[adrianvanveen-blog]

zachxhayes:

Zach was disappointed by the lack of a fight, for lack of a better word, Adrian was putting up. It was as if he didn’t even care about what he had to say anymore and it was starting to rub him the wrong way. He wasn’t going to apologize for something that happened when they had both been drinking, he had no idea if that’s what Adrian was waiting for, but if it was he only hoped that the other didn’t hold his breath while waiting for it. He wished he could let it go as easily as Adrian apparently had done, but he cared too much. If the blond really did have feelings for him everything would be so much easier if he’d talk to him about it instead of pretending like nothing was bothering him when clearly that didn’t seem to be the case. Otherwise, why else would he be ignoring his attempts at making a joke? Or maybe he really wasn’t over whatever had happened and that’s why he was being ignored. A month ago he wouldn’t have struggled to figure it out, but now it was as if his connection with Adrian had been severed and he really didn’t know what was going on.

“You talk a lot of shit, for someone who can’t take it when it’s aimed at him.” He commented about the fact that his own banter had been barely acknowledged, but he was so ready to start coming for him. With Adrian moving backward in order to return the ball, it made the gap to his left even bigger and Zach was quick to pick up on the fact. Feet at the ready, he pulled his racket back and backhanded the ball to the opposite corner of the court where Adrian would have to rush to get it in order to be able to return the ball. “Did you really expect me to forget the fact that you said that you liked kissing me? Because I don’t know about you, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

“I’m not talking shit. I don’t joke when it comes to this, neither do I bullshit.” Adrian countered back; he had no intention to start something, although his words quite came off like it. He said he wasn’t joking, but he was off his game. No matter how much he claimed that he was over everything; his feelings for Zach were still clouding everything, even his judgment in the game. He should never let that happen, he couldn’t be distracted by his feelings. He rushed to the other end of the court and reached his arm forward to throw the ball back Zach’s way. No matter what happened, he just had to win this game. At least that was what he thought for that brief second until he heard what Zach said; it was more than enough to catch him off guard. 

“You have?” He asked, he couldn’t hide the surprised tone in his voice. He couldn’t let his guard down; he didn’t know how exactly Zach couldn’t stop thinking about it. There were many possibilities. What if he hated the idea and thought it’d get in the way of their partnership? Which was one of the possibilities, but Adrian couldn’t keep running away from him. “You don’t know about me?!” He asked. “What do you think, Zach?!” He shouted. “Don’t you think it had been the only thing I could think about for a month?” He was just confused at that moment, and scared to learn what Zach was thinking.

[adrianvanveen-blog]

zachxhayes:

“You know, somewhere along the way you lost your sense of humor and you should really retrace your steps until you find it again.” He meant it as another joke and he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to clarify about that before Adrian went and got upset over it. Zach could already see how this could affect their dynamic if it carried over to when the tennis season started up again. And he absolutely hated to lose so he couldn’t let that happen. Whatever the issue was, they had to resolve it before then. “Honestly, it must have been so dead around here without my face to brighten everything up.” 

“I would hardly consider that wearing yourself out. You weren’t even making them in. If anything it looked more like you weren’t even trying so you should still be at 100%. No pussying out!” He shouted in the other’s direction before he sidestepped and sent the ball back towards Adrian. Trying to get it as close to the baseline as possible so that he’d have trouble returning the ball given his stance. And because it was probably ideal to keep him on his toes he said, “You know, we’ve yet to talk about what happened at my birthday. It didn’t feel like we had a problem until after that day.”

"Maybe I did.” Adrian could only shrug, smiling back at Zach. He didn’t feel like talking back to Zach or returning the banter like he used to do. He realized that he just didn’t care; at that moment, he wasn’t finding the things Zach was saying funny but he kept his smile anyway. After trying to kiss Zach twice, being forced to come out and partly telling him that he had feelings for him by saying that he liked kissing him, Adrian felt like he had no energy to joke back, nor take jokes from Zach; because he had enough. He thought he’d never be able to look at Zach’s face again and live with the embarrassment, but he was over those feelings; he managed to get over them in these 30 days. After everything that happened, he really didn’t like how Zach was standing in front of him and making jokes. He didn’t know if Zach was aware of everything and he was here just to make fun of Adrian, or he was aware of everything and trying to not make a big deal out of things,  or he wasn’t even aware of even one single thing, which was kind of cute, honestly, but either way, everything he was saying was just making Adrian feel bad, making that feeling of embarrassment coming back, and Adrian was not going to let them get to him.

