***

The gym was packed with people, talking excitedly amongst themselves as the first game of the season was minutes from starting. There was a sea of blue in the building, and many people had not only blue paint covered over their faces, but all over their bodies. I noticed how understated Erik looked compared to many of them.

I'd forgotten how big the basketball court was. It was longer and wider than the one we'd had in high school, the three-point lines extended about an extra foot in each direction. I shuddered at the thought of having to run across the court for an hour and a half in front of thousands of people.

The thundering music lowered as the announcer started welcoming everyone and calling out the names of the opposing team as they returned from their locker room.

Erik took us to our seats which were in the lower section of the stands, closer to the court. At least we wouldn't have to watch from the screens high above the ground- where we would've had a better view by watching it on tv. We sat down and I realized we were only a few rows behind the home bench, where an assistant coach sat jotting down notes on a clipboard.

Our attention turned to the floor as the home team emerged from the locker rooms and the crowd started cheering. I spotted Rowan almost immediately. A large, bright blue 24 stood out on the back of his jersey, right under his last name.

He seemed focused, and unbothered that there were thousands of eyes on him. The announcer called the starting lineup one by one. When Rowan's name was called the crowd cheered the loudest, and my eyes fixated on him as he shook the hand of the Stanford coach. His arms were perfectly toned and his hair was ruffled messily. I felt something in my stomach squirm as he headed back to the bench, and I looked away from him, my eyes traveling to the head coach.

An uneasy feeling crept over me as I studied him. He was facing the assistant coach on the bench, talking to him about something as they studied the clipboard. His arms were crossed and he had an unreadable expression on his face. He looked to be in his late fifties, his grey hair was combed back neatly and he had a dark suit on with a blue tie.

He turned away as the buzzer went off and said a few words to the team before Rowan and four others walked onto the court while the rest sat down, filling the bench. The other team also walked out and they all got in position around the center of the court for tip-off.

The tallest player for Creighton went to the center, facing one from Stanford. His jersey showed his last name to be Jones and his number 44 was printed beneath it. He was a few inches taller than Rowan, who stood a few feet behind him next to one of the opposing players.

The crowd cheered in excitement as one of the refs walked up to the two players in the center saying a few words to them, before blowing his whistle and tossing the ball high into the air. They both jumped, and Jones tipped the ball directly behind him to Rowan.

Rowan quickly passed the ball further up the court to another player who'd outrun his own defender. The cheers from the crowd boomed as the player easily made the layup, and Creighton had gotten its first two points within five seconds.

"Lee get's two points for the Bluejays thanks to an assist from Williams..." The announcer's voice mixed in with the crowd's cheers and the team was already on the other side of the court playing defense.

The Stanford point guard dribbled up the court, making a quick pass to his teammate on the wing to the right. The pass never completed though as Rowan leapt towards the ball and tapped it forward. It flew ahead and he gained control of it, taking a few more steps and completing a layup on the other side of the court, the Stanford point guard looking frustrated a few steps behind him.

"Williams for the steal and another two points for the Bluejays!" The announcer's voice narrated while the crowd erupted into more cheers.

"He's so fucking hot." I heard a voice directly below me and saw a blonde excitedly talking to her friend, both of them looking longingly after Rowan as he got back on defense.

"Right? He's in my English class, you know?" Her friend said pompously, and the blonde whacked her on the arm.

"I'm jealous! So why haven't you set me up then?"

I bit the inside of my cheek and my foot tapped nervously against the ground. I expected this, it was just irritating. Seeing everyone drool over Omaha's heartthrob was something I'd gotten used to, but I felt different about it than I had before. Before we'd kissed.

"He's just intimidating, you know?" The girl below me said. "Plus, if I could talk to him I'd take him for myself." Her friend laughed and shoved her. I turned my attention back to the game.

Creighton was somehow on offense again, and Stanford was yet to score any points. The player on the low post went in for a jump shot, but the ball bounced back from the rim and he got his own rebound. He quickly passed the ball back out to Rowan on the wing as his defender blocked his path to the hoop. The ball seemed to be in Rowan's hands for less than a second before it was back high in the air, and falling smoothly through the net.

"Williams drains the first three pointer of the game-!"

"Holy shit," Lucy yelled in my ear as the noise from the crowd overcame that of the announcers. "He's definitely gotten better," I nodded, my eyes following him across the court in a daze. "And that's saying something!"

Watching Rowan play was mesmerizing. He played like it was his second nature, as if he'd learned before he could walk. He didn't seem to lose any energy from running back and forth through the court, though by the end of the first half he'd started wiping his face with his jersey to get rid of the sweat, which also gleamed from his arms.

There were twenty seconds left of the first half, and the other team had caught up a bit. The score was 45-53, and had Rowan not been playing, Stanford wouldn't have been losing, but beating Creighton by a lot. Unfortunately for them, Rowan was in a league of his own.

Rowan got the ball from a teammate, and faked a shot before passing the ball to a post player in the key, who took a dribble and shot it off the backboard. It easily went in, and they hurried back to defense, but the clock was already at three seconds. The opposing point guard took a few dribbles before chucking the ball at the basket from the other side of the court, but it missed by a few feet and the buzzer went off, signifying halftime.

