Asher
Another 3 failed tests and I was ready to murder anyone in my way. Fallon sensed the anger rippling off me, and stayed clear for the rest of the day. Everyone did this until I ran into my asshole team, picking on Liam yet again. Normally I would ignore them and walk away, but I was feeling particularly bloodthirsty today.
They picked up on my mood during practice. Coach was loving my enthusiasm and asked me to keep it up. Fuck him. I was playing well because I was angry and ready to rip his head off. This was all his fault; threatening me before school even started and placing this enormous responsibility on me.
Not only that, but I had to deal with this shit from my dad at home as well. Constantly reminding me that if I fuck up, it would be tickets for me and my career.
Fuck.
“Hit the showers!” Coach bellows, signalling the end of practice and thank fucking God. I rip off my helmet and for some reason, my eyes flit towards the bleachers.
Liam was sitting there again with the beginnings of a hell of a shiner forming under his left eye. I seriously need to talk to these assholes about laying off the poor guy. Wait, why the fuck was I saying that? They would have my guts for breakfast if I had to become soft now. I pull my eyes away from Liam and I swear I could feel his eyes on me.
The cold water hits my hot skin and I could literally feel myself calming down. Why the hell was I so scared of losing my social standing in this school? Everyone here worshipped me. Surely they wouldn’t freak out if I had to let Liam tutor me, would they?
I hate to admit it, but I was going to fail this semester if I did not get help soon and Liam seemed to be the only viable option. The guy was a genius, and I heard today that he got accepted into three fucking Ivy League schools. What the fuck.
Making up my mind, I hurried out of the shower after realising that I had been stewing in my own self-pity for too long. The locker room was empty when I reached it and I threw a pair of jeans and a t-shirt on before slamming my locker shut.
Hopefully, Liam would still be on the bleachers, but when I go outside, I see him heading for the parking lot and I race to his Audi, the only one parked in the lot beside my SUV. I lean casually against his car and wait for him to arrive.
When I feel him near, I look up and I notice his face screwed up in a frown and his mouth open in a silent o. I couldn’t help but think of this as cute, but then as soon as that thought reared its head, I pushed it down.
Not again, Asher, fuck you.
“Asher?” he asks with narrowed eyes as he looks around the parking lot in fear. Oh, hell. Did he think I was there to beat him up? I held up my hands in palms up, a sign of surrender.
“Chill, Liam, no one else is here, just me,” I say, trying to sound reassuring, but I could see I was failing. He squared his shoulders and sighs, holding his books up to his chest as a defense mechanism.
“What do you want, Asher?” he asks in a defeated tone and I give him a proper once over. What happened to the genius who got three full-ride scholarships? The guy who was out of the closet and didn’t give a fuck what people thought about him?
I clear my throat, “I need your help,” I blurt out and see his eyes widen at this. Well, might as well get it out there.
“Uh, I’m not quite sure that I follow?” He says with a frown and I cross my arms in front of my chest.
“I need a tutor, well someone who can help me to not fuck up my grades any further, and the only person that came to mind was you.” I say honestly. I was originally only going to ask him to help me with that extra credit, but I soon realised that I need more than that. A lot more.
Liam’s face screwed up in mistrust. Obviously, it would - I was the head jock who did nothing while his dickhead friends made his life miserable.
“Why me specifically?” He asks, pushing his glasses up and wincing as they scraped against his tender nose.
“Well, why not you? You’re a genius who just got accepted into three fucking Ivy League schools. I would say you’re the obvious choice.” I say with a shrug and see a blush forming over the perfectly clear skin on his cheeks.
My mouth goes dry. He looked so fucking cute right now, and once again I had to kick myself at the thoughts forming in my head. What the fuck, Asher.
“Uh… thanks? I’m flattered, but you know I am a magnet for your friends, Asher.” He says pointing to his face. “What would they say?”
“No one would have to know, I’ll pay you even,” I say, realising what I had just implied.
