The Tall little | CGL

01 | Intro

*tap tap tap*

The sound of Mackenzie's shoe tapping against the concrete floor echoed in the empty locker room. Her elbows rested on her knees as her head stayed buried in her hands.

*tap tap tap*

She leaned back with a sigh, opening her eyes and immediately closing them after being met with the same fuzzy feeling she was trying to get rid of.

Her heart pounded against her chest as she listened to the sounds of the cheering crowd and the squeaks of sneakers against the court.

Today's the 6th game of her basketball team's 18 game season. It's halftime and they're up 28-16, she should be out on the court, helping her team.

But instead she's sitting in an empty locker room, sweat running down her skin as her breathing matched the rhythm of her forever tapping foot.

She's slipping.

This had never happened before, her headspace was a voluntary lifestyle she chose to indulge in. So why does it now feel like she has no choice in the matter?

It had been months since she last slipped into the comforting headspace, convinced she had never needed it and no longer wanted it she chased it away and buried it deep inside of her.

She thought it was really behind her, but of course, after a stressful month and vigorous training it was back. After relying on it for so long, in order to cope her mind now fell back on it without her permission.

The loud sound of a buzzer sounded, signifying the end of halftime. The loud sound frightened her out her thoughts, her eyes wide and her body frozen in place as she looked towards the entrance of the locker room.

I don't want to go out there. She thought, her mind racing as fast as her heart. She stood from the bench, giving herself one more deep breath. Don't be scared.

She harshly shook her head, another failed attempt at shaking away the warm feeling she could feel steadily taking over her mind. Before she could think of changing her mind she closed her eyes and left the locker room, running as fast as she could down the hall and towards the gym.

Suddenly, as she was running she felt herself hit a wall, the force causing her to fall flat down on her back. "Owie.." she whimpered softly, rubbing the part of her forehead that had come into direct contact with the wall.

"Are you okay?" Her eyes instantly went up at the sound of the deep voice, widening when she realized that she hadn't actually ran into a wall but a giant man.

The man towered over her floored figure, his dirty blonde hair was slightly pushed back and his silver eyes met hers with worry. Kenzie found herself dumbfounded as she stared up at the man, his figure only causing her to feel even more small.

"M'kay.." she answered in a daze, causing the man to let out a deep chuckle. He tilted his head as he crouched down to her, the innocent glint swimming in her blue eyes causing a warm smile to appear on his stubbled face.

The teen gawked at him in pure innocence, the fuzziness in her mind preventing her from doing anything else. Thankfully, the man was quick to reach under her arms and lift her onto her feet.

"Don't you have a game to get to?" He questioned amusingly, when the girl didn't immediately run off after being set on her feet.

The question seemed to knock her out her child-like daze as she flinched, blinking a few times before running off, mumbling a sorry as she went.

When she finally made it to the court the game was nearing the end of the third quarter and the other team had caught up, tying the game. "Gonzalez! Where have you been?!" Her coach questioned angrily, causing the tall teen to momentarily flinch back.