Our Heart (Rewritten)

Starts With Goodbye

"Do you have to go?" Ple asks, making puppy eyes at her boyfriend, Boss.

They're at the school yard, sitting under "their tree" whilst their classmates run around and celebrate the last day of the semester.

Boss chuckles at his girlfriend's cute pleading but he regretfully tells her, "Babe, you know I won't get this opportunity twice. And I worked so hard to get into this training camp." He sweeps her hair aside and caresses her face. "It'll just be for a month then we'll spend the rest of summer together, okay?"

Ple pretends to pout then eventually smiles. "Okay. It's so hard having a future MVP as my boyfriend." They both giggle at that then Boss brings his face closer to hers until their noses touch.

Every time he does this, Ple does this thing where she scrunches her nose and it's still the cutest thing Boss has ever seen—no one can convince him otherwise.

When they're together, it's like no one else exists in the world which, of course, their friends find annoying.

Sig and Fort watches them from a close distance, making sour faces. Then the latter cups his mouth and shouts, "I hate campus couples!"

The couple turn their heads with Boss flashing his friends a cocky grin as if to say 'you're just jealous' whilst Ple just laughs at their silliness.

~~~

A couple weeks into basketball camp and things have been so hectic for Boss. Let's just say it hasn't turned out the way he expected so far.

Back in his school, he's the best player and has brought his team to victory many times. But here, in a pool of highly skilled players—some of whom received specialized trainings—his once shining talent is getting dulled.

"Can't compare it to hillbilly basketball, can ya?" The coach remarks as Boss struggles to catch his breath. His body is bruised from smashing against much larger players and he has yet to give his team any significant advantage.

But although he isn't alone in doing rather poorly, he knows he's being singled out for being the small-fry country boy who dared to come and try out for the big leagues.

And it's really getting to him.

While on the phone with Ple later that evening, she can pretty much tell that Boss isn't in the mood and replies to her with mere hums or close ended words like 'yes' or 'no'—not bothering to elaborate or ask her anything back.

Normally, she understands. But weeks of being apart and constantly getting ignored by him has brought her at her wit's end.

"Should I just stop contacting you?" She asks emotionally. "Lately, it feels like I'm being a bother."

"I told you it isn't like that." Boss says in his defense to which Ple retorts, "Then what is it? You never tell me anything!"

Feeling frustrated about many things, Boss snaps and yells through the phone, "What do you want from me? And what about my future depending on this do you not understand?! If I knew you'd be like this, then-" He cuts himself short, realizing what almost said.

But Ple catches that and, with her voice trembling, she asks him, "Then what? Then you should've broken up with me before going there?"

"Ple..."

"Sorry for being a nuisance." She utters coldly then drops the call. Boss tries calling her back but she doesn't pick up and he assumes she turned off her phone on him because on the third or fourth attempt, she can no longer be reached.

And being prideful himself, Boss decides to just let her be for now. He can always call tomorrow...or can he?

~~~

Boss trained by himself all night and practically passed out when he came back to his room at four in the morning.

So naturally, he overslept. And when he wakes up, he's surprised to find a dozen calls on his cell, some from his friends and others from his parents. "What the hell?"

He's quite sure it isn't his birthday so he's puzzled as to what everyone is trying to call him about. But there's one person who still hasn't called and since his anger has already simmered down, Boss decides to call first. Who cares who was more wrong; he just wants to hear her voice again.

But when he steps out of his dorm, holding a ball in between his arm and hip, he's shocked to find Fort outside, looking distressed.

"What are you doing here?" He asks—obviously clueless. And Fort fidgets uneasily as it occurs to him that he'll have to be the one to break the news.

"Boss...it's about...it's about Ple."

Somehow, Boss' stomach instantly sinks but his mind immediately goes to what's still comfortable to believe. "Why? What happened? Is she sick? Is she hurt?" He demands to know.

But from the way Fort starts to cry and can't seem to form words, Boss slowly realizes that it's much worse. The sound of rubber bouncing against the pavement echoes through the corridor after the ball slips from Boss' side and he just runs—hoping he's wrong.