If I Was Perfect Then This Would Be Easy

"You're complete losers."

"Oh, please, you couldn't play ball if your mom's life depended on it!"

"Pass! Dom!"

"You idiot!"

"Slam dunk!" Cate whistled as the ball went through the net. This was pretty much how a basketball match went on when Jack, Dom, Corey and I played. After four or five hours of practicing and putting down some more songs, we had finally decided to get some fresh air. I was still slightly mad at Brian's behaviour, but I blamed it on the alchohol he drank.

"Corey, you're supposed to help Dom," I explained laughing.

"Well, I would, if the asshole would work with me!" Corey yelled exasperated and Jack and I laughed.

"Here's a tip for ya, D. You should pass to your teammate, not to your opponent. Aka Lexa," Jack stated sarcastically and earned a slap in the head from Dom.

"Enough of this, kids! Start playing ball!" Cate yelled and turned on the music, then grabbing her whistle and watching our every move. She was quite cheery today, considering that Matt and her were officially dating.

Jack ran to another side of the basketball field, while I dribbled and tripped Corey, who was trying to stop me. Dom then tried to catch the ball as I passed the ball to Jack and he threw it back at me. My brother pushed Dom and got him out of the way. A quick jump and a slam dunk from my side and my team won another 2 points.

I high-fived Jack and winked at Dom and Corey. Another attempt, yet this time Corey managed to grab the ball from his own teammate and scored.

"Just your luck, shrimp," Jack mumbled and began dribbling angrily. He could be such a competitive bastard sometimes. Corey came in his way and my brother passed the ball to me. Dom ran straight to me and we literally collided. He fell on his back, while I tripped and rolled on the ground, ending up on my stomach, losing the ball in the meantime.

"The titans collide!" Corey boomed and a roar of laughing erupted. Oddly enough, there appeared to be more people than I remembered.

"Cate, are they okay? Shouldn't we help them?" I heard a familiar female voice ask.

"Lexa, Dom, are you alright?" This was Cate.

I rolled on my back, looking at the sky. Dom was getting up and we both remained serious, looking at one another. And then we burst out laughing insanely.

"Dude, you're an idiot!" I declared between laughs, still laying on the ground.

"Me? You were in my way!" Dom replied, his hands on his knees as he tried to breathe between laughs.

"See? There's no need to worry," my brother explained in a calm voice to other persons. "You dumbfucks!" he yelled in addition towards us and I gave him the finger without looking at him. Another roar of laughs errupted

Jack and Corey made their way to us and I grabbed Dom's hand and he helped me stand up. I looked towards the large group of people who were now next to Cate and I smiled widely.

"Haven't seen you in a very long time," I declared sarcastically as I high-fived Johnny.

"What can we say? We couldn't stay away for too long," Zack commented as he kissed my cheek. I realized there was no more flirt between us and the kiss was as friendly as you could possibly get. This made me smile and I looked at his blue LA Lakers cap.

"Nice cap, Zack." He grinned.

"You like it?" I nodded. "Why, thank you."

Val, Leana, Lacey and Michelle had come too and they hugged me. When it came for me to say hi to Brian, I felt slightly nervous. Maybe he thought I was some whore who was going after him after last night's sudden peck on the cheek. Well, I didn't have that much experience with guys.

"Be warned, I am sober," he said with a smile and pulled me into a tight hug. "You got home safe last night?" he asked, glaring at Zack's back. I chuckled.

"I got home very much alright." Maybe he didn't remember our whole conversation and most important, my little impulse.

"Did he fucking hit on you?" I widened my eyes.

"No," I lied. "Brian, we're friends. We just...talked." He seemed surprised by this.

"Lexa!" Matt yelled and I turned to look at him. "Mind if we join the game?" I approached him as all the girls sat with Cate on the benches.

"Not a problem. I'd be honored to kick your ass, Sanders!" He gasped and pointed at me.

"You're in for it now. Let's make the teams."

Out of the girls, only Val and I were playing. Matt and I ended up being team leaders and we played rock-paper-scissors or whatever the name is, to decide who could pick first. Therefore, the teams were:

My team: Corey, Dom, Brian, Johnny.
Matt's team: Jimmy, Zack, Jack, Val.

Cate and Lacey were the referees, while Michelle (who seemed more happy today) and Leana chose to be cheerleaders. I tied up my hair in a bun yet again and moved my fringe to the side as all the guys removed their shirts. Damn.

***

"Jimmy, you asshole, that one's called technical fault!" Jack accused, while Matt just laughed as the game started again.

