< Chapter 28

Chapter 29

School started way too soon for everyone’s liking. It felt as though they had just gotten off for the break and once more, they were gracing the halls of Lincoln High. They had extended homeroom that morning so that schedules could be handed out for the new term and no one could deny that there was an excitement in the air that hadn’t been there before the break. It was the start of a new year, a new term and a time to wipe the slate clean. Lance was the first one to arrive as there wasn’t anyone waiting at his locker when he got there. He was going through his locker when he felt someone approaching. The sound of the locker next to his opening caused for him to look up and gasp in surprise.

"Holy shit," Lance breathed, not at all mindful of the fact that he’d just sworn. He received a laugh in response from Nick who was smiling at him widely. "When did you do that?"

Nick shrugged. "Thursday morning." He knew that everyone would be caught off guard and Lance was officially the only person who had seen him since he’d done it. He’d been at his grandparents all weekend and thus, hadn’t seen any of his friends. "Before we went to grams’."

"Has Justin seen it?" Lance asked, still stunned. He smiled when Nick grinned wickedly.

"Nope, just you so far."

Lance saw Christina, Britney and Josh approaching and knew that they would react as similarly as he did. Now that the new semester had started, Josh’s co-op placement was finished and he was no longer working at Holy Cross school. He’d be at Lincoln High every day, all day with them, which would be strange since they were used to him being gone in the mornings.

"Hey Lance," Britney greeted sweetly. She saw the blonde standing with Lance and gave him a strange look. "Hey, are you new here?"

"Not exactly," Nick responded, winking at Lance.

When the blonde turned around, Britney’s jaw dropped, as did Christina’s and Josh’s. "Holy shit Nicky, is that you?"

Nick nodded his head, the grin still plastered on his face. "The one and only. What do you think?"

"I think ...I think we didn’t even recognize you," Christina answered as her heart pounded in her chest. If she thought Nick was gorgeous before, it was nothing to how hot he looked right now. She flashed Josh an apologetic smile and he rolled his eyes.

"You are so dead," he mock warned her, causing her to giggle.

"Sorry baby, but damn Nicky. You are hot."

Nick’s cocky grin turned into an embarrassed smile and his cheeks lit up. "Uhhh, thanks."

"What’s everyone staring at?" Justin asked as he approached. He paused and his eyes nearly bugged out at the sight of Nick standing before him. Without even speaking, he approached his best friend to take a closer look.

"Hey," Nick greeted. Justin simply stared at him curiously. Nick flinched as Justin raised his hand to run it through his newly cut hair. Where it had previously been long, nearly to the bottom of his jaw it was now cut short and styled in spikes that stuck up everywhere. It made the line of his jaw seem more angular and his face slimmer. And he looked less like a twelve year old girl and more like a growing fourteen year old young adult. Nick’s heart was hammering in his chest while he was being assessed by his best friend. Finally Justin took a deep breath and spoke.

"Holy shit, yo. What did you do?"

"Cut it."


"Obviously, when?"

"Thursday, before we went to see grandma." Justin wasn’t really saying anything and Nick wasn’t sure what that meant. "Do you like it?"

Justin nodded, his eyes were still wide. "Yeah, totally dude. You look so good." He leaned in closer so just Nick could hear him, his face stuck in a permanent grin. "Kevin’s going to think you are so hot, just wait and see."

And that there was the one thing that Nick was praying his best friend would say to him. Not that he’d gotten the hair cut for Kevin’s benefit, he hadn’t. But there was a point the week before when his mother’s nagging at how long his hair was getting, not to mention that his sisters were calling him Nicole that he realized that it was time for some change. He loved his long hair, but at the same time wanted something different. If he hated it that much he could just grow his hair back out, but the second he saw himself in the mirror, long locks gone and replaced with a short, spikier cut, he knew that he’d made the right choice. And the second thing he thought about was how good he looked and how Kevin would react.

"You think?" He asked softly. Justin nodded.

"Totally."

