Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher ^

"So I was thinking we can go to the carnival this weekend. You can bring your brothers and I'll bring my sisters" I said as Alex and I walked to class after lunch let out. Alex and I shared two classes together both of which happened to be AP PreCalc and AP Spanish.

"Sounds good. I'd like to meet your sisters and I want you to properly meet my brothers, all four of them. You know the twins Casey and Matt as well as Andrew but you haven't met my brother Ryder. He's the second oldest of us. He's an MMA fighter" he replied and I raised my brows at that.

"That's cool. My brother, Kennedy used to boxing before he joined the marines." I said and he nodded

"What about your other brother? What did he do before he joined?" He asked as we entered Mr. Richards' AP PreCalc and went to our seats. I had moved seats to sit beside him a couple of days ago.

"Matt, he used to do all sorts of things. During his high school years, he did all types of sports. He's the daredevil of the family. He was a race car driver at one point in time. He dropped all that when he joined the army though." I replied with a smile. Just thinking about my older brothers always brought happy yet sad memories. They used to always take me with them wherever they went. If I wasn't with Matt at the racetracks I was with Kennedy in the gym watching him training and vice versa. Dispute our age gap, we were very close. I was the youngest of the three of us. It was just us boys before my twin sisters were born.

"He sounds like an interesting guy. He would probably get along really well with Andrew and Ryder even with the age gap and the same with Kennedy and Casey" he said and I nodded

"They have a lot of things in common" I agreed and he smiled

"That they do." He stated before we turned to the front of the room when the teacher walked in after the last student took their seat.

Class droned on for the next 45 minutes and I sighed and turned to the worksheet that was passed out a few moments ago. I looked down at the first problem and got to work. Some people think that just because I'm a jock that is stupid or don't care about my grades but in fact, I care about them and always do my best to get good grades in all my classes. Football may get me into college but my grades will give me a better future. Who knows maybe one day I'll work as a lawyer like my Uncle Jake.

The sound of the chair beside me scrapping against the tiled floors brought me out of my thoughts and looked up to see Alex already looking at me with a raised brow and his head tilted to the side

"You don't plan on staying here for the next hour do you?" He asked with a teasing smile making me roll my eyes and stand up from my chair and put my things away before following Alex out of the classroom and down the hall towards his locker where unfortunately his brothers and friends were standing at and I watched Alex sigh

"I swear they're ridiculous" he muttered and I nudged him with my shoulder

"They just worry about you," I said and he scoffed

"They're always like this. No matter where we go they're always there watching my every move and making sure that I don't befriend 'bad people' God they're worse than my parents and oldest brothers." He exclaimed throwing his arms in the air making me chuckle

"Hey that's how I am with my sisters and whenever my brothers are home they're like that too," I said trying to ease him but he only looked unimpressed

"But you and your brothers don't threaten you to beat the people they make friends with up" he murmured and I blinked, "They always say that whenever we're home or waiting in the parking lot"

"Don't worry about me Alex. You're brothers don't scare me," I assured and he sighed yet again before nodding. We reached his locker and all three of his brothers looked at me with distaste in their features while his friends all gave me small and reserved smiles.

"Riley, right?" One of the girls asked and I nodded, "My name is Molly. These are Vanna, Allie, twins Jared and Jensen. And you know the three machos over there Casey, Andrew, and Matt."

"Nice to meet you," I said with a nod at each of them. Molly is a beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She was about 5'2 with a slender build. Vanna, also a beautiful girl, had light brown hair with green eyes and she much like Molly was about 5'2 with a slender build. Allie on the other was a beautiful girl with black hair and hazel eyes with a petite built and was around 5'5, Jared and Jensen were identical twins with Jared having an earring and Jensen having glasses. They both had dark hair and green eyes with a strong built. They stood around 5'11 so about a foot or so shorter than me.

Casey and Matt were also identical with Matt being an inch taller than Casey both have dark hair and chocolate-colored eyes and both having a strong and muscular built. And then there's Andrew who had shaggy dark hair and chocolate-colored eyes. He was lean with a muscular built. He wore glasses, unlike his older and younger brothers. All three Gallagher brothers stood back with their arms crossed across their chests with scowls plastered on their faces.

"Weren't you the one hanging out with Mitch a couple of days ago at the front before school? The day Alex was hit with a football?" Jensen asked and I nodded again

"You should keep your distance from our brother. You bring nothing but harm to him." Andrew snarled and I watched Alex as his muscles tensed at his brother's tone

"Or why don't you just stay the fuck out of my business?" Alex retorted

"We're not talking to you, Alex, so stay out of it," Casey responded and I clenched my jaw at the way they he spoke to Alex. Not once have I ever reacted this way whenever my younger sisters made new friends despite me not liking it. They were old enough to make their own decisions and I wasn't going to force them to break their bond off.

"Maybe you should let him make his own decisions. The way you're treating him is only pushing him further and further away from you. Don't you see the harm you're doing to him?" I asked and their eyes locked on me, and if looks could kill I'd be 200 feet underground right about now, but I didn't let that get under my skin. I stood my ground.

