Tommy walks up to him, and Teddy knows trouble when he sees it. That look on Tommy's face screams trouble.

"Altman!"

He's right in front of him, there's no need to shout. Although maybe this has less to do with Teddy hearing, and more to do with the rest of the locker room, who are all currently staring at them.

"Can I talk to you outside for a second?"

"Uh, sure?" Him and Tommy had never actually talked. The boy is new this year, and ever since Teddy came out halfway through junior year, he hasn't been the most social of teammates. He's too good a player for anyone to drive him off the team, but they make sure he knows he's no longer welcome, and that includes being kept away from any corruptible junior transfer students.

Until they march up to him and ask for a private talk.

"Watch your ass, Shepherd!" shouts Greg, who was at one point Teddy's best friend. Tommy laughs, but it's very obviously fake, and there's a tense anger in the set of his jaw.

"Sure, yeah," he responds, standing to follow Tommy out of the locker room. As soon as the door closes, Tommy grabs his arm and pulls him close.

"Okay, Altman, I have a favour to ask."

He talks at a whisper, almost too quick for Teddy to follow.

"Okay…?" He has no idea what it could be about, but he'll at least hear the boy out. "I'm not saying I'll do it, but you can ask."

"Cool." Tommy takes a deep breath, like he's steeling himself. "I need you to be my boyfriend."

That. "What?" Teddy didn't expect this, not in a million years. The boy is cute, though. But not- He can't be-

Tommy is still talking. "Not my actual boyfriend. Just… pretend for a bit."

"Why?" This makes no sense. Teddy wonders what kind of prank this is, who must be listening in. He feels trapped, he expects shit from Greg and his buddies but didn't think that Tommy had fallen in with them.

Tommy scowls. "Does it matter?"

Teddy pulls his arm away with a little more force than necessary. "Yes?" Obviously. "If this is a prank, or. Or a joke, or some attempt to prove yourself to the team-"

That anger is back in Tommy's eyes. "No, nothing like that. Fuck those guys."

He's surprised by the violence in Tommy's voice. He hadn't noticed the other guys harassing Tommy, or anything, so where did that come from? Still, he's not convinced.

"Then why?"

"Because… It's just really important, okay? It's to help a friend."

"You need a boyfriend to do that?"

He stares at Teddy with determined eyes. "I need people to think I'm gay to help a friend, yes."

The more Tommy says, the more Teddy wants to know. Tommy must see that reflected in his expression somehow, because he takes a step back, running one hand through his hair like he wants to pull it out.

"Okay, fine." It takes him a moment to find the right words, apparently. Teddy waits. "So there's this… thing. That was pretty gay. And someone found it, and thinks it belongs to this friend. And he… he gets enough shit, you know? If he has this get out, too… I just don't want him doing anything drastic, right?"

Teddy thinks about last year, going days without talking to any classmates because nothing felt safe. Drastic. Right.

"So you're gonna pretend this… gay thing was yours?"

Tommy's nodding. "Yeah. I figure that's better, since I'm on a school team and I have a few friends, it can't be as bad for me as it would be for him."

"This is… a big thing." Teddy's not sure Tommy gets that. "You've still got two years here. You really want to deal with it like this? It will be…" He tries to think of a way to say it without sounding overly dramatic. "It's not nice."

"That warning mean you'll do it?"

There's hope in Tommy's eyes, and for a moment Teddy wants to press, ask who he's covering for. But no. He doesn't want to ask Tommy to out his friend, that's not right. But his curiosity grows nonetheless. Somewhere in this school is someone like him. He's not as alone as he thought.

"I'll do it."

"Yes!" Tommy's face splits into a huge grin. "Just for a few weeks, even." There's excitement in the other boy's movements, now that he has that yes. "Some hand holding, some PDA-"

The door to the locker room opens, and Tommy takes a quick step forward, the space between them shrinking to inches. He doesn't seem to know what to do past that, and really they need to talk about boundaries and limits, but Teddy hears Greg's voice and moves on instinct.

"I like you too, Tommy," he mutters, and presses a quick kiss to the corner of Tommy's mouth.

There's a silence that can't be anything good, but they get their teammate's attention, which is what they want, right? Tommy is smirking, even as he reaches for Teddy's hand and holds it tight.

"Shit," says Kessler, who must have been right behind Greg. "What the fuck?"

There's a dark anger in Greg's voice, one that sounds dangerous. "That's the problem with these freaks." He's being louder than he needs to be on purpose, and Teddy's sure that the rest of the team, still in the locker room, can hear his every word. "If you let them get comfortable, they multiply."

There's a threat in there, one that makes Teddy's blood run cold. But Tommy's hand is warm, so Teddy holds on for dear life, and smiles down at the other boy.

"Walk me to lunch?"

They stride past their teammates like they don't even see them, and Teddy remembers to keep his head held high, Tommy's hand tight in his own.

And just like that, Teddy has his first boyfriend.