"The Sketcher." (A Jacksepticeye Story.)

Game Time

"Whenever life gets hard for you,put on your best shoes and kick it super hard in its big dumb face!"
- Sean William McLoughlin

Chapter Eight

Jack rolled his his eyes and turned towards Amber. He stood up, Amber following suite. He stared at her lips for a few moments. Just seconds before..they were pressed against his.
He just kissed her. He didn't even have time to enjoy the embrace, let alone feel her kiss him back. He wanted this moment to be special. He'd been waiting weeks to build up to this point.

"I'm really sorry, these guys just won't let up. I have to go or they will literally climb though my window. You should come to the game tonight...if you want to of course." Jack said with a smile, heading towards the door.

   Amber cleared her throat, picking up her notebook and nodding slightly. She was still blushing, fumbling for words.

"I-I'll see what I can do. Uh...yeah."

   Jack chuckled and waved goodbye before heading out the back and shutting the door. He felt energized now, like he could go run a marathon. He really started to like this girl. That kiss was all the answers he needed.
   Jack quickly sneaked to the back of his house before rounding the corner and jogging to meet with this friends. They threw their hands up and cheered when he came into their view. He smiled at them, clapping them on the back and heading over to their jeep.

"Hey guys! Sorry, had to take care of something. Who's ready to beat some ass tonight at the game!" Jack shouted, his usual bouncy and loud aura coming back to him.

   The boys blared music all the way to the school while they fooled around and got hyped up about the game tonight. Jack took one last look behind him before he focused on his buddies as they got close to the football field.
Amber watched them leave, and let out a big breath. She tossed her book on the couch, her lips tingling. Her fingertips grazed her bottom lip as she remembered the kiss. It was short and sweet, but it still left her stomach with butterflies.
   She had never kissed anybody before. Well, there was this one time she was in Middle School and he did it for a dare. It was nothing compared to this.
She blushed and cleared her mind as her mom walked through the door. She hugged her daughter, placing a kiss on the top of her head before heading towards the kitchen.

"How was school, honey? Have you made any new friends yet?" Her mother asked, shooting her a smile before heading to the kitchen.

"It was good mom..it was alright."

   Amber hesitated to mention that a guy was in her house when her mother wasn't there. She wondered if it was okay to tell her she was talking to a boy. She saw her mother's warm smile and it made her decision.

"There's this..um boy that's been talking to me." Amber said quietly, making her mother look up at her.

   She wriggled her eyebrows at Amber at the comment. They both chuckled and her mom insisted on telling her what he looked like.

"Well...um, he has these beautiful blue eyes and green hair. He's a football player actually, which is what surprised me. He's got the most..captivating smile I've ever seen. He's really nice to me..even when others aren't."

She mentioned the last part when her mom wasn't around to hear.

"He sounds like a very nice guy, I can't wait to meet him."

   Amber shrugged awkwardly, chuckling and fidgeting in her place. Her mother looked over at her and smiled softly. Her mother watched her and placed her hand on Amber's cheek and sighed.

"You have such a beautiful personality sweetie, but you never show it to anyone. You also have an amazing talent, just like your father did."

   Amber frowned at the sound of her father. Her mother was right though, her father loved to draw too. Just like him, he called it his "Escape", when things got a little tough to handle.
   She remembered him teaching her how to draw, his hand leading hers on the blank piece of paper.

"Let your soul take over, dear. Drawing is all about what the artist feels. Let it spill and explode onto the paper. Let your heart shine."

   His words echoed in her mind, making a certain sadness prick at her heart. Amber nodded and smiled at her mother, wanting to change the subject.

"Mom? There's a..um football game tonight at the school. I was wondering if I can go, just to watch the...game."

   Her mom pursed her lips but soon turned into a knowing smile. Amber didn't like going out much, which was why this came as a surprise to her mother. After a few more minutes of silence, her mother agreed.

"Call me if you want to go home early. I can pick you up. It's supposed to be raining all day, I don't want you to walking home in the dark alone. Just be careful."

   Amber went upstairs to grab her umbrella before heading off outside. Her mind had wandered back to Jack. She didn't know what he meant to her, or even what she meant to him. She really liked him, that was for sure. She pulled her hoodie up over her head and briskly walked to the school.
She could already hear the roar of the eager audience cheering for their home team. She quickly walked through the stream of people and found herself a seat on the bleachers. It was all the way on the top and far to the corner. No one sat by her, no one noticed her. She felt she kept her umbrella open and above her.

"NOW COMING ONTO THE FIELD! JACK MCLOUGHLIN, THE TEAM LEADER! A REAL WINNER FROM LAST NIGHT'S GAME! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!"

The bleachers rumbled with stomping feet and clapping hands as Jack and his team ran onto the field. Their helmets reflected the bright lights from the light posts as they jumped and cheered along with the audience.
When the game finally started, Amber watched only Jack. She watched him sprint down the field, jump over heads, dance on the touchdown side, and get crushed by the other team. She couldn't contain her gasp as he was tackle from behind and knocked to the ground. They both tumbled a bit before the guy climbed off of him, leaving him on the ground.
He slowly got up, his hand pressed against his stomach. He shook his head and waved to the crowd, who went ballistic with cheering. Amber followed him with her eyes as he sat down on the bench, taking off his helmet. His green hair was now slick with sweat and stuck up in different directions.
He was heaving breaths as he poured water down his head, shaking his hair around. She cringed as he got crashed into multiple times. Even from watching, it was obvious the team was targeting Jack. They weren't playing fair and by the sound of the booing and anger from the crowd, they agreed with Amber.
Calls were made and fouls were played but when the last touchdown was succeeded, they had lost. Amber noticed the crowd's disappointment. The crowd still cheered as the team ran back to the locker rooms, heads hung. Jack was still smiling through his pain, patting his friends on the back. Amber quietly walked down the bleachers and towards the back of the school.
She heard the boys hollering and banging around in the lockers. She weighed her options of either going straight home or stalling and hopefully "running" into Jack on his way out.
She pulled her hood further over her head, goosebumps rippling on her arms as the cool rain made her jacket cling lightly to her. Clearly the umbrella wasn't helping too much. She heard the audience still cheering, some booing, as crowds came spilling from the bleachers and back home.
She kicked a rock, hearing some hollering in what she assumed was the locker room. Shoving her hands deep in her pockets, she decided to wait a little while longer.

Besides, Jack deserves a congratulations for enduring such a hard game.