Learning Curves || Rise Donnie x Reader

↜Fifteen↝

You raced down the court, the ball struggling to keep up with your rapid pace because you weren't in complete control over it. You'd mastered dribbling techniques so long ago it felt frustrating to have to slow your speed in order to keep the ball in your possession. Once at the other end of the court, you looked up. You could shoot for the hoop—the girl guarding you was a little shorter than you, and she looked close to passing out from trying to chase you down the whole game. But you hesitated.

The buzzer rang out, signaling the end of the game, and you tossed the basketball to the ref beside you and jogged over to the rest of your team. The final score was 42-27, so you were on to the next round in the playoffs.

"(Y/n), are you ok, kiddo?" Coach Anderson asked, his graying eyebrows pulled together in concern. You sent him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah Coach." You noticed your teammates looking over at you in confusion, wondering why you didn't at least try to shoot before the buzzer went off. "We were far enough ahead, I didn't want to embarrass them further." You shot Coach a wink.

"Really?" Madelyn asked, looking at you with pure disbelief.

"Did you see the girl guarding me? She was drenched in sweat!" you laughed lightly, holding the locker door open for the girls as they filed by. "I can have sympathy for my fellow woman."

"That's very unlike you," Madelyn mumbled. She'd seen you as competition since you first joined the team, and you tried not to let her interrogation bother you. But this time you really couldn't let it slide off you like water.

"Ok Mom," you joked, rolling your eyes. If you needed judgment on everything you did, you could just look to your parents. The thought made you wince—you didn't want to think about your parents right now.

"Captain's right: we were beating them badly enough," Layla added, sending you a small wink. As always, she was in your corner.

"Being a kiss-ass won't make her sleep with you, Layla," Madelyn grumbled, rolling her eyes. Layla's face went bright red.

"Hey! I'm not being a kiss-ass!"

"She just knows a good player when she sees one," you said, some vinegar to your words. Madelyn faced you, towering over you with her arms folded. She was built like a tank—you were glad she was on your team.

"You trying to say something, Captain?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked down at you. Somehow it still looked threatening. The other girls looked between you two, wondering if today was the day you'd finally fight. The tension was thick as fog.

"Girls, stop," Coach Anderson butted in, tapping his clipboard on both you and Madelyn's heads. You rubbed the spot as you sent one last irritated look at your teammate, facing Coach as he gave his typical end of game speech.

Madelyn wasn't the only one to notice your short fuse. Since your world shattering conversation with Donnie, you'd been noticeably different. Both Layla and Coach Anderson had tried to get you to tell them what was wrong, but you refused and simply poured your energy and focus into basketball practice. But even your passion for the sport had lost its luster after your realization that no matter how hard you tried, you still wouldn't be good enough for your parents.

The girls around you stood to leave, and you followed before Coach put his hand on your shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" You nodded and watched the others leave before silence fell. He let the quiet surround you two for a moment before he sighed. "Are you doing ok, kiddo?"

"I'm fine." You even sent him a convincing smile, but he didn't believe it.

"You've been off these past couple weeks." There was a silent question to his words, but you stayed quiet. "Something's bothering you. The longer you hold it inside, the worse the eventual explosion will be." Your head dropped.