The ringing sound of a whistle shrieking through the air made Niel aware soccer practice was over. His coach had signaled the boys on the field to come over. With a small jog in his step, he made it to the half moon circle. A quick scan, looking over every one of his teammates, Niel saw everybody was exhausted, sweaty, and out of breath.
The sun was burning the boys' skin. Summer came early this year, it was mid-May and the temperature never hit any lower than 20 degrees Celsius. Niel disliked the summer. The heat, constant sweating, the awful smell of garbage lingering in town, and not to even mention the horrible smell of sweat outside the locker rooms in the school.
Niel's ash-grey eyes snapped right up as his soccer coach Mr. Williams clapped his hands. "All right boys, you did well today! Keep it up." He looked at each boy in front of him, his eyes lingering on one boy in particular. "Jasper, you did well in leading this team so far, don't disappoint me on Friday."
The tall boy puffed his chest out of pride and put a charming smile on his face, a smile that would reassure mothers it was safe to let their daughters go on a date with a boy like him. A smile that made police officers look away from a small mishap. A smile that wouldn't show what kind of ugly personality hid behind it.
"I won't, coach. We will give them hell!" All the boys cheered, roared like dogs ready to fight. Give them hell, that was Jasper's catchphrase every time they talked about a game or were about to start a game. It was quite ironic how lightly the phrase was used as most of the parents of the teenage boys standing on that field were strict, conservative Christians.
Mr. Williams had been relentless during practice. The upcoming game had to be in their favor or they were out of the championships and after last year's fiasco... Anxiety slowly crept inside of Niel thinking of that unfortunate event, like a shadow overcasting his mind that freed the dark thoughts to roam. Niel's breathing quickened and his hands started to shake, an ill attempt was made to stop the shivering by rubbing his hands over his thighs. Failure, failure, failure. Were the only words filling Niel's head. He shook his head trying to shake the memory away. Not wanting to be reminded of that year. Of that unfortunate event.
When Mr. Williams had dismissed the boys and urged them to take showers Niel could feel Jasper brushing against his shoulder. It was not with enough force to be bumped into, but enough to send a message. Stay out of my way. An act of dominance, showing who is boss.
This act made Niel's eyes drop to the ground, balling up his fist and releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding. He tried to calm down his anger as it was totally misplaced, but couldn't help it nevertheless. It was supposed to be his place, his place to lead the soccer team as captain. But the universe didn't let him, no, the universe choose his enemy, the one person he couldn't stand. Jasper fucking Anderson.
It was humiliating, really. Niel had the place, he was the captain. He had led his team to great victories, but if he wasn't such a loser, such a failure that position as captain would have been still his. And the worst part was that every time his teammates looked at him, his coach looked at him and, especially, his enemy looked at him, Niel could see it in their eyes. You are a failure.
Niel was already an awkward and not sociable kind of guy. It was hard for him to find a connection with people and with his teammates in particular. The very same people he was surrounded by the most, his family an exception. But when he was captaining his relationship with the others was clear. Niel was their leader and the soccer team were his followers.
Now with that connection gone, the interaction with his teammates was back to being awkward, might he even say, more awkward. This became even clearer when in the locker room. Everybody stayed a few feet away from him, avoiding him as the medieval people did during the black plague.
Everyone, but one.
Lucas, his childhood friend, was the only one who didn't mind Niel's awkward behavior, didn't mind he had failed as captain of the soccer team. Lucas just liked having the awkward boy around him. He was the chatter boy and Niel the silent boy. The perfect match.
It was also because of Lucas that the soccer team didn't completely ignore Niel. He convinced them to at least accept him as long as Niel did a good job at playing soccer. A silent contract was made and Lucas was functioning as a bridge between the two parties.
A hand was placed on Niel's shoulder. He quickly whipped around as he flinched. Lucas chuckled. "Still jumpy I see about the touchy-touchy." He sat down on the bench and continued. "After school, we are gonna hang out at Mills, wanna go with?"
Without slight consideration, Niel shook his head. "Ah, come on. You haven't hung out in ages." Niel still stood his ground and denied the invitation.
