The Academy in the Forest

The Academy in the Forest By: Chuck S

This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real places or persons is simply a coincidence. The following story will contain gay relationships and sex. If it is illegal for you to view this, or you are not of age, please stop here. This story is mine and mine alone, and therefore I retain all rights. This story is not to be copied or published without my express permission.

Sorry for such a delay in getting this chapter out. I have been extremely busy, and then when I found time to write, I just couldn't get into it, and as such the product wasn't what I wanted it to be. I received some mixed reviews regarding the changing of perspectives. While for this chapter I still did some switching, in the future I may refrain from switching views too much unless there is something specific I am trying to show.

Chapter 9

I was having the best night's sleep I have had since coming to the academy. As the alarm began blaring, launching a tumultuous assault on me, it took me a moment to remember where I was, and why there was someone in bed with me, holding me tightly as if I would try to escape. There is nothing like waking up in the arms of someone who truly cares for you, and it is a feeling I would love to grow accustomed to.

I looked into the sleepy green eyes of the wonderful guy I was sharing my bed with as he reached for the alarm clock and put an end to the cacophony that had so rudely awoken us. After shutting off the alarm, he quickly wrapped his arms back around me and gave me a good morning kiss which I eagerly returned.

"Good morning, did you sleep okay?" he asked me.

"Great, how about you?"

"I'd also have to say great." He replied.

I watched as he released me and stretched his arms out above his head, revealing the small amount of hair he had under his arms. His chest was hairless and was beginning to show some signs of definition to his muscles. All of his hard work for soccer was starting to pay off it seemed.

"Well, I guess we better get up and start getting ready." he suggested.

"If we have to." I said as I too stretched with a small groan.

I watched as Tim sat up on the side of the bed and pulled the blanket down. I hadn't noticed until now that he had been nude under the covers, the thought of which sent blood flowing to the nether regions. I sat up on the side of the bed next to him, but I was wearing a pair of boxers.

"Tim, I really want to thank you. Once again, you came through for me and made everything okay." I said looking into his eyes.

"All I did was ask my dad to find out what he could, and see if there was anything he could do to help out. Everything after that was all him." Tim replied.

"No, you did so much more than that. You were there for me every step of the way, and gave me your love and support. I want you to know how much it means to me, and how much you mean to me." I said, pausing a moment. "Then you cuddled up with me, and I felt like everything would be okay."

"Well, I thought that's what best friends and boyfriends do for each other."

I leaned in and put my lips to his and did my best to express all of the emotions I felt for him, from gratitude, to the love I felt for him. It was a magical kiss for me, everything just seemed so right, and as we broke apart I felt a tear slowly streak its way down my soft cheek. It was a tear of joy, of happiness, and of hope. Tim put his hand to my face and wiped away the tear before it could fall away and be lost, then returned his hand to my cheek and gave it a soft caress.

Scott and I finished getting ready, and headed off for our day. I was really starting to get used to the flow of things and get a routine down, and the day sped by. We were supposed to have soccer practice after classes, but the day had turned dark and rain began to poor down quite heavily. The coach had us do some calisthenics in the gym, but only held us for an hour before telling us to enjoy our afternoon.

After changing out of our practice clothes, Scott and I headed up to our dorm, and we had only been sitting down a few minutes before there was a knock on the door. Scott stood up to answer it, and I was surprised to see my dad standing on the other side.

"Oh, hi Mr. Stevenson." Scott said.

"Hey boys, is it okay if I come in?" Dad asked.

"Sure, come on in." Scott answered while stepping aside to let my dad in. My dad took a seat on the small couch we had in our room, while Scott and I were sitting at our desks.

"Well I was able to submit the adoption papers today since you were agreeable, and because this is such a small town, they were able to set a court date for Thursday of this week." My dad explained.

"Wow, that was fast!" Scott said. "Do I have to be there? We have an important game on Thursday."

"You do have to be there. When I submitted the paperwork they said you would have to be there so the judge was sure you were okay with us adopting you." He answered.

"Okay what time is it?" Scott asked somewhat dejectedly.

"One thirty, so you will likely miss the game I'm sorry to say." He answered.

"I don't really have anything to wear that would be suitable for going to court." Scott said.

"Well do you have any plans for the rest of this afternoon? The three of us can go to the mall and do some shopping." My dad suggested.

