VARSITY 9 | BL

FIVE | YOU MISSED ONE

Wen's brows furrowed when he saw Kean's smirk. Knowing Kean's intention of showing off a successful 3-pointer and immediately turning to make eye contact, Wen debated whether or not he should take up Kean's challenge. Having rarely played basketball, Wen was unsure whether he would be able to make a 3-point shot just by watching. He would surely need to perform several trial shots which he would be unable to do in the middle of a game.

With Kean praising him for watching and learning a simple maneuver, Wen knew Kean was setting him up for failure and humiliation. The question was, though: was Wen determined enough to take up Kean's challenge?

Kean had been making sly remarks toward Wen for over a year now, and if he could pull off a 3-pointer without any training or practice, it would be sure to show up Kean and hopefully shut him up for a bit. But was it worth it? Should Wen not be able to land a 3-pointer, he would most likely be laughed at by his peers and would be seen as inferior to Kean. But even the slightest chance to show up Kean was extremely tempting to Wen.

F**k it. What the hell. It's only a game. It's all or nothing. Determined to attempt a 3-pointer after watching Kean do it once, Wen signaled for his teammate to pass him the ball.

Kean raised a brow when he watched Wen start toward the 3-point line. So, you're actually going for it...

Ignoring the pain in his back and shoulders, Wen bent his legs as he reached the line and prepared to jump. The moment he jumped into the air and raised his arms to throw the ball, the power and strength in his arms and back all seeped away as he was overcome with pain. This caused his throw to be weak, and the ball was swat down the next second.

Thud! The sound of the ball hitting the floor with such force echoed throughout the gym. Wen's shoulders began to shake when he touched back down, and he looked up to see Kean standing before him. The gym had fallen silent as those on the sidelines watched as Kean and Wen glared at each other.

The whistle blowing broke Kean's gaze as the P.E. instructor called the end of the game. The final score was 6-1 with Kean's team being the winner.

"Better luck next time, Wen. It seems you can't quite beat me yet." Kean commented in a low voice coupled with a scowl as his team rushed to him and began patting him on the back with congratulatory slaps. Leaving Wen in pain, Kean sauntered off with his teammates as the rest of the students all gathered on the court.

"Thank you for the...erm, practice game, Li," the instructor said once all the students had gathered around. "Everyone, give a round of applause to our basketball team and its captain!"

Wen remained silent as he came to stand at the edge of the group. Wincing as the pain continued to throb in his shoulders, Wen used the ruckus of the student's clapping as a cover to sneak away and make his way to the locker room. Once alone in the locker room, Wen removed his shirt and walked up to the ribbon of mirrors that lined one wall.

Turning to the side and twisting his back so that most of it could be seen through the mirror, Wen grit his teeth when he saw the bruises. They were deep purple and blue and were larger than he originally thought. Though the bruises were caused by his father's fists pounding on him, his father was a strong man, so bruises of that size did not surprise Wen too much.

Going to the first aid stored in the left locker, Wen extracted the box that contained cool patches specifically used for bruises and other athlete injuries. Ripping open one of the packages, Wen carefully placed the cool patch over one of the deeper bruises. Cool relief oozed from the patch into Wen's muscles as the patch began working its magic.

After resting for a moment, Wen continued to rip open more patches and place them over the bruises covering his shoulders and back. He had managed to cover all but one bruise that was on top of his left shoulder when he heard Kean's voice from the locker room entrance.

"Was the game too much for you to handle, Kaihan?"

Closing his eyes, Wen turned from the mirror to face Kean, who had just entered the dressing room. He was alone; his band of jocks had not accompanied him. Weird.

"Or..." Kean continued when Wen came to face him. "Was I too much for you to handle?"

"What do you want, Li?" Wen asked in exasperation as he turned back toward the mirror and stooped to the bench lining the mirror. Wen's back was exposed to Kean as he picked up his shirt and carefully pulled it over his head, turning back around to face Kean in the process.

Kean's eyes narrowed when he saw the pain patches covering Wen's shoulders and back but remained silent. Instead of answering, Kean hurriedly walked over to Wen and placed his hand on Wen's chest, pushing him against the mirror. Wen's back slammed against the hard surface causing pain to shoot through him. Placing his hands on the mirror behind him to keep himself from falling onto the bench underneath him, Wen shot Kean a glare full of pained hatred.

"What the f*ck, Li?!" Wen gasped as he sucked through his teeth in pain. Unable to finish pulling his shirt on, Wen was left glaring at Kean mostly shirtless with the P.E. shirt resting around his neck.

"Stay still," Kean ordered, his voice low as he grabbed the shirt and pulled it over Wen's head, effectively removing it. "You missed one."

Keeping a hand on Wen's chest to stop him from moving, Kean reached down and picked up an unopened packet from the bench below. Bringing the packet to his mouth, Kean placed the tip between his teeth and ripped it open. Extracting the pain patch from the ripped packet, Kean withdrew his hand from Wen's chest before unfolding the patch and placing it over the bruise on the top of Wen's left shoulder.

Wen was unused to being that close to Kean without throwing his fist in the jock's face. All he could do was ponder as to the reason why Kean had placed the patch on him. However, repulsed by the close proximity with the person he hated the most, Wen was quick to shrug Kean off him once the patch had been put on.

"What the hell was that, Li?" Wen demanded as he snatched his shirt from the bench where Kean had thrown it.

Kean's eyes narrowed as he walked back up to Wen and cornered him against the mirror once again. "I could ask the same thing, Kaihan. Why did you play when you're not even able to give your all? You just love every chance you get to slight me, don't you?"

"Wha-what?" Wen was dumbfounded. Kean was upset that Wen was not at his best when Kean played basketball against him for the first time.

"I can't even call what we just played a game. It was a joke," Kean growled. "Next time, make sure you can give your all."

With that, Kean stepped away from Wen and left the locker room, leaving Wen leaning against the mirror in bewilderment. What just happened? Wen released a sigh and leaned his head against the mirror before running his finger up his face and through his hair. Does that mean Kean wants a re-match? F*ck.