Mills was the abandoned diner that went out of business during the financial crisis of 2008. Now it was used as a place for teenagers to hang out, do drugs, and drink. Niel didn't mind the place. He knew he could stay away from all the bad temptations but once you are there it was kinda hard to leave early. The peer pressure was really there and therefore Niel thought the best way to go about it was to not go there to not feel that kind of pressure. Because when surrounded by his peers while feeling pressured his awkwardness would be worsened by tenfold.
"All right, your loss. See you tomorrow buddy." Lucas again tapped his shoulder as he exited the locker room.
Niel watched as Lucas exited the locker room with a small smile lingering on his lips. He appreciated the invitation, appreciated Lucas had thought of him. It made Niel feel less lonely. He would have loved to go but with his awkward behavior at social gatherings, not really understanding social cues and hints, Niel wanted to avoid any further embarrassments. And besides, he was expected home, missing his mother's dinner would be worse than being an embarrassment in front of his teammates.
As Niel made his way out of the school he put on his headphones. His school Lakewood High was dull and not as artsy as their rival Spring Hill High. His school mainly focused on sports and science as Spring Hill High focused more on 'finding your inner self'. Niel snorted. He wasn't the type to dig deep into his soul or whatever that phrase meant. He thought a human wasn't supposed to question everything in life, to find the meaning of life. You live and you die. It was as simple as that. At least that was what his father taught him.
The school hallways were empty as the last classes had already finished. Niel loved the quiet, the absence of people. It was this moment he appreciated the most on every school day. He went through his very well-selected music playlist and chose Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. The music boosting through Niel's ears relaxed the anxious teenage boy. Their music always calmed Niel and no one was there to interrupt his music. Perfect.
Once he made it outside Niel searched for his bike. In the mornings he was always so preoccupied with just waking up and getting himself ready for another day of school that Niel never remembered well where he had put his bike. After a short search, he had found his dark blue sporters bike and made his way home.
The route was always the same. The school was located just outside of town, which wasn't anything special. He had to bike over two avenues where the local stores were located, then he passed Target. When Niel looked at the big franchise store he remembered how the town was divided when their arrival was made known. Local store owners were afraid business would go bad, but the rest of town saw the potential it gave, jobs. The majority of the people from Wheperlyn Lake had lost their jobs after the financial crisis of 2008 and many didn't have enough money to travel far for jobs outside of town. So, a year later a big red spot was overseeing the houses of Wheperlyn Lake. Once Niel had passed Target he biked into the suburbs where his family home was located, close to the neighboring forest. Don't stop me now was blasting through his headphones as he made his way onto their driveway. He quickly swung his leg around and placed the bike against the side of the house.
Upon entering the family home Niel could smell his mother's cooking. Lasagna. Saliva lingered in his mouth. His mother's lasagna was the best and Niel couldn't wait to ravish himself.
"Othniel, dear, welcome home," Camilla, Niel's mother, greeted him. She had put the last plates on their dinner table when her son came up to her. She greeted him with a small kiss on the cheek.
"How many times do I have to ask to call me Niel mom?" Camilla's son slightly whined like a toddler. She chuckled. Camilla adored it when her son would remind her of his younger days. She always had a weak spot for the boy. Not her husband, Peter, though.
"We gave that name with great consideration boy. Respect it." Peter's gruff voice boomed through the kitchen. Niel immediately became timid, lowering his head as he avoided eye contact with his father. Camilla sighed, not liking how the two of them had developed their father-son relationship as it was.
"Yes, father."
Right then Arabella, the youngest of the household, came downstairs. "Is dinner ready?"
"Yes, dear. Can you grab something to drink for us? I will get the food." Arabella did as her mother asked. Her long, dirty blond hair swayed behind her back as she gracefully moved around in the kitchen. Her looks had more in common with her mother than her father who had pitch black hair. Niel on the other hand was an odd mixture of his parents. From afar you could see the similarities he shared with them, but up close they couldn't be less alike.
When the family sat at the dinner table they joined hands saying grace. The Johnson family were strict Christians and not one dinner went without saying a prayer. Camilla led it as usual.
