pillowtalk.

twenty three | fire vs. fire

Stephen sat on the chair in the locker room of the Chesapeake Energy Arena. He needed a moment to gather himself amidst shootaround because his thoughts were devouring him, piece by piece. He knew Heart didn't mean everything she said, but it still hurt him deeply. Words couldn't comprehend. He was just afraid that he would really have to stay away from her and he didn't like it one bit. It also made him feel nauseous that she was held hostage by Bigs.

He barely got sleep last night. Well, the past couple of nights. & It was catching up to him. Majority of these nights, he found himself crying out of frustration & anger - allowing his emotions to get involved and get the best of him. 

"Aw shit." He groaned. He took deep breaths to keep his anxiety at a minimum, especially since his nausea was rising. He hated this feeling. He hated feeling so incomplete and so left out of everything. He continued to groan and run his hands through his hair, completely unaware of Draymond's presence as he walked in.

"Steph." Dray said softly as pulled a chair next to him. "You alright, bruh?" All Steph could do was shake his head. He looked up at Draymond, his eyes bloodshot red from the stress and lack of sleep.

"I don't know what to do."

"About Heart?" He nodded as he looked out into the locker room.

"I know she didn't mean it, but why does that shit hurt so bad?"

"You got it for the girl." Draymond shrugged. "Is she okay?"

"I think so."

"I'm sorry Bigs did this, man. Especially while we on the road & everything." Stephen silently shook his head.

"He'll get his." Steph said as he continued to stare out into space.

"Look, I know that guy deserves everything in the book for doing what he did, but I hope you aren't thinking of acting irrational."

"How else am I supposed to get her out? You know she doesn't belong in there."

"I know this. But, he's clearly dangerous & ready for anything that comes his way. Try talking to ol' dude."

"There's no talking with him."

"There's also no playing fire with fire with him. I don't need you, Heart or anybody else getting hurt."

"I don't even know if she's been hurt or anything. I just don't even know. Jomari said she said all those things to protect me, but it sucks. I don't even know where I'm going with this." He threw the towel around his neck to the side. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be."

"You really think that?"

"I guess, especially if I feel like I'm at a dead end." He sighed & rested his forehead onto the palm of his hand. 

"Let me ask you something. & I want you to be real." Draymond leaned over onto his knees to get a better look at Stephen. "Do you love her?"

"Do.. I love her?" Steph repeated the question, making Dray nod his head.

"Yeah man, I know you heard that correctly." He chuckled. "So, do you?" Stephen sighed and thought to himself for a minute. Was he ready to let people know this or did he even accept it himself?

"Yeah I do." He looked at Dray, a bit nervous to see his response.

"Well if you do then why aren't you putting your all into this situation? I know you know how to approach this, you just keep convincing yourself that she wants nothing to do with you."

"What if it's really true though?"

"I don't even believe it, so how can you? We all know how head over heels ya'll are for each other and how much of a crazy ass Bigs is. Put the two together."

"Maybe it's a sign that I'm no good for her."

"Would you quit?" Draymond chuckled. "Yo, if that ain't the biggest lie I've heard. I ain't ever seen you so good to someone. You were a blessing to that girl & from what I've seen, she's a blessing to you too. That shit is rare nowadays, Steph."

"You're right. What am I doing?"

"Really though, what are you doing?" Draymond laughed, earning a small chuckle from the tired MVP himself. "You just said you love the girl." He playfully nudged him.

"I do. Never found someone like her. She's a special one."

"I can tell Heart means a lot to you." 

"She does. Hate to sound real cheesy, but there's really no one else I'd rather be with. It's like God put a little extra oomph in this one."

"So how are you gonna get her out of Bigs' club? You can't just shoot the place up. Well, I take that back. I don't even see you doing that. You an ol' child of God." Draymond laughed.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just gonna have to get more people involved." Stephen said as he stood and cracked his neck to get himself ready to shoot some more. Everyone on the team noticed he's been off, but everyone knew better than to bug him. They knew he just needed time to himself.

Getting back onto the court, he started to multitask. He started to think of a plan about how to get his girl back and keep her safe, all while working on his shooting and form. He hasn't been doing so well these past games, especially with everything going on. & Now that he has everything somewhat figured out, he figures he could finally get a move on things instead of feeling stuck.

"Ayo, Steph." Stephen turned to look behind him. Klay slowly walked over with a ball in his hand, the fatigue very apparent on his face. 

"What's up, Thompson?" He loved his best friend to death, but right now, he wasn't really in the mood to talk to him. It's been hard getting through everything because he's been feeling like he couldn't talk to him about Heart. He's just been lucky that Draymond's been aware of everything & took it upon himself to ask Stephen how he was doing.

Klay, on the other hand, kept quiet during everything. Which leads Stephen to another reason as to why he felt like he couldn't talk to him about anything. Usually, Klay's always the first to recognize anything that seemed off.

Now it seemed like Klay was the one who was off.

"Nothing much. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit. The usual." Stephen said casually as he shot up a three from the right side of the court. Keeping his eyes on the basket, he heard Klay sigh deeply behind him. 

"Man, I gotta talk to you."

"Not now, Klay. I have other things to worry--"

"It was me." He says loudly. Steph scrunches his forehead in confusion as he slowly turns to face him.

"What?"

"I told Bigs about Heart. I helped him with everything."

~

(Far Away - Tyga ft. Chris Richardson)