As someone who is proud to be from Ohio, I just had to throw in some local magic. Enjoy the song from the band that's from my home town!

Darla H

I sat by the doors of the basketball stadium and waited for Garret, who said he would be here by now, but he was five minutes late, causing me to think he stood me up. I should have known this would happen. Hockey Players and Figure Skaters were completely different people and we weren't meant to date one another.

Breaking me from my frustrated thoughts was Jaimie, who spoke up. "El, were you waiting for me?" Jaimie smiled as he walked up to me.

I shook my head with a smirk as I looked around the empty hall. I had seen him off and on all day, but it was only now that he decided to talk to me when no one was around. I wondered if that was planned or if it was just because he didn't notice. "Hardly."

He pretended to look hurt as he held his heart. "Ouch," he said as Callum walked up to us.

I hadn't seen Callum at all this past day during school, so it surprised me to see him now.

Callum stuffed his hands into his jeans and looked at us casually, as if he always talked to us. "Hey Ellis," Callum said coolly, with amusement in his eyes as he watched Jaimie and I interact with one another.

I frowned at him, feeling judged by him. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

He chuckled, knowing I was uncomfortable, but he liked that. He was rubbing me the wrong way, and I wanted him to leave before Garret got here. "I go to school here. Why wouldn't I be here?" he smiled.

I frowned, not liking his cocky answer. As I looked into his dark eyes, I could see that he was hiding something and I think Callum hid a lot of things. There were things that were filled in the space of silence, lost conversation, wishes, beliefs, that he would not share as he looked at me, and I wasn't sure if he would ever share.

I remembered the conversation that Cami, Quinn and I had about him over lunch today. They didn't know a thing about him. He was like a blank canvas. Even though everyone saw him around, they knew him, but they didn't at the same time. He left no clues about himself, he did what was told, but left nothing to gain an opinion of him.

"But anyhow, I'm here to write about the game for the newspaper," he said as he pulled out his notebook for proof.

I nodded, taking his response as a solid answer. As much as I didn't want to trust him, there was something that told me he wasn't that bad. "Cool," I said as I fought the blush that came to my cheeks. The way he teased me, I couldn't decide if I liked it or was irritated by it.

"We're still on for the interview, right?"

I nodded in silence, not knowing what else to say.

"Great. See you then," he winked, then walked into the gym.

Jaimie and I watched as he disappeared into the crowded gym. "Did I just see you get flustered?" Jaimie grinned, enjoying this moment.

I was always known to be cool and collected, but when I saw Callum, I wanted to melt. I found him intimidating, but intriguing at the same time. He was like a wave, pulling me into the ocean but then pushing back onto the beach. Everyone thought that Callum Weeks had it all together, but no one could be that smooth and I wanted to know his secrets. "Shut up," I said as I rolled my eyes just as Garret walked up to us. Saved by the bell. Jaimie would drop it if he knew what was good for him.

Jaimie looked at Garret, then at me with a smug smile, enjoying every second of this entire experience. At least I could give him some entertainment. But I wouldn't hear the end of this at home. "I'll see you inside, El," he said and went into the gym, leaving us alone.

Garret's light blue eyes looked distraught about something and I wonder if it was because of me or if he saw me talking to Callum. I didn't know him well enough to read it off of him; I needed him to tell me. "What?"

He shoved his hands into his jeans, allowing me to see his tan skin around his wrists. I never understood how he was so tan when he spent the daylight hours at the rink. He should be pale, like me and all the other skaters. "I said nothing to your brother."

I shrugged as I put my straight, but frizzy, hair into a ponytail. "He probably didn't care," I said honestly. Jaimie was shy, he preferred books to people most of the time.

He nodded but still looked unsure of himself, as if it was a big deal. It was cute that he wanted to make a good impression.

"Let's go in? We can sit with Jaimie if you want."

He smiled lightly. "Ok," he said and together we walked into the large gym that was already full of people. Music played loudly over the speakers, which added to the energy that I felt nowhere else besides a basketball game.

<>

I looked around at the stands and saw my brother sitting alone with his nose in a textbook. Figures. Shaking my head, giving him a disapproving look, I walked up the painted metal steps and sat down next to him. I nudged Jaimie as Garret sat beside me. Jaimie gave me a tired smile, showing hated this, and the game hadn't even started yet. It was going to be a long night for him.

