Hey there. Final chapter i'm afraid. It's the longest chapter yet. Hope you enjoy it. Please comment. Won't be uploading for a while as i'm gona be busy with a friend's story.
Throughout the next week, Lewis made it his goal to get Craig back into football. He was sure that with a little bit of training, Craig would remember how good he was at the sport. Even after school Lewis had Craig jogging around their local area, increasing the distance each time.
Craig's asthma proved itself to be a problem during their training. For a majority of the training sessions, Craig would end up bent over or lying on the ground as he tried to catch his breath back. During their first training session, they were in the sports hall and Craig had just run ten laps of the hall, sprinting the last lap as fast as he could while Lewis urged him on. As soon as Lewis had stopped timing him, Craig had collapsed on the floor. He had felt himself losing consciousness as he wheezed heavily.
A few seconds later, something was fitted into his mouth and a puff of medication entered his mouth. Craig breathed in gratefully and nodded for another one. Once he had his breath back, he sat up and looked at Lewis who was sitting next to him, holding the asthma pump.
"Is that mine?" he asked, eyeing it.
Lewis nodded.
"Cause it is, nitwit."
"Then where'd you get it from?" Craig asked.
He watched as Lewis replaced it in his pocket and helped him to his feet.
"Your brother gave it to me. I asked him for it."
Craig wasn't quite sure what to say. On one hand he was glad that he wasn't going to completely die after each time he exercised; however he also didn't want anyone seeing it. He wasn't quite certain of his reason why, but it had become a habit of his to keep it a secret.
He refused to use it during a lesson and would glare at Lewis if he started to take it out of his pocket. Only after the lesson would he use it in the changing room loos. It wasn't just breathing that Craig struggled with in sport lessons. There was also the actual sport itself as he struggled with the co-ordination in football.
Craig focused on the ball for the fifth time and aimed to kick it but he just ended up missing and tumbling onto the floor. He lay there, accepting another failure at sport. Lewis hurried over to his side and knelt next to him.
"You alright?" he asked.
"I can't do it," Craig growled at him, "why can't you accept that?"
Lewis fixed him a look as he watched Craig sit up. There was a brief moment's silence between the two friends.
"Why can't you accept that you're good at sport?" he asked.
He watched as Craig choked on a laugh.
"Have you not seen my playing this whole time-"
"It's only because you've told yourself that you can't play well." Lewis protested.
There was another moment's silence, but this time Lewis saw that Craig was debating with himself. He knew Lewis was right, but he didn't want to believe it.
The matter was dropped, but Lewis noticed a change in their training sessions. Craig was beginning to push himself harder and was slowly progressing in his skills. Pride would swell up in Lewis each day as he watched his boyfriend improving what he was once good at.
The night before the match, they were at Craig's house again. Craig stood in front of the mirror and studied his reflection. He barely recognised the boy in the light blue shirt with white stripes down each side and with a pair of dull white shorts. The sight of his skinny legs made him feel slightly uneasy as he thought of the toned muscles of Lewis' legs.
Thinking about Lewis, Craig averted his gaze to his friend who was gazing at him in a dreamy manner.
"Feels weird." Craig commented as he pulled the shirt down slightly to cover his bare flesh.
Lewis stood from the bed and walked up behind him, his arms wrapping themselves like snakes around Craig's waist.
"Do they fit though?" he asked.
It had been fortunate that Lewis still had his old team kit which didn't fit him anymore. He wasn't quite sure what Craig would have worn for the match the next day otherwise.
Craig gave his reflection a criticized look and pulled a face. The shirt was slightly baggy, yet it would have been too tight for Lewis' lean figure. The shorts were also quite big around the middle, not to mention long in length.
"It's a bit long." He said.
Lewis just chuckled to himself as he gently kissed his friend's neck. His hands crept to Craig's waist and he pulled the shorts higher until Craig felt them tightly pressing against his crotch.
"You're just a bit small," Lewis teased, "not all of us can be skinny things like you."
He watched as a smile appeared on Craig's reflection.
"Hmmm…instead you have to be a fat, hairy gorilla."
A small yelp escaped him when the bigger boy dragged and forced him onto the bed. Lewis pinned his boyfriend down by holding each of Craig's hands above his head on the bed, leaving the boy vulnerable beneath him.
"Who are you calling a fat, hairy gorilla?" he asked in an intimidating voice as he brought his face near Craig's.
Craig tried to stop himself from laughing at Lewis' attempt to scare him. He knew there was nothing his boyfriend could do to scare him; especially since he knew Lewis didn't want to hurt him in anyway.
