"Oh man!"

Newt watched as the ball shanked off to the side, landing out of bounds. He frowned and looked down guiltily. This had been the fifth time he'd completely shanked a serve aimed right at him. Even the ones he didn't were pretty sloppy.z It was clear the other team had him marked.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's all good," Olivier said, patting him on the back. "Just do your best to get the next one."

Newt sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I will, but…" He had a feeling he probably wasn't going to be able to get the next one either. Especially when it was number 12's turn to serve.

He glanced over at Beat, who was strangely silent. Usually when he was going this bad in practice, Beat yelled at or scolded him. It was terrifying at first, but he had quickly learned that it wasn't personal. Beat tended to scold just about everyone on the team at one point or another. Even Olivier. He had gotten used to the young Samoan's temper. So used to it that hearing him be so silent now was honestly creepy.

"You worried about Beat?" Olivier asked, looking amused.

Newt turned towards him worriedly. "He's not saying anything, even though I've messed up like a lot already. I'm not sure if I should be glad or…?" He was honestly scared that he was angrier than ever and it was all just silently rising to a boiling point.

Olivier shook his head. "Don't worry about it, he's fine," he said, trying to reassure him.

He went back over to take his position, and Newt glanced towards Beat again. He still felt more than a little nervous, and he resolved to get the next one. The server on the other team smiled, looking right towards him as he spun the ball in his hands. It was honestly a little vexing to be singled out like this.

When the whistle blew, the server tossed the ball up and then leapt up, hitting it almost immediately. "It's a float!" Beat called.

Newt stepped forward, remembering what Olley had told him. For float serves it was best to use an overhand receive. He lifted both of his hands and knocked the ball up, but it didn't go anywhere near where he'd intended. "S-sorry!" he shouted.

Beat ran underneath the ball, jumping up and setting it towards Olivier. "I got it!" he shouted, bringing his arm back. Two of the other team jumped up to block him, but when he hit the ball he sent it brushing off the tip of their fingers.

"Nice wipe!"

The ball went flying back, but one of the members on the other team rushed after it, diving for it and just barely knocking it into the air. Another ran over and managed to set the ball up into the air. Their outside leapt up and got ready to spike the ball, but then suddenly a shadow loomed over him.

Newt towered over him, both hands raised into the air. "My receives still aren't any good, but…!" The spiker swung his arm, his eyes shifting to the right as he went for a cross shot. Just as he hit the ball however, Newt moved his hands to the side and blocked it. "At least I can make up for it with blocks!"

The spiker looked shocked as the ball went flying back down to the other side of the court. Unfortunately it landed out of bounds. Newt looked in disbelief, and then hung his head as the other team cheered. "Hey, don't sweat it. It was a good block, you'll get them next time," Olivier said, patting him on the shoulder.

He felt a slap on the back and stumbled forward, then looked back to see Beat staring at him. "Stop looking down lanky. It was one bad block. You'll get it back," he said.

Beat turned around to walk back to his spot, but then Newt spoke out. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly. Beat stopped and looked back towards him with a raised eyebrow, and Newt rubbed his arm nervously. "I keep messing up my receives, and now I'm even botching my blocks. I know you're made about it, but-"

He didn't get to finish before he felt a blow to his side. He winced and clutched the spot where Beat chopped him. "Stop sulking you lanky wimp. I already know your receives suck. I didn't expect you to start getting it after a few practices. Just don't start half-assing it and we won't have any problems."

With that he walked off, and Olivier approached Newt with a smirk. "So you were really that worried about it huh? I told you it was fine. Beat doesn't care how good you are at the game. All he cares about is whether or not you're doing your best," he said. "And you always do that, so you have nothing to worry over."

Newt looked over towards Beat who was cracking his neck and getting ready for the next play. As intense as he could be sometimes, Newt did have to admit he was pretty patient and helpful to him in practice. The times he had been yelled at had always been when he hesitated or got too into his own head. He was demanding, but he only demanded things he knew his teammates could do.

He knew as soon as the other team had seen how bad Newt was at receiving they would target him. It was a smart strategy, and he would have done it himself. That being said, it still pissed him off seeing one of his underclassmen getting picked on.

