Short People and Sports...Shouldn't Mix

"You're shooting it wrong, that's why it won't go in..." I hear a voice chuckle behind me.

I turn slowly and come face to face (but not really because I’m actually face level with his chest...) with a boy about my age and a few inches taller than me, which really isn’t all that shocking because I’m actually really short for a boy my age, he has a basketball tucked under his arm and a large grin on his face. "Um? Okay?" I say slowly, unsure as to why he was telling me this.

"You're pushing it to much...you need to let it roll off your fingers a bit more rather than pushing it!" He adds on, stepping closer and throwing the ball in his hand. The ball goes in easily and his smile widens as the ball bounces back to him. "See, That's how you do it!"

"Thanks? I'm not really a sporty person and I probably won't ever try this again so it really doesn't matter..." I mumble, turning away from the boy and looking back at the basket with a small huff.

"I could teach you if you wanted?" He offers, wow this boy was persistent.

"Didn't I just say I didn't really need to know how?"

"Doesn't mean you can't know! It's easy once you get the hang of it I promise!"

"Fine..." I groan just because he was cute and I know I would give in eventually, peeking over my shoulder at the boy I raise an eyebrow at him "but you aren't allowed to laugh when you realize how bad I actually am at this stuff!"

"I wouldn't dare..." He gasps jokingly, smiling once again at me "I'm sure you'll do fine once you figure out how to do it!" He adds on, walking over to me and pushing me to stand on the free throw line, I’m amazed I knew what that actually was, before going to grab the ball I had been using a few minutes earlier.

Once he grabs the ball he runs back to my side and hands me the ball, he moves around behind me and wraps his arms around me in order to move my hands into the right position.

"Well...things got pretty intimate and I don't even know your name!" I joke, my cheeks flushing darkly at the feeling of him pressed against me.

"Oh! I forgot, my names Demitri! I always forget to tell people that...I'm sorry..." He chuckles.

"No problem..." I laugh, kind of amused by how strange this guy was. He had only known me for a few minutes and he was already acting like I was his best friend or something "My names Ashton but I would really prefer if you called me Ash..."

"Ash...that's a seriously cool name!" Demitri grins, shifting slightly against my back and thats when I remember that he still has his arms wrapped around me and this makes my blush return.

"So...um are you gonna teach me or just stand here and hold me?" I joke, nudging his arm with my shoulder and making him jump a little bit and that causes me to chuckle.

"Sorry, right...teaching!" He exclaims, grasping my wrists and moving my arms into the right positions before moving back in front of me. "Move this leg over a little bit," he instructs, tapping my left leg with his toe "And shift your weight to the right!"

I follow his instructions carefully, wanting to do well here and not make myself look like more of an idiot than I already have.

"Now you just have to shoot the ball! Remember to let it roll instead of pushing it!" He grins, stepping away from me and gesturing towards the basket.

I hesitate before taking a deep breath and throwing the ball, squeezing my eyes shut as I do so and all I hear is the ball hit what I assume is the rim and then a rather loud smack that makes me jump and my eyes snap open.

What I see when I open my eyes makes me want to crawl into a hole and never come back out because standing in front of me is Demitri holding his hand to his nose and blood seeping through his fingers.

"Oh my god...I am so sorry!" I squeak, my eyes wide and panicked.

"Don't worry about it...this isn't the first time..." He mumbles, his voice coming out funny due to the fact that he was gripping at his nose "Maybe next time you should keep you eyes open though..."

I simply nod slowly, still staring at the blood on his hand "W-We need to get that cleaned up..." I whisper, reaching out and grabbing his free hand. I lead, more like drag, him into the bathroom and immediately wet a paper towel.

He leans against the counter and pulls his hand away from his face "Yuck..." He mumbles, scrunching his nose at the blood coating his hand and the look on his face is almost enough to make me smile a little bit.

"I am seriously so sorry..." I sigh, reaching out and wiping gently at the blood smeared across his face "I told you I was bad at this, this is the worst I've done so far though..."

"I play basketball so trust me when I say I'm used to bloody noses and getting hit with basketballs!" He chuckles, smiling slightly at me "and at least I have a cute guy like you to help take care of me this time instead of my mom like usual!"

I ignore the blush that forms on my cheeks as I continue to clean the blood away from his face "I'm not cute..." I mumble, poking gently at his nose and making him flinch barely.

"Yeah you are! And don't argue with me, you hit me with a ball so the least you can do is just go with it and let me enjoy the moment!"

"Fine...but I think the ball may have screwed with your brain as well as your nose..."

He sticks his tongue out at me but withdraws with a whine "My blood tastes weird!" He exclaims, his eyes wide in, what I hope is, fake shock.

"You are weird so that is pretty understandable!" I tease and he chuckles.

"Thanks Ash...thank you very much..." He mumbles sarcastically.

“You’re welcome!” I grin.

I may have only known him for a matter of minutes but I think we could get along really well!