There was excitement on campus as the time came for the region basketball game, tonight would be the night that determined if the Kadic Wolves Boy's Basketball Team would be returning to nationals. In the locker room, Jim was giving the team a quick run-through of the game plan.
"Alright you guys, tonight we're playing the eighth ranked seed in the play-offs, tonight's winner goes to nationals in Paris, I want you guys to get back there. I'll let Alex take over and start the break down."
Alex stood up and looked at the guys. "Let's do this our fans are waiting for us out in that gym. Let's show them that we're the best. Let's beat the Dukesridge Bandits!" Alex started the slow clap, the team slowly joined in, the tempo of the claps getting faster and louder. The beat climaxed and Alex yelled "Ready? Breakdown!"
The team responded "GO BIG BLACK!"
"LET'S GO WOLVES!"
"BREAK!"
Jim opened the locker room doors and the guys took off out onto the court, music was pumping out of the gym's speakers and the crowd was going crazy. 20 minutes to warm up and it was game on." The team grabbed basketballs and set to shooting around. On the sidelines, Yumi and the cheerleaders were checking out the cheering Kadic crowd.
Aelita looked at Yumi "The fans seem pretty pumped Yumi."
Yumi nodded "That's because it's the regional match. The finals in the playoffs. The guys win this and we're heading back to nationals in Paris."
Time ticked down, the teams took off their warm-ups and the crowd settled. Mr. Delmas took the microphone and began the opening introductions. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tonight's matchup between the Kadic Wolves and the Dukesridge Bandits." The fans rose for the French national anthem and Mr. Delmas began the player introductions. He got through the visiting team's lineup and the time came for the Wolves introductions. The Kadic student section began stomping and clapping and the cheerleaders formed a tunnel as each player was introduced.
"At center, 5'11 sophomore, number 20. Ulrich Stern!"
"At guard, 6'2 junior, number 16. Alex Clelland!"
"At the other guard, 5'9 sophomore, number 26. Odd Della Robia!"
"At forward, 6' junior, number 28. William Dunbar!"
"And at the other forward, 5'10 sophomore, number 00. Jeremy Belpois!"
The cheering died down a little and Delmas continued. "The Wolves are coached by head coach Jim Morales and assistant coach Chris Morales. Student Managers are Hiroki Ishiyama and Emmanuel Maillard. Cheerleaders, Captain Yumi Ishiyama, Aelita Stones, Elizabeth Delmas, Nicholas Poliakoff and Herb Pinchion. Officials for tonight's game are Nicholas Atlan, Christophe de Sabatino, and Noam Kanniel. Let's play some basketball."
Lily was staring at Alex through the whole game.
Kai pondered, "Is Lily crushing on Alex?" He shrugged it off and watched the game. He decided to ask Yumi if she noticed anything odd about Lily lately. Lily was bouncing up and down excited, "GO ALEX!"
The ref threw the ball into the air, Ulrich snagged the tip and sent it back to Alex. Alex dodged around the Bandit's center and took off down court. He reached the three point line, took the shot and sank the three. The kadic crowd erupted in cheers as the Bandits' guard got the ball stolen by Odd.
Odd brought the ball down court, passed the ball to William who brought it in and dunked the ball. The scoreboard now read Wolves-5, Bandits-0. Mr. Delmas acknowledged William's shot. "And a spectacular dunk by William Dunbar!"
The clock ticked down to the end of the first half. When the buzzer for the second quarter sounded, Alex and the Wolves left the court, passing under a scoreboard that read Wolves-27, Bandits-23. The crowds settled down as the teams returned to the locker rooms.
Yumi walked off the sidelines and over toward the student section. She walked up to Kai "So Kai, what do you and Lily think of your first Kadic Basketball game?"
Lily shouted, "ALEX IS AMAZING!"
Kai shrugged, "They are ok. I've never been one for sports. Yumi after the game can I speak with you?"
Yumi looked at Kai "Sure thing." Then to Lily she said "Hey Lily, Nicholas is leaving the cheerleaders to get some time on the court. That means we have an opening. Would you like to join the squad and become a Wolf Cheerleader?"
Lily nodded excitedly, "You bet! Anything to support the team."