Number 12 was up again, and he had a wicked smile as he dribbled the ball a few times. He had a hell of a serve, and he was planning on picking up more than a few points against Newt. It looked like Newt was a bit more relaxed now, now completely sure that Beat wasn't going to be upset if he botched this.

Still, he was going to do his best to at least get the ball into the air.

The whistle blew, and he tossed the ball up high before jumping after it and sending it sailing across the net. "You cocky piece of crap. That stupid serve…" The ball went sailing towards Newt, who braced himself for it. But then Beat suddenly stepped in front of him, receiving the ball dead on and sending it up into the air. "Ain't shit to me!"

The other team looked surprised, not only from the fact that someone had moved in front of him, but that it was the setter. "Olley!" Beat shouted, running towards forward.

"I got it!" Olivier shouted as he ran over and raised his hands up. He set the ball up into the air, and Beat jumped up after it. Two blockers jumped up in front of him, but he brought his arm back and just swung away. The ball blew right back the block, and to number 12 who tried to dig it up. It shanked off to the side however, and sent him stumbling back and falling onto his rear.

Beat stood up and glared over at him. If he thought he was the only one on his team who could set the ball, he was dead wrong. Olivier wasn't as good as he was, but he was still pretty damn good at it. And even if Beat's technique wasn't as polished at Olivier's, he more than made up for it in power. "Don't go picking on my underclassman, you chump."

He turned around and then fist bumped Olivier, and then the whistle blew as the other team called a timeout. "Looks like you rattled them a little, huh?" Olivier asked, chuckling. They walked over to the bench, and as they did Newt walked over beside Beat.

"Uh, thanks for covering for me," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Beat grunted. "I wasn't really covering for you. That guy's face just sort of pissed me off is all," he said simply. "Little advice. For right now, your receive doesn't have to be all that clean. Just try to get them as high in the air as you can. If I have to run for it, that's fine. I'm not gonna tire out that easily."

"Right, send it high…"

"Also, after we get back out there, I'm gonna start setting the ball to you more. Make sure you dunk on those losers."

Newton nodded nervously. "Right, I'll do my best…"

"You better."

When they got to the sidelines, the Beat started saying a few words to the others as well. The coach sat back and watched with a smirk on his face. He knew they had enough experience and intuition that he wouldn't have to step in anytime soon, which meant he was doing his job right.

Newt was only half listening however, catching only every other word. But then he felt a tap on his shoulder. "You okay?" He jumped and then grabbed his chest, but then turned and saw Lyric leaning over from the bleacher looking down at him. "Well, your pretty jumpy today."

"S-sorry. I guess I'm just trying to stay focused. Anyway, I'm fine…"

She hummed and then glanced over towards Beat. "You sure? Because I know my brother can be a total drag sometimes," she said. "He didn't shake you up or anything did he? Because I'll go down there and slap some sense into him."

Newt held his hands up. "N-no! That's okay. He just told me he was going to start setting me more when we're back on the court. I'm a little bit nervous about it though." He wasn't exactly terrible at spiking, but he wasn't as good as Olivier was. The only thing he could honestly say he had confidence in was his blocking.

"Oh, that's all? You should be good then," Lyric said, waving him off. "If my brother says you can do it, then you can probably do it."

Newt let out a breath. "You and your brother… you always make doing things sound so easy. I know that I might be able to do it, but it's not like that means I can for sure, you know?" he asked.

"I didn't say it'd be easy," Lyric said, looking amused. "But you don't have a shot if you keep second guessing yourself. My brother's got faith you can do it, so have a little bit in yourself. You're the tallest thing on the court anyway. Just get out and then… you know, do your thing. I'm sure it'll work out."

"So… do you think I can do it too?" he asked, a slight blush on his face.

"Me and everyone else with a decent pair of eyes," she said, playfully nudging his chin with her fist. "Now go out there and dunk on those chumps."

Newt smiled back at her, but then suddenly felt something hit him in his side again. Beat had once again chopped him, and was looking up at him with a glare. "Hey, stop chatting and get back on the court lanky," he said. "I'm serving next… so watch the back of your head."

Newt flinched, and then made his way back onto the court, offering a small wave towards Lyric as he did. Beat turned towards his younger sister, narrowing his eyes at her. She stuck her tongue out in response, and he did the same before going back to the court to serve.

