Chapter 55

“Wait.” Dan spoke before he even realized what he was going on. The moment he called out, everyone turned to look at him. He’d been watching a brutal beating, and he couldn’t stand it anymore. Something in him told him this wasn’t right. Not only that, but he also didn’t like this side of Peter. This was beyond cruel.

“What are you doing?” Ashly hissed at his side, but he ignored her.

“Let me finish the Set?” Dan asked, his eyes focused on Peter. Peter had been holding his hand up towards Ben, watching the senior to make sure he didn’t try to serve while Dan was talking. Ben didn’t seem able to comprehend such a plan even if that had been situation. Ben was staring, slack jawed, at Dan.

His words caused more than a few murmurs around the court. The boys were all staring dumbfounded at Dan, but he kept talking, his mind racing, not even comprehending what he was saying.

“I’m the one Ben hazed. If you do this, it won’t feel like true justice.” Dan was walking towards the gate as he kept talking. His palms were sweating, his heartbeat drowning out everything around him. “Let me finish the Set with him. You’ve already done enough.”

Peter’s eyes flashed, and for a moment Dan thought he was going to tell him no. However, after a moment, it seemed as if all the anger in Peter fled. He cocked a grin at Dan, and then, he began to laugh. An amused, carefree laugh, his entire body relaxing.

“I like it.” Peter said. “Seriously Danny, you’re something else.” Peter looked towards Ben, his trademark smirk on his face. “What do you say Ben? Want to finish the set with me, or is it alright if Danny here steps in?”

Ben looked from Peter, the monster of the courts, the man who had been making him look like a complete noob, to Dan. His eyes lingered on Dan for a moment, confusion in his eyes, before his nodded slowly. If Dan had to guess, Ben was having a hard time processing what was going on.

“Good good.” Peter stepped off the court towards Dan. “You’ll pick up where we’ve left off. Ben’s serve, love-forty. Sound good?” Peter clapped Dan on the back, his smile widening as he looked down at Dan.

“Sure, that works.” Dan said.

“What happens if I win?” Ben asked, and the moment the words left his mouth, his eyes went wide, as if he hadn’t realized he’d spoken. At the same time, Peter’s eyes blazed for a moment, but he calmed them as he turned back to look at Ben.

“If you win, we’ll forget everything that happened here, yeah? If you lose, normal penalty, 1 week of serving as ball boy and such, but, ya know, it will be serving as Dan here’s personal ball boy, sound good?”

“I-“

“Or, I can step back on the court, and finish this up in a split second, and you’re gone from the team.” Peter said, his voice cold once more.

“No, that’s fine.” Ben immediately replied. “I just…” Ben trailed off. “Never mind.”

“Good boy.” Peter said. “It seems you’re not a complete loss.”

“Now then Danny,” Peter gave him a smile. “Go out there and claim your place on the courts.” He chuckled. “I warmed him up for you, so stay on your toes, yeah?”

Dan nodded, his grip on his racquet tightening. “You know I’m likely going to lose.”

“Eh, have a little belief in yourself buddy. You’re a natural, and we both know your athletic enough. Keep to the basics. After all, you don’t have to hit winners. You just have to keep returning till he messes up.”

“Says the guy who has been hitting nonstop winners.” Dan said, but he felt some of the tension leave his body. “I’ll do my best to make you proud.” He added on softly.

Peter grabbed both his shoulders at that and looked down in his eyes. The Senior was smiling. It wasn’t a smirk; it wasn’t a sneer. It was a genuine look of happiness and pride. “Dan, what you just did. What you’re about to do. In this moment I don’t think I could be any more proud of you.” His grip loosened and his shot Dan a wink. “But, like, I bet you’ll score some big points with the other guys, and definitely Sophia, if you actually won this here little match.”

Dan felt his eyes water at Peter’s praise. His heart leapt to his chest, and it was all he could do to keep his tears from falling. That statement, that moment with Peter… It was too much. He took a deep breath, resolve flowing through him.

+2 Ambition (70) +2 Happiness(75)

Ambition Tier bonus unlocked!

+2 Charisma (63) +2 Self Esteem (65) +1 Compassion (61) +5 Mental Fortitude (20/100) +5 Aptitude (23/100)

Temporary Buff Gained- Inspired

Duration- 30minutes

+15% experience gain towards skills

Temporary small boost to Tennis Traits

Temporary boost to Physical and Mental Traits.

Dan did a quick double take as the messages flowed across his vision and used a hand to wipe his eyes dry at the same time. The bonus was great. The temporary buff, even better. Everything in this moment, was perfect.

“Now, hurry up and get out there.” Peter said with a slight chuckle. “You’re giving him free time to rest and compose himself.”

“Right, sorry.” Dan said with a smile of his own. Everyone was watching him, and he was playing against the number 2 member of the Varsity team. His chances should, by all reasonable estimates, should have been 0. However, he couldn’t help but feel his confidence growing. Peter was proud of him. Peter believed in him. And Dan’s special powers, which already gave him an advantage, had just gotten buffed. He may not have the skills leveled up to stand on even footing against Ben. But he was pretty sure he might be able to pull out a few tricks to actually win against the better player. After all, as Peter had told him, all he needed to do was keep hitting the ball back.

“Are you ready?” Ben asked as Dan took up his position. The older kid still looked confused by the situation, but his breathing had steadied out, and his color was returning. Just like Peter had said, he’d been working on calming his nerves and repairing his damaged psyche from Peter’s brutal attacks.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Dan called back, taking up his position.

The ball flew past Dan a moment later, and he realized in the moment, he’d forgotten one important thing. His skills only helped if he actually activated them. “Fifteen-Forty, Ad out.” Ben said, preparing his next serve. Dan mentally toggled on his Basic Skill Assist. This time, he was going to… “Thirty-Forty.” Ben said a moment later. Dan had actually returned the ball, but his timing had been off, his movement stiff. As such, he’d hit the ball late, and it hit the net. Apparently, taking a week off of the game had made him a little rusty. Still, he couldn’t help but feel more alive as he prepared to receive the next serve. Sure, if he activated Auto-Battle, he would likely be able to win here and now. But, Dan wanted to hold off on that. He wanted to at least see where he stood against Ben, without using Auto-Battle. Using Auto-Battle for a guaranteed single point win would feel…empty.

If he was going to win the Set against Ben, he wanted to make sure he’d actually earned it. So, either through Basic Skill assist and his own abilities and athleticism, or through Auto-Battle…if he really needed to. Furthermore, he’d be lying to himself if he wasn’t just looking forward to playing out some tennis points against Ben. And if he could prove he could hold his own to some degree against him, that would prove, to Ben and the others, that Peter’s teachings hadn’t been in vain. Being able to showcase skills on the court in more than just a single point victory, would go a long way, Dan figured, in advancing him towards his goals.

“Forty-all, Deuce.” But first, he needed to get used to Ben’s serves, so he could actually return one well.