“You know I’d never back down from a challange when it comes to this. Hope you fed yourself well during the holidays, because even when I’m worn out, you still have no chance. At least it’s just my sense of humor that I lost. Because you’ll be losing this.” He shouted and threw himself back to counter, sending the ball back with all the force he had. “What's there to talk about?” He asked. It was water under the bridge for him; he’d buried those feelings, and in his head, he’d forgiven Zach for the things he had said to him, and now, all there was left was numbness. 

[adrianvanveen-blog]

lance-williams:

Lance’s brows furrowed as his head adjusted to a tilt, acknowledging the male who sat in the middle of the tennis court in the distance. It wasn’t long before his full curiosity got the better of him, and he was making his way over to where he was situated, putting his cigarette out in front of him with his heel. “What’s up with?” He questioned, arching a brow. “Santa still hasn’t delivered your gifts?”

Starting from the cigarette that was put out right in front of him, Adrian’s gaze went all the way up until his eyes caught the eyes of the other male, which was the same guy that had made fun of him for not drinking a couple of weeks ago. “Nope. Seems like Santa doesn’t like me at all.” Adrian said, pursing his lips.

[adrianvanveen-blog]

itsjennyfarris:

“I wish I could relate. I just eat and hope for the best honestly.” The girl said truthfully. She never felt the need to get fit or keep up with sports. For her, it seemed like unnecessary added stress. “I’m sure they will be. Knowing my sisters they’ll go be drinking or smoking or something so they’ll need it.”

“Really? You look pretty fit to me so either you eat very healthy and somehow still hope for the best or you really have a very fast metabolism.” Adrian chuckled. “They’re just lucky to have a sister like you who always thinks about their well being.” He laughed to push away the grimace. Anything unhealthy, including alcohol and cigarettes and especially drugs had never been his thing. 

[adrianvanveen-blog]

desiree-bryant:

“Why were you playing tennis in the freezing cold?” She asked. “I don’t know, I don’t think you deserve a pass.” Desi laughed. “I’m judging you, too, tennis or not. Although, I guess I won’t judge you too harshly.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what the hell their problem is. I think they think they’re being cute or whatever but in all reality, they’re making a fool of themselves.” She smirked. “It is very funny, though. Idiots.”

“The team was on a break and it’s gonna start with the classes. I want to be ready for it.” Adrian lied. He was gonna quit the team anyway, he was just playing it as a distraction. “It’s okay, I’ve hit rock bottom anyway.” Adrian let out a laugh. “It’d just be one more nail on the coffin.” He chuckled. “Do you really think so? I think it looks anything but cute.” He sa,d with a frown. 

[adrianvanveen-blog]

lucia-olivo:

“Are you sure about that? It felt pretty well-aimed,” Lucia said, an eyebrow raising at him before bouncing the ball back onto the court. “No, it didn’t. But aren’t you supposed to stay inside the lines?”

“I’m never out of aim, ever.” Adrian threw the girl a confused look, but he wasn’t even sure of himself. Had he really hit rock bottom? “I’m honestly so, so sorry...” He shook his head. “I’ve just been practicing and... and I really didn’t think that anyone’d come here.” He said. It was bad. If Adrian was really aimless, it was really, really bad. He’d started playing tennis when he was 5; his aim was perfect, it’d always been perfect. Was his feelings really getting in the way of him and even something he’d been doing for years?

[adrianvanveen-blog]

aspen-acosta:

“Ew. Sports,” Aspen said, walking onto the tennis court and flopping onto the ground next to him. “I think sports with balls are overrated. Eh. It’s fine. I’m sure I’ll grow to love it.” 

“Everyone has their preferences, I guess. It’s what I all did all my life. I’ve been playing tennis for almost 14 years now, and been swimming since primary school.” Adrian said with a shrug, giving out a smile. “Only if it’s a group sport, I suppose. I’ve never been a fan of football or basketball or baseball. You’ve never played any kind of sports before in your life?”

