Hey everyone!
This is my first story on this site, and I hope you all enjoy reading it. I've been thinking about this idea for a long time, so hopefully you all find it as interesting as I do.
Some things before you get started reading:
This is an AU story, so I will not be including the wrestling world. Just some of the people. I've adapted them to this story in a way that suits me.
Any reviews are warmly welcomed, just give your opinions kindly. I can take criticism, but I do much better with constructive criticism rather than "I hate your story" kind of comments. Thank you in advance.
I've supplied a huge list of volleyball terminology, considering this story will deal a lot with the sport. If you do not know the sport, this is your reference point. If you know the sport like I do, feel free to skip on to the story further down the page started at the line.
Please forgive any mistakes. I've done speel check and grammar check and red through it a few times. I think I have caught everything, but there could always be something wrong. I apologize for any faults.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my main OC (Evangeline) and any OCs I add later on, as well as the idea and plot. Recognizable names, brands, businesses, etc are not mine and are credited to their rightful owners. No profit is gained and no harm is meant by my story.
Volleyball terminology:
An brief explanation of the game and a coverage of some terms for those of you who are not familiar with the game. The court is divide by a net with either team facing each other and the net. In regular volleyball, a team holds six players and they are divided into two rows, a front and a back where front is closest to the net, and three columns, right, left, and middle from the perspective of each side facing the net. For beach volleyball, teams usually consist of two players each. The teams are allowed three touches on the volleyball before the ball has to go over the net and to the other side while remaining in bounds. The usually touches include a pass, a set, and a hit. If the ball goes out of bounds, whoever touched it last loses the point. If a ball touches the ground within the court, whatever side it is on loses the point. The ball comes into play from a serve, and has to go over the net. The match usually consists of winning 3 out of 5 games, each game going to 25 and must be won by at least 2 points (example: if the score is 24-24, one team must get to 26-24 before being declared a winner.)
-tall, speed (my own terms): These are terms I made up while playing, so I wouldn't expect others to use them. But a tall is the tallest player on the two-man team, or the person who is usually the better hitter. The speed is the opposite. They are the shortest member on the team but also the faster one of the two. They usually are the better setter.
-touch: Any form of touching the ball. If the player makes contact with the ball, even in a panic form, it is called a touch in general terms.
- pass, set, hit: Basic terms for volleyball. A pass is the first thing you learn in volleyball, and you can play a full game with nothing but passing. It is the first touch in traditional volleyball where the player lets the ball hit off of their forearms to get the ball up in the air. A set is the second touch in traditional volleyball where hands are used to push the ball into the air and to a hitter. It is "setting" up the hitter for a hit, hence the term "set". A hit is the third touch in volleyball where the player must get the ball over, jumping up to get above the net and smacking the ball down. It is sometimes called a spike. The ball is hit hard and forced down into the court side of the opponents.
-rally: When two teams keep a ball going back and forth, a term you can also find in tennis.
-dig, up: Terms that refer to a pass.
-shank: A term in volleyball that refers to a ball coming off of a player uncontrollably, whether due to a bad touch or a hard hit ball. A shank usually goes out of bounds and stops the play.
-pass-set: A different form of passing in which you use your hands much like a setter would to pass the ball. Not considered a set because you are not setting up the hitter for a hit.
-block: This is a defensive move. It is when a player jumps up to place their hands in front of an opponent who is hitting, forming a wall in which the ball can hit and fall back into the other court side. It is a huge advantage to have a tall who can block.
-tool: A tool is a term referring to a point gained by a ball hitting off of a block and falling out of bounds. Some players purposely hit into a team's block to force the ball out of bounds and gain a point.
-kill: A term that refers to a good hit or spike that hits the ground without the other team getting a touch.
-attack: A term that refers to a hit.
-joust: When two players go up at the net and try to hit the same ball. Think of a jump serve in volleyball terms.
-push, down ball: Alternative ways to hitting. A push is when a player sets the ball to the other side of the court. They do not set the other team's hitter but rather pushes the ball away from their side to avoid stopping play. Down balls are a type of hit that happens when a hitter puts a big spin on the ball, forcing it down in an arch. This hit can be done while on the ground.
