Three Point Line [2/?]
Title: Three Point Line [2/?]
Author: KantanaAmaya
Rating: G
Pairing: None/ TBA
Genre: High School AU
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Arashi. Or basketball. Trust me, I really know NOTHING about basketball.
Summary: When your high school is all about sports, how do you incorporate yourself into a world you weren't meant to belong in?
Word Count: 2,381.
.:.
Matsumoto looked at Sakurai in a strange way, as if he were expecting a very different answer. Neither of them spoke, until Sakurai coughed awkwardly, encouraging the younger student to speak first.
“Oh. I thought you would have actually wanted to be part of the team...like a point guard or something.”
The awkward silence continued until a voice farther away called for the other male.
“MatsuJun! Where did you run to now?!”
Sho raised an eyebrow to the slightly taller guy, and 'MatsuJun' cleared his throat, looking down at his senpai apologetically.
“I guess I'll see you this afternoon, then,” the attractive male said as a way of saying 'farewell'. He held up his right hand as a sort of wave, and Sakurai did the same, not leaving until Matsumoto had his back turned.
'Kids don't have any manners these days. Might be a good enough guy if you know him. Doesn't seem like he would let anyone get that close to him, though,' Sho thought as he walked to the fourth floor to his homeroom. On his way, he passed the art room and thought to remind a fellow third year that class would be starting soon. All of the club rooms were on the first floor, and classrooms on the second, third, and fourth floors. This particular room, the art room, was conveniently located right across from the staircase, so it wasn't out of the way for Sho. Knocking twice before sliding the door open, Sakurai peeked his head inside, looking for a messy head of hair. Not seeing anyone, he assumed he must have gone ahead to class already. That was so unlikely, however, that Sakurai called out anyway.
“Um, Ohno-san? Are you still in here?”
There was no answer, so he tentatively stepped inside, looking around the room he felt like he didn't belong in. He heard a small sound and moved around a set of easels to see a figure kneeling on the ground, concentrating on painting the lower half of his painting propped up on the easel. Sakurai took a moment to admire the work of art before remembering that they would both be late if they did not hurry. He tapped the older student on the shoulder multiple times before he even knew he was in there.
“Ah. Sakurai-kun, good morning.”
“Good morning. Um...Ohno-san? Class is supposed to start in a few minutes, so I came to get you,” Sho stumbled, not wanting to seem like he was rushing the other boy, even though he really wanted him to hurry. Rushing was not in the other one's character, however. The two boys were not very close, but they had an understanding of each other; a basic one at that. Sakurai knew that Ohno liked artsy things, and got so distracted that he would be late for class every day had if someone did not force him to stop drawing, painting, sculpting, or whatever he was doing. He seemed to be a bit spacey, but Sakurai thought he may have been just listening ¾ of those moments.
“I see. Thanks for getting me every morning, Sakurai-kun,” said the older male, running a hand through his spiked hair before he grabbed his school bag from beside him.
Ohno knew some things about Sakurai, too. He was really smart and cared more than he acted like he did, like how he came and reminded him about class every morning. He had a lot of associates, but did not seem to have that many close friends, from what Ohno could tell, and that was when he had an idea. Mournfully glancing at his currently unfinished masterpiece one final time, the third year made his way to the door, stopping to let Sakurai go first.
“You don't have to call me 'Ohno-san' if you don't want to. It has been long enough, right?” Satoshi said with a smile, getting a few rapid blinks in response. Soon, the artistic young man received a smile in return.
“Alright. Ah, then you can call me 'Sho', if you want,” Sakurai offered in return, heading up the stairs directly across from him. He got up to the fifth step before he heard his name again.
“Sho-chan?”
The intelligent student turned, looking at the older student who was still on ground-level.
“Nothing. I just wanted to see how it sounded,” Satoshi answered with a small smile, following Sakurai obediently up the steps. The two got to the door as soon as the bell rang, but it was worth being almost late to have gained a new friend that morning.
It wasn't until lunch that Sho realized he didn't know what he was supposed to call Ohno.
.:.
