Jannis
“What are we doing today? Where are we going?” Dayyan looks at me questioningly as we walk down the stairs to the train station. “We’re going somewhere, right?”
Like an excited little kid, he pulls on my hand, and it’s cuter than it should be for a nineteen-year-old. “It’s a surprise, and when we get to the platform, you’ll know where we’re going anyway.”
He snorts but trots patiently alongside me.
“Karlsruhe. We’re going to Karlsruhe?”
I nod before leaning over to his ear again. “Lou and David have a game today, and on vacation you said you’d like to see them play.”
Dayyan recoils in surprise. “Are you serious? Cool, thanks.”
He throws his arms around me exuberantly, stretches up for a kiss, and I am only too happy to lean in and give him what he wants. Dayyan is usually calm and collected, unless he’s looking forward to something, then he gets excited and a little wild. So I’m not surprised he doesn’t just kiss me, but also lets his tonguejoin in. And well, I’m only human, I could never deny him a proper kiss.
Let’s be honest, I can’t deny him anything, I’m putty in his hands, I’m just incredibly lucky to have a boyfriend who doesn’t take advantage of that.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Lou and David will pick us up from the station and take us to the sports hall. Of course, they have to be there earlier, so we’ll have to wait a bit, but we can watch the teams warm up. Afterwards, we’ll go out for burgers.”
***
“They’re pretty fast and their shots have such a force, holy shit.” Dayyan watches the action on the court with admiration. The actual game hasn’t even started yet and he’s already overly excited.
The hall fills up around us, and the teams leave the court. “Where are they going? I thought it was about to start?”
I look at him, frowning. “Have you ever been to a sporting event before?”
“No, why? My parents aren’t really into that kind of thing.”
Okay, now it all makes sense. “The teams are going back to the locker room for a quick pep talk, to discuss strategy and stuff. Then it’ll start.”
Completely stunned, Dayyan watches the ball fly across the court. Louis has interrupted an opponent’s attack and passed to David, who is already sprinting toward the opponent’s goal. David grabs the ball out of the air, takes three steps, and takes off. Goal.
It’s not the first time today they've made that play, a fast break counter so perfectly coordinated, the opponents don’tstand a chance. It’s their specialty. Lou and David beam at each other and high-five.
“Why don’t they kiss?”
I laugh. “They’re completely in the zone, highly focused. Right now, they’re not a couple, right now they’re teammates who work together perfectly and score awesome goals. Nothing else matters.”
My explanation doesn’t seem to convince Dayyan, but he turns back to the game.
“Oh, fuck! What... Shit, he’s lying there! Is that normal?”
No, it’s not normal. Louis is lying on the floor after a violent body check and isn’t moving. It’s dead quiet. The hall around me becomes blurry. All I can see is my brother and David kneeling over him.
Coaches are running onto the court. Not good, not good at all. Dayyan grabs my hand. “Hey, I admit it looks dramatic right now, but I’m sure everything will be fine. Louis is tough.”
“He’s not conscious.”
“Yes, he is, he grabbed David’s hand.”
Then why isn’t he getting up? When he’s still lying in the same spot five minutes later, my patience is at an end. Dayyan was right, he is conscious, so why can’t he get on his feet? I grab my boyfriend’s hand and pull him toward my brother as paramedics and an emergency doctor rush into the hall.
My heart skips a beat. Louis is injured, seriously injured, or there wouldn’t be an emergency doctor. My legs run on their own, I have no control over them. I have to get to my brother. Something is holding me back and I fight against it, trying to break free, but I don’t stand a chance. “Let them do their job, it’s the only thing helping Louis right now. Come on, let’s see after David.”
Tears are streaming down David’s face when we reach him. “What happened?”