We were agreeable and set off for the mall. Our first stop was to a men's suit store to get Scott a suit to wear for his big day. I sat and watched as they took measurements of Scott's waist, chest, inseam, shoulders, and arms. Before I knew it, Scott was dressed in a very nice fitting dark navy suit with a beige shirt and a blue and gold tie. I couldn't help but notice that the tie really brought out his eyes, and did a great job of bringing the whole ensemble together.

After paying for the suit, my dad surprised us by giving us each a hundred dollar bill and turning us lose to buy things we wanted. While the mall was not very large, it did have a couple popular clothing stores in it, and that is where we decided to start. Heading in, we each found a couple shirts we liked. As we were getting ready to pay Scott was drawn in to the underwear section, where he held up a sexy pair of trunks for me to see. Just imagining him wearing them caused the bulge in my jeans to expand.

We paid for our clothes, which included a pair of underwear for me that Scott had chosen in addition to the pair he had found originally for himself, then headed for the video game shop because a new game had just come out that we were both excited about. Between the clothes and the game, our money was pretty much spent and we set off to find my Dad. We found him sitting in the food court where he said he would likely be waiting.

"So, did you save enough money for dinner?" Dad asked.

Scott and I looked at each other sheepishly as we dug in our pockets to see what was left. Truth be told it was only a couple dollars plus change. My dad must have known exactly how much money we would have left as he began laughing at us and told us to figure out what we wanted to eat. The three of us sat down and started eating. I had to admit, it was a lot of fun with just the three of us spending some time together. It was something that we hadn't really done much back in Virginia. I guess I was so introverted and depressed that I never really wanted to go out unless it was absolutely necessary.

After we ate, we headed back to the school since we did have class the next day. Arriving back at school, Scott and I headed up to our room where we decided to try out the new game for a bit before calling it a night. We completed our nightly routine of brushing our teeth, and stripping down to our underwear before climbing into our own beds. I was almost asleep when I felt a tugging on my blanket. Looking up, I saw Scott standing naked next to my bed preparing to climb in with me.

"You weren't asleep yet were you?" Scott asked.

"Not quite." I replied, while scooting over to give him room to join me.

As Scott pulled the blanket over us, his lips met mine, and a steamy make out session ensued. It wasn't long before our hands began exploring each other's bodies. Scott wrapped his fingers around my hard cock that was still hiding inside of my boxers and began to slowly stroke it through the fabric. All too soon, Scott broke our kiss and disappeared beneath the blanket. I wasn't sure what he was up to until I felt him free my raging boner from its cage and quickly envelop it in his warm mouth, taking my full length right away, sending chills of pleasure up my spine, causing me to let out a moan.

Scott was doing an amazing job, using his tongue to massage the sensitive spots on the head of my dick, while gently fondling my balls through my boxers. It seemed that he wanted to drive me over the edge quickly as he was bobbing up and down at a feverish pace, causing me to writhe around in the bed as the sensation began building up. Before long I could feel wave after wave of my cum being shot into his mouth. Scott was sure to swallow every drop, and then ensured that he licked me clean before rejoining me at the head of the bed, once again putting his lips to mine, where I could taste traces of my cum in his mouth.

"Wow Scott, that was amazing!" I exclaimed, still panting in my post orgasmic bliss.

After taking a minute to catch my breath, it was my turn to return the favor. As I dove under the covers, slowly making my way down to Scott's hard cock, I made a couple detours along the way. I stopped to pay attention to each of his nipples in turn, massaging them with my tongue while sucking on them, and occasionally giving them a bit of a nibble, which Scott seemed to enjoy. I was enjoying his nicely muscled chest, but continued my journey south, kissing his abs until I was face to face with his six and a half inch dick. Having not showered before bed I could easily smell his sweaty teenage musk which I have to admit I found alluring. Wrapping my hand around him, I smeared a copious amount of precum over his head before taking his dick into my mouth. I thought he tasted great, it was sweet with a hint of saltiness, but I went after him with as much force as he had on me, causing him to moan in pleasure. I was quickly rewarded for my efforts with cum shooting into my mouth faster than I could swallow. As I put my head back on the pillow, Scott and I kissed again, and he cleaned up a bit of cum on my chin that had managed to escape. It wasn't much longer before we fell asleep in each other's arms.