-free ball: A free ball is a last resort. It is when a player passes the ball over the net because the team cannot hit it over. Different things cause a free ball to occur, but it usually happens after a mistake. It is called a free ball because it is like giving the other team an easy ball to set up a play.
-carry, lift: These are penalties. A lift and a carry are similar, where a lift is when a ball is literally lifted up and a carry is where someone basically grabs the ball and throws it or pushes it up or over the net. It is any time the ball rests in someone's hand/s for too long.
-serve, foot fault: A serve starts play. It is when one player goes behind the back line of their side of the court and hits it over the net to the other team. Professional and college teams will usually do a jump serve, where the server hits the ball while they are in midair. A foot fault is a penalty that occurs when the server steps on the back line or into their court too soon while serving.
-floater: A type of serve that literally "floats". A difficult serve to defend, this type of serve makes the ball move back and forth slightly while in the air, almost in a cartoonish way (I say cartoon, but this is a real serve and they are not fun at all to try to pass). There is no spin on these serves and usually confuses the other side due to the movement.
-ace: An ace is a serve that hits the ground of the opponent's side without being touched.
-serving zones: The serving zones refer to the spots on a court. In normal volley ball, there is a rotation of six players on the court at one time, starting at the back right and moving in a counter clock wise direction (This is from the point of view of your side of the court. If you were facing the net and were the server on a six man team, you would be in the back {furthest from the net} right). Server, right back is 1. Going towards the net, right front is 2. Going a spot to the left, middle front is 3. Going a spot to the left, left front is 4. Going back towards the back line, left back is 5. And finally going to the right, middle back is 6. To the right of spot 6 is spot 1, so it is a large oval on the court.
Hopefully, if you were not familiar with the terms of volleyball these will help. I might use other terms later on and I won't use all of these this chapter, but I wrote all I could think of and I will add to these if I remember any. If I confused any of you, feel free to try to do some Google searches to figure it out or ask me questions for clarification. If any volleyball players other than me see a mistake in an explanation, let me know as well (kindly). Anyways, hope you enjoy the story!
Match point, our serve. One more point would give us the victory.
My mind was focused on the other team as my partner, Michelle, went to the back line to await my signal.
My eyes narrowed behind my sunglasses, scrutinizing the competition.
The tall looked nervous, a blonde, lanky girl that was maybe 20 years old. She had the face of a child as the baby fat had never quite disappeared in the area. A splash of red across her cheeks and nose stood out against her normally fair skin, an effect of the sun in the California summer. Her arms hung loosely in front of her as she glanced from me to Michelle at a rapid pace. She wasn't confident in her passes and I could almost taste the dread in the air between us as it oozed from her. She was afraid and with good reason. Michelle has a wicked floater. Her serve is almost untouchable. Almost.
The speed, a shorter girl with cropped brown hair probably about 24 or 25, had gotten a pretty good handle on it in the last few serves. She was reading it well, but not well enough. She was still behind by half a second, waiting until the last possible moment to react to the ball and get it up high enough for the tall to make a set. If she didn't get it, the tall would pass and the speed would set. When the speed got the set, the ball was almost always dead on.
But she was tired. Her shoulders sagged forward, carrying the burden of her exhaustion mixed with the sun beating down. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand, sighing slightly. She would be able to handle it much longer. And she was also nervous. She kept her eyes on her partner, muttering words in hushed tones. Encouragement most likely. She was calming the younger girl down.
The tall didn't have great hands. She handled the ball very clumsily when she set, and it was always too far out. The speed has done everything to make sure it was the tall who hit, allowing the speed herself to set.
If we could make the speed pass the ball and the tall set it, we'd have the upper hand. The tall would more than likely panic in the situation. On the other hand, serving the tall in her nervous state would also benefit us, making her play the game and risk messing up while she is overwhelmed. I had to consider that move as well.
She was scared. She was the least experienced.
She was the target.
There was almost no wind, and the sun is sitting high in the sky, causing no obstacle for either side of the court except when looking up.
