Tuct Side - 43. Chapter 33

The sharp squeaking of sneakers and the resounding thumps of basketballs echoed throughout the gymnasium. West reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he skidded across the court, slamming his shoulders into his opponents and letting his arms flail before him whenever the ball was close. His mind was chaos – from keeping the other game on the other half of the court going on in his peripheral to Neil a few feet away from him in his own game and how sexy he looked in a jersey to the text he had received from said noirette of the names. That and Justin taking a ten-minute bathroom break every time he tried to score.

Harry Brown

Joshua Edwards

Lilly Pearson

Finley Ross

Evie Foster

Pearson and Ross were both teachers. Ones that West knew and was friendly with, too. Ms. Pearson, a twenty-five-year-old ecology teacher for the underclassmen, was an aquatic fanatic, and her little pet fishes swam in a tank by her desk for students to look at during a lesson. Mr. Ross was just a few doors down, the middle-aged science instructor, always scrubbing smudges off the skeleton in the corner of his classroom during his lunch period.

Brown, Edwards, and Foster were a bit lost to him. The first two were seniors on the wrestling team, both big dudes who West has had a few nice words with but mostly kept to themselves. Foster was the junior class president, someone Kaspar was more likely to be rubbing elbows with. West made a mental note to get his cousin to get the inside scoop on her.

What could possibly be going on for them to get tangled with someone like Javier Rabellino? None of them was Justin, but he was sure his friend was associated with one of them on the sly.

West caught the ball that was meant for one of his opponents, sprinted toward the basket while dribbling the ball hard, and jumped, his fingers tipping the ball over and into the net. It was pretty impossible to slam dunk at a height of 5’10, but his legs were capable of incredible leaps that have won his team several games in the past. One of the reasons he was a part of the Jiving Four besides being the team captain.

“Keep it up, Kuttner!” Coach Kojo shouted from the sidelines, his keen eyes observing both games closely, along with several other instructors, who were witnessing and judging each player’s individual skill.

The admirers and spectators sitting in the bleachers cheered loudly as well, many of them tracking West’s every move. The attention was anxiety-inducing even if it was just practice. Basketball was so loved that people showed up during training hours just to watch their kids and favorite team members play.

Finn moseyed up to him and bumped shoulders. “Damn you’re on a roll, bro. What’s gotten into you? Neil?”

“Huh?” West turned and blinked confusedly at his friend, who let out a breathless chuckle.

“Whatever happened in that bathroom, save some for the rest of us, alright?” And before the blond could respond, the ebony-haired boy was off, chasing their enemy down for the recovered ball.

West shuddered at the thought of his and Neil’s latest escapades. It’s been going on ever since the noirette’s agreed to aid in uncovering the town’s mysteries, and they took extra precautions in making the happenings were known by a few select people. On Neil’s side, it was his bandmate, Poly, and Shaun, who put the pieces together in his head when he noticed West in the audience whenever they had a gig. However, on West’s end, nobody knew.

At least, that was what he thought.

Though, if anybody could figure out what was going on behind the scenes, it had to be Finn. Kaspar would deny the reality of it while Justin’s head seemed to be in the clouds more often than not. Finn had some history with Neil and some of the Wildwood folk, so he would be someone to definitely one to worry about, but his friend didn’t seem all that shocked about West spending time with who was supposed to be their mortal enemy.

West felt a pair of eyes at his back, and he spun around to find Neil, standing beside a glaring Enzo, glancing between him and Finn. Sweat dripped from his wet hair and dripped leisurely down his neck and collarbone, and those sleeveless, muscular biceps glistened in the dim gym lighting. Those lightning orbs stayed on his former friend’s back for a second before turning to the blond with a shake of his head and a smirk. What that meant, West didn’t know, but he wouldn’t be afraid to ask anymore.

The rest of the Jiving Four got the praise they deserved. Kaspar, especially, had his own personal fan group rallying up by Jaylin, West’s photography club colleague and trusty camera girl, who led the charge. They cheered quite loudly and passionately whenever the redhead had the ball in hand, making his cheeks pink as he tried to focus on the practice game.

During a break, West confronted his cousin.

“So, is this a pot-meet-kettle moment, or-”

“They’re on our side,” Kaspar interrupted hastily. “And I haven’t screwed any of them.”

“Yet?” West teased, laughing when his cousin flushed even more.

The latter elbowed the blond away from him. “Shut up, idiot.” Then jogged away before West could taunt him some more.

“Gather around, boys!” Coach Kojo announces ten minutes later, and the two games ceased as every player assembled at the center of the court, their full attention on their instructor, the other coaches surrounding them on the outside of the circle.

Even the audience in the bleachers shut up to let his voice echo throughout the gymnasium.

“You know, I’ve been here for years, and I never thought this day would happen. Two schools that hated each other because of a little fight a year or two ago. It kind of restores a little bit of my faith in humanity that we can come together like Siamese twins and shit in the same toilets for five days of the week.”

The crowd laughed at that. Even when he was presenting himself as a stern basketball coach, Kojo couldn’t resist adding in a joke or two. Everybody grew to like him quite quickly, and his charm seemed to be working on the ex-Wildwood crowd as well. Behind the coach stood Neil, Shaun, and Enzo. Shaun let out a chuckle while Enzo’s lips quirked up. Neil’s face remained serious, but West could point out little glimmers of humor in his blue eyes.

“And it seems someone else believed in the lot of you, too,” he continued. “Hell, he was jumping up and down on his heels for a day like this so much, he wanted to be the one to give you the whole ‘we can do it, we can win’ speech.”