Everyone wanted their turn to run their fingers through his hair, until finally the bell rang and Nick had noticed that he missed Kevin’s appearance in the hall entirely. He remembered a day when his whole morning revolved around 8:37, and now more often than not, he completely missed Kevin’s walk down Fresh Meat Lane. They had a welcome back assembly right after homeroom, so they all agreed to meet up outside of the gym to go over schedules for the next four months.

"So?" Nick asked as Justin and Lance approached the outside of the gym where he’d been waiting. He’d sat through homeroom, bored out of his mind and wishing that they didn’t have to sit there for longer than normal. The second that the bell had rang to signal the end of homeroom, Nick was off of his chair and had ran down the hall to meet up with his friends. They all had their schedules in their hands, ready to compare.

"First period?" Justin asked.

"English," Nick answered.

"Drama," Lance answered.

"Phys. Ed." Justin knew that he wouldn’t have that with either of his friends since they’d taken it first semester. "Okay, second period." Knowing that Nick had taken the class he had first semester as well, he hoped he at least had it with Lance.

"Geography," Nick said.

Lance did a little shimmy and Justin’s face fell. "Me too!"

"History," Justin pouted.

"Third period?" Nick asked. They all looked at one another.

"Spanish," Justin answered.

Lance did another shimmy, Nick joined in this time. "Me too."

"ME TOO!" The three friends all shimmied in sync at having a class all together.

"Okay, next is lunch. So how about fourth period? I’m in drama." Justin asked. He knew that he wouldn’t have this class with either of them as well. Nick had taken his art elective in first semester and Lance had first period drama.

Nick shook his head. "Computer Studies."

Lance frowned. "History."

"And final period?" Nick held his breath. "I’ve got World Studies."

Justin and Lance gave mirroring grins. "ME TOO!" They said at the same time, causing for them all to shimmy again.

"So we’ve all got Spanish and World Studies together, and you two have Geography together," Justin noted as he wrote it on his schedule. "Now I just have to see if the girls are in any of my classes and we’re good to go."

They headed inside the gym, not seeing any of their friends. They secured a section of the bleachers, holding spots until everyone else arrived. "So," Nick started to say softly so people couldn’t overhear. "What’s the news with Brit and Billy?"

Justin shook his head and Lance only shrugged. "All I know from AJ who was talking to Josh is that they’re taking it slow. But I know she really likes him and I hear he really likes her."

"Well I hope that they’re happy. It’s been hard for her to see Christina so happy with Josh and Britney left out," Justin said. He watched people filling into the gym, at the sight of Brian, Justin turned to Nick as he’d just remembered something he had to tell him. "Oh, dude. When do you have practice?"

Nick’s jaw dropped, he completely forgot about basketball and practice. "Oh shit. I think tomorrow? I’ve got to check my locker, we’ve got a game on Thursday afternoon at two."

"Don’t you guys have a game coming up?" Lance asked Justin. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girls standing at the door and waved his arms, trying to get their attention. Moments later, Britney and Christina were weaving their way through the crowds and joined the boys.

"Friday night," Justin answered when everyone was situated. "You guys going to come?"

"Of course we’re coming," AJ answered as he nudged Lance over so he could sit down. They clasped their hands discreetly between them. "Wouldn’t miss it for the world."

"Then we can go to the shake shack," Josh added before greeting his girlfriend with a kiss. "And Billy will be joining us as well."

Everyone turned to look at Britney who was blushing profusely. The looks turned into teasing taunts until everyone had broken into laughter. As the assembly went on, they were quietly talking about their weeks and everything that they had to do. Nick and AJ still had some finish up work to do on the play’s set and despite it being the first week back, Chris had already called meetings for the Lincoln Report. Their break was most definitely over and the time to get back to business had arrived.

It was late Monday night that Nick had the idea that the two boys basketball teams should practice together. It would give the younger players more incentive to improve so they could join the Varsity team, but at the same time, integrate the two teams so all would benefit. He approached the coach on Tuesday morning between first and second period.