The tall was on the left of her court side, right from where I stood. That meant either spot 4 for a short serve or spot 5 for a deep serve. Deep could possibly make her use her hands, so deep was the better choice in my opinion.
Serve the tall a 5.
The decision took no more than 3-5 seconds.
I flashed the number behind my back, holding 2 fingers with my right, 3 with my left, as the official blew the whistle to signal that Michelle could now serve. I counted off in my head the seconds that it took for Michelle to serve. It was always the same amount of time. Being her partner for years, I grew to know the familiar pattern of her serve. Double spin on the ball and jump.
Three.
Two.
One.
Michelle made contact with the ball and it flew into the opposing court. It was a high floater, and the tall was having trouble reading it. She put her hands up to try and pass-set the ball, but it moved slightly to the right of her. She hadn't predicted that and as a result she took a panic touch, throwing a fist as the ball. It shanked off to the left and out of bounds.
Match.
Before I knew it Michelle had tackled me from behind. We laughed hysterically as we sat in the sand, relieved that we had won the game. As we sat, the crowd that had gathered around our court cheered our victory.
"We did it!" Michelle squealed, her face breaking out into a huge smile.
"Yes, we did. Now get off of me you big goof!" I howled, making Michelle cackle even harder. She eventually got off of me and allowed me to stand. We both walked arm in arm towards the net to shake our opponents' hands. They had played hard against us. We just played harder.
"Great game." The speed said as she gripped my hand. Up close I can see she is more exhausted than I originally thought. Her breathing came in sharp breaths but nevertheless she greeted us with a smile. An opponent that was graceful in defeat. A blessing in this day and time.
"Thanks. You too." I replied, slipping my sunglasses us to rest atop my head.
The tall looked on timidly as we interacted. She had already shaken Michelle's hand and was waiting patiently to shake mine. I smiled at her as her partner moved to mine.
"You played a heck of a game." I said as I extended a hand to her.
She accepted the hand shake, tucking the stray hair from her ponytail behind her ear.
"Thank you." Her small smile barely hid her disappointment. She still had a lot to learn, but she was eager and she had plenty on time.
"If you can get your set down, you might be the winners next time. You have loads of potential." I said casually. It was true. Her sets were shaky. And if she perfected them, she'd be a monster on the court. Her hitting was already top quality. She smiled politely at the words as the wheels in her head began to turn, no doubt planning to practice.
I soon found Michelle and left the court, walking though the mob of people to allow the next game to set up. These scrimmage tournaments were always crowded. Even people who did not follow the sport would come to watch these beach volleyball events. In the words of Michelle, "Who wouldn't like to see a group of good looking women in bikinis playing volleyball in the sand?" I'd like to think it was our skill of the game that drew them in like flies, but I know our uniforms do help draw attention.
As we walked away, Michelle eyed me suspiciously. I knew it was coming. She questioned me almost every game.
"What did you do this time, Evan?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." I put on my best shocked face. I was a terrible liar, but innocence usually worked in my favor.
"Evangeline Rose Parker, I know you are hiding something!"
I cringe at the use of my full name. She only uses it to spite me. From birth, the only people I allowed to call me Evangeline and live were my parents.
"I hate it when you do that. I just gave the girl some advice." I mumble, shaking my head at Michelle's stubbornness.
"Oh…well you just looked like you had done something sneaky. Oh well. And was that so hard to tell me?" she teased.
"Brutal."
"Oh you're just a big baby."
I gently shoved her, which turned into her overdramatically flying off to the side as if I had put my whole body weight into one push. I'm strong, but I'm not that strong. Michelle was always a drama queen.
"Evan!"
"Now who is the baby?" I joked, setting off into a sprint through the crowd as she started after me.
I would have gotten away too, if I hadn't been swept into the arms of my fiancé.
"Whoa! Slow down love, where's the fire?" My loving but sometimes oblivious future husband Justin asked as he cradled me in his arms. Well, he tried to anyway. I was kicking around furiously as I tried to escape, making it extremely difficult to hold onto me.
