Chapter Text
“Ready? “ Kel called to you. You put your hands up and squatted down a bit.
“Yep!” you said. Kel launched the ball across the court and into your hands. You took off and closed the rest of the distance to the basket. You took your shot, the ball bounced off the corner of the white square on the board, and sunk into the hoop.
“Your turn!” you picked it up and turned to Kel. He stood around half-court and got into the same stance. You took a step forward and threw the ball down the court. Kel caught it with a look of surprise when it hit, then copied your actions and scored a layup.
“You can really swing it!” he said. You laughed and shrugged. You both had been practicing together for an hour or two, long enough for the sun to fall behind the speckled shingles of the houses. The park was mostly empty now, as there weren’t any streetlights to keep the place bright.
“Should we head home?” you asked. “It’s kind of late.”
“Man...I don’t wanna go home yet. First basket wins?” Kel offered, holding up the ball.
“You’re one!” you grinned. Kel caught up with you at half court and held his fist out.
“Rock-!”
“Paper-!”
“Scissors-!”
“Shoot!!”
Your hand formed into a fist while he splayed out his fingers. Paper beats rock.
“Ha!” Kel smirked. You stuck your tongue out at him, and then shuffled backward, ready to play defense. Kel dribbled down the court, the ball flashing in between his legs. He feigned to the right, then shot left, breezing past you. You turned, sprinting to catch up with him. Kel squared up and tossed the ball up. You caught up with him, jumped, and smacked the ball out of the air. It hit your palm with a satisfying thump and shot straight down.
“Come on!!” Kel groaned. You picked up the ball and passed it to Kel, who gave it right back. Then you went running to the other end, trying to outrace Kel. He was faster than you, so naturally, he was in front of you before you could make it to the basket. You pretended to shoot, letting Kel jump up in front of you. Once he was down, you did a fade-away shot. It was a satisfying swish, getting tangled in the net before coming down.
“Ha!” you mimicked Kel. He rolled his eyes, but you knew it was in good nature. That’s the kind of friendship you two had. He picked up the ball from the cracked pavement and you headed to the edge of the court. You drank from your water bottle as Kel watched jealously.
“Spot me some change?” Kel asked, giving you puppy dog eyes. “I forgot mine.”
“So you can buy an Orange Joe from the vending machine?” you raised an eyebrow.
“...Maybe…,” Kel smiled sheepishly. “Please? You’ll be my favorite person ever!”
You snorted. “Fine.” You fished around in your pocket and found 4 quarters.
Kel did his signature closed eye grin as you tossed him the change. “Thank youuu!!”
You went back to chugging your water and followed Kel to the vending machine. He eagerly shoved the quarters into the slot and was rewarded with a battered soda can.
“Kel, that looks ancient. Are you really gonna drink it?” you asked, crossing your arms.
“Sweets never really expire! It’s fine!” he shrugged. Kel popped the soda tab and drank.
“Someday, you’re gonna get sick and I’m gonna laugh at you,” you told him.
Kel just gave you a thumbs up. He was probably on a sugar high. You gestured to keep walking, and your conversation resumed as you walked home. You and Kel were technically neighbors, you lived one street over from his. Kel’s family treated you like their third kid, always giving you the option to stay as long as you like. Hero still wasn’t home from college, and you suspected they were appreciative to have another kid in the house again. Not that you didn’t mind, Kel’s dad was always happy to see you, and his mom made delicious cooking. Being able to spend more time with Kel was nice, too...
You stopped at the street corner. Your house was in the opposite direction.
“Wanna come over tonight? My mom’s making carne asadas,” Kel offered. You shifted on your feet for a second, weighing the options. You could go home to your dad, quiet and cold, eat a microwave meal, and spend the rest of the night in your room, staring at the wall. Or, have a normal family dinner with Kel’s parents and spend the night playing video games.
“Duh. I’m starving!” you responded. Kel did a fist pump and started walking again. When you got to the driveway, you paused, your eyes staring beyond his house. Next door was Sunny’s house, and you could see Mari’s picnic basket on the steps. The checkered blanket peaked out of the woven basket, and you felt a pang of sadness. You had spent so much time on that blanket, eating Hero’s cookies and listening to Mari’s advice. And Sunny…
You hadn’t seen him in ages. The last time you tried to check on him, he had looked at you from the window but went back inside. His mom had come out and told you to leave. Politely, but you knew when you weren’t wanted.
Mari’s death had shattered your friend group. You could still vividly recall the day it happened.
