Maddy glanced up as she walked down the court after her game was over. She hated away games and she hadn't played as focused as she normally was, and only scored about half her average points per game. She had still played good, her anger and sadness about her dad driving her on. She walked past a group of teenagers she remembered from the game. They supported the home team, the team that had lost to her school. She had tried to throw a pass to her teammate but a girl on the other team had grabbed her arm at the last second, making it go way to the right of her intended target, and almost hitting these teens. She remembered one of the more irritating boys standing up with his arms spread apart, yelling at her. She walked past them, looking straight ahead.
"Hey, nice moves." The boy that had stood up said, earning laughs from his buddies.
"Thanks. You've got some nice moves yourself. It's pretty impressive to get your head that far up your butt." She answered, her eyes daring him to say something else.
Several of her school's fans laughed, earning glares from the guy's buddies. She turned and walked away, smiling and barely suppressing laughter.
She glanced around and saw Steve waiting for her in the stands. She walked up and greeted him.
"Hey, you did good today," he said as she walked up.
"Thanks. And thank you for coming," she replied.
"That comeback you had down there was pretty impressive," he said, grinning.
"Oh well, they were being annoying," she said, smiling in return.
"Are we staying for the guys' game?" She asked innocently.
"Fine with me," he answered. She grinned softly.
They watched intently, the guys' game much more evenly matched than the previous game. Her school's guys were very good. The game was tight at the beginning, but eventually her team started pulling ahead. The refs were calling some pretty crappy calls, and she suppressed the urge to stand up and yell at them. The game stayed tight until the third quarter, then her team had a 15 point lead. She grew excited, cheering on the boys she hung out with. In the 4th quarter, the other team started to gain a few points, and one of the guys she hung out with a lot, fouled (according to the ref) earning his 5th and final foul. She grimaced. He was the tallest and got almost all rebounds, and scored many points. The other team started catching up, then eventually overran them, beating her team and making the final 77-62. She looked around, waiting for her friend.
"Who you waiting on?" Steve asked, a playful gleam in his eye.
"A friend," she said, punching him on the arm.
She finally saw him and smiled at him as he walked up.
"Hey," she said. "You did good."
"Thanks," he said. "You too."
"Well, I'm gonna go now." Steve said, grinning.
"Oh, shut up." Maddy answered with a smile. Her friend couldn't help from smiling too. They hugged quickly, and one of her teammates told them to take a picture together.
"Fine," Maddy said.
They stood together, his arm around her waist.
"Aw, this is a perfect picture." Her friend said.
"Y'all are perfect together," another one said.
"I'm going to kill you both. Just wait till practice." Maddy said, pretending to be angry, but laughing softly.
"You know, they're kinda right," he said as they walked out together.
"About what?" She answered softly,
He stopped walking and looked her straight in the eye. "About us." He said. He leaned in close and kissed her gently, and they stood like that for a moment longer until she heard a rustling in the bush.
An unwelcome visitor.
