Falling on the Court

Prologue

thank you -starcall for making the amazing book cover! <3

+~+

Levi was only three years old when he met Soren.

[Thirteen Years Ago]
Three Years Old

Levi made a strange and frankly disturbing noise as his too-tiny arms came in contact with a gently tossed volleyball.

"That went straight sideways, Lee," His dad shook his head, but he was laughing.

"It's hard!" Levi huffed, stomping his foot on the ground.

"Try again." Another ball was thrown, and Levi did arguably worse, not even attempting to bump it.

"I don' wanna do it," Levi whined, grabbing on to his dad's leg. "Too hard."

"But don't you want to be as good as the National team?" His dad teased him. "You said so yourself, right?"

"Mhm," Levi nodded his head fervently, but the only thing he really got from his dad's words were good and team.

"Let's go see the other kids." Levi's dad picked him up easily, carrying the three-year-old as he walked around the large gym. There were a bunch of toddlers, all around the same age as Levi, who were learning new sports or tricks. The gym was always open on Wednesday evenings to parents and children under the age of ten who wanted to pick up a new hobby.

"Look at that boy, Lee." Levi turned around in his dad's arms and looked at the boy who was holding a volleyball that looked to be at least twice the size of his head. Someone - Levi assumed it to be the boy's mom - took the ball from the boy and gave it a gentle toss. Unlike Levi, the boy actually managed to make some sort of effort to bump the ball back, and though his mom had to take a couple of steps to catch the ball, it was probably way better than anything Levi could've done.

"Hi," Levi's dad was probably the most extroverted person in the world and was now talking to some woman he had just seen.

"Oh, hi." The boy's mom gave Levi's dad a small smile. "Who are you?"

"Not important," Levi's dad waved his free hand around. "Your son's pretty good at volleyball for his age, no?"

"Wait do you mean Soren?" The boy's mom - Soren's mom - glanced at her son and smiled. "He's great, isn't he? Soren!"

The black-haired boy was already staring at Levi and his dad.

"Does your son play volleyball as well?" Soren's mom asked, holding out the volleyball to Levi. Levi took the ball from the woman and held it in his tiny hands.

"He tries," Levi's dad looked at Levi before ruffling his dark brown hair. "He hasn't once hit the ball in the vague direction of his target yet, though."

Soren's mom smiled. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Soren's been getting used to a volleyball ever since he could walk."

Levi's dad placed him on the floor and Soren immediately stepped forwards to snatch the volleyball out of Levi's hands.

"Mine." Soren glared at his mom and attempted to wrap his arms around the volleyball.

"Alright, Soren, it's yours," His mom was laughing. "Levi's a new friend, okay? Be nicer to him."

Soren glanced at Levi for a solid 10 seconds until he sighed and held the volleyball out, Levi taking it in confusion.

"Throw it." Soren ordered. Levi did, the ball arching in an ungraceful loop. When Soren hit it, it went straight for the wall.

"Bad throw." Soren pointed out. "Do again."

Levi obeyed, tossing the ball at Soren again. This time, the throw was a lot smoother, and Soren was able to hit the ball towards Levi.

Just with the wrong part of his body.

Instead of hitting it with his lower forearm (Or well, his entire forearm since he was so small), Soren ended up making contact with the ball on his hands, sending it flying at tremendous speeds for a three-year-old, right towards Levi's face.

His dad and Soren's mom had moved to the side to talk about who-knows-what, so they had no warning when Levi burst into tears. He wasn't seriously hurt anywhere, thank god, but he was beginning to attract the looks of random people.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey," Levi's dad crouched down in front of Levi and wiped away his tears with his thumb. "You're alright, okay? Does it hurt?"

"Face." The left side of Levi's face was slightly red.

"Okay," Levi's dad lifted Levi up yet again. "Do you want to go home? We can get you some ice."

Levi nodded with a sniffle, still rubbing his face.

"Soren," Soren's mom scolded. "What do you say?"

Sorren pouted. "Sorry." He mumbled.

That was the start of a new friendship.

[Four Years Ago]
Twelve Years Old

"What was that!?" Soren yelled as Levi purposefully set the ball behind his head. "What are you doing!? Stop!" He was complaining, and Levi couldn't help but giggle.

"Sorry!" Levi laughed, not sorry in the slightest. He tossed the ball at Soren, who made a near-perfect receive back. Levi set the ball - forward this time - and Soren spiked the ball in a way that forced Levi to dive for it.

"How do you always find a way to put me in harm's way when we practice together?" Levi groaned. "That dive hurt."

"Oh." Soren did not seem sympathetic. "My bad."

There was an awkward pause.

"But maybe," Soren continued. Levi groaned again. "If you were better at diving, that wouldn't have hurt."

"Well, not everyone wants to become a libero like you," Levi glared at his best friend. "I want to be an outside hitter."

"You still have to be quick on your feet," Soren pointed out. "Personally, I think that what you just did was not 'quick on your feet.' You looked like a dying hyena and you made some strange cat noise when you dove."

Levi scowled. "Don't judge my noises."

"That- that sounds so wrong." Soren snickered, picking up the ball from the ground. He moved over to the net. "I'll throw the ball at you, you'll bump it to me, I'll set it to you, and you spike it. Good?"

"Mhm." Levi nodded and went to his spot at Position 4.

Practicing with Soren felt like a lifetime, but in reality, when Soren's mom came to pick them up, it had only been three hours.

"How was practice?" Soren's mom asked as she backed out of the parking lot and turned onto the main road.

"Exhausting." Levi sighed. "Soren almost broke my ribs."

"Wha- hey!" Soren shot up in his seat. "You spiked the ball straight into the back of my head when I wasn't paying attention!"

"Well, you're fine, aren't you?" Levi snarked. "Me, on the other hand, I think I might need a hospital."

Soren huffed like a child and turned to stare out the window as his mom laughed.

"Sounds like the two of you had a lot of fun."

Soren made a sound of affirmation. "We can practice again next week, right?"

"Of course!" Soren's mom exclaimed. "There hasn't been a single week since the two of you met where you haven't been together. Don't even get me started on how much you rope each other into doing something idiotic."

"We're best friends. Aren't best friends supposed to always be with each other and do stupid things together?" Soren argued.

But little did Levi know, Soren's last sentence would come back to haunt him.