Once again the alarm woke us for another day of classes and practice. Taking a quick glance out our dorm room window, it looked to be yet another dreary rainy day, but with an important game only two days away, I'm sure the coach would find a way for us to get some practice in. On top of that, Scott would have to tell the coach about missing the game on Thursday.

We quickly showered and dressed for our day before heading down for a quick breakfast. I opted for some scrambled eggs, a couple sausage links, and some toast, while Scott just had some cereal. As usual, John and Drew were at the table, and Scott shared his big news with them.

"Well guys, I have to be in court on Thursday for my adoption." Scott said.

"Wow, that was quick." Drew said. "I thought that the process could take months between processing the paperwork and getting a court date."

"Usually it does, but I guess because this is such a small town, they were able to get it taken care of pretty quickly. At least that's what Mr. Stevenson said." Scott replied.

"Well, I am glad that everything is working out for you Scott." John added.

With that, the bell signaling that we should head for class rang. Most of the classes breezed by for me with the exception of history, where Mr. Padilla had a pop quiz waiting for us. I felt that I had done well enough, but we wouldn't find out until tomorrow. Talking to Scott at lunch, he was becoming more and more nervous about tomorrow, and having to tell the coach that he had to miss the game.

"God, I feel like this day is dragging on forever. I really wish I didn't have to miss the game tomorrow. If we lose, we won't make it into the playoffs. I'm not looking forward to having to tell the coach about it." Scott vented to the table at large.

"I'm not going to lie, you are really good Scott, but we will just have to manage." I said, trying to cheer him up, but with no obvious effect.

"Hey man look at it this way, you are missing one game to hopefully be happy for the rest of your life right?" Nick asked having joined us at the table as Scott was talking. "Don't worry, your boyfriend will cover your ass and get us a win while you are gone."

The last comment brought some laughter to the table, even from Scott. I think hearing from another member of the soccer team helped settle Scott's nerves. (If you remember, Nick and his boyfriend Ryan were both also on the soccer team.) While Scott may have been laughing, he still looked nervous, but further attempts to ease his nerves wouldn't be possible as the bell signaling the end of lunch rang and we all headed for our afternoon classes.

Sitting next to Scott in the next two classes, I could tell that he was worried. As we headed out to the locker room it was still raining. I'm not sure if the weather was matching Scott's mood, or vice versa. Walking into the locker room, Scott decided to just bite the bullet and head for the coach's office while everyone else was getting changed.

"Hey Coach, do you have a minute?" I asked.

"Sure, come on in Phillips." The coach replied.

"Well, um, I'm going to have to miss the game tomorrow. I'm really sorry, but it's..." I stammered before I was interrupted by the coach.

"Ah yes. Mr. Stevenson was kind enough to inform me yesterday as soon as he found out. It isn't a problem Scott, and I understand that it is important, or you wouldn't be missing the game. If you don't mind though, we are going to have to practice without you today so that we are ready for the game tomorrow." The coach replied.

I was truly surprised by the coach's reaction. First I was surprised that he already knew, but more so that he was fine with me missing the game. I guess I was more worried than I needed to be about how the coach would take the news. I'm still nervous about going to court tomorrow, but the first hurdle is out of the way which was a relief.

Walking out to the field, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to peek through the clouds, shedding gentle rays of light onto the rest of the guys already assembled for practice. I sat on the bench on the side of the field as practice started. I can't say I was surprised to see Tim playing in my position, and to say he looked to be in his element was an understatement. I watched as he time and time again raced past the defenders and put the ball into the net. Tim was turning into a monster.

I was a bit surprised when the coach told me I would be playing Scott's position for practice today, and likely for the game tomorrow as well if everything went okay. The whole team worked very hard after not truly being able to practice for most of the week due to the weather. We hoped that our hard work would pay off when it mattered in the game tomorrow, and we headed into the locker room to shower and change.

After dressing, Scott took my hand in his, and we walked back to our dorm together. I could tell that some of his anxiety had been relieved when he talked to the coach, but there certainly was still some there. I had an idea as to how to help him relax, and I decided I'd give it a shot. Scott had sat down at his desk to start his homework, but he didn't truly seem to be getting anywhere with it, so I walked up to him and took his hand and pulled him out of his chair.

"Hey what are you doing?" Scott asked.

