He shook the name Leo out of his head and focused on the task at hand. The teams were assigned, Tobey being an obvious forward since he was small and quick against the taller players. The first few minutes gave Tobey the rush he'd needed-- an energy he'd been severely lacking in as of late. He'd nearly forgotten how nice the sound of his own laugh was. It surprised him as it echoed off the cement, coupled with gentle, camaraderie laughter of his teammates.

He was dribbling the ball, planning out his method of attack against Ethan (who was a relentlessly vicious guard), when he started bouncing the ball slower. . . slower. . . slower. . .

He squinted past the hoop and saw another form walking in through the gates-- tall, floppy blond hair, Oakley glasses and shorts.

“Holy Fuck,” he muttered. It was Leo.

His first instinct was to do an about face and walk out on the game, but. . . as stubborn as he was, he couldn't bring himself to abandon the game altogether. Not in front of all his friends. Leo shook hands, and slapped high-fives to his friends who had stopped their playing to welcome him.

Tobey held his stare on Leo and grimaced: this was a ploy to get the two of them on speaking terms again. Leo was now inches from him and Tobey was obligated to say something.

"Well, well, well," he said curtly. "If it isn't God's gift himself."

"'Sup, dude?" asked Leo happily as he extended his hand. Instead of accepting the gesture of friendship, Tobey juggled the ball in his hands before tossing it towards Leo's chest. Leo caught it, stung by the blatancy of his friend’s actions. But Leo and Tobey were alike in that they were both champions at hiding their true feelings: Leo simply smiled.

Tobey matched the smile with equal facetiousness. Kevin walked up behind Leo, playfully socked his shoulder and said, "Our team, Leo. Point guard."

To the spectator, it would just seem an ironic incident of two best friends being placed on opposing teams. But the irony stretched deeper than the casual observer could understand. These two best friends were separated, not just by the teams they played for, but also by a destructive misunderstanding that neither of the two, as of that moment, had the courage to face. They instead opted to prove their anger by setting out on a mission to make mincemeat out of the other player.

Leo, the tallest of the group, was playing the pivotal point guard and soon realized that Tobey wasn't going to play team ball. He was taking all the shots himself, ignoring the center completely-- and doing much better than usual. Tobey was huffing, pushing his body to the limit, knowing that he was playing very well. He wanted to leave Leo in the dust-- to leave him helpless and alone, just as Leo had done to him.

He dribbled the ball in front of Leo, focused.

"You gonna let your other teammates play too, Tobey?"

"Why, you scared?" He made a bluff and then a seamless jump shot, swooshing the ball. Tobey rejoiced inside seeing the shock in Leo's face. He bumped into his shoulder as he jogged past, enough to let Leo know that it was purposeful. Take that, he thought gleefully.

Leo came running towards the basket, but Tobey made a dash for it, stole the ball, blitzed towards the basket and jumped -- slamming the ball in the net, much to the enthusiasm of the other players who showered him with cat calls and applause.

He was smiling again-- although this smile hid untold degrees of anger and pain. "Feels kinda shitty, doesn't it? Being left behind like that," he smirked to Leo as he passed. Tobey was on a high-- he felt invincible! Once again, he spotted a perfect opportunity both for a point and proving to Leo how strong he was on his own, without him or anyone else for that matter.

He took off down the line to steal the ball from Leo, only to be met with Leo's side-- just enough force to throw him backwards and onto the hard ground. He shook his head, still lying on his back and then focused on Leo who stood over him. They said nothing. Leo extended his hand silently.

Stubborn pride, Leo scolded himself when he refused to accept it. He got to his feet by himself and walked back towards the sidelines as Nick hollered "Half!"

Tobey ignored Leo who was staring him down and went to the sidelines. He felt him walk up behind him and could feel the passion as he spoke. “I backed you up, Tobey,” he said sternly. “If anything, you’re the one who abandoned me.”

“Oh I did, did I?” Tobey shook his head, “You see Leo, I believe in this little thing called loyalty. When your friends are in trouble, or just need an encouraging word or two, then you back them up.”

“No questions asked? Even if they’re wrong?”

“I’m not going through this again.” Tobey didn’t care that now everyone was listening intently. “I needed you. It’s been hell these past weeks and I needed you. But I knew you weren’t there.”

“I was there, Tobey! I was there! I came by, I called you - you didn’t want anything to do with me! You cut ties with me just like you cut ties with Natalia!” Leo was most definitely aware that he was treading on thin ice, but continued nonetheless. “For someone who believes in facing their problems, you sure have been doing a hell of a lot of running away!”