"No one asked for your fucking opinion," Matt snapped and I rolled my eyes, "Wouldn't you act this way if you had younger siblings?"

"I have both younger and older siblings and yet I don't act like you are. I have two younger sisters and yes I'm protective of them because they're 15 years old but I don't threaten to beat up the person they befriend just because I don't like them. Nor do I force them to break off that friendship. I give them advice on being careful with who they trust and who they become friends because you never truly know who your friends and enemies are," I said and the group stared at me, I could feel Alex's eyes on the side of my face as I stared at his brothers who liked about ready to knock my teeth out.

"You think that I'm like Mitch and his brainless minions just because we shared the field. Because we were on the football team that I was automatically an asshole because they were one. If you don't know me. You just make assumptions of who I am because of who I surround myself with. Do you really that if I was like them that I'd be friends with Alex? That I would defend him at all moments when Mitch and the other two were harassing and beating Alex up whenever you weren't around? If I was anything like them I wouldn't have given two fucks about Alex and would beat him and throw him at the nearest wall with no one watching" I went on and I was fired up. I had enough of them thinking that I was like the three assholes that bullied Alex for no reason other than being gay.

"I don't give a fuck what team Alex bats for because I have an older brother and an uncle who is gay and hearing him being called all those names irked me to no end. Just think about the consequences of your actions before you make the biggest mistake and lose your brother." I finished my rant before looking down at Alex whose eyes were filled with tears, "Don't cry"

He sniffled and buried his face in my chest as I wrapped my arms around him as he broke down. His friends and bothers watched on with shocked eyes

"You're pushing him away with your actions," I started looking at the Gallagher brothers who clenched their jaws

"Just stay away from him," Andrew said making me shake my head with an unamused chuckle

"You really don't get it to do you? You're hurting him more than you think." I said before looking down at Alex who sniffled, "Do you want me to stay with you while you wait for Ryder?"

He nodded his head and without another word, he turned on his heel and walked away forgetting to grab his things from the locker. I gave his brothers one last glance before following after him.

~~~~~

Thursday and Friday flew by in a blink of an eye and before I knew it, I was walking into the school locker room dressed in my football gear to meet with the rest of the team before the game that starts in twenty minutes.

Coach stood at the front of the room with the team all sitting around him on the benches some were even standing with their helmets in hand as we listened to coach preach us and get us hyped up for the impending game. Before coming to the locker room I saw Alex and who I assume were his parents and sister walk to the bleachers with Ryder in tow. Matt was already seated with their friends so I'm guessing they'll be sitting with them. My parents and sisters were also in the crowd. I looked around the room and spotted Casey and Andrew sitting next to Jared.

I honestly have no clue why they hated me so much. I've never done anything to them.

"Alright ladies, let's get out there and let's kick some ass!" Coach yelled and we cheered as we stood up. We walked out of the locker room before running onto the field when we were introduced by the sports announcer. The cheerleaders were holding a long banner with our team's name on it and we ripped it when we ran through. The crowd went wild with cheers and claps. I could see people from the opposing team among them doing nothing. The team was on the other side of the field huddled.

The sound of the whistle broke out through the loud crowd and the game began.

I blocked everything around me and focused on the game. I ran down the field to the left with Cory on the left. I could feel sweat already building and my heart began racing with adrenaline. The first game of the season was always the most nerve-wracking. The buzzer sounded and I looked up to see that Casey had made a touchdown. The score read 7 to 0. The time ticked down. The coach ran down the field on the sidelines giving us signs.

"You're going down Cordelli" the captain of the opposing team smirked as we stood face to face. We had the advantage right now but who knows what the outcome could be once the game ends.

"Bring it on Johnson," I replied as the team dispersed with Cory running down the field to score a touch down before being tackled at the 50 yards.

The game contains that way for the next hour and a half and I was covered in sweat and dirt. I was tackled a couple of times throughout the game and we've scored three touchdowns as of now. The score currently read 19 to 9 with us winning.

"CORDELLI!" A voice yelled making me look up to see the ball flying my way and I jumped catching it before dashing down the field dodging the other players who wanted to tackle me and get the ball. I spotted Jared open near the touchdown and made a decision that could either cost us the game or make it. I threw it at him and he looked up with his arms up and the crowd went silent as we watched with bated breath at Jared —hoping he catches the ball—and let out a sigh of relief when he did and he ran down the field and made the touchdown just as he was tackled.

The game ended with us winning 39 to 20.

"Guess you are your words huh, Johnson?" I smirked as we shook hands and he glared my way but said nothing.

I looked to the bleachers and saw Alex grinning and his parents saying something that had him shaking his head. I cocked my head to the side in question but he only waved me off. I rolled my eyes and turned to Cory

"Dude that was a good toss. But you could've gotten to the touchdown why didn't you?" He asked and I shrugged

"He was closer. I had like two other guys on my heels and had to make a rash decision" I replied and he nodded.

"Come on let's go shower so we can go meet up with our friends." He said and I nodded and with one last glance at the bleachers where Alex stood with his family with a bright smile, I followed Cory to the locker room to hear coach praise and congratulated us on the first game of the season before letting us go shower.