"Coach Griffiths?" Nick knocked on the door lightly, not wanting to disturb him if he was busy.

"Who is it?"

"Carter sir, Nick Carter." Nick popped his head in the door and smiled. He felt more at ease when the man smiled back.

"Carter, what the hell do you want? Come on in."

Nick entered the office and took a seat on the chair provided. He took a deep breath before starting. "Sir, I just wanted to give you a suggestion, it was an idea I got last night when I was thinking about practice today and thought I’d bring it up now."

"Why didn’t you just tell me tonight?"

"I wanted to talk to you alone, not in front of everyone." Nick waited for Coach Griffiths to nod before he continued. "What would you think about having the Freshman team practice with the Varsity team? Instead of having two practices, have us all together. We can play against each other, or mix the teams up, or even just run drills together. It will give us a chance to see how they play, but at the same time have them see how we play. Everyone benefits." Nick bit his lip and waited for the coach’s reaction. Thankfully, his mouth curled into a giant grin.

"You know Carter, that’s not too bad. I’ve noticed that you guys could use a little help in some areas and the Varsity team could help give pointers. And those boys are just so used to the same plays, the same everything that they’re not getting better. They’re just staying the same and I think some fresh blood would do them well. Tonight, after practice..." Coach Griffiths checked a planner that was sitting open on his desk. "Tonight’s not good. Ummm, what are you doing for lunch tomorrow?"

Nick shook his head. "Nothing."

"Bring your lunch into the gym. You, Lyons, Littrell and I are going to have a chat and see what we can do."

"Lyons and Littrell?"

"Littrell is going to be the Captain next year, so the incoming captain usually sits in on a lot of the meetings, just as a sounding board. So meet us in the gym tomorrow and we’ll discuss it." The coach gave him a smile and Nick knew he was being dismissed. "Good job Carter, I knew you’d step up to the position."

It wasn’t until their shortened Spanish class that Nick could tell Justin his good news. With the short assembly that morning, and the longer home room, they were all to partake in shorter versions of their classes for introductions. "So we’re practicing together from now on?" Justin asked with a grin. Nick nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I was thinking about it last night and thought that it would be a good idea to practice together. Plus we get to play together again, which is a total bonus."

"God, the Coach loves you," Justin smiled. "Whenever I say anything, he just tells me to shut up and run more drills." The two friends snickered together.

"Well, we’ll see what happens tomorrow at the meeting."

~*~*

Nick was smiling to himself as the warning bell to end lunch rang. The meeting had gone fantastic and they all agreed on a revised schedule for their amalgamated basketball practices. Nick was walking back to his locker to get his books when Brian called for him to slow down.

"Nick?"

Nick turned around at the sound of his name. When he saw Brian jogging to catch up with him, he stopped and flashed the other teen a smile. "What’s up?"

"You’re coming to the game on Friday right?"

Nick nodded. "Of course, I always go."

"Well, we’re having a welcome back to school party at my house, after the game. So I just thought I'd invite you guys."


Nick’s face broke out into a grin and he nodded. "Awesome. Okay, thanks. Cool."

"So you’ll come?"

Nick pretended to think about it, but knew that they would definitely be going. Finally he answered. "Definitely. I’ll talk to the others, but I'm sure that they’ll be up for it."

Brian grinned, "Great. And ...can you let AJ and Josh know that I’d like them to come. Not just that they’re invited, but I want them to go. It’s been a long time since we’ve talked and it would be nice to catch up on things."

"Sure, I’ll let them know," Nick said in surprise. He knew that they’d been friends a while ago, all of them had, but everything had changed when first Kevin and Chris, and then Joey, Brian and Josh had gone to high school, leaving AJ still in elementary school. Where Josh still remained friends with AJ, the others seemed to distance themselves away from him, which had distanced themselves away from Josh as well. He wondered what AJ and Josh would say upon hearing that Brian personally asked them to come.

