A/N: Damien has a minor dilemma while prepping for football practice, but it doesn't faze him, as he prepares to show his teammates that he's one of the boys. Coach Gilmore seems impressed with the boy, as leadership material for their team...

Dedicated to: JosefinaFAAD  AlphaKelly lonelycauliflower corpse_chokes_me Annteee KaySetonks ThatGingerRogue 

After the bell rang signalling the end of school, I made my way to the sports ground where football practice was going to be held. I first stopped by the shed, to get my uniform and all the other necessary portion to my outfit like the usual shoulder pads, arm and knee braces, and yes, a jockstrap with cup! I kind of thought 'Hmm, I won't be needing that!' and chuckled quietly to myself. The Assistant Coach gave me the wry eye as he looked at me from head to toe. I just shrugged my shoulders and grabbed the stuff, proceeding to my locker.

As soon as I got into the changing area, I freaked out. The shower stalls were not individual as in my former school. How the hell was I going to take a shower after practice? I kind of shoved the idea in my head that I would just take a shower at home instead. There was no way I was going to do this in front of the other guys and be labelled a 'freak' ever again! I couldn't risk it.

Anyway, I ran into that bully, Randy Crum at the lockers. He stabbed a finger my way and threatened me with "Let's see if you survive your first day on the pitch pal! I got my eye on you!". He then turned away and headed out onto the field, leaving me to get on with my stuff.

I packed away my things in the locker and went to the changing stalls. At least, these were individual stalls so I could have some form of privacy. I sighed in relief as I began to change into my uniform. At first, I was reluctant to wear that jockstrap with the protective cup, but then, one way or another, I still had to protect myself out there, so I wore it without another thought. I then grabbed my helmet and went out onto the field to join the others.

The coach introduced me as the new captain, which surprised some of the others on the team that didn't know of my existence or the fact that Randy Crum had been inadvertently replaced or bumped off. Some of them just shrugged their shoulders and took the news complacently while some decided to scope me out by giving me a look that said 'Bring it!'.

I was kind of expecting this behaviour, after all, this was a new school and one way or another, I was going to have to prove that I belonged here just as much as the next guy. So, I figured that, if I could show how capable a ball player I was and that I could support them all as the team captain, then I would have it made.

I had already imagined the play I wanted to run against the opposing team who was here to train with us. They were already on the pitch doing their warm-ups. So, I ran it by the team and there seemed to be no objections as the coach listened in on my tactical approach.

We set it up so that I would pitch the ball to Mick Camden, the school's star running back. I had seen him play before so I knew exactly what the guy was capable of, and he never failed to make an excellent play and had scored many touchdowns in his playing life.

"15, 24, 31...Hutt...Hutt" I called out, and Mick went wide on the call. I threw the ball out, hoping he would catch it and run like his pants were on fire. Sure enough, the guy caught it easily but as he was running, Mick got his foot caught by none other than that idiot Randy Crum who got in his way!

Mick went flying and so did the ball. It was a free-for-all scramble as the elusive ball managed to stay out of anyone's hands so I dashed forward to grab it myself. I scooped up the ball and just ran with it, knowing full well that Randy was on my tail. All this time I kept thinking 'Why the hell is he running after me when we're on the same side?'

I just kept looking forward as the goal post was in plain sight and I took a dive for it and scored a touchdown! My teammates went wild and started whooping it up on the field. Mick limped over to me and clapped me on the back as did the others.

"Are you OK, man?" I asked him. He was leaning hard on me and I knew that he had injured his foot badly. The guy shook his head, and I put his arm around my shoulder. I helped him back to the bench and motioned to the medic who was on standby.

I removed my helmet and sat alongside Mick. "I think his foot's injured. You'd better have a look, thanks..." I told the medic. Mick carefully removed his shoe slowly, wincing in pain as the medic gently examined his foot. It had begun to swell. The medic placed two packs of ice around the swollen foot and soon, Mick was hoisted on a gurney and taken to the infirmary to get his foot properly examined.

"Good play, kid!" Coach clapped my back. I nodded in acknowledgment but I was more concerned for Mick.

"I hope he's going to be OK. Maybe I should look in on him" I said, mentioning Mick.

"Nah, you stay here. I'll look in on him later. He's in good hands. You really care about your teammates, huh?" Coach Gilmore had a glint in his eye as he smiled at me.

"Yes sir. A good ball player is invaluable to his team. Mick is just that...a good ball player" I replied thoughtfully.

Coach shot his eyebrows up at me and I wondered why he looked so surprised. I was just stating the obvious.

"You are definitely Captain material, Damien. I was against it at first with you being slotted in place of Randy. But he was being a bit of a dick towards his other teammates and I kind of saw red when he punched one of them for losing a play, so he's on probation indefinitely!" Coach said and now I began to understand why I instantly became Captain of the team.

Coach then said that he had seen me in action and I immediately stiffened. No one was supposed to know who I was or where I came from: only a privileged few staff members who were actually part of the organization dad was in knew this. Almost all of my credentials were 'faked' with a bit of the 'real truth' sprinkled in-between.

Coach Gilmore then went to explain further. My dad had apparently shot some videos of me in action without letting on who I really was and where I had previously played and showed them to the coach who seemed highly impressed with my performance.

He wasn't the only one impressed. I suddenly heard screeching noises coming from the bleachers, where the cheerleaders had been sitting while watching our game. I turned around and spotted two very familiar faces screaming my name out loud and waving enthusiastically at me. I was totally horrified...It was the same two girls from my class who had given me some lessons in French kissing in the library earlier. UGH!!! I totally face-palmed myself.

Choosing to ignore them completely, I focused back on the game at hand and went in. I managed to score a few more touchdowns which earned me some praise from my teammates. I was happy to have won their confidence in me. It really meant a lot that I was being integrated into the team. Even that diehard Randy showed some kind of reaction. I really wanted our team to do well. A few more touchdowns and we won over a friendly game against the other school, then hit the showers.

I opted not to shower since I was intending to go home immediately afterwards, so I just wiped myself down, splashed some cologne and began changing into my other clothes. It was a good thing since I spotted the car waiting for me. Hawkes was there to pick me up as scheduled since it was my first day. But no sooner had I started to walk towards the car, I was again accosted by those two girls who were looking at me lustfully.

"Way to go, Captain!!!" They gushed, pressing against me, together with the other girls from the cheerleading squad who were now curious about me. Some of the guys who stepped out of the changing rooms, smiled and waved goodbye to me, while others smirked seeing the girls' reactions towards me. I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks, leaving me hot and bothered as the girls both pecked my cheeks in full view of my teammates.

"Umm...thanks ladies. Sorry to rush off but my ride's here and I really have to go. See you tomorrow!" I nodded and made a dash for the car. Hawkes was chuckling, as he sat next to the driver's seat as I hastily ducked in. I made a face at him, causing him to laugh out loud.

"It seems you have quite a fan club, young master Damien" He chided.

"Ugh...yes...err...NO!" I buried my face in my hands, blushing deeply. I refused to look at him the rest of the way, sensing the blush wasn't leaving me any time soon!!!