The day was here.

The final match.

I woke up in a pool of my own sweat, gasping as I tried to breathe. I hadn't gotten any sleep the entire night, only managing to fall asleep at around five in the morning. My insomnia was full blown at this point, and I couldn't find it in myself to productively do anything. Only then did I realize that I hadn't actually eaten anything since before my shift at the froyo shop the other day. I flinched as I remembered.

"Alex, what's wrong?" Asher asked.

I couldn't answer, trying to force some air into my lungs, but nothing was working. He forced me to look him in the eye, his hands on my shoulders. "Breathe. Just focus on letting the air in. Like you've been doing your entire life. Breathe Alex."

I tried to do what he said, but it was still too difficult. "Just look at me, okay? Focus on my voice."

I tried again, and this time it worked. It took a few minutes but I managed to get my breathing to a slower pace again. I just stayed there on the cool floor, and I could absentmindedly hear Asher moving around. He came back in front of me with a glass of water in his hand. I gladly drank it.

After that we just sat in silence, unsure of what to say. I felt so embarrassed. I can't believe Asher of all people had seen me like this. My ex. It's like inviting him to spit on my grave.

"Do you want me to give you a ride home?" He asked, still looking at me with worried eyes. "Thanks." I mumbled, as we both left the shop and he locked it behind me. He dropped me back home, not saying a word the entire time. I think he could tell I wasn't in the mood to talk. As I got out of the car he gave me one last smile, not even waiting for a thank you as he drove off.

I brought myself back to reality. God, I really hope Asher doesn't show up again. As helpful as he was last night, I'm not interested in getting woven into his web again. That would only bring even more chaos into my life.

I managed to pull myself out of bed and got changed as quickly as possible. I grabbed my sports kit as well, trudging downstairs to the kitchen where my mom was making waffles.

"Hey honey! Just wanted to wish you best of luck for the final game today. I made your favourite!"

"Thanks mom." I replied, tried to put the best smile on my face that I could. Hesitantly, I asked her the question I was thinking of since yesterday.

"Will dad be coming?"

She froze for a second, but quickly regained herself. "I'm not sure Alex, you'll have to ask him."

"But will you be there?"

"Of course." She smiled, giving me a kiss on the cheek, and adding more strawberries to my plate. Nick came down five minutes later and I drove us to school together. He wished me luck as well, and then went off to his first class.

I must look like shit, I thought, as I walked to English. I pulled out my phone only to stare at the same photo that was sent to me yesterday. The betrayal only stung me again, as I quickly put the phone away, pushing down the anger I felt bubbling up in my throat.

The thought of seeing Shawn in class made me want to throw up, so I decided to skip. I avoided all my friends for the entire day, hiding out in the library during lunch. Until finally, it was time for the match.

The entire school was buzzing with excitement all day. If anyone noticed that I wasn't to be seen at all, they didn't show it. They would probably think I was nervous or something. When I finally walked into the gymnasium, it was already packed with chattering students. A lot of parents and literally every teacher in the school had come to watch as well. I tried to scan the crowd for anyone that might be a recruiter, but I had no luck.

I caught Tyler's eye, his face twisted with worry. He started walking towards me, but I ducked into the girl's locker room before he could do so.

"Hey captain! How are those nerves?" Stacy asked, giving me a huge smile that just looked so genuine, my face cracked into a smile despite everything. "Well, I'm gonna shit myself. Does that answer your question?"

She laughed, patting me on the back. "Trust me, this is going to be dope."

I could only hope so.

Coach seemed to be even more nervous than I was, giving his usual locker room speech. The boy's match was first, so we settled down on the bench to watch. I saw Shawn come out of the locker room, his eyes searching. They finally landed on me, and I could have sworn that he looked like he was about to die right then and there. He looked exhausted, not to mention hungover. That idiot.

I felt like my heart was being ripped in two when he looked at me. His face looked apologetic, but I couldn't find it in myself to believe that. He walked over to me and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me to the side.