Everyone was waiting at their lockers after school as Justin, Nick and Lance showed up. They’d already stopped at Justin’s on the way back from World Studies and just had to get Nick and Lance’s bags and coats. "So, is everyone up for a party at Brian’s house on Friday? We were all invited."

Justin’s eyes lit up as he and Nick both gave giant smiles. Britney and Christina both nodded enthusiastically while Josh and AJ exchanged glances. Lance simply stayed quiet. He wanted to go, but at the same time, knew that if AJ didn’t go, he probably wouldn’t.

"Oh," Nick added, nearly forgetting. "Brian specifically told me to let you know that he’d like it if you came. It’s been a while since you’ve all talked and he thought it would be cool if you could come."

Josh and AJ exchanged another look. AJ then looked at his boyfriend who shrugged and said, "It’s up to you Aje."

"Do you want to go?"

At the same time, Josh was talking to Christina. "Do you want to go?"

Christina nodded, "I kinda do. It would be fun."

"How about you?" AJ asked Lance.

"Whatever you want."

AJ and Josh looked at each other again before conceding defeat. "Okay. Party at Brian’s on Friday night."

Nick and Justin both did a shimmy. Neither could wait until Friday when they were at Brian’s party, in the presence of their crushes. Justin had yet to see Chris since they’d been back and had nearly gone with Lance to his Report meeting the night before just to be able to talk to him. He’d ended up having practice that night, so he couldn’t, but every time he walked the halls, he hoped that he’d see the senior walking to and from classes.

The remainder of the week passed by quickly and uneventfully. Justin spent every waking minute that he wasn’t in class practicing for the big game on Friday night. He was finally getting his start and the last thing he wanted to do was prove to Craig and Coach Griffiths that they’d been right to initially bench him. As much as he was looking forward to it, Justin was equally as nervous and before he knew it, he was sitting on the bench in the locker room, listening to the assistant coach go through that night’s plays. "So remember, be on the defensive. They’re a highly offensive team and if we can keep them back, then we’ve got a good chance to win this."

Justin nodded along with everyone else, feeling his stomach churning nervously. They went through their concerns for the night, finally stopping on Justin. Everyone was looking at him expectantly and he gave a weak smile.

"So?" Craig Lyons asked enthusiastically. "How are you feeling?"

Justin closed his eyes and felt his stomach flip a few times. He could hear music playing from the gym and could picture the stands full of students, parents and other spectators. He finally opened his mouth and said "A little nauseous."

The group laughed good naturedly and Justin let himself relax a little bit.

"Don’t worry about it kid. Just play like you do in practice. And if you suck, we’ll pull you." Justin looked at Emmett, the boy that had said it and saw the grin on his face. Justin shrugged and smiled despite himself.

"Oh, in that case. Yeah, lets go out and win this game."

"That’s the spirit," Craig cheered. They got ready to run out onto the court, Justin near the back with the other starters. As they waited to be announced, Brian pulled Justin aside.

"Don’t worry about anything Justin. Griffiths wouldn’t have made you a starter if he didn’t think you could handle it."

Justin nodded, he knew this but it was still good to hear. "Thanks."

"I’m serious. You’re good enough to be on this team, you’re good enough to start and don’t let anything rattle you."

Before Justin could respond, he heard his name being called. He closed his eyes and said a quick, silent prayer before sprinting into the gymnasium, the spotlight marking his every move. The cheers in the audience was deafening, right out of the fantasy he’d had at the beginning of the year and he knew in that moment, no matter how he played, they couldn’t take this away from him.

The lights went up and the teams were given less than two minutes before the national anthem played. The whole time the band was playing the Star Spangled Banner, Justin looked up into the stands, trying to find his friends. He finally spotted them sitting near the floor, centre court all holding up signs with his name on it. He blushed and as he caught Nick’s eye and his best friend waved enthusiastically at him. Nick flashed him his sign which only made Justin giggle some more.