"You will just have to trust me, and wait and see." I answered with a devious smile.

I led Scott over to his bed, where I lifted his shirt up, slowly revealing his toned abs with a hint of a blonde happy trail, then his nicely defined pecs and light brown nipples. After his shirt was removed, I reached for his belt and undid the buckle, the button of his jeans, then slowly lowered the zipper. Sliding his jeans down, leaving him in just his American Eagle boxer briefs that outlined his muscular thighs, extremely cute butt, and sexy package quite nicely.

"Okay, lay down on your stomach." I said with yet another devious grin.

"Tim, while I appreciate what you are trying to do, I have a lot of work to do, and have a lot on my mind." Scott said.

"Please Scott, just trust me." I pleaded.

"Fine." Scott said with a sigh.

I could tell from his tone of voice that he didn't really want to, but was giving in anyway. As Scott lay on his stomach, I quickly stripped down to my boxers, and got on to the bed next to him. I placed my hands on his shoulders and began to use my fingers to try and massage away his tension. At first Scott resisted my efforts, but as I continued massaging his shoulders and back, I could feel the tension melting away. Slowly I progressed down to his lower back where I was rewarded for my efforts with a small moan from Scott.

Continuing with my massage, I took his firm globes into my hands and began kneading his tight cheeks, causing Scott to moan again. I continued down each leg until I reached his feet, where I asked him to turn over. As Scott turned over, I couldn't help but to notice that the front of his boxer briefs were sticking out, allowing me to see every curve of his throbbing hardon. I could see the outline of the head, and its ridge where it connected to his shaft. There was even a wet spot where he was leaking precum as I had been massaging him.

Now that Scott was lying on his back, I started where I left off at his feet. I began by using both thumbs on the bottom of one of his feet, rotating them in a circular motion, then sliding my fingers in between his toes. I repeated the process on his other foot, and began massaging my way up his legs. Massaging his thighs, his boner was calling out for attention, but it would just have to wait. I skipped to above his waist and used my hands to caress his abs and then kneading his pecs while teasing his nipples on occasion as well. After his chest was finished, I spent a little time on his arms and finally his hands. I acted like I was done, and gave Scott a quick peck on the lips before teasing him some.

"So should I massage that too?" I asked pointing to his neglected crotch with yet another devious smile on my face.

"I wouldn't mind." Scott said giggling.

I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of his boxer briefs and began to pull them down. Scott helped out by lifting his hips. As the waistband passed his rock hard cock, it flung up to his abs with a slapping sound, causing both of us to laugh.

"So, I think I will use a special instrument to massage this." I said, getting closer and closer to him, wrapping my hand around the base of his cock. Holding his dick in place, I stuck out my tongue and began lapping at his head, using it to complete his massage. I slowly closed my lips around the head and began to suck while swirling my tongue around and around, side to side, and by the look on Scott's face, I was driving him wild. I began to bob my head up and down, slowly taking more and more of him into my mouth with each downward stroke. After I reached the bottom, my nose buried in his blonde pubes, I pulled off of his dick with a loud pop, and began slowly stroking him as I moved my tongue to his balls to massage them as well.

Since Scott didn't shower with the team today, he was a bit sweaty from our day of classes, and as such his balls had a great salty taste to them which I was devouring. As my tongue worked each of them over, I took them into my mouth and gently sucked. After I was sure that both of his balls were well massaged, I went back to his dick. Looking up to Scott's face, his eyes were closed and he had a contented look on his face, and he was emitting soft moans as I worked him over. Looking back down to the task at hand, I could see that his balls had grown tight to his body as he began nearing what I hoped would be a tremendous orgasm. I began picking up my pace, bobbing up and down faster and faster.

"OH FUCK!!!" Scott yelled.

I thought I was going to go flying off of the bed with the pressure of the cum that was shooting out of Scott's dick. I did my best to catch and swallow it all, but a little bit did end up escaping from the corner of my lips. I kept sucking and licking until Scott could take it no more, with his now ultra sensitive hardon slowly returning to its normal state.

"Wow, I feel much more relaxed now. Thank you Tim." Scott said slightly out of breath.

"Glad I could help." I said with a smile.