I watched Rowan quickly grab a bottle of water from the bench before he and his team walked back off the court to the hallway that led to their locker room, away from the cheers of the crowd.

"So when do we get to see one of your games?" Lucy asked Erik, and I noticed his cheeks tint pink a bit, though it could've been from the alcohol he'd been consuming all night.

"My season doesn't start for a few more weeks." He said, laughing lightly. Lucy crossed her arms.

"Well, I'm back for winter break so Evan and I will come to one then. I think Alex will be in town for a bit too."

I nodded, my attention turning to the concessions stand at the far corner of the building. The line was quickly growing.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna grab some popcorn. Do you want anything?"

"Gatorade please! This is getting tough to drink straight," Erik said, lifting the bottle of vodka he had hidden in a paper bag.

I nodded and quickly rushed through the crowds to the concessions, getting in line behind about ten people. The line grew fast behind me.

I heard cheers and turned to see the team coming back onto the floor, starting to shoot around while the timer was at ten minutes, ticking down to the second half. Rowan was sitting at the bench, listening to something his coach was saying. His hair was damped down from all his sweat, and he pushed it off of his forehead as he wiped his face with a small towel.

I tore my attention away from him, biting my cheek. I wish he weren't so... attractive.

I shouldn't have come...

I needed to learn how to say no to people. It'd been a fun game to watch so far, but I knew it'd only make me think of him more—

"Evan?"

I snapped my attention to a blue-eyed, dirty blonde haired boy standing behind me in line...

I know him...

My face heated up as flashes from Eriks' grad party over the summer came to me.

"Uh, Sam?" I said unsurely, looking at the first boy I'd ever kissed. Fuck.

He'd told me he went to Creighton... Why hadn't I thought of the possibility of running into him at all?

Oh right, because I'd only been stressing about Rowan for the past week.

"How've you been?" He asked, smiling softly at me. I glanced behind him back at Rowan. He was still in deep conversation with his coach. I looked back to Sam.

I've been horrible.

"Not bad, just you know... School and shit." I said, stepping forward in line as it shortened. "You?"

"Same here," he said. "Did you come with anyone?"

"Yeah I'm with my friends Erik and Lucy," I said, subconsciously pointing towards them in the crowd. I knew he wouldn't be able to spot them, I just didn't know what else to do with my hands.

"Right, I know Erik, I'm pretty sure..." I nodded.

Of course he knows Erik you dumbass. You met him at Erik's party.

"Yeah, of course..." I said, trailing off as I got lost in my thoughts.

"Next, please." I heard another voice and turned to the concessions worker.

"Oh, uh— I'll take some popcorn and a gatorade please." She quickly filled a bag with popcorn and handed it to me.

"What flavor gatorade?" I quickly looked through the colors, feeling stupid for not thinking of asking Erik earlier.

"Um... blue is good I think." I scrambled to pay, feeling as if I were holding up the line. The surprise of Sam being there and knowing he was a few feet away had flustered me.

After grabbing my change, I waited for Sam to order, feeling as if it'd be rude to walk away without saying bye. I stood there awkwardly, pretending to watch the players shoot around. The clock then read five minutes before the start of the second half.

Sam finally grabbed his food and walked next to me as I headed back to my seat. We both stayed silent as thoughts scrambled through our heads.

"Hey, it was nice seeing you." He eventually said and as we passed the bench I instinctively glanced over at Rowan, who was watching his team warm up now without the presence of his coach.

As soon as I did, I felt his eyes snap to mine, and my face almost immediately flushed. I didn't expect him to notice me at all, he'd been so focused on the court it was as if there was no one in the building other than players, coaches and refs. I saw his eyes flicker from Sam to me, and I tore my gaze away, finding myself biting my lip again nervously.

"Uh, sorry what?" I said, feeling my heart beating harder as Rowan's eyes followed me. Why did I feel as if I were doing something wrong?

"It was nice seeing you." He said lightly.

"Right." I said, and felt myself relax as Rowan's attention turned back to the court. "Yeah you too." I gave him a smile.

He gave me a friendly nod and headed back to his seat, and I stood there, wondering if I should've said something else before snapping out of my daze and climbing back up to our seats. I felt scrambled.

"Do you like blue?" I asked Erik as I handed him the gatorade.

"Perfect! It's on theme too," he said, pointing at his face. Lucy laughed and he sipped some of it before discreetly mixing in vodka to the bottle.

"I feel bad for Stanford," Lucy said, looking longingly to her team as they finally came back from their locker room.

"Shush, don't say that yet!" Erik said dramatically, getting closer to her. "The games not over you might jinx it."

The buzzer went off and the teams quickly went back to their benches, their coaches giving them quick pep talks. Rowan seemed slightly distracted, and his eyes quickly wandered the crowd before they landed on Erik, and then me.

Erik gave him a wild wave, and I felt frozen in my seat as his eyes studied me closely.

"Oh my god he's looking at us! Quick, do something memorable!" The girls below me piped up again, but just as they'd spoken one of the refs blew their whistles and Rowan's full attention was back on his team. "Shit!" The blonde said, and jokingly glared at her friend.

I released a breath as ten players walked back onto the court, starting the second half.