𝗚𝗥𝗨𝗗𝗚𝗘 - 𝙼 𝚡 𝙺

6. Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game

Over the course of the next 4 weeks, the sadness and the guilt that had been festering inside of Mattia had fizzled out almost entirely, leaving room for only one thing: bitterness.

Despite the turmoil he felt on the night of the movies dilemma, Mattia didn't stop to consider that he should be the one to apologise and end it once and for all.

If anything, his sadness only pushed him further from the apology everyone so desperately wanted him to give.

The fans were not happy about the fact that the Jersey Boys were no more—it got to a point where every single one of his comment sections were flooded with people telling him to apologise.

And it enraged him.

The divide between Kairi and himself had never been so wide. After the movies, they didn't speak to or even look at eachother once for at least a week. Even whilst at practice, the two completely ignored the other's existence.

Ale watched on with uneasy eyes—and even though he was technically also apart of the fight, everyone could see that the tension stemmed from Mattia and Kairi.

Mattia didn't allow himself to consider why that was, as it really should have been Alejandro who was more mad at him.

Nevertheless, time stretched on, and they fell into a new dynamic.

It was a chilly night in Fall during an extra soccer practice when they finally stopped ignoring eachother.

The coaches had divided the team in 2 and instructed them to play a mini game versing eachother.

Of course, Mattia and Kairi were put onto seperate teams.

Metaphorically, they were already against eachother. But something about being physically put against eachother set something off inside the both of them.

Petty fight turned into genuine, rage-fuelled competition.

The two clashed against eachother all game, each desperately trying to best the other. It wasn't until Mattia shouldered Kairi roughly and the coaches whistle rang deafeningly throughout the foggy field that either of them snapped out of it.

They were both scolded in front of the entire team at the end of practice—something about 'not acting like a team' and 'setting a bad example.'

They walked off the field in line with eachother, their heads hanging low and the rest of their teammates following dejectedly behind.

As they walked, Kairi muttered something to Mattia, but he was so shocked that Kairi had spoken to him that whatever he had said went completely over Mattia's head.

"What?" He blurted, looking down at his ex best friend in complete bemusement. Mattia was almost embarassed at the perplexity and the shock that rang through his voice.

"I said," Kairi grit out, looking up to make eye contact with him as he spoke his next words: "Game on."

Mattia scoffed the moment the words left Kairi's mouth. "Yeah, ok," he laughed humourlessly.

At that moment Ale had appeared from behind and grabbed Kai's shoulders, steering him forward and away from Mattia with an uneasy glance.

"Dramatic as hell for what!" He called out after them, cupping a hand to his mouth. They continued walking without looking back, though Mattia knew that they could still hear him.

"This isn't a movie Kai! It's real life!"

Game on my ass, Mattia thought to himself as he entered the parking lot where his dad would pick him up.