We both sat at our desks and set to work on our homework which we had not quite finished when it was time to head for dinner. As we walked down the hallway, heading for the dining hall, Scott took my hand and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. Our hands stayed together until it was time to choose what we wanted for dinner. Sitting down, our usual gang was sitting at the table talking about nothing in particular.

"Somebody looks more relaxed than earlier." John said, looking at Scott, causing him to turn a deep shade of red.

"Oh, I see what got him to relax." Drew said, looking at me. It was now my turn to blush.

The blush on both of our faces brought a round of laughter from the table, and we soon joined in. The subject soon moved on, and wasn't brought up again. As dinner came to a close, Scott invited the guys to our room to play some video games and just hang out, an offer they readily accepted. We took turns passing the controllers around and just more or less shot the shit. Time passed quickly and it was soon time for bed. When the door finally closed, Scott and I stripped down to our boxers and set off for our nightly routine of brushing our teeth and using the restroom and so on.

"Will you sleep with me tonight?" Scott asked. "Just hold me tight?"

"Of course." I said.

I walked over and gave Scott a tight hug, resting my chin on his shoulder. After a moment, we kissed, and then climbed into bed together. I was spooned up against Scott, with my arms wrapped around him, holding him tight. I know he is nervous about tomorrow, but I'm sure everything will turn out right.

"Goodnight Baby." I whispered.

"Goodnight." He replied.

Sleep soon overtook us, and once again all too soon the alarm woke us. Scott turned over as I stretched my arms out above my head with a yawn. His blonde hair almost glows in the soft morning light, his eyelids opening to reveal the blue hemispheres beneath. I reached for his face, and swept his bangs up on his forehead. Even though we have been together for a couple of weeks now, I still had a hard time believing that the gorgeous fifteen year old lying next to me was my boyfriend.

We slowly climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I started the shower while Scott relieved his bladder. After I finished going pee, we climbed into the shower and quickly washed each other. We really didn't have time to mess around, so there was no monkey business. After drying off, we headed back to the room to dress for the day. I picked out my clothes, while Scott opened the closet and pulled out his new suit.

As I finished dressing, I turned to see that Scott had his dress shirt and slacks on, but was having trouble with his tie. Neither of us had tied a tie before, and we were both lost. I quickly searched on the internet to see if I could figure out the enigma that is tying a tie. Just as I failed what was likely my fifth or sixth attempt there was a knock on the door. Opening the door, my dad stood on the other side, dressed in his suit for the day.

"Morning boys." He said, walking through the door. "Oh my, who tied this?"

"We both tried, but not successfully." Scott said laughing a bit.

"Well let's see if I can fix this mess that you have here." He replied.

My dad was able to quickly sort out the tie and handed it to Scott, who quickly had it around his neck, and tucked down his collar. While it had only been two days since I saw Scott in his suit, the sight still took my breath away. He truly looks great in a suit.

"Well Tim, Scott and I need to get going so we can get there on time. We will stop and grab some breakfast on the way." My dad said.

"Okay then, I guess I will see you guys this evening." I replied.

I walked over to Scott and gave him a hug and a quick kiss. Something about kissing in front of my dad seemed a bit weird so we kept it short. I walked Scott and my dad out to the car, where I gave Scott another hug.

"You look great." I said. "Everything will be fine, and when I see you this evening you will wonder why you stressed about this so much."

"You are probably right, but I'm just nervous. I want everything to turn out okay." Scott said.

With another quick kiss, I watched as Scott got into the car, closed the door and fastened his seatbelt. I felt silly about it, but I waved as the car drove away. Walking back in to the school to grab some breakfast for myself, I couldn't help but feel excited for Scott. He had had some bad luck lately, and hopefully his luck was changing for the better now.

I walked in to the dining hall and quickly grabbed some cereal and a banana before heading to the usual table. As I walked up, John, Drew, Nick, and Ryan were all sitting there eating their breakfast and conversing between bites.

"Hey Tim, how was Scott this morning?" Nick asked as I sat down at the table.

"He is still really nervous, but I did my best to try to convince him that he had nothing to worry about." I replied.

"Well, I hope he knows we are all rooting for him." John stated with some emotion in his voice.

"So are you ready for our game this afternoon Tim?" Ryan asked me.

"I'm nervous as hell man. I have some really big shoes to fill, playing Scott's position." I answered.

