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"And I'm nervous, truth be told, I never saw me growing old in Oakland, in Oakland."
***
"The Huskies and the Bruins are neck and neck as the fourth quarter comes to a close!"
Sweat dripped down my forehead as I sprinted to the other side of the court. We had exactly one minute until the end of the game and thirty seconds to shoot and break the tie before the shot clock goes off. This game against Washington State was tough, not only did they have a great defense but they have one of the best shooters in the league, Elias Nelson.
He's a beast, 6'7 and holds the record for most three-pointers in a game. I looked up to him in high school, it's crazy that I'm playing against his team r—
"Isaiah! Blackjack!" Kendrick, our point guard, shakes me out of my thoughts as he calls out the next play.
Shit, I'm getting distracted. I look at the shot clock, twenty seconds to get the defense off of Cameron so he can shoot a three. Kendrick quickly passes the ball to EJ who's in the middle of the court. I look to see Cameron stuck in the middle of Washington State's defense, they've definitely figured out that Cam is our best three-point shooter. Everyone talks about how he's close to beating Elias' record.
"Hey!" I yell at EJ so he can pass me the ball. Maybe if I pretend I'm about to shoot a three I can get those guys off of Cameron.
I move to the left corner of the court as EJ passes me the ball, but before I have the chance to fake them out the Washington boys are already all over me. I hesitate to pass the ball back to EJ since three Washington state players are up in my face blocking me. I look back at the shot clock, ten seconds.
"Come on King, get outta there!" Coach Cronin shouts.
"It seems like freshman Isaiah King is trapped in the corner under the Huskies defense." one of the announcers says.
"The shot clock is inching to zero, I'm not sure if the Bruins can make this one." the other speaks into the microphone.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I'm trapped. I don't know what to do.
"Isaiah over here!" EJ shouts, but I can't see him, I can't risk them getting the ball.
"Seven seconds..."
Shit.
"Six."
"Five."
"Four."
"Three."
"Two."
"Timeout!" Coach Cronin calls.
A breath escapes my mouth at the sound of the referee's whistle. I throw him the ball before making my way towards the huddle. There's a disappointed look on Coach's face as I walk over, I watch as he looks at the clock and sighs before directing his attention to me.
"What happened out there, King?" he asks. "If Kendrick calls out a play then y'all need to stick to it."
"I'm sorry Coach, I wasn't thinking." I sigh as I wipe the sweat from my face with my jersey.
"Well, you better start, and that goes for all of you," he looks around before directing his attention to the whiteboard in his hands. "Listen, we're sticking with blackjack. Calin I need you here, alright? Kendrick is gonna pass the ball in and Isaiah you're gonna give it to EJ, remember to stay out of the corner."
"Got it." we all say in unison.
"Jalen, you keep everyone out of Calin's way. We got thirty seconds, let's go y'all!"
The buzzer sounds as we make our way back onto the court. Kendrick bumps my shoulder as he makes his way to the line. "Don't fuck this up, King," he warns as he walks away.
"Ignore him," Cameron pats me on the back. "You got this."
I smile, Cameron was pretty much my only real friend on the team. He always encouraged me to play my best and sometimes after practice, we would stay later and come up with plays and different ways we could pass the ball to each other—wait.
"I have an idea," I whisper. "Remember last week after practice?"
He furrows his brows. "What are you—Oh!" Cam's eyes widen when he realizes what I'm talking about. "You know Coach is gonna be mad, right?"
"Just stay open," I say.
We get in our designated positions as the buzzer sounds. The ref hands Kendrick the ball, he quickly passes it to me and I follow Coach's orders by passing the ball to EJ. I watch as Cameron moves to his spot and Jalen stops one of Washington State's defenders by setting a pick.
"The Bruins are in possession of the ball, let's see if they can get the upper hand on the Huskies defense."
EJ moves to the outside, stalling with the ball so Cameron can get set and some time can run off the clock. I watch as the clock gets to fifteen seconds, I clap to gain EJ's attention. We switch positions as he passes me the ball. Only one guy was defending me as I faced the front of the basket, he wasn't one of the best defenders, so I easily got past him with a fake-out.
"Would you look at that fake out! Looks like King is going for a last-minute layup!"
The rest of Washington's team comes running after me as I sprint to the basket, I quickly look to see that Cameron is wide open.
Five...
Four...
Adrenaline fills my body as I jump, pretending to shoot a floater but instead passing the ball to Cameron.
Three...
Two...
Cameron shoots and the buzzer sounds right when the ball goes in with a swish.
The cheers of the crowd send excitement rushing through my body, a large grin forms on my face as Cameron and my other teammates run over to engulf me in a giant team hug.