"Alex, please listen to me-"

"We have a match to worry about Shawn. I really don't care about whatever you did last night." I lied through my teeth, trying to fight off the constricting feeling in my chest.

"I didn't mean to kiss Megan; we were drunk and-"

"Just stop talking. Get on the court, your game is starting."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he had to leave. He ran out onto the court and took his position. The next hour and a half were absolutely nerve wrecking. I tried to look for my dad in the stands, but he still hadn't shown up. Not to mention, my mom had texted me saying there was a work emergency that she had to get to and that she would celebrate with me afterwards. Mom of the year, am I right?

I did manage to find Ezra though, talking next to Veronica when she wasn't cheerleading. Megan was nowhere to be seen. The two of them were arguing in hushed tones, until Ezra glanced towards me. I quickly looked away.

Of course, Shawn played absolutely brilliant as the boys won as he scored the last basket. The stands went wild, everyone rushing onto the court to celebrate. I couldn't find it in myself to support them though. I was too busy trying not to sweat through my Nike's.

Tyler jogged towards me, his smile faltering a little, but he regained it. "You're going to do great Pierce. I know it."

"Thanks." I said, half-heartedly. I could tell he had more on his mind to tell me, but he didn't bring it up. Probably about Megan, I guess. I glanced towards Ezra again, and this time she was standing next to him. She looked panicked as well, but when she saw that I was looking, she tried to put on a supportive face.

"All right, I don't exactly know what happened between you two, but I do know that Megan and Shawn kissed and now neither of you guys will look at each other. I'm guessing you and Shawn had something going on which you never told me about, but that's fine. Just remember, Megan would never do anything like that in her sober mind." Tyler blurted out, clearly not able to let it go anymore.

"Whatever." I walked out onto the court, now that the girls match was starting. The entire school was in a euphoria now, fully expecting us to win as well. I looked back to the stands. Still no sign of my dad.

I guess he wasn't coming.

I had to admit, that broke something in me.

The whistle sounded, and the game began. I ran out to receive the ball, scoring within the next thirty seconds. The rest of the game was intense. Just when we thought we were pulling forward, the other team would catch up. Also, just when we thought they were going to win, we managed to get ahead. It was insane.

I played to the best of my abilities, scoring about seventy percent of the baskets on our team. Tracy and Olivia were on fire today though. The two of them were performing such perfect assists, it was freaking unbelievable.

It was half-time, and we all walked back over to the bench. "You guys are doing great, but we've got to be careful. The other team loves to play rough, so use your reflexes. Don't let them get to you, yeah?" Coach told us. We all nodded and started to walk back, but he pulled me aside.

"Hey Peirce. I'm still not sure about who the recruiter is, but I'm positive they're going to be interested in you. Keep it up, okay?"

I nodded. "Yes coach."

The game resumed, and I was pushing my limits. I felt great everytime I scored, but then the clawing feeling came back and I had to push it away. I managed to shoot another basket, looking at the stands out of habit again. My dad still hadn't shown up, but I caught sight of Shawn again. I could feel the anxiety rising in my chest, and my throat suddenly felt extremely dry. This random wave of pain seemed to hit me out of nowhere, nearly freezing me in my tracks.

They play continued, but I was seeing stars. My vision had turned blurry, and my head had started to spin. What the hell was happening to me?

I tried to run towards the other end of the court, but it was like trying to run underwater. My lungs were burning and my throat was killing me. I could barely comprehend what was going on. I could hear someone calling out my name, but I didn't know who.

I was dehydrated, starved, sleep deprived, and I couldn't breathe anymore. I could feel the panic rising in my chest, as the pain of everything hit me at once, making me want to scream.

I heard someone call out my name again, and the ball was passed to me. I managed to catch it, but immediately stumbled backward. I clutched my head, the ball slipping out of my hand.

"Alex? ALEX!"

The last thing I saw was Shawn running towards me, his footsteps resonating against the hardwood floor, and the sounds of confused screaming and muttering.

Then everything went black.