Chapter 417: The Spider on The Wall

The hallway leading to the court got tighter and tighter as the two teams got close. You could hear the crowd going nuts through the walls, shaking the whole place.

Then the two groups hit each other in the narrowest part of the hall. The size difference was just fucking ridiculous.

On one side, Blacklist. Most of them slim, between 5 feet and 5’7". Rei, around 6’2", and Jaz, at 6’4", were the only ones keeping the line looking tall. Then there was Nash, 6’6" of pure muscle, taking up the back of the group like a wall on legs.

On the other side? The Colossus were basically eating up the whole hallway. Huge forearms, massive chests, their shadows swallowing the girls whole just walking by. The white lights on the ceiling hit both teams the same, which just made the gap look worse.

Cross clocked them and groaned, not in an angry way, rather... The wrong kind of predator.

"Ah, shit," he said, licking his lips. "Even cuter up close."

He slowed down right at Aiko and Hina. Hands in his pockets, eyes checking their bodies, not even bothering to look at their faces. Just straight down where all the fat was gathered.

"Wow." A low whistle. "Photos don’t do you justice, seriously."

He leaned toward Aiko, grinning like the asshole he was.

"You, twin-tails. Where do you play? Wing? I’d love to watch you run a little closer up."

Aiko didn’t say a word to the guy who apparently couldn’t even remember they’d already played each other. She just stared straight ahead, treating him like he wasn’t there.

Cross didn’t care, he turned to Hina instead, no hesitation.

"What about you? Boyfriend? Because honestly, those melons... after the match I could show you a few things. You’d probably like it."

Hina sped up, a full shiver of disgust going through her, and coming from her, that meant something.

Nobody said anything. Two seconds and they’d already clocked exactly what kind of guy this was. After Nash, every other man kind of blurred into the same boring box: loud, annoying, convinced he was the main character when nobody actually wanted him around.

Cross stayed totally relaxed through all of it, either not realizing he was being a creep or just not caring.

"Good to see you two again. Seriously, I regretted how we parted last time."

It felt annoying, honestly, because it meant he remembered. Remembered the last game, the humiliation, and clearly hadn’t minded it one bit.

"Last time I wasn’t really myself," he said, rubbing his chin. "Figured it’d be an easy win so I relaxed beforehand with some hookers, you know what I mean. Played the whole game running on post nut clarity. But this time..."

His eyes crawled over Aiko and Hina again, lingering on their chestt.

"This time feels like it’s actually gonna be good. So I held back. Pro move. Apparently keeping your juice in your balls before a big game makes you play better. Pain in the ass, but hey, upside is I get to enjoy the view more." He made a click of his tongue. "So, no regrets."

Aiko looked away. Hina wrinkled her nose like she’d smelled some shit, which was pretty much what came from Cross’ mouth. Miko pushed her glasses up, disgusted, saying nothing. Rei just clenched her fists.

Then, one by one, something clicked in their heads.

Wasn’t that basically what Nash had said?

One of his rules the night before was exactly that.

Sleep enough, don’t go to pound town.

Was this the same nonsense?

They’d always thought it was a dumb superstition, that whole locker-room thing about holding back before a game. But Nash, their Nash, an actual legend, really believing the exact same crap this dude just announced like some secret weapon? That was funny and kind of cute at the same time.

Nash, standing a bit further back, just blinked.

In his head it had nothing to do with anything physical. It was karma. In some weird manga Jaz and Miko read, the guy who spends his energy fucking everything with a pussy, while the other team trains hard, always ends up losing. Better safe than sorry.

He did wonder if the night before with Aiko counted against him somehow. He wasn’t gonna say that out loud, though. He already looked stupid enough as it was.

Cross kept pushing his luck, leaning too close to Aiko, who kept ignoring him, then closer to Rei, who actually growled at him.

She wanted something different with Nash these days, sure, a whole other kind of "field" than plain respect, but other guys? Hell no. All of them insufferable.

Behind him, his own teammates were laughing out loud, some ragging on him for having zero tact.

That lasted right up until Cross reached for Hina’s shoulder, and then, a hand clamped down on his wrist first.

Cross jumped. Didn’t even see him coming. Nash was just there, all 6’6" of muscle, sweat and sex appeal, how the hell did he move so fast he didn’t see him coming? Hina’s eyes widened, but her surprise turned almost instantly into pure joy, her favorite Butt-Savior being a Butt-Knight once again.

"I always try to give people room to talk," Nash said calmly. "Every group needs some comic relief, it’s fine and normal. Got three myself before."

He tightened his grip.

"But I’ve got a hard veto on anyone touching my girls."

Hina clasped her hands together, stars and hearts shining in her eyes.

"Aaaaww.... I’m his girl..."

Cross gritted his teeth.

"Your girls?"

He tried pulling his hand back. Nash’s grip didn’t move a millimeter, which threw Cross way more than he wanted to show.

Around them, the smiles on the other Colossus faded fast. The tension went up.

First time any of them had actually stood this close to him, the rookie everyone kept talking about, face to face with the champs. Normally none of this would even register with them, they were the freaking Colossus.

