School on Monday was uneventful enough for Renjun, other than the fact that his alarm clock had suddenly decided it had wanted a day off, meaning he barely made it to his first class on time and was unable to see Jeno before classes began, which immediately put him in a terrible mood. Sometimes he was embarrassed about how completely he stopped functioning without Jeno. 

To add to this, he hadn't seen Jaemin all day apart from coming across him in the corridor and receiving all but a small smile, which made his overactive mind wonder whether Jaemin only acted friendly towards him when there were no other people around to see him talking to some lowly, sad kid with a bag covered in badges. 

Sitting at a table with his lunch, his friends' babble blending in with what was going on in the background, Renjun felt the air around himself going stale from the loud silence. He hadn't seen Jeno all weekend, Jaemin was sort of maybe ignoring him — Even his sandwich tasted more bland than usual.

Renjun's eyebrows scrunched up, and he judged himself for how dramatic he was sounding. He was probably just being over the top, overanalysing Jaemin's actions and missing Jeno's dry humour. He decided to join in on whatever his friends were yelling about, only to discover that while he'd been zoned out, Chenle had started choking on a sandwich and Jisung was shaking him by the shoulders, as if it would save him. He looked pointedly away, wondering again where Jeno was. Renjun hadn't talked to him all day — he could be dead. 

Where could he be? He wouldn't have detention or anything. Deciding he had more important things to do than watch Mark laugh his ass off at the two younger students, both with tears gathering at the corners of their eyes (one from choking, one from hysteria), he got up, told his friends he was leaving and receiving a good few farewells. Chenle was still teary when he left the lunch hall.

He dumped his half empty juice in the bin, and went off down the corridor, checking in some classrooms he thought Jeno might be likely to frequent. He ended up spending the next five minutes just peeking in random rooms, getting more impatient by the minute. Where in heck is Jeno?

He was tempted to just yell into the mostly empty hallways to check if Jeno would just reply, when came across a new poster on the main board. Interested, and mostly glad for the distraction, he stopped to read it, eyes skimming over the garish red print.

Swim meet, Monday after school at the pool

Volleyball tryouts, Tuesday and Wednesday after school at the volleyball court

Book club meetings Monday and Friday, at lunch in the library

IT club meetings Monday and Tuesday, at lunch in the main computer room

Basketball tryouts, Monday at lunch in the sports hall

Track on Thursdays after school

It struck him that Jeno might be taking part of one of these, and nearly groaned in frustration. This was the most likely scenario, when he thought about it. Jeno might have decided to go join a book club on impulse or something, and forgotten to tell Renjun about it. He went up to the list, running a finger along the words as he read them.

He could probably rule most of these out. He could barely float; He had no interest in volleyball that Renjun know of; The only things he could do on a computer was type up essays and play Papa's Freezeria; He hadn't anything to do with playing basketball in years and not the slightest interest in track either. 

He shook his head and was about to go to the library when the doors of the hall he was standing before burst open, and an arm reached out and pulled Renjun inside. 

≠

Jeno was beyond anxious. He had barely paid attention to his classes all morning, too sick with nerves to concentrate. The fact that he hadn't seen Renjun all morning almost went unnoticed but subconsciously made it worse.

His father had been pleading with him to try out for basketball for a couple of months now, and every time he'd thought of it he'd felt sick. Tryouts were at lunch, and he had decided to just give it a go for his old man, but the minutes ticked away his courage, and he was a mess by the time lunch came around. He shakily changed into a white shirt and shorts, stumbling around to the sports hall, and practically trembling before the doors. He would definitely embarrass himself, the last time he had played basketball, he'd been thirteen and a half. Sure, he'd been decent enough, but he wouldn't remember jack shit, and he knew it. 

In a daze, Jeno pushed one of the doors open and looked around to see where he should be headed. Dull chatter and squeaks reverberated around the hall. There was a huddle of people next to the benches who seemed around his own age, and he was about to go over when he recognised one of them to be the guy who had chased him out of the gymnasium last Monday. He swallowed and backed off before he had even taken a step. His eyes scanned the other group fretfully,  and upon watching saw one of them sit down and clutch at their head, he decided that yes, these were the people trying out.

He walked over and realised he knew absolutely none of these people at all. He swallowed, the sheer determination of the group washing over him. They were silent, calculating. What was worse? Most were wearing run-down, well-worn basketball shoes — Jeno realised he was probably the only person here trying to bullshit themselves into the team. He felt a cold sweat threaten his lower back.

