Content Warning: Prejudiced / Racist Language
"I didn't know he'd be here," was the first thing West said to Neil as they stood before each other in the middle of the court, the former clutching the basketball.
The latter's features softened a bit when he turned to the blond, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. Dickhead does shit like this all the time. I don't know why I'm so pressed about it to be honest."
"It does seem sudden, doesn't it?"
Neil pursed his lips tighter as he took a peeved glance at his older cousin, who was busy making friends out of the other coaches. The guy was so charismatic and inviting that it even unnerved West. And people have said that he was the most magnetic individual in the whole town.
"I'm also getting the feeling that you don't like him too much."
"How'd you figure that one out?" Neil asked sarcastically.
West turned to catch Jorge's eye. The ex-Wildwood player nodded and gave him a thumbs-up, giving the go-ahead to start the game. The cheers got even louder, kids and adults alike eager to see a remastered version of the summer match at Bradvons Park.
"Ready to give these pussies a good show?" Neil spoke, blue eyes hooded.
"Exhibitionism, eh?" West's lips quirked as he passed the ball to him. "Poly's really rubbed off on you, hasn't he?"
"Nah. That was all you," Neil scoffed, tossing it back into his opponent's hands. "And I'm about to fuck you up in front of all these people."
"If anyone's coming first, it's me, dude."
The noirette chuckled darkly before lowering himself into a guarding stance while West looked for an opening to move past him.
The game had begun.
To many, it was an intense competition between two extremely talented players.
But to the few that lived and breathed basketball, it was art in motion.
The secret lovers chased, stole, and danced across the court all to the tune of the orange ball's rhythmic bounds that echoed across the arena.
"Kick his ass, Westford!" Kaspar yelled from the sidelines, inciting the rest of the friends to jump up and down the wooden bleachers.
"Tell your momma over there t' hush up," Neil hissed as hovered over West's back.
West leaned down so close to the floor as he bounced the ball in tiny intervals, his ass brushed up against his rival's crotch. Feeling the semi the noirette was sporting, the blond peaked behind him with a smirk. "And miss you getting another spanking like last time? No way!"
He rushed away with Neil giving chase.
"You can do it, Ni!"
That came from Nora, who was shouting while propped up on Shaun's back. West could envision the flush spreading across his rival's face.
"Besides, you got your own soccer mom to deal with."
To add insult to injury, he ran to the side of the basket, leaped, and shot the ball directly at the center of the backboard. The ball recoiled off the Plexiglas and into the hoop.
"Oh, Daddy's gonna make those cheeks so fuckin' red after this, Flower Boy," Neil growled in his ear, his hot breath making West's skin tingle.
On the outside, it might have looked like a quick, murmured slur, but the uncontrollable grin that stretched across the blond's lips said otherwise.
It didn't even lessen one bit when the noirette got his revenge, shoving past West's defenses with brute force to dunk the ball in, making the whole board tremble.
"Holy shit!" they both heard Jorge curse in astonishment.
It appeared that someone had been underestimating just how thrilling the two against each other could really be. A break was called, and the two walked back to their respective cliques for water, leaving the basketball to roll across the ground. They were equal in score; three to three. Just like the last game, one would score one round, and the other would get a point in the next.
The duo trudged back towards the center of the court, gazing into each other's eyes. This whole time, West had to fight back intrusive thoughts of their secret tryst. However, now that he was getting a full view of Neil's large muscles coated in sweat, his hair strings splayed across his forehead, it was going to be a lot more difficult to hide the stiffening member in his shorts.
West broke eye contact first, looking back at Jorge for a second. "He seems like a nice guy."
Neil scowled as he picked up the ball. "Then he's already got you by the throat. Don't be fooled."
"I mean, we kinda are working with breadcrumbs here."
"Told you, man. It's too much at one given time. Believe me or not, but we're bein' watched everywhere. I can't afford to misstep at this point."
"Then, let us help you. For real, this time. You don't have to tell us what you've gone through. I totally get it if you don't want to say anything about it, but we can't be left hanging, dude."
Neil blew out a frustrated breath, dribbling the ball for several moments. "Remember what I said about staying in the limelight? I can't drag you into my shit, man. Keep your slate clean."
