Reflecting-The lovely Jesseh

[Brenden Erickson]

((Since this thread is tagged it means don't post here unless you are the person I tagged it for. Thank you.)))

So there he was, just sitting on a bench by the basketball courts thinking about things. Sure he'd brought the sports section of the newspaper along with him but at the moment he hadn't even thought about reading it. Since his blue eyes were staring at the basketball court in front of him. He hadn't even set foot on one for two long years and he didn't think that he'd ever be on one again. Not after that car had hit him and left him with a slight limp and the scars. Sure some people said that they couldn't even notice the limp but he knew it was there. Or at least he thought that it was, it didn't matter if people noticed it or not since he'd promised himself that he would never play basketball again. It seemed such a cruel thing to promise since the sport had been his life for years. He'd lived to play and hear the crowd yell every time something good happened. He'd perfected his skills throughout the years and everything seemed to be going along perfectly, until that one December night.

If only he had just spent a little more time at home instead of going out for a run right away. Besides, it had been cold out and if he would have just stayed home nothing would have happened to him. He could remember small things about he accident. Like how he'd heard the car coming and hadn't really thought of anything until he felt the impact for a split second he felt himself airborne before everything just went black. The next thing he could remember was being in the ditch and how he'd tried to make his way up to the road but he just couldn't for some reason and he didn't know why that was. Then, he was lost in the blackness and would be for two long weeks. He could remember slipping out of the coma and the first thing he saw was that day's date, January fifth. He couldn't believe that it was January since the last thing that he could remember was it being December and before Christmas.

It was after that when he found out about how much damage had been done to him. Apparently the car had hit him at a high speed and his leg had been really bad. They'd told him that there was a "possibility" of him ending up with a limp because of it. The doctors had also said that it would be fine for him to play basketball again, that had been the very last thing he wanted to do. The stupid game had been what had gotten him into this in the first place. He'd coldly told them that he didn't want to play ever again. Then they'd tried to convince him of why he should and it had been a battle between the doctors, councilors, and his mother ever since. All of them wanted him to play basketball again and he'd just turned away from them and turned to books. At least they didn't care about what he did and the fact that his whole appearance had changed. He'd became so pale he looked sick and the lively look that had once been in his eyes had disappeared and he'd had a very dull look in his eyes.

Then, his parents had carted the whole family up here and he'd basically did the same thing. Until two weeks ago when something just clicked and he actually ventured outside. Of course, the real reason why he did that was because people were constantly coming to the house and he couldn't hide anywhere. Oh he'd tried to, really he had but that had all changed once that person working for that construction and repair company had came over. He'd just shot cold comments at the stranger and stared at him coldly and he had seen how uncomfortable he was making that stranger. It was after he thought the person had left that he'd just been leaving the kitchen when he caught the end of a conversation between his sister and this stranger. He had heard his sister say that he used to be really good at basketball but didn't play anymore. The way she had said it had broken his heart, he knew that he'd let her down by not playing anymore but he just couldn't stand to.

He then was brought back to the present and he stared at the section of the newspaper that he'd brought with him. He was well aware of how good this schools teams were. He'd done his homework about the teams, so to speak. But he wasn't about to pick up a basketball and start playing again just because he knew that the people on the team now could beat his old schools team hands down. Now one might think that was a bold statement but he knew that it was true, he had known the people on the basketball team and he couldn't help but notice how the team had went from being undefeated to being on a losing streak after his accident. It was like they all just lost their nerves after he was gone and he'd been the youngest one of the team since he'd just been a freshmen. Sure the year after that they'd rebounded, but only slightly and it seemed like they'd only win if they were confident and everything went perfectly.

His eyes scanned the article on the front page, he should have expected that it'd be another one about Erickson, whoever the heck he was. Now did he wish to meet this person, well slightly just to see who he was and if he was really as good at football as the article boasted. As he read further another name came up this one he slightly recognized. It appeared as if the person he'd literally scared off was Erickson's partner in crime, oh how ironic. He then set the paper down before once again staring at the basketball court.