Jeno looked up when he heard footsteps, generously accompanied by high pitched squeaks. The coach was walking over with the basketball team, towards them. The coach was a tough-looking man, and though his face said he was forty, his body was built and fit. He held a clipboard and a silver whistle hung from a blue string on his neck. Jeno squinted, trying to remember his name. He'd substituted one of his chemistry classes before — Mr Bae. 

Behind him, an assortment of people Jeno could only describe to be intimidating. They were lean and some of them towered over Jeno — especially one guy, who looked like someone had superglued an Asian head on Slenderman's body.

"Hello, boys," he barked, startling Jeno. "You probably know me as Mr Bae, but on the court I am Coach Bae. Remember this." Jeno had no idea why he sounded so mad about someone calling him 'Mr' on the court, but he wasn't going to test this man's anger.

Someone behind Jeno giggled, "Hey, Jacob, look —" 

"Shut up, Moon," came a tired reply. Jeno recognised the voice as Jacob Bae's — they'd had maths together last year. 

Coach Bae's became less gruff, now. "Welcome to basketball tryouts, I hope you are prepared." I am not prepared.

They started off just running laps around the hall, which was easy enough. Jeno wasn't first in line, but he wasn't last either. Then they just did some exercises, such as burpees and jumping jacks. By the end of that, Jeno was already sweating a little, which was not good, because the other people seemed to have loads of energy to spare. 

"Okay, it seems most of you have the energy that basketball demands, so I guess it's all down to the game you guys will play against the team." What.

"Are you confused? You guys will play a short game against this team there," he gestured to the boys who were currently lounging on the benches on the other side of the hall, since they hadn't had to do any of the exercises. "That's what's going to decide if you can do anything worth our time." He looked around, eyes narrowed. "Any more questions?"

A dull chorus of "No sir" echoed around the group, the type that always seemed to annoy teachers more than please them.

"Okay then, team. Huddle, then spread out when I tell you to." They all nodded, quietly and stiffly agreeing on their positions, Jeno nervously taking up the one he'd preferred some years ago, then spread upon hearing the whistle. Jeno tried to evaluate the players and see what he was up against, even though he hardly believed he would make the team (or do anything other than making a fool of himself).

"Okay, enough dilly-dallying. We ready to start?" Jeno was snatched out of the disheartening thought process as the coach rapped his fingers against his clipboard, black pen now ready in hand. 

"Wait!" exclaimed the guy Jeno recognised as 'Moon'. Coach Bae turned his head. 

"What's your name again, kid?" 

"Kevin Moon!"

"What is it?" Kevin scratched the back of his neck, "I'm kinda really nervous, so can I get someone to, like, sit and watch for moral support?" 

Jeno's eyes widened. That was allowed?

The coach raised his eyebrows. After a moment, he replied, "Fine, you got two minutes to run. If you aren't back by then, we'll start the game without you." Kevin nodded and sprinted the hell out of there. Jeno looked around, panicking. No one else was surprised in the least, or seemed to be judging Kevin —

Before he knew what he was doing, he had asked for the coach. "What?" Before Jeno had a chance to reply, the coach grunted. "If you wanna go get a buddy to watch, you can go. But you got literally a minute. Run."

Jeno found his feet moving towards the door with one thought on his mind: Renjun. He would do better if Renjun was here. There was a panicked pressure in his chest — where would he be? Would Jeno have to sprint all the way to their lunch hall?

He threw open the door, and just as he was beginning to regret doing this, he saw the man himself standing right outside, looking baffled and annoyed, and now shocked. Jeno just grabbed his arm and dragged him in, not thinking twice.

Renjun's mouth was hanging open, ad he looked like he was going to yell at Jeno or something, but Jeno didn't have the time right now to even think about kissing his anger away. "Renjun. I'm trying out for the basketball team and I didn't have the time to tell you but I need you to just sit here and watch because it makes me feel better can you do that?" he whispered, all in one small breath.

"W—what? Jeno, I didn't catch half of that." 

Jeno rolled his eyes, though in fairness it had been kind of slurred. "Can you do me a favour, sit over there on those benches and hype me up?"

Renjun blinked once. "Yeah, I can do that. Will you pay me later?"