"I'm already dirtied up since I started this whole investigating mess," West raised his hands and wriggled his fingers. "I have the stains to prove it. Some of them from you. I think I can take a few more smudges here and there."
Neil stared at him, seemingly shocked, before shaking his head, a small smirk on his face. "That mouth of yours. I swear…"
The match started once more, but the two tuned out the crowd as they conversed, their bodies taking over for them.
"We can go to my house," West offered. "It's safe there. Trust me. Just a real quick talk every now and then."
Neil huffed out an amusement sound. "That ain't gonna fly, Flo. There's too much bullshit to unload 'real quick.' Plus, I think firecrotch's head'll actually catch on fire if he sees me in your house."
There was no lie in that statement. It was almost like wishing for his hotheaded cousin to find out at this point.
"I won't lie. Kas will hate it, but Finn seems okay with you. I think he might actually like you."
When the ball went out of bounds from a slap by Neil, the noirette's eyes briefly laid on said teen, who was supporting a half-asleep Justin. "Fish Fins likes everyone."
"Yeah. And Justin… well, Justin doesn't seem to mind either. I mean, considering he's been out of it for some time."
"Shouldn't leave that hanging for so long. He might be dying."
West could hear the joke in Neil's tone, but that didn't stop the stab of fear and guilt in his stomach at the prospect. Justin had been saying that it was just the flu, but the blond knew better than to leave it alone for so long.
"So, is that a yes?" he asked instead, going back to the house question.
Neil sighed and cracked his knuckles. "Just focus on the game, Flower Boy."
-
West had won.
It had been a first-to-ten game when no one made a basket for five to eight minutes at a time, and West had finished it off with a score from the three-point line. The part of the audience who weren't former Wildwood students had sprung out of their seats and crowded the blond, lifting him with their hands like a trophy in celebration. Amidst the victorious chaos, West found Neil's eyes. The latter's shoulders were slumped, receiving fist-bumps and pats on the back for a job well done, but he didn't seem all that mad about it.
West was taken aback to receive a slight smile and a nod from the noirette. The first day of practice ended with a realized conclusion between the Jiving Four member and the Wildwood player, but everyone knew this was only the beginning of their in-team rivalry.
"Wezzie!"
West blinked and spun around just as he was about to follow his teammates to the locker room to find a tiny, blond bundle of energy clinging to his leg. His expression immediately brightened as he reached down and hugged his little sister.
"Fifi! You're here!"
His eyes sought out the audience to find his parents approaching them with wide smiles.
"Hey, Mom! Dad! You guys came?"
"Of course, we did!" Sofia gathered her son in her arms despite his damp body. "Kar and Elmar are somewhere around here. Probably at the snack bar or something. We couldn't miss your guys' first day of practice, now, could we?"
"We came to see you get team captain again, my boy," Friedrich slapped him on the back, his eyes lit up with pride.
"Well, they won't get to know about that today," West took a glance behind him. "Besides, I have good competition this time around."
"A good rival, I see. Yes, I remember in my days…"
Honestly, he wasn't expecting them to show up. It was common for the first day of practice in a sport to have such a huge assembly, especially when it came to basketball. He was about to cut his dad off when another voice piped in.
"Yo! The big man is in the house! I'm a big fan, man!" Jorge confidently strode forward with a hand already extended.
West watched silently as his dad shook hands with Neil's cousin. Something clenched in his chest when they greeted each other with welcoming smiles.
"And you must be the Hangman, no?" Friedrich questioned.
"That's me!" Jorge then pointed over to West. "Your boy's my number one fan!"
That got a little laugh out of said boy, but he had to force his lips to stay up to not betray the churning in his stomach. With Neil's admission of his dislike of the town mini-celebrity, the Rabellino was quickly heading towards the bottom sphere Javier and Bran were located. West could now understand why his rival had looked upon him with heavy distrust.
Friedrich wrapped an arm around him and brought him close to his side, presenting him proudly to the gathering folks behind Jorge, who West had just noticed. "My son's the best player, is he not?"
"For sure. Though, my cousin Neil gave him a run for his money," Jorge smirked. "Think about the destruction they'll leave in their wake during the season."
"Now that I want to see!"
West's eyes did another perusal of the slowly emptying gym. With the area not so crowded anymore, save for the ones staying for some kind of interaction with his dad or Jorge, it was easy to pinpoint the group of ex-Wildwood kids huddled up near the bleachers, Neil, Shaun, Enzo, and Nora among them. Even Poly, who West found out dropped out of school, was present.
