1. Kick (Thomas Muller)

in which it all ends

Imagine this: it's the 83rd minute, the game is tied, you haven't played a game in six months, you're head over heels for some dork chanting in German with horns and party poppers in the stands, and you are about to pass out. 

If you've done so, you're Libby Stimme at this moment in time.

Libby huffed out her breath as the opposition subbed in a player. She received a pat on the back from a player, and she could barely make out Hope on the other side of the field. 

Usually she could easily talk to her, but now being a forward, she could barely see her.

Libby looked towards the captain, who gave her a thumbs up, and they began to play again. Libby got the ball and dribbled towards the goal line, passing it towards her team mate. 

Sh*t, Libby thought. She had passed incorrectly, as if she were a midfielder, when she was supposed to shoot. 

She had done that at least 3 other times during the game. She wasn't focused. She had to be focused. She felt like she had never worked so hard in a match in her life.

Come on Libs, you got this. 

Libby thought about what Thomas had told her. She thought back to the crazy six months. If she could fall in love with a boy, she could definitely score.

Five more minutes. 

Her ankle was a little bit sore, pulsing with each heart beat, but she shrugged it off. 

The ball was passed to her again, everyone running towards her. Time slowed and an opposing player rammed into her, flipping her down just as Bastian had done prior to her injury.

Libby gasped for air, laying on her back with her eyes wide. Libby curled her hands on the grass and lay there as her team mates surrounded her, sparking a fight with the other players.

Everything was confusing for Libby. She heard them replay it and the commentators speak loudly.

Thomas started running down to the field, to tell Libby to get up and keep going, that she could do it, he knew that she could.

Philipp and Mesut caught each of his arms and held him back. Thomas struggled against them but eventually stopped to watch Libby as she lay there. 

Not again, Bastian thought to himself, feeling his heart beat quicker.

The medics were on their way, but Libby took a deep breath.

Remember when Thomas lay with you on the ground and told you that you could do it? Because you were so stubborn to do it? Libby thought to herself, imagining being as patient as Thomas had been as her.

Libby took another breath, and steadily rose, the clock ticking by the second. 89 minutes. 

The crowd erupted in cheers, and Thomas almost cried in relief, along with the rest of the squad.

"LIBBY! LIBBY! LIBBY!" The crowd cheered as she brushed herself off. Libby looked over at Thomas's direction, the camera on her. She blew a kiss and waved. 

 Libby thanked Thomas in her head, hoping it would somehow travel to him. The tears in her eyes were probably from the pain she was in, and the affection she felt for him.

She was acting so lame.

The camera switched to the Germans' box, Thomas waved and pretended to catch the kiss. Yelling w

The game continued, everyone keeping a close watch on Libby. Mesut had grabbed Philipp's hand because of the nerve wracking last minute of the game.