she hadn’t been looking forward to spring break. apart from the quick weekend family getaway, she had done what she always had: stayed in lima. what had excited her about spring break wasn’t the week off of school or the prospect of visiting some tropical location - no - it was knowing she’d be in the presence of some of her all-time favorite people. well, most of them anyways. apart from the obvious (colossal) absence, sterling had made quick use of her time and caught up with just about everyone possible except, apparently, theo beiste.

as his voice broke the silence of her steady work, sterling’s eyes found his, and her smile subsequently widened.  “the quarterback returns home,” she paused as her eyes took in everything about theo’s appearance. “on crutches?” the words came off more as a question and less of an observation. “living the dream,” she shot back with a small smirk, gesturing towards the rest of the half-empty coffee shop. “it’s not that bad, actually. the hours are decent and the commute is short,” her finger lifted to point towards the ceiling. “i live above here,” a pause. “well, i guess, lj and i live above here now. she’s crashing on my couch.” she placed one cup on the counter and began to work on the second before returning the question. “how are you?” and with a slight jab, “how long are you gonna be hobbling around on those?”

🏈 

The word ‘quarterback’ stung Theo ever so slightly, but he did his best not to falter. At her follow-up observation, he glanced down at the crutches under his arms like he was shocked to see them and then nodded. “Yup,” he sighed, clicking his tongue, “how the mighty have fallen.” If he hadn’t been so insecure about his injury, he probably would’ve just left it at that, but his need to explain himself took over as he began to ramble. “I got banged up pretty badly at a practice,” he started, clearing his throat, “tore my ACL and shit. I’ve been in Lima for like three weeks but...headed back now,” a shrug, “not that you asked for all that.” 

Happy to talk about her instead of his obvious situation, he smiled. “No shit, really?” he asked, glancing up as she pointed to the ceiling, “don’t they say it’s bad to shit where you eat or whatever?” At the mention of LJ, Theo’s eyes noticeably brightened. “LL Cool J is back in town? You’re kidding,” he mused, a dimpled grin tugging at the corners of his lips, “yo tell her I said hi. I should text her or some shit. I miss that girl.” Theo glanced at the cup she put down on the counter and quickly realized that he would, in fact, have some trouble getting back to his dad’s car on crutches and carrying drinks. Before he could get mad at himself for that mistake, she was teasing him with a question. “Few weeks,” he revealed with a twinge of sadness, shaking his head, “but then I have a fuck ton of PT and shit so...I don’t know.” Theo watched as Sterling began making his dad’s coffee and observed the way she moved expertly around the equipment. She was someone he hadn’t paid all that much attention to in high school since he had a girlfriend...but she was cute. From what he remembered, she was also fun. And now? Theo was single. Time to see if he still had it.  “You look good, by the way,” he complimented confidently with an easygoing smile, “we should kick it sometime.”

WHO: @sterlingduval​ & theo beiste WHERE: the lima bean WHEN: friday, 3/19

The last few months of Theo’s life had been absolute hell. He knew, in retrospect, that refusing to get his athletic injury checked by a doctor was a colossal mistake. Had he been responsible, had he just gotten things looked at when they first happened, maybe all of the shit that had gone down recently could’ve been avoided. His lashing out at his dad, at his coaches, at Zoe. But hindsight was always twenty twenty and there was nothing he could do about it now. Him and Zoe were over, which felt like a long time coming, and whether he liked it or not, he was headed back to campus on crutches. After three weeks of recovering post-op in Lima, Theo was beyond ready to be back at OSU. He and his dad had just hit the road when Sheldon decided he needed a coffee for the drive. Once they pulled up the coffee shop Theo used to frequent as a high schooler, his dad offered to go inside for them, but T decided he could use the air. 

“I got it,” he said definitely, letting himself out of the car and reaching for his crutches with a complete lack of grace. Theo was determined not to let his physical abilities hinder him. He was determined to carry on the way he always did. So, he limped his way into the lima bean with his crutches under his arms and stood in line with everyone else. Once it was his turn to order, he got a medium sized cold brew for himself and a large coffee with cream and two sugars for his dad. The barista plugged everything into his computer, took Theo’s card, and then ushered him to the end counter where he could pick up his drinks. Theo made his way over and stood stoically as he waited. It was only then that he clocked who was whipping up his order. “Yo,” he greeted, giving Sterling Duval a little nod and the faintest of smiles, “remember me?” It was a stupid question, obviously she did...but still. They hadn’t really seen or spoken to each other in two years apart from social media. “Still working here, huh?” he teased, brow quirked, “how you been?”