"You alright?" Harry asked when he finally reached her.
Luz nodded, her smile still bright and cheerful despite the hard fall she'd just taken. "Yeah. I might have a bruise on my ass for a few days, but I'm okay."
Harry fought his laugh and gave his girlfriend a skeptical once-over, unsure if she was telling him the truth. In a swift move that surprised him, Luz reached up and kissed his cheek. "I'm fine, really."
"You promise?"
Luz nodded again. "Not to brag or anything, but I played against Brazil's national team. This was like a tickle compared to those women."
Harry smiled and shook his head in disbelief. "Of course it was."
She smiled sweetly at him and patted his cheek. From a couple feet away, one of the other team's players asked if they were done so they could get back to their game. Harry stepped forward, ready to throw caution and sense to the wind and knock this guy flat on his ass, but before he got the chance, Luz placed a hand on his chest.
"Of course," she said amicably. Turning to the guy who had put her on defense in the first place, she asked him if she could take the kick that they'd gotten for the other team's foul. "Please?"
Despite all she'd done for Harry and his team tonight, this guy still looked unsure, but he eventually let her take it.
It was far from the goal, just a little ways away from the middle of the field. When they saw Luz getting ready to take the kick, everyone got back into their positions, ready to pick the game back up.
Harry didn't think anyone expected Luz to take a shot from that distance, but he knew better, had seen her hit the back of the net from a greater distance in the past. Niall was in goal of course, but he didn't doubt that she would score just then. Luz took the ball and positioned it in a way that was perfect for her and backed up. She looked on at the field before her calmly, her eyes flicking around from player to player, then to the goal.
When the signal was given, Luz rushed forward and swung her leg back, her foot connecting with the ball. It flew with incredible speed through the air and into the back of the net before anyone had a chance to blink, the whole thing happening in a matter of seconds. Everyone was quiet for afterwards, looking between Luz and the goal in disbelief. Then there was movement, Harry's friends rushing over to Luz to celebrate their goal. It was the first time he and his friends had managed to score against this team, and to say they were ecstatic was an understatement.
The rest of their game went by relatively peacefully. No one scored after Luz's goal, but Harry's friends didn't care. When their game was finally over, Luz went up to the other team with everyone else to high five and shake hands. She smiled the whole way through, lighting up the small football field his friends played on each week.
In all the commotion, Luz had managed to evade Harry, talking to his friends while untying her cleats and putting on a pair of worn slippers she'd brought for when they were finished. Harry said goodbye to his mates, promising to meet them at the pub they usually went to after a win or a loss in a little bit. And then it was just him and Luz.
He walked over to where she was sitting on the grass and stretching, waiting for her to look up. When she did, both her nose and cheeks were rosy from the cold and from running around for the last hour or so. She grinned up at him, but stayed put in her sitting position, reaching her hands up for Harry to pull her up. He did, and quickly pecked her on the lips before turning around and bending down a little. He heard Luz sigh, but she didn't protest, just hopped up on his back so he could carry her to his car.
"I didn't think you noticed," she said, her voice close to his ear.
Harry threw a look over his shoulder as if to say, really? "You used your left foot to score that goal, Luz love. It was a dead giveaway."
Hustlers
Start from the beginning
