dedicated to willow (aka mashtxn) bc AISLE FIVE IS OVER AND IM STILL NOT OKAY MY LIFE NEEDS LEMMA
~*~
"Hal! Hal, wait up!" the voice of her best friend, Rylin, rang through the hallway. Hallie slowed down until she reached a nearly stand-still pace. It was the end of the school day and all Hallie wanted to do was catch up on the final game of the World Cup.
"Do you want to come over and watch the game?" Hallie inquired once Rylin had caught up.
"Nope, I already know who won. Spoiler alert," Hal covered her ears with her hands, not wanting to know the outcome of the football game until she watched it, "Germany won."
"Damn you, Ry! I actually really wanted to watch that one!" She just laughs in response.
"Sorry! We won't have time to watch it anyways! We have to be back here in an hour for the scrimmages!"
This year, to kick off football season at their school, there was going to be a boys varsity versus girls varsity scrimmage game. Although it didn't count for the actual season, it was a very important game. College scouts would be there, watching for potential recruits. Hallie needed to make a good impression. If the scouts didn't want her enough to offer her a scholarship, then there was no way that her parents would be able to afford Hal's college education.
"We are gonna kick ass!" Rylin screamed, earning a few howls of approval from the people that were still in the parking lot.
"Don't get cocky, Ry. I can't afford to lose tonight. Quite literally at that," Hallie solemnly remarked. Rylin didn't know how to respond to that, so she didn't say anything. They slipped into Hal's car and the rest of the car ride was spent in silence.
~*~
Ashton, Calum, and Michael cheered and applauded Luke as he approached the gang. Luke had successfully scored a girl's number (again). Calum's cheerful smile soon faded as thoughts of his failed relationship with Gretchen invaded his mind. He really thought that what they had was real, and he was too naïve to realize that he was wrong.
"At least now I can devote all of my time to football," he thought to himself.
Luke made a crude remark about how fast he was gonna 'jump on that one,' causing the rest of the boys to chuckle softly. Luke was known to be the player of the group, whereas Calum was the sweetheart. Ashton was a year older than all of them, but had flunked a year in school. He loved the boys and served as the father of the group. Michael was always doing stupid shit, and, consequently, was in trouble a majority of the time. Today was one of the rare occasions that Michael didn't have to stay after school for detention, so it was kind of sad that they had to return to school soon anyways.
"So, what do you guys say? Should we come back to my house and play a quick game of FIFA or just stay here and talk about hot girls until the game starts?" Michael inquired.
"Michael, you're not even on the team," Luke scoffed.
"But I'm watching. I'm still going to have to come back," Michael replied defensively.
"If we go home, we aren't gonna come back. Might as well just stay here," Ashton replied. "Cal? What do you want to do?"
"Let's stay. I want to warm up anyways," Calum said despondently.
The boys all nodded in agreement and made their way to the football field. Ashton took his spot in the goal and Calum, Luke, and Michael lined up to take practice shots. Calum kicked the ball and it soared past Ashton's gloved hands, colliding with the net. Some part of him wished that the ball was Gretchen's face. But he still doubted that it would've hurt her as much as she had hurt him.
~*~
Hallie made her way around the parking lot for the third time, desperately searching for a parking spot. Rylin had made them late, not that it was anything new.
"HAL! I SEE ONE! I SEE ONE!" Rylin screamed, as Hallie let out a sigh of relief. She pulled into the parking spot and the girls hurriedly jumped out. They sprinted to the field, where the rest of the team was warming up. The bleachers were filled to the maximum capacity, most people with posters showing which gender they were cheering on. The crowd made Hallie somewhat nervous but she wasn't going to let it affect her game.
After stretching out, she began to warm up. She dribbled down the field, made a move, and aimed for the top right corner of the goal. Rylin jumped for the ball and it barely brushed past her fingertips.
"You're too good, Hal. You're just too good," Rylin muttered as Hallie went to retrieve her ball from the goal.
~*~
Even though it didn't count as a real game, the scrimmage was still being run as if it did. The two teams sent their captains to the middle of the field, where the referee was waiting for them to flip a coin, which would determine who started with the ball. Hallie and Calum made their way to the referee with their heads down, not noticing each other until they reached their destination. Realization hit both of them like a brick wall as they lifted their heads. Thoughts of the midnight encounter the previous week filtered into their thoughts and Calum began to grow nervous. He had seen how good she was; she was better than half the guys on his team. Calum attempted to make eye contact with Hallie, but she refused to meet his gaze. She didn't want him to see the light hue of pink adorning her cheeks. She had been pining over how attractive he was ever since she saw him playing football. She didn't really know why she was blushing, but she was, and she thought that it would make her appear weaker in his eyes.
The referee flipped the coin and Calum called heads before Hallie could react. But luckily for her, the coin landed on tails, so the girls would start with the ball.
The captains went back to their teams to discuss who would be starting on the field and who would be sitting on the bench. Each team did a chant and jogged onto the field, anxious to start the game. Mia, another forward, placed the ball at her feet and glanced at Hallie, waiting for a nod of her head, signaling that she was ready. Calum and Luke prepared to start, excitement building in the pit of her stomach. Hallie and Calum finally made eye contact and he smirked before she looked away. The captains narrowed their eyes in concentration and the whistle was blown. The game had begun.
~*~
HEY GUYS NEW BOOK. SOCCER CALUM HOLY SHIT THAT IS ALL.
XOXO- LENNON N SARA
