Heads up to my friend for helping me out with basketball rules. You know who you are ;)
This chapter is...well...intense in the end so brace yourselves.
The music was loud. Korra could hear it and feel the thump even in the locker room.
It was finally the big game against Clanberrie, and the clock read 6:30. 30 minutes until the first game of the year.
The blue-eyed girl was halfway between throwing up and laughing in hysteria. Clearly pretending that she wasn't nervous was pretty hard.
"Okay, guys," Mako said, calling the team into a huddle. "We can do this. Our team is in the best shape it's been for years." His eyes flew around the crowd, and landed on Korra's blue ones for a millisecond longer before focusing back on the general team. "Let's go show them what we're made of."
The group cheered, filing out.
Some funky electronic song (probably one from Bolin's M83 practice mixes) filled the air, along with the cheers from the bleachers as the team arrived on scene. They were already chock full, and it wasn't even gametime yet.
No pressure.
The team took the 30 minutes to practice layups and foul shots, eyeing the their opponents on the other side the entire time. Korra couldn't deny it- Clanberrie was good. Each guy was as tall as Mako (Who was the tallest guy in her own team) and as built as Bolin.
She couldn't help but notice how the Clanberrie Coach kept pointing to her, too, as Coach Tenzin and him were in deep discussion.
"Hey." A pat on her back got the girl's attention, and Korra turned around to see Mako's amber eyes trained on hers. "Let's go see what that's about," he said, pointing at the coaches.
So he noticed, too.
As the two players approached the coaches, Coach Tenzin suddenly looked furious, his grip on his clipboard close to breaking it.
"What's going on?" Korra demanded, putting her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, but we're not going to verse a girl!" the Clanberrie coach exclaimed, not even paying attention to Korra.
"Dude, I'm right here," she muttered. Louder, Korra said, "Coach Tenzin?"
The Coach turned his gaze to Korra. "The game begins in ten minutes, and you're in our starting lineup- I can't make adjustments now-"
Mako stepped up, clearing his throat. "Sir," he said, talking to the Clanberrie head, "There are no rules against a girl playing in the boy's basketball team. In fact, the basketball team isn't even strictly for a specific gender in our county's school laws."
Korra raised her eyebrows. Apparently Mako did his research.
"I don't care what you say," the coach said, his southern accent thick. "My team is not playing against some girl."
"Then forfeit," Korra stated, crossing his arms.
"Excuse me?"
"There are two ways this game could go. Either you play, or you forfeit." She smirked, not being able to hide her satisfaction at the sexist Coach's realization of the fact. "So choose your pick." And with that, she turned and walked back to the Court.
She didn't see how Mako grinned at her retreating back.
But she did hear the buzz that indicated it was game time.
Halftime in, the score was 24 for home and 30 for visitors.
The team was sweating like hell, grateful for the ten-minute halftime break. Korra was not feeling too hot, herself- the entire game had been sprinting non-stop, with tough quick passes and too many slow shots. She had been hit illegally more times than she could count, but the ref didn't call it- and Korra didn't want someone to pull the 'she's a girl, she's weak,' card to blame the fouls on.
On top of that, the senior couldn't help but notice how fidgety Mako was. Every time their teammate missed a shot, or let a ball brush past them, she saw how he took a split second to eye the bleachers.
Of course he was nervous. The college recruiters were there, after all.
As they sat on the benches in the locker room, drinking water from the cooler and catching their breath, she made sure to sit next to him.
"Hey," she breathed, giving him a smile. He gave her a slight nod.
They didn't say much; and when Tenzin walked into the room, giving the new plays, the team listened with intensity. But as they prepared to go back on the court, Korra managed to pat Mako's hand with her own. Her heart was practically beating through her chest, but something in her knew that it wasn't because of the game.
"You're an amazing player. Any college would be lucky to have you." It wasn't much, but the blue-eyed girl wanted to at least try to let Mako know that she would be there for him. He had supported her too, after all.
Instead of a response, he squeezed her hand, letting it linger there for a couple of seconds before standing up with her.
"And our own Mako Anderson has the ball- and folks, I think he's going for the three- he goes- and he makes it all-net! We're at a tie at 36-36, now, folks, and with only 5 seconds on the clock, this game sure is a doozy." Shino Shinobi, the school announcer, put his hands up in the air and leaned back, notifying listeners of his own stress.
Korra put her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath before going on defense. The other team had the ball, and although there were only 5 seconds left in the 4th and final quarter, they looked determined to make a winning point.
Korra was not going to let that happen.
She stole a quick look at the bleachers, and saw Asami- the girl had been watching the entire game, waving to Korra whenever the two met eyes- and also Tahno, who had been there since halftime. Although he wasn't cheering for a specific team, she saw how he smiled (not a smirk, but a real smile) when she made a shot or blocked a ball. Giving a tight smile to the two, the senior stood back up and got her hands up in defensive position.
The opposing team's point guard brought the ball up, and she was up against him, trying to pressure him into going out of court-
When his arm swooped down, literally pushing her out of the way.
Korra skidded to the ground, never mind the pain; she glanced at the refs, awaiting some sort of whistle
Thankfully, the referee called the foul, right when the clock rang and signaled the end of the game.