Jeno nodded, "In hugs." Renjun patted Jeno's cheek before heading over to perch himself beside two girls. Jeno was just walking back to the rest of the people when Kevin came running in, holding another guy's hand. Jeno saw him give Kevin's hand a squeeze and go to sit on the benches. Jeno kept his small smile to himself — he didn't know Kevin was into guys. It was like a cool little rush when he saw someone else being gay. It was cute when it wasn't himself. 

When Kevin had finally come back over, he sent a thankful smile coach's way, and they got ready to play.

However, he lost his train of thought when he saw a certain jog over from the bench, his brown hair too bouncy, his lips too pink. 

Na Jaemin. Shit. 

I forgot he was on the team. What if I mess up? Wait, why does that matter? 

 Jeno shook his head at himself. Maybe it was because he didn't want to seem inferior compared to Jaemin (even though that was obviously fruitless). Anyway, he'd had a proper conversation or two with Jaemin before, right? It wasn't like he was some untouchable marble sculpture anymore — he was just a person. Right?

While Jeno hosted a civil war over how he had forgotten that Jaemin was on the team and why it even affected him so much in the first place, people were actually shaking themselves out and preparing for the game, prepping themselves for the final whistle. Which was why when the shrill sound finally pierced the air, Jeno was taken more by surprise, and jumped backwards instead of forwards. There began his downward spiral.

Jeno literally did nothing the entire game — hell, he couldn't do anything. He went jogging around the place, vaguely following the ball. No one was looking at him, no one went to pass him the ball. He must have emitted that kind of energy. He wasn't complaining though, they weren't even giving him a chance to mess up. Even thinking of doing something embarrassing in front of Jaemin made him feel kind of sick. And while he was sure that Renjun had his best interests at heart, it wasn't something he'd live down too fast.

Jeno's eyes followed the ball, and he felt that familiar scheming kick into practoce at the back of his mind — but he couldn;t bring himself to go near enough to it, to yell for the pass. His eyes landed on Jaemin as he passed the ball to that scary guy, but he started when the other boy's gaze latched onto his and kept it there. Jeno reddened slightly, then paused in confusion when Jaemin jogged over. 

"Jaemin? What are you..." he trailed off lamely, wondering why he was suddenly tongue-tied. Did Jaemin do this to everyone? 

"Yep, that's me," Jaemin smiled cheesily. "Just wanted to let you know that —" He coughed, and nodded sideways over at the coach, who was shaking his head and writing something on his clipboard. "— He's not very happy right now."

Jeno's eyes widened. "Is — is he writing about me?" 

Jaemin nodded tragically, "You're not getting on the team just running around like that. Do something."

Jaemin knocked his knuckles lightly off Jeno's arm and gave one last nod towards the coach, jogging off again. Jeno absentmindedly touched the skin Jaemin had touched. His eyes darted  back over to the coach, but he was observing Kevin now, who was darting around the court like a pin ball. He was moulding the ball's path almost solely by himself. He was definitely getting in.

Jeno took a deep breath and shook himself out. He had to stop clowning around. He knew what he had to do — he knew how the court worked. He already had some practised plays. They were just rusty — but just four years couldn't completely dampen his skill. He felt the pressure in his features lift, he let himself move a little more freely, let the predictions and ideas in his mind play out, and soon enough Kevin nodded at him and passed him the ball.

Jeno caught it and, as if time had taken a break, looked down at it, then up at the people who were now turned towards him, eyes trained on the orange prize. He swallowed. He'd forgotten just how stressful this part was.

Jeno took off, practically sprinting down the court, dribbling it. He got it down closer to their net, and somewhere he heard a frenzied "Yes, finally, you idiot!" He didn't even have to turn to know it was Renjun, and couldn't keep his grin to himself. He then analysed what was going on. Too many people in front of him to cut through, and the hoop seemed like it was miles away. His eyes desperately searched for someone to pass it to, but they were all in terrible places or being defended. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jaemin. He tilted his head slightly, making a familiar motion with his hands. Throw it.  

Distantly, Jeno wondered why Jaemin was helping him so much. But he didn't particularly care in that moment.

He hesitantly raised his hands to throw the ball, but something didn't feel right. Jeno looked at up again, a bit worried. The people around him were closing in fast, and he wouldn't even be able to see the hoop clearly if they got much nearer. His palm slid lower down, and he winced. Of course, he was holding the fucking thing wrong. He repositioned and aimed, his vision tunnelling. 

He'd never been good at jump shots from a distance, but nothing else would work 

He watched the ball fly in an arc with bated breath. Their point count was stuck and staling. If only this shot would make it, the coach would definitely notice him

It fell cleanly into the hoop. 