[theLiZARDQUEEN]

<sub>[OOC__ Waahaa. Look at me everyone. I am lovely. =D]

Her mind had been full of so much crap lately. She sighed and dropped her head, watching the grass as she entered the park, basketball stuffed under one arm. It annoyed her, that her brother simply dumped everything on her with no regard or respect for Holly's own problems. Not that she blamed her brother for this; she loved Brenden dearly, as she was a lot better off in the ooh-look-how-much-I-know-because-my-brothers-tell-me-everything stakes than her best friend Ashley. Poor Ashley. She was constantly running around after Brenden and Jordan, trying to find out what they talk about. Yet she was never told anything. And Holly... Holly was just their living diary. She knew everything. This was both a good thing, and a bad thing. I mean, who wants to know that the boy you thought of as yet another brother had the hots for you?

Well, technically, that didn't count, because Holly had always known that Andy liked her, ever since he had tried to kiss her when they were six. Needless to say, Holly had kicked him in the shins and run off. And now they were fifteen, and it seemed her brothers had planned who she was going to marry. Not that she didn't like Anthony. She did, and she wasn't blind, either. Even though this was a REALLY GROSS thing to say about the boy she'd known since before she was born, Andy Wallace was cute. C-U-T-E.

Okay. She wasn't going to think about that anymore. It was giving her the creeps. Instead she thought about that boy Brenden had told her about. What was his name? The ex-basketball player? Ryan Something? Smith. That was it. Ryan Smith. It made her sad, that he had quit basketball because of that accident. She'd never met the guy, and she wouldn't know him if he passed her in the street, but she had seen his stats, and WOW. They were awesome, for a freshmen. Holly would kill for stats like that.

Well, not really. Killing was messy, and ew.

She raised her head as she approached the basketball court. Seeing a guy sitting on a bench, staring dolefully at the court, she frowned briefly, before letting it go. Ah, well. Dressed in white shorts, a blue-and-white basketball jersey with her last name, Erickson, printed on the back along with her number, Holly's long brunette ponytail swung from side-to-side as her white sneakers pounded onto the court. Basketball season was coming up, and she was a bit rusty.</sub>

[Brenden Erickson]

He watched as a girl appeared out of nowhere or maybe she had appeared when he'd been staring at the basketball court. He wanted to get out there, he honestly did now after staring at it for about ten minutes. Yet, there was something that was holding him back from playing again. One was the constant fear that he wouldn't be as good as he was. Two, he knew that people would probably be staring at him and three, if he started to even think about playing he knew that people would want him to join the team. He couldn't do that, he knew that he'd disappoint them all there was no way he could be as good as he was two years ago. If he hadn't been in that accident he could be doing what this girl was now. Which meant that he probably wouldn't even be in this town in the first place. Everybody wouldn't have left him and he actually still would have friends. That was a happy thought, yet it was saddening at the same time. Since it made him realize how much really had changed.

It was then that he studied the girl, or rather her jersey, she must be the younger sister that this article mentioned. Well, he might as well stay here and watch and see how good her basketball skills were. He knew that they probably were really good, of course anybodies basketball skills were better than his now. Yet there was a small article that caught his attention and it did for one simple reason. What was that reason? Why his dad had mentioned that his only son would be on the basketball team. How could he do this to him? There was no way that would ever happen and he hoped that people wouldn't read that article. Now he was scared though, people could just look his name up and find out about the person that he used to be. Which would mean a ton of people would want to see how good he really was. This was great, just great, did his dad want to embarrass him?

He'd only played three basketball games his freshmen year before the accident. So maybe he could say that the stats were messed up because of that or something. Sure he knew that they were not since those stats matched up with how he'd been playing for awhile before that. Yet people up here didn't now that, he hoped. "Thanks dad, do you really want to see what a failure at basketball I am now?" He quietly said to himself as he picked the newspaper up and tossed it into the trashcan next to the bench. He didn't want to keep looking at the article and thinking about what could happen because of it. His eyes then wandered back over to the girl as he tried to remember what her first name had been. Didn't it start with an H? Yet it did, now he remembered it so this was the infamous Holly Erickson. Watching her probably would be interesting.

((Yes, you are.))