The entire crowd was quiet.
"Intentional foul," the ref called out, making the official call. "Two shots, free-throw line."
Korra breathed a sigh of relief, or gratitude, or maybe both- that meant that she would get two foul shots. If she made those shots, her team would win.
The other players filed off the court; part of the rule for intentional-foul free shots was that nobody could be on the court, except for the person who was shooting and the refs.
Bolin gave her a thumbs up as he left, his signature grin making her ease up. The other players also called from the sidelines, wishing her luck and giving her words of encouragement.
The entire crowd was on their feet, as well, making sure not to miss a moment of the shots.
Korra gave a shaky sigh as she lined up at the free-throw line. She could make foul shots in her sleep. She had this.
Tune it all out, she told herself as the referee threw her the ball. The minute the basketball was in her hands, nothing else mattered; all that existed was that basket.
She dribbled it in place, lined it up firmly in her hands, and shot.
"37-36, folks!" Shino Shinobi announced, and the crowd suddenly came alive with cheers. Korra grinned. Even if she didn't make this second shot, the team still had won the game.
The ball came back into her hands, and she prepared for her final foul shot- as the ball left her fingers, she knew it would go through the basket.
"And the Feller Ferrets win the game, 38-36!" Shinobi practically screamed, trying to be heard over the ecstatic crowd.
Korra turned around, arranging to go back to the sidelines with the rest of the team- and found that she didn't need to. They ran onto the court, with Bolin pulling her on his shoulders, and cheered along with the rest of the crowd.
"That. Was. Amazing!" Asami squealed, grabbing Korra and pulling her in for a hug. "You're stinky," she sidenoted, scrunching up her nose.
Korra laughed. "I know!" She added. "I was a bit shaky, but I can't believe we actually pulled that off- I mean, did you see the size of those guys-"
"Hey, kid." Korra turned around to see- was that Iroh?
To Asami, she said, "I'll see you in a bit." The girl nodded, giving Korra one last smile before leaving the gym with the rest of the crowd.
"What're you doing here?!" she exclaimed. "I mean, I'm glad that you're here and all, but…?"
Her boss laughed. "This game is pretty big in town."
The senior raised her eyebrows. "We live in a huge ass city, though."
Iroh laughed again, pulling his leather jacket over his shoulders. "Well, this is a huge ass rivalry."
"Did you go here?" Korra asked, the thought popping into her head that Iroh was possibly alumni.
"Only for junior and senior year. I was a football player," Iroh added, "But once a Ferret, always a Ferret." He winked, smirking.
Korra laughed. "Well, I'll see you at work," she said, giving him a smile as she prepared to go to the locker rooms.
She was glad he had come to watch.
"There's apparently a party at Chris Wilker's house," Asami said, wiggling her eyebrows as Korra approached her car.
"I wish I could go," Korra said apologetically. "But I have family coming over tomorrow." Her annoying cousins and creepy uncle were visiting for the day, and she didn't want to risk anything.
"Don't wanna come home hungover, huh?" her friend joked.
"I don't really believe in alcohol anyway," the senior stated nonchalantly. Asami raised an eyebrow.
"I just think getting drunk's stupid," Korra explained. "I mean, it's fun, but not my first choice of recreation. Plus it tastes like piss," she added.
"I completely agree," Asami said. "Looks like you do have a mature side to yourself, after all," she teased, receiving a playful punch from Korra.
"See you Monday!" Asami waved as she got into her car, driving away with Lorde playing loudly on her radio.
Korra wanted to die. Right here and right now. It would be better than this hell her cousins were giving her.
"You look darker than when we last saw you. You must not get into the sun so much."
The basketball player kept her groan in, but didn't refrain from rolling her eyes as her creepy, weird, annoying, and creepy (did she mention creepy?) girl cousin analyzed her looks like she was some type of model scout.
"For the millionth time, Eska, I am a brown person. My skin tone is brown." She glared at the girl. "So shut up and deal with it."
"So indecent," droned Desna, Eska's twin and Korra's other cousin, from the corner of her bedroom. "You live like an animal," he added, referring to Korra's slighty messy room.
"I can still see the floor, and that's all that matters."
"No husband will want you."
Now Korra couldn't keep her groan in. "What do you guys live in- the freaking stone age?!" She exclaimed in annoyance.
Luckily, her mother popped in just in time. "Dinner's ready!" She stated, giving Korra a look that said you're welcome.
As the cousins left her room, Korra dropped her head into her arms. "How much longer," she groaned.
"Just a couple more hours, sweetie," her mother said, rubbing her back supportively. "You know your father and I don't like Unalaq all that much either."
Korra let out a short laugh. "That's an understatement."
Her mother patted her head. "Only a few more hours," she reminded.
Ha. 'Only a few more hours'. How funny.
After dinner was over, the twins declared that they wanted to watch a movie.
"Oh, Korra, be a darling and take them to see one," her uncle asked (or, more correctly, commanded). "They were so excited to see you."
Trying to keep from laughing out loud at the obvious lie, Korra had to comply. Grabbing her keys, she drove as the cousins berated her from the backseat.