Jeno sighed in relief, while Renjun cheered slightly hoarsely in the background. Jeno grinned, turning around. It wasn't complete over-confidence, but it he'd really forgotten how that felt. It made you feel like you'd just won over the world, like a warm bubble was swelling in your chest, un-pierceable. 

He didn't want to bullshit his way through this game anymore. He wanted in.

By the time the short game had ended, Jeno had gone and scored 6 of 13 shots for their team, and the other team had scored just 10 because of Kevin's defence. Jeno was buzzing with anticipation — he wanted Coach Bae to come up to them and just yell who'd gotten in and who hadn't. Shakily, he accepted the friendly clap on the back from Moon, who he'd worked with unexpectedly well. 

After the coach congratulated them and wished them luck, they walked off to go take quick showers before classes restarted — Jeno had the feeling they'd be more than a little late to class. The showers were rowdy, but Jeno took comfort in the colourful noise.

As he walked out of the little cubicle, skin a bit dry and hair soggy, he felt a small tap on his shoulder. There stood Jaemin wearing a loose grey shirt that somehow made his lean figure look even better — and by better Jeno meant worse. His cheeks coloured in what was definitely anger, but Jeno couldn't help but smile back at the grin Jaemin was offering him — he was given no other choice.

"How d'you think you did?" he asked casually, reaching out a hypothetical invitation. This would mark the beginning of a friendship beyond a single conversation. Jeno found himself accepting, surprising himself. 

He followed Jaemin out of the main changing rooms, traipsing upstairs, his reply more definite.  "I don't know, to be honest, but that was a good game — it's been a while since I've last played anything close to an actual game. I forgot how to throw the ball for a second." 

Jaemin laughed, "How long has it been since you played?" 

"Years, actually. I'm not lying when I said I had no idea what to do for the first ten minutes." Jeno sighed, slightly embarrassed. "Thanks for, um, pointing out coach that one time."

Jaemin puffed out his cheeks and pulled on a sweater, shaking his head dismissively once it had popped above the collar. "You played amazing today — you were hardly rusty at all, one wouldn't really be able to guess you hadn't played for a while." Jaemin stopped next to the nearest classroom, the hallway empty they had to whisper now — class had begun five minutes ago.

Jeno chuckled and slid his other arm into the strap of his bag, one shoulder becoming a bit sore. "Really, thanks. You're too nice." Way too nice, his mind complained petulantly, I just won't be able to keep up this irrational dislike of you. 

Then a few pairs of footsteps started echoing nearby and both boys started — a teacher might see them talking in the halls, outside of class. Jaemin bit his own tongue mock-guiltily, and waved lightly before he entered the classroom. Jeno stood outside in the dim silence for two seconds before he ran off to his own class.

The thirty minutes passed in a blur, an ache starting settle into his arms and legs now that the actual workout was over, his mind stuck on whether he and Jaemin were friends now, and whether he'd be on the team now. Upon stepping out of the class, he felt a hard slap on the back of his head, the ony thing that kicked him out of his reverie. "Ow — Oh, hey, Renjun." 

"Before I start spazzing over your sparkly playing, can I just ask you why you took so long in the shower? Class literally started! I had to leave!" Renjun sounded like he was purposely sounding cute. Jeno might never be able to take angry Renjun seriously, though he wouldn't risk pinching his cheeks. He might get smacked again. 

"Sorry, Jaemin wanted to ask me something." He winced slightly when he said that. Mentioning Jaemin voluntarily was signing himself up for immediate pain.

Renjun paused mid complaint and looked like he was holding his breath. His sort of glimmered, like there a shooting star they reflected that passed by every time he thought of Jaemin. "Speaking... speaking of Jaemin! Did I tell you what happened at the job that your brother gave me?" 

Before Jeno could set up his mind to brood over his shortcomings that set him so far behind Renjun's crush, instead of actually listening to Renjun talking, the boy patted him on the head smilingly. 

"Before that, though, your playing was amazing. I had no idea you were still so good at basketball! The way you passed that ball, like... whoosh! Damn," he continued, using his hands to accentuate his words, and Jeno continued to love everything about him, despite the fact he always had another basketball player on his mind anyway. 

***

disclaimer: i have never played a sport, or even been to a tryout in my life. i used the internet, kuroko no basket and my three and half brain cells to come up with this