After a few days, the camp finally ended without much happening. Lexi made sure they were never alone, and they weren’t given the opportunity to get into fights. Jamie seemed to hold her tongue, not taunting Jack as she would have. Maybe she was afraid it would scare off Tommy, or maybe she felt she had won and there was nothing more to say.

Tommy hadn’t decided what to do about the coaching. On one hand, he knew he would have difficulty integrating into a new team, if any team would even take him on as a player anymore. It was quickly revealed that every new, eager offer he was sent was just for coaching. The general consensus was he was too old to still be a player, the fact that he had won Worlds recently be damned.

Ben and Alex were struggling as well; neither wanted to be reserves. They would spend their free evenings in their room, discussing options, Riley listening and offering her input whenever she could. Riley had a career; she would just continue streaming as she had. She wasn’t mad about that. It hurt to see her friends worried, though. Whatever was going on between the three of them, they’d decided not to define it at the moment.

Their intimate moments became a comfort for them, an escape that they all enjoyed. Ben was inexperienced but eager to learn and gentle. Meanwhile, Alex was direct and rough. Their contrasting behavior worked well in their three-way, and Alex and Ben would give each other just as much attention as they gave Riley. It worked. Jack had no clue what his friends were spending their free time doing, but Tommy suspected and had just decided to stay out of it.

Jack and Tommy had silently agreed to a truce. The night they had shared their lives with each other had built a bridge between them; it was small and unsteady, but it was something. Their teamwork improved each day, to the point where Jack found himself smiling in joy, then catching himself and quickly scowling. He kept forgetting the reasons he didn’t like Tommy. The reasons just became less and less important in the bigger picture.

With the impending loss of his career, Jack was frantically thinking of solutions to save himself. Until the night before everyone was leaving, a sort of light had turned on in his head, an obvious solution. If no one was going to let him join their team, he needed to create his own!

It was with this encouraging thought he woke the next day and waited impatiently for people to leave. He’d told Riley, Ben, and Alex to stay behind. Even Tommy had agreed to stay, curious about what was going on.

Everyone was out, the cameras were gone, and Jack threw himself into a chair in the living room where the rest had gathered. He was practically bouncing in his seat, a large smile plastered across his face. There was a heavy confusion in the air, no one knowing what to expect, everyone having experienced Jack’s spontaneity before.

“I’ve been thinking,” he started, looking at each of their faces. “We all feel like we’ve been unfairly put in a corner by whoever bought up our teams. What if we found a way to start our own team?!”

The silence in the room felt heavy as everyone stared at Jack, confusion and disbelief ranking highest in their collective emotions. Jack’s face fell, and his heart started beating frantically.

“We have the talent,” he pressed on. “Riley, you always said you’d join for the right team. Haven’t these past days proven that this team can work?”

Riley squirmed in her seat, using the time as she repositioned herself to think through her answer. Her friend was prone to rash decisions and got swept away in ideas that weren’t always the best thought out. “I do think we’ve been doing better these past days,” she agreed, speaking slow and deliberate. “But Jack, there is more to having a team than just being good. Money, equipment, managing, and I don’t even know half of it.”

Alex and Ben were nodding along. Tommy sat completely still, on the other hand, staring at Jack so intently it could bore a hole through him. His mind was doing calculations, gathering everything he knew about running a team.

“Where are you getting the money?” Tommy asked suddenly.

“You can’t be serious, Tommy,” Alex protested. “You’re not entertaining—” He was cut off by Jack eagerly erupting into his plan.

“If we go to my dad as a team and ask him to loan us the initial amount we need, he will do it if we can show him a plan,” Jack explained. He hoped he was right about his dad, but he was certain he’d have to make a promise to come home if they failed their first year as a team. If that was what he had to do, then he would do it.

“Manager and coach?” Tommy continued asking.

“I was hoping you’d help with that. Lexi could easily go in as a coach, and Sebastian has the connections, experience, and skills to manage a team,” Jack admitted. “We have this house; everyone can move in. With Riley’s reputation, we can easily attract some sponsors.”

Tommy leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his chin resting in his hand, thrumming his fingers on the side of his jaw. After a few moments, he straightened up, looking around the room. “It’s not the worst idea,” he told them with a shrug. Truth be told, he was desperate not be relegated into a coaching position.

Alex opened his mouth but quickly closed it, realizing he didn’t actually know what to say. His eyes landed on Riley, as they often did nowadays when he needed guidance. He’d come to trust her sound and thoughtful advice.

“I’m willing to try,” Riley nodded, patting Alex on the leg. “It can’t get any worse than your situation already is.”

“Alex, Ben?” Jack asked, at the edge of his seat.

Both of them ended up nodding their agreements as well.

“I’ll talk to Lexi and Sebastian, but we need to sit down and make a plan and budget,” Tommy stood up. “I’ll give them a call while I go back to my room and get my stuff. I advise you guys to get your stuff as well. God knows what will happen with it now that the teams are disbanded.”

They all agreed to meet back at the house in three hours. Jack went with Riley to help her with her things and so they could discuss the plan.