Bounce Back

Chapter 55

Ryan's POV

The day of the semi-final was much like the day before and it seemed to drag on just as much. This time they were playing USC. I couldn't help but watch Tyler during the day to see how he was walking on his ankle but as he said last night it did seem to be better.

I headed out onto the court before the players and I was approached by someone wearing a USC jacket.

"I couldn't help but noticed you at the game yesterday. What do you do?" he asked.

"I help with the team," I said vaguely.

Coach had told me that if anyone asked me what I did to be vague. I think that it was so that no one else thought about doing the same thing.

"So, are you a student at UCLA?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Coach must have come out because he then spoke from beside me and it made me jump.

"Ryan, we need you in the locker."

I nodded and then followed him back inside. As soon as we were down the tunnel he stopped and turned to talk to you.

"I didn't really need you but I wasn't sure what he was going to say to you or ask you," he said.

I nodded again and hung around waiting for the team to be ready to head out and once they were I headed back out onto the court. The USC guy had disappeared and was now standing with his own team so I didn't have to worry about him anymore.

The game was almost as good at the night before and the locker room was just as loud after the win. We already knew that with the win they would be playing Oregon for the Pac-12 title and a guaranteed spot in the NCAA tournament in just under a week.

I had just finished my stats stuff and was heading towards the locker room when my phone started ringing and I answered after sitting down on the ground.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked Jordan.

"Great, anyway I saw you on TV. Every time that they show the bench they mention you. They go on about how you have been at every game this year. One guy even thought that you were one of your Coaches kids since you were always on your laptop," he laughed.

I couldn't help but laugh as well and then listened to him talk about what he had been doing. Jordan had been talking to him a bit recently but it was still nice listen to him. I didn't realise how long I had been sitting there until Tyler slid down to join me.

He grabbed my phone and switched it onto speaker phone.

"Hey, Jordan," Tyler said.

"Hey, Tyler, great game," Jordan said on the other end.

"It's been a while since I have managed to talk to you. How are you?" he asked.

I then listened to the two of them catch up until Luke and Jackson joined us.

"I'm sorry guys but we need to head out," Luke said.

We both nodded and knowing that Tyler was slightly injured so once I stood up and helped him up. I listened to the three of them talk about the game. It was easy to relax and just let them talk. It wasn't long to get back to get to the hotel and since it was already late we all headed straight to our rooms.

Tyler wanted to ice his ankle some more so once I was done getting ready for bed I sat down beside him and grabbed my laptop back out. Tyler watched what I was doing. I continued to write notes about the game until I felt a weight on my shoulder.

I turned slightly to see that Tyler had fallen asleep beside me. I slowly shut my laptop and slipped out from beside him. I put my laptop away and his icepack into the fridge before joining him in bed again.

When I woke the next morning Tyler was plastered against my back and I could tell that he was still asleep. I realised that I was starving so I carefully moved his limbs, trying not to wake him. I successfully got out and he was still asleep.

He was still asleep when I got back with food and I didn't want to wake him yet so I spent the time eating and mucking around on my phone for a while until I was bored out of mind and decided to make the most of the hotel gym downstairs.

I left a note for Tyler explaining where I was going, changed and headed downstairs. No one was in there but I put headphones in and started to work. I would rather go for a run outside but I wasn't sure that Coach would want me to leave the hotel.

I worked up a good sweat and I could feel myself relaxing as I worked. It wasn't a particularly big place so I mostly worked on the treadmill. I was just about to finish when Coach came in and he was slightly surprised to see me.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," he said.

"Yeah, well, I woke up and really needed to do something," I explained.

He laughed slightly and we talked for a couple more minutes before he had to head off to talk to someone else and I realised that I should head back up to my room. I unlocked the door and I was very surprised to see that Tyler was still asleep.

I glanced at the time again and one more to double check that I was seeing it right. It was already eleven in the morning so I was very surprised that Tyler was still asleep. I decided that he should wake so I sat down on the bed and shook his shoulder slightly.

He groaned when he woke and rolled away from me.

"Ty, it's eleven in the morning. You should get up," he groaned again before sitting up.

"What have you been doing?" he asked.

I explained what I had been doing and he decided that he would join me in the shower. We still had plenty of time before the game so we were able to move slowly and enjoy our time together.

At last we were all down in the lobby and waiting to board the bus. I could see that Tyler's knee was bouncing and he wasn't the only one nervous. There were huge expectations on his team and everyone knew that they pretty much had to win.

"You are going to do amazing," I whispered to him as we headed towards the bus.

He smiled slightly and nodded. It was at the moment that I realised that he still looked tired despite sleeping in. it was something I would have to ask him at some point but this is not the time. I would have to wait until after they hopefully won.

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The Wise One