The day could not go by any slower for the determined third year student. The day should have been over hours ago, but the bell for them to eat lunch just went off! Heaving a sigh, Sakurai was digging through his bag's pockets for his lunch money when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Everyone still in the classroom had their eyes on him and the other senior student in the room. He proffered his lunch box as an explanation, and Sakurai just smiled at the artist, telling him to grab the chair of the student in front of him who already left. Students from other classes rarely ate in the 3-A room; the ones that did were never from class 3-C, either. The class usually ate together or left to go buy lunch, which is what Sakurai tried to excuse himself to do. Ohno frowned at that, and sat a moment contemplating before offering to split his lunch with him.
“My mom is the best cook, you have to try it sooner or later.”
Sho just couldn't argue with those eyes.
It was really quite between the two of them, and the younger of the two felt strange eating out of another person's obento. Satoshi seemed to be right at home, as if the two had been friends since birth, and not just that morning. Sick of the tension, Sho chose to ask Ohno a bit more about himself. Perhaps the artist would be able to help him with his plan? After all, Ohno only did art, right? He would have been more well known if he played a sport, for sure, so it was almost definite that he did not.
“So, Ohno-kun, do you play sports?”
Satoshi looked up to meet the eyes of his lunch companion, struck first by their color. He then noticed that he had not actually answered his fellow student, so he did so, shaking his head in the negative.
“No, I'm not really good at sports,” the oldest said, pausing to think of if he was good in any athletics.
“Well, I like dance,” he whispered, Sakurai having to lean a little closer to hear him. It wasn't something he advertised, and it probably wouldn't do him any harm if anybody knew, but it just was not like him to outwardly display his talents. Art was the exception, since they would not let him use their supplies if he never presented his work.
'Telling Sho-chan should be okay. Since we're friends now.'
“Really? I wouldn't have guessed...”- a pause - “Why don't you try out for cheer-leading?”
That wasn't what he expected from the studious male. Him? A cheerleader? Weren't cheerleaders loud, and sociable, and girls? Ohno couldn't think of anything to do but point at himself incredulously, wondering where Sakurai may have been going with his suggestion.
“Girls here love guys that play sports, you must have noticed.”
Apparently, he hadn't.
“I'm going to the basketball tryouts this afternoon, and I'm going to be the manager this year, so I'm still a member of the team. I'm just bad at sports, so I'd never make it otherwise. If you were a cheerleader, you would be on a sports team, too. Plus, you might get to get in with all of the other girls that way, too. Dancing and cheer-leading have some things in common, right?”
Ohno had to think about that. There probably were some things in common. In girls cheer-leading, but he supposed it didn't matter. Sakurai seemed to care a lot about what the girls thought at their school. He assumed that meant he did not have a girlfriend. But he was so nice! How didn't he have a special someone? It was hard to believe, but then again, he did not know the other male that well yet.
“Maybe.”
Sho smiled and Ohno still couldn't believe his new friend could be suffering from loneliness.
.:.
Finally, the last bell rang, and Sakurai quickly packed up his things, exiting his classroom in a hurry. In the storm of students, he noticed Ohno's dyed spikes, and waited just a little bit for him to catch up, walking down to the first floor with him.
“Where are you going, Ohno-kun?”
“To the art room. I need to finish what I started this morning.”
Ah. Sho had forgotten about that already.
“I'm going to the gymnasium. I'll stop by to make sure you don't forget to go home, okay?”
Satoshi grinned. He nodded and headed straight ahead for the doors to the art room. Sakurai continued on his beeline for the gym. If he was fast, maybe he would be the first to apply for the manager position.