“Why should I help you? You and your friends do nothing but make my life difficult when I’m just over here worrying about my own life.” He says, and I sigh. I knew this would come because it’s all true. I’m an asshole, but it’s not because I want to be. If I don’t show them my Alpha side, I would be the one in Liam’s place.
“I understand if you don’t want to help me, but I wouldn’t come to you if I didn’t need your help.” I say, then I add something I didn’t expect to, “Please, Liam.” Fuck, I was begging the gay guy to help me. Who the fuck was this person?
Liam’s mouth formed into a thin line. But then I saw a home run - he nodded! “Fine, but as long as I get to tutor you at my place. My mom is at the hospital most of the time and I can’t concentrate in busy places, especially not while tutoring someone. Which subjects are you struggling with?” He says in rapid succession that I get whiplash. I was still reeling over the fact that he said yes, but now he was already setting down rules.
“Okay, deal. Your place from tomorrow. It’s mostly Chemistry, History, Calculus, and Accounting that I struggle with.” I say and see him mentally taking notes of what I had just. He nods.
“Lucky for you chemistry is my major. Yes, tomorrow would be perfect as this is quite short notice and I have plans this evening.” He then takes out a pen and rips off a piece of paper before scribbling on it and handing it to me.
“My number, just in case we need to keep in touch or have any questions,” He says before walking towards the driver’s side of his car and getting in. He speeds away without so much as a backward glance. But for some reason, I am feeling extremely giddy. Finally! At least there was one worry off of my shoulders for now.
For now.
Liam As soon as he batted those pools of honey at me, I was done for. How could I resist the captain of the football team when he was in begging mode? Wait, so Asher was struggling with his schoolwork? I’ve seen him in class, he never used to get poor grades. Wonder what changed this year? Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to find out while I tutor him. I rounded the corner to my house and pulled into the driveway, thinking about Asher and why he would possibly come to me when he had a girlfriend who was just as smart as I was. Hmm. Stop it, Liam! He’s straight! On top of keeping my GPA to an acceptable level, I now had to worry about helping Asher keep his grades up. Would I be able to do it, though? I’ve never had to tutor someone before and now I would be alone with a guy who makes me so nervous I could barely think… A guy who stands by idly while his friends are abusing their peers. Did Asher honestly think that
Liam “You’re tutoring the Asher Prince?” my mother asked me for the fifth time since I told her the newest happenings. What can I say? My mom is my best friend and besides, he might be here when she gets back from work at times. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about us being alone in the house. “Yes, mom,” I responded, rolling my eyes while I shred chicken for the salad. “Shiiiit, he must be in real trouble to come to you,” she says as she takes a sip of her coffee. I look up at her with a frown. “Wait, what exactly is that supposed to mean?” I ask, feeling slightly offended at her words, but she only chuckles. “The boy is an Alpha male quarterback and probably a homophobe, yet he came to the only openly gay guy for help. I bet he told you to keep it a secret as well.” She says, and I am left dumbfounded at her answer. I look down and continue to shred the chicken, feeling embarrassed by her words. How do mothers do it?
