All You Will Never Know (Avril Lavigne fanfic)

5: An Amazing Night

Chapter 5: An Amazing Night

Nathan passes the ball to me with one of the defenders at my back, waiting to tackle the ball. But as it hit my feet, I immediately swerved it to the right so that he couldn't get to it. I continued heading towards the goal. There is one more defender left, only a few feet infront me. He could easily just kick the ball away. But I couldn't let him do that. The score is 2-2 and I have to do this to win. The whole stadium is filled with the noise of the crowd. There are so many people and Avril is probably watching, I mustn't embarrass myself by missing the goal.

I glance at the huge digital clock that stands by at the side of the stadium. 88:58. 1 minute and 2 seconds left before the referee blows the whistle. No wonder the people are cheering like hell. My legs feel numb from running all this time, from one side to the other, for an hour and a half. But adrenaline is coursing through my veins like fire, making my legs move despite the numbness and fatigue. I smirk at myself as I dribble the ball towards the only defender left. I have to do this. I have to.

I watch him stand there, waiting for me. Hunger evident in his eyes. Hunger for the ball. The nearer he is, the more nervous I become. I don't even know if I can perfect this move. Even though I've practiced it a thousand times already, I haven't really tried perfecting it. Not even once. I've only seen professional soccer players do it. Even they sometimes have a hard time perfecting it, especially with a defender. It needs timing and skill. Let's just hope I'm skilled enough.

A few more steps and he's right in front of me. And in a millisecond, the ball is right between us. He thrusts his foot forward, but before he can hit the ball, I place my right foot in front of it and I spin to my right. Once he's facing my back and the ball is under me, I kick it backwards with my left foot so it's now way behind both of us. But he doesn't realize this earlier and before he can react, I continue my spin and start racing towards the ball and towards the goal.

"Wow! What a spectacular spin move by Chase Denver!" one of the accommodators said.

"He really does know how to handle the ball well, Clyde." I hear his partner say, barely through the crowd.

"Now he's one on one with the keeper, Peter."

"Surely, he -" and I don't hear them anymore because all I hear is the constant chant of my name from the crowd. Chase Denver! Chase Denver! Chase Denver! And I can't help but smile as pride overwhelms me.

Only the goal keeper stands in my way right now. I concentrate, my heart thumping so fast and loud, my lungs burning and sweat trickling down the side of my forehead. I'm inside the box, the keeper runs toward me.

Perfect, the harder it is for him to dive to the side.

Before he could get his hands on the ball, I inhale as much air as I can and kick.

I stumbled a little and before I knew it, I heard, "AND IT'S AT THE BACK OF THE NET!" from one of the accommodators. The crowd went wild. I see the keeper lying on his side, wincing from the dive. The crowd stands and cheers. My team mates race towards me as the referee blows the whistle to mark the end of the game. The score board goes from 2-2 to 3-2 and the whole team raises me in their arms.

I am lying in a mattress of hands. We head for the lockers and they put me down there. I can't help myself from smiling and laughing. They keep on hitting me in the back and ruffling my hair like they just can't get enough of me.

"Alright fellas. That's enough, let Chase breath. Wouldn't want our team captain die of suffocation now," our coach, Eddie Reyes, said. I gave him a grateful smile. I didn't think I could bear to hear any more of their congratulatory exclaims. He slowly walked his way to me, the boys backing up and making way for him. He grinned, the crinkles by his eyes showing.