Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2007 13:35:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: j c <writerscramp71@yahoo.com>
Subject: All American Sports God Installment 10

This is a complete work of fiction. Any similarity to anyone living or dead
is purely coincidental. This story is copywrited and sole property of the
author. And may not be reproduced without the express consent of the author

Well I bet you weren't expecting another dose of John and Jay so soon eh? I
couldn't help myself since I knew where things where headed.  I couldn't
stop until I had this chapter done. I think out of all the chapters so far
this is my favorite one. Maybe because I like its excitement, or maybe
because some of the things that happen to John in this installment have
happened to me as well. Who knows either way I love this one and I bet you
will too gentle reader. I hope you enjoy the raving hallucinations of my
dark mind.

You may contact me at Writerscramp71@yahoo.com


All that night I kept having nightmares about losing Jay. It seemed like I
was waking up almost every hour with a fading scream escaping from my
throat. I knew I was doing the right thing but that didn't make it any
easier. I had to distance myself to save him the hassle I knew would come
from the small minded people in our town. God it hadn't even been 24 hours
and I already missed him something fierce.

That whole next day seemed so surreal, like my vision was stilted or
perhaps it was just my perspective. I walked through it almost as if I was
wrapped in a thick layer of gauze or cotton. I woke and dressed in the
first thing my hand happened to land on. I went down stairs and ate
breakfast, mindlessly chewing my toast and not tasting anything.

Before I even realized it I was driving on my way to Jay's house. I almost
cried when I saw him getting into Billy's car as I passed. It wasn't that I
felt he was cheating on me or anything just another small wound to my heart
at the feeling that I was letting him slip away even more.

It nearly broke my heart every time Jay would shoot me a glance in the
halls. Seeing the hurt and sorrow so openly displayed on his face. I didn't
walk with him from class to class anymore but I did follow from a distance
just to make sure no one messed with him. After all I had promised him and
it was really the one thing I had left at that time. So you can imagine how
excruciating it was for me to see him at arms length and not be allowed to
touch him.

Over the next few days I couldn't help but notice that he was hanging out
with Billy a lot more than I would have expected.  Maybe it was because he
was lonely or maybe now that Billy was acting like a decent person they
actually might have something in common. All I knew was that for some
reason it felt like an ice cold spike running through my heart every time I
saw them walking close together in the halls. A shared laugh or a friendly
touch sent me to the restroom on more than one occasion to cry silently in
a stall while skipping class.

He hadn't called me and I was too afraid to call him. I thought if I could
just be strong that he would too. I know we should have talked to each
other at least but it was so painful to be near him and see his life moving
on, I didn't trust myself not to break down and cry. I was just doing what
I thought would keep us safe.

Friday night came way too quickly for me that week. I didn't want to go to
the home coming game and stand on the side lines while our team lost. I
don't want you to think I was being cocky about my abilities or that I
thought I carried the team because I didn't. But Leo had no where near
enough talent to pull off a win against a team as good as East Central. It
would have been a struggle for me.

The team looked even more surprised than coach did when I showed up in the
locker room before the game. Although I had missed a couple of practices
there was no way I wouldn't be there for them when it came time. I could
feel that the pre game energy wasn't anywhere near as high as it usually
would have been. I think they had resigned themselves to losing before they
even stepped out of the locker room door.

The first half of the game was painful to watch. Losing the coin toss
should have been a sign of things to come. East Central dominated the field
with ease. What should have at lest been a hard fought game turned into a
bloodbath. With each new touchdown they scored the feeling of helplessness
grew inside my gut. I felt like my whole universe was upside down. First I
had lost control over mine and Jay's relationship; I had barely survived
Ray. And now I had lost the only other thing that I cared about even
remotely as much as Jay.

I have to give Leo credit; he wasn't getting the job done but at least he
was trying his hardest to pull the team together. It was just unfortunate
that he couldn't score.

Finally the clock ran down and we shuffled into the locker room for
halftime hell, as we use to call it when we were losing. I was the last one
to go through the door but I could plainly hear coach's ranting a good 20
feet away.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE!" Coach screamed. "I HAVENT EVER
SEEN A SORRIER BUNCH OF PUSSIES IN MY WHOLE LIFE!"

I quickly walked past the semi huddle and made my way to the back of the
locker bay. I could see Leo hanging his head in shame. I watched the
spittle fly from coach's mouth as he continued to berate the team. I had
warned him this would happen and he didn't even have the good sense to take
it like a man. He had to crush what little bit of dignity they had left.

As I watched him get ever more abusive something changed, all the shame,
frustration and impotence that I had been feeling turned to hatred. I
wasn't going to let him destroy what we had worked so hard to create. Even
though he was our coach we were the ones who had bleed for this season. We
were the ones who had sacrificed our pain and sweat to get where we
were. And I was going to be damned if I let him or anyone else bring us
down.

I walked over next to Leo and put my hand on his shoulder guiding him into
the shower room. I had to try and talk some sense into him.

"Leo dude calm down, I know you're trying your best. Don't listen to that
asshole. You're the only one who can turn this around." I said desperately
trying to build some confidence in him.