[adrianvanveen-blog]

rowenxgold:

“Oh god, that sounds…eventful of course it would be over a guy what else does girls fight about these days.” Rowen laughed, shaking her head. “I caught up on Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead, I’m quite behind on a few but slowly making my way through the list. Oh Stranger Things on Netflix is good.”

“Nothing that actually matters apparently.” Adrian chuckled, but who was he to judge? It was eating him on the inside how close Zach and Oli were, although he’d never pick up a fight; it was just not him. “Oh? The Walking Dead’s pretty good, huh? Althought I haven’t been watching it for the past few weeks.” He said with a shrug. He wasn’t actually in the mood for TV shows. “If you’re ahead of me, don’t give any spoilers.” He chuckled.

[adrianvanveen-blog]

zachxhayes:

“Calm down, it was only a joke. I know I didn’t tell anyone that I was going to be back. No need to sound so defensive about it.” Zach didn’t know why Adrian sounded so on edge. He hadn’t thought that they had left off on such bad terms or maybe the blond was more worried about what they might talk about. Whatever the reason, Zach didn’t like the fact that things felt so awkward between them. It wasn’t how things had been before and he was going to do everything in his power to fix whatever was broken between them. Even if it meant not teasing Adrian all the time like he was used to. “I just got back this weekend.” 

“Once again, it was just a joke. You gotta lighten up, what’s gotten into you lately?” He couldn’t tell if Adrian was being serious or not, but he merely raised an eyebrow in his partner’s direction and began walking towards the other side of the court. “I mean, unless you were planning on just playing some imaginary dude. As I recall, nobody was hitting any balls back at you. You couldn’t have been getting much practice that way. Go on then.” He said widening his stance and preparing for the other’s serve. 

“I’m just explaining myself, that’s all.” Adrian shrugged. It didn’t use to be like this, what they had. They’d always had that playful banter going on, until those banters turned into a crush for Adrian. That was when his sensitive side came to surface. He was caring too much; he was caring about Zach’s feelings a lot, that was the reason why he had enough of the jokes, because he didn’t know what was a joke and what wasn’t anymore; all he knew that he didn’t wanna say something wrong that could actually hurt Zach or push him away for the sake of making a joke. Maybe that was the mistake he was making; thinking that everone was like himself. “I’m glad you’re back.” He said with a smile.

Adrian stood up and threw Zach a look with a kind of wry smile on his face. He’d look upset or offended, but at his birthday, Adrian he’d witnessed how clueless Zach was, or how insensitive he could be. He wasn’t surprised that Zach had no idea what had gotten into Adrian lately. “Nothing.” He said simply, shaking the topic away and watched him walk his way to the other end of the court. “So, you’ve seen me how I’ve worn myself out. Neat. This is probably the only time you can have an actual chance against me, then.” He said and raised his left arm up with the ball in his hand, and sent the ball flying towards Zach.

[adrianvanveen-blog]

desiree-bryant:

“Could someone please, please explain to me why some people are out here in this freezing cold ass weather in shorts like it’s a hundred degrees or something? I’ve seen at least five people and I just…. What the hell is wrong with them?" 

“Well, at least I have an excuse. I was out all day playing tennis.” He laughed. “I don’t know what’s the deal with the others, though. It’s impossible cold.” He shrugged. Maybe it wasn’t normal to play tennis either, but Adrian really needed some distraction and tennis was the only thing that was doing it for him.

[adrianvanveen-blog]

lovekarmaxx:

“Do you consider graduating from high school an achievement or an expectation?” Karma asked curiously.

"It depends on the person, I guess. It’s about what you wanna acheve in life. For me, it’s an expectation, and graduating from college with an actual degree is an achievement.” Adrian nodded, although he wasn’t studying what he’d always wanted to study so having a degree in business totally didn’t mean anything to him. “How about you?”

[adrianvanveen-blog]

mayaaxwilliams:

“Nah uh, it’s not ridiculous at all.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need to know anything. I can sense. I was surrounded by gays during high school. I can tell you are hiding in your little closet.” Maya pouted obnoxiously. “But whatever.. I don’t care. But if I were you, I’d drop the act because no one is buying.”