"Amen." They said in unison as Camilla finished.
Niel went on eating as his mother asked everybody how their days went. Arabella was the most chatty person under this roof. Niel also thought Arabella tried to make up for his father's and his own silence. But when the young girl mentioned a boy Peter's head quirked up.
He pointed his thick finger to his daughter, "How many times do I have to tell ya, no boys! I don't want ya go to some boys place. You hear me?!"
Arabella sighed, "It's for a school project dad. How am I supposed to get it done if I can't work with him together."
"Get a girl on that project, ask ya teacher." Peter seemed satisfied with his answer, but his daughter for sure didn't. She balled her fists but remained silent. Arabella knew getting into a useless discussion wouldn't help her.
Silence fell upon the Johnson's dinner table. That was until Niel was asked about his practice today.
"Uhm, it was fine," Niel answered his mother.
"Speak up boy, ya need to speak louder for people to hear ya. No wonder why ya coach gave that Anderson kid the job as captain."
Niel couldn't breathe for a second. The words felt like a stabbing knife into his heart. Anxiety slowly overtook his body, not being able to eat his mother's lovely lasagne anymore. He knew Peter was disappointed in him. Niel could remember the look his father gave him when he broke the news. They never had a steady parent-child relationship but the one thing they could bond over was sports. Of course, soccer wasn't Peter's first choice but it was good enough, especially when his son made it to the captain of the team. Until Niel wasn't anymore.
Camilla noticed the change in her son. "Honey please, give him a break. He's just tired, aren't you Niel?" Niel felt his mother's soft hand upon his own shaking hand.
"Don't coddle the boy, if ya keep doing that he is going to end up like-" Peter caught himself before any damage could be done. He needed to be careful with his words as he didn't want to bring up a certain topic or rather a certain someone. "He's going to let everyone walk over him if you don't stop bein' so soft on the boy." With that he left the room, making his way to the garage.
Niel saw how his mom tried to reach out for him when his father had left the room, trying to reassure him, but Niel knew his dad was right. He had to toughen up to be better, to not be a failure anymore.
Abruptly he stood up, scaring his sister and mother both. "I am going for a run."
Camilla sighed quietly. "All right, dear. But be safe and don't be away for too long, I don't want anything to happen to you." Niel gave his mother a small reassuring smile.
"You know me, mom. I am careful." His younger sister scoffed but held her remarks to herself. Niel gave his mother a small kiss on her cheek, glanced once over the room, lingering on the door to the garage, and left to change into his workout clothes.
When he stood outside again Niel noticed a dramatic change in temperature. The hot sun was gone, only hanging low in the sky. A cool breeze swarmed against his skin giving him shivers. A perfect evening to go for a run, Niel thought.
He had put We are the champions by Queen on and set of for a long, but slow run. His family home stood at the edge of the suburb, neighboring a forest. As kids, they were always told not to go too far into the forest. It was when you saw the lake you were gone too far. The main reason the adults warned the children was because of the hunting. The people in Wheperlyn Lake liked to hunt all year long. Often bears, deer, and surprisingly wolfs were shot.
But there was another reason that originated from folklore, saying that the dark lake in the woods attracted strange creatures, creatures that were neither animals nor human. Niel thought it was just one of those stories, superstitions people used for unexplainable events, to be able to understand why things were happening the way they were happening.
He didn't feel alarmed when he neared the lake as the forest got thicker and the suburbs were far away from him. Niel wasn't swayed by possible hunters, mythical creatures, or unexplainable events like the several people that went missing in these woods.
It was when he stood at the edge of the lake he couldn't understand why people didn't want to visit this place. It was beautiful, but most importantly there was a calming ambiance surrounding the place. Maybe it was better people didn't come here, he mused. That way it could be his little getaway.
Unbeknownst to Niel, there was a certain creature, a certain someone standing on the other side of the lake that had taken a liking to the teenage boy.
A/N: Hello everyone! This is my new story. I hope you all like it, if you want to read further check out my Patreon. Chapter 2 and 3 are already published there.
Please let me know what you think of it.
Thank you for reading and have a great day or night! :D