"That's it! That's game! Cameron Calin with a three and Isaiah King with the assist! The Bruins win with an ending score of 99-96!"
***
***
"Tell me, Isaiah, do you think the team is ready for the upcoming PAC-12 tournament this spring?" the interviewer questions, holding the microphone extremely close to my face.
Her bright blue eyes stare at me intently as she eagerly waits for an answer. Being interviewed right after a game always sucks, I'm always sweaty, tired, and unable to think straight.
I smile at her anyway and quickly run over the instructions from Coach Cronin in my head. When I first joined the team I didn't expect media training to be one of the first things we practiced.
Coach Cronin had three rules we should always follow: Be friendly, keep it short and simple, and always think before answering a question.
"I mean, we've had a pretty great season so far," I say with a smile, trying not to look directly into the large camera."I'm confident that it'll only get better from here."
"That's good to hear!" she chirps, keeping up the bubbly personality for the cameras. "You've seemed to become a fan favorite this year, your stats are incredible for a freshman. You've started in every game so far and have scored double figures in each of those games. How does it feel to know that UCLA fans are rooting for you to get the 'Rookie Of the Year' award?"
"This is all so surreal," I say truthfully. "I'm still just a kid from Oakland, you know? I'm really thankful for everything that's happened but it's still taking some time to get used to."
"Now that you're in the public eye you have a lot of influence on the younger generation. It takes a lot of courage to come out and be an openly bisexual basketball player in the league. How do you hope to influence the kids who are in a similar situation?" she questions, keeping her eyes locked on mine.
I think about this question a lot. If I had the time I could go on forever on what I think, but I have to keep it short and simple.
"Well," I start off. "I just want kids to know that it's okay to be who you are and don't let anything stop you from achieving your goals. Your sexuality doesn't define your skills."
"Beautiful, thank you for talking with us. Congrats on your win, you played a great game today."
"Thank you." I smile.
"The Bruins will begin the PAC-12 tournament on March 11th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Make sure to tune into CTSports to get all the latest news and updates!"
With that, the camera cuts off and the interviewer leaves to talk to some of the players from Washington State. In the sea of people, I find Coach Cronin leading the team into the locker rooms. I make my way to the locker room, following behind a small group of my teammates. I take a look around the stadium as I walk, even after six months of going to this school it still amazed at how big and professional the court looked. Nothing back in Oakland could compare to this, the stadium was bigger than my entire high school.
"Yo, Zay!" Cameron calls as he jogs to catch up to me. "That pass was dope! We're celebrating the win with a party a mine, you coming?"
"I can't, I'm going to Pasadena with Dylan later tonight." I remind him.
Cam rests his tattooed arm on my shoulder as we walk. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot," he says. "If you have the chance you should come and bring Amour. I bet the team will be happy to meet him."
I give him a look.
It was no secret that most of my teammates weren't that comfortable with my liking of men. Sure, they act all accepting when the cameras are on and people are around, but behind the scenes, everyone is distant. Most of them go out of their way not to change in near me in the locker rooms, and half of them think I'm faking being bi just so I could have a better chance at getting accepted into the school.
I'd like to thank Kendrick for spreading that rumor. Amour not being around didn't really help my case, though.
The only person who has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome is Cameron. He's the only person I've gotten close with besides my roommate, Dylan. Cam is the team's second-best point guard and a beast at shooting threes. He's thrown a total of twenty parties in his now three years of being at UCLA, his goal for his junior year is to get to thirty. It may seem like a hard task, but Cameron is pretty much friends with everyone on campus. He could throw a party every day and there's no doubt that half the school will come.
"You know damn well the team is not gonna want to meet Amour," I say as we walk into the locker room.
Cameron shrugs. "Forget them then, I'll be happy to meet him." he smiles.
"Thanks, Cam," I smile back. "After we break I'm gonna head out."
"Alright bro," he daps me up. "I'll see you later tonight, maybe?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"Alright, huddle up boys!" Coach Cronin shouts.
The team gathers in a tight circle with Coach in the middle.
"I know it was a hard game but good work today! We'll be back practicing March 7th, so until then, enjoy your week off," he says with a smile before looking to Kendrick.
Kendrick puts a fist in the middle and the rest of the team follows. "One, two, three—"
"Bruins!"
"Four, five, six—"
"Family!"
***
Amour's POV
"We're on in five people!" Reese's voice echos from the hallway.
My heart begins to beat out of chest at the sound of Reese's words.
Five minutes.
