Best Friends (BxB)

Basketball

Chapter Three: Age 12 Basketball

They practiced a little bit every day after school. Jamie was better at fast passing. Noah was better at shooting. It was fun. Low key. Danny and Kelly put a hoop in their driveway. The boys could have walked to the elementary school, and sometimes they did, to play full court, but just messing around in the yard was fine.

The transition to middle school wasn't as hard as they'd feared or as horrible as the gossip made out. No one tried to throw them in a garbage can. No one gave them wedgies. The eighth grade kids were tall, but they basically ignored the sixth graders, or looked at them like ants, beneath their notice.

The only thing that really sucked, and it did cause both boys some sleepless nights, was that for the first time, they weren't together all day. They only had science at the same time. That was it. One class. Just one. Yeah, of course they sat together at lunch. Duh. But besides that,  a miniscule sixty minutes. When they were used to almost eight hours in each other's pockets practically.

Neither boy was shy. They had other friends. Jamie was definitely more outspoken and comfortable approaching new people; his parent's son. But, the friendships or conversations he had with other kids in his classes was pretty superficial. He found himself waiting, sometimes uncomfortably, until the end of school, so he could meet Noah at their spot by the flagpole and walk home together. And practice basketball for an hour. Before they went their separate ways most of the time, for dinner, homework and whatever else they did at night.

Today was no different. It was December, so he had on his winter jacket, a black beanie, gloves, thick wool socks. Their proximity to Mount Shasta meant freezing temperatures and snow for the most part. Standing still he could feel his ears going numb despite his hat. He bounced back and forth on one foot. Wishing Noah would hurry the fuck up.

His friend turned the corner and Jamie sighed in exasperation, about to yell out, but his words kind of died on his lips as he realized than instead of shuffling towards Jamie with his usual unconcerned manner, Noah's face was lit up, as he talked to Joey, a kid on their basketball team. Jamie felt something weird in his throat, a kind of burning, when he saw the other boys stop, give a bro hug, and separate. The blonde boy wondered why his fingers curled into fists, seeing the smile on his friend's face.

As they walked home, Jamie tried to let go of his strange feelings. Together they swept away the light dusting of snow in his driveway, stripped off their gloves and heavy coats, and practiced. They were totally still freezing but they pretended they weren't.

Kelly was their coach at school. She'd played basketball all through college, and was so great because though she pushed them to work hard and strive for improvement, she never forgot her team was made up of kids. Teamwork was their watchword. No one was allowed to be a superstar. Although everyone on the team knew, even if no one said it out loud, that Noah and Joey were the best players.

Forty five minutes later, the boys went inside. After eight years of friendship, Noah felt just at home in the Nash house as at his own. He made the hot chocolate for them both, making sure to add honey to Jamie's which he personally thought was absolutely disgusting, but his friend loved. They sat on the couch, playing Minecraft, or whatever latest game Jamie bought on Steam, drinking their cocoa until finally Kelly and Danny came home.

Kelly worked as an accountant in a little office space in downtown Shasta. Most of her clients were the lodges and hotels in the area. Danny was an art teacher at a nearby junior college. They weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination, but they were comfortable.

Jamie's mom threw her bag on the couch next to the boys, and flopped down in the recliner. Danny's voice was heard, mumbling in the kitchen as he rummaged through the fridge and freezer, coming into the living room, eating a carrot.