Daniel's POV
I first saw him standing in goal, his eyes sharp and focused, waiting for the ball to come to him. I strode forward, the soccer ball at my feet, glancing up at the opposing team's goal, waiting for the right time to pass to a teammate or strike. His gaze met mine, and I shot the ball to the corner. Well, I meant to shoot for the corner, but his eyes distracted me, and I shot the ball right at him. He caught it and smirked.
"Good job Jack!" One of his teammates called.
Then he powerfully kicked the ball straight to his teammate. Man, this is going to be a hard team to beat. I thought.
Now I stand right next to him, defending him from getting a shot on our goal. He's moved on from being goalie, and is now a strong offender. His curly hair bounces as he runs toward me. I drop to a defensive position and try to poke the ball from his feet, but my hand accidentaly touches his but, and my face turns bright red. He laughs and darts straight past me. How could I get distracted so easily? I can't give up... But their team is ahead of ours, now 7-1. My teammates faces sag with disappointment.
"Don't give up, guys!" I shout. In the split second utter my words, the opposing team slips past our defense and takes a shot. Our goalie doesn't even move.
"C'mon Jonah! Please don't give up! We need you!" But he just shakes his head as another teammate, Corbyn, tells me to let him be.
"But he can't give up," I argue. "If he gives up, then the whole team will think it's okay to not give it their all. I can't let that happen." I continue to cheer, even when we drop behind 7 points, then 8. Finally we're behind 9-1, and halftime is up.
"We can't win this game, but that doesn't mean we can give up." I say as my last words before we head out on the field.
1,2,3, Team! We rush out onto the field, ready for the final half of the game.
I take my place towards the back of our field, as a defender. It's time to show them what we've got. Maybe the first half didn't go so well, but now we'll have a chance to prove ourselves. Show that we're not just some other team that they can go and beat the snot out of. We'll show them that we are different.
Tweet! The whistle sounds, and we are in possession of the ball. Good, good, we're passing it up the field. Then Jack appears, seemingly out of nowhere, and gathers the ball at his feet. No! He dribbles keenly down the field, making a quick pass here and there, but always keeps the ball near him. I can't help but be in awe of his pure skill and intuition. If he weren't on the other team, I would seriously want to have him coach me...
But now he's in front of me, running down the field. Crap! No one's near the goal! How are we going to save this? But seeing that no one is moving down the field, I decide it's up to me to stop him. How? I have no clue. All I can do is run at him and hope for a miracle.
Suddenly I'm at his side, and our shoulders touch. In slow motion, I reach my foot for the ball, but accidentally get my leg tangled in his. We both hit the ground, and I bounce up again, ready for another attack. But Jack's still on the ground, his eyes casting an angry glare at me.
"You're not going to call that?!" He yells at the ref. The referee just shakes his head, saying that it was shoulder to shoulder contact. Jack huffs, and I offer my hand to help him up.
"I'm sorry about that," I mutter, but he refuses my hand and doesn't meet my eyes. I'm slightly disappointed at not getting to touch his hand, and I stare in a trance as he walks away.
"You okay, Daniel?" Zach, my teammate, asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumble. But I would be better if Jack wouldn't have refused my hand.
For the rest of the game, all I can think about is how adorable the boys face is, and how much I wish I actually knew him. By the end of the game, we've lost 11-1, but all I can think about is Jack. I can't help staring at him during our end of game team talk, and I stray behind after the game, hoping to see him.
But my luck ran out, seeing as he stayed a long time talking with his coach. Even though I'd only seen his that one time, I couldn't get him out of my head. Eventually I had to give up my silly crush, and focus on other things. I guess it just wasn't meant to be...
a/n: Thanks for reading and comment if I should do a part two!
