𝐄𝐗

𝐕𝐈𝐈

Sitting in the front row of the stands of the stadium, Maxine Miller had a full view of the football players competing. The match had started about ten minutes earlier and unfortunately, the Dauphins team were ahead by fifteen point. Wade Collins, the team's captain, was running at full speed towards the Sharks' end zone, protected by two of his members, and as he was going to touchdown and give the Dauphins more lead, a player from the opposing team brutally tackled him on the ground, making Maxine gasp and the Sharks' supporters scream. "Well, damn," the black haired whispered, her eyes still on Oliver. Sighing loudly, the girl got up and passed in front of several people complaining about her preventing them from seeing more, before going down the stands to get closer to the team's coach. "Coach, you might want to warm up someone else. Oliver probably just broke something... and Wade" The man who was about to use his whistle grimaced as he looked at the two teenagers who were struggling to get up and sighed when he saw the referee running to them. "Martinez! Shit, Blue, bring your asses back here," Coach screamed as Zach ran to his best friend. "Hey, Hey, Miller, don't smoke on school grounds! You better, you, argh, I don't even care... Blue!" Maxine rolled her eyes before exhaling the smoke of the cigarette she had just lit. "Coach" The blond's light eyes juggled between the man facing him and the girl who constantly haunted his thoughts and his eyebrows furrowed when he saw her smoking. "Tell White to sit this one out, we're going to put... Williams in his place. And for God's sake, smoke these goddamn Dolphins," the coach yelled at the teenager's face, making him grimace before nodding his head and beckoning to one of the many students on the replacement bench. "Zach should be near the end zone, and Lucas at the other end of the field. These two are way too close for the team to function properly," Maxine remarked as she watched Zachariah regain his place on the field while keeping an eye on his best friend being escorted. "And what do you know about football, Miller?" The black haired frowned before turning to the coach, cigarette still in her mouth. My ex boyfriend is the team captain, duh, she thought.

"I'm not a pro, but if there's one thing I know, it's that the farther Zach and Lucas are from each other, the more focused they are on anything other than fighting with each other" Feeling that she had a little more of coach Graham's attention, Maxine crushed her cigarette and turned completely to him to give him more instructions. "Lucas is a very good QB, and he should stay on the offensive line instead of trying as a defender, that's Oliver's job... who's off, but he'll definitely come back, he would like, never let his team down. For now, Williams has to lead his group of defenders, as Oliver would. Zach can try to be everywhere but he's an excellent wide receiver. You said it yourself, he's one of the fastest member of the whole team, if not the fastest" Even before the black haired finished her sentence, the coach interrupted her and called on the referee to ask for a time out. "Miller, go sit on the replacement bench. I might need to keep you close" The Sharks team took the time to make a quick meeting to reorganize, after the advices given by Maxine. The coach gave instructions in his own way, and even took the time to remind his team that if they lost, not only would they become the shame of the entire high school, but in addition, they would live two long hours of hell during the next months of training.

Surprisingly, it seemed to have worked since not only was the team operating in real cohesion, but in addition, the Sharks were catching up, and very quickly. Two touchdowns, advancing them by 9 points, and the cheerleaders' smiles didn't seem so fake anymore, even the high school mascot seemed to dance more vividly. Nervously, Maxine's leg did not seem to hold in place, there was very little time left for the Sharks to score a last touchdown and in addition to that Oliver was still not on the field, which worried her slightly. "Hey, Max," the breathless voice of the light-skinned's best friend took the black haired out of her thoughts. "How's Oliver?" Holly, who was holding her knees due to her run, coughed before straightening up. She answered between several breaths and with her eyebrows frowned. "About to get back in the field," she said, pointing at the boy, who took Liam Williams' spot, running to the middle of the field. "Nice," Maxine murmured, keeping her eyes on her high school team. "This is their last chance to crush the Dolphins this season" The brunette's words increased anxiety in her twin's ex-girlfriend, it was also Zach's last hope, the ultimate way to regain confidence after these confessions at home. Lucas threw the football at one of the players and he started running, three Dolphins behind him, ready to stop him. And as Owen got closer to the end zone, one of the players caught him and in a last reflex, he threw the ball at Zach, who made a sprint in turn. Blanche Walker screamed from the top of the cheerleaders' tower, waking up all Shark supporters. Maxine's fingers trembled as she desperately tried to light a new cigarette, and as she was going to try again, Holly grabbed her lighter in a gentle movement and made the flame appear, soothing the black haired's heart, who pulled a long hit on her nicotine bar. "Thanks," she murmured while observing the brunette's brother.

"Touchdown!" The public were screaming, popcorn and plastic cups were flying, the coach was on his knees, thanking Heaven for this sweet miracle and Holly was running towards her best friend. Maxine's heart slowly began to beat at a normal pace and a thin smile even appeared on her face. They won, the Sharks had once again proven that they were ready to move forward this season. It was happy news, and yet Maxine's heart couldn't help but tighten when she saw Zachariah running to his girlfriend sitting front row, wearing his jersey, and kissing her in front of everyone. Damn, it hurts, the black haired thought, biting her lip.