head over heels

32 ~ weird

Kei had left in a hurry the next morning, positively running when he'd woken to Evans usual alarm instead of the earlier one he'd set.

"Fuck," Kei had sworn, "Shit, shit, shit—" he cursed his way out the window, blurting out his goodbyes, much to Evans amusement. He watched from bed, too tired to drag himself up until he was forced too. 

Ethan would be awake by now, making the situation all the more precarious.

He assumed Kei made it out, as there was no frantic yelling to be heard from Ethan.

Ethan was still being weird through practice. He was even playing weird, like he was totally distracted, and his usually airtight plays with Evan had started to fall to pieces. 

It wasn't like him. Ethan lived for volleyball, him being distracted? That just didn't happen. 

God, he hoped he wouldn't actually have to add practice with Ethan to his already stacked timetable, but he would at this rate.

Ethan and Kei were the two main spikers, so if he wasn't lining up with the two of them, the whole team was in trouble.

Usually, by way of some twin sync, their plays together had never in their lives needed practice, but now? Something was decidedly whack.

"The fuck are you doing?" Evan questioned, approaching his brother on the court, "Kei always has the right, you'll get yourself flattened."

Ethan bristled, "Don't tell me how to play Evan," he shot out.

He stopped in his tracks, "That's not what i'm doing, i'm just—"

"Leave it," Ethan uttered, turning pointedly.

Evan felt his annoyance fester. The fuck was wrong with him? It was like he didn't want to be here or something. 

He retreated to the centre of the court. The rest of the team watched them cautiously. Kei purposely hung back, but his eyes followed him. They'd decided to cut back on interacting in front of the team as much as they had been. Mostly because they were shit at being normal. It didn't make him want to talk to him any less though, and it only heightened his annoyance.

Evan had never seen Ethan's composure slip like it was now. He looked pissed off. His spikes were wonky, his movements erratic.

It all came to a head when again, Ethan went right again, going for a set clearly not meant for him, and hurtling straight into Kei, who barely managed to pull back enough to not completely decimate Ethan, but the odd angle sent Kei slamming into the floor instead.

"Fuck," Kei swore as he hit the ground, ankle twisting awkwardly. Evans' heart spiked in worry, taking half a step towards him.

Ethan only tripped over himself, ending up on the floor, but far less hard.

The Coaches whistle sounded abruptly, and the man stormed onto the court before Evan could rush to Kei's side.

"Ethan, off the court now—" he barked, pointing at the side.

The team stared in shock. Ethan was endlessly calm on the court. This anger was unlike him, and for Coach to send him off? That was unheard of.

"Hugo, take Kei to the nurse," Coach barked.

"I'm fine," Kei piped up, testing his ankle carefully. "Really—"

"Go anyway, we can't have anyone getting injured right now," Coach shot out, eyeing Ethan, "You know that better than anyone. What in god's name were you thinking pulling that?"