Upon his arrival on the court, he saw a lot of guys going to the dressing room to change. Probably into loose shorts, tank tops, and tennis shoes. Anything would be more comfortable to play sports in than their uniforms. Unsure of where he needed to go, Sho paced the outside line of the court, until he saw someone coming out of the dressing room. He recognized the first year; he was Matsumoto Jun, the one from earlier. Tall, skinny, and good looking; if he did not have a good personality Sakurai would hate him. Since he was not sure what he thought about the freshman's personality, he allowed himself a few pangs of jealously. Sho was regretting having to ask the other about where he should be when he saw the coach enter from the main doors, an eager young student behind him. The coach looked irritated, but Sakurai could understand why. He could hear the student's half of the conversation from where he was standing...half of the court away. Gearing himself up for using any and all persuasive skills he had, the dark haired male made his way to the coach, who was trying to make his way to the office, without that other kid.
“It makes sense, right? The girls only try out so they can watch the guys play. They cheer for specific members to be noticed, not for the team as a whole to win. I bet none of last year's cheerleaders could tell you the score for any away game. They spend their time trying to look good for the other school's team! I've seen them do it! You have to consider what I'm saying, Coach-sensei!”
'That guy sure talks loud. And a lot. But he really does have a point...' Sho thought as he walked, meeting the duo at the end of the mystery boy's speech.
“Listen, kid. Our cheerleaders have always been girls. If you can find enough guys to replace them, and they're better, knock yourself out. Just don't come to me until you do. And what do you want?” He asked in an irritated tone, finally turning to Sho. He blinked away the surprise before stumbling over the beginning of his sentence, ending it much better than the way he began.
“I-I wan-wanted to be this team's manager, sir.”
The coach looked him up and down, and the taller student behind him did the same, although Sakurai wasn't sure why either were doing so.
“You ever play basketball?”
“Not very well, sir.”
“But you know the rules?”
“I have played before.”
“Will you cause the team any distractions?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you failing anything?”
“Top of my class.”
“Good, you're hired. Get the equipment out, we're about to start. Here are the keys.”
Sakurai was thrilled. Was it really that easy? It was almost unreal to him. Now he could say he was part of the school's basketball team and maybe get at least a bit of the attention he desired. After telling the coach his name, so he would stop calling him 'kid' or 'son', he turned to see the other student still standing there. It was a bit awkward, the long haired student just staring at him. Attempting to break the silence, Sho spoke first.
“Are you here for tryouts?”
“Nope! I'm Aiba Masaki, second year, and I want to establish an all-boys cheer-leading squad for your team, manager-san!” The junior smiled and it was more dazzling than Ohno's, honest and innocent and enticing in an unknown way. It also felt nice to be referred to in such a way. “your team” and “manager-san”. It was refreshing, and Sakurai let himself smile back, although not nearly as wide or energetic as the smile of Aiba Masaki.
“I'm Sakurai Sho, a, um, third year. All-boys cheer-leading? How many people are you looking for?”
He drew his face up in contemplation for a moment before responding.
“I need eleven more. There will be me, and someone has to be the captain, and then about ten more people would do. So eleven.”
“Aren't you going to be the captain?” Sakurai asked inquisitively. Wouldn't the person who began the team be in charge of it?
“No. I come up with good plans, but I don't know if people will listen to me. So I want someone else to do it. Do you know any third years who would want to help? Eleven is a lot, after all.”
“I might know one person...” Sho said aloud, thinking of a particular rounded face and orange spikes, missing Aiba's eyes light up.
.:.
Author's Note: This was much longer than the first chapter, huh? Okay, well I'm going to explain the title now! Actually, it isn't as deep or meaningful as y'all might think. I'm not lying when I say I know nothing about basketball. So, I'm getting help from my friend who loves college basketball. Well, I called her once when a game was on (bad idea), and she was trying to tell me about it. She told me what the score was, and the number seemed weird, so I this was the general conversation that followed:
Me: “You can get three points, right?”
Her: “Yeah.”
Me: “That's when you shoot from the far away line, right?”
Her: “...the three point line?”
Me: “Yeah, that! Is that what it's called?”
Her: “Yes, dear, it's called the three point line.”
End discussion. Well, she laughed at me, and then the discussion ended. XD Needless to say, that was important to me in my learning of basketball for this fic. Now I'm going to have to learn about cheer-leading too, haha. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully another will be up next weekend. [Oh no, I just noticed everyone has been officially introduced except Nino. He's in here, too, but not really. =P]
Author: KantanaAmaya
Rating: G
Pairing: None/ TBA
Genre: High School AU
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Arashi. Or basketball. Trust me, I really know NOTHING about basketball.
