( Lucas | 002 ) - Blog Posts
sinclairss:
basketball had been an opportunity for lucas in high school, aa doorway into the popular crowd he so envied in middle school. he’d tried out for the team after his freshman year peer mentor, one of a handful of black boys in the entire school, took him under his wing and asked him to join the team. lucas probably only made the team because he had some natural athleticism…and because he was one of a handful of black boys in the entire school, too, and everyone assumed kids like him were just going to be automatically good at basketball. it had taken a lot of time and practice, but with the help of jay, patrick, and steve, lucas had become a pretty decent point guard.
more importantly, though? lucas found something he loved doing. he felt the same rush making the game-winning shot as he did when he and the rest of the party teamed up to take down eddie’s latest final monster or when he beat dustin or max’s high scores at the arcade. after freshman year, it went from something he did because it helped him gain popularity to something he did because he had fun doing it. sure, the teammates, friends, and attention from cheerleaders helped, but it was nothing compared to seeking out his friends in the crowd after a big win and seeing all of them screaming their heads off for him.
but even without the crowds and the team, lucas had fun playing. he spent many a free afternoon at the neighborhood court, practicing his layups and free throws, sometimes trying trick shots just for the hell of it. occasionally, he could drag one of his friends along and it was fun, too, but in a different sort of way than it was with one of the guys from the team. now that he’d graduated, lucas didn’t get to practice with the guys anymore, so when adam asked if he’d like to play, he’d leaped at the chance. adam was athletic even if he’d never played on the school’s basketball team, so he figured he’d put up a little bit more of a fight than max, dustin, or mike would in a pickup match.
he stood at the free throw line dribbling the ball between his legs and behind his back, testing his weight on his bad knee every now and then. “can’t make any promises, man,” he replied with a smile as he pulled up to take a fadeaway shot from the line. it sailed through, rattling the chain in the basket. lucas went to retrieve the ball and tossed it to adam once he was on his feet. “you know HORSE, right?” lucas said, folding his hand behind his head. “you take a shot from anywhere and if you make it, i have to make the same shot or i get a letter. if you miss, i get to pick where to shoot and if i make it, you have to duplicate it. first person to spell HORSE loses.” he bit the inside of his cheek to bite back a smirk. “unless you’re chicken?”
Adam had never tried out for a sport besides football in high school, though he often thought about it now. Back then, it just seemed like he was The Quarterback. That was his brand, what he was known for - trying something new had seemed a little scary. What if he wasn’t good at it? What if he showed up and everyone expected him to be the star of that sport too, and he’d let them down? It had been easier sticking to what he was sure he was good at, and spending the rest of his time with Cole. Now a days, it seemed like a good idea to branch out and try all of the things he’d been too scared of before. Life wasn’t guaranteed - that was a lesson he’d obviously learned the hard way. Now that he had a second change? Well, Adam was starting to think that maybe it was time to stop giving as many fucks about what people expected of him.
Lucas seemed nice, and a lot less stressful to be around than some of the other jocks Adam knew. He wasn’t sure if that was just who Lucas was, or if it was because they didn’t have any sort of history with one another. As much as Adam loved Chance and Jack, there were complicated feelings now attached with both of them. Lucas was a blank slate - someone who seemed kind, and who hadn’t been upset with him or blamed him for what had happened at the carnival. That already made him an appealing person to goof off and practice shooting hoops with.
Adam laughed at Lucas’ words, rolling his eyes at the lack of a promise. Alright, fair enough. Adam could handle some friendly joking on the court; it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to after four years of being part of the Tigers’ football team. “I think I can handle that, yeah,” Adam replied, snorting at the idea of being too chicken for a game of HORSE. “So I have a fighting chance, mind if I go first?” He asked, grabbing the ball from Lucas and picking a spot towards the left side of the court, near the three point line, Adam dribbled a few times. He picked up the ball, tucked his elbows in and shot it at the hoop, pleased to see it go in. Not the greatest shot in the world, but he’d take it. “Alright, dude. Show me how it’s done.” He wasn’t kidding himself - he knew Lucas could make it easily.
WHO: Adam & @sinclairss
WHAT: What’s up Jock
WHERE: The park
After his trip to the hunting store with Chance, Max and Cole, life had finally slowed down a bit for Adam. There were still problems he’d have to deal with - whatever was going on with him and Cole, the fact that his best friend was looking for a way to restrain him, the fact that he’d killed his other best friend - but for now, Adam was trying to work on processing it. He’d been going to therapy twice a week now for a while now, and he really did think talking to Gabe about things was helping. Obviously he couldn’t talk about most of that shit, but he was learning how to cope properly. Adam had a long way to go, but he was starting to feel a little less lost.
Gabe had talked to him about hobbies - about finding things that he liked and doing them just for himself. Adam obviously loved sports, but he’d always stuck to football because it was what he was best at. He’d focused on it - trained during the off season still, making sure his arm was perfect and that he was still conditioning. He hadn’t considered basketball seriously in high school, but lately, he’d thought it might be fun to just play some pick up games. After his conversation in the hospital with Lucas, Adam had decided to ask him if he wanted to meet up.
The park was mostly empty for an afternoon, which was nice. No one was on the basketball court when they got there, so they didn’t have to worry about being careful around kids or anything. “I haven’t played in forever, so don’t make fun of me too much,” Adam admitted, shooting Lucas a small smile as Adam retied his sneakers. “What are we playing?” He thought he’d leave it up to the actual basketball player to decide. Lucas would beat him either way, but that wasn’t what this was about. It was just for fun, something Adam had been missing lately.
