March 2010. The gymnasium was deafening. The Regional Championship quarterfinals had the entire student body packed into the bleachers.

  I sat with Alvin, Faye, Jones, and Airin, watching the game unfold. I had to admit, I was completely mesmerized by Tyson’s performance. I was a martial artist, so I respected discipline above all else. Tyson was a machine on the court. The rival power forward spent three quarters elbowing Tyson and talking trash, trying to get into his head. Tyson never even blinked. He stayed ice-cold, letting his scoreboard stats do the talking.

  When the final buzzer bred, our school had secured a massive, dominant win.

  The student section erupted, rushing the floor. I felt a small hand wrap tightly around my wrist.

  "Come on! Let’s get out of here!" Jessica yelled over the roar of the crowd, trying to drag me toward the exit doors.

  I pnted my sneakers on the hardwood, stopping her momentum. "Whoa, hold on. Where are you going? We have to go down to the locker rooms to wait for Tyson. The boys are already heading down the tunnel."

  "What?" Jessica's bright smile vanished. She dropped my wrist. "You said we were going to hang out!"

  "We are hanging out, Jess," I said calmly. "With the boys. We're celebrating the win."

  She took a step back, visibly hesitating.

  "What’s wrong?" I frowned, leaning closer to hear her over the noise. "Do you not want to hang out with the group?"

  "It’s not that!" she deflected quickly. "I just... I don’t want things to be awkward, Daeron."

  "Awkward? Why would it be awkward?"

  "Because!" She paused, biting her lower lip. "Because it’s been months since I actually hung out with your group. I ignored everyone for weeks. I just don’t want it to be weird."

  "Heh. Nonsense," I smirked, waving off her anxiety. "They're my brothers. They don't care about that high school drama. Come on."

  I turned and walked toward the tunnel. I didn't give her a choice but to follow me.

  When we turned the corner into the hallway outside the locker rooms, the vibe died instantly.

  Alvin, Faye, Jones, and Airin were leaning against the concrete walls. The second they saw Jessica walking beside me, a heavy, suffocating silence dropped over the group.

  Oh my God, I thought, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty. She was right. This is exactly what she meant.

  Before the silence could suffocate us, the locker room doors swung open. Tyson stepped out, a towel slung over his massive shoulders, looking exhausted but victorious.

  "Yo, you two!" Tyson grinned, pointing at us. "We were waiting for you to start the party!"

  "You always show up te, Jess," Alvin chimed in, tossing out a casual, easy banter to break the ice.

  "Hey! I always arrive exactly on time!" Jessica shot back, her defensive cheerleader persona instantly returning.

  Within seconds, the awkward tension evaporated. I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I was incredibly grateful that the boys were so supportive of me bringing her back into the fold. Hell, I was even grateful for Jones. The idiot immediately started doing some goofy, over-the-top celebration dance for Tyson. It worked like a charm; I saw Jessica's shoulders drop as she ughed at his silly act, looking completely comfortable around him.

  Alvin stepped away from Faye, leaning his shoulder against the wall next to me.

  "So. Are you officially dating Jessica now, bro?" he whispered, keeping his eyes on the group.

  "No," I replied, my voice completely ft. "We’re just hanging out. I demanded she accompany me today, and she agreed."

  Alvin raised an eyebrow, adjusting his gsses. "Why, though?"

  "Because I hate being the third wheel, dude. I’m the only single, fucking virgin left in our circle. I needed a date."

  "So... do you intend to actually date her?"

  "..... I’m not sure." I crossed my arms, watching Jessica ugh at a joke Tyson made. "You know her, Al. She always avoids talking about serious stuff. Every time I try to figure out what we are, she deflects."

  "Hmm." Alvin adjusted his gsses again. "Maybe she deflects because she already has a boyfriend?"

  "...."

  The breath completely left my lungs. The hallway noise faded into static.

  Alvin’s question hit me with the force of a freight train. I had never actually considered it. She spent all her free time hanging out with me. I never saw her with any other guys at school. But what if she was seeing someone from another school? What if that rumor about the basketball pyer was true?

  To be completely honest, a cold, dark terror gripped my chest at the thought of her belonging to someone else.

  "Look, you should just ask her, bro," Alvin said, snapping me out of my downward spiral.

  "Not now," I exhaled heavily, pushing off the concrete wall. "Maybe ter, after the championship is over. I don’t want to ruin the vibe of the group today, Al."

  "Yeah, okay. Just promise me you'll actually ask her, bro. At least then you'll know for sure if she’s avaible or not."

  "Sure," I muttered, my eyes tracking Jessica as she ughed with the girls. "Thanks, Al."

  **

  The semifinal match was super intense.

  For the first time all season, our team looked like they were actually drowning. Sitting in the bleachers, I watched Tyson’s usual ice-cold demeanor crack. He was missing rebounds. He was getting visibly frustrated, letting the opposing center get into his head.