The second the whistle blew Beat tossed the ball up into the air. "This is how you serve, you punk!" He sent the ball sailing towards number twelve, who barely managed to get his hands up in time. The ball went up into the air and sailed towards the net.

"I got it!"

One of the players on the other team tried to jump up and save it before it went back to their side, but Newt ran up and got to it first. He knocked it right back down, this time keeping it in bounds. Newt smiled and pumped his fist as the rest of his team cheered.

"Nice job man!"

"Coming in with that freshman fire!"

When the next play started, Beat served again. This time he used a float serve, which had caught the other team off guard. They managed to receive it though, and set up for a spike. Right when their outside hitter swung however, Newt jumped up to block him. The ball skimmed off his fingers, and he looked back. "One touch!"

Olivier moved over and received the ball, and Beat rushed over for the set. "Get back up there Newt!" he shouted, setting the ball up high.

Newt ran forward and then leapt into the air, bringing his arm back. The blockers on the other team jumped up in front of him. "Right, it's like Lyric said. If they think I can do it..." He swung his arm, and the point of impact where his hand met the ball was well over the blockers peak height. "I can do it!"

The ball went zipping down, and though one of the other players tried to dive for it, he couldn't quite make it in time. Newt landed, another smile spreading across his face.

Beat walked over towards him, holding his fist up. "Hell yeah," he said, smirking. Newt fist bumped him. "I hope they start getting used to that, because I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon. We're gonna run rough shot over those punks. Are you ready?"

Newt nodded back. "Yeah, let's do it."

"Nice job Newt."

The tall teen smiled and pushed his glasses up as he walked alongside Beat and Olivier. The game had ended up very much going their way, with them winning two straight sets. Olivier had done most of the scoring as usual, but Newt had gotten quite a few in himself as well.

"I-it was nothing," he said, trying to sound modest.

Olivier laughed. "No it wasn't! It was awesome! I mean for your first real game to go that well? It's just amazing! I'm seriously jealous of you being so tall! Every time you score it looks the coolest!" he beamed.

Newt felt a blush build up in his cheeks at the praise. Olivier wasn't exactly the best when it came to teaching certain things. As good as he was at the game, it seemed like he had a hard time explaining it to others. But whenever he was complimenting someone it always came across as genuine. He was a lot more encouraging overall than Beat usually was.

"Don't compliment him too much. He'll get a big head. He still needs to work on his receiving," Beat said sternly. "Still, you did a pretty good job for your first match. You got skills, kid. And I'm looking forward to seeing how good you can get."

Newt turned towards him. "So, does that mean-"

"But if I catch you flirting with my sister again, you're not gonna live long enough to find out how good you can get, so tread carefully, you get me?" he asked, a deadly scowl on his face as he made a neck slicing motion.

Newt looked panicked, but then suddenly Lyric came pushing past Beat. "Oh, stop trying to scare him," she said, pouting at her brother. "You did great. Don't let him get in your head." She grabbed onto Newt's arm and started pulling him along. "C'mon, we should go celebrate. Some of the others are headed to Taco House."

"Oh, okay…"

Beat watched with a scowl as his sister dragged his teammate off. While he was always able to keep his little siblings in line, Lyric was the only one who could really check him back when he was being… well, him. Olivier put a hand on his shoulder. "Well Beat, I'm sure that Newt will take good care of-"

"You make a brother-in-law joke and they'll never find your body."

"Nevermind then."

Newton looked back over his shoulder, clearly worried. "Uh, your brother seems mad at me," he said nervously.

"Yeah, he's like that about ninety percent of the time if you haven't noticed by now. Just let him sulk. He'll be fine," she said simply. She knew it would tick her brother off, but she didn't care. Spending time with Newt was interesting.

The fact that it just ticked her brother off was a bonus.

After they got a good distance away and out of the range of Beat's glare, Newt managed to relax. He'd had a pretty good day, and he was getting to spend some time with Lyric. All and all, today had been a pretty good day.

A/N: Some more volleyball fic lol. Newt is still pretty new at the game so even though he's got height going for him he has a hard time getting some stuff down. But he usually does his best so Beat doesn't come down on him too hard during games. And Lyric is the only one of his siblings who Beat can't really keep in check. She's not a troublemaker or anything but she definitely bite back when Beat gets an attitude. (She's also got a temper as bad as his when she gets angry)