Tobey’s face burned. At that moment, it seemed entirely possible that he was quite capable of beating the shit out of the man. His voice was terrifyingly low and strained when he spoke. “Fuck you. You have no idea how fucking lost I’ve been. FUCK you!” The tears rimmed his eyes—painfully, angry, hurt tears.

He took the basketball and threw it to the ground as hard as he possibly could, the noise as deafening as a gun shot, and walked away, leaving the crowd in a surprised silence.

Ethan swallowed. “Dude. . . he’s not drinking again, is he?”

Leo’s footsteps were close behind his own. He heard his name being called which, of course, he refused to answer. He’d only let Leo see him cry once before, years and years ago, before either of them even knew what fame was. And now, he’d let him see his tears again. . .

A hand grabbed him.

“Don’t fucking talk to me.”

Leo gave Tobey’s strong arm a tight squeeze. “I’m sorry,” he said breathlessly. “I’m sorry. . . you’re right. I don’t have any idea what the hell you’ve been through and you’ve always been right there with me through all my own shit . . .”

Tobey looked up.

“But. . . maybe. . .”

“What?” Tobey asked, his voice suddenly very tired.

“Not here. Not here . . . come on, let’s go.”

They sat in Leo’s black Beemer. Typically dirty, the slob, Tobey thought. Leo turned to face him. “I’m not. . . I don’t know . . .”

“Just spit it out for fuck’s sake. I have to buy my Mom a Christmas present today.”

Leo was visibly frustrated and gave up his attempt at eloquence and blurted out, “It wasn’t her fault.”

Tobey blinked. “What?”

“That night, it wasn’t her fault, it was . . .”

Tobey hadn’t interrupted, which meant that he was willing to listen. Something in Leo’s stormy eyes sent his stomach into somersaults and he had the dreadful, gnawing feeling that whatever he had to say was not going to be easy.

“I. . . I spoke to Natalia yesterday.”

Natalia. Just that name alone still put butterflies in his stomach. Even after everything, his heart still raced at the mention of her name.

“She was devastated, Tobey, she was pale, she’s lost weight, she just. . . isn’t herself at all.”

Tobey was waiting for his point. Was he supposed to feel sorry for her? Fat chance of that. If you think that Natalia is devastated, why not spend a day in my shoes.

“And. . . we talked for a while and. . . God, Tobey, I don’t know how to say it.”

“Say what?”

The look on Leo’s face was enough to turn Tobey’s blood cold. He was mortified at the realization that, of all people, Leo was actually scared of what he had to say.

“W-we don’t know who did it, although me and Monica and Natalia, we all are pretty sure it was Brittany and Courtney. “ He took a breath. “It was a set up. . . it had to have been, there’s no other explanation. Someone slipped some Roofies into her drink after you left.”

Roofies. No. . . it simply wasn’t possible.

“She was out of her mind that entire night, and when you saw her that morning, she was just coming out of it. She has no memory of anything—just you leaving to go to your mother, and then her waking up with a stranger in the house and you showing up. She was fucking sick that morning, so Monica took her to the hospital after you left and when the results came back almost two weeks later, it showed that someone had drugged her.”

Leo reached onto the dash and picked up a white envelope. “She doesn’t know I swiped this, but. . .” he handed the envelope to Tobey’s now shaking hands.

Tobey read the words—words which numbed his senses. His eyes were wide: vacant of all emotion for only disbelief could be felt. His mouth fell, ever so slightly, as he read the words—words which only half made sense: Natalia Bowman. . . medium does of Rohypnol and MDMA. . . patient suffered notable damages to her. . .

He folded the letter up, lowered his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew that Leo was still talking, but he couldn’t hear him. He couldn’t even hear the purr of the motor, or the noisy traffic outside. It was all warped, the sound coming at him as though in slow motion—all the images running together, as though he was looking through a distorted mirror. The reason for the kaleidoscopic haze was, simply, the tears forming in his eyes. The true meaning of what Leo had just said was so horribly unfathomable that he simply couldn’t respond any other way.

“She didn’t want me to tell you,” Leo was saying. “In fact, dude – she made me promise . . . “

“What?” Tobey asked numbly, coming out of his haze just a bit.

“She made me promise not to tell you this,” Leo was saying. “She didn’t want you to know, she’s so . . . “

“Oh my God,” Tobey tried to say, but it would only come out as a large gulp.

“She’s embarrassed, man,” Leo said. “More than that – she’s ashamed, humiliated. She’s been blaming herself all along . . . “

A welt was forming in Tobey’s throat, a hot, aching welt that burned the back of his eyes.

