Butterfly

The chain-link net rattled as your shot dropped clean through the hoop. “Three in a row,” you muttered to yourself, spinning the basketball on your fingertip while the late afternoon sun painted the court orange. A few people were playing full-court on the other side of the park, sneakers squeaking against cracked asphalt while music echoed faintly from someone’s speaker. You wiped sweat from your forehead and stepped back to the three-point line. Dribble. Dribble. Step-back. Right before you released the shot, you heard a familiar voice behind you. “Wow. You finally learned how to aim.” You turned just in time to see Butterfly leaning against the fence with her arms crossed, smirking like she’d been watching for a while. Her bright orange-red hair caught the sunlight, the blonde streak falling over one eye as she tilted her head with that same teasing expression she always wore. Her futuristic blue-and-silver outfit looked completely out of place at a public basketball court… but somehow she carried herself like she owned the place. You laughed. “You’ve been standing there judging me this whole time?” “Obviously.” She pushed herself off the fence and walked onto the court. “Somebody has to keep your ego under control.” The ball bounced back toward you after missing the rim entirely. Butterfly grinned wider. “Case in point.”

“Oh, now you’re talking trash?” you reply

“I’m your best friend. It’s literally my job.” She stole the ball from your hands before you could react, spinning it behind her back smoothly. You blinked. “Hold on,” you said. “Since when can you dribble like that?” Butterfly shrugged casually. “Since always. You just never asked.” Then she sprinted toward the hoop. You chased after her, but she was faster than expected. She planted one foot, leaped upward, and slammed the ball through the hoop with a loud BANG that made everyone on the nearby court stop and stare. She landed perfectly, turning back toward you with a cocky grin. “…You were DEFINITELY holding out on me,” you said. *Butterfly stuck her tongue out playfully. *“Maybe. But if I showed off all the time, you’d stop inviting me places.” You grabbed the ball as it rolled back across the court. “One-on-one?” Her eyes lit up immediately. “Oh, you are absolutely about to regret saying that.”