A/N Hey guys, here’s chapter 21. This story has so many reads I can’t even believe it. Thank you so much! The dedication is to Lyric_Loser because she always leaves me lovely comments. (: Anyway, please comment, vote, etc. Enjoy! (: xx
Niall’s POV
Liam and I walked onto the field, and my stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies. No, not butterflies…giant birds. I was so nervous, but at the same time I was extremely pissed off. I can’t believe Liam’s dad did that to him! When did he even have time to do that, when I wasn’t around? Next time I see that man I’m going to kill him. The rest of the team arrived, and Harry announced that I was trying out. We did a bunch of drills, and then we ran some laps. It might be my imagination, but Harry seems to be avoiding both me and Liam. Weird. He then announced we were going to scrimmage.
He placed me at center forward. In other words, I am playing striker. I was still a little bit nervous, but at least Liam was nearby. That made me feel a little better, and I tried to forget that Harry was watching me from the sidelines to see how well I did.
The other team kicked it off, and we began play. After a minute one of our midfielders got the ball, and began bringing it up the field. As we neared the goal, he passed it off to the side, and Liam, who was to my right crossed it into the center to me. I dribbled around the last defender and shot the ball. And…I scored!!! I jumped in the air in victory. That felt amazing. The team yelled congratulations and Liam ran over to give me a hug and a high five. We lined back up and started again, and I scored twice more by the time we were done.
Harry then had us line up on the side of the field and told us to do sit ups. I glanced at Liam in concern as he started. It was obviously hurting him, but he was doing a pretty good job of covering it up. Harry seemed to catch my concerned glance because his eyes went wide and he cleared his throat.
“Liam, can I have a word please?” he asked. Everyone looked at him oddly, and he shrugged.
“He’s basically co-captain. I need his opinion on Niall,” everyone made noises of assent and continued with what they were doing. They walked away from us a bit so we couldn’t hear what they were saying. It seemed to mostly be Harry doing the talking, but occasionally Liam would add something in and Harry would nod in agreement. I wonder what they’re talking about.
They came back about 5 minutes later, and Harry told us all to stand up.
“Alright guys, we’ve decided that Niall has made the team,” he announced, and he seemed rather proud of me. Well Harry, I’m proud of me too. I can’t believe I just made the soccer team! Everyone cheered and Liam came over and grabbed me in a huge hug. Harry averted his eyes.
“Uh…yeah, so practice is over now. You can all go home,” he said after awkwardly clearing his throat. The team cheered again and jogged off the field to the locker rooms. Liam and I walked after them but I paused when I realized Harry wasn’t following. I turned back to see him just standing on the side of the field, staring at the grass.
“You coming, Harry?” I called back. He looked up and did a half smile.
“What? Yeah, I’ll uh, I’ll be right there, Niall,” he assured me. He began walking slowly toward the locker room, apparently deep in thought.
Liam was waiting for me further ahead, so I jogged to catch up to him. He glanced at his watch and his eyes widened.
“Oh, shit! Niall, I uh, I have to go. I’ll text you later or something yeah? I just…I have somewhere I have to be, and if I’m late…I can’t be late,” he told me hurriedly, taking off towards the locker room.