I'm usually not super nervous when it comes to performing, but this is my first time opening up for a well-known artist and I feel like I'm going to shit my pants.
Ricci Rodriguez is a really popular rising artist, her music is starting to become really well known and she has over a million followers on almost all her platforms. It's crazy that she asked me out of all people to open for her tonight since her other opener caught the flu.
When she saw my covers on YouTube she got in contact with Reese and it was history from there.
When Reese first asked to be my manager I thought she was joking. She's my best friend, so of course, I would take her offer, but I didn't think she would take it as seriously as she is. Reese has booked me little concerts at bars and open mics any chance she gets. She also helps me figure out what to post and when to post it. Without her, I would probably be sitting in my apartment eating Chipotle with my roommate, Finnick, right about now.
"Amour all your stuff should be up and ready when you go out there," Finnick says as he walks towards me.
I give myself one more good look in the mirror before spinning around in my chair to face him. "Do I look okay?" I ask nervously.
"You look, great mate," Finn smiles. "You're gonna kill it."
"I feel like shit. What if I mess up? I've never played for this many people before. What if they don't like my songs? What if my hand cramps up? Oh my god, I feel like I'm gonna puke. Shit, what if I turn out like that girl in Pitch Perfect? That would be so gross, Ricci would never want me to open for her again. Or what if—"
"Amour," Finnick stops my rambling. "You're gonna be fine okay? Just take a deep breath and maybe call Isaiah if you have to."
I follow his instructions and breathe in deeply. "I already tried to call him but he's not answering his phone. He's probably out with his team." I sigh.
"Well, don't get too down about it, he'll be here tomorrow." Finn gives me a reassuring smile.
"Amour you're about to go on!" Reese yells as she enters the room. "You ready?"
"No," I say truthfully.
Reese rolls her eyes at me and grabs ahold of my hand to drag me from the dressing room to the back of the stage. I close my eyes take a couple more deep breaths. The sound of Ricci's crowd was already getting me pumped up.
I'll be fine, everything is fine.
"Amour," Reese starts. "I know you and I know that you are gonna go out them and kill these bitches!"
I let out a nervous chuckle. "Thank you," I say as I give her a hug. "For everything."
"Go fuck some shit up okay?" Reese smiles as she pulls back.
"Okay."
"Now I would like to give a very special welcome to my friend and opener for the night, Amour Arreaga!"
***
***
I walk off the stage out of breath and sweaty. My hair is a mess and I honestly feel sore from all the jumping around I did.
I should really get back into kickboxing.
"Amour!" Reese squeals as she ran to engulf me in a tight hug. "That was fucking amazing! You killed that shit!"
"I did?" I ask out of breath.
"You did great mate!" Finnick praises as he pats me on the back. "The crowd loved you!"
I don't think my brain has realized the fact that I performed a full out show in front of hundreds of people. It felt like a dream. All I've ever wanted was to perform my music for the people who will listen. The fact that I had my two best friends by my side made it even better.
"Drake would be so proud of you Amour, you have no idea," Reese says with a soft smile.
"I know he's watching somewhere," I say as I give her another hug. "I guess we're only missing Isaiah."
"Who says I'm missing?" a familiar voice pipes up.
I release Reese from our hug and turn around quickly, unsure if I was dreaming or not.
There stood Isaiah holding a bouquet of roses with a goofy grin on his face. I rushed over to him and wrapped my arms around him tightly, scared that if I let go he'll disappear. He hugged me back even tighter and spun me around before pulling away to look me in the eyes. I had butterflies in my stomach like it was the first time we met.
"I missed you," he says softly, his arms still around me.
"I missed you too," I tell him. "How are you even here? I didn't you have a game?"
He shrugs. "Yeah, but I left right after. I couldn't miss your first big concert."
"I can't believe you. This is the best surprise ever." I say before leaning in to connect our lips.
It felt so good to kiss Isaiah again. After almost four months of not seeing each other, the sparks were still there. Not having him around made me crave his touch, even more, I just wish we could stay like this forever. No distance, no interruptions, just us.
"You're not supposed to be back here, it's performers and crew only." Reese's voice pipes up.
"Oh I'm sorry, I was just coming to see Amour."
I pull back from the kiss and turn to see whoever Reese is talking to. I haven't really made too many friends out here besides Finnick, so whoever it is must be someone from Oakland.
My eyes go wide once my sight fixes on the tall figure. The moment our eyes connect my heart stops. I'd recognize those eyes anywhere.
"Kostas?"
***
How do you feel about our new characters?
Kendrick? Dylan? Cameron? Finnick?
Oh, and Kostas is finally back...
Anyways, here are some more pictures of the new characters!