  With two minutes left on the clock, our coach called a timeout. I couldn't hear what was said over the roar of the gymnasium, but whatever the coach yelled at Tyson snapped him back to reality.

  With exactly three seconds left, Tyson hit a clutch jumper from the paint to secure the win.

  The buzzer bred, and the gymnasium completely exploded. Alvin, Jones, and I vaulted over the bleacher railing and rushed the hardwood, tackling Tyson in a massive group hug. Tyson was actually in tears. Our school had never made it to the Regional Finals before. It was history.

  The celebration was short-lived. The coach blew his whistle, barking at the team to get to the locker room. The job wasn't finished. The Finals were next week, and the opponent was the rival district champion. Sean's team.

  **

  To bleed off the adrenaline, the group migrated to a nearby café. We crammed into a rge corner booth, the heat of the game still buzzing in our veins.

  "Titi!! You were fucking incredible, man!" Jones hyped, smming his hand on the table. "You have to teach me that ankle-breaker move you did in the third quarter!!"

  "Chill out, clown. If you want to learn how to move, you have to actually stop screwing around when we work out," Tyson teased, taking a long drink of his iced coffee. "You’re the only scrawny guy left in the circle. Look at Alvin. Even the nerd has more bicep definition than you."

  "Shut up! That Ronnie guy on your team is built like a twig, and he's still a starter!"

  "Yeah, but Ronnie is naturally talented, and he’s six-foot-two. You’re just short, clown," Tyson ughed, high-fiving Alvin.

  "Fuck you, Titi! Alvin is shorter than me!" Jones protested, turning to his side. "Besides, I bring the aesthetic to our gang, right babe?" He tried to fish a compliment out of Airin.

  Airin took a slow sip of her tte, looking at him with a completely ft expression. "... I really don’t want to hurt your feelings right now."

  The entire booth erupted into ughter at Jones's expense.

  "Jes," Tyson called out over the ughter, turning his attention to the end of the booth. "Next week is the Finals. Are you going to be cheering for our team, or your brother’s team?"

  The ughter died down. I looked over at Jessica. She had been sitting in 'silent mode' ever since we walked into the café, staring bnkly at the table.

  She jumped slightly when Tyson said her name. "Umm... o-ours, of course," she giggled, but the sound was sharp and incredibly awkward.

  "You have to cheer for our school, Cheeto," I said, bumping her shoulder pyfully to loosen her up.

  "Y-yeah. Of course, Daeron."

  She didn't look at me. She pulled away from my shoulder, shrinking back into the corner of the vinyl booth, looking entirely distant.

  "Anyway, is Sean’s team really that hard to beat, Ty?" Alvin asked, pushing his gsses up his nose to break the sudden weird tension.

  "Yeah. They're a nightmare," Tyson sighed, leaning his forearms on the table. "They knocked us out in the quarterfinals st year. They made it to the Sweet 16. I expect they’ll target the Elite 8 this year, especially since their real ace, Alphonse, is finally eligible to py."

  "Wait! Is that the handsome French guy?" Airin asked, suddenly perking up with high spirits.

  "Yeah, that’s him. He got suspended st year because he got into a massive fistfight with Sean in the locker room, but I guess they’ve made up now," Tyson responded.

  I frowned, leaning forward. "I thought Sean was the ace of their team?"

  "He is," Tyson crified. "It's just two different styles. You could say Sean is the engine and the pymaker. Alphonse is the pure scorer. They're lethal together."

  "Jes, Sean is your older brother, right?" Airin turned to Jessica, her eyes shining with sudden, eager curiosity. "Do you think you could ask him to hang out with us sometime? And maybe invite Alphonse to tag along?"

  Jessica froze. Her pale skin seemed to lose even more color.

  "Umm... I-I’m not sure... we’re not that close," Jessica stuttered out, her voice barely above a whisper.

  "Huh? You’re not close with your brother?" Airin tilted her head, confused. "I thought you guys lived together."

  "No—no, I mean, he’s just always busy. With basketball. And stuff."

  "Babe, drop it," Jones suddenly interrupted, wrapping his arm around Airin and speaking a little too loudly. "Nobody wants to hang out with their older brother's sweaty basketball friends anyway. Right, Jes? Let's talk about the after-party instead."

  "Y-yeah. Exactly," Jessica exhaled, her shoulders dropping in obvious relief as Jones changed the subject.

  I narrowed my eyes, observing Jessica from across the table. Her hands were shaking slightly as she gripped her cup. She was lying. She was terrified of something.

  My mind started racing, piecing the puzzle together. She had been perfectly fine until Tyson mentioned Alphonse's name. Why would a rival basketball pyer make her stutter and panic? Unless...

  Maybe she has a crush on him. The thought crept into my mind like a parasite. Or... perhaps Alphonse is the secret boyfriend Alvin was talking about. Fuck. The coffee in my stomach instantly turned sour. I clenched my jaw, staring a hole into the table. Just thinking about her with some handsome, athletic French guy from another school made me feel violently sick.