What he didn't expect to happen was for Lewis to lean down and give him a powerful kiss. When he didn't stop, Craig began to try to wriggle free, but Lewis still held him down firmly, preventing him from moving. As Craig began to run out of breath, Lewis pulled away. He grinned evilly as Craig gasped for breath and brushed the tip of his nose along the edge of Craig's neck. His lips kissed the tip of Craig's chin before travelled up to nibble gently on the boy's ear.
All of a sudden, Craig's lips were pressed roughly against Lewis'. He flung his arms around Lewis, drawing him closer to him. Misunderstanding the message, Lewis kissed him back just as powerfully. However, a touch of wetness against his cheek caused Lewis to pull away. The wetness had been the tear that ran from Craig's eye.
"What's wrong?" Lewis asked.
His boyfriend deliberately looked away as the tear trickled down his cheek. Lewis leaned down and stopped the tear with his lips before repeating his question. In response, Craig kissed him again. His embrace tightened around Lewis as he kissed harder.
"I want to forget," he murmured out of the side of his mouth.
Lewis pulled away again and gave Craig a worried look.
"Forget what?"
His heart began to melt when Craig shook his head, more tears spilling out.
"I just want to forget," he whispered, "It hurts to remember."
Affected by his boyfriend's pain, Lewis leaned down again and massaged Craig's lips with his own. He soothed the boy as much as he could while kissing him. Craig clung onto him as Lewis gently eased him into lying back onto the bed and relaxing. Lewis carried on kissing Craig until the boy's tears stopped. When they did he pulled away from Craig, the boy's face cupped in his hand.
"You ready?" he asked softly.
Craig nodded from his position. It felt natural to Lewis as he slipped down Craig's body and find the building bulge in his pants. Carefully, Lewis pulled down the shorts and chucked them on the floor. Craig wasn't as hard as he usually was, Lewis thought to himself as he took out Craig's length.
At the first touch of his moist tongue against the dry surface of Craig's length, Craig jumped slightly and his lower half shook slightly. Lewis had to hold down the boy's hips to be able to suck properly.
Arching his back, Craig stifled a moan as Lewis sucked him off. It was strange how he liked the pressure that Lewis applied to hold him down. He gripped the pillow under his head as Lewis' hand crept up his abdomen, stroking him in circular motions while giving his love to Craig's length.
Feeling he had to do his part, Craig sat up pulled Lewis into a kiss. At the same time, he reached down and began to stroke Lewis' manhood. It felt bigger than last time, meaning that once Lewis was hard, he'd be even bigger. The idea excited Craig as he lowered his head and slipped the tip of Lewis' cock into his mouth. It hadn't crossed Craig before, but enjoying doing this made him feel like a whore. He didn't want to think about it as he took more of Lewis into his mouth.
Lewis' hand caressed Craig's head, ruffling his hair up. He loved it when Craig glanced up at him innocently. Did he do that on purpose? Lewis didn't know, but he enjoyed it and it was one of the factors that caused him to grow harder. His body tensed when the tip of Craig's tongue ran up the shaft of his length and around the crown before back down the shaft again. Memories came flooding back when Craig gave his attention to Lewis' balls, licking and teasing them with the tip of his tongue.
Now that he felt even more turned on, Lewis gave Craig a long kiss before getting him to lie back down. He removed the boy's boxers and leaned over his boyfriend, giving him a final kiss before they started. Lewis sucked his forefinger before slipping it underneath Craig and into his tight entrance. As a result of them not doing it in a while, meant that Craig was now as tight as he was during their first time. Lewis felt his boyfriend tense, the circle of muscle tightened around his finger as if it was trying to fight him off.
Sharing Lewis' thoughts, Craig reached for the lubricant which he now kept at the side of his bed, but Lewis stopped him.
"You want to forget, don't you?" he asked.
Seeing what his friend was saying, Craig nodded and waited for Lewis to make his move. The boy held his length level with Craig's entrance, pressing the tip against it. He applied a touch of pressure, but it soon became apparent that he'd need a lot more force.
The boys swapped a glance and Craig nodded. He gripped handfuls of the duvet underneath him and continued to watch. He gasped as soon as Lewis entered him, his breathing instantly increasing. A grunt escaped Lewis as lifted Craig's legs and forced himself deeper inside his friend, leaning forwards as he did.
"Put your arms around my neck." Lewis said hoarsely.
Craig did as he was told and pressed his forehead against Lewis'. He sneaked his boyfriend kisses as their passion for one another rose.
Lewis took hold of Craig's hard length and began to pump it quickly. Craig could barely contain himself as Lewis jerked him off and fucked him at the same time. Louds moans and cries left his open mouth, despite Lewis' attempts to quieten them. Everything left his mind as he came into Lewis' hand. However he still felt his boyfriend moving at a steady rate inside him.
Suddenly he felt something hit inside him which Craig had never felt before. He tightened his hold on Lewis and shut his eyes as his body tried to bare the feeling of pure bliss.