Truthfully, Matt and Jimmy played the best out of the guys, although Brian, Johnny and Zack were no bad either. Every time a team scored, the other one scored as well and we would end up in tie again. Matt and I, being team leaders, were the ones who got really worked up and the other guys and Val were having a great time seeing us. Also, he had the advantage of having Jack in his team, who was just as competitive as I was, and Jimmy, who was too damn tall for my good.

Eventually, we all got tired and decided that the team who would score next would win.

Johnny grabbed the ball from Zack who missed it and I ducked from Jimmy, as the ball went from Johnny to Dom, to me then to Corey.

"No!"

"That's right!" Brian yelled proudly as Corey passed to him and he scored remarcably. "You're down, bitches! Whoops, sorry Val," he added, as she laughed. Michelle and Leana began doing a little dance and Cate whistled.

"Spades Senior wins!" Leana declared, obviously saying my name just to annoy my brother. I laughed and high-fived Brian. I desperately tried to keep my eyes on his face and not on his bare chest.

"Am I going to get some reward now?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me. Johnny began laughing, hearing our conversation and I gasped.

"I will fucking kick your ass one day, Haner," I warned as Jimmy came our way and he shook his head.

"I will never play ball against you again," he said, pointing his finger at me. "Dude, she's like fucking....Michael Jordan," he added between laughs as he hugged me, which was sort of odd, seeing how he wore no shirt. I laughed.

"Well you're one to talk, Shaquille!" I replied and Brian began laughing. Matt, Corey, Johnny and Lacey joined as they came next to us. "How tall can you fucker be?" I asked in despair, waving my hands at his figure.

"Yo, you ain't no midget like shortass over there," he argued pointing at Johnny. Brian gave me a funny look.

"Watch it, Jimmy. You do know she's defending the fucking midget, right?" Brian asked and looked at me sadly, while I just rolled my eyes, averting my look to where Jack was talking to Val and Corey was trying to get Michelle's attention.

"Uhm, I'm off to save Val from my boring brother," I commented thoughtfully as I locked eyes with Michelle. At first, she seemed pissed off, but when she caught my look, she gave me a smile. One that seemed sincere. Brian must've caught the tone in my voice and noticed where I was looking at. He rolled his eyes and I gave him a reassuring smile.

I made my way to where the three were. Brian hadn't even mentioned the night before. Come to think of it, he didn't mention his little attempt at the bar either. This serously bugged me and I didn't even understand why. How could he be so fucking ignorant? All of a sudden, I hated him somehow.

"Great game, Senior!" Jack congratulated and I grinned, spreading my arms in a dramatic move.

"Why, thank you, Junior. I am truly honored to have you declare your never dying love for me," I declared and he rolled his eyes, while the girls laughed.

"I never said anything about undying love, biatch." I gasped and slapped his arm.

"Val, Michelle, isn't this asshole boring you?" I asked and looked at my brother with narrowed eyes, but he just gave me a 'will-you-just-trust-me?' look.

"Actually, your brother is quite entertaining," she declared. "I have to say the Spades may never seize to amaze me," she chuckled and Michelle smiled. Though, I couldn't tell what was wrong with that smile.

"Val, come on, I'll show you those CD's I was talking about. And maybe I can grab something to drink, too," Jack stated as he led Val towards the building of apartments, but not before giving me a stern look.

"I think Val has a thing for your brother." I spun around to look at Michelle. She was watching the two as they walked. I smiled and nodded. She didn't seem that bad. I followed her as we sat on the benches. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a navy blue camisole shirt. I couldn't help but notice the studded belt, worn sneakers and her blonde/black hair. Overall, she had the kind of look that would've easily gotten her in our circle of friends.

"Well, my brother has a thing for your sister, too," I stated and she smiled back. A moment of silence followed. Awkward, you could say, because I didn't know what to say and she seemed to want to tell me something, but didn't. So yeah, awkward didn't cover it. We watched everyone else. Dom, Jimmy and Johnny were teasing Leana. Matt was watching them and laughing, while keeping a strong grip on Cate, who didn't seem to mind. Corey, Brian and Zack were in deep conversation. Well, Corey and Zack were. Brian would steal glances at me and Michelle every once in a while.

"So I heard you played video games with the guys last night," she said suddenly and I shrugged.

"Yeah. My boys were out and Cate was on date. So we all were sort of bored and Brian invited me over." I knew I did a mistake by pronouncing his name, because she immediately looked away. "So how long have you known the guys for?" This seemed to brighten up her mood and she began talking.

"I've known them for quite a while. Ever since Val met Matt. You know, they used to date back in highschool. So did I and Brian." I couldn't help but wonder where her tone was coming from, but continued to listen to her intently.