The Experience Buddy [Completed]

Chapter 36

For the past two months, it had been a hectic schedule for myself and Hero. I have signed a contract with Katherine and she is now officially my agent and editor. While I have been bulldozing through the revision of my manuscript for Firsts with You, Hero and the Stanford basketball team were charging for the championship in nationals.

Finally, it's done. My book is completed. It has gone through the last of the approvals and has been sent for printing.

We gathered at this bar to celebrate my first publication and also as a pre-celebration for the last match of nationals for Hero. Madison and Frank flew over to join us since their curriculum for this semester was quite relaxed. Davin popped by earlier and left after a couple of drinks.

As Hero has to get ready for the big day tomorrow, we decided not to hang out till late. No alcohol for him either. As for me, I had a pint of beer. Huge improvement from last time, thanks to my special someone.

The match tomorrow will be held in the late afternoon. All of us present here will be there to cheer Hero on. Davin, and surprisingly, his cousin Sam, will be watching the match at the stadium too. Heath wanted to join us but he was afraid that his presence might distract Hero from the game so he decided not to in the end, but asked me to text him the outcome.

"GO HERO!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Chill, woman, it's only just the warm ups." Davin chortled.

"Go Hero!" Sam shouted then he leaned slightly forward to look past Davin so that he could grin at me.

"Fine, you two." Davin shrugged then he took in a deep breath. "Go Hero!"

Subsequently, Nat and the others, even Madison and Frank began shouting Hero's name. I guess we were acting embarrassingly but we didn't care. At one point, Hero turned to look at our direction, bumped his fist on his chest and pointed at us before resuming his warm up routine.

As with all the previous matches, the game began with a tip off but this time, Hero didn't manage to get first dibs on the ball. Immediately, he switched to a defensive stance, bent his knees to stay more grounded to the floor and hands spread wide to block his opponent.

It was only the first minute of the game but the entire venue was engulfed in a tense atmosphere. Everyone knew that whichever team makes the first shot into the basket would make a huge difference in the morale of the team, affecting subsequent parts of the match.

When a player makes an attempt to score, the ball is always blocked by another player on the opposing team. The two sides kept switching between offense and defense until finally, Hero made the first basket with a three-pointer. A deafening cheer came from the Stanford team's supporters in the crowd.

I shouted in excitement. At the same time, unsure why I was feeling slightly touched at the scene as well.

Hero pumped his fist into the air as his team mates gave him fist bumps. There was no time to relax as the opponent now had the right of the ball. Once again, the squeaking sound of rubber soles rubbing against the wooden floor filled the air. The cheers died down as everyone went back to focusing on the ball.

Soon, the opposing team scored two points. In under ten minutes, the scores for both teams had exceeded the ten point mark. The ball changed hands so quickly that once you blink, you might lose track of it. Every now and then, gasps could be heard when passes got intercepted and people would shout names of the players on court to provide support and encouragement.

The buzzer for half time went off and the match was paused. The gap in the scores were only by a mere two points difference, with Stanford in the lead. However, they couldn't afford to celebrate just yet, the second half would provide plenty of time and opportunity for the opponent to turn the game around.

There seemed to be a heated debate between Hero and the coach but as we were too far away, we couldn't listen in on the conversation. We shot each other looks of confusion but then shrugged it off. Entering the next half of the match, it seemed like Hero was not part of the players on court as he continued to sit on the bench, downing water from the bottle.

The second half was even more intense than the first. Not only did the ball passes were faster, the turn around in scores were equally fast. No team would be in the lead for long and when they were, they would only top the opposing team with at most a two to three points difference.

Suddenly, the whistle was blown and the game was paused. Turned out that the coach for the Stanford team had called for a switch in players.

Finally! My Hero is back on court.

Despite the tired look on his face, he looked more arrogant than ever. His confidence wasn't without backing up, as he managed to score two points for the team in less than a minute when he returned to the court. I couldn't help but feel proud and clapped my hands till my palms turned red.

His movement was swift when he played offense, easily weaving through his worn out opponents. When he switched to defense, his stance was firm. However, I wasn't sure if it was my eyes playing a trick on me, but I seemed to notice that something was off about Hero. He dribbled the ball smoothly and ran fast like he did in the first half, but somehow his shot wasn't as steady anymore. I could tell his body swayed each time he put the brakes just before he attempted a shot.

Stanford is currently in the lead with sixty one points while the opposing team is at fifty seven points. With only five minutes left on the clock, was he feeling too much of the pressure? Or was the exhaustion kicking in?

"Hero!" I cried in shock as I watched his entire being, without warning, fall to ground with a loud thud. The ball dropped to the floor and continued bouncing aimlessly while other players rushed to his side. The referee blew on the whistle and the timer was paused.

The audience let out loud gasps and worried murmurs as everyone tried to figure out what was happening. My brain stopped processing and my legs moved on their own, trying to get my entire being down to the court. Faces became a blur as my eyes were welling up with tears. I could feel tugging at my arms, most probably my friends trying to hold me back. But I couldn't care less about anything right now, the only person I could see was Hero, lying still on the floor.

I wrestled my arms free and rushed over. Pushing and squeezing in between the players, I finally got to my boyfriend. The medical team that were on standby carried a stretcher over and everyone dispersed, except for me.

"Hero? Hero? Can you hear me?" I called out over and over as I caressed his cheeks.

A couple of players had to pull me away as the medical personnel lifted Hero up onto the stretcher. I saw traces of blood on the floor where his head was only seconds ago. At that moment, I could feel my legs weakened and had to hold onto someone else for support. Tears kept streaming down my face as I watched him get carried away.

Then, I gathered the last of my strength to follow the staff into the ambulance. All the way to the hospital, I held Hero's hand.

But he never once regained consciousness.

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A/N: This chapter will conclude the third arc of the story. The next chapter onwards would be the final arc so buckle up, buddies!

Notice: Next chapter will be posted just tomorrow!