"Well, don't worry, because you will be great! Besides, Drew and I will be there to cheer you on from the stands." John said, trying his best to reassure me.

To be honest, I had been so focused on helping Scott get through his ordeal that I had completely forgotten about the game this afternoon. Now that they had reminded me, a sinking feeling began to wash over me, settling somewhere around my stomach. I knew how important this game was to our team, as it would be the difference of making it to the state playoffs or being the end of our season, so no pressure!

Finishing breakfast, it was time to head to class. Other than the first day, where I took placement tests and had my physical, this was the first time I had gone to class without Scott by my side. Sure I knew the other guys in class, but it was just different, and I couldn't help but to feel a little lonely, on top of being nervous about the game later this afternoon.

The day progressed slowly, dragging on and on. I could hear the second hand of the clock in the classroom ticking, and I swear I could hear it slowing down. I thought to myself "I need to relax! This is supposed to be fun, I can't let it get to me like this."

As much as I tried thinking that, maybe it did start to help some, but maybe the fact that the teachers were really making us work hard in class today forced me to focus on my class work instead of the gigantic game looming over me, casting a shadow of despair, causing me to want to flee in terror.

"Tim... Timothy... Mr. Stevenson!"

"Yes, sorry Mr. Padilla." I said, being drawn back to focusing on the task at hand.

"Please try to pay attention. Now class, as I was saying..." Mr. Padilla continued on with his lecture.

Finally the bell rang for lunch. After lunch the team would be excused from classes to get ready for the game. Sitting down at the table, I knew that Scott's case was due to start any time now. I really hoped that he had been able to relax some before it started. I couldn't help but to laugh at myself. Look at me hoping that Scott was able to relax while I am climbing the walls. Maybe that's what I needed, to laugh at myself some. Those dark looming clouds started parting some allowing rays of light to shine through a bit, but there certainly were some butterflies flapping around in my stomach.

I can't tell you if there was any conversation at the lunch table, or what it was about. Hell, I'm not even sure what I ate... did I eat? All I know is that my feet are slowly carrying me toward the locker room. Standing at my locker, I slowly stripped down until I was nude. I pulled on my underarmor compression shorts. I pulled on my shorts and jersey and headed over to where the rest of the team was assembling as they got ready for our pregame meeting.

"Okay everyone, gather `round." The coach said. "I don't need to remind you how important this game it. I can see on all of your faces that you know how important it is. What I want to remind you is how much you love this game. I have seen you out here on the weekends kicking the ball around, having a great time, and that is what this is all about."

"I honestly don't care if we win or lose out there today. Just knowing that you have enjoyed yourselves playing the game, and have learned some things along the way has made me proud to be your coach. We have practiced and practiced, so today just go out there and have fun, the rest will fall in place. Okay, head out and start stretching, and we will run a few drills. Stevenson come here real quick." The coach said as the rest of the team walked out.

"Yeah Coach?" I asked, wondering why he held me back.

"I can tell that you are really nervous. Nick said that you seemed distant at lunch. I know that this is your first big game, but I want you to know that we are all rooting for you, and you have nothing to worry about. Just go out there and be yourself, don't worry about the score, don't worry about the game. It is just kicking the ball around with your friends that you have been getting to know over the past weeks. Just take a deep breath for me okay." He said.

I took a deep breath and exhaled while thinking about everything the coach had said. As the air was pushed out of my lungs, I could feel the tension and nervousness leaving my body. I took another deep breath and started to relax some. I was still nervous, but I felt like I could go out on to the field and enjoy myself.

"Thanks Coach, I feel a lot better." I said.

I jogged out to the field and joined the team as we started stretching. As we stretched, I could feel myself relaxing even more as my muscles loosened up. After stretching, we did some drills passing and dribbling the ball back and forth. This was just what I needed. Its hard to describe, but I felt myself enter the zone. I was still nervous, but I was focused. Focused on my friends and teammates, focused on the ball and the relationship it had with my feet as I dribbled it up the field. It was as if the blur that had been the rest of my day instantly disappeared, and suddenly there was clarity.

The sun was shining with only a few clouds in the sky. I could smell the grass, and the scent of pine wafting through the air as I ran up the field. I could hear the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze, and I could hear my teammates communicating as we ran the drill. Quickly our time to warm up was over, and it was the other team's turn to use the field. We adjourned to the locker room to have some water and cool down some before the game started.

