The Dangers Of The Damaged ✔︎

62 ↝ Cloud Nine

And I can't wait to keep learning for the rest of my life with her.

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It's chaos all around me.

Sucking in a nervous breath, I rub my hands together, trying to calm my heart and nerves. The boys and I are all suited up in our stark white uniforms, gathered inside the tunnel that leads into the field.

I can hear the roaring crowds, the fanfare, the music blurring in with excited cheering. It's the NCAA finals, the biggest crowd we get. Cameras are rolling, shooting live, the press scattered around behind the railings. There are a few cameramen around us, everyone waiting until the announcer starts calling us into the field.

All this only adds to my adrenaline, pumping the blood in my veins faster, as I turn around and survey my teammates. Next to me, Kye is basically bouncing off the walls, excited. Everyone looks either incredibly nervous, or oozing confidence. But they're all ready. We've worked our asses off to even be here.

I've already given them the pep talk, and so has Coach. We did the team huddle a few seconds ago, but I still look at each of them one last time, before turning back to face the front.

Today's the day. We either take the championship home and or walk away with another loss under our belts.

Gritting my teeth, I flex my hands and close my eyes and think of her. Alex's face morphs in my head, her gorgeous smile. I hear her soft voice saying my name, her gentle touch dancing on my skin. The way she looks at me, the sound of her laugh.

Immediately, like a balloon deflating, my whole body calms down a little. Alex calms me down. She's my peace.

"Alright!" A voice makes me snap my eyes open, and a manager wearing a headset and a clipboard comes into view. "Y'all are on in 20 seconds."

"Cameras, ready to roll?" He turns to the cameramen standing a few feet away from us, holding up their super expensive equipment on their shoulders, everything aimed at us like guns. The guys nod, their cameras blinking red as they start recording.

"And to our left, we have North Regal's Raptors!" The announcer's voice booms through the speakers, and we're given the green light to go. I'm the first one to burst into the field, my teammates following me in a straight line, the roaring cheers and bright lights overwhelming my senses for a second.

The bleachers are split into two, everyone on the left side wearing blue, our opponents, UCLA's colors. The other side is a sea of maroon, NRU's side. I see people from our college holding up boards with our names on it, and Ryan the Raptor, our mascot, is doing yet another one of his famous twerks.

Standing here, in the middle of the field with this huge crowd surrounding me, I feel like a needle in a haystack. UCLA's team is already on their side of the field, warming up. The grass crunches under my cleats as we're ushered to warm up as well and my eyes flit over towards the bleachers. I know Alex and the girls would be sitting on field side seats, just behind the lifted railing separating the bleachers and the field. The boys and I made sure that they'd have the best seats.

My eyes find hers, and Alex is already looking at me. Her brown hair falls in waves over her shoulders, her smile bright as she waves her hands in the air at me. She has streaks of maroon paint on her cheeks, a white baseball cap on her head. To top it all off, she's wearing my jersey.

My heart blossoms in my chest and I grin back at her, feeling ten times more confident and at ease now. Alex is here, as my girlfriend, wearing my jersey, to watch me play my sport. I've won at life.

After warmups and one final team huddle, we're called for a coin toss. UCLA wins the toss, and we have to do the opening kickoff. Everyone gets into positions, and the crowd quiets down in anticipation.