"Do that again." He spoke rapidly into Lewis' ear.
Lewis grinned to himself and repeated his action. He brought his hips back before thrusting deep inside Craig at the same angle. A cry left Craig's mouth. Breathing heavily now, Lewis did it again and again. He'd found Craig's prostate. Lewis crushed Craig's lips with his own as he flicked his hips expertly.
There was nothing that Craig could do, but receive Lewis' pounding. He was sure that someone in the house had heard him, but he didn't care anymore.
"Fuck it," Lewis muttered, "I'm coming."
Craig had no energy left to protest as Lewis ejaculated inside him. The sensation filled him, draining any emotions that he had. It seemed like a mere memory to Craig as he fell even further back into the bed and Lewis collapsed on him.
Waking up the next day, Lewis shut his eyes again as soon as he'd opened them. Last night had seriously worn him out and he felt in no condition to play the match this morning. He opened his eyes again to realise that Craig was in his arms, as usual. The sight of his boyfriend triggered Craig's behaviour last night. Lewis had wanted to ask about it then, but there was a time and place for everything.
Lewis gently neatened Craig's hair slightly before huddling up to him again. Even when he cried, it made Lewis want to love him even more. His movement woke Craig slowly and the boy's eyes flickered open.
"Morning." Lewis said quietly.
The boy smiled slightly and leaned up to kiss Lewis.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
He watched as Craig nodded and thought for a moment.
"I'm sorry about last night. I ju- I just couldn't quite accept remembering playing football when I was younger. It's stupid, I know-"
Lewis' lips stopped him in his tracks and he enjoyed their kiss.
"You don't need to be sorry and it's not stupid," Lewis told him after they separated, "Everyone has their moment and their own reasons."
A warm feeling rose up in Craig's chest and cheeks at his friend's words and he embraced Lewis once more.
The boys gradually made their way down to breakfast to find Jason already in the kitchen. A grin broke out on his face at the sight of his little brother.
"Look at you," Jason joked, "all kitted up and ready for a football match. I thought I'd never see the day again."
Craig stifled a smile and stuck his tongue out at his brother. He wasn't in a hurry to the park and was planning to take his time getting there.
However, before Craig knew it, he and Lewis were standing at the side of the park football pitch in the park. There were several other players there as well from both teams.
"Craig, are you listening?" Lewis asked.
Craig looked at him and blinked a few times before shaking his head.
"Sorry, I was kind of daydreaming."
Lewis rolled his eyes and made sure that Craig was listening to him this time.
"Now, remember. You have your inhaler with you so don't be afraid to use it." He instructed him, "It doesn't matter if people see you using it. All that matters, is that you stay safe."
He locked his gaze with Craig as he said these words and watched his boyfriend nod. However it wasn't quite enough for Lewis as he leaned forwards and kissed Craig on the lips.
His action caught Craig off-guard and he instantly pulled away. Craig glanced around to make sure no one had seen them before tell Lewis off.
"What was that for?" he demanded.
His cheeks felt boiling hot as he glared at his boyfriend, who smiled back and pulled him into a friendly hug.
"To make sure I had your full attention and to say I love you." He joked.
Craig's cross face made him smile even more.
"Come on. Let's go join the others."
Craig hadn't been aware that the rest of the team had arrived as well as the coach. They joined the team talk, each boy assigned a position.
"Olly, you keep back in defence," the coach instructed him, "make sure that if you go forward for the ball that someone will take your place," he then addressed various other members of the team, "Rick, Nathan, I want you two quite high up. We all know how Lewis plays so you guys need to be there to help him."
The two boys nodded. The coach then turned to Craig and Lewis.
"Lewis, play your game, alright? Call others into position." He addressed Craig, "Craig, I know it's your first game in a while so don't push yourself. Just get into a space and point out any passes which could be intercepted."
A quick warm up later, the team got themselves in position on the pitch and waited for the umpire's whistle. Lewis glimpsed Craig giving him a worried look and returned it with a reassuring one.
Once again, the game was off to a good start. Craig shadowed Lewis around the pitch, proving himself useful in some tricky moments where no one else was there for Lewis to pass to. Everyone congratulated him each time he received the ball as they genuinely believed he'd planned to be there on his own accord when in fact he'd in fact just been doing what Lewis told him to do.
The game reached a point in which Lewis was tracking a boy form the other team who was dribbling with the ball at a high speed, leaving Craig jogging behind. Lewis went straight in for the tackle, sweeping his foot in front of the other boy's and taking the ball off him without tripping him up or any foul play. He began to run in the opposite direction, but the other boy quickly drew level with him and stuck his foot in front of Lewis to get the ball. Lewis was sent flying as is foot caught on the other boy's.