Asher “Hit the showers!” Coach yells, signalling the end of practice. He’s been training us to the bone lately, but we all knew it was to prepare for the first game of the season between the Waterford Capitals and Mountford Rebels in three weeks’ time. To be honest, I’m pumped up about the game; it takes my mind off current things. “Y’all wanna chill at the diner this afternoon? I could fucking use one of Mamma Jane’s Capital’s right about now,” Brock asks as he stands there buck naked while we exit the showers. Mamma Jane’s was a popular mom and pop diner most of us frequented, and a Capital was a fully loaded burger exploding with carbs. It shows you how much football ruled this town; the local diner named a burger meal after our team. The majority of the guys were up for it, but I had my lie planned out already. “Can’t. My fucking dad has a tutor coming over later. The asshole is threatening my college fund if I keep on failing.” I say as I
Asher It’s been about a week since Liam started tutoring me, and yesterday I handed in my essay. I’m confident in what I wrote, but I can’t help thinking of my father’s taunt regarding my tuition. Knowing my old man would make good on his threat, I know this. As I said, I’m my father’s prodigy, not his son. “Mr Prince, please stay behind,” Mrs Williams calls as the lunch bell goes. “Fuck, what did I do now?” I think to myself as I grab my things, and I feel eyes on the back of my head, already knowing that it was Liam staring at me. As soon as the class empties, Mrs Williams gets up and walks towards me, then puts a piece of paper in front of me. I look down, and my heart stopped - it was my essay. B. I got a fucking B! I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry! When I looked up at Mrs Williams, she had a smile on her face. “Is Liam tutoring you?” she suddenly asks, and my heart jumps into my throat. How the fuck did she
*TRIGGER WARNING - POSSIBLE SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HOMOPHOBIC SLUR* Asher “It’s about fucking time the quarterback in you came out again. Good job, Prince.” Coach says and gives me a slap on my back. I feel a regained sense of unity between my teammates and me, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. We hit the showers, with the others talking bullshit while we get ready. Their shitty comments didn’t even phase me today; I felt fucking invincible. I leave the practice feeling refreshed and ready for the first time in weeks. My grades were up, and I got a booty call with my girl just now, Coach was happy with me - life is good! “Ready?” Fallon says as I approach my truck, and I nod. “Fuck, yeah,” I reply, taking her into my arms and kissing her. My dick starts to twitch at the feel of her body pressed up against me, and I squeeze her butt. It’s been a while since I got turned on by anything Fallon did to me
Liam It’s almost 6 pm, and Asher hasn’t been to my place or called to say he wouldn’t be coming today. Should I call him? I sigh and walk over to the kitchen window to look out for him, something I had been doing all afternoon since I got home from school. A smile teases my lips when I think back to what happened this afternoon. A guy from the swim team came up and talked to me; we exchanged numbers, and guess what? He’s bi! He admitted to having a crush on me but didn’t have the courage to talk to me until he saw me sitting by myself this afternoon. The guy had the most swoon-worthy green eyes, full, kissable lips and a body to die for. Ugh, what is it about jocks that just gets me so worked up? We were meeting up for a movie on Friday night, and who knows what could happen afterwards? 6:30 pm and I decided to give up on Asher coming. It’s weird, though. Usually, he would text me if he would be even ten minutes late, but now
Asher I can’t believe I just did that. What the fuck is wrong with me? I knocked into Liam on purpose just so I could piss him off, but that fucking Jason Adams only pushed my buttons more. If he had just shut up, I wouldn’t have gotten even angrier than I am now. Fallon leads me into the guy’s locker room and pushes me against the wall. “What the fuck was that all about, Ash?!” She exclaims, watching me with a disappointing expression. “You know, the reason I fell in love with you was that you weren’t like all these other fucking jocks in this school; you were kind and hated bullying. Now you’ve turned into your fucking friends!” I look at her, not even trying to deny that I had fucked up. “Don’t you think I fucking know that?!” I say without raising my voice, but the tone of my voice made her eyes widen in surprise. “I thought that after yesterday you would be over whatever slump it is that you’re in. I thoug
Asher I knew that I shouldn’t be here. I’m probably the last person Liam wanted to see right now, but I knew the longer I stayed away, the harder it would be to ask for forgiveness. His eyes narrowed when he saw me sitting in his lounge area; it was evident that I had been waiting for him. “Your mom let me in; she had to rush to the hospital about an hour ago and said she would be late.” “What are you doing here?” He asks me, ignoring my entire sentence. I get up and walk towards him, but he takes a cautious step backwards. His reaction hit me harder than I thought it would and proved something: Liam was scared of me. I sighed and wiped a hand over my face in frustration. “I came to apologize for my behaviour today, Liam,” I say and see the surprise on his face, then his eyes narrowed in suspicion again. “What’s the point in apologizing to me when you broke my boyfriend’s nose? Nothing you can say will justify what you did to me; the humiliation, you of all people, made me feel to