Addiction (Jim x Tilly - The Basketball Diaries fic)

Chapter 7. Getting away

Tilly
We were just finishing up our breakfast when we heard footsteps approach the door, keys quickly rattled in the key hole. I grabbed Jim's hand and sprinted into my room, locking my door behind me. "What's that all about?" he asked, worried. "My Mom said she would be home this morning around 10ish. I completely forgot! Fuck. Jim, what am I meant to do with the smell in my room?". I replied panicking a little. My head was still pounding from last night, so that wasn't helping either. I bent over in pain, whilst Jim stood there trying to come up with a plan. "Okay Tilly, listen to me" he started, bouncing down on this knees and looking me in the eyes. "We need to get out of your window, get down the street and out of sight as quickly as possible" he murmured. "But what about yours?" I asked, resting my hands on my knees and staring up at Jim. "No" he shook his head "That's too risky. If your Mom comes into your room and notices you're gone, then the first place she is going to check is mine".

Jim grabbed my hand and hurriedly led me out of my window, we quickly but carefully made our way down the metal stairs on the outside of our apartments and jumped off the bottom. Rapidly, we raced down the city pavement, dodging people, until we reached the corner. We ground to a halt and I bent over, panting and puffing. Normally I was fine with running, but after last night, and still being completely warn out, this was not the best situation for me to be stuck in right now. I knew my Mom would go looking for me in my room, and she would quickly catch onto what the smell was too. 'I could say Jim was smoking in my room' I thought, but no that wouldn't work. She didn't allow me to hang around with anyone who wasn't a straight up good person - little did she know, I was not, and I certainly did not hang around with those sorts of people. I was completely out of options. I turned round to ask Jim where we were going, but as I went to turn around, I felt a sharp tug on my jumper. This tug seemed to pull me backwards and I stumbled a little, landing in his arms. I looked up at him, to see his face shining, his laugh revealing his beautiful teeth. He looked so joyful, which made me even happier. The sides of my mouth began to pull into a smile, turning into a giggle and then a big laugh. It was like a fairy tale dream, only in New York. Yes, this all was happening whilst people were walking by, but I didn't care. It was the sweetest thing for sure. Jim pushed me up and I hopped out of his arms. He grabbed my hand, and we ran through the crowds of people in the city. We practically barged and pushed some people out of the way.

10 minutes later, we arrived at the courts. Jim knew this was where I came when I was feeling panicked - he knew it calmed me down. We walked over to the hoop. Jim bent down to tie up his black converses, and I grabbed the ball, throwing it in the hoop. Well technically I just stood there and pushed it in, but that didn't matter, because it was fun nonetheless. Jim laughed a little at my hopeless attempt to play basketball. "You're not going to get anywhere with that Tilly!" he cried, and I turned round and giggled slightly. All the panic I had previously felt was completely gone. Jim was like
my own dose of happiness medicine. I had completely forgotten all about what would happen when I eventually went back home. He ran over to me once he had tied his shoelaces, and grabbed the ball out of my hands. "Watch and learn kid, watch and learn" he winked, pushing me back slightly. I watched in awe as he effortlessly threw the ball through the hoop from a distance - getting it in every time. "I could never do that!" I shouted to him. "You soon will be!" he replied and smiled.

After hours of Jim teaching me how to get the ball in hoop, I finally shot my first score. I widely smiled in glee at myself, and turned round to see Jim clapping loudly. "WOO HOOO!!" he called out. I shrugged my shoulders, whilst pushing my head a little to the side in contentment. Finally after years of not being able to shoot the hoop, I made it! And it was all through the help of the beautiful boy standing right behind me, guiding me all the way.

Sorry that this chapter is quite short! I'm still trying to figure out where the story is going. I have a rough idea and many notes, but I don't want to rush into it too quickly! Let me know what you thought and thank you for 80 reads! <333
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