There was a crack as Lewis landed directly on his knee. Pain rocketed up and down his leg, causing Lewis to mutter sour words under his breath. He cradled his knee as he rolled onto his back and tried to fight the pain off.
Craig was the first to reach him and tried to calm him down. He'd seen what had happened and ignored the culprit who stood next to them. They weren't given much time alone as the coach jogged over to them as well as the rest of the team. At a sharp command, they gave Lewis space.
"Where's it hurt, Lewis?" the coach asked, "your knee?"
To Lewis it was a dumb question, but he nodded anyway as a tear leaked out of the corner of his eye. It was near enough to half time, so the half was ended and players separated and went into their team talks.
Meanwhile the coach and Craig took their time in helping Lewis. They went on either side and wrapped an arm around each of them. They stood Lewis on one leg and helped him slowly hobble over to the side of the pitch, where they sat him down on a chair. The process was slow and gradual, but nothing could be rushed. Lewis' knee seemed to be giving him a lot of pain; even keeping it still seemed to hurt him. An icepack was gently rested on the swollen area.
It was clear to the whole team that they'd just lost their best player and he wouldn't be playing again for a while. The coach did a quick examination and feared that Lewis had most likely fractured his knee, but he'd have to go to the hospital and have doctor look at it to be sure.
Craig remained silent as the truth dawned on him. It didn't make it any better when Lewis told him.
"Looks like you'll be playing without me." He said.
The younger boy glanced at the huddled team nervously before turning back to Lewis.
"I can't play without you." Craig whispered frantically.
He glared as Lewis smiled weakly at him as he clamped a hand around the back of the boy's neck.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just remember your training."
Despite his reluctance, Craig drifted over to the team and waited for the game to begin again. Equations and scientific facts flooded his mind and mingled with training that Lewis had given him days before. There was no way he would be able to cope during this half of the game.
Substitutions were made and everyone took their place back on the pitch. Craig kept glancing in Lewis' direction, but his friend was occupied with trying to bare the pain in his knee.
Once again at the referee's whistle the game began, but Craig felt lost without Lewis there with him. He was jostled by players from the other team and just ended up chasing the ball. No one passed to him and he made sure no one had the chance to. It was gut feeling that if he did receive the ball, he'd most likely end up giving it to the other team.
It was drawing to the end of the match and at the moment it was a tie. Craig's team had the ball and as usual Craig was just following behind. He heard someone calling his name and looked around for the voice. His eyes came to rest on Lewis and he realised that he was saying something.
"Get by the post!" Lewis shouted at the top of his voice.
Panicking, Craig obeyed and ran next to the far post. Little did he realise that Alfie was just about to have a shot at the goal. He aimed and kicked before anyone to tackle him. Everyone watched as the ball flew through the air. Disappointment struck hard as the goalie threw himself across the goal, the ball rebounding off him and back onto the pitch.
He landed in the mud and looked up to see where the ball went, but found that he couldn't see it on the pitch. At the other team's cheers, he looked behind him to see the ball in the goal. The rest of his team was standing around, not quite understanding what had happened. He jogged over to them and asked.
"The ball bounced off that boy from the other team and it went into the part of the goal that you weren't protecting." One of his friends said.
Meanwhile Craig was being surrounded by the rest of his team, each one of them clamping him on the back and congratulating him. He didn't quite know how to respond. He'd been running to the far post when the ball had hit him. While he had tried to recover, it had bounced off him and rolled into the goal. Apparently he'd scored the final winning goal as the referee blew his whistle.
Feeling a swell of pride rise up in him, Craig looked back into the crowd to see Lewis cheering at him. His boyfriend was still sitting upright on the chair with the icepack on his knee, but he was ignoring the pain for now. Nothing made Craig happier than to see Lewis cheering the loudest at him and he felt his cheeks go all warm.
But there was one person in the crowd who stood out most of all. Abandoning the team hug, Craig ran over to the side of the pitch and pushed through the crowd of parents watching the match, searching for the man he'd seen just now. He swore that he'd been standing here just now. Craig looked around again, but couldn't see who he was looking for. Had he imagined it? Hearing his name being called from the centre of the pitch, Craig gave up his search.
"Craig." A voice said behind him.
Craig turned and saw his dad standing a few meters in front of him. Was this a dream? He'd just played a football match; surely it was one. Too many emotions raced through his mind as he ran towards the figure and threw his arms around him.
"Gotcha." His dad chuckled to himself as he hugged Craig, "Excellent goal."
Also smiling, Craig leaned against his dad. A single tear trickled down his cheek, but it was quickly wiped away by the surface of his dad's white ironed shirt when Craig nestled his head against it. As he began to wonder if this was a dream, the tightness of his dad's hug told him it wasn't and it filled Craig with a burst of joy. Things were beginning to change and Craig hoped they'd be for the better.