"John there ain't no way in hell I can turn this around you know that, I
cant even get past the 50 yard line." He said with pain and frustration
showing in his voice.

I knew he was right but what else could I do?

"Were screwed man our prefect season shot down the drain all because of
me." He said as his eyes began to water.

"It isn't your fault Leo it's mine." I hissed. And after I said it an idea
started to form in the back of my mind. This whole mess wasn't anyone's
fault but my own, and I was the only one who could fix it.

"Wait here." I said.

I walked back into the locker bay and quietly retrieved my equipment. I
went to the shower room and began changing.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked in a confused tone.

"Look no offence man but you're right. There's no way you can do this, I
doubt even I can, but I won't go down without a fight." I said looking him
dead in the eyes.

"Coach isn't going to let you play John, he already told you." He said.

I had already thought about how I could get past coach. The only way this
even had a chance of working was if I could keep him busy.

"Go get Eddie and bring him in here. I can't do this without his help." I
said calmly. "And don't let coach see you."

I quickly changed into all of my gear except my jersey. As I finished
putting in my pads Eddie and Leo walked in.

"John what's going on? Why are you getting suited up?" Eddie asked.



"Eddie I gota ask you a favor man. You have to keep coach away from Leo for
the rest of the game." I said.

"Why?" he asked, still not catching on to what I was going to do.

"Because I'm going to take Leo's place." I said

"No...No way I can't do that if anyone finds out I'll lose my job." Eddie
said.

"Look... Leo is almost the exact same build as me. I'm going to wear his
jersey and no one will be able to tell." I said.

"Right." He said sarcastically.

"Leo and I are the only ones who will know. And if we do get caught I swear
we'll take the full blame. Come on Eddie we worked to hard to go down like
this. I've got to try man." I said getting more desperate.

I could see the indecision in his eyes. I could tell I almost had him.

"Hey man, do this for me and name your price anything Eddie I swear." I was
trying everything I could think of to sway him. It was the only way I had a
shot at this.

"I don't know John what am I going to say to keep him away from you?" He
asked.

"Just tell him that you talked to me and got my confidence back up. And
after the way he's treated the team it would probably wreck it if he talked
to me again." I said off the top of my head. It was the best I could come
up with on such short notice and I prayed it would work.

"Alright but if I'm going to put my ass on the line you better pull a win
out of this." Eddie said.

"I'm trying to Eddie."

Eddie was as good as his word. After I slipped on Leo's jersey I walked out
and joined the team. He took coach aside and whispered something into his
ear which seemed to clam him down. I tried to stay as far away from him as
possible and keep my head down before we got back out on the field. Since
East Central elected to receive at kick off we would be getting the ball at
the beginning of the second half.

We only made it to the 12th yard line on the return when I took the
field. As a quarter back sometimes you need to be encouraging to your
players and other times you need to be hard to get the results you're
looking for. But above all else you have to maintain control. Watching my
offence hustle out to the line of scrimmage I could tell they were nearly
broken. When we gathered for the huddle I knew it would take everything I
had and more to bring them back from defeat.

"Listen up!" I shouted.

"John."

"Dude'

"What the hell"

"Shut up!" I yelled. "Are you going to let those cock suckers take our
season?"

"Fuck no!"

"Hell no!"

"Alright here we go I need an x right wing 26 smash on 3 you got it?" I
planned to shove the ball right down East Central's throat.

"Elliot watch for the hole" I said smacking his helmet to get his
attention.

As we lined up I could feel my mind falling into the zone. That place where
nothing else matters except the ball, my receivers and first down.

God it was good to be back on the field and in control again. It was always
a place that made me feel comfortable. I knew the rules and what to expect,
it was simple yet infinitely complicated at the same time. Just about when
you thought you had things figured out they would change. And tonight it
was going to be a lesson that East Central would learn the hard way.

I knew they were riding high on a 35 to nothing lead and weren't expecting
us to come alive As the ball snapped on that first play and I handed it off
to Elliot they got a taste of what it meant to play in our house. Four
plays later we were 1st and goal, about to score our first touchdown of the
night.  It was less than three minutes into the second half and I thought
we might just have a chance.

Sometimes those 60 minutes on the game clock run by so slow it seems like
hours. Occasionally though when you're in the zone and everything clicks it
hardly seems longer than a few minutes. Once East Central figured out we
weren't going to roll over and spread em' they started to fight hard and
dirty.

Sammy had played well that half and nearly stayed in the entire game when
he was doubled teamed and took a hard spill. Jason was cut down at the
knees and couldn't get back up. Ben was knocked unconscious and taken from
the field. Their defense had been blitzing all that second half. I was down
to mostly 2nd and 3rd string players. Every minute took its toll and before
I knew it we were tied 42-42 with less than a minute left on the clock.

Their line backers had been hot for my blood ever since that fist
touchdown. And for the most part my line held tight. But when we started to
lose key players I began to take a lot more hits.

"I swear to god the next person who lets a line backer through is going to
get their ass kicked by me understand!" I screamed.  It was the third time
I had been sacked in ten minutes. I looked around at my players in the
huddle and noticed most of them seemed lost or scared.

