head over heels

65 ~ a lethal dose of hope

Evan felt totally whack as he stepped onto the court for their first game.

It was like his brain couldn't decide if he was okay, or about to die.

Their morning practice had been marginally less tragic than all the prior ones. Now, he might actually win against Theo on and off the court.

Maybe. Just maybe.

Oliver had obviously slept. Ethan was only a little bit stressed. Alex had apparently gotten through to Callum and Hugo, despite being utterly lifeless, had his shit together more often than not. So finally, the team had gotten over Lukes absence, and was actually working together.

So, as their first game against the ravens started, he felt okay about their chances.

Since it was the bigger matches, they played five set games. Which, while giving them marginally more room for error, was a serious effort on his aching limbs. 

They won the first half. Evan played well. He didn't miss a single set, which was actually pretty damned satisfying.

What he was worried about however, was the last few fifths of the game, both for him, and the rest of the team. 

The ravens were good, but they weren't playing very hard, which was confusing.

Evan remembered what Kei had said about how they scored. Primarily through blocks and rebounds. So— they had a serious edge over them stamina wise. The lake's entire thing was Kei and Ethans bolting around the court with movements so erratic that the opposing team couldn't keep up.

So, the ravens weren't even trying to keep up.

They were playing defence.

Which was a criminally bad matchup for them.

As the second fifth started, the ravens ramped up their block. It was like Ethan and Kei were bashing their heads up against an ironclad block. It was utterly brutal. There was seriously no way to get around it.

Particularly Ethan was the one getting hammered.

Evan hated to think it, but Ethan just wasn't getting high enough. The ravens were all freakishly tall, and incredibly beefy.

So, he grit his teeth, and walked over to Kei.

"Kei," he mumbled. Panting, Kei turned to him. "I'm only gonna set to you. Get around them. I'll keep up."

Slowly, Kei nodded. "Okay."

So, Evan did as he'd said. Kei and his particular brand of volleyball was the only way they were getting around these guys. In mid air, Kei was almost unmatched. Having full strength and dexterity in both of his hands as opposed to just one, gave him the manoeuvrability to make shots that Ethan just couldn't.

When he really got into it, Kei was incredible.

Evan was utterly distracted by his boyfriend at literally every movement. The way his body curved going for each spike had Evan fighting to stay on track. 

But, his plan was working.

It turned the tide, at least for a bit. They took the second fifth. But, they failed to take the third. Kei was starting to slip. He had scored a massive majority of the goals, and had been running around like a madman. At the start of the fourth set, Kei was tired. Evan could see it in the curve of his shoulders.

If they got pushed into a fifth, they would probably lose, so they had to end it now. 

So, he walked back on Alex, who was playing middle blocker. Alex was tall, tall enough to get over the block, and the thing was, he was actually a spiker on par with Ethan and Kei in some ways. Evan remembered from practice a while back when he'd covered Kei. But he, unlike Ethan and Kei, hadn't been running around manically.