"I do recall saying I wanted you to make friends with them and invite them over some time, right?" his mom gave him a pointed look. "How's that coming along?"
It was the quintessential lightbulb moment for West. If Neil had yet to agree to come over, this might give him a little incentive. "Actually, I think we might have several people coming over."
He waited for the noirette to catch his stare before giving directing his mom's line of sight to him. Sofia laid eyes upon Neil for the first time and waved happily. West smirked as he watched his rival's face screw up in puzzlement and give an awkward wave back. And before he could stroll over and interrogate, the blond bolted for the locker room.
-
"Where the hell is he?" Kaspar grumbled.
He, West, and Finn had been sitting on the steps of their school, watching the parking lot empty under the sunset as they waited for Justin to finish showering. Finn had trusted their tall friend to do at least that. However, the decision was quickly becoming a regret as the waiting period clocked twenty minutes.
Finn blew out a breath and stood up from his spot, pivoting back toward the school on hurried feet. "It's been too long, and I don't like it. I shouldn't have left him in the first place."
West and Kaspar followed after him, trying to figure out why the brunette was taking so long. He had been sluggish at the start of the day, which seemed to fluctuate throughout. However, by the end of practice, he was faring a lot better albeit being a little drowsy. Though, somehow, his performance was passing.
They were about to breach the boys' locker room when they heard a set of voices emanating from it. Both locker rooms had no doors, so it was expected that the entire corridor would hear something if spoken loud enough. The three stopped short of entering and listened in
"…on with you!? You've been acting up this past month and we don't know why!"
West's jaw dropped.
That voice, high-pitched and authoritative, was Justin's mother, Jenna Shoemaker. Only she would be brave enough to step into the boys' locker room if it came to her son.
"Isn't the new church helping? I thought you and Pastor Withers were getting along quite well. You have been talking to him recently, right?"
And that would be her husband, Robert. The more… passive of the two.
"Shut up. Just shut the fuck up!" Justin's voice was deep and throaty. Shaking. As if he had been out in the cold for hours.
West couldn't stay back and was about to push past his friends, but both Finn and Kaspar had the same idea, moving forward with him. They were frozen again at the threshold. Each Shoemaker had their back to them. Justin was hunched over on the bench in the center of the room, arms crossed and his whole body shivering while his parents hovered over him domineeringly – Jenna more so than Robert – seemingly unconcerned about his worrisome trembles.
"Don't you dare use that language at us!" his mom aimed a finger at his neck as if he could see it.
"Seriously! What is going on?" Robert's tone was softer. "You could be unruly from time to time, but you were never this…"
"Like what?" Justin peered over his shoulder.
His mom wasn't afraid to say it. "Like those hooligans from the west. A bunch of crazy monkeys let loose from their cages."
Justin slightly gaped at his parents. West felt himself gawk as well. The other two were just as bewildered, their bodies stilling.
"What?"
His father shook his head. "They should have sent them back to their own country. Instead, being around such uncivilized people may have given you too many ideas."
"We're not sure we should keep you in this school if Murray's going to sully it with their filth," Jenna sneered in disgust.
West couldn't honestly believe what he was hearing. He knew his friend's parents to be quite extreme in their beliefs being deep in their Catholic faith and all, but no one had any idea that that kind of intolerance came in the package as well.
"Honestly, I don't know you should be around the twins like this," she waved at her son's stooped, quivering form, her lips curling in revulsion. "It's embarrassing and a bad influence on them. You come back home smelling something awful. You're passing out during church. Even Pastor Withers had to stop his sermon to tend to you. We didn't raise you to be such an attention-seeking brat, Justin!"
A panicked look overcame Justin's face as he shot from his place to glare at his parents. "W-Where are they? You keeping them away from me?"
"Why do you think we didn't bring them here today? Somehow, I knew you'd try causing a scene like this."
While Jenna shook her head, nothing but disappointment oozing off her, a hopeful, little smile settled on Robert's face. "Luckily, we had a recent talk with Pastor Withers about a bible study camping trip he's conducting for the Sunday schoolers. This is perfect timing."
"No."
