Oblivious to the other's inner turmoil, a wide grin spread across Mathias's face that lit up his eyes as he wrapped an arm around Willem's shoulders to pull him into a quick hug and not seeming to notice the way that Willem tensed up slightly under the contact. “You know you're the best, right? Somehow you always know the exact thing to say that'll make me feel better. I know you never say much in front of the other guys, or in front of anyone else really, but it makes me feel that much luckier that I've gotten to have you as a friend for so long.”

Willem blinked slowly, letting out a quiet breath in resignation and giving Mathias a gentle pat on the back. “I know… I know…” If only those words wouldn't feel like a knife through his chest every time that he said them.

Pulling away, Mathias's grin only grew wider as he reached up to ruffle Willem's hair and jog away while cackling with laughter. “Come on, Ned, you slowpoke. We've got a practice to finish!”

For a few moments, Willem simply stood there in stunned silence with his breath caught in his throat, watching Mathias as he ran off. The way that the sunlight cast a golden sheen on his spiked honey-colored hair. The way that some of the longer sections of his hair clung to his sweat-dampened forehead. The way that his blue eyes sparkled with mirth as he laughed.

It was a sight that touched his artistic muse and could've broken his heart with how beautiful that Mathias was in that moment. If only his heart wasn't already broken...

He pressed the heels of his hands against his burning eyes, fending off unwanted tears that had threatened to spring up. Rubbing his face, he grimaced with a sigh and jogged towards the other side of the field where the rest of the team were congregating as they finished their warm-ups.

He was tired. So tired. It felt like every part of his being had been drained, and all he wanted to do was sleep to gain whatever solace that the quiet darkness of unconsciousness could provide.

However, there was a smaller part of him that wanted to paint, to draw, to feel the familiar weight and textures of his brushes and pencils in his hands. There was that unexplainable need to create an explosion of color and infuse his emotions into the canvas. It was his therapy. It was what he needed after a day like today. It was one of the few ways that he could let himself go and to let out all of the emotions that he had kept bottled up for so long.

Everything else seemed like an exhausting chore in comparison.

Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Goal.

The weight of each kick of the soccer ball felt like a brick being added to his shoulders. It was a dull, monotonous rhythm that would've put him to sleep if it hadn't been for the fact that he had to attempt to keep himself from being run into by the other team members that were on the field.

Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Left. Pass.

At the very least, no one could tell that anything was wrong with Willem or that his head wasn't in the practice game, that way he didn't have to worry about answering anyone's questions. Then again, nobody ever noticed when there was…

A chorus of cheers erupted from around him as Antonio scored the winning goal for their team's match just a split-second before the final alarm went off to signify the end of the practice session. Antonio was one of the new talents that had just joined the team that year, and with his easy-going attitude and impeccable footwork, he had quickly become one of the favorites on the team.

That didn't mean that Willem liked him. However, that might've been simply because of some of his own personal prejudices and protective nature over his younger sister, whom Antonio happened to be dating. It made his skin crawl just to think of somebody being around his sister, and perhaps that had ended up making Willem be a bit more hostile towards the male than he deserved.

That didn't seem to deter Antonio from trying to make friends with his girlfriend's older brother.

“Hey, Willem!” Antonio exclaimed, seeming to pop up behind the taller man out of nowhere as Willem stalked towards the edge of the field where his duffel bag was. “Did you see that last shot, mi hombre? I can't believe I nailed it on the final second, especially with Gillian blocking the way. It was-- It was increíble!”

Willem simply grunted in response, his shoulders tense from the proximity of the other man and casting a glare in his direction. It didn't even phase Antonio who still had a ridiculously wide grin on his face.

However, it wasn't until a few moments later when an petite arm looped itself around his right arm that Willem realized that Antonio's smile hadn't been directed towards him at all.

“Hey, big bro,” came the unmistakable delicate sing-song voice of his younger sister. “You guys were awesome out there. Especially you, mon amour,” she said as she let go of her brother in order to nestle herself comfortably into Antonio's outstretched arms, her shoulder-length honey-blonde curls bouncing with the movement. “You just keep doing better and better each time that I see you. Your old team in Barcelona must be missing you right now.” She giggled as she stood on her toes and placed a kiss to Antonio's cheek.

“Sí, sí. They've definitely mentioned that they miss playing together, mi querida Annabel. But fear not, for I am never going to leave your side.” The softness in Antonio's gaze as he gently reached up and caressed Annabel's curls caused a sharp stab of pain in Willem's chest.

