Joe plunked down on the bench wearily, ignoring pats of congratulations while groping beneath the seat for wherever his water bottle had rolled off to. His team was up by a large enough margin that the second stringers were being given a chance at some play time. Good thing, too, as he was sure much longer and he would've just laid down on the court to rest.

Twisting around to look at the crowd, he wondered if everyone had made it. The odds seemed good, as he had definitely spotted Lance and Link earlier on. If the playboy and the elf were sitting through a high school basketball game - never mind that it was the district semi-finals - then the others should be as well.

Joe grinned. He was glad, it meant a lot to him. It was nice to know that the crew would be there to support him, and not just show up at his door when they needed him for something. No matter the differences, these were his friends. Lately, he wondered how many people could say they had anything like that with people they claimed to be close to.

Sadly, he didn’t think many could.