Is He a Hero?

(2.4) Or Drown In It

Well, its here. Change wise, I'd say there isn't anything that vastly changes the story. There are some sentences of dialogue that hint at some important things, and I've fixed spelling errors. So if you want a refresher on what has happened or what changed, feel free to reread everything. If not, read on ahead.

Friday, October 13

7:05 PM

*BBBRRRRRRRRRR*

The sound of the buzzer lasts a few seconds before abruptly ending. Overlapping at the end of the sound, a loud outburst of cheers and screams takes hold. Many in the bleachers stand up and begin clapping, the sound deafening around the gym.

Leon looks around, watching the others around him on their feet, hooting and hollering at the people in the middle of the gym.

"Final Score, Hikama Academy 65... Ballard High 58. Senior Daniel Serra with a game high 25 points..."

Leon watched a group of boys in white jerseys and shorts make their way to a nearby bench, giving their sitting teammates high fives and supportive slaps on the back. The opposing team, a bunch of boys wearing red and black, grumble and scoff as they walked through a set of doors back to the opposing locker room.

In the middle of the mass of white, Daniel looked up at the bleachers, the sweat making his hair stick to his forehead, which slightly covered his eyes. Panting, he brushes his hair away with his hand, looking around the bleachers and taking in the deafening cheers and applause. Leon could tell that the boy was enjoying the fact the crowd was cheering at him.

The Prez then turned around, looking around even more before he stopped, staring straight at Leon. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the Prez gave Leon a small smirk.

Leon gave a small chuckle, looking down at the floor for a moment before looking back, flashing Daniel a smirk of his own and giving him an 'OK' symbol. The Prez's smile widened before turning back and celebrating with his teammates.

After a minute or two, the cheering finally started to wane, and soon, the students started migrating out of the gym when the team moved to their locker room.

...

7:20 PM

Leon sat on a bench near Hikama's gym, having barely missed the previous bus that would take him back home, the boy sighed as he sat by himself, the light of the setting sun painting the evening sky a near-blood red. He watched as other groups of students walked by, chatting with each other, giggling and laughing at each other's words. Commenting about the game, talking about plans for the future with each other, even couples flirting and mingling with each other as they walked home.

Leon gave a melancholic sigh, during the game the boy felt something he hadn't felt in recent memory, fellowship. Sure, he was well acquainted with Yui and Miles. Still, to him, they were only co-workers who would come to the diner and work a minimum-wage job for a few hours and then go their separate ways at the end of the day. He was fond of Curtis, but he's a father figure to the boy, someone who helped pull him into the light. Bergeron and Michael... Are something he doesn't really want to get into at the moment.

What he felt tonight though was... Something different. Granted, he wasn't even with anybody. He sat by himself against the wall of the gym. But to sit there, actively participating in an activity with other people his age, feeling a sense of fellowship with the people around him as they cheered their team on. It felt good, it felt right, and Leon hoped that more moments would come. But the boy knew that he had to take the initiative and be bold, but something within him prevented the boy from doing it.