Chapter Text
Basketball. The greatest game ever played. At least it was according to the classic eighties sports film Hoosiers. JJ had practically lived off that movie growing up. His dad was obsessed with the game and wanted a son that would be the star athlete he once was. Luke had his own high school basketball career but a torn acl ended that dream of playing any further.
To say that Luke Maybank lived his dream through his son's athletic success would be an understatement. Of course, JJ being a natural athlete he took to the game fairly quickly and it wasn't long before Luke had him running drills after school and on weekends. Perfecting his shot and ball handling until he was heads and tails better than anyone in his age group and a few above.
His dad wanted him to get a full ride scholarship to a D1 school, preferably North Carolina, so he could continue coaching him from their home state. Luke started talking to different high schools about where JJ would have the best chance of being recruited when he still in seventh grade.
Luke pulled him from Kildare going into high school to have him play for the Kook Academy. JJ was initially sad that he'd be leaving his friends and team, but his dad was right. He needed to play where he got the most attention, and that wasn't Kildare, they sucked.
He was immediately brought up to varsity as the Kooks starting point guard.
He's spent the last two years building that team. Going into his junior year he thought he had it all, and he did. A star team, recruiters calling, college prospects. Everything. Throughout the season his career on the team was perfect.
That is until the last game of junior year when his dad got into an argument with his coach during the section finals over playing time. JJ needed a break and asked for a sub. His dad went ballistic that he was being pulled from the game. JJ only wanted a one minute break but that was not acceptable for Luke.
The refs were quick to intervene and that only made things worse. Luke began screaming at them all and was eventually kicked out. It was humiliating. They ended up losing the game when JJ couldn't land the final shot. He paid for that when he got home.
That's not where it ended though. Luke was still furious at JJ's coaches and refused to allow him back for his senior year. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, JJ especially, but he couldn't afford the tuition anyway and decided he'd put JJ back in Kildare right before the season started.
JJ was devastated. He'd spent years working for that team and his coaches. He had recruiters that wanted to see him play for them. His connections were through the academy, not Kildare. That team was shit and he'd basically be carrying them. He hated that kind of pressure. It was hard enough when he had players that were actually at his level. Now every fuck up his new teammates would make would be his fault. At least that's how he knew his dad would treat it.
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JJ walked into the gym at Kildare High. He was a half hour early to practice. He needed to get his head straight. He looked up when he heard the sound of a ball going through the net. The girls team shared the gym with the boys for practices. A large curtain separated the two courts so they wouldn't disturb each other, but it wasn't down yet.
Everyone knew who Kiara Carrera was. She was easily one of the best female players in the state. She'd been at Kildare her whole high school career and won them a state championship last year after coming up third the year before.
She was also his ex best friend.
She turned around when she heard the gym door noisily close. She regarded him for a quick second before retrieving her ball and walking over to him. He thought she would say something. He didn't know what. It'd been nearly four years since he last spoke to her. He really shouldn't have been surprised when she walked right past him and out to the common area.
As she left, two familiar faces entered, giving her curious looks when she didn't great them back. They quickly looked into the gym.
"Holy shit," John B says as he spots JJ on the floor.
"Wow, so you're really back?" Pope asks.
The two boys were clearly excited to see their old friend.
JJ chuckles and they are quick to throw out the old handshake. Some things never change. He'd been friends with them, all of them, until he left for the kook academy in ninth grade. He didn't keep in touch and he felt bad for that, but all his focus was on basketball and his new team and he couldn't afford distractions.
He'd reached out to them before he arrived and let the guys know he'd be coming back but they clearly didn't expect that to actually happen.
"You piss off Kie already?" Pope asks, throwing attention back on the fact the Kie exited the gym with less than enthusiasm.
JJ waves it off. "I didn't do shit."
John B and Pope share a knowing look but don't say anything. Coach Shoupe and the rest of the team enter the gym and they start practice.
