The space between us

Hoops and heartbeats

Isaac was at the basketball court, hooping with some of the college students. He loved playing basketball more than anything really. He's a long time Lakers fan from when he was little. He's also big on Kobe Bryant being his favorite NBA player. He didn't just like playing it, he was pretty good at it too, he had quick hands, he was an incredible passer, and he also shoots 3's like curry too. To his surprise, Chloe was in attendance in the stands watching him play. The moment he realized, he started getting distracted trying to get glimpses of her while trying to impress, which was actually working pretty well even though he started getting a little too greedy with the ball. Chloe's also Korean, but unlike Isaac, both her parents were Korean immigrants who traveled across America. They'd lived in Texas, Maryland and Pennsylvania before arriving in California. The reason being that her mum's job was one that required her to move to several branches across the country. They'd usually stay for about two years and, after getting comfortable, they'd have to relocate. This affected Chloe throughout Middle School and high school, as she was unable to make any real friends, but college was different, she wouldn't have to move even if her parents had to again. She had straight dark hair with a ponytail that fell loose behind her. She had a crop top on that day, with Jean shorts and shades that were placed on her forehead as she got a view of Isaac Addams dunking on a sunny afternoon. After the game was over, he quickly went to meet her in the stands, his shirt on his shoulders with sweat dripping from his body, his hair messy, but to Chloe she'd never thought he looked hotter. "Well... well. . "Well," Chloe said, applauding. "Not bad" she said. Isaac reacted with a smile," What are you doing here?" Isaac asked. " What do you mean? "I came to watch you. "So..... "You weren't lying the other day about being good at basketball," Chloe responded. "What gave it away, huh?" Was it the 50 points I averaged or the........" Isaac responded sarcastically. "Ughhhhh, you're so full of yourself" Chloe said with a gentle punch to his shoulder, "oww, and I'm not being cocky, it's just what happened." Isaac said. "Want to get out of here?" Chloe asked , sure , but I have to clean up first, are you willing to wait, while i take a shower, won't be long i promise, Isaac said. Sure thing, Chloe responded. The minute he left, Chloe picked up her phone and stalked his i********: out of curiosity. He was always popular around girls, maybe a little bit too popular. All his posts, followers, and people he follows are women. Chloe, for a second, thought to herself that he's probably another f**k-boy who wants nothing but s*x from her. Undecided about leaving, she thought it would be awkward and weird if she just took off after bringing up the date. Not too long after, Isaac was out with a new fit, and he had this fragrance that just made everything around him feel serene." So were we going?" Isaac asked. "Um..." I was thinking we could just go grab a bite at Dunkin'," Chloe said. "Sure, you want to take your ride or....." Isaac responded. "You should drive, I'm not really feeling it" Chloe said.

" Okay, let's get out of here," Isaac said before proceeding to get in his car, a black ford, which was gifted to him by his older sister on his last birthday.

Back in the school's hostel, Jordan had just gotten off the phone call with Rachel, who had confirmed that her mum was already in the morgue. She was going through a rough phase, it was obvious that she was suffering and Jordan could tell. He just wanted to catch the next flight to Seattle and hold her tight and not let go. The funeral was taking place next week and Jordan promised Rachel he'd be there on that day.

"Liam, where's that cousin of yours, is he still coming or what?" Jordan asked. With the headphones on, Liam didn't hear a single word that came out of Jordan's mouth. " Liam!!" Jordan exclaimed. " What do you want, I'm in a middle of something," Liam said while taking off his headphones. "It's about that cousin of yours, Is he still coming?" Jordan asked for the second time. " Nah, he's going to Europe instead, his dad err..... my uncle…, he sorta arranged something else for him. Liam responded. "Oh, okay, cool," Jordan said. "Now, can I please get back to my game?" Liam said. " You know what, let's team up." "It's been a minute since I hopped on Fort," Jordan said. " Just don't play like s**t" Liam Said. "f**k off man," Jordan responded before reaching for his headphones, taking a sit and clicking on the icon.

The sun was setting, and it seemed as though it was about to rain with the thunder building up in the sky. Audrey was in her dorm with her friendsoommates, Natalie and Stacy. They were binging episodes of Love island while Audrey was on her phone. " Audrey, you got to see this, Richie and Paige just broke up, did not see that coming," Natalie said. I'm not really interested today," Audrey responded. What happened? "You've been awfully silent today, you LOVE, love Island," Natalie said. "Love" is an overstatement. "I like the drama, I'm just not in the mood," Audrey responded. "Is it boy drama?" Stacy asked. "Kinda," Audrey responded. "So there's this new guy I've been talking to." We met at the orientation, he's..... He's great, I think I like him and there's Nate, and there's so much going on with him and I like him too, but he's sort of a d**k sometimes. I lied about having homework tonight. When he asked me to hang out, Audrey said, "f**k Nate." Who's the new guy?" Is he the one I saw you talking to earlier this morning? Natalie asked. " Yeah, his name is Jordan," Audrey responded. "He's cute." Want to call him? Natalie said, "No!" Audrey exclaimed. " I'm not going to call him. "Suit yourself," Natalie said, pretending not to care, before instantly grabbing Audrey's iPhone with Stacy, pinning Audrey down, who quickly reacted trying to get it back. As Natalie scrolled through her contact, she found one saved as Jordan and pretty much assumed it was him. She dialed the number, it rang for a while, and he picked up," hey Audrey, what's up?" Jordan said over the phone. Audrey grabbed the phone from Natalie after Stacy let go of her, whispering," I hate you so much," with a chuckle at the end before responding to Jordan. The girls were eaves-dropping on the conversation with a giggle each time Jordan spoke and Audrey was playing with her curls all through the call. It was a conversation she realized needed to happen to clear up the awkwardness they kinda had in the previous one, Jordan feeling a little bit more like his old self, the same one she sorta fell in love with.