Puzzle Pieces (bxb)

Chapter 2

   Jay looked at Nicolas with a child's curiosity. He was no longer dribbling the basketball and was now just holding it in his hands awkwardly. They both just stood there for a moment in shock to see each other outside of school. Especially outside their own homes no less. Nicolas started to walk away, wanting to hide himself from the world when Jay called out to him.

"H-Hey! Nicolas, right? What brings you here?"

"Ah yeah... Umm..h-hey.. I ahh live here.."

   Nicolas nervously pointed towards his house next to Jay's. He was a little happy that his name was remembered. He didn't know they were neighbors. Neither of them did in fact. Jay never even thought anyone lived in that house since there never were cars in the driveway and Nicolas just never payed attention to his neighbors or people around him in general. Go figure.

"Oh that's cool. I actually never even noticed anyone had moved in."

"W-We moved in a few weeks ago... My dad is rarely home and we didn't have much stuff to move into the house to begin with so.. it was a quick move in.."

"Oh."

  Jay looked like he became bored with the conversation so Nicholas tried to use the opportunity to try and sneak away but, of course, Jay stopped him. It seems like there will be no escaping for Nicolas at the moment which made his heart do a 180° because yet again, this hot boy wants something to do with him.

"So Nickey, If you don't have any plans, do wanna play ball with me?"

  That was a major shock. Did he just give me a nickname? And he wants to play basketball with me? Me? Why? Nicolas looked around and thought for a moment.  I could actually make a friend today but.. do I really want to play basketball? I mean, I was good at playing when I was younger but why does he want to play against me now? I haven't played in a while and even my clothes (he's wearing a button-up shirt with a sweater vest and tan coloured jeans) should say 'not a sports person'.

"Um well.. I'm not really..."

  Nicolas faltered. He was planning on turning him down since he wasn't dressed nor was in the mood to do anything besides cry. He used to be on a basketball team a few years ago. He was not only interested in the sport but was good at it too. He had came out of the closet a few weeks before he quit. He quit the team because his teammates were picking on him when they found out he was gay. They called him names and benched him during games. This was right after the accident which didn't help any.

   He looked at the boy in the driveway holding the basketball. Jay looked kind of sad like he was hoping to get a good one on one game with him even if he was good at it or not. Nicolas wiped away his dried tears as if it was sweat. He was no longer crying. His face just looked as if he ran too much and needed a breather which was a relief.

"O-Okay fine.. But I can't guarantee that I'm any good. I haven't played basketball in a long time. Umm I uhh need to go change though. Not really dressed for this."

  As he said this, Nicolas waved his hands over his clothing and cracked a smile which made Jay laugh.

  Nicolas went and changed quickly. He put on some blue ball shorts and a tank top which bore his somewhat visable muscles. He wasn't much of an active person but he kept in shape as best as he could. Having no one to hang out with and having a lot of free time, it somewhat benefited him because he used some of that time to do a few exercises. He ran out of the house and went over to Jay.

"So umm.. Let's start."

Jay looked a little puzzled as he looked Nicolas up and down. He nodded and they began to play basketball. They were playing to 20. At first, Nicolas was rusty and couldn't get the ball from Jay. Jay had 12 points and Nicolas had 0. It disappointed Jay that Nicolas wasn't even good enough to make any points. Just as Jay was fixing to shoot from half court, Nicolas jumped up and swipped it away. He landed with the ball and made his shot with perfect agility. It went in the basket and Nicolas received his first few points. Jay was majorly surprised by this sudden attack.

   They played head to head for the next 20 minutes. Both boys were sweating and needed to take a breather but neither wanted to leave an opening for the other. Whoever makes the next shot wins. They couldn't take a break so the other could catch their breath and steal the game away from them. They were both competitive.

  Jay got the ball and went in for a lay up which was blocked by Nicolas who faked his shot which made Jay jump early to block but when he started falling back to the ground after loosing his momentum, Nicolas took the advantage and took his shot. It went it. He had won. Jay was amazed but the look on Nicholas's face showed that the feeling was mutual.

"Dude, what was that? I thought you said you couldn't guarantee you were any good?? You're good at basketball. No, you're great at it."

   Nicolas couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. He was getting complimented yet again by this hot guy. He didn't think he'd be any good honestly but when he saw Jay get into the game, it made him want to play harder.

"Well, I used to play a while ago.. But it's been years since I even dribbled a basketball so I thought I wasn't going to be good at all."

"Well, that was great for not playing in a while. We should do another one on one some other time."

  Nicolas felt his heart skip a beat once again and not because he just got done playing basketball. He wanted to play agaist him again which means he wanted to see him again. Does this mean we're friends now??

"Yeah, sure."

"Next time, I'll win."

"We'll see about that."

  They both started laughing and then they talked nostalgicly about their experience of playing basketball and past game scores. Nicolas was never in many games but he expressed some game scores although not all were winning for his team. He never mentioned why he quit and when Jay asked why he did, he just shrugged his shoulders and changed the topic with a bitter sad smile. He didn't feel like letting his only potential friend slip away. He didn't want to take that chance. Jay read the mood and decided it would be best if he didn't bring up why he quit again.

   Turns out, Jay is on their school's basketball team and he's one of the best on the team. Nicolas was never a captain but he was a good scorer before they benched him. He teased Jay about how he had lost to someone who hasn't played in years and they talked for a bit more and joked around before finally parting ways and saying goodbye.

"See you at school tomorrow Nickey!" Jay yelled as he headed into his house.

"Okay!" Nicolas yelled back.

  As Nicolas walked his short distance home, he guessed that they were probably friends now but he wasn't exactly sure. He hoped they were. That was actually a lot of fun, it's been a while since I last played and I forgot how great it feels. I can't wait to play another one on one game against him again.

He couldn't help but feeling giddy. He was truly happy which is something he knows it's been a while since he felt like this. He liked playing basketball and he loved playing the sport with Jay. Only one match and it made his heart flutter. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

There would be a next time.