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Rameses skimmed the aisle names, looking for the one with crackers. It was a Thursday night, and he was grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s in preparation for the game that weekend. Spotting the aisle in question, he walked over, already thinking of the cheese dip he was going to make.
Picking up the box, Rameses smirked. He knew that the victory against the Duke Blue Devil was going to feel so good. And after everything that has been happening this semester in the world, it felt nice to be able to think about nothing but sports. As he turned around, he crashed into someone, dropping (and probably breaking) the crackers onto the floor.
“Ah my ba-” Rameses started, but soon words left his mouth. It was that goddamn Blue Devil. Of all the places to shop, he just had to shop here.
“Watch where you’re fucking going, piece of shit,” the Blue Devil sneered as he kicked the crackers further down the aisle.
“Well at least I don’t smell like fucking dookie,” Rameses picked up another box of crackers and walked off. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a fight in a grocery store, but apparently, the Blue Devil thought differently.
The Blue Devil grabbed Rameses’ arm to try and yank him back. “Ohhh someone’s a pussy, huh? Just a scared baby sheep too afraid to fight,” The Blue Devil taunted, smirking and tightening his grip.
“I just don’t want to cause a scene. I like this Trader Joe’s and it would suck getting banned.”
“Oh,” the Blue Devil replied. He let go of Rameses’ arm, “yeah, I like Trader Joe’s too.”
The two men just awkwardly stood there for a couple of beats, then Rameses walked away. “But this Saturday night, oh, be prepared to fight asshole,” he shouted over his shoulder with a smirk. And somehow he knew that the Blue Devil was smirking and scoffing back.
~~~
It was Friday night, and Rameses was already pre-gaming with RJ. They were out at the Might As Well bar, just laughing and doing stupid shit. This is their night-before-the-game ritual. On the TV, the ESPN sportscasters were talking about tomorrow’s big UNC vs Duke game.
“Fuck RJ, did I tell you about what happened yesterday at Trader Joe’s?” Rameses turned to RJ with an annoyed look on his face. Perplexed, RJ shook his head no.
“Fuck man. So I’m there getting my shit for my cheese dip, right? And I bump into that Blue Devil motherfucker. I"m thinking ‘ugh really? Right here in front of my crackers?’ And the Blue Devil starts getting all cocky, kicking shit around, and getting up in my face.”
“Ugh, bro I hate that stupid Duke asshole. He’s always trying to start a fight,” RJ rolled his eyes and took another drink from his beer.
“Right? So fucking annoying! Anyway, he’s getting up in my face and trying to intimidate me when he grabs my arm. Now, I didn"t know that guy had such a strong grip. I mean, I hate the man but damn that grip was firm enough to make any man blush with jealousy,” at this point, Rameses was rubbing the spot where the Blue Devil grasped yesterday.
“Um bro, that sounds kinda gay. What the fuck do you mean?” RJ retorted.
“No man I’m not gay. I just meant that I’m jealous of that physique. I wonder what his routine is… I mean, we were civil at the end of the interaction and he kinda seemed like a normal guy,” Rameses trailed off, wondering how much RJ was about to judge him.
“Wait wait wait. You’re telling me that you guys had a normal conversation? What the fuck did you even talk about? The fucking weather?” RJ’s voice got louder and louder with each question. So much so that onlookers were staring. Rameses had to shush his best friend to get him to be quiet.
“No man, we just agreed to not fight because it would fucking suck if we got banned from Trader Joe’s. We both like that store. But like, who the fuck doesn’t like that store? And then we had a teeny bit of playful banter,” Rameses said the last sentence really quietly, not even sure why he said it at all.
“Bro speak up I didn’t hear that,” RJ narrowed his eyes, as if that would help him hear better.
“I just said that we joked around a bit, it"s whatever though, let’s move on,” Rameses said, drinking his beer.
“Whatever man,” RJ replied, also drinking.
~~~
That night while in bed, Rameses was still rubbing the spot where the Blue Devil grasped him. I’m not gay, I just appreciate a guy with a nice body, that’s all Rameses thought to himself. And so what if he also happens to have a nice face? I"m probably only thinking that because he was sorta nice for a moment. Rameses was tossing and turning under his sheets at this point.
Whatever, tomorrow is the big game and I gotta be ready. Rameses desperately grasps at whatever sleep comes to him, but it’s no use.
