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two months later
y/n l/n stood outside the locker room of the city sports stadium, her heart heavy with the weight of defeat. the echoes of the final buzzer was still ringing in her ears, marking the end of a crucial volleyball game leading up to nationals.
while she paced restlessly, she paid no mind to the teams from other districts packing up their equipment around her. she still couldn't shake off the looks on her team's faces when the ball dropped; shu, their libero, trying to dive after the ball on time. mysta, who was too far back, yelling at everyone to move. the team had shifted together desperately, their eyes set on luca's side of the court.
and luca, the ace, who was supposed to slam the ball through to the other side of the court, watching his spike bounce back and hit the space right next to his feet.
presently, she watched as her brother's teammates filed out one by one, their expressions etched with similar waves of disappointment and exhaustion. shu offered her a reassuring smile as he passed by, his attempt at comforting her not lost amidst the somber atmosphere.
it felt as if there was a big lump stuck in her throat, making it almost hard to breathe. she knew better than anyone how much hard work mysta's team had put into the days leading up to this, in hopes that they could go to nationals together before the seniors graduated. and now...
she thought she was doing a fairly good job at keeping her emotions at bay, but it wasn't until her brother finally emerged from the locker room that y/n's self control left her completely.
mysta stopped in his tracks when he saw her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, before he walked up to her with a weary sigh. "god, you're always such a crybaby," he muttered, raising both his hands up to wipe at the tears suddenly spilling down her cheeks.
swatting at his shoulder, she managed out a shaky laugh. "you're such an asshole."
"you're acting like you were the one playing."
"no, but you were." at that moment, her brother met her gaze, and she sucked in a sharp breath to ground herself when she realized belatedly that his eyes were red. "and you wanted to win so bad."
he paused for a moment, then he pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "i did."
"are you okay?"
"i'm fine," he said, though his tone was nothing short of dispirited. "we don't go into these things expecting to win all the time. putting in the work doesn't mean you get the results you want, and sometimes you just have to accept that."
he was uncharacteristically quiet, his usual vibrant energy replaced by a seriousness she wasn't used to. y/n watched him closely, her gaze lingering on the slight frown on his lips.
