TIP OFF

POV : Valeria Alan / Toomes

There was quite a crowd inside the gymnasium.

Tatiana seemed excited to see this ‘hottie’, as were the rest of the girls surrounding the gym. ‘This is so weird…’

She was more worried if her father was already there looking for her or, worse, waiting for her near the usual spot.

They caught a glimpse of the silver haired boy before the people near her went crazy.

‘Yeah I get the appeal. He’s good looking... No, he’s prettier than a lot of girls, but come on, why were they acting so crazy about him?

Both teams lined up side by side as they played The Star-Spangled Banner. Everyone stood up for the national anthem-

.

.

.

‘Wait a minute is that Peter Parker? Why's he standing there with the team?’

She kept on looking at the boy throughout the anthem,

‘So when he meant he was busy, he meant that he was part of the basketball team and had a game today!!!’

That’s crazy, he’s incredibly good at school and also part of a sports club!

She remembered, ever since she first met him, how she always tried to one up his scores but failed miserably.

Always ending up in second or third place, being envious of his friendship with Harry Osborn.

Lately, his uncle even made the newspapers for stopping a crime and saving a woman’s life.

Girls might deny it, but a lot of them found him cute. Today, she even heard whispers about Flash Thompson’s sister dating him.

She didn’t understand why or how, but Peter Parker always seemed to be living the life.

"Look there!!! He’s there.. Valeria!!! They say he’s gonna start a boy band, god I hope so. He’s so damn hot!!"

"Alright geez.. Calm down Tats"

"Shh!" an overly enthusiastic fan girl shushed them.

Her gaze went back to her classmate, but this time, his eyes stared back at her.

She froze. ‘Oh shit!’

Peter Parker gave her a thumbs up and smiled.

‘Oh thank god!’

For a second, she feared he might think she was a weirdo. Not that she fancied the boy but because she liked him generally speaking.

‘He’s not my type, but if I have to choose between him and that silver Ken doll there, I would gladly choose the overachieving, overperforming, and overall nice guy, Peter Parker!’

She dared not announce her thoughts, though. The girls around her screamed when they announced Theodore Wellspring's name.

‘Ow my ears!!’ She covered her ears as the crowd went wild, her eyes still on Peter Parker.

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POV - Peter parker

When they began announcing the opposing teams, starting with five, the crowd erupted.

‘Holy shit! Is this what it means to be an entertainer!’

No wait a minute, they weren't cheering for me. They were rooting for Theodore and his team.

"You know it’s funny this is the second time our home crowd is cheering for the opposite team. Funny how it’s the same team both times." James was depressed.

Earl tried to cheer him up: "Hey, we’re not going to lose this time! So don’t get dejected-"

"You losers are gonna eat dirt again." One of the players from the opposite team started talking trash.

"Yeah, we’ll see about that!" Eddy erupted.

"Control yourself!" Coach Sharpe ‘sharply’ chided him.

The opposite team’s coach shushed her rowdy players too.

Then they started listing our team's starters one by one.

I was the first one to be introduced. I entered the court with a jog. The reception between me and Theo was night and day. The crowd reacted to him like he was a rock star and me like I was the sideshow. There were a few scattered claps here and there.

‘Aunt May and Uncle Ben won’t be here until halfway through the game. So I guess I'll take it easy until then.’

That was until I saw Theo’s eyes, ‘Boy, he doesn’t look like he’s playing around!’

I took my place on the backcourt, and I could hear the mocking insults from the other team; All of them underestimated me. All of them, except Theo.

‘Great! The one guy I wanted to underestimate me didn't! While the rest of his team did.’

His eyes were glued to me, I returned the gesture.

"Hey short stuff! Here, look at me son." It was another guy. Probably their center!

"If you don’t get out of the court little boy then you’re gonna get hurt!"

I ignored his taunts and kept my eyes solely on the overpowered silver time stopper.

One by one, they announced our team’s starting lineup. Will got the most favorable reaction out of everyone in our team.

"You ready?" He asked me,

"I was born ready, captain!"

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POV - Coach Lee

"I told you, Terry, that kid was special!" She said with excitement.

"Calm down coach… The green bulls always lacked a good point guard. We were expecting a second stringer…#2 Kendrick to pick up the slack but it seems they opted for uh….let me see #7 Peter."

"Still for Coach Sharpe to start him.. he must be his secret hand."

"I don’t know about that, Coach... I hear Pierre Augustus has apparently improved a lot since the last time we faced him!"

"Maybe so… But still, that old man isn’t so easily impressed! This Peter..?"

"Parker. Peter Parker, Coach Lee."

"Yeah. Parker earned that old man’s respect rather quickly, so don’t underestimate him. Start drawing game plans revolving around heliocentric offense just in case!"

"A heliocentric offense? Are you crazy!!!" he shouted, and she was taken aback.

The team and some spectators looked at him.

"Ahem.. Sorry for my outburst, Coach Lee! What I meant to say was that, there is no chance that an experienced veteran head coach would just allow some no-name rookie to run his offense. Their team might be bad, but they’re not that bad!"

"Maybe but do it just in case, study this Parker kid’s movement, his spots, how much ball time he gets. Everything. My gut is telling me not to underestimate him!’ She kept studying the boy.

Terry looked reluctant but conceded when she didn’t entertain any more of his questions.

"Yes Coach!" He went back to the bench to get his clipboard back.

‘I’m sorry, Terry, but I don’t want to lose this game, and by the looks of it, neither did Theo!’

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POV - Magneto

"So which one of them is the target?" He heard Mystique, who was in the form of an old woman.

They were sitting on the bleacher seats. He was wearing an old suit and a hat.

"We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?" He responded.

If he were a betting man, his money would be on the silver haired boy, Theo. But the smaller kid, Peter, was also a prime candidate. They both just stuck out.

"To be fair he could be anyone, if we’re unlucky maybe even a non-player. He could be a spectator like us…so keep your eyes peeled and be ready for anything."

"You sure about this? Maybe this mysterious voice is just using us?"

"Of course he’s using us, but I’m more interested in his plan. It would be the most optimal-"

"Excuse me, going through, sorry!" A boy passed through him and Mystique's seats.

He picked off where he left,

"We’ll capture him and see if he cooperates with us later. Like I said before, keep your eyes and ears open. We are the vanguard, the others can’t do their roles if we fail at ours!"

The old woman responded with, "Uh huh."

The horn blew, distracting him from finding his target.

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All the players were on the court and in their respective spots. The centers for both teams lined up for the tip off.

The referee threw the ball in the air and sounded the whistle.

They both jumped at the same time, trying to be the first to tip the ball to their side.

Finally, one of the most important parts of this story begins. The long-awaited game starts in the next chapter.