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Lance was super excited! His high school had a variety of clubs but, with his height advantage, he had decided to join the basketball team. It had taken him three years to get to a level where he could actually compete in competitions instead of sitting on the bench, watching his teammates score basket after basket - or get completely beaten. He loved it more than anything else he did, even swimming.
Now, he was standing on the court, ready to go. They’d warmed up and watched their opponents. There was one that stood out, a boy who was slightly shorter than Lance, with long black hair and a stern expression. It didn’t look as though he was happy to be there and Lance could only wonder why he had even bothered to show up. In Lance’s opinion, he hadn’t appeared to make much of an effort, though his shots all managed to go in.
With Nico making the tip off, Lance was standing near the guy he’d noticed earlier. His surname was Kogane, as per his shirt, and he barely acknowledged Lance. That irked him, so Lance decided to speak up. “Hey,” he said. When Kogane looked up, Lance grinned at him. “You ready for defeat?”
Kogane blinked and gave Lance a once over. “Are you?” he asked.
The whistle went. The centres jumped. The ball flew through the air. And Kogane managed to dart around Lance to catch it. Surprised, Lance reacted too slowly and followed him as he dribbled his way down the court.
As the game wore on, it became clear that Keith was a far superior player than any of them. He could dribble around people, could make a fast break count, could shoot from anywhere, could carry his team when any of them wavered. Lance couldn’t keep up with him and he watched his teammates steadily lose hope.
In the final minutes, Lance grew desperate. They were ten points behind and he couldn’t let them be defeated so easily. So, when his captain got the ball he called out to him. “Nico! Here!”
There was a moment's hesitation in Nico's warm, brown eyes before the senior threw it at him. Lance easily caught it and ran, darting between two of the defenders. The ball made a satisfying noise as it bounced off the ground until, finally, he was in position with no-one else to stop him. He lifted the ball, took aim and shot it towards the hoop.
And Kogane came out of nowhere to bat the ball away.
One of his teammates took it and they rushed down the court. Lance was left where he stood in shock. By the time he shook himself out of it, Kogane had already scored and the gap between their scores was bigger. It only got worse from there; Lance’s moves were easily intercepted and he even dropped the ball once. Their coach took him off and he sat, bowed over on the bench, watching as his team lost.
All the while, Kogane effortlessly scored over and over again. He looked a little bored while doing it, as if the game was beneath him. Lance’s teammates steadily lost the will to fight and he gritted his teeth when they lost. The final score was 123-48.
Frustrated, Lance approached Kogane as they exchanged handshakes. “We’ll beat you next time!” he declared.
“No, you won’t,” said Kogane, apparently confident of his answer.
“What’s your problem?” Lance snapped. “You act as if you’re-”
“Lance,” said Nico, appearing at his elbow. “Leave it. It’s not worth it. Let’s go home.”
With a click of his tongue, Lance turned away and made his way back to his team. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kogane turn, his expression unchanged and his demeanour suggesting that he was dismissing Lance entirely. As his hands curled into shaking fists, Lance decided that he would make sure that Kogane would lose their next match.
A couple of weeks later, Lance was joking with some friends by his locker. It helped him to not dwell on his team’s loss. Besides, there was a girl at the edge of the group who he didn’t know that well, but she was very cute. She was even laughing at everything he said. Maybe…
“Hey, Lance,” said a familiar voice and Lance turned, blinking in surprise as Nico approached him. “Can I talk to you?”
“Sure,” Lance replied, wondering what Nico could want with him. He would see him at practice, after all, and it wasn’t as if Lance wasn’t staying late, obsessed with beating Kogane. Still, curious, he bid farewell to his friends and followed Nico along the corridor and into a classroom. There was no-one inside, not even a teacher, and Lance wondered if they were allowed to be here.
“I’ll be graduating in a few months,” said Nico once they had both settled on desks.