Once the anthem was finished, they were given a few minutes to warm up and remove their wind pants and jackets. Justin did a few stretches while they announced what the sponsors for that night would be. Before he knew it, he was standing on the court, watching Craig Lyons prepare for the referee to throw the ball up into the air. Justin could feel the excitement in his body and held his breath until the whistle blew and everyone sprang into motion. He waited until he saw Craig’s hand make contact with the ball, he tipped it in Justin’s direction and it was only then that Justin moved, making it to the ball just a fraction of a second before the teen that was guarding him. Justin dribbled the ball, moving to run left but he waited until the other player followed his lead and then deked him out, going right and clear towards their net. He checked to see where his other team mates were, noticing that Brian was open in the far corner. He caught Craig’s eye and discreetly moved his head,
 indicating that he was going to pass him the ball. Justin faked out his guard a second time, passing the ball to Craig who immediately tossed it in the air to Brian.

Lincoln High was up 2-0.

Justin had made a few mistakes early on, giving their opponents opportunity to score, but the longer he played, the more calm he became. He successfully pushed everything except the game out of his mind and focused on clean passes, accurate shots and superb guarding.

By the half time, they were up by five points, all which they had worked hard for. If Justin thought the first two quarters flew by fast, they were nothing compared to the last two which Justin swore couldn’t have been regulation time. He was sitting on the bench taking a breather when he realized there was less than two minutes left in the game. They were down by three and Coach Griffiths called their last time out.

"Okay, we need Timberlake clear at the top of the key. He has to get a clear three pointer in to tie it up. If we can tie it, we just need to hold them off and get one more basket. As long as they don’t get any, we’re good."

Justin nodded. He wanted to be the one to win the game, but at the same time didn’t want to be their reason for losing. At the last minute, he looked over at the other team who were all looking at him suspiciously while their coach spoke. Justin held his hand up and shook his head.

"Coach, they’re gonna be gunning for me. Fourteen’s been on my butt the whole night, him and nine."

Brian nodded, agreeing with Justin. "He’s right. They’ll be watching him, we’ve been passing it to him all night for three pointers. They’re going to expect it."

Coach Griffiths had less than twenty seconds to make the decision. With a nod he pulled everyone close. "Okay, so Timberlake, get into three point position. They’ll put two men on you, which will leave someone free. That person should get into position and we’ll have to go for two points and hope it’s enough. That means though, we’re going to have to manage a steal when they toss the ball back in. We can’t afford to let them take it the length of the court and score."

The team all nodded and Craig stood up straight. "No problem, we’ve got it under control.

Justin walked back onto the court, a cocky grin on his face. He knew if he played it like he was going to get the ball, they’d fall for it and cover him, leaving someone else open. The ball was in play and Emmett moved to pass Justin the ball. When the two closest players to Justin sprang into action, jumping to block the shot, Emmett moved in the opposite direction and ran towards the basket. It had been him they’d left open, which had played immediately into their plan of action. To stop him, the player guarding Craig moved towards Emmett, leaving Craig open which was the perfect opportunity to pass to Craig, who caught the ball and jumped up for a two point shot.

Lincoln was down by one point.

As the ball was once again in play, the player that Justin was guarding was passed the ball. In a move that could only be described as lightning quick and pure luck, Justin intercepted the ball mid bounce and started off in the opposite direction towards their basket. He briefly looked up to see that they had less than fifteen seconds left to make the basket. Just as someone was about to steal the ball back from him, Justin moved quickly and passed it to Brian who abruptly stopped, catching everyone off guard. He jumped up and took the three point shot which would make or break the game for them.

Everyone in the gymnasium held their breath and watched the ball sail through the air. It nearly felt as if it were in slow motion and as if everyone was connected, the ball sailed through the hoop bringing Lincoln High in the lead by two points. Justin jumped nearly a foot in the air, feeling someone’s arms grasping him from behind as he landed. The whole team had dog piled each other and were screaming with joy. The sounds of their cheers were only drowned out by the massive celebration going on in the stands.

End Chapter 29


Chapter 30 >