At that moment, the announcer called out the basketball team of the fall. I looked around at the packed auditorium for the game tonight, making it was so lively. Everyone was so excited, I could feel the energy practically bursting from the walls. I cheered as the announcer called out Paulo. "Come on, Da da da Souza! You got this!" I called out to Paulo.

Paulo looked at me and gave me a thumbs up, then smiled widely as his teammate wrapped his arm around Paulo's shoulder.

I smiled down and returned the thumbs up although; I don't think he noticed as he jumped around in a circle with his other teammates.

"Calm down, El, you're going to make me go deaf," Jaimie sighed as he popped his head out of the book again. His dark blue almost gray eyes seemed to scream, 'let me leave here in the piece'.

I frowned at Jaimie, finding that he was ruining my mood. Jaimie and Paulo were twins, yes, but they were so different and they constantly reminded me of that. I looked at Jaimie's eyes and shook my head. That was one thing that Paulo didn't get, my mother's blue eyes. "You're just sour that mom made you come."

Jaimie put down his book and sighed as he looked at the scene in front of him, looking like he was going to be sick. "Figure skating is more manageable. More quiet, refined. I'll be honest, basketball is not my favorite sport."

I chuckled at him. "Well, that is obvious. You brought your textbook to the game." I pointed to the book in his hands.

He frowned at me as he straightened out his button-down dress shirt. He looked so out of place here, even his outfit showed he didn't belong. I always thought Jaimie was an old soul, but seeing him here reminded me of this even more. "I need to study if I want to get college credit for AP history." He said as he closed the book, giving up on studying for the time being.

"You can do that later, let's just be here for the moment. Paulo is in the championships. We need to support that."

"This isn't the first championship his team has qualified for," he pointed out.

And it wouldn't be the last either. Paulo worked so hard at any sport he did. Sports were his passion and because of that, his team often made it to the championships. "So. We support every championship. Just like I expect you guys to come to every skating competition," I said with a smile.

"Of course, you had to bring the conversation back to you," Jaimie said with a smirk.

Between the twins, I often felt like I had to fight for attention. I was the youngest, and the twins were a handful. Besides with how distant we had become and how separate our lives have been, it worried me they would forget about me if I stayed quiet. "Speaking of which, you are coming to Seattle for sectionals, right?"

"A weekend at a hotel, free breakfast, and a hot tub? I wouldn't miss it."

I spotted mom looking up at us with a smile. She looked slightly scattered, with her blonde wavy hair falling out of her bun as she walked up to us, holding popcorn in her hands proudly. "I got snacks!" She exclaimed as her eyes fell on Garret, causing her to smile larger. She always liked him ever since we moved here. It didn't help that his mother worked for my mom and they were best friends. "Garret, dear, it is so great to see you!"

Garret smiled at her. "It is great to see you too, Ms. da Souza."

She chuckled as she sat down next to Jaimie. "You can call me, Eliza. How's the hockey season going?"

Garret smiled with glitter in his blue eyes as he thought about the sport that he played. "This season is going great. I think we have a good chance of going to championships."

He talked about hockey the way I talked about skating, like it was his life and he knew nothing else besides school and the rink. Even though hockey and figure skating were worlds different, in this aspect, we were the same.

Mom smiled, taking a handful of popcorn, then handed the bucket to him. "That is so exciting. Here, want some popcorn?"

He took it gladly. "Thanks. I would love some," he said and grabbed a hand full then handed the bucket to me.

I shook my head, refusing the snack since I wasn't hungry even though I barely ate all day long. I was convinced it was because of stress and I stood by that since that thought put me at ease. "No thanks," I said and handed it back to mom.

She took it back, not noticing that I took nothing since her eyes were glued to Paulo down on the polished wooden floor. She went to every game of his like she did with my competitions. She was probably all of our biggest fan, which was good because with dad and his busy schedule; he was there 60% of the time. But mom, you could count on her to never miss any events.

Jaimie put his textbook in his backpack and pouted. He looked around the gym until his eyes landed on Garret. "You're in my history class, right?" Jaimie asked Garret, finally acknowledging his presence.

Garret nodded with a small smile, happy that he was talking to him. "Yeah. I see that you have been studying for the test next week already," he said as he gestured to the book in his lap.

"Of course. Those tests are hard. I want to go to Harvard, so I need to get flawless grades. Have you studied for the test yet?"