"Justin put me down! I'm running from-"
"Justin Gabriel, you hold her still!" came the cry of my partner, interrupting my explanation.
"Oh no. She is using full names. This can't be good." Justin thought aloud, keeping a tight grip on me. He looked down at me in amusement. "What did you do E?"
"She pushed me!" Michelle shouted, closing in on us.
"I did nothing of the sort! The woman is lying!" I declared as Justin swung me around to avoid the reach of Michelle.
"What are you two, five years old?" he said chuckling, obviously enjoying the banter. Michelle reached around him to get to me, but he managed to keep between us. Barely.
"No!" Michelle and I replied simultaneously, causing us to burst into another fit of laughter and give up the chase.
Justin allowed me to slip out of his arms to where I could stand, though I held my grip on his waist as he placed his arm around my shoulder. I've been on the courts all day and haven't seen much of him. He had work to do anyways. He was in the process of starting his own gym. He's been a professional trainer for years and was now trying to create his own establishment. I was beyond proud, though I did miss having him there to cheer me on at my games.
"How was the match?" Justin asked, smiling down at me with a cocked eyebrow. "You're covered in sand, so I take it went good?" He noticed, looking at how sand clung to my uniform and skin. It happened every game due to the nature of beach volleyball, but the more sand I had on me usually indicated a more interesting game.
"Very good. We won in 4 games. 3 to their 1." Michelle stated proudly, adjusting her ponytail to where the blonde waves sat high on her head and tumbled down to her shoulders.
"We had some good rallies going." I added, letting the smile creep across my face as I looked up at my fiancé.
"I'm sure you did wonderful." He said, kissing me on the forehead lovingly.
"Yuck! Get a room!" Michelle joked, making a vomiting noise when Justin in turn planted a sweet kiss on my lips. "You two are beyond sickening."
"Blame yourself. You introduced us." I reminded her, enjoying the slight roll of her eyes at the thought of the introduction 3 years ago. We had barely been a team, maybe a month into our training, when Michelle had mentioned the tall handsome fellow working at her local gym. She insisted on our meeting for weeks before I finally agreed, at which point she practically dragged me to the gym where Justin was getting his start as a professional trainer. The rest was history.
"And I've regretted it ever since." She teased, walking away mumbling about trying to find something to eat before our next game.
I turned my attention back to Justin. "Are you going to be able to stay for the next game? It's in an hour or so." I questioned, pulling back slightly to look him in the eyes. They were my favorite part of his features, his accent holding a close second. The warm brown color would always brighten my day.
His eyes currently held a look of regret, however, as he sighed heavily. "No, I only have time for a quick lunch. I have to be back at the gym soon to meet the contractor. But I had to stop by to see how my favorite girl was doing." He said as he hugged me tighter around my waist.
I pouted slightly. I really hated that he couldn't stay. He hasn't been able to see me play in a few weeks now. He's attention has been on the gym. And it shouldn't bother me. He is making a future for us. But still, it was hard not to have him there sometimes.
"Well you're still planning on coming over for dinner tonight right?" I asked as I smiled sweetly in a way I knew was hard for him to refuse.
"Of course E." he stated, his eyes glowing with warmth. "But right now, I probably should get going. I've been gone for too long as it is." He sighed, checking his watch.
"Fine, fine. Go on before I get you in trouble." I tease, giving him a push in the right direction. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Now I see what Michelle was talking about when she mentioned pushing." He joked, shaking his head. I laughed at the comment before pulling him back for a quick kiss.
"I'll see you later tonight."
"Good luck on your game Evan. I love you."
I smiled at the words. He has said them so much, but it never gets old.
"I love you too, Justin."
He grinned one last time before turning to head back to the gym. I watched him silently for a moment, pushing the urge to be disappointed at him leaving to the back of my mind before heading off to find Michelle so we could eat before the next game.
So that's the first chapter!
It starts right off the bat with Volleyball, but I hope you can get a since of the characters or at least a jumping-off point.
Remember that this is a John Cena story, so all of you who saw Justin Gabriel and wondered if I had lost my mind rest assured I have a plan and will introduce his character later on.