Summary: When your high school is all about sports, how do you incorporate yourself into a world you weren't meant to belong in?
Word Count: 2,381.
.:.
Matsumoto looked at Sakurai in a strange way, as if he were expecting a very different answer. Neither of them spoke, until Sakurai coughed awkwardly, encouraging the younger student to speak first.
“Oh. I thought you would have actually wanted to be part of the team...like a point guard or something.”
The awkward silence continued until a voice farther away called for the other male.
“MatsuJun! Where did you run to now?!”
Sho raised an eyebrow to the slightly taller guy, and 'MatsuJun' cleared his throat, looking down at his senpai apologetically.
“I guess I'll see you this afternoon, then,” the attractive male said as a way of saying 'farewell'. He held up his right hand as a sort of wave, and Sakurai did the same, not leaving until Matsumoto had his back turned.
'Kids don't have any manners these days. Might be a good enough guy if you know him. Doesn't seem like he would let anyone get that close to him, though,' Sho thought as he walked to the fourth floor to his homeroom. On his way, he passed the art room and thought to remind a fellow third year that class would be starting soon. All of the club rooms were on the first floor, and classrooms on the second, third, and fourth floors. This particular room, the art room, was conveniently located right across from the staircase, so it wasn't out of the way for Sho. Knocking twice before sliding the door open, Sakurai peeked his head inside, looking for a messy head of hair. Not seeing anyone, he assumed he must have gone ahead to class already. That was so unlikely, however, that Sakurai called out anyway.
“Um, Ohno-san? Are you still in here?”
There was no answer, so he tentatively stepped inside, looking around the room he felt like he didn't belong in. He heard a small sound and moved around a set of easels to see a figure kneeling on the ground, concentrating on painting the lower half of his painting propped up on the easel. Sakurai took a moment to admire the work of art before remembering that they would both be late if they did not hurry. He tapped the older student on the shoulder multiple times before he even knew he was in there.
“Ah. Sakurai-kun, good morning.”
“Good morning. Um...Ohno-san? Class is supposed to start in a few minutes, so I came to get you,” Sho stumbled, not wanting to seem like he was rushing the other boy, even though he really wanted him to hurry. Rushing was not in the other one's character, however. The two boys were not very close, but they had an understanding of each other; a basic one at that. Sakurai knew that Ohno liked artsy things, and got so distracted that he would be late for class every day had if someone did not force him to stop drawing, painting, sculpting, or whatever he was doing. He seemed to be a bit spacey, but Sakurai thought he may have been just listening ¾ of those moments.
“I see. Thanks for getting me every morning, Sakurai-kun,” said the older male, running a hand through his spiked hair before he grabbed his school bag from beside him.
Ohno knew some things about Sakurai, too. He was really smart and cared more than he acted like he did, like how he came and reminded him about class every morning. He had a lot of associates, but did not seem to have that many close friends, from what Ohno could tell, and that was when he had an idea. Mournfully glancing at his currently unfinished masterpiece one final time, the third year made his way to the door, stopping to let Sakurai go first.
“You don't have to call me 'Ohno-san' if you don't want to. It has been long enough, right?” Satoshi said with a smile, getting a few rapid blinks in response. Soon, the artistic young man received a smile in return.
“Alright. Ah, then you can call me 'Sho', if you want,” Sakurai offered in return, heading up the stairs directly across from him. He got up to the fifth step before he heard his name again.
“Sho-chan?”
The intelligent student turned, looking at the older student who was still on ground-level.
“Nothing. I just wanted to see how it sounded,” Satoshi answered with a small smile, following Sakurai obediently up the steps. The two got to the door as soon as the bell rang, but it was worth being almost late to have gained a new friend that morning.
It wasn't until lunch that Sho realized he didn't know what he was supposed to call Ohno.
.:.