Garret shook his head. "That's a weekend problem."

Jaimie frowned as the conversation died. He didn't like people that didn't take school seriously. And just like that, they had nothing in common. "Ok then," Jaimie said as he looked back at his brother running around on the gym floor.

Garret shot me a look. He was flailing, struggling to find something to say to him, but I didn't have the heart to say he messed up the conversation. It was better to just move on from here.

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it." Jaimie liked to be surrounded by silence. He was a thinker and any moment of quiet was enjoyable for him, especially if he was around people he didn't really know. "It takes time for him to warm up," I whispered.

For a moment, we were silent until Garret spoke up over the cheer of the crowd. "So you go to all the games?"

"Almost all, why?" I asked, not willing to take my eyes off of Paulo.

"Because this is my first one. I know nothing about the sport so please explain," he said.

I chuckled, finally able to tear my eyes away from my brother. I looked at Garret, to see if he was pulling my leg, but his serious tone convinced me he wasn't kidding as he looked cluelessly at me. "Paulo, there, he is the point guard. It is his job to run the point, or in other words, set up each offensive play. Just focus on him."

He nodded as he watched the game, looking so intense as he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, telling me he wanted to understand what was happening in front of him.

By the end of halftime, Garret was completely into it.

Together we watched as Paulo set up for the last point before the buzzer went off, signaling the end of the period. Paulo ran around the person guarding him and shot the ball just as the buzzer rang. The ball fell through the net and the stadium cheered. We were ahead and we could win this.

I stood up, so excited from the point that I hugged Garret tightly. I instantly pulled away, knowing that maybe I overstepped my place, but Garret smiled, as if telling me he enjoyed it.

I turned back to the floor and shouted, "Paulo! Yeah!!! That is my brother! Go go go da da da Souza!!" My eyes scanned the floor, trying to find Paulo until I saw him cradle his face. He stumbled to the ground as he took his hand from his nose and blood covered his hand. His nose was bleeding badly, causing me to feel queasy.

Mom let out a gasp and ran to the floor to help her son in one fluid motion.

I froze, not moving, but I knew I should help. I looked over at Jaimie, who was already following mom to help Paulo with blood dripping down his white jersey. I turned my head. I was going to be sick. There was so much blood. I let out a breath.

Garret looked at me and frowned. He grabbed my hands and squeezed them. "Breathe El."

I let out another breath. In and out. I could do that. "What happened, did you see?"

"The guard guy, um, from the other team, he elbowed Paulo."

I didn't understand how people could get so worked up over a game. "That slut," I said, saying the first thing that came to my mind.

Garret raised his eyebrows with amusement playing in his eyes. "El, I don't think I have ever heard such words come from your mouth."

I chuckled lightly. "There is a lot you don't know about me." I wasn't as perfect as people thought I was. My brothers helped me with that.

"I'm excited to learn though."

I blushed, not thinking that this date would turn into anything more than just a onetime thing. But he seemed to be just as interested as I was.

"El, El, Ellis. Goodness. Ellis," I heard mom call out to me.

I looked down at her and her bloodied hands. I gagged. Thank goodness I ate little today, so I had nothing to be sick over. "El, I have to take your brother to the hospital."

That was obvious. I would have to find a way back home since Jaimie would go with them. As different as Paulo was to Jaimie, they were also inseparable. Jaimie would be by Paulo side for anything like he often was when something like this happened to Paulo. But for me, I couldn't be in the same car as them. I would vomit. I couldn't do blood.

I felt an arm draped around my shoulders protectively. I looked to see Garret resting against me with a small smile played across his face, looking completely comfortable. "I'll take El home. Don't worry."

Mom smiled at him, although her eyes looked stressed and worried still. "You're a lifesaver Garret. Thank you."

"No problem, Eliza."

"I love you, El. I'll see you tonight," mom said, then rushed out of the gym with her two boys.

Garret turned me and smiled lightly. "Well, for my first basketball game, that was lively."

"Maybe a little too lively," I stated.

Garret starred down at the gym floor as if he could see Paulo's blood on the floor. "Will Paulo be ok?" he asked with such concern that I found unusual.

I nodded. This wasn't the first time he got hurt at a game and it wouldn't be the last. "Yeah, he'll be fine." He always bounced back, it was one of his talents.