Dusk (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 17 - Blue

A/N: I added a photo of the map of a basketball court since I'm sure not all of you are basketball freaks like me, which I've labeled myself (sorry if it's bad I made it on 1 hr of sleep lol). Also not sure how many of the labels in the photo will actually be used. You may not need it, it's just for reference in case you don't get something I've written. I'm adding it to the next chapter as well!

Let me know if y'all also want like a quick rundown on the rules of basketball? If so I can always add a small segment on that since this won't be the only basketball game in the story so it might be useful in the future. I grew up on the sport so idk what everyones knowledge level of it is I've pretty much written the chapter from my perspective of it.

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The gym was packed with people, talking excitedly amongst themselves as the first game of the season was minutes from starting. There was a sea of blue in the building, and many people had not only blue paint covered over their faces, but all over their bodies. I noticed how understated Erik looked compared to many of them.

I'd forgotten how big the basketball court was. It was longer and wider than the one we'd had in high school, the three-point lines extended about an extra foot in each direction. I shuddered at the thought of having to run across the court for an hour and a half in front of thousands of people.

The thundering music lowered as the announcer started welcoming everyone and calling out the names of the opposing team as they returned from their locker room.

Erik took us to our seats which were in the lower section of the stands, closer to the court. At least we wouldn't have to watch from the screens high above the ground- where we would've had a better view by watching it on tv. We sat down and I realized we were only a few rows behind the home bench, where an assistant coach sat jotting down notes on a clipboard.

Our attention turned to the floor as the home team emerged from the locker rooms and the crowd started cheering. I spotted Rowan almost immediately. A large, bright blue 24 stood out on the back of his jersey, right under his last name.

He seemed focused, and unbothered that there were thousands of eyes on him. The announcer called the starting lineup one by one. When Rowan's name was called the crowd cheered the loudest, and my eyes fixated on him as he shook the hand of the Stanford coach. His arms were perfectly toned and his hair was ruffled messily. I felt something in my stomach squirm as he headed back to the bench, and I looked away from him, my eyes traveling to the head coach.

An uneasy feeling crept over me as I studied him. He was facing the assistant coach on the bench, talking to him about something as they studied the clipboard. His arms were crossed and he had an unreadable expression on his face. He looked to be in his late fifties, his grey hair was combed back neatly and he had a dark suit on with a blue tie.

He turned away as the buzzer went off and said a few words to the team before Rowan and four others walked onto the court while the rest sat down, filling the bench. The other team also walked out and they all got in position around the center of the court for tip-off.

The tallest player for Creighton went to the center, facing one from Stanford. His jersey showed his last name to be Jones and his number 44 was printed beneath it. He was a few inches taller than Rowan, who stood a few feet behind him next to one of the opposing players.

The crowd cheered in excitement as one of the refs walked up to the two players in the center saying a few words to them, before blowing his whistle and tossing the ball high into the air. They both jumped, and Jones tipped the ball directly behind him to Rowan.

Rowan quickly passed the ball further up the court to another player who'd outrun his own defender. The cheers from the crowd boomed as the player easily made the layup, and Creighton had gotten its first two points within five seconds.