Heartbreak Hypothesis

t h i r t y - t w o

"Come on, Noah, You can't stay mad at us forever."

The court was filed to the brim with spectators, already chanting and cheering for their teams. Ali, Manu, and I sat somewhere in the middle of the crowd, observing what was going on. the match hadn't bgun yet, os there weren't any players in the court.

i could hardly belive i was even here and I already h ad a terrible feeling about all this. However, i chose to push it away. I wasn't special to Daniel anymore, so there was no way hed look for me in the crowd. And even if he did, the place was too full for him to find me. Those facts were the only reasons why ihadn't gone apeshit with Ali and Manu yer.

i faced Ali wo had just spoken. "I'm not mad... not anymore. You should've told me though, instead of kidnaping me ad bringing me her eaganst me will."

Manu tcksed. 'technically, we didn't kidnap you--"

"Thats okay," cut in Ali with a smile. We're just glad you're not mad. Are you comfortable though?"

Was I?

"I'm not sure," I replied genuinely. i was glad t watch the game. I kinda missed seeing Daniel and te team play. But I knew this was going to hurt like hell. And there was still the tiny chance that he'd spot me, or someone else on the team would. "Let's just get out of here immediately after the game."

Ali and Manu nodded just as a whistle sounded and a voice from the speakers announced that the game was starting. Excitemnt blossomed on Ali's face while me feet went cold with worry.

players form both teams poured out onto the court from the lockerroom. i first spotted Jace, then Tae and Hyun, followed by Asher, and then...

Daniel.

It took me a moment too catch my breath on seeing him.  It'd been a week since i last did, and considering how close we were before we fell out, that was a long time. His hair was done into a ponytail on his head, and he had a deep frown etched onto his lips. I couldn't shake the guilt that settled in after that, almost choking me till i had to catch myself and take a dep breath.

There was no way he'd spot me. I was fine.

Both teams got into formation on the court and the game began. The furman team was doing a pretty decent job in the first half, taking more possession of the game than the other team. it seemed like they'd been practicing for this for a while, studying their antics and how to counter them.

And for each goal the team scored, the crowd, including Ali and Manu, wen't wild, chanting and cheering.

In the second half, the other team might have noticed that furman was onto them, so it was much tighter. so far, furman had scored five goals and the other team had scored three. With how tight the game was, Ali predicted that Furman might end up in a draw.

Honestly, I wasn't paying much interest to the game inparticular. all my attention was fixed on daniel and how fluid his movements were. he didn't seem out of it like Asher said. In fact, he seemed more put together, more focused on winning.

And win he did. In the last minute, jace passed the ball to him and he made a clear shot into the hoop, ending the game with six goals for our team and four for the other. the crowd went berserk, chanting his name like he'd just struck gold for Furman. The rest of the team, surrounded him, changing hungs and handshakes. And in the shortest of moments, I saw a small smile form on his lips.

But then, Like it was programmed for him to do so, his eyes began to scan the crowd. and despite how crowded the arena was, his eyes found mine in record time. the smile on his face fell and shattered to a million pieces.