~~~
“Man I feel like shit. I couldn"t sleep at all last night,” Rameses moaned as he drank his coffee. RJ rolled his eyes, this happened every week because Rameses has a tolerance for hangovers. He just ignored it and continued eating his tater tots from Lenoir.
“I couldn"t get that stupid Blue Devil fucker out of my head.” Ok, this did make RJ’s ears perk up.
“Oh, what do you mean? Like, was he in your dreams or some shit?” RJ snickered, knowing exactly how to piss off his best friend.
“Not exactly, I just can’t wrap my head around it. Like, he was sorta nice to me and now I’m confused,” Rameses pulled out his phone, not even realizing what he just said.
“Rameses, it’s ok to be confused. Just know that you have to come out of the closet eventually,” at this point, RJ was smirking so hard, but Rameses was in his own world.
On his phone, Rameses was looking at the Duke Instagram feed. On it, was a photo of the Blue Devil shirtless and flexing his muscles with the caption ‘Look out Tar Heels, you’re gonna lose so bad, you’ll need to make a deal with the Devil’.
He didn’t know why he had never noticed it before, but the Blue Devil was kinda hot. And was it just him, or was this post talking to him specifically? No, I’m sleep-deprived. We hate Duke Rameses tried to console himself, but his heart wasn’t in it.
~~~
“TAR!” The announcer yelled into the microphone.
“HEELS” The crowd screamed back. It was the end of the second quarter and the two teams were tied. Tensions were high. The cold fall weather didn’t even matter when the excitement was this big. Rameses loved this game each year when the stadium is filled and the crowd is roaring. He also may or may not have been consciously avoiding looking over at the Duke sidelines. Waving to the stadium, he went through the tunnel to take a break. Taking off his mascot head, he bumped into someone.
“Ah sorry my mista-” and once again, Rameses was cut off when he saw that the person he bumped into was the Blue Devil. He swore under his breath. It’s like the universe is trying to fuck with him.
“Huh, twice in one week, Ram. What are the chances?” The Blue Devil smirked playfully.
“I mean Thursday was random but it’s not crazy we ran into today,” Rameses replied curtly.
Scoffing, the Blue Devil made an ugly face. “Okay smart ass, just trying to be funny.”
“Who are you calling smart ass, fucker?” Rameses had been trying hard all day to keep this asshole out of his mind, so of course he was going to be pissy when they ran into each other again.
“Let’s just fight and get this over with.”
“Fine by me,” Rameses shrugged his shoulders and cracked his knuckles.
Immediately, Rameses shoved him into the wall. Caught off guard, the Blue Devil tried to punch back; however, his foot slipped and he stumbled into a large Gatorade jug, seemingly filled with water. It tumbled over, spilling water all over the tile floor. The Blue Devil stood up and both just stood over the puddle with wide eyes.
“Fuck man! We got to clean this up before the players get out. If one of them slips I’d never forgive myself. Shit shit shit,” Rameses immediately started panicking.
“Dude, where’s the custodian"s closet? They definitely have mops in there.”
“What, like you"re going to help?”
“I mean yeah, I was the one who proposed a fight so I guess it’s on me,” the Blue Devil shrugged.
“Oh. Oh, okay, yeah. Thanks. I think there’s one this way,” Rameses turned away and signaled for the Blue Devil to follow him.
Opening the door and flipping on the light switch, the two immediately look around for a mop and a bucket. The door slammed shut behind them.
“Hey, um, my bad for shoving you. I’ve been kind of off today,” Rameses muttered sheepishly.
“Dude no, you"re fine,” the Blue Devil replied.
“You know, sometimes I think this whole rivalry is so stupid. Like, we’re just two college students with enough on our plate.”
“Dude I totally get that. Hating you is sometimes exhausting. Especially when you seem like a chill guy,” the Blue Devil sighed. He’s reaching up to get some towels but he can’t quite reach.
“Ah let me help,” Rameses goes over and their arms graze. From their shoulders down to their wrists, the two men are touching each other. This normally would be fine, but being together in such a confined space makes the contact feel electric. Literally.
“Shit dude you shocked me,” the Blue Devil jumped back.
“Man come on. It"s not like it actually hurt,” Rameses grasped the towels with ease and pulled them down.
“Whatever, let"s just get out of here and clean the spill,” the Blue Devil replied, yanking the towels childishly out of Rameses’ hands. He yanked on the door, but it didn"t budge.