His mom sighed, now sounding bored with the whole argument. "Don't be that way, Justin. It will be a good lesson in being selfless and letting the Lord back into your life. We want the old Justin back, dear. But until we get him back, I just don't see any benefits in allowing you around your sisters."
"No, no, no, no! N-No!" Justin's voice raised, his body tremors worsening. He trudged over to one side of the lockers and delivered swift, hard fists to the metal, making everyone jump back. "You can't… you can't!"
"Justin!? Justin, stop it this instant!" Jenna demanded frantically. "What are you doing!?"
"Jesus Christ, son!" Robert stepped back even further.
But Justin kept going, punching the metal surface repeatedly, each hit punctuated with a loud, croaky "No!"
"Justin!" Finn rushed forth, breaking his silence and revealing their presence. "Hey, man! Stop!"
"No! No! No!"
Robert tried to stop the ebony-haired teen from getting closer, but he easily sidestepped the outstretched hand. "Finn! Don't-"
While West and Kaspar tailed him, Finn wrapped his arms around the tall brunette and hauled him away from the lockers. Justin's long arms still swung for them, but he must have realized he was hitting air since they started to slow. West and Kaspar gently grabbed a fist, completely immobilizing him.
"The hell's going on in here!?" Coach Kojo appeared, taking in the scene, finding himself surprised to see the Shoemakers present.
"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down," Finn cooed into Justin's ear. "That's it. Calm down."
"They can't… they-"
"I know. I know. We heard everything, dude. It's going to be okay."
"No…"
Justin's eyes were red and wet, having already done a great deal of crying, but more tears seemed to be slipping their way down. West's swallowed, wanting to weep along with his friend. How could he have ignored all this? Justin had said he was just sick, but he should have dug deep into it.
Kaspar was about to spill his frustrations at the two adults just staring at them in disbelief, but West caught him with a hand on the shoulder.
"Kas. Not now."
The redhead was angry, but there was a strange glint of shame when he faced his cousin. He'd pick him apart later, but for now, he looked down at Justin, who had sunken to his knees with Finn hunkering down with him, whispering assurances.
"Justin?" West kneeled beside him. "Bud?"
"I-I'm s-sorry, man!" the wild-haired brunette stammered between sobs. "I-I'm sorry! I just… I n-need…"
"Withdrawal."
All eyes, save Justin, went to the locker room entrance once again, and West was stunned to see Neil, Shaun, and Enzo, who he had thought left a while ago.
"What?" West stared at Shaun, who had spoken.
"He's withdrawing. Drugs. It looks like he's been off something for a while."
"What!? Drugs!? Justin! Is this true!?" Jenna screamed as she stomped toward the four boys.
West wanted to tell her to back up, but he didn't have to think on it for too long because his cousin, the unabashed hothead that he was, had that part covered in an instant.
"Christ, Jenna! Leave him alone!" Kaspar spat at her.
Jenna flinched back, her clear skin turning a mottled red. She was getting angry, no doubt, but strangely, she didn't direct her wrath at West and his friends. The woman spun around to glower at Neil, Shaun, and Enzo, pointing an accusing finger at them.
"What have you damn thugs got him to do!? He never dabbled in… your crap before you all came along!"
"Yo, keep your bitch on a leash, bro," Enzo said lazily, addressing a slightly cowering Robert.
The room went dead silent at that. Not many could speak to an adult like that so brazenly. On the outside, West was just as appalled as the rest of them, but on the inside, he was glad someone was shameless enough to say it out loud. Sometimes, the Shoemakers, knowing them, needed a tongue-lashing whenever it was warranted.
"Excuse me!?" Jenna balked, then spun around to her husband. "Robert, are you going to let these brutes speak to me that way!?"
"Ah," Neil scoffed in amusement. "It's 'cause he's wearin' the collar."
Robert remained silent, glancing around nervously and probably wanting to be anywhere else.
"You-"
"Enough!" Kojo interrupted before Jenna could hiss some more, walking toward the four on the floor. "Let's all just calm down and figure this out. I already got Coach Theo on phone with the ambulance. How do we help Justin?"
For the first time since they arrived, Neil's eyes find West's, and an understanding mentally passed between them. Things were starting to hit a lot closer to home, and they could no longer go at their own pace anymore.
"We'll take care of him," the noirette voiced aloud.