Saving Carter

Chapter 11 - Captain

Yay! New chapter. (*blah* football=soccer *blah*)

“NICHOLS! Stay back!” Carter groaned when the coach called him out. What could he have done this time? The coach had been giving him a hard time all week. He jogged over to the coach, holding the football in his hand.

“Yeah Coach?” he asked, playing with the ball in his hand nervously.

“I want you to Captain the team on this Saturday’s match” the coach said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Carter stared at the coach in shock before a huge grin broke out across his face. Daniel and Nick actually made a right prediction. The coach handed him an arm band which said ‘Captain’ in big white letters. Carter grinned and happily put the arm band on.

“Thanks sir. I won’t let you down” he said.

“I know you won’t and if you do a good job. This could be permanent. Oh and here’s your team jacket” the coach said, throwing the varsity jacket in Carter’s hands. He gave the coach one last smile before running to the changing rooms where the whole team were plastered against the door. They clearly had been trying to listen to what the coach was saying.

“Uh…” Carter muttered.

“What did the coach say?” Nick asked, placing his arm on Carter’s shoulder.

“He wants me to Captain the next game” he said, showing off his arm band. The whole team applauded and whooped for Carter. Sarah would have been so proud if she was there.

“Okay man, we have to celebrate” Tyler, one of his team mates said, patting him on the back. Carter cocked one eyebrow. He had never really interacted with the team, apart from Nick and occasionally Daniel, unless they were on the field. A lot of the guys had attempted to loosen him up but failed.

“Party at my place after the match on Friday!” Daniel said, walking out of the showers with a towel wrapped around him. The team cheered and they all gave Carter man hugs. He had to admit, he felt special at that moment.

“Put on some clothes man!” Nick told Daniel, covering his eyes and the team burst into laughter. Carter laughed when Daniel grumbled and headed back into the shower.

“He’s an idiot” Carter said, still laughing, nudging Nick on the shoulder.

“Ladies and gentleman of Riverside High! Please say hello to the new football captain!” Carter elbowed Nick in the ribs when everyone in the hall turned to look at them. He gave a shy smile when a few of his team mates cheered. Nick rested his arm on Carter’s shoulder as they approached his locker.

“Okay so you’re gonna get a lot of dates now” Nick told Carter giving him a smirk. His eyebrows shot up and he turned around to look at his friend in shock. He didn’t want any dates yet.

“What do you mean Nick?” he asked.

“Well, you’re kinda quiet but now that you’re captain, people will notice you” Nick responded. Just then, a girl Carter recognized from his Chemistry class gave him a wink and he gave her a blank look in response.

“But Coach said, I’m captain for the match on Saturday and if I do a good job then it’ll be official” Carter explained. He didn’t want to look at another girl unless it was Sarah. It wasn’t happening.

“Obviously you’ll become captain. You’re one of the best players on the team already” Nick said, patting him on the back. Carter leaned against his locker and rubbed his temple, trying to think clearly. He knew he wanted to be Captain but at the same time he didn’t want the entire female population to fall over him. Just then someone bumped into him, successfully throwing him to the ground. He glared up at the person until he realized it was Lucky.

“Sorry Carter!” she said, giving him an apologetic look. He softened his gaze and shook his head, indicating it was okay.

“Lucky! Get back here!” he heard a male voice shouting, he looked in the direction where the voice was coming from and he saw Principal Walton, looking sweaty and flustered, running down the halls. He didn’t realize Lucky was still crushing him until she scrambled to get up and continued running. He stared at her retreating figure in amusement.

“I wonder why Walton was chasing her this time” Nick said laughingly. Carter gratefully took his hand as he helped him up.

“That always happens?” Carter asked in shock.

“Only when Lucky rigs his office. Which happens a lot.” Nick said with a shrug. “So what’s going on with you and Lucky?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Nothing” Carter responded, cringing when he replied too quickly. “We’re just friends.”

“Yeah right Carter. I saw you guys on Saturday on her balcony. Holding hands and what not. You’re lucky Daniel didn’t see you or else he might have killed you” he said. Carter cocked one eyebrow but he felt his stomach flip at what almost happened on Saturday.

“Nothing happened” he muttered. He felt like he would be betraying Sarah by harbouring any kind of feeling for any girl. Especially Lucky.

'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'

“Alright guys. There’s five minutes left in this match and we just need one more goal to win. I need everyone to focus. Am I clear?” Carter asked his teammates that Saturday. He was covered in sweat and mud since it was raining and he had fell down while they were playing the match. The team all nodded at him.

“Good. Just do this one thing: keep the ball. Don’t let the other team touch it. Alright?” he asked, they all made sounds of agreement and he felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. His hand automatically went to adjust his captain band as he gave a few more words of encouragement before they ran back onto the field, the opposing team glared at them but he chose to ignore it and focused on the people in their school who had come out to support the team.

He saw Lucky in the crowd, waving at him enthusiastically; he gave her a small wave and smiled at her before jogging back to his position.

“Okay Carter, I need you to win this for me, okay?” Sarah said, playing with his hair. He nodded at her, still out of breath from all the running he had been doing on the field.

“Of course” he said, giving her a cocky smile. She rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder playfully. He smiled down at her, wearing his extra team shirt. It was way too big for her but she looked beautiful in it.

“I love you” she said. He felt his heart skip a beat as she said those words to him.

“Love you too” he said, tickling her playfully. He gave her a lasting look before jogging back over to his team.

The sound of cheers broke Carter out of his thoughts as he felt his teammates pile on top of him.

“We won!” he heard them chant. He smiled and joined their chanting as they got off of him and Nick came up and wrapped an arm around his shoulder as they all walked over to the supporters. Carter let out a sound of surprise when Lucky ran up to him and pulled him into a hug.

“Congratulations!” she said. He smiled down at her and thanked her before being pulled into the crowd by Nick. He yelped when he was pulled on top of one of his teammates shoulders as the team cheered for their new captain. For the first time in a long while, he felt carefree. He felt like his old self.

So Lucky and Carter’s ship name (You know like Brangelina)

Lucarter? Cucky? Cartucky? Lucter? Luckter?