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Kiara is in the girls locker room after practice, getting ready to leave. She threw on her Kildare Girls Basketball hoodie and headed out. She had her head phones in and wasn't looking where she was going, the path from the locker room to the hallway and out to the parking lot so familiar and repeated it was easy to fly on autopilot.
Unfortunately, not everyone in the area was aware of her usual path. She suddenly found herself crashing into one of the boys from the guys team, not aware of who it was before she was apologizing for her carelessness. She had been the one looking down after all.
"Crap, sorry," she says, looking up.
His blue eyes give her the once over she managed to avoid in the gym earlier.
"No problem," JJ says, flashing a bright smile. Was he really going to pretend that nothing happened? Did he really think he would be able to walk back into her life like nothings changed? Seriously?
Her face must say it all.
"Hey, Kie," he starts when she goes to walk away. "Wait, please."
She stops, turning slightly so he can see her profile but not far enough to give him more than half her attention. She's ready to bolt if she doesn't like what he says. Which right now is nothing.
"Yeah?" she says, eyebrows raised and waiting.
His mouth falls and he stutters out, "Uh, congrats on state last year. You did good."
"Really?" she asks, incredulously. "Congrats on state?" Seriously. Now he's acting like they barely know each other at all.
"Well yeah," he says. "You beat me there," he quips.
"Cause that's why I did it," she deadpans. "Not everything is about you, JJ," she says, turning and walking away.
God, she was pissed. They had been best friends since second grade and he dropped her in a minute flat when his dad sent him to the Kook Academy. That hurt so fucking much. Felt like she didn't matter at all to him.
He lets her leave, feeling guilty. He knew her giving him the cold shoulder was justified. John B and Pope had welcomed him back easy enough but he knew it was Kie that would be the less forgiving one of the group.
Especially after the night he told her he was leaving for the academy.
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The first game of the season is an away game. The boys and girls always play on the same day with the same teams so they can travel together and save costs. This game in with East Charleston High. They're an average team.
Girls play first and JJ practically stares at Kiara the whole time. He's obviously followed her career. Never even stopped following her on instagram, though he never interacted with her. She was so fucking good. She was a point guard, same as him. Her passes and assists were phenomenal.
"Dude, your gawking," John B teases during a time out. There's no reason to stare when they aren't playing and he's caught immediately.
"What? I'm not," he defends. "Shut up." John B just chuckles and continues his conversation with Pope beside him. JJ continues watching Kiara. She's breathing hard and sweat drips down the side of her forehead. She's looking at coach Peterkin and nodding affirmatively to the instructions she's being given.
Suddenly her eyes blink and she's looking directly at him. There eyes lock for a second before she puts her focus back onto the game. He feels his heart beating in his chest. Shit, she definitely caught him.
The girls win easily.
Unfortunately for JJ, playing with a new team no matter how good he was, was gonna be rocky. They didn't know how to work with each other yet and though the team was accepting of him, they're down by ten. He can feel Luke's cold, disappointed, and furious stare on the back of his neck. This is a team they should be wiping the floor with. Fuck.
JJ puts everything into the game. He makes a three pointer at the top of the key and is able to pull a steal and layup after, closing the gap to five. Coach Shoupe calls for a full court press and Pope is able to force another turnover, passing it to JJ who quickly finds John B open under the net. They are down by three with two minutes left.
JJ doesn't dare look anywhere but at what's going on around him on the court. He has to push everyone out. The crowds, his dad, his fucking ache to search for Kiara in the stands. The girls always stayed for the games. The two teams were sometimes their only crowd on away games. He remembers the times the Kook Academy would play Kildare County High. He couldn't help but make glances to their side of the crowd, trying to find her face.
It was stupid and distracting and everything his dad told him to avoid. Don't give a shit about other people, he'd say. Just focus on what you're doing or you'll blow it. He wasn't wrong. He forces the urge to look out down.
The ref hands the ball to the other team and they throw it in bounds. JJ is quick to defend the opposing point guard. He's fast, he can nab it away. He makes his move.
