dedicated to sugarplumluke bc caddy makes me feel all tingly inside
~*~
He laced up his cleats. There would be no more wallowing in his misery; they broke up for a reason. Her hurtful words flashed through his mind, reminding him that he wasn't good enough.
You're too invested in football
I was only pity-dating you
It's better if we end it now
He spun the glossy ball and placed in on the wet grass. The penalty kick line was clearly marked in white paint, which made it easier for him to spot the ball in the darkness of the night. He takes five steps backwards and inhales deeply. He charges at the ball and punts it into the top left corner of the net. The satisfactory feeling he had missed so much surged through him and he instantly craved more. His absence from his favorite hobby was spent in misery. But football wasn't just a hobby to him; it was his whole life. Every thing he did revolved around the sport.
He manuevered his way through the complex net with the utmost level of expertise to retrieve his ball. Before he kicked it again, he grabbed a pair of earbuds from his gym bag and shoved them into his ears. Scanning over the music on his iPhone, he finally decides on Basket Case by Green Day. He turns the music to the maximum volume in order to drown out the distracting noises of the night.
He practiced each aspect of the game until he was interrupted hours later. The flickering of lights illuminated the turf and he scanned the field to see where they came from.
She stood there on the outskirts of the field taking a swig of water. After setting her water bottle on the field, she drops her ball and dribbles it to the other half of the field. The girl doesn't even notice him, so he lets his gaze remain on her. Her hair was tied into a messy ponytail, a thick white headband keeping unruly brown wisps from invading her vision. A white t shirt was loosely tucked into the front of her Nike shorts. After staring at the girl for another moment, he diverted his attention back to the football in front of him.
He continued to practice his moves without a care in the world. Football was like rehab to him, a way to help him move forward. He collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and studied the horizon as the sun began to peek out into the dark sky. He realized that he needed to start heading back home before his mom became aware of his absence. He tears the earbuds out of his ears, no longer in his own haven.
He jogs off the field but stops to take one last glimpse of the girl. His eyes trailed up her body and finally land on her face. She appeared to be studying him just as intensely. He recognized her in that instant as the captain of the girls varsity football team for his school. They stare at each other for another moment before she gives him a curt nod of her head and diverts her attention back to the goal. He furrows his eyebrows thoughtfully and walks off the field. He unlocks his car and drives away.
~*~
She tosses in her bed, burying her face in the warm pillow. It was another sleepless, worry-filled night. Her insomniatic ways had begun to take a toll on her, but there was nothing she could do about it. She throws off the covers and lets out a huff of annoyance. She collects her things and pulls a pullover on over her t shirt.
She slips out of her house, careful not to wake her family members. Playing football was the only way to ease her midnight stress even thought it was the very cause of it. She couldn't afford to have an off day this season. That could potentially cost her a scholarship and a good college education. After unlocking her car and jamming her key into the ignition, she makes her way to her school, where the football field is.
Ten minutes later, she finds herself walking down to the field with her football in hand. Much to her surprise, she finds another person on the field, playing in the darkness of the night. After heaving a sigh, she moves towards the fuse box and flips on the light. She may as well make her presence known. The bright lights illuminate the boy's features. He had dark hair with slight curls and bronzed skin. He lifted his head and looked around, diverting his attention from the ball. His eyebrows furrowed as he searched for the reason the lights had turned on.
She gulped down her water and sprinted to the empty half of the field, dribbling the ball along the way. She feels his gaze lingering on her as she peels her pullover off of her muscular body. She resists the temptation to turn around and analyze him more closely because she was here for no one but herself. The more she trained, the easier it was to forget that her entire future was relying solely on her talent. When the sun began to rise, she decided to head home before her parents took notice of her absence.
She turned around the grab her bag when she saw him staring at her intently. Instead of looking away shyly, she returns his gaze and gives him a slight nod of acknowledgement. With that, she turns back to the goal to launch her football into it one last time. After retrieving the ball, she turns on heel to see if the boy was still there. He wasn't.
~*~
umm new story. super excited. that is all