Finally at the movie theater, the blue-eyed girl ordered the tickets at the automatic ticket machine (paying fully for the three of them, with no compensation whatsoever from the cousins).
As they entered the inside of the theater, Eska declared, "I will go find us some plausible seats." Her and Desna silently glided away from their cousin.
Korra glared at their retreating backs before turning around and deciding that she could use some candy.
She was about to go to the register when she saw a familiar figure.
"Mako?"
The figure turned around, and it was indeed him.
"Oh, hey," he said, scratching the back of his neck.
"What movie?" she asked, silently joining him in the line.
"Some scary one Bolin wanted to watch. Dragged me along for the rated-r tickets." Korra laughed at this.
"Sounds just like him." She sighed. "I'm here with my cousins."
"Babysitting?"
"More like trying not to get murdered," she snorted. At Mako's confused look, she added, "it's complicated."
He nodded his head, although Korra could tell he pretty much thought she was crazy.
"Wanna ditch?" she said randomly, enjoying the time that she was spending with Mako. She didn't want them to just say an awkward 'see you at school' once they had paid for their stuff- for some reason, she wanted to get to know him better.
The amber-eyed guy raised his eyebrows. "You mean just- leave?"
Korra shrugged. "Why not?"
She grinned when he just said, "…sure."
"He doesn't look a thing like Jesus!" The blue-eyed girl sang along to the radio, as Mako shook his head comically in the seat next to her.
"Come on, everyone has to love the Killers," she said to him, prodding him to sing along with her.
Mako rolled his eyes, not believing himself when he stated, "When you were young."
Korra shrugged. "You didn't sing it, but I'll take it," she laughed. "Do you mind if I look through your collection?" she added, pointing towards the CD case on the floor of the passenger seat.
He shook his head, giving her his consent. Unzipping the case, Korra leafed through the pages of CDs.
"Franz Ferdinand," she muttered. "You actually really look like someone who listens to Franz Ferdinand, now that I think about it."
"You've heard of them?" Mako asked, surprised.
Korra nodded. "Have a few songs from them, yeah." She leafed through a couple more CDs. "You like jazz, too?"
Mako smiled (his smile really looked nice on him). "My mom got me into it when I was just a kid." Suddenly, his smile evaporated as quickly as it came.
Korra didn't have a chance to say anything, though, because they pulled up to a McDonalds right then.
"I had fun," the blue-eyed girl stated when they came back to the movie theater two hours later.
The two had dinner at a McDonalds, with an improvised visit to some college basketball game going on at the gym next door. Korra had learnt a lot about Mako, as well- like how he had gone to Feller High since freshman year; how he didn't like ketchup with his fries; how he was considering going into something law-related for a career.
She had gotten to see him smile and laugh more times than she thought was possible from Mako, which proved to her that he really wasn't that bad of a guy.
"So did I," he responded after a while, tucking the keys into his jean pocket. "You're bearable enough," he joked, giving her a side-glance with a smirk.
"You're decent enough too," Korra teased back.
"So…" Mako said when they got to the outside complex of the theater.
Korra turned to face him, finding him scratching the back of his neck again.
It really was appealing, how he did that whenever he was feeling awkward.
And what happened next was a blur.
Before she could think, the girl pushed herself up and her lips met with Mako's- muffling the surprised 'mmf!' that he let off- and she closed her eyes, hoping he would respond positively-
And he kissed back.
He kissed her back.
Mako's lips moved against hers as his hands found her hips and her own found themselves at his shoulders. (All Korra could think was 'wow, he's good at this.')
She was happy in her la-la land of making out with Mako, but reality had to butt in.
"…Korra?"
Korra pulled away from Mako suddenly, her hands still at his shoulders, as she looked to her right.
Iroh was standing right there.
Watching her. Make out. With Mako.
"...Hi," she managed to say. Realizing that her hands were still in contact with Mako, she let go, with him following afterwards.
"Um- hey, I'm Iroh, I work with Korra." Iroh stuck out a hand to shake with Mako.
"Mako. Uh, classmate," Mako said as he shook it.
"That looked more than 'classmates' to me," Iroh said, raising his eyebrows. "I'll see you later," He said to Korra, and with that, he left.
"I should probably go too," Mako said awkwardly as he pulled his phone from his pocket.
"What?" Korra asked, still dazed from the turn of events that just happened to grace her.
"Bo's movie would be done about now. I should get the car started up." He was back to being stony, closed-off Mako, apparently; Korra turned to face him, but his look was one of seriousness, with no trace of the kiss left in his expression.
Korra sighed, suddenly tired. "Fine," she muttered. "I guess you should."
Without another word, she walked away, feeling confused (by the kiss and what it meant to Mako) and pretty terrible (About Iroh, though she wasn't so sure why).
Mako and Iroh got the most amount of votes for this chapter- but Mako was waaay in the lead.
VOTING RULES RECAP!
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Prominent love interests (you can vote outside of this if you want to):
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***by voting outside, I mean voting for someone like Amon, Beifong, etc.
(also i avoided the high school party scene for this chapter but coughcough it will be in the next one I CAN'T RESIST :D )