Yumi laughed "You honestly have the enthusiasm Lily. If the boys win tonight, we're going to Paris for Nationals. Joining us will secure you a slot on the trip to Paris. Still in?"
Lily fist pumped, "I never back out of a agreement. I'm so totally in."
The crowd started cheering as the Wolves returned to the court. Yumi looked over her shoulder. "That's my cue to get back to the sidelines. Lily, meet Aelita after the game and she'll get you fitted for a cheer uniform." She smiled, walked back down the bleachers and returned to the sidelines.
The game resumed and stayed close the entire time. Two minutes into the final quarter, Jim called for a timeout and the ref blew the whistle. Huddling up, the wolves devised a new strategy. "Guys," Jim said "We need to change up our plan of attack. Our usual plays are keeping this game too close. We need to open the wolves den strategy." The guys nodded, Alex looked over to Jeremy "Alright Belpois, with the wolves den you get to repeat last years regions. Stay open and we'll win this easily." Then to the rest of the team he said "Hands in. Wolves on 3."
"1...2...3. WOLVES!"
The team returned to the court. The ref handed the ball to Odd. Odd faked a pass to Alex and threw it to Ulrich. Ulrich passed the ball to William, William got into his sweet spot, took the lay-up and sank the ball for two. The clock ticked down to three minutes and the center for the Bandits fouled on Alex. The teams took to the line as Alex stood on the free throw. He sank both shots and the game continued on.
The crowd was going insane as the final 15 seconds began ticking away. Ulrich passed the ball to William, William passed it to Odd, Odd passed it to Jeremy and Jeremy took the shot. The ball sailed through the air, ran the rim a few times and dropped in as the buzzer sounded.
The Kadic side erupted into cheers. They boys had won and were returning to nationals. The guys left the court to shower, the cheerleaders began to pack up their stuff, Aelita waited on Lily while Yumi went to talk to Kai.
Kai said, "Yumi I need advice. Ever since Lily started watching Alex train she's been all googly eyed."
Yumi grinned "I think your sister may be in love with our friend Alex. You think she might have fallen for him with that marionette prank?"
He smiled, "Possibly. I also well…"
Yumi looked at him "Spit it out Kai. No one's listening."
He sighed, "She left a book in my room one day and when I went to return it. I swear I saw her writing a love letter to Alex."
"You get a chance to prove your suspicion?"
Kai shook his head, "No its just… thing is my sister saw me and threw out the letter, so I couldn't check it."
"I see, speaking of sisters, Lily's done getting fitted for her cheer uniform."
Kai said, "She'll do great. She is the most enthusiastic person on Earth. Thanks for talking to me Yumi."
Yumi nodded "Any time Kai."
Kai thanked her and headed off to his room.
Alex came out of the locker room in a pair of black shorts and a t-shirt. He saw Yumi and smiled "That game was totally awesome. Back to nationals! Jim is so proud of us, who wants to go to Kanniel's to celebrate?"
Yumi agreed to go, the other team members did as well. This left Alex to look at Lily "Well Lily, you're a Kadic Wolf Cheerleader, you're part of the team. Want to join us?"
Lily smiled, "YOU BET!"
Alright then, come on guys. It's not too far to walk. And I don't want you people smelling my hair like the last time." Alex said as he walked out of the gym.
Yumi, Odd, William, Ulrich and Jeremy followed him out and towards the gate. Aelita walked past Lily, "Come on, they won't wait up. We better catch up."
Lily nodded, "Ok Aelita." she ran after them and bumped into Alex, sending the two of them to the ground.
"Easy Lily," Alex said "Curb your enthusiasm a bit." He stood and helped her up.
Lily blushed, "Uh right sorry about that Alex."
"It's cool Lily, just watch yourself next time. We don't either of us to get hurt."
Lily smiled, "Right. So what is this place like?"
Ulrich explained "Kanniel's is a teenage nightclub. Great music, all kinds of sodas. Darts, pool tables, karaoke nights. You name it. If a teenager loves it, they pretty much have it."
Lily said, "That place sounds amazing. Good thing Kai didn't come. He's a party pooper. Oh the stories I could tell you."
"Go ahead and save them. We're almost there." Odd said, turning to Alex he asked "Isn't it Karaoke night tonight?"
