Crawford went back to his home by walking. At the middle of the trip, guilt washed over him, whether it was the idea of feeling attracted to his teammate, or the fact that he lashed out at his friends.

He was just a short distance from his flat when it started to rain. The cold drizzle was hitting his face which, because of embarrassment, gave his cheeks a hot temperature. The sky was gray, it didn't really help the ambience, and the damp streets made his shoes dirty.

Crawford slammed the door shut as soon as he got home. He wanted to scream, but he didn’t want anyone to listen, because he knew that no one would ever understand what sort of trouble he was getting into.

He spent the next hours just thinking, and thinking, and just thinking. No phone, no TV, no music, not any entertainment, just overthinking. Perhaps he did actually like Lawrence, but what could he do? He didn't want to feel attracted to him, in fact, he didn't want to like dudes at all.

After a long period of organizing his thoughts, Crawford had an idea, a painful idea. Maybe if he stayed away from Lawrence he would forget his feelings for him. At least that's what he hoped.

Training day arrived. Crawford was not ready to see Lawrence, but he was to apologize to his friends.

He got into the training center, and slowly made his way to the field, preparing his apology.

“Hey guys.” 

Bernard, who had a cheeky smile, and Logan exchanged a look after they saw Crawford. 

“I wanted to apologize about the other day, I wasn't in my best moment, y'know.”

“Oh, don't worry, you were stressed, we understand.” Said Logan.

“So, did you figure it out?” Asked Bernard.

“Yes. You are completely wrong. I don't see Lawrence that way, so please don't mention it again.

Crawford wanted to believe his answer was true, however, deep in his heart, he knew that he was lying.

Bernard was about to answer back. Luckily, he was stopped by Logan, to avoid more arguments.

“Oh, also, please don't tell anyone about this.”

“No worries!” Answered Logan, as he took Bernard to other place.

But that conversation wasn't a relief to Crawford as he thought it would be, he did not feel free.

Victor Crawford spent two full weeks trying to avoid Lawrence's presence. The Wednesday of the first week, Lawrence wanted to hang out with Crawford, so he searched for him after training.

“Hey Victor, you up for sushi?”

“Oh… sorry, I'm busy today, y'know, personal stuff.”

“Okay, don't worry.”

And he kept saying the same excuse for a while.

But, although Crawford didn't accept his outings, every time his teammate approached him at training, it was almost impossible to ignore him. They always ended up having a decent dialogue. Nevertheless, Lawrence did actually notice that his friend was being short with him, he was shyer than ever. He decided to ask why was he busy every time, so he approached him during the recess break.

“Hey Victor.”

“...Hey.”

“Wanna go somewhere?” Lawrence gave an idea as his excuse.

“Busy today. It's personal, sorry…”

“Man, you could just… talk to me. I'm really concerned.. If you have any problem, simply trust me. Please tell me what happens…”

For some seconds, there was an uncomfortable silence, but Lawrence could see Crawford's unhappy face, like he had something pierced through his chest that made him stay silent.

“Sorry, I just… can't.”

That left Lawrence unsure of what to do, and with a lump in his throat. He couldn't force his friend to speak up, he thought it would be rude. 

Some days later, Lawrence arranged to hang out with some teammates; Tim Anderson, David Young and Leo Burton. They wanted to do a barbecue at Anderson’s house. Lawrence thought it would be a great way for distracting himself from Crawford being a socially irresponsible friend, so he accepted to go. Tim Anderson had a modern, luxurious house. His backyard had a pool with fresh water, a jacuzzi and a barbecue area. He had bought a wide variety of meats, among them, they had steak, chicken and some sausages. Lawrence had finally gotten his mind distracted, although he found some conversations boring. In one of them, the group started to talk about girls who they used to like. 

“So, Jack, have you ever liked a girl?” asked Leo.

“Um, I don't think so.”

“Not even one?” Said Anderson while he was cooking meat on the grill. He was somewhat surprised.

Lawrence shook his head.

“What about Crawford? You didn't tell us about your dinner with him.”

“That was almost a month ago.”

“Well, you haven't given us any details.”

“I had a great time.”

“Well, it seems he's taking distance from you.”

“Yeah, I have no idea of why.”

“Maybe you did something that bothered him” Added Leo.

“Perhaps I did.”

“But, why are you suddenly so close and interested in him?” Said Young.

“I dunno, he's a good friend.”

“Only a friend?” Added Anderson.

At this point, all these questions were too odd for the easy-going Lawrence, so he answered shortly.

“Yeah.”

Anderson was unsatisfied with his friend's response.

“So, you don't like him?”

Lawrence didn't expect that kind of question.

“He's nice, I do consider him as a friend. Why the sudden doubt?”

“Just curious…”

“...Nah, he's fun, easy to talk to, but he's just a friend.”

Lawrence wasn't clearly sure of why his friends were questioning him. But he didn't overthink it too much, he just moved on.

Tired, Lawrence returned home when the sky was dark.

He also had a luxurious house. It didn't have a modern look, because Lawrence liked to keep a house made of wood, but it was way more fancy than Anderson's one. Outside, it had a big gate, which opened to a garden with massive pine trees. The house was clean, and had a fresh smell from wood, something that Lawrence loved. He kept some plants that he watered every day, adding life to his home. On the walls, he had photos of his family; his mum, dad and little sister, he kept a really good relationship with them, although his parents tended to be a little judgemental, but Lawrence loved them anyway. He had a great brotherhood with his sister, Emma, because she always supported him, no matter what, and so did he. 

Watching all those photos cheered him up, he felt like he was not alone with his problems.

After relaxing a bit, Lawrence tried to accept that, maybe, Crawford just needed space, perhaps he would come back to normal one day.

But, suddenly, the conversation that he had with his friends came to his mind. His teammates asked him if he liked Crawford out of nothing, that was way more suspicious than he thought at first.

Just to be clear, he sent a message, on a group chat, to his friend Tim, asking him again why would he have that question. 

Timmy: It's because he's gay, I should've told you, I guess.

Jackie: Oh.

Leo: Wait, I had no idea.

Jackie: Are you sure?

Timmy: At least that's what I heard.

Jackie: OK.

Young David: Lol.

Before turning off his phone, Lawrence watched his chat with Crawford, with all the messages that his friend ignored, it all started to click in his mind. Finally, he got to the conclusion that the rumour was the reason that made his friend Victor to take distance. Maybe Crawford thought that, in that way, people would stop assuming his sexuality and that he liked him. Things had more sense now.

Obviously, he didn't rule out the possibility of other options. Crawford could be mad at him instead, or maybe he was passing through familiar problems, perhaps someone died. In the end, he just hoped that the rumours were the true reason, and not another horrendous tragic situation.