One chapter to go. Not bad so far in my opinion.
Dick's POV
National signing day. Here we are. Both Vic and I sitting at a table inside a giant convention center in New York City, our friends and families sitting in the clustered audience, full of other player's families, couches, scouts, and of course an ass load of media, waiting for us to make our decision so they can broadcast it all over ESPN.
With me being the number one recruit in the nation and Vic being in the top five as well, a lot of the attention is on us particularly. It would be nerve racking but I've been surrounded by media my entire life almost, so it's nothing to me at this point. Just another day really.
I glance at Kori who sits in between Alfred and Bee. She looks extremely nervous, which I can tell by the way she is biting her lower lip, and tapping her foot against the carpeted floor of the convention center. She has done those same things since she was a kid. It's adorable really.
The reason she is nervous is a fairly simple one. She doesn't know which school I'm picking yet, and that's mostly because I don't even know myself, even as I set at this table moments away from making a choice that will affect my life for the next four years. Kori is going to USC and she desperately wants me to go there with her, and it's certainly one of the three options I have narrowed it down to, the other two being UCLA and Stanford. All schools are close, so no matter what school I go to, Kori and I'll see each other often. That's not really the deciding factor. Honestly, I don't know what the deciding factor is right now. I guess it's going to be an in the moment type thing.
Vic, who sits directly beside me, is up to pick first, his choices being between Alabama and Ohio State, two of the most prominent programs in the country. Neither of those schools are close to Bee's choice of NYU, so that probably doesn't factor into his choice in the slightest.
I watch as he glances between the two hats, and I'm guessing there were some Ohio State fans in the crowd because they cheer when he raises their hat and places it on his head. The media swarms him, asking him question after question as to what he expects from next season and what was his deciding factor.
Not long after his choice being made, all eyes in the room slowly drift to me, awaiting my decision. My attention however is focused on only one person. Kori.
I study her eyes that seem to be desperately willing me to grab the USC hat and place it on my head. Things have been going great between us as of late. We still can hang out and joke around just like we always have but now on top of that there is the sex, which is out of this world amazing. I love being around her and I think rooming together would be really cool. We had a great time when she was staying with me, while I recovered and I miss having her around all the time.
When I entered here today, Stanford was probably my first choice, but I don't think that's the case anymore. Feeling fairly confident in my decision, I place the USC hat on my head and am almost immediately bull rushed by the media, them shoving their cameras in my face and practically yelling questions at me, but the entire time my eyes are focused on Kori. She's smiling so widely, clearly ecstatic about my choice. She flashes a heart symbol at me with her hands and I wink back at her. I can't wait for the fall.
3rd Person POV
The school year was beginning to wind down and everyone was feeling it. It was getting closer and closer by the day. Graduation.
It was already mid March and talks of summer, college, and change were floating throughout the school, and specifically among Dick and Kori's friends. They currently all sat around a table in the court yard of the school discussing the upcoming changes, each throwing in their view points on the mater.
"So... this is it, guys. This is one of the last times we'll be sitting at this very table as a group," Wally announced dramatically as he stroked that stone table lovingly.
"We still have two months left," Rachel droned.
"Oh, come one, mama," Gar exclaimed, throwing hid arm over her shoulder only for her to shrug it right back off. "You have to be excited, right?"
"I know I am," Vic interjected before Rachel could tell Gar not to call her mama. "I can't wait to get to, Ohio."
"First time anyone has ever said that," Dick joked.
"We're not all California boys," Vic shot back.
"And thank God for that," Bee included. "I don't think I could deal with you being so far away." Bee was going to NYU in the next few months, which of course was on the other side of the country from California. It was bad enough her Vic weren't going to the same school, each chasing their own dreams, but the other side of the country? That would have been too much.
Vic place his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer, giving her a kiss on her temple. "I'm really going to miss you, but at least you will have Gar and Raven with you. I'm going to be all by myself out there."
"So am I," Donna added. "Yale is a great school and I'm lucky to have gotten accepted, but I'm going to miss you guys." Donna was being modest. She was not only accepted to Yale, but received a full scholarship. I guess they saw the same potential in her that everyone else did.
"Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to live without all of you," Kori chimed in, her tiny body tucked into Dick's larger one.
"Oh, please," Bee began. "You got your boy toy with you... and will either of you explain to me how it took you two ten years to finally figure out what everyone else knew all along?" she questioned, looking between Dick and Kori.
"Well, basically... I'm an idiot," Dick summed it up, causing all of them to laugh. "But seriously, everything worked out in the end, which, in my opinion, is all that matters."
"I don't care how long it took," Kori added, glancing up at him lovingly. "Although, I do hope the rest of our relationship doesn't take as long to progress," she joked.
"If that's the case you won't have babies till you're in your fifties," Bee teased. Dick and Kori glanced between each other, visually agreeing there would be no babies happening anytime soon anyway.
The group joked and laughed the rest of their lunch, but in the back of all of their minds they knew that this would be one of the last times that they got to do this and that was something no one wanted to talk about. They would save their tears for graduation.
Dick's POV
One more. Just one more rep. That's what I tell to myself as I press the heavy loaded barbell off my chest over and over again. I am finally cleared to workout, which I've been doing anyway for the last few weeks. My strength is quickly rebuilding from the hiatus from the gym and I am feeling pretty good. It's finally April and there's about a month and a half to that glorious day known as graduation, which means there is also about a month and a half until my first college practice and I need to be in top shape for that.
Besides my sometimes severely soar muscles, things are going fantastic right now. Kori and I are great. If I knew dating your best friend was this fun and easy I would have done it a long time ago. There's no drama or headaches between us, which I love. In fact, I think we argued way more as just friends than we do now. My guess was that it was the built up sexual frustration, but I don't know. Regardless, I couldn't be happier. I really think she is perfect for me.
I'm brought out of my thoughts of Kori when I see a breaking news icon flash across the tv that hangs on the wall in my gym. I have really been keeping up with world events lately, which I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I didn't realize how messed up our world was I guess. Removing my headphones that rest in my ear, I listen as a man in a blue suit appears on the screen. "News tonight out of Iraq. The terrorist group, ISIS has taken the capital city of Baghdad after days of conflict with Iraqi forces. There are reports of widespread death of men, women, and children and we have received images too ghastly to show on television. Shortly after news of the siege of the Iraqi capital President Obama announced that he would be sending troops into both Iraq and Syria over the next six months to deal with the vastly spreading and malicious terrorist group. We shall bring you more news as we receive it, but the situation certainly does look grave in the middle east on this night."
I sat there on the weight bench, reflecting what I just heard. ISIS, those bitch ass motherfuckers, took another city, but that isn't even what has me so furious. They killed not only men, but innocent women and children just because they were there. There was no reason behind it. Because of them, some kid is going to have to live their life without his or her parents. Because of them, some mother lost her child, probably watching him viciously murdered right in front of her eyes.
I know that pain it causes to lose someone close to you. I know the hurt and hate it creates inside of someone. I know what those mothers, those kids, are feeling right now and though I don't know a single one of them personally, it genuinely breaks my heart because I have been there in their shoes feeling the same thing as them. As I reflect back on my parents death, something I try to avoid doing, I feel something inside of me change in that moment. A dimmed fire inside of me, erupts, as if gasoline has been thrown on it, causing it to ablaze.
I glance at a USC poster on my gym's wall. College was going to be great. Kori and I rooming together. Playing football in front of millions of people. Partying and having a blast on the weekends. Surely being the man on campus. But while I am doing all of that, while I am living it up in California, innocent people would be dying, women and children at that. Can I allow myself to simply stand by and watch these things happen, turning a blind eye like most people do because it's not their problem? When kids are getting murdered it's everyone's problem is my opinion, so the answer was no. I can't.
I look down at a picture of Kori on the screensaver on my phone sadly. I know what I have to do and it's going to probably ruin everything, but I feel like I have a duty to uphold that's more important than what I want.
3rd Person POV
Dick stood there in the parking lot, in front of grey building. He read the sign in front of it. 'United States Army Recruiting Center.'
We're getting close to the end guys. One chapter left. You guys are going to hate me. Review and tell me what you think!