Maybe that was his problem. Maybe he was jealous of his sister's relationship and how much Antonio genuinely seemed to love her. From everything that he had seen since the two had been together, the man had always treated Annabel like a princess.

Some sort of emotion that he couldn't have explained must have been showing on his face, because when Annabel looked over at him, her smile immediately faded into an expression of concern. Willem quickly turned away to scoop up his duffel bag.

Clearing her throat, Annabel reached up and patted Antonio's cheek, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “I'll meet you later for dinner, okay? I needed to talk to Willem about a couple of art assignments, if you don't mind.”

He silently cursed his bad luck.

A small part of Willem had hoped that Antonio would end up protesting, but he knew that he was hoping in vain: it wasn't in Antonio's nature to protest to two siblings spending time together. “Of course not, mi hermosa. I'll meet you at our usual place then? Say at about six?”

“That sounds perfect,” Willem could hear Annabel saying as he started to walk away across the field with his bag in tow. “I'll see you then!”

Of course, before Willem could even get too far away from the practice field, another obstacle presented itself as Mathias approached him once again. “Hey, Ned!” With that heartstopping smile on his face.

“Matthias,” he mumbled, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead and hitching the strap of his duffel bag more comfortably onto his shoulder.

“I just wanted to thank you for listening to me earlier, and I hope that I didn't sound like I was whining.” Mathias chuckled. “Anyways, are you heading back to the dorm?”

“Well, actually--”

“We were just heading to the art studio, actually,” Annabel stated, cutting off Willem before he had a chance to speak.

“Oh.” Mathias tilted his head to the side slightly, a gesture that always reminded Willem of a confused puppy. Regardless of any possible confusion that Mathias felt, he didn't miss a beat as he continued speaking. “Hey, Annabel. That's fine. I was just going to let Ned here know that I was going to be late getting back to the dorm since I was going to take his advice and try to talk things out with Lukas.”

Willem's heart sank at those words, the edges of his eyes prickling painfully as his shoulders sagged just the smallest fraction. It wasn't like he expected anything different to happen, so he had nobody to blame but himself for getting his hopes up.

Annabel glanced between the pair of men that towered above her, Mathias looking excited while her brother looked...defeated and even more withdrawn than usual. “Ah, I see. Antonio and I have a date at six, but I was going to ask Willem for some pointers on a few art assignments before I headed that way. I hope that things go smoothly for you, since I know that things have been pretty rocky between you and Lukas for a while now, yeah?”

Mathias's smile faltered for the briefest second, but Willem knew that nobody but him would notice it. “Well, it has been for a bit, I guess, but I'm sure that it's just because of some sort of built-up stress that Lukas has been under, especially with getting sick during hockey season and trying not to lose his scholarship. I'm usually the only one that ends up being around, so I tend to end up taking the brunt of his temper, but that's okay.”

That was the biggest bunch of bullshit that Willem had heard. He knew that wasn't the cause of how things were. That was just how Lukas was as a person. Nothing was going to change that, and it wasn't just one isolated incident of it either.

The corners of Annabel's mouth twitched with concern. “He hasn't hurt you though, has he? Because if he has--”

“Mathias!”

The resounding shout from the other side of the field made the trio jump slightly in surprise, though Mathias had a look of resignation on his face.

“Sorry, guys, but I've gotta run before Lukas decides to add this to the list of things I've done wrong.” There was only the faintest hint of sarcasm in Mathias's voice as he rolled his eyes. With a wave of his hand to the pair of siblings, Mathias ran off.

Willem turned his back so that he wouldn't have to see what he could only expect would be the boyfriends leaping into each other's arms and kissing. He would've started walking away, but his sister still held him firm in her grip.

“Oh no you don't, mister. You're coming with me,” Annabel stated firmly, her free hand sliding into the pocket of the overalls that she was wearing. With her other hand, she pulled on Willem's arm in order to drag him towards the art studio. Of course, if he had even so much as resisted the movement, she wouldn't have been capable of even making him budge an inch. As it was, Willem was being compliant.

That didn't mean that he was willing to talk though. He wasn't in the mood to even begin to divulge a fraction of the dark hidden secrets and feelings that he had kept bottled up inside of him for so long.

The distance between the soccer field and the art studio was only a little over a block, but to Willem, that trek felt like an eternity. At least it had been made in silence. Annabel opened the door and gestured for him to enter the building. She followed him in, searching for an empty room before locking the door behind her.