You went to Sunny’s house looking for Kel. In the backyard, your friends were all in disarray. Basil stood silently, Sunny stared at the ground. Aubrey was doubled over in the grass, vomit pooled in front of her. Hero was shouting something, and Kel was holding Aubrey. You looked at the tree. The last of your friends was hanging, her long hair spilling over her face. You-
“Hey! (Y/N)! You okay?”
It was Kel. You snapped out of it.
“I know you must miss both of them. Let’s get something to eat, okay?” Kel patted you on the back. You shook your head to clear your thoughts.
“Yeah, sure,” you murmured. It had been 4 years, but you were still haunted by the things you had seen that day, and the days to come. Kel opened the door, and you were instantly hit with the warmth of the home. Stepping into the home was always like a breath of fresh air. Kel’s father was sitting on the couch, watching television. Before you could greet him, a loud bark cut the air and a small ball of fluff knocked into your legs.
“Hector!!” you cried. You started talking to him in the baby voice people did with animals.
“Ah, sorry about that. It’s starting to get too cold to keep him outside,” Kel’s dad apologized. He stood up to greet you both.
“It’s fine, I love Hector!” you laughed, still petting the dog. Hector gave an affectionate “ woof! ” in agreement.
“Yeah, you always get mushy over Hector,” Kel teased.
“Shut up,” you grumbled, standing back up. The three of you made your way to the kitchen, where Kel’s mom had put out dinner. Strips of juicy spiced meat were laid on a platter, limes placed around the edges. A salad sat in the bowl next to it, vegetables and sauces mixed. Your stomach growled. You bet Kel was drooling.
Kel’s mom returned from the kitchen, holding Sally in her arms.
“Did you kids have a good practice?” she asked.
“Yup!” Kel said, already in his seat and reaching for the meat.
“Mhm! This looks really good, thank you!” you added, plopping down next to him. Kel didn’t waste any time, stuffing his face right away. You had some manners and used your fork and knife to cut the food. The meat was a burst of flavor, as expected from Kel’s mother.
“You know...Sunny's house was sold recently,” Kel said.
You almost choked on your food. “What?!”
“I know, I know! It sucks! Do you think we could get him to come out?” Kel asked tentatively. “I know it’s probably useless, but...we both miss him, right?”
“Right, but he’s kinda a shut-in now. Not that I blame him, but-,” you trailed off.
“We could at least try!” Kel whined. “Come on!! I’ve been calling his mom for the past few days.”
“Last time I tried, his mom sent me away, remember? I don’t think Sunny is gonna come out, Kel,” you mumbled. You stared at your food silently. Of course, Kel remembered. You had come to him, sobbing about how you couldn’t do this anymore. You had just hugged and cried all afternoon together. God, you missed Sunny. It was like losing both siblings instead of just Mari. Your heart ached for both of them.
“That was a while ago! One time, I promise!” Kel pleaded.
“...Alright. You know you could go without me if you really wanted to, right?” you said.
“That’s no fun! I don’t wanna be alone!” Kel admitted. His tone was light, but you felt guilty after his response. You finished the rest of your plate, got up, and put it in the sink. You went to wash it, but Kel’s mom stopped you. She always insisted on doing your plate for you.
After dinner, Kel and you took turns bathing. You sat in the bathtub, the water up to your chest. You stared at the water, your reflection staring back at you. You were sweaty and grimy, spending all day outside. When you were on the court with Kel, you never had to think about all the things that troubled you. It was just you, him, and the ball. In general, basketball is what kept you going through the worst of the past 4 years.
These last years were supposed to be the “best of your lives”, the teenage fantasy thing. But for you, it had been awful. Nights spent crying yourself to sleep, days spent watching your friends disappear from your life.
Sunny and Hero stopped coming outside, Aubrey avoided all of you and made new friends and Basil… You didn’t know what was going on with him. Only Kel had stuck around for you. Neither of you was okay during that time. Kel tried to hide it with humor, and you did too. Both of you thought that if you pretended it was okay, it was.
It took you several weeks to even get the motivation to go back to school after Mari died. Seeing her swaying slightly in the breeze, the jump rope tied around her neck...it had stabbed you so deeply, you weren’t even sure the knife was out.
You sighed and slid down in the bathtub. The water was warm and you were full. The temperature and the food in your stomach were making you sleepy.
You shook your head and reached for the soap.
The moon was shining through the window. You were half asleep, staring at it from the floor. Kel had offered Hero’s bed, but you knew he was coming home tomorrow and didn’t want to mess it up. You rolled over to find Kel sound asleep, drooling. You smiled. He looked so content, his brown hair a mess all over his face. You wondered what he was dreaming about. Being in this messy room, littered with trophies and dirty laundry, you felt like everything was going to be okay.