But there was something about Nash. His charisma and overall aura that he’d built up quest after quest, until it turned into a real weapon. Like a dangerous animal packed into a space too small to hold it. One small spark and everything could go down.

And the scary part? Dude moved so fast nobody even saw him cross the room to grab Cross’s wrist. This massive aura could just disappear in a moment and move so swiftly right under their nose.

Nash let go, but didn’t step back.

"You know what’s funny," he said, a smile settling in his dangerously calm face. "You all walk around acting like kings of the world, like the title’s gonna protect you forever."

He tilted his head, looking at Cross like he was a weird bug.

"It must be tiring, knowing deep down that despite all your efforts, nobody really bother about your achievements. See, out there, they aren’t talking about a real duel. They wonder if you’ll be able to stop me. That’s your whole purpose. You’re nothing special, you’re not even the best in your team, and no matter the outcome tonight, in the end, it will be me and your captain on the cover. You’ll just be one line in the newspapers."

Off to the side, Seth watched, and just for that, he frowned, realizing he’d just voluntarily paid attention to someone who wasn’t even talking to him. That wasn’t like him. He never noticed anything that didn’t concern him directly.

But right then, Nash looked like a spider at the center of a blank white wall. Once you saw it, you couldn’t stop seeing it.

He said nothing, he tried to think about nothing.

Cross, clearly annoyed now, opened his mouth to snap back, but Kael stepped in first.

"Okay, okay," Kael said, tone way more chill, almost amused. "Save it for the court, both of you, if you’re that fired up."

Cross forced out a laugh, trying to get his cool back.

"Yeah," he said, a smirk returning. "Actually," he added, turning to his teammates, "how about we spice things up? Like, if we win tonight... when we win tonight, we get each of these girls for the night."

Heavy silence. The Blacklist girls froze, Kael closed his eyes, a few Colossus looked at each other. Just how dumb this guy could be?

Nash was immobile for a second that felt like the calm before the storm.

Then he smiled.

He stepped forward, his shadow falling over Cross, swallowing him almost whole, and for the second time this night, Cross realized too late he had made a mistake.

"There goes my kindness," Nash said.

Cross held his breath without realizing it. Nash literally devoured the light above him, making Cross feel way shorter. How long were they even there? It felt like it was dragged on forever and time suddenly froze.

"Between you and me, maybe you’re used to playing with weaklings, but in life, try to keep the beef professional, okay?" Nash added, a short, quick laugh escaping him. "You never know if you’re playing the crazy guy to a real crazy person. But at least now, I know exactly on which foot to dance on with you." He then whispered, almost to himself, "this is gonna be fun."

That bothered Cross way more than the actual threat did. Nash straightened, sweeping his eyes over the small group, landing on each of them for a second.

"Forget friendship, forget fair-play," he said. "Seeing how much you all enjoyed playing with my girls last time, tonight isn’t just a match. It’s gonna be a massacre for everyone, a real old-school game. And I’m going to love every second of it."

Nobody said anything back. What was left of the light mood died right there. He walked forward without another word, and the Blacklist girls fell in behind him naturally.

Aiko’s ears had gone red, but the small, proud smile on her face never dropped. Jaz brushed past Nash’s shoulder without quite touching him, close enough that Cross got the message loud and clear about whose side she was on. Rei walked straight past Cross like he wasn’t even there. Hina stuck close to Nash, to show who she belonged to, sticking her tongue out at Cross.

Behind them, the Colossus watched them leave.

"Exotic," Vex finally said, shaking his head. "That kind of confidence, you usually only see it playing the other peacock."

He tilted his head toward Cross.

"Still up for taking him solo?"

Cross didn’t answer right away, his jaw working. The easy attitude he’d had was gone, replaced by something closer to anger and determination.

"Yeah," he said finally. "Still up for it. Gonna wipe that smile off his face before the first quarter’s even done."

The whole arena shook the second both teams stepped out of the tunnels, the noise from the stands blurring into one wall of sound, spotlights sweeping the court in time with the music blasting from the speakers.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" The commentator’s voice barely cut through it. "TONIGHT, TWO WORLDS COLLIDE!"

Introductions went one by one, names flashing in huge letters above the court, the crowd going off for every single one. When Nash’s name hit the screen, the sound doubled, half the arena already chanting it.

Both teams lined up facing each other for the last formalities, everyone sizing up whoever stood across from them.

Facing Nash, Seth stood ten centimeters shorter. The big screen made sure to catch that, zooming in tight on the two captains squaring off for the jump ball.

In the stands, the tension was at its peak. Chloe was on her feet, too locked in to notice that her notebook had fallen at her feet. Alexia felt her own heart going faster than she expected. Maya chewed her gum slow, a small smirk pulling at her mouth watching Nash step up.

Back at the mansion, Zayela, Sarra, Lina, and Saya sat crowded in front of the living room screen, silent, tense.

Somewhere else, on a darker street deeper in the Underground, Drex stood in front of a shop window playing the broadcast, hands in his pockets, watching without a word.

The referee lifted the ball between the two captains, and dead silence dropped over the whole arena, the entire city’s tension packed into that one second before everything went south.