[theLiZARDQUEEN]

[OOC__; Urgh, I just read my above post, and it is gross. Can't believe I wrote something so horrible. *shudders*]

[This is why I'm hot]

Holly could feel the boy studying her jersey, and she self-consciously clutched the ball closer. This happened a lot, but she still felt uncomfortable. Because of her brothers, the name 'Erickson' was well-known in Lakeland. Holly had made herself a reputation as well, but sometimes she still found herself in the shadow of Brenden or Jordan. She ignored this strange boy and his relentless gaze and dribbled the springy ball lazily on the court. She placed it by her feet and did some quick stretches. There was a volleyball tournament this weekend, and she would be utterly screwed if she pulled a muscle. When she was nice and limber, she jogged easily on the spot, bouncing the ball carefully, just warming up.

She hated it when people watched her when she was practicing. Usually she didn't mind, as Ashley or Anthony or Jordan or someone was usually with her, but when they weren't playing with her and she was just getting started, they distracted her and stopped her from getting in the zone, where she could block out everything else and just play. She felt self-conscious of her skills, the way she bounced the ball, everything, with this stranger watching her. Nervously she jogged up and down, shooting some easy shots. Backing up, she glanced at the boy and shook her head, trying to clear it. She pounded toward the goal hoop and tried to sink a slam-dunk. She missed.

That did it. An Erickson never, ever missed a shot like that. How could you? It was virtually impossible. A six-pointer, maybe, but definitely NOT a slam-dunk. Holly landed heavily and the ball rebounded off the hoop and slammed to the ground, bouncing off and dribbling to the grass, where it rolled to a stop next to a clump of dirt. She stood up, blew her hair off her sweaty face, and marched over to the boy, where she planted herself in front of him, hands on hips, and a frown on her face.

"Okay. Who are you, Stalker-Boy, and why are you watching me? You're putting me off."

She said, a firm edge to her voice and a hard tone in it. She stared him down with chocolate orbs that were never usually angry or aggressive. But when a girl's pride and her dignity was dented, she could lash out at the nearest person. Which just so happened to be Little Mister Putter-Offerer here.

[And this is why you're not]

[Brenden Erickson]

He had noticed how nervous he seemed to be making this girl. he'd been that way for a long time until it got to a point where a ton of people wanted to watch him and it just seemed to disappear. Although, everybody knew not to even approach him before a game unless they wanted to get snapped at. He'd tended to get really nervous and would stay that way until the game started. Yet just thinking about that reminded him that there never would be another game to be nervous about. His father had told him that he was sure that there had to be some team in the elementary school that needed a good coach. Apparently he'd thought that he'd want to be involved in the sport after refusing to play it again, wrong. Even now he was rather uncomfortable sitting here so near to a basketball court, it was bringing back way too many memories. But he felt like he was glued to the seat and that there was no way he could get up and leave.

He watched as the girl made a few easy shots, she actually was rather talented. Of course, her last name said that but he really did think that she was skilled. He watched as she missed the shot and knew that it probably was his fault that she'd missed it. After all, he could tell that she had noticed him sitting there and probably was wondering what the heck he wanted. He was surprised when she made her way over to where he was. And he was even more shocked by what she said, well his father would say that she had spunk. He thought for a moment about telling her what his name was. If she knew how he was and some of his past then she'd probably be shocked. Yet he knew that if he told her something else that it would come back and haunt him. It wasn't like he could hide from who he was forever. Even though he really wanted to. His blue eyes studied her curiously for a moment before he knew that he had to answer her.

"My name's Ryan Smith and trust me, I don't stalk people." He said nervously and then looked around, she probably knew who he was. Which meant that there most likely would be a ton of questions coming out of her mouth now. "As for why I was watching you I really don't know. But I was half watching you while reliving some old memories inside of my head. Honestly, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He said before looking down at the ground, why did this have to be happening? Why hadn't he just gone home before all of this started? Now he was probably going to be put on her enemies list and the whole town would hate him. Perhaps he'd be able to convince his parents to move away to somewhere that wasn't even in the state the next time.

"You are rather good at basketball though and I know that you must have missed that shot because of me." He said and then sighed. Maybe he should just go home now.