Lance blinked at him. “Well, yeah,” he said, ignoring the ache in his chest. Nico had been the one to guide Lance through the ranks in the team until he reached the level he was at today. “Do you… want me to come to the ceremony?”
Nico laughed. “No. No, that’s not what I came to talk to you about. It’s about the team.”
Eyes widening, Lance said, “Oh. Yeah. You won’t be captain anymore.”
“Exactly. We need a new one.”
“Is it gonna be a younger guy?” Lance asked. Half of the players that had been in his year were quitting to focus on their studies. Lance had been hoping on a sports scholarship, but he wasn’t sure how likely that was if he couldn’t even beat Kogane.
Shaking his head, Nico chuckled. “No, idiot. This is me telling you that I think you’d be the best person for the job.”
There was a clatter as Lance fell off the desk in his shock. “Wha-?!” he exclaimed as he leapt to his feet. “What do you mean? Me? How…?”
“You’re good with motivation,” Nico explained. “When the others are feeling down, you can get them to pick their heads up and fight, even if we’re losing. And you love this sport. So much. And you’re good.”
Grinning, Lance nodded along. But his smile faded as he remembered something. “But I couldn’t beat Kogane,” he pointed out. “And I won’t be able to do any of the other stuff against Kogane.” He clenched his fists, frowning. “I’ll beat him, I will-”
“Not anymore, you won’t,” said Nico, gently. “He’s a senior this year, so he’ll be gone by the time you’re captain.”
“What?! But-!” Lance threw his hands in the air, aghast. “How am I supposed to-?”
“Lance,” said Nico, sounding stern. “Forget about him. You want a scholarship, right?” When Lance deflated and nodded, Nico smiled. “Then take our school all the way to the top. I know you can do it. And, when you do, you’ll probably get a full ride.”
Taking a deep breath, Lance calmed his temper and nodded. Nico was right. No use getting frustrated when Kogane was out of his reach. And, if he could take his team all the way, he would do it. “Okay,” he said, reaching out his hand. Nico clasped it and pulled him into a hug. Lance felt like Nico was passing on all his yearning to be the best high school basketball team in the US and he accepted it, determined to do Nico proud.
Finally. Finally, Lance was at Altea College. It was one of the best for basketball, and it had the course he wanted to do. He felt as if he was dreaming but, no, there was his dorm room and his books and his new roommate, a guy named Hunk. His performance over his senior year had yielded him extra benefits on his scholarship and he was ecstatic. With his parents not needing to pay for anything, it was a weight off his mind.
And now, today, it was his first time on the basketball court. He couldn’t help but bounce around the room as he grabbed all his things. Hunk looked over with some amusement, some sort of personal project in his hands. They’d already had two days together while they settled in and Lance knew that they were going to be the best of friends.
“Are you going to be able to play?” Hunk asked in amusement, brandishing his tiny screwdriver.
“Sure I am. Why wouldn’t I?” Lance said, pulling on his sneakers.
“You’re gonna use up all your energy just running around,” Hunk pointed out.
“I’ll be fine,” Lance told him with a grin. “I can run around for twenty minutes-”
“-with breaks.”
“-so I can totally get through a practice.”
“Uh huh,” Hunk said, grinning at him.
“Don’t you have practice to get to?” Lance asked, tapping his shoes to make sure they were on correctly.
“Sure do,” Hunk agreed. “But I’ve got another hour. You, however, are running late, I think.”
Lance’s eyes widened and he grabbed his phone from where it sat on his bed. “Dang!” he exclaimed, leaping to his feet. Hunk was right. If he wanted to make it on time for practice, he was going to have to run across campus. “See ya!” he cried out as he grabbed his bag and rushed for the door.
“Key!” Hunk called after him and Lance had to make a detour to grab it from the bedside table.
“Thanks, dude!”
“Go kick some booty!” Hunk answered, just as the door closed.
