Chapter 8 Lucious

Lucious breathed in and breathed out, he needed to win this game, they had already lost two and Lucious wasn't going to let that happen again, all he had to do was pass their line of defense, dodge all the tacklers and score the goal, he looked at the clock, the game had 3 minutes left, he looked to his teammates, they all gave him reassuring nods and then the whistle blew, he passed the ball to Joe who was on the left wing and rushed forward just as planned, Joe caught the ball with his foot and immediately passed it to Reggie who was way in front, Reggie caught it with his chest and passed it forward, Lucious had the ball in his skilled legs again, he dribbled the tacklers easily and manuevered effortlessly through defense, all he needed to do now was score the winning goal, he briefly looked at the clock, less than a minute left, adrenaline pumped through his body and he shot the ball, it made an incredible arc in the air, confusing the goalie and striking the net. The crowd went wild and the students of NYU jumped in excitement, Lucious fell to the ground as his teammates towered over him, patting his back and ruffling his hair. Just then the final whistle blew indicating the end of the match and Lucious basked in the moment.

As the players left the field, shaking each other and congratulating the winning team, Lucious saw CJ in the stadium smiling at him like he always did whenever he won a match, Lucious stared in horror, he rubbed his eyes and looked again but he was gone.

....

Lucious crashed in his bed after his last class, he had been congratulated by who knows how many people that day and he still couldn't wipe off that image of CJ, was he really there ?, or was that a figment of his imagination ?. He immediately forgot about it when he heard his phone buzzing beside him, Erica's name and picture shone on the screen and Lucious smiled.

"Hey Erica"

"Lucious, how was the game today !"

"We won, it was about time."

"OMG, congratulations I'm really happy for you"

"Yeah, it's a shame you weren't there though"

"I'm sorry, I really wanted to be there youbut you know how busy I've been lately"

"Yeah, I know, it's just that, I really wanted to see your face"

Instead I was seeing someone else's, thought Lucious.

"I'm truly very sorry, I promise I'll make it up to you"

"It's okay, here I am talking about myself, how did it go today"

They talked for a little while, mostly Erica telling him about her day and how sorry she was that they couldn't spend more time together.

"I think we're the weirdest couple ever, we go to the same school and yet we barely see each other" said Erica, Lucious could tell she had a smile on her face. "Don't worry pretty soon the semester will be over and I will be all over you"

"I'd like that" said Lucious, then he looked at the time.

"Sorry Erica, I got a field trip first thing tomorrow so I've gotta get some sleep"

"Okay bye, I love you"

Lucious smiled.

"I love you Erica"

and then he hung up.

He plugged in his phone and went to get a shower after that he dropped back on his bed and looked at the ceiling, first he thought of his victory, then he thought of Erica and how happy she made him feel and then he closed his eyes and like every night since the day he met CJ, he dreamt of him.

.....

The dream was confusing like a cross between a memory from the past and a glimpse of the future, like a fairytale woven into reality, there they were, Lucious, CJ and someone else sitting on the school roof looking at the sunny sky.

"I love you both but there's always going to be that one person that will forever have my heart, and I'm afraid that person is neither of you"

RING!RING!!RING!!!

Lucious woke up instantly, he was shocked, partly because of the abruptness of the alarm and partly because of his dream, he could still see CJ's figure, light skin, blue eyes, slender arms, the way he looked, the way he'd always looked, almost perfect. Lucious couldn't remember the words nor could he recognize the other person there, all he could remember was CJ. Lucious removed the covers and went to the bathroom to get ready for his field trip, he walked out of his dorm, his brown crossbag hung across his broad chest, he wore a blue shirt and black trousers with white sneakers, his wavy brown hair was messy as always, he wore the school athlete's jacket with the crest and mascot over his shirt and went on to catch the bus.

The field trip was for geography students,. they were going on an earlier cleared out path outside the university to observe different plains. Aside from being a star athlete, Lucious had a knack for exploring, he went on the trip with excitement, as he got to the bus he noticed others like him eager to finally leave campus and do something different, after a while the bus left and stopped in front of a particularly large path that had been created. The students went forward, spotting out things that they had never seen and the professor teaching them along the way, as they were going down the trail Lucious got a text.

Zoey: Please I need you, there's a problem with CJ.

Immediately concern washed over Lucious and he texted back.

Lucious: What happened ?

Zoey: I'll explain to you later.

Lucious: Where and when ?

....

Lucious was sitting on the bench in the park, waiting for Zoey. The birds were chirping and the air was clean but he hardly noticed, the only thing that seemed to be on his mind was CJ and the thought that something might have gone wrong, that maybe revealing his secret to the school had been too much and it was choking him, he dreaded listening to his thoughts and tried to focus on the smell of trees and soil.

"Hey"

Lucious turned on hearing Zoey's voice, she looked tired, her curly hair was a pretty mess and she had semi circles under her eyes, her cheeks were pale and her lips were ashy white, Lucious immediately knew something was wrong.

"Hey"

"I'm glad you could come, I know you'd rather spend some time with your family now that you're back for a week." said Zoey as she sat beside him in the bench, she smelled of perfume and salt.

"Anything for CJ, by the way, the text you sent sounded urgent, what's up"

"It's CJ, I went to his house to apologize but everything just went downhill, he's changed, I've changed him, we've changed him Lucious"

"I didn't think things will turn out this way and I'm sorry you got hurt but I don't really know what you want me to do, it's not like he'll listen to me, I broke his heart"

"Maybe, but maybe you're also the person that can fix it"

"Zoey, you can't be sure of that"

"I am Lucious, you loved him, you both saw each other, truly saw each other, he was your first love and you were his no matter what either of you tell yourselves"

"But I love someone else now, I'm truly in love with Erica"

"And I understand, but I know deep inside you still care about CJ, Lucious please I need you"

Lucious looked at the pleading face of the girl in front of him, and she was right, he cared about CJ, but CJ was something of the past, a memory.

Then if he is why do you dream about him ?

Lucious hated himself, mostly because he asked himself questions he knew he couldn't answer.

"Look Zoey, I love you, you know I do and I know this is all my fault but I'm not the answer, there's nothing I can do for you, I'm sorry"

Zoey exhaled and stood up, then turned to Lucious with a smile, a fake smile.

"It's okay, I understand, sorry to waist your time"

"Zoey if there's anything else I can...."

"Forget it Lucious, I said it's okay"

And with that she walked away, leaving Lucious feeling useless.