“Blue Devil come on, stop fucking around and open the door. I"ve seen those muscles, so put them to use” Rameses sighed, not even realizing the compliment he just gave.
“Dude I’m not messing around, the door isn"t opening,” the Blue Devil asserted, telling himself to ask about the compliment later. He stepped to the side to let Rameses try, but the door wasn"t giving in. Right above the door handle, the pair noticed a handwritten note saying ‘prop door open, locks from inside!’
“Shit man, who the fuck makes a closet that locks from the inside,” Rameses hissed, trying to sound calm but failing miserably.
The Blue Devil laughed, “it"s almost like the universe is flipping us off, the way we kept running into each other and now this. I"m just glad there’s an alternative mascot costume.” accepting his fate, he turned a bucket upside down to sit on it.
“Well, what now?” Rameses questioned, also choosing to sit on an upturned bucket. The room is silent as both men brainstormed ways to escape the custodian’s closet.
“Are my muscles the only thing you"ve seen?” The Blue Devil glanced over with a slight smile.
Rameses blushed, “what the fuck are you talking about? Narcissist much?”
“When I was yanking at the door, you complimented how strong my muscles looked. So I’m asking if that"s the only part of me you’ve noticed.”
“You"re delusional man,” Rameses tried to respond calmly, but his voice was slightly trembling.
“Hey Rameses,” the Blue Devil put a hand on Rameses’ shoulder. “I’ve noticed you. I’m not ashamed either. You’ve got to be pretty fit to do all those push-ups during games. And your face isn"t all that bad either.”
Rameses sat there with his mouth agape. If this interaction happened last week, Rameses would have started punching. No, this situation would not have even happened. But now, Rameses is unsure of what to do next. Deciding that this was an elaborate prank, Rameses shook his head and stood up, making the Blue Devil drop his hand.
“Ok now you’re just fucking with me. Very funny, ha ha. The prank is over, just open the door and lets get back to hating each other,” Rameses felt stupid for believing the Blue Devil’s words for even a second.
“Wait no,” the Blue Devil stood up and reached out again, placing his hand exactly where he had on Thursday. “I know we’re supposed to be rivals, but I honestly don’t give a fuck. After that weird interaction at Trader Joe’s, I think I want to get to know you better. I’m not fucking with you.” The Blue Devil was looking straight into Rameses’ eyes, and Rameses couldn"t help but think that the other man was being earnest.
“Prove it,” Rameses said, crossing his arms.
“Prove what?”
“Show me that you"re being dead ass. That you actually like me or whatever,” Rameses’ heart was pounding, and he was trying so hard to seem cool.
“Ok, then push me away if you want,” the Blue Devil took a step closer to Rameses.
“Wait what are you talking abo-” and before Rameses could finish his sentence, the Blue Devil was kissing him. Rameses froze in shock, but when he felt more pressure on his lips, he melted into the kiss.
Rameses reached up to touch the Blue Devil’s hair, feeling hands on his hips and lower back. It was just the two of them in this closet, the rest of the world miles away.
Pulling back, the Blue Devil tried to catch his breath. “Well, does that prove it?” Rameses couldn"t help but just nod dumbfounding in response.
All of a sudden, the door swung open and the two jumped apart. It was a guy who assisted UNC’s football team.
“What the fuck are you two doing in here?” This random guy barked.
“Oh, well, we-” Rameses stammered.
“I knocked over the Gatorade jug and Rameses here was kind enough to help me clean up the spill. We just didn"t know that this door locked from the inside,” the Blue Devil smoothly stepped in, helping Rameses out.
“Ok well get the fuck out of there then, halftime is almost up!” the guy yelled again, even though they were standing about 5 feet away. He then pushed between the pair to get the mop.
Rameses and the Blue Devil started walking out together.
“Thanks for helping me out there man,” Rameses breathed.
“Yeah, it"s whatever. I’ll pick you up next Friday at 6, yeah?” The Blue Devil asked with a big, dopey smile on his face.
“Wait what are you talking about?” Rameses replied, with a confused look on his face.
“I’ll pick you up for our date, Rameses, duh.” Putting on his mascot head, the Blue Devil jogged forward toward the field, leaving Rameses behind.
Smiling like a complete idiot, Rameses put his own head on and rushed toward the field, excited to start the second half of the game.