The day could not go by any slower for the determined third year student. The day should have been over hours ago, but the bell for them to eat lunch just went off! Heaving a sigh, Sakurai was digging through his bag's pockets for his lunch money when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Everyone still in the classroom had their eyes on him and the other senior student in the room. He proffered his lunch box as an explanation, and Sakurai just smiled at the artist, telling him to grab the chair of the student in front of him who already left. Students from other classes rarely ate in the 3-A room; the ones that did were never from class 3-C, either. The class usually ate together or left to go buy lunch, which is what Sakurai tried to excuse himself to do. Ohno frowned at that, and sat a moment contemplating before offering to split his lunch with him.
“My mom is the best cook, you have to try it sooner or later.”
Sho just couldn't argue with those eyes.
It was really quite between the two of them, and the younger of the two felt strange eating out of another person's obento. Satoshi seemed to be right at home, as if the two had been friends since birth, and not just that morning. Sick of the tension, Sho chose to ask Ohno a bit more about himself. Perhaps the artist would be able to help him with his plan? After all, Ohno only did art, right? He would have been more well known if he played a sport, for sure, so it was almost definite that he did not.
“So, Ohno-kun, do you play sports?”
Satoshi looked up to meet the eyes of his lunch companion, struck first by their color. He then noticed that he had not actually answered his fellow student, so he did so, shaking his head in the negative.
“No, I'm not really good at sports,” the oldest said, pausing to think of if he was good in any athletics.
“Well, I like dance,” he whispered, Sakurai having to lean a little closer to hear him. It wasn't something he advertised, and it probably wouldn't do him any harm if anybody knew, but it just was not like him to outwardly display his talents. Art was the exception, since they would not let him use their supplies if he never presented his work.
'Telling Sho-chan should be okay. Since we're friends now.'
“Really? I wouldn't have guessed...”- a pause - “Why don't you try out for cheer-leading?”
That wasn't what he expected from the studious male. Him? A cheerleader? Weren't cheerleaders loud, and sociable, and girls? Ohno couldn't think of anything to do but point at himself incredulously, wondering where Sakurai may have been going with his suggestion.
“Girls here love guys that play sports, you must have noticed.”
Apparently, he hadn't.
“I'm going to the basketball tryouts this afternoon, and I'm going to be the manager this year, so I'm still a member of the team. I'm just bad at sports, so I'd never make it otherwise. If you were a cheerleader, you would be on a sports team, too. Plus, you might get to get in with all of the other girls that way, too. Dancing and cheer-leading have some things in common, right?”
Ohno had to think about that. There probably were some things in common. In girls cheer-leading, but he supposed it didn't matter. Sakurai seemed to care a lot about what the girls thought at their school. He assumed that meant he did not have a girlfriend. But he was so nice! How didn't he have a special someone? It was hard to believe, but then again, he did not know the other male that well yet.
“Maybe.”
Sho smiled and Ohno still couldn't believe his new friend could be suffering from loneliness.
.:.
Finally, the last bell rang, and Sakurai quickly packed up his things, exiting his classroom in a hurry. In the storm of students, he noticed Ohno's dyed spikes, and waited just a little bit for him to catch up, walking down to the first floor with him.
“Where are you going, Ohno-kun?”
“To the art room. I need to finish what I started this morning.”
Ah. Sho had forgotten about that already.
“I'm going to the gymnasium. I'll stop by to make sure you don't forget to go home, okay?”
Satoshi grinned. He nodded and headed straight ahead for the doors to the art room. Sakurai continued on his beeline for the gym. If he was fast, maybe he would be the first to apply for the manager position.
Upon his arrival on the court, he saw a lot of guys going to the dressing room to change. Probably into loose shorts, tank tops, and tennis shoes. Anything would be more comfortable to play sports in than their uniforms. Unsure of where he needed to go, Sho paced the outside line of the court, until he saw someone coming out of the dressing room. He recognized the first year; he was Matsumoto Jun, the one from earlier. Tall, skinny, and good looking; if he did not have a good personality Sakurai would hate him. Since he was not sure what he thought about the freshman's personality, he allowed himself a few pangs of jealously. Sho was regretting having to ask the other about where he should be when he saw the coach enter from the main doors, an eager young student behind him. The coach looked irritated, but Sakurai could understand why. He could hear the student's half of the conversation from where he was standing...half of the court away. Gearing himself up for using any and all persuasive skills he had, the dark haired male made his way to the coach, who was trying to make his way to the office, without that other kid.
