Beyond Bloodline - Unbreakable Bonds

thirty six

song rec 'cause I had it on repeat writing the second half of this

—

The game ended in their favor with hardly any suspense at all. Nigel was good and he knew it. His best skill set was being able to score a hoop from any area of the court he found himself. His aim was precise and his hand-eye coordination usually off the charts. He had no problem scoring consecutively. It was how he'd beaten Glenn into the dust during the latter's tryouts.

Smartly, their opponent, Carlyle Academy chose pinning people on him as their major strategy. It worked to an extent as he preferred scoring goals himself. Since that option was gone, anytime the ball got to him and their competition started zoning in on him, he did a long toss to literally any other person on the team. Sometimes, it was Gabe, sometimes Glenn. But most times, it was Aries and if there was one thing not to be underestimated, it was the obvious tacit understanding they had with each other.

One long toss to his best friend who had instinctively cut to the hoop on seeing the people gaining on him. Easy retrieval mid-air as he scored with a dunk. An alley-oop was their favorite and what they used to frustrate the other team to no end. Then they decided to pin another on Aries so they let Glenn and Gabe share the rest of the game with the last guy. They were 92-42 and playing through the last quarter on running clock.

The sound of their school's cheerleading team sailed high and call him delirious but Nigel thought he could just make out the sound of Hayley leading the exuberant cheers.

"We've got Wellington pride,

We're gonna win, we won't be denied!

From the halls to the court,

We're the team that's really sealed!"

"Go, Wellington!"

The edge of his lip curled slightly as the wind whipped the blue ribbon with gold glitter against his right wrist. Hayley's good luck token unbound from one of the double buns on the top half of her head. Seemed like it really worked.

The ball came to him again and he blinked, confused, but prepared to deal with it anyway. Someone was on him before he could pass, crowding too close to him and trying to retrieve it instead. He frowned when he heckled for it so roughly his wrist curled with a sickening pop.

Backing slightly, he dribbled around him to test the pressure on his wrist. It didn't really hurt so he shot the ball. It sailed high, landing smoothly and as predicted into the net following his long toss.

95-42

The buzzer sounded.

He rotated his aching wrist and lingered back while the score was confirmed and congratulations were given. He walked off after, Aries soon falling in stride with him.

"You okay?" he probed. "Was it a foul?"

"No," he said. He wasn't sure, from where he'd been, if the referee really hadn't noticed or was turning a blind eye or whatever. "I'm fine. Let's go pack up."

Having freshener up and with one parting meal between both teams, they were soon back on the road, Coach letting Hayley meander her way back to him. As they drove back to theirs, the distance between them and Carlyle Academy widening and dulling in his memory the encounter with shocked amber eyes, Nigel pulled out his phone and took a quick still of them.

She was back in casual clothes, clad in a long-sleeved off shoulder crop that showed off her collarbones, slender waist and inny belly button and then a pair of cargo pants that hung low on her waist. The top half of her hair was still in double buns, the lower half wavy against her nape. A ribbon fluttered in one bun, complimenting the gold glitter and fake blue gems she'd studded around her eyes.