a/n: Oh my gosh I'm so so sorry it's taken me forever to write this! I've been super busy with school, but now I'm on summer break, so I'll be updating more! also, I know this is late, but congrats to jack and gabbie! Lavender is such a cutie! thank you all for being so patient!
Daniel's POV
2 months after our embarrassing loss, my team is in an out of town tournament. We're staying at a hotel with a few other teams in the tournament. Our first game is today, and right now my team is getting breakfast. We're all dressed in our identical blue uniforms, and two other teams are dressed in green and white. I decide to get a yogurt, and stand in line for a few minutes before noticing something in front of me. Well, more like, someone. A head of curly hair stood in front of me, and instantly my breath was pulled away from my chest. His arm reached for a peach yogurt, and i couldn't help but admire the muscle as he grabbed it. My face burned as I recalled my previous crush on him, even though I knew he didn't feel the same.
He turns around, and shakes me out of my thoughts as we lock eyes.
"Hey," he says, then walks away. I just stand there, totally and completely bewildered. My heart is beating a million miles per minute, and I'm reminded how gay I really am.
I'm shaken out of my trance by Jonah, who greets me in a drowsy way.
"Hey man, what are you staring at?" He yawns and I notice his tousled hair, messy from sleep.
"Nothing," I reply, grabbing a strawberry yogurt and taking a seat at the nearest table.
"Yeah, we totally believe that," Corbyn says, announcing his presence. "So who was it? Some hot chick?"
"Yes, sure." Satisfied with my answer, they go back to eating their waffles. Then Zach walks up and slaps each of us on the back, saying, "Ayyyyy who's ready to win our game today?!" He's so pumped up and excited, and it's contagious.
"We are!" We all chorus.
"Yeah, well let's not have another loss against that one team again... I think we play them first today." Jonah says. The rest of us groan, and I feel my heart flutter in my chest. Darn it, I wasn't expecting to play him so soon. It's almost time for the game though, so I have to change into my uniform and fill my water bottle up. Let's just hope I don't make a fool of myself...
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20 minutes later, I'm in my car, driving to our game. We got lucky with the perfect weather; it's seventy degrees outside. I see my team walking to a field, so I hop out of my car and dash towards them. I'm running with my head down, it's almost a sprint. I turn back and wave to my mom as she's driving away.
"Bye, Mom!" She blows me a kiss and yells at me to tie my shoe as I continue running towards my team. In the split second I turn around, I trip over my shoelace and fall headfirst into someone. Now I'm on the ground, with my head beating painfully. I glance over to see who I ran into, and I'm surprised to see Jack... so much for not making a fool of myself.
"I'm so so sorry. I didn't look where I was going..." I apologize profusely as he continues to lay on the ground. Standing up shakily, I offer him my hand and he takes it, this time.
"Hey, we played your team a month ago, right? I feel my face grow warm as I respond,
"Yeah..."
"Sorry that we beat you so bad. Hopefully you guys do better against us today! Oh, and what's your name? I'm Jack."
"Yep!" I squeak. "Oh, right, I'm Daniel..."
"Alright Daniel! See you later!" I nod and turn away. I really hope we win.
Once it's time for the game and we've done our warmups, I glance over at Jack's team. He looks up and we catch each other's eye. He waves, and I blush and turn away. Jonah notices and raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything.
We take the field, and I'm put in forward. A change from the last game we played against them, Jack is in defense. That means we'll be facing each other for most of the game. I see him and smile. He catches my eye and smiles back. At the first blow of the whistle, the game moves at lightning speed. I find myself with the ball and dribble quickly up the pitch. I pass to Corbyn on my left, and he takes it to the goal and shoots. I see Jack out of the corner of my eye, running towards him.
"Corbyn! Pass!" Jack moves his head to me, but the ball is rushing towards me too quickly for him to intercept it. I shoot the ball, and it swishes into the goal. Corbyn cheers, while Jack is left dumbfounded. A few of his teammates tell him off, but he brushes away. The rest of the game is pretty much the same, with both teams at their best. By the end, the score is 6-5, them. We're so close to a victory; just two more points.
"Alright team," I start. "We can do this. Work together!" And with that, we're back to the ball, working our way up the field. We score once, and then we regain the ball. I shout to get the ball, but as soon as I'm in possession, Jack is sprinting towards me. He smirks and tries to poke the ball from me. I grin and pull the ball back. Now he's behind me, and I have an open shot at the goal. But suddenly I'm on the ground, the wind knocked out of me. Kind of like earlier, complete with Jack wincing by my side.
"Sorry," he gasps in pain. By now I've pieced together that he slide tackled me so that I wouldn't score. I sigh. That's soccer for you. Now we're both on the golf cart that will take us to the first aid tent. We're sitting next to each other, but he has his eyes closed. I smile, despite the fact that I should probably be glaring at him. I mean, he did try to hurt me, but he looks so cute there, his curls falling loosely over his face. Now he looks at me.
"Aren't you mad at me?" He's breathing regularly now, holding an ice-pack to his head.
"Not really. You were desperate to win, and I understand that. I just wish you wouldn't have hit me that hard," I respond.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. So, umm, do you think you can forgive me?" he smiles sheepishly.
"Yep, definitely. Friends?" I hold out my hand for him to shake.
"Friends."
a/n: Thank you guys for all the support! don't forget to comment and vote! I love you all! happy reading!