"Alright listen up I need a T 22 dive slide right cross 42 on 3 got it?" I
asked.

My receivers looked at me like I was talking a foreign language and my half
back wasn't even paying attention when I called the play.

"Hey kid!" I yelled as I grabbed his face mask and jerked his head to look
me square in the eyes.

"Huh?" he grunted.

"Did you hear me? I said T 22 dive slide right cross 42 on 3 got it!" I
yelled again.

He still didn't understand what I was telling him.

"Look you do know what T formation is right?" I questioned him.

"Yea T-bone right" he said.

"Ok just slide right and go flat out." I said hoping he understood.

I pulled my tight end and wing back over to explain to them exactly what to
do. I wasn't going to take the chance that these rookies would fuck it up.

"Hey I need you to do a cross over and give me a 15 yard hook got it?" I
said to my wing back.

"And I need you to run a route, if your open I'm going to hit you so look
over your shoulder got it?" I said to my tight end.

"On 3 everybody." I said again just so we didn't have any false starts.

My body ached and my fingers were almost numb. My voice hoarsely called out
the count as we prepared to run the last play of the game. The crowd was
nearly deafening and time seemed to crawl in micro-seconds.  It was one of
the best moments I can ever remember playing football, including my time in
the pros.

When the ball was snapped I dropped back four steps and started to look for
my receivers. My wing back got tangled up at the line of scrimmage; I
turned to see where my tight end was and found he had double coverage. Fuck
I thought this doesn't look good. I only had one option left, I scanned to
my right when I saw that my half back actually made it down the field and
wasn't being covered by anyone.

Just then I saw two line backers coming straight at me. I held my breath
and prayed that goofy kid would look over his shoulder. I gave it every
last ounce of energy I had and launched the ball. As soon as the ball left
my fingers I got hit hard. One of the line backers went low around my knees
and the other went high trying to take my head off. I went down in a heap
of pain; I think I actually blacked out for a second.

When I raised my head looking around I heard the crowd explode. The horn
blared signaling the end of the game. I barely managed to pull myself up
off the field. Looking down at the end zone I saw that goofy half back
being carried on the shoulders of our players. I turned around and headed
to the locker room as fast as my legs could take me.

I limped into the locker room and was almost tackled by Leo.

"Damn John that was incredible, I can't believe you pulled that off." He
beamed with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.

"Help me get this shit off, hurry before coach comes back." I said in a
grimace of pain. That last hit had done a number on me. I didn't think I
could even bend over to untie my cleats.

He took my arm and led me back into the showers. Just as he managed to get
my shoulder pads over my head coach walked in.

"My office now." He said in a cold manner.

I did my best to walk tall and hold my head high; I didn't want him to know
that I was in a serious amount of pain. As he shut the door behind me I
braced myself for an epic ass chewing. I didn't expect what happened next.

"That was some of the best ball I've ever seen you play." He said.

I was shocked; my jaw was on the floor.

"I still can't believe you pulled it off. How did you know we would win?"
He asked.

"I didn't, I just hoped I could put some points on the board before you
figured it out so we could have at least a little bit of dignity." I said
with a sheepish smile.

"Damn I think we're going to go all the way to state this year." He said
with a dreamy look of hope on his face.

"Me too." I concurred with a big shit eating grin.

I thought he was going to skin me alive if he found out. I felt a small
measure of tension leave my body as we sat and went over some of the more
outstanding plays we had managed to pull off. I had been setting in his
office for about 20 minutes when I felt my muscles tightening up. Small
little cramps made their way across my legs and lower back. I knew it was
time to hit the showers.

I walked to my locker to finish getting undressed. Most of the others guys
seemed to have already showered and headed out to the home coming dance. I
was congratulated by a few of the stragglers who were getting ready to
leave.

I turned on a shower and adjusted the temp for as hot as I could stand
it. Before I had even stepped into the spray my body was rocked with a
severe cramp. If you have ever had a Charlie horse then you know the
excruciating pain I'm talking about. Only deep muscle cramps feel like a
Charlie horse armed with a knife and a grudge. I didn't even have time to
yell out my pain as I fell to my knees slightly banging my head on the
tile. I tried to crawl under the hot stream of water to loosen the cramp
but every time I inched closer I was wracked with waves of pain and
dizziness that took my breath away.

Suddenly out of no where a pair of strong hands grabbed me under my arms
and lifted me into the blessed relief of the shower. My mind was so full of
pain I couldn't even speak as I tired to work out the cramp in my thigh. I
felt a rough calloused hand below my ass massaging the back of my thigh to
help work out the pain.

"Damn that looked like the mother of all cramps dude." A soft yet deep
voice whispered in my ear.

As the pain receded my mind cleared enough for me to answer him.

"Oh man that fucking hurt, thanks for your help." I said.

It was then I became conscious of his dick resting against the crack of my
ass. I turned my head to see who it was; the smiling face of that goofy 3rd
string half back filled my vision.



Mmm hot steamy shower scenes my favorite.....lol