Freshly cut grass gave way beneath the weight of Niall's electric blue shoes, the sound of his own ragged breathing filling his ears. Sweat slicking over his frame. The blond haired boy kept pace with his team. Niall eyed the opposing jersey closest to him before he was flicking his attention to ball gliding down the pitch with help of Calum’s skilled feet, the boy's soft features wraped into a look of pure concentration as he shot the sphere to Luke. The blonde anticipated the move, long legs further forcing the ball towards the goal. Niall braced into proper position, his sky colored eyes locking for a moment with the Luke's before the ball was being passed to him and the side of his foot was guiding a quick thrust to polyester material. The ball rocketed forward, effortlessly bypassing the goalie by a large margin and getting tangled into the net.
"Nice job, Niall!,"
Luke roared over the cheers from the crowd, Niall smiling broadly at the him while he adjusted the shoulders of his black uniform.
"It's all you, Captain,"
Niall hummed back, jogging back to the bench that held the water equipment while trying not to hold onto the sting of resentment that had somehow edged its way into his chest.
Luke was a good guy, an outstanding leader, a better teammate than anyone Niall had ever seen, and he deserved the position he had come to claim.
The blond haired boy let the reminder pass through his mind a couple more times, silently punishing himself for becoming jealous as he neared the rest of his teammates. He grabbed a prepared Gatorade bottle, tilting his head back and letting the cool water chase away any anxiety that may have grown. He handed off the thing to the next awaiting player, back of his hand dragging across his mouth while he fixated his stare on the scoreboard.
26 to 11, two minutes left to decide the outcome of the game, although it was clear the other team had no chance of catching up with his.
The annoying, non-stop clicks of a camera withdrew the boy's focus from inside his head, a brow rising in question as he twisted his frame to the side. Niall fought back the need to groan when he spotted the head of (y/h/c) hair behind the lens of a Canon, his gaze taking in the worn, gray sweatshirt enveloping the thin physique, blue skinnies encasing her legs, and the white Adidas anchoring her feet.
A familiar wardrobe to go with the routine, feeling of affection that had burrowed deep into the Niall's chest, not that he'd ever admit the fondness was there.
The blond haired boy preferred to feast on the irritation that came with it instead, and so he let his face twist into that of a scowl and flipped the photographer a not-so-friendly finger. The camera pulled away from the (y/h/c)'s confused expression, a frown pulling between her (y/e/c) gaze while an agitated breath blew between her pursed lips.
"Watch y'self Horan, wouldn't want that pretty little picture getting blown up in the yearbooks, would we?"
The girl mused, fingers tapping on the side of the Canon as if thinking to herself.
Niall shrugged, showing a calm aura as he continued to glower
"You wouldn't."
"Watch me,"
The girl daunted, her mouth easing into a lazy smile that held all the promises of a threat.
(Y/N) (Y/L/N) was a fucking menace.
And she was all Niall could think about for the rest of the game. His best friend's little sister had edged his way beneath his hardened exterior, stealing his attention and persuading his mind towards inescapable notions of fevered touches crawling across smooth skin and aching sighs filling the space in between. But that wasn't all he wanted, and that was the problem, and Niall had never been very good at figuring his own solutions.
