Woodside Academy (Percabeth AU)

Chapter 35 - The Final Game

     We tied our hair into braids, so people could see the 13 on our backs.

     We colored a huge sign, and came up with the funny phrase "Percy shows no mercy!" and a bunch of random doodles around the edges. I added a few Taylor Swift lyrics, ones that I knew he liked. We even attempted drawing the heart hands from Fearless, it turned out alright.

     And once we'd gotten off of the bus after the two hour drive, we immediately ran to the bleachers on the away team side of the field. We were on the bottom row, right behind the benches. The team hadn't gotten out yet, so the benches were empty.

     Then the announcer came on, much to our excitement, allowing the players onto the field.

     "And the away team—Woodside Academy!" The doors to the locker room opened, and our team streamed onto the field, running over to the bench.

     I was standing with Hazel, Silena, Piper, and Thalia, and we all started jumping and screaming our heads off.

     "YEAHHH!!!"

     "PERCY! PERCY!"

     "13 IS THE BEST!"

     We screamed random things like that, causing Percy to look up and grin at us.

     We waved our sign around, giving him thumbs up. He gave us a thumbs up back, before turning around to face his teammates.

     I watched as they all huddled up, probably discussing their game plan and hyping each other up.

     The other team was at their bench as well, doing the same thing as our team. A few seconds later, a whistle went off and the teams dispersed onto the field with a loud yell.

     The teams got into position, waiting for the whistle. When it blew, the game began and the crowds hushed.

     Some kid got to the ball first, taking it downfield before Frank bashed into him and kicked the ball almost to the goal. Jason was playing as a striker this game, and took the ball closer to the goal. One of the defense on the Meriwether team tripped the ball out from under Jason, kicking it to one of his midfielders. Percy intercepted by sliding between the two, knocking the ball back towards Jason in the process. Two defenders chased behind Jason, but Jason shot the ball into the far corner of the goal.

     We erupted into cheers, and Percy clapped Jason on the back as they repositioned themselves.

     The goalie punted the ball, causing Percy and Jason to sprint off in that direction.

     Frank jumped, catching the ball on his chest so it rolled in front of him. He kicked the ball back up towards Percy, but a Meriwether player head butted it and passed it to his other friend. The friend caught it and kicked hard into the goal. Leo's fingers barely brushed it as he tried to catch the ball, but it was too far above his head.

The other side yelled loudly, and Leo jumped from one foot to the other, shaking his hands. Travis and Connor turned around and told him something, which seemed to calm him down. Frank turned and yelled something that I could barely make out, while Jason and Percy gave him a thumbs up. I smiled at how they were all encouraging of each other.

The only one who didn't do or say anything was Luke, who just glared at Leo.

     The game seemed like it took forever, but it also seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. I was so focused on watching Percy that I didn't even realize when we made it to the finally quarter.

     Can you blame me? I mean...he looked good out there, what can I say? The way he so confidently made his way across the field, the way he slid onto his side to intercept the ball.