“It makes sense, right? The girls only try out so they can watch the guys play. They cheer for specific members to be noticed, not for the team as a whole to win. I bet none of last year's cheerleaders could tell you the score for any away game. They spend their time trying to look good for the other school's team! I've seen them do it! You have to consider what I'm saying, Coach-sensei!”
'That guy sure talks loud. And a lot. But he really does have a point...' Sho thought as he walked, meeting the duo at the end of the mystery boy's speech.
“Listen, kid. Our cheerleaders have always been girls. If you can find enough guys to replace them, and they're better, knock yourself out. Just don't come to me until you do. And what do you want?” He asked in an irritated tone, finally turning to Sho. He blinked away the surprise before stumbling over the beginning of his sentence, ending it much better than the way he began.
“I-I wan-wanted to be this team's manager, sir.”
The coach looked him up and down, and the taller student behind him did the same, although Sakurai wasn't sure why either were doing so.
“You ever play basketball?”
“Not very well, sir.”
“But you know the rules?”
“I have played before.”
“Will you cause the team any distractions?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you failing anything?”
“Top of my class.”
“Good, you're hired. Get the equipment out, we're about to start. Here are the keys.”
Sakurai was thrilled. Was it really that easy? It was almost unreal to him. Now he could say he was part of the school's basketball team and maybe get at least a bit of the attention he desired. After telling the coach his name, so he would stop calling him 'kid' or 'son', he turned to see the other student still standing there. It was a bit awkward, the long haired student just staring at him. Attempting to break the silence, Sho spoke first.
“Are you here for tryouts?”
“Nope! I'm Aiba Masaki, second year, and I want to establish an all-boys cheer-leading squad for your team, manager-san!” The junior smiled and it was more dazzling than Ohno's, honest and innocent and enticing in an unknown way. It also felt nice to be referred to in such a way. “your team” and “manager-san”. It was refreshing, and Sakurai let himself smile back, although not nearly as wide or energetic as the smile of Aiba Masaki.
“I'm Sakurai Sho, a, um, third year. All-boys cheer-leading? How many people are you looking for?”
He drew his face up in contemplation for a moment before responding.
“I need eleven more. There will be me, and someone has to be the captain, and then about ten more people would do. So eleven.”
“Aren't you going to be the captain?” Sakurai asked inquisitively. Wouldn't the person who began the team be in charge of it?
“No. I come up with good plans, but I don't know if people will listen to me. So I want someone else to do it. Do you know any third years who would want to help? Eleven is a lot, after all.”
“I might know one person...” Sho said aloud, thinking of a particular rounded face and orange spikes, missing Aiba's eyes light up.
.:.
Author's Note: This was much longer than the first chapter, huh? Okay, well I'm going to explain the title now! Actually, it isn't as deep or meaningful as y'all might think. I'm not lying when I say I know nothing about basketball. So, I'm getting help from my friend who loves college basketball. Well, I called her once when a game was on (bad idea), and she was trying to tell me about it. She told me what the score was, and the number seemed weird, so I this was the general conversation that followed:
Me: “You can get three points, right?”
Her: “Yeah.”
Me: “That's when you shoot from the far away line, right?”
Her: “...the three point line?”
Me: “Yeah, that! Is that what it's called?”
Her: “Yes, dear, it's called the three point line.”
End discussion. Well, she laughed at me, and then the discussion ended. XD Needless to say, that was important to me in my learning of basketball for this fic. Now I'm going to have to learn about cheer-leading too, haha. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully another will be up next weekend. [Oh no, I just noticed everyone has been officially introduced except Nino. He's in here, too, but not really. =P]