As much as you feared walking outside to a bunch of boos, you are hardly noticed. You look around for your mom and find her standing with Sam and his parents. You walk up to the group with your shoulders slumped. "Hey guys."
"Good game sweetie," your mom says giving you a hug.
"Right."
"Losses happen. You'll bounce back. You still played well," Mary says. And to your surprise, she hugs you.
"Thanks Mrs. Win-- Mary," you say with a small smile.
Your group stands around and talks for a little while. But you notice Sam is pretty quiet. Is he upset with you? You also notice Dean isn't around. He must have quietly disappeared after the two of you walked outside. You and your mom say your goodbyes and walk to the car. Even Sam's goodbye was quiet. He really must be disappointed in you.
It's late afternoon the next day and you haven't heard from Sam, so you decide to text him. You finally get a response an hour later.
-Hey.
-What ya doing?
-Watching a movie with dad. You?
-Nothing.
And the conversation seems to end. After half an hour, you can't stand it and text him.
-Sam, are you mad at me?
-What? No. Why?
-Because I lost the game for us last night.
He doesn't reply and you feel like you got your answer. You go back to your room and collapse on your bed. When your best friend is mad at you, it hurts. Your phone starts ringing and you answer it without checking the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Y/n, what's wrong with you? I could never be mad at you for that. You didn't lose the game. It was a team lost. We all made mistakes."
"But... you've been so quiet."
"Because I was upset with myself. I blamed myself for that loss."
"But Sam, you had a great game."
"I dropped passes and messed up routes. I wasn't perfect."
"But you didn't have a chance to win the game at the last second."
"Didn't I? I was in on that last play. I ran the wrong route and messed up. I could have been the one to get open."
"You don't know that. Wesson got enough space between him and his man and look what happened."
"I know. But maybe I could have gotten us closer for your field goal."
"Sam, stop. It isn't your fault. You didn't lose that game."
"Then you have to stop too. I am not letting you take the blame for the game."
"Okay."
"Okay."
A silence falls between the two of you and you can't help but smile. Only Sam would blame himself as much as you.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you wanna come over for dinner?"
"I can't. We are supposed to have a family dinner tonight. What about tomorrow?"
"Sounds good."
You feel much better after talking to Sam. Your mom knew you were down and tried to help, but it wasn't the same. And now you feel bad for not letting her help. You find her reading in her room.
"Mom?"
"Yes dear?" she says without looking up from the book.
"Do you want to do something? Like shopping? Or a movie?"
She slowly looks up from her book. "Really? I thought you weren't up for anything?"
"I talked to Sam. I'm better now."
"Oh," she says with a small smile. "Why don't we go out for dinner?"
"Sure. I'll go get ready."
Time with your mom was just what you needed. You've been so consumed with football lately, you haven't spent as much time with her as you used to. You thought talking with Sam helped, but this was even better.
And Dean was right, the team did bounce back. You felt like the team grew closer after the lost. Some of the seniors even played some pranks on you. You thought they were avoiding you and weren't going to do any. You also did your best not to let the missed field goal bother you and use it to get better. It wasn't the first you missed and it wouldn't be the last.
The team won the conference title and is now preparing for sectionals. You got a lucky draw and get to play at home. You feel more comfortable at home and are hoping that helps. You also drew the team with the worst record. But you aren't getting ahead of yourself. When it comes to post season, records mean nothing.
It's finally game day and you don't think you've been this nervous all season. You manage through your morning classes the best you can. Sam tries to get you to eat at lunch but it doesn't work very well. You finally excuse yourself to go work on a paper in the library. As you're leaving the cafeteria, Heather comes out of nowhere and startles you.
"Oh, hi Heather." You haven't seen much of her since the party and you aren't too upset about that.
She stares at you and says, "I don't like you."
"Well... I kind of knew that."
"And stay away from Dean. I've seen the way you look at him."
"What? Okay. I'm leaving now, you're not making any sense."
"I'm warning you, y/n," she says grabbing your arm. "Just because you're on the football team, doesn't mean you can follow him around like a puppy."
"Okay, that's enough," you say jerking your arm from her grip. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh I do. And if you don't stop, I will make your life miserable."
"Whatever Heather," you say turning away from her.
You have no idea what the hell that was. You knew Heather didn't like you, but you can't believe the reasoning. She is nuts and you don't understand what Dean sees in her. That is, besides the fact that she's pretty.