Alex nodded with a big grin on his face. "I've got a good one for tonight guys. You'll love it."
Lily eyes widened, "You sing too?"
Alex looked at her "It's one of my many talents, I'm not just good at basketball, I'm not just a smart guy. I sing, play bass and keytar, I'm a gamer, and I love martial arts and boxing."
Lily had stars in her eyes, "You're perfect!"
"I wish. I'm just fun." Alex replied as they entered into the club. Looking at the others, he said "I'm gonna go sign up for a set. Grab me a root beer and meet by the red felt pool table." He walked off.
Lily vowed, "He will be mine!" She got him his root beer and waited for him at the pool table.
Alex quick made his pick. "Diary of a Deadman." The DJ nodded as he dialed it up. "Alright Alex, I'll call you up when it's your turn." Alex smirked "Thanks Mark." He walked off and joined up with his friends. "Got my set guys."
Lily smiled, "Ooh I can't wait to hear you sing!"
Alex leaned against the pool table and drank his root beer. After four other sets, Alex's name was called. "Wish me luck." He said as he walked up to the stage.
Lily said, "Good luck Alex!"
The music began as Alex picked up the mic.
Lily listened intensly.
Alex's cue came and he launched into the song.
Looking back I still have so many questions
So many things unanswered
Like what did I do?
What could I do?
Was there ever a moment you cared?
Was I always ugly and abandoned
Remembering all the times you wished me harm
You wished me dead
How could I have changed to make it better?
And would I?
Would I?
Why?
I still feel so much hate inside of me
Seems like you were just waiting for me to fail
I'm sorry I can't forgive you
Do you blame me?
You never forgave me
I've tried to grow from this
Every day is a new challenge
Because with you there's just no winning
Like it or not I'm still a part of you
And you're still a part of me
Like it or not you're still a part of me
Yeah
So this is how it ends
All the tears, all the blood
It's all been for nothing
As the candle dwindles and flickers out
The end
Lily cheered loudly, the rest of the crowd was silent. The lyrics Alex had spoken. They were deep. Odd looked at his friends "I didn't know Five Finger Death Punch would have a song that deep. And it's a lot of speaking." The others nodded.
Lily blushed heavily and left embarrassed. Alex returned to the others "What'd you guys think? I'll do another set later but for now I'd like to play a game of pool. Come on Della Robia, let's go." Odd smirked "You're going down this time Alex."
The two each fishe out 50 cents and put them into the coin slots on the pool table. Odd racked the balls and pulled away the triangle, Alex cracked the formation and sank a solid right away. "I'm solids, you're stripes Odd."
Odd and Alex kept going, cleating ball after ball off the table until only the Eight Ball remained. Odd stared it down, took his shot and the ball rolled close to the far corner pocket. Alex seized the opportunity, took his shot and sank the 8. "I win again Della Robia. You can't beat me. Back in Greece I pretty my grew up in my aunt Rachel's bar."
Eventually, Alex did his second set, choosing Refugee by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The crowd went wild as he walked off the stage. As they left, Alex turned to the others. I'm pumped for nationals. I get to go with a great team, guess what guys. I'm gonna get us a limo for the trip, as I did last year.
The guys celebrated, Yumi smiled, and Aelita gave Alex a thumbs up. Alex turned to Lily. "Well Lily, you want to go to nationals in style? You get to stay in the same hotel we stay in. It'll be fun."
Lily smiled, "Definitely. It'll be a blast."
Alex smiled "Awesome. Nationals is a week away. I'll call my parents and ask for the limo and see where we can get a hotel." As the group made their way back towards Kadic after dropping Yumi off at home, Alex texted his dad to get permission to use the limo. He got a yes and confirmation that his dad would look for a hotel for the team to stay in. He said goodnight to his friends and headed into his dorm.
A/N:
Ulrich-Stern3277: Sorry if you think this chapter was short, but it was needed to build in to the next chapter. Hope you don't mind, hope you're enjoying it, and my offer still stands if you readers want to co-op a fanfic. PM me if you want and we'll work out the details. Thanks, now I'll turn it over to my co-author Icypika. Over to you buddy!
Icypika: Hey guys I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Thoughts on possible shippings? Leave them in the review.