“I told her, you know, maybe get some help, talk to someone,” Leo was saying. “She said she has been, it’s the only time she leaves the apartment . . . “ Leo stopped, and looked at his friend. “Hey man . . .”

The corners of Tobey’s mouth were twitching along with his chin. Damn it. A ragged breath escaped him, and he brought his hand to his forehead. Natalia. His breath came in ragged gasps he could not quiet. He’d just left her. Left her high and dry when she was falling apart and needed him most. He’d been a complete prick. A forceful breath came out of him then, part sob, part choking cough.

“Dude, hello,” Leo said, “ The Cider House Rules, Wonder Boys, Ride With the Devil – you cried in every fuckin’ film since Pleasantville, man!”

“I did not cry in Pleasantville,” Tobey muttered stubbornly.

“Not after the editing department got a hold of it,” Leo quipped.

“Fuck you,” Tobey said dryly, and blew his nose loudly into the tissue.

Leo hid the small grin that threatened to bend his mouth, for he knew then that Tobey’s and his relationship was back on track, and things would soon be back to the usual status between them.

“So you guys are thinkin’ it was the evil duo that did this?” Tobey was asking. “Do we have anything to go on with that?”

“I dunno, man,” Leo said honestly. “Nat remembers that whole night – she can repeat back to me the conversation going on at the table – right up to when you left. Courtney went and bought a round of drinks for the three of them. Nat remembers taking the drink from her, and then it all goes blank.”

“Shit,” Tobey grumbled. That was suspicious as hell, but not a lot to go on.

He sat quietly thinking for a moment, for he never did anything without thinking it through first. The same went for conversation, at times he seemed to roll each word around in his mind before slowly speaking them.

“Was she hurt?” he asked in a voice so quiet that Leo wasn’t sure at first if he’d heard him at all. “I mean physically,” Tobey was saying, “was she . . .” He fumbled with the envelope still in his hand and leaned forward, concentrating intensely as he opened the sheet of paper once more.

Natalia Bowman. . . medium dose of Rohypnol and MDMA. . . patient suffered notable damages to her short term memory and cognitive functioning. Patient was unable to recall events of prior evening after allegedly accepting a drink from an acquaintance. Physical exam showed no marks or contusions upon the patient, evidence of sexual intercourse in past 24 hours is affirmative . . .

Tobey ran his fingers through his hair again, as the paper in his fist shook. Natalia. I blamed her for this, he thought. He’d assumed that she would behave in such a disturbing way. He hadn’t even listened to her, or asked what had happened. Hell, he hadn’t even listened to Leo’s take on it. He’d been so quick to judge, so eager to place the blame. What have I done? How could he ever make this right – could he even do so? His brain raced as he stared at the report in his hands. She’d been through so much, and he hadn’t been there for her at all. She’d been through it all – all alone. I’ve been a complete shit. He studied the report in his trembling hand and concentrated his focus as best he could.

“What’s this MDMA shit – Ecstasy?” he asked Leo.

“Yup,” Leo confirmed. “The X made her act completely wild, the Rohypnol made her forget it all.”

“She’s gotta be so fuckin’ pissed at me . . . " Tobey muttered. He stuffed the paper back in the envelope as his mental wheels began to turn. He didn’t have much time . . . “Dude, I gotta go,” he said to Leo. “I’ll be in touch.” With that he was out of the car and heading across the parking lot.

Leo got out the driver’s side door and shouted across the lot to his friend. He jogged over to where Tobey’s Nav was parked.

“Listen, bro,” he was saying, “if I don’t see ya before, have a Merry Christmas.” With that he extended his right hand to his friend, in a gesture that would seal the fact they were on good terms again.

Tobey glanced at his best friend’s hand, extended to him for the third time that day. He looked into Leo’s eyes and saw nothing but pure sincerity looking back at him.

“C’m’here, man,” he muttered, and bypassing the extended hand, he reached out to his friend and they hugged, slapping each other on the back to prove their masculinity to themselves.

“Merry Christmas,” Tobey said.

“You were right, man,” Leo muttered. “I shoulda kept better tabs on her. "

Tobey took stock of his friend, and gave a small nod, suddenly feeling like a heel. “It’s not your fault, man,” he said roughly. “I was an asshole.”

Leo gazed at his friend. “Well, I’ve known that for years, bro,” he quipped lightly, then let a sly grin spread across his face.

Tobey sheepishly grinned back at his pal, feeling a comfortable camaraderie settle over them again as he climbed into his Navigator.

“If you need anything, bro, call me” Leo told him. “Give Natty my love,” Leo called over the sound of the engine and thumped the hood of the SUV as it backed out of the lot, and drove off in the twilight of the warm LA evening.