He hears the blow of the whistle. Shit. He's called for a reach. A foul. Fuck. He looks at the scores board. This pushes them into a bonus situation and the other team will get to shoot a free throw for an extra point. He glances at where he knows his dad is sitting. Luke's face is stoic and indifferent from the outside. JJ knows he's not going to stay that way.
The player JJ fouled thankfully misses the shot and Pope is able to get the rebound. JJ calls for him to throw it up court and he does. JJ catches the pass and stops at the three point line, sinking the three.
Tie game with thirty seconds left.
They continue the full court press and John B is able to snatch a pass, creating an effective steal. He passes to JJ who throws the ball to another teammate and cuts towards the basket, demanding the give and go. The other player doesn't pass it though. He forces his way to the rim and is able to sink the shot just before the buzzer.
They won.
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Since it's a Friday night, the teams are put in a hotel instead of heading back to the Island. Kiara is paired with her teammate, Sarah. Sarah doesn't play much, but she's always a supportive teammate and been a real friend to Kiara.
"Dang it," Sarah grunts. "I forgot a toothbrush."
Kiara laughs at her friends thoughtlessness. Sarah comes out of the bathroom in a full face mask and kimono with slippers to match. "Can you please go get one from the front desk?"
"Why?" Kiara asks sarcastically and Sarah gives her an unamused face. "Fine," she says, pulling on a pair of oversized basketball shorts and her team sweatshirt on over her sports bra. "I'll be right back."
Kiara heads to the lobby. She reaches the counter and quickly asks the front desk person for a complementary toothbrush. While heading back to her room, she hears a vicious voice, barely above a whisper coming from a different hallway.
It sounds like an argument but it's really only one person she can hear. Kiara looks behind her but the front desk person has disappeared into the back. She takes a few steps forward and sneaks up on the hallway, just peering around the corner. Her eyes go wide for a second.
Luke Maybank is accosting JJ in the hallway. He's poking his chest harshly and spitting insults. Her heart sinks and as she ease drops. She doesn't usually listen in when parents are talking to their kids about a game. She knows as well as anyone the pressures that come with it. But this feels so different.
"What the fuck were you doing out there?" Luke interrogates. "Barely pulling out a win and on top of that you barely contributed. Let that other kid take the final shot! That's not gonna get you recruited."
Kiara looks at the face of her former best friend. It's blank, like he's trying to tune it out to get though the conversation, if you could call it that. Luke is only getting more agitated and she's worried he's going to notice JJ isn't listening.
She takes a deep breath and rounds the corner. She keeps her head down, avoiding eye contact like she would a stranger. Luke clocks her immediately and is reminded they are in public.
He gives JJ a final warning. "Straighten your shit out, or you're going nowhere."
Kiara is still walking and nearing the end of the hallway when she dares to look over her shoulder. JJ is looking at his feet, sullen and biting his lip. He glances up at her through his long lashes. It's different from how he looked at her during her game. She can't tell if it's a good different or not.
A familiar understanding passes between them. He's grateful for her interruption and she'll stay silent about what she saw. Nobody needed to know the golden boy's father ripped him apart after a victory. Besides, it's not like she wasn't already keeping this secret.
It was still hard for her to understand though. After all this time, Luke was still pushing JJ down over the littlest errors in his game. Fuck, sometimes it wasn't even his mistakes he was being screamed at for.
This time made even less sense. JJ did really well in his game. Best she's seen him play. Of course she still followed his progress throughout the years. Searching instagram and Snapchat for his game highlights and reels. Was easy to see he'd become one of the top male prayers in the state. Why it wasn't good enough for Luke that he didn't score every point in the game was ridiculous.
She gives JJ a small reassuring smile and he nods before walking back to his room. Kiara does the same, but she doesn't say much when she returns. Just telling Sarah she's exhausted and that she wants to go to bed. But sleep escapes her as she thinks about her ex best friend and what undoubtedly he's gone through the last four years, probably alone.
But he's back. And despite how angry she is with how he left things, she can't leave him alone now.