“Well, your senses are wrong. I don’t swing that way.” Adrian frowned; he was frustrated with the girl’s attitute... and lowkey scared, because she seemed like the type of person that had no filter. What if she went and spread rumors? That’d ruin his whole life. “There’s no act!” Adrian protested. “There’s no closet, no act, nor anything else! You’re just...” He stopped. “What do you want from me?”

[adrianvanveen-blog]

rowenxgold:

“I’m jealous, I knew I should have stayed here. Made things less painful for myself and my poor ears. Did you guys do anything fun?”

“Not actually. I played Squash all the time.” Adrian chuckled. “There was a party on New Year’s Eve, though. It was a good, it didn’t involve any drama. I remember how some Tri Pis were figting over some Kappa guy at the last party.” Adrian laughed. “What shows did you watch? Any good ones you can recommend?” He asked, although he wasn’t much of a TV person.

[adrianvanveen-blog]

zachxhayes:

Zach had only been torturing Adrian via text and he knew it so when he decided that he’d tortured him long enough he had just stopped replying altogether. He’d let the suspense build until he was finally able to corner Adrian face-to-face, after his return back to the Lambda house. It had taken longer than he had expected it would be, but he was sure that it was probably due to the fact that Adrian had been avoiding him. He was sure of that fact and even if he hadn’t the look of utter surprise on his face now, was answer enough for him. And the blond had nowhere to run. 

“You know, I thought you would have been happy to have me back in the house, but you haven’t even come around to say ‘hello’ I don’t know if I should take offense or not.” Zach was only beating around the bush at the moment, giving Adrian a moment to wipe the look of complete horror from his face before actually getting down to business. “But of course I’m back. I know I live to complain about how cold it is here, but you didn’t really expect me to drop out halfway through my final year here. Did you?” Zach got down on one knee and pulled out his racket. The weather was not how he’d prefer to play tennis, but he figured it might help Adrian spill the beans if he’s able to take out his frustration on the ball.

“Because I didn’t know that you were back.” Adrian looked up. “You never told me when you’d be back, Zach. I... didn’t know.” He shook his head. “When did you return?” It was feeling weird to be looking in Zach’s face again after a month. It had been the only thing Adrian could think of day and night for 30 days and now, there it was, and Adrian realized that he didn’t feel much. He wasn’t feeling the same as he did the first couple of days after what happened in Zach’s birthday. He had wanted to quit everything, give up on everything; that was how much Zach meant to him and that night, Adrian was sure that he’d lost him, at least the way he wanted to have him. His feelings would never go away, but he’d lost that hope of being together with him that night; maybe that was why he was more chill.

“What? Of course not! Why would I even think that?” Adrian said, couldn’t help but smile softly as he watched Zach taking out his racket. He didn’t know what to think of it. He was chill but he was lowkey still scared to talk to Zach, so if having a match was what Zach was planning on doing instead of talking, he was down for it; but at the same time, he was dying to talk to Zach. He was dying to resolve what was going on between them and he didn’t wanna leave whatever happened last time hanging. “You’re planning on going against me?”

[adrianvanveen-blog]

rowenxgold:

“I would have preferred that kind of break then my nagging parents. What did you do during your break?”

“I just stayed here and had some peace. Everyone was gone and there was just a few guys left in Lambda. I didn’t wanna get back to New York. It’s just too crowded and loud for me right now. It was pretty good here though.”

[adrianvanveen-blog]

aspen-acosta:

“You look like you’re having a rougher day than I am, and I got lost three times. I should’ve paid more attention when people offered to show me around campus.” 

“I’m just exhausted.” Adrian raised his head up and tried to chuckle at the girl. “Tennis practices are starting soon so, I wanted to get back in the game.” He lied; he was gonna quit the team anyway. “Well, it’s a huge campus. You’ll get better. How’s CRU treating you so far?” He asked with a faint smile.

[adrianvanveen-blog]

lucia-olivo:

“Did you mean to try and hit me with this?” Lucia called over to the tennis court as she approached from the running path, the offending tennis ball in her hand.

Adrian raised his head up, his face turned to the source of the boice slowly. “Wh- what? I could... I would never do that!” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I was just... practicing and got carried away a little. Are you alright? It didn’t hit you, did it?”