Moving as fast as he could, Lance jumped down the stairs, three at a time. He dodged around people who were walking up them. At the main door, someone opened it just in time for him to dart through before he began sprinting. As he went, he hoped that he remembered where everything was - he didn’t have time to pull out his map and check he wasn’t going to end up at a different building.
Eventually, he spotted the huge stadium. It was used for different things, but it had the hoops that they could drop down and it was where they would be practising. Grinning, he skidded to a stop in front of the doors and pulled them open. He darted inside and then checked the time. Apparently, he was faster than he’d expected because it seemed that he’d gotten there earlier than the introductory meeting that was scheduled. There weren’t even any voices coming from the TV room which was where they were holding it, so Lance figured that he must be the first there.
There was a spring in his step as he practically skipped into the room. Inside, there were a couple of couches and a few armchairs, along with a couple of beanbags, strewn around the room. A massive TV took up one wall, with DVDs lined up in a particular order. In one corner, a fridge hummed, its glass door showing the bottles of water and energy drinks that sat inside. Someone sat in an armchair-
Lance halted and stared. Long black hair. Striking, purpley-blue eyes. A sullen frown. The person who sat there was-
“Kogane?!” Lance shrieked. “Wha-? No! Why are you here?!” he exclaimed, pointing at him.
Blinking, Kogane said, “What? Who are you?”
“What?! You don’t remember me?! You-You beat my team two years ago and I couldn’t get my revenge ’cause you graduated before me!”
His rival shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t remember you.”
Lance growled and took a step forward. A voice behind him interrupted them; Lance’s shouts must have covered up their entrance. “Oh, look. Our freshmen have found each other.”
Turning on his heel, Lance looked round at the new person. He was slightly shorter than Lance with floppy brown hair. His blue eyes were alight with glee. Kogane made a noise and Lance turned his head to find him glaring at the newcomer. Then the guy’s words caught up with him.
“Wait, what?” Lance said, brow furrowed in confusion. “But Kogane’s a year older than me.”
“Yeah,” said the newcomer. “But he decided to ‘find himself’ last year and only just turned up.” The guy stepped around Lance and stood in front of Kogane, his arms crossed. On his back was the name Griffin. “I hope you know that you’re not going to be the ace. Not this time. I took on the position and I’m keeping it.”
Lance glanced at Kogane in surprise. He'd never heard of anyone doing that, not when they had a sports scholarship. Was he really that bored of the game? Then he realised that Kogane’s scowl had deepened and he was trembling with suppressed rage.
“Oh, sorry,” Griffin continued. “You lost your position on your team because it took you a year to get over a family member's death, right?”
Kogane leapt to his feet and Lance decided to step in before they all got in trouble. He grabbed hold of Griffin's shoulder and pulled him back before he spun to face him while he moved between the two of them. Frowning, Lance said, “Not cool, man. You don’t make jokes about family. I mean, it's like an unwritten rule.”
Griffin scowled at Lance. He crossed his arms and glared right back. Finally, Griffin shook his head and turned away. “Whatever. I'm going to the restroom.”
Lance watched him go, rather annoyed. “What a jerk!” he declared, uncaring if Griffin heard him. He turned to Kogane to find him still frowning - he was going to get wrinkles.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Kogane snapped.
Startled at his animosity, Lance said, “What he did was uncool, dude. Of course I’m gonna-”
“Just-! Stay out of my way.”
They glared at each other for a moment before Kogane dropped back into his chair. Lance spun on his heel and stomped over to an armchair on the opposite side of the room. He flopped into it and folded his arms against his chest, sprawling out on the surprisingly comfortable chair. With Kogane still in his eyeline, he had to make a concerted effort not to glower at him.
He didn’t know why Kogane was at Altea instead of any of the other top schools which he definitely would have had offers from. He didn’t know who Kogane had lost or why it had affected him so much. He didn’t know why Griffin seemed to hate Kogane. But there was one thing he did know: he was never going to get along with Kogane.
This entire year was going to be a disaster.