A guest speaker? West thought. They haven’t had those in a while. He found Kaspar just a couple of players away and gave him a questioning look. Surprisingly, his cousin just shrugged his shoulders, appearing just as perplexed.

“So, since I desperately want to spend at least an hour on the job getting paid for doing, I’m gonna let Mr. Hotshot take the reigns for now,” he gestured over to the double doors in one of the corners of the gym.

And before Coach Kojo could say anything else, they shot wide open.

West was sure he wasn’t the only one’s jaw who dropped past the floor.

Jorge Rabellino, the Hangman, strode past the doors with a haughty swagger and a self-assured grin, which only broadened when he heard the excited screams and roars from the audience, reveling as if a celebrity had just walked into the room.

In a way, that did just happen.

First, West caught Kaspar’s expression – a whitened face full of shock and astonishing traces of fear. The blond could relate because he was pretty sure he was mirroring the look as well. Finn was stock-still, definitely panicking on the inside while Justin blinked over and over again, his brain in all likelihood still muddled.

It was looking over and seeing Neil’s face that pretty much sealed the fact that this was not good. The noirette’s pale skin was mottled in red, his large fists clenching so tightly West expected trickles of blood to pour out. He could feel the rage emanating from the guy from a mile away, he was actually surprised Shaun, who had a hand gripping his friend and bandmate’s bunched-up shoulder, didn’t incinerate on the spot. He was subtly holding back a raging bull, though, the other ex-Wildwood people didn’t seem put off by the small-town superstar’s sudden appearance.

“Thanks a ton, Coach,” Jorge nodded to Kojo as the crowd of gawking basketball players broke apart the circle to create a way for him. “I’ll make sure to put in a good word and get you paid double the amount.”

Kojo rolled his eyes but huffed in amusement, nonetheless. He sauntered out of the circle, allowing for the former basketball player to take his place.

Jorge was someone who could be described as “off-putting.” Even with the leather jacket, jeans, and lean build, there was a softness to his gray eyes and his laid-back, jokester demeanor suggested an easygoing, humble guy. But why would such a person be directly affiliated with a group of thugs who kidnap and sell drugs to children surreptitiously?

“I always knew this day would come,” Jorge looked around him, his expression one of awe. “It wasn’t a matter of if. Only when. One day, th’ peeps in the big seats would see that we’d have a stronger team if they’d just bring us together. Everyone knew that. Kuttner knew it, too. He and I’ve been speaking about it for some time now, and we were just about to start a two-man protest outside th’ student board building when they finally made the decision.”

Everyone but the Jiving Four, Neil, and his boys, Shaun and Enzo, laughed. The lightning-eyed boy was still glaring at his cousin with open hatred, yet nobody has taken noticed. West was nonplussed, to say the least. When he first met Jorge, Neil was still abrasive with him, but the blond just thought the noirette was like that with everyone.

However, looking at it now, it was the same animosity shining in Neil’s eyes that was sparked whenever his brother, Bran, was mentioned. Where the older Morterero was concerned, that was understandable. But what could chilled-out Jorge Rabellino have done?

It has yet to be confirmed or denied whether Jorge was either a leading member in the Saturns or another unwilling pawn, but judging from Neil’s reaction to him…

“Some of you are gonna get the positions you want and that you know you will. Don’t beat yourself up ‘cause your talent got you to where you wanted to go. Take advantage of it and push past your limits.”

That statement didn’t sit well with West for some reason, especially when Jorge’s eyes settled on Neil for a moment. Take advantage and push past your limits? That sounded like two completely different things. Even Kojo and a couple of the coaches seemed a bit puzzled.

“The rest of you will fall to second or even third string. And that’s okay, too. The best advice I can give you is that you can only go up from there if you’re willin’ to put in the work. Help yourself get to where you need to be.”

There were murmurs and nods of agreement. Jorge then casually ambled up to his younger cousin and wrapped an arm around him, completely ignoring the violent murder on the latter’s face. “Now, my cousin Neil here told me about something when I came to visit over the summer. He had a lil’ competition with a member of the Jivin’ Four over on the west side. An unfinished game, I believe?”

Jorge’s eyes found West, giving him an eager, knowing look.

“Primo,” Neil growled lowly next to him, but it was as if it went in one ear and out the other.

“Whaddaya say we get a winner out of it, yeah? Settle the score? Double Clutch vs. Morterero?” the ex-Wildwood player grinned mischievously at the audience.

Of course, there was a resounding roar of approval at the prospect. There were surprisingly only a few people who have heard of the heated game between West and Neil. West didn’t exactly spend too much time on popular social media sites if it had nothing to do with Untold, but Justin’s mentioned several times that the recorded game had gone viral over the months after its upload. His parents had to intercept many a phone call from media outlets who wanted an interview or an appearance on a live talk show.

“Finish it! Finish it! Finish it!”

The spectators and his teammates chanted, excitedly awaiting the two boys’ response. Looking back, West sought out the reactions of his cousin and friends. Kaspar’s gaze was narrowed and suspicious, all fixed on Jorge while Finn shrugged helplessly, and Justin, who looked a bit better, smiled encouragingly.

West turned back and unsurely lifted a shoulder. “I guess.”

Neil’s lips twisted, obviously displeased but nodded his agreement as well. “Aight.”

Another big applause and the players ran off the court to watch the duo in action.

“I heard it was a legendary game,” Jorge pointed at the thrilled basketball members. “I better see some mental note takin’ on those faces of yours!”