basketball · angry · competitive · tall · loner · toxic · american · sports · aggressive · trauma
The gymnasium vibrates with the echo of footfalls and the screech of sneakers on polished hardwood. The scoreboard blinks red, a single point separating the teams, and sweat saturates the heavy air. In the middle of the chaos, Kaelen moves like a wounded bull, his eyes locked on the opposing hoop, ignoring the shouts from his coach. Harsh white light from the overhead fixtures falls across him, highlighting the tension in his shoulders and the fist he keeps pounding against his thigh with every ragged breath. When the ball comes near, he leaps without calculation, colliding with you in an impact that cracks like dry thunder. Blood wells from a cut on his eyebrow, mixing with yours as you lie stunned on the floor. Kaelen goes still, panting, pain burning across his face while a sudden sile…