Author's Note: This chapter contains some basketball language and terms. I'll try to make it as simple as I can without sounding babish to those of you who enjoy the sport. Sorry for any confusion. If you have any questions E-mail me t: Hope you enjoy this chapter and pleaz comment.

Disclaimer: (I know I should've posted this earlier but I'm going to post it now so please pay attention to it!) Shay (AKA Ace) is my character as are her song lyrics. Luke is also my character. They belong to me though the other characters do not. Please do not copy/steal my characters and/or my song lyrics. Thanx.

Chapter 2: Ace

It was late Sunday afternoon and a rough basketball game was going on down at the basketball court. Chase was sitting off on the sidelines, an extra player. He was still upset over his and Zoey's fight earlier that morning and he felt guilty because his thoughts kept drifting back to Shay. Her song...Her voice...Her smile...Her beautiful eyes... Chase shook his head violently to rid himself of the thoughts. He was dating Zoey not Shay. He shouldn't even be thinking about Shay.

At that moment Shay Mallory appeared at the side of the basketball court dressed in a pair of dark blue shorts and tight tank top. She waited on the sidelines until the ball bounced out of bounds. Shay picked up the ball as Logan and the rest of the guys came running over to retrieve it.

"Room for one more?" Shay asked, her voice as calm and quiet as it had been that morning.

"Can you actually play?" Logan challenged as he stiffled a laugh.

Shay nodded, "Just give me a chance. If I don't play up to your standards then just tell me and I'll quit."

"Fine. Chase!" Logan yelled over his shoulder, causing Shay to wince involuntarily.

"I've got Chase. Luke, you got...what's your name again?" Logan looked at Shay as he talked to a tall raven haired boy who was dressed in all black with his arms covered in tatoos.

"Shay."

"Right. Luke you get the girl. Now let's play." Logan snatched the ball from Shay's hands and headed back out onto the court, the group of players close behind.

Chase trotted up to guard Shay as Luke and Logan checked the ball.

"Good luck." He said to her as he got down in defensive position.

"Thanks." Shay smiled at him, causing Chase to feel his heart skip a beat again, "Good luck to you too."

Chase was so distracted by Shay's smile he didn't notice what was going on around him until Shay caught the ball and drove around him, making an easy layup. A series of "Ooohhh"s and "Dang..."s erupted from the players. All except for Logan, who scowled at Chase.

"Come on! Can't you guard a girl?" He snapped, throwing his shoulder into Chase on his way to retrieve the ball.

Chase sighed and jogged down the court where the other players were already waiting for Logan to bring the ball up. He ran to his post position where Shay was waiting to guard him.

"Nice shot." Chase commented as he got into position for the ball.

Shay didn't reply as she followed Chase as he cut out to the three point line, catching a pass from Logan. He squared up to the basket, keeping the ball on his hip as he looked for an opprtunity to pass or dribble. But Shay was blocking him from dribbling and no one was open for a pass. Chase knew he was a good 4 inches taller than Shay, who was rather small for her age, and decided to take a shot. He pulled the ball off his hip and shot the ball, feeling confident it would go in. The ball had just been released from Chase's hand when Shay jumped up and swatted it out of the air. The ball bounced a few feet away, but Shay was quick to grab it and dribble down the court. She stopped at the three point line and pulled up a nice jumper. The ball sailed through the air in a perfect arc before swishing through the net. Chase stood dumbfounded along with the rest of his team as Shay's team whooped.

"Nice shot Ace!" Luke shouted as he picked up the ball and tossed it to Logan, who was glaring at Chase.

The nickname was picked up by the rest of the guys and soon they were all calling Shay, "Ace", everytime she stole the ball or made a basket.

"Great layup Ace!"

"Yeah Ace!"

"Nice steal Ace!"

"Awesome swish Ace!"

Shay's face seemed to glow everytime she heard the nickname. She was finally being accepted and it felt awesome. The game went on until it became too dark to see the basket and all the players were dog-tired and dripping in sweat.

"I'll see ya tommorow Logan. I'm heading off to bed." Luke said as he picked up his basketball, "Good game Ace." He added as he walked off.

Luke was followed by the rest of the players each saying a quick "Good game Ace" or "Great playin' Ace" as they walked past Shay. Soon it was only Chase and Shay left on the court. She gave him a shy smile.

"Good game." Shay said in her usual quiet tone as she fell into step beside Chase.

"I should be telling you that. You were awesome. Where did you learn to play like that?"

She hesitated before answering, "It was just something I picked up when I wasn't writing or practicing one of my songs."

It amazed her how easy it was to lie in order to avoid topics about her dad. Chase nodded as he walked Shay up to the girls dorm entrance.

"Look," Shay said as she turned to face Chase, "I'm really sorry for screwing things up with you and your girlfriend. I'll go talk to her if you want."

Chase blinked, confused. It took him a few moments to remember his and Zoey's fight. He hadn't thought about her since right before Shay showed up to play ball.

"How did you know about our fight?"

"I accidently overheard you two arguing. I'm really sorry."

"Shay, you don't really have to do anything. I mean, it's not your fault."

Shay sighed as she hugged her elbows, avoiding making eye contact, "It feels like it is and I just hate it when people argue. Hate it. Look, I'm just sorry okay?"

She turned from Chase and made to open the door, but he took hold of her shoulder. Shay winced and pulled away. They locked eyes for a moment before Shay yanked open the door and ran inside the girls dorm, racing up the stairs as quietly as she could. Chase stood dumbfounded something was wrong with Shay. There was something definately wrong with her. With these thoughts swimming in his head, Chase walked off to the boys dorm.

End of Chapter