head over heels

18 ~ rain clouds

[A/N - merp. calm before the storm.]

Saturday would not leave Evans' head. It stuck like gum on his shoe, but considerably more pleasant. He replayed every moment, feeling like every replay was happening for the first time all over again.

Kei.

Evan sighed. How was the boy even a real person? He was perfect. His smile, his hair, the way he was so expressive, so understanding.

Evan watched him on the court. He was different today. He was more subdued, his energy crackled over his skin, simmering under the surface like restrained lightning instead of the usual swirling maelstrom.

He hoped Kei was okay. He'd barely talked to him all morning.

He kept watching, sort of mesmerized by his skill.

At first, Evan had assumed his movement on the court was erratic, and random, fueled by his boundless energy and desire to confuse his opponent. But he saw now that Kei watched the court. He predicted movements, ran into miniscule openings, switched hands according to the whereabouts of the opposing team and changed his tactics depending on the game.

It was incredible really. Every time he watched Kei, he was incredible.

It was barely seven in the morning. He sat on the side catching his breath, water bottle in hand and Oliver beside him.

The tall boy turned to him.

"You get him don't you," Oliver said idly.

Evan paused, "Uh, what?"

"Kei. You understand him. No one else really does."

He fidgeted with his water bottle, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Kei is the best player on this team by a long shot," Oliver muttered, "Ethan is good, absolutely, but Kei is on another level, just harder to control. Amir never got that, but you do."

Eventually, he nodded, "Yeah."

"Ethan's gonna get scouted this year," Oliver continued, "He'll go on to be the captain of some big team regardless of anyone around him. He's that type of good."

"I know." He knew that more than anyone. It was all his dad ever talked about. Ethan could break an ankle this season and still get scouted. He was a leader, a type of prodigy that gathered people together on the court, his skill spread out like a blanket in a way that made everyone around him better.

University teams as well as the national teams would be stupid not to want him.

Evan watched the court. Ethan brought the team's spirit up, he laughed with Hugo, then Luke, pushing them to perform their best without even trying. He was like vines that blended in with the team's skill sets effortlessly, holding them up.

Kei however was like a bolt of lightning slamming into the court. He sent teammates scattering. His skill was so overwhelming that his disruption of the court often didn't matter. But when his spikes got blocked, or he missed a receive, or if someone got in his way, he got angry, and when he got angry, he made more mistakes.

Ethan had told him stories of last year's games. More often than not, Kei ended up on the sidelines after his ability took a massive nosedive due to his anger.

He wondered why Kei was like that. It was like he got in his own head. Getting in his own way more than any opponent ever could.

Suddenly he felt like he understood.

Oliver shot Evan a look, "Focus on Kei this season yeah? He deserves it. He needs volleyball to work out for him."

After a moment, Evan nodded, "Yeah, I know."