If the start of the day drug on and on, the game was the exact opposite. Before I knew what happened, we were in the final period. The opposing team was very good and the game was tied five to five. As the final period got underway, I heard my name being yelled out in the crowd and I looked over to see Scott still wearing his suit, along with both of my parents sitting in the stands. They must have just gotten back from court, and by the look on Scott's face, everything had gone well, but I'm sure I would hear all about it soon after the game was over.

I found myself zooming up the field and rushing past defenders, passing the ball back and forth to my teammates. As I got close to the goal, the ball was passed my way. I faked to my right, and the goalie bit, as I shot to the wide open left side of the goal. We were up by one, and we quickly switched to defense. One of the opposing team's forwards was coming at me, dribbling the ball. I don't know what made me do it, but I charged at him, deciding to be more aggressive than I have ever played. As we got close, he tried to spin as I went in for the ball, and our feet got a bit tangled up. The other player ended up on the ground and I now had the ball with almost nobody between myself and the goal.

With a fake and a spin I was able to get past the sole defender other than the goalie. As I approached the goal, I knew the goalie wouldn't go for a fake again. I kicked the ball as hard as I could to the edge of the goal, and just missed the outstretched hands of the goalie. The ball tapped the sidebar of the goal and bounced into the net. Up by two, we were once again on defense. This time, they were sure to stay away from me, but I watched as Nick stripped the ball away and began racing up field. He had two defenders in front of him, but because they had been avoiding me while advancing to our side of the field, I was wide open. Nick passed the ball my way, and once again I began dribbling the ball up the field.

This time there were more defenders in the way, and we had to work our passing game, but on this possession, we weren't able to get the ball in the net as Ryan shot the ball, but the goalie made a great save. Time was beginning to run out, but we were ahead by two goals. As the other team moved the ball forward, I went after their ball handler, but he was able to pass it away just as I got to him. Covering my man, I watched as the other team was able to get a shot at the goal. It was close, but our goalie made an amazing dive and just deflected the ball with his fingertips, and we were able to recover the ball.

Time was nearly up, but we were able to fight our way toward the opposing team's goal, where I found myself with the ball. As I got close to the goal, one of the defenders came after me. As I tried to get passed him, he blatantly kicked me in the shin, which brought me to the ground as whistles sounded. Looking up I saw the referee holding up a yellow card for the other player, and I would get a penalty shot at the goal. Standing up, holy cow did my shin hurt where he kicked me. I looked down at it, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary so far. No doubt it was going to bruise.

Lining up to take my shot, I ran toward the ball, and kicked it for all I was worth. I watched as the ball hit the outstretched fingers of the goalie, but he wasn't able to stop it. Instead he deflected it into the side of the net, scoring another goal for our team. With only about a minute and a half left, the coach saw that I was limping a bit and had me sit on the bench. The last minute and a half went by quickly, and the final score was 8-5 with our team getting the important win we needed. As time ran out, our side of the bleachers erupted in cheers. Standing up to join the rest of my team, the pain in my leg increased, and my leg gave out on me, dropping me to the ground, bringing a gasp from the crowd.

"Tim, what happened?" The coach asked.

"I don't know coach. The pain was a lot worse when I stood up again, then my leg just gave out." I answered.

"Okay, just stay there, and we will get you checked out." The coach said with some concern in his voice.

There were some EMTs on hand for the game, and they quickly came over as the coach called them. After explaining what happened, they splinted my leg, and helped me to their stretcher. My dad ran over and said that they would all meet me at the hospital. After being loaded up into the ambulance, we were on our way to the hospital.

The EMT that was in the back of the ambulance taking care of me started an IV and gave me some fluids. He could tell I was in pain and gave me a medication through the IV. I'm not sure what it was, but I started feeling sleepy and a little out of it. Only a couple of minutes later I was asleep.

End of Chapter 9

Hey everyone, thanks for reading. Once again I apologize for such a lengthy delay in getting this chapter done, but it is what it is. What will happen with Tim's injury? Will it be nothing, or will it be something a little bit more serious. What happened with Scott's day in court? He seemed happy enough as Tim looked over to the stands, so hopefully all is well with that.

Please feel free to email me your thoughts on the story, or just to chat if you want at ascouter4@gmail.com

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