head over heels

37 ~ its a date

[A/N - this story is labelled mature for a reason, and that reason is quick approaching ;) so we have our first warning for nsfw content ahead (at the end of chap) so if that's not your thing, feel free to skip the last third, it is fairly mild, but hey, i'll always drop a lil pre spice warning from now on]

Evan didn't mention a thing about his Dad to Kei the next day. He wanted nothing more than to pretend it just never happened.

He was thankful he didn't have to see his Dad until later, or just not at all if he could help it.

Practice aggravated his finger, to the point where it was a constant thrum of pain playing in the background.

Coach had been practically inconsolable, checking in on him what felt like every two seconds. The man feared injury like it was the absolute fucking plague and had taken to checking in on him and his finger after what felt like every set.

His tape had well and truly fallen off by afternoon practice, so he sat cross legged on the sidelines with a roll of tape and the pinkie brace.

He fumbled with it, putting the stuff on totally crooked, so Kei sat next to him and gestured for Evan to hand over the tape.

He did, trying to be normal about it as Kei took his hand and started winding the tape around his fingers.

"You've been quiet today," Kei said, sending him a testing glance. "What is it?"

He shook his head, "S'fine, really."

Kei's hand felt warm as it cupped his own, their fingers brushing together as he applied the tape.

"Was it okay that you were late yesterday?" Kei tried, talking quiet enough that no one else around the courts would hear him.

Evan nodded idly, "It was fine, Dad was mad, but he'll get over it."

The lie felt awful on his tongue.

Kei seemed to accept that slowly, and he finished with the tape.

Then, the rest of the team gathered around to start planning the lake trip for the weekend. They allocated cars and such to drive there, planning out who could take passengers. Evan was stuck with Ethan however, so the outlook was pretty bleak for getting any alone time with Kei.

He was at least glad he didn't have to spend the weekend at the house.

Once practice was over, Evan stubbornly went to start his tutoring sessions.

He couldn't hope to understand why his Dad had so desperately wanted him to stop them. It was a job. He got paid for it. He was being productive, not like he was doing anything even remotely rebellious.

It was like he just wanted to strip Evan of everything that made him, himself.

He could have banned him from volleyball, but no, that would harm Ethan's chances at the championship, so he would never. His Dad was so blinded by his obsession with Ethan's success that it was like everything Evan did that didn't quite line up with Ethan, was an affront to him in his entirety.

Then his phone buzzed.

@ethanreed - picking you up after

Evan paused, staring down at his phone. After a moment, he sighed. He needed to stop locking Ethan out. He'd seen his face last night. Ethan had been just as dumbstruck as him by their Dad.

He— deserved at least half of an explanation.

@evann - ok

    done at 10