PIECE ME BACK TOGETHER

CHAPTER XII: "JOIN THE CLUB BRO"

Daniel's P.O.V.

"Sigh"

I dribbled the ball on the floor then took a jump shot, shooting it into the net but it bounced off the rim and onto the floor.

I picked up the ball and started bouncing it again on the floor. I obviously couldn't focus as I kept missing the net entirely.

But let's be honest here....would you blame me?

I just lost my best friend, the one person I was completely in love with. I sat on the steps that led to the bleachers and buried my head in my hands, while a tear escaped from my eye and trickled down the side of my face.
You're crying over a girl Daniel, pull yourself together.

But here's the thing, Danielle is no ordinary girl, she's my best friend, she knows me better than I know myself, she's always there for me. She captured my heart and I never wanted her to let go of it, but instead she squashed it with her bare hands.

She went out on a date with a guy- or as she calls it "tutoring session", barely a week after she admitted she has feelings for me- and rejected me.

Then she tells me that she's trying to save our friendship, that she doesn't want to risk loosing me, which just ended up in me walking out on her.

It made me wonder if all she said was ever true, or if she just said it not to hurt my feelings.

She's not worth it.
My conscience can be the most negative thing ever.

Soon after, someone came up to me and sat beside me, "Hey Daniel, what are you doing here so late?".

I rose up my head, trying to subtly wipe the tear that fell down my face and put on a fake smile, "Hey Joey, I just wanted to shoot some hoops to get my mind off something, that's all. What are you doing here?".

Joey leaned backwards and let out a sigh, "I needed to get away, my mom's been on my case all day and I really needed to get her voice out of my head".

I chuckled lightly, "Dude she's your mom. She wouldn't be on your case if you didn't actually have one. You must have done something to tick her off".

He shrugged, "Okay...maybe I had a few chores to do that I hadn't done yet. But I was going to get to them, I just wasn't ready".

"Right, this coming from the guy who ditches basketball for parties. You better get ready pal, college scouts don't come around just by sitting on the bench".

"But I'm not always on the bench, you know that, Sam never lets me even stay there. It's just that I have at least a year till I start thinking of that and I'm not even sure I want to go to college" he argued.

I turned to him, "Joey, do you know when I first got offered a scholarship?" He shook his head. "In my sophomore year. I could've cared less about college at that point in time but when it came, I felt like I was on cloud nine. I bet you you'd feel the same once you stop procrastinating your responsibilities and actually get some dirt on your hands".

He thought over what I said for a moment, "You're right. I get that, on an unrelated note though, what's wrong with you. I noticed you actually missed a few shots there and I've never seen you miss".