Letterman Jacket

2 / seventy-nine days before

If there was one other person who thought the whole idea was preposterous, it was my twin brother, Theo.

"Carter?" he spat incredulously, raising his eyebrows. "Why the hell do you have to interview that spaz when I'm right here?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be so rancorous, brother, and I asked Sutton the same thing—she said you were already given a section of your own in our last issue which was released last month, remember?"

Theo followed me as I weaved through the crowd of students to reach my locker. Some of the girls waved and giggled when he passed by, but he just simply nodded back. "Right. And here I thought you were actually going to the game tonight to cheer me on," he continued, raking a hand through his golden brown hair. "Why'd you even agree, sis? You know how I feel about him."

As the two greatest athletes in Las Fortunas, the feud between Faust Carter and Theo Simmons could be blamed on their cutthroat competition for glory in the court, but everyone knew it was more than just that. While most of the students from this school would jump at any chance to dig for the truth to the story, I had no intention of crossing that line. What was between them as rivals stayed between them.

Popping open the combination lock and placing my books back in the shelf, I sighed and answered, "This is why we're twins. You're overreacting. I overreacted the same way yesterday. I don't even like the basketball team, much less want to interview its captain—"

"—co-captain," he cut in, narrowing his eyes at me. "It's co-captain, Thea."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, chill out. Maybe I should throw a lamp at you so you could lighten the fuck up."

He rolled his eyes, and I threw him a flat look as I closed my locker and said, "It's just one interview and one article, okay? Nothing else, so get over your big bro instincts because I'm older than you."

Theo snorted. "By a minute."

"Still older. I'll see you at the game." I slung my bag over my shoulder and placed a hand on his arm. "Oh, and please go easy on the other team."

A smug grin grew across his face. "No promises."

*

Two of the things I hadn't figured out during the last four years of high school was what to wear to a basketball game and how to behave, which was why I sat on the back row bleachers in jogger pants and an oversized, thin, cotton t-shirt which had the words 'just dunk it' printed on them. I also almost fell out of my seat whenever the crowd jumped up and cheered, shouting incoherent words I didn't bother trying to understand.

When I did bother to join the hype, however, just for the sake of my brother, the girl beside me pulled my arm down and yelled in the noise of the gymnasium, "You're cheering for the wrong team!"

I sat down for the rest of the game.

But after observing their movements as the quarters passed by, I managed to figure out some of the dynamics of basketball. I'd never seen my brother play before, and the rumors about him being ruthless and callous while dominating the court with his powerful aura were true. But with the number of fouls and violations he caused with his temper and the pressure on the clock, Coach Greenberg decided to keep him on the sidelines for the last two quarters, and in went number eleven. Carter.

He moved across the court with precision and confidence like it was his stage. Being disciplined and focused, he emitted charisma like no other player, and standing at six foot two with hair as dark as ink flopping messily whenever he jumped, each ball he shot in the net earned him loud praises from the crowd and claps on the back from his teammates.

Now I understood why Theo envied the guy.

When the game was finally over with a score of 63-40 in favor of the Northvale Nighthawks, the cheers in the gymnasium were deafening. I stood up and started to push my way around the crowd to catch Faust, squeezing my way in between the hustle of students and sweaty basketball players until I reached him. Lightly tapping his arm, I took a deep breath as he turned around.

As if he had his own sky, his eyes shone so incomprehensibly blue. The sharpness of his jawline looked like it could cut glass, and his smile, though it faltered, seemed genuinely curious with the right touch of boyishness. Sweat dripped down the side of his face, and he used the towel slung on his shoulder to wipe it away.

"Hey." His voice was soft and hesitant, not entirely sure why a girl dressed in what looked like pajamas was trying to get his attention.

"Sorry." I suddenly felt stupid as the other athletes glanced at me from head to toe. Clearing my throat, I crossed my arms and continued, "I know you have to celebrate your win, congratulations by the way, but this will only take a minute."

Faust shook his head, the smile still on his lips. "It's fine. Thea, right?"

I nodded, rocking back on my heels. "I have to do this interview for the school newspaper. It's only a couple of questions, if you don't mind?"

The gymnasium was slowly being cleared out as everyone headed for the celebration. Faust motioned with a nod of his head for his teammates to go ahead, and turned his attention back to me. "I'm surprised you're doing this. It's no secret how much you despise the sport. Or is it just the team?"

"I wouldn't dislike you guys so much if you weren't such—"

"Relax." He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "I was messing with you."

I narrowed my eyes and pulled out my pen and questionnaire. "So, first question. You're quite known—"

"You want to do this here? Now?" Faust asked, clearly still amused as he gestured around the gym.

Shrugging, I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why not here? Why not now? We don't have any classes together and you and I clearly have places to be so let's get this over with."

"I like the shirt."

"...what?"

"The shirt," he repeated, eyes twinkling with humor. "It says 'just dunk it'."

Suddenly feeling defensive, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away. "I know what it says. And I didn't exactly have the 101 on the proper dress decorum during a basketball game, and it's not mine, so don't judge."

Faust laughed, and the corners of my mouth pulled up to a small smile.

"What did you think?"

I sent him a questioning look. "About the game? Or about you?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Both."

"The basketball players aren't as arrogant as I thought they were. Leave an exception for my brother."

He threw his head back and laughed once again. My smile widened.

"Faust!"

We turned our heads to the direction of the voice, and one of the players on the team I recognized as Nico Romero, waved him over with an impatient look on his face. "Come on man, you're my ride to the party!"

Ah, great.

"I'll be right there!" he shouted back. Then he stepped forward, grasping my arm suddenly to grab the pen from my fingers, taking the cap in between his teeth.

"Hey—!"

Before another word could slip from my mouth, he quickly wrote ten numbers on my palm and shot the pen inside my open bag once he was finished.

"I'm busy," I blurted out, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Faust grinned. With a wink, he said, "So am I. See you around, Thea Simmons."