"Dancing through our house,
with the ghost of you,
And I chase it down with a shot of truth."
Ghost Of You — 5 Seconds Of Summer
"So it worked?" Nessa's blue eyes widen at me, her fork midair, inches away from her mouth with a piece of waffle on it.
I smile at my best friend sitting across from me, nodding. "It worked. She said yes."
Everyone around me bursts into cheers, the boys leaning over from their seats to clap me on the back, and I shrivel in embarrassment, seeing the other people that are at the breakfast buffet glancing our way.
"Where is she?" Kye asks, shovelling a sausage in his mouth.
"In the shower, she'll come down soon." I say, reaching for my glass of orange juice, letting the cool liquid slip down my throat.
After a few minutes, my friends' excessive excitement dies down as all of them start diving into their breakfasts, the boys on edge about practice that we have all day today, and the finals match we have in just the day after tomorrow. I can't believe that we've made it to the NCAA finals, and that we have a good shot at bringing that championship home. Last year's loss will only make this years win even sweeter.
I'm poking my waffle with my fork, my mind whirring about the match, when I feel a soft hand on my shoulder. My eyes immediately snap up to meet Alex's, my heart immediately doing a catapult at the sight of her. Damp brown hair left down her shoulders, high waisted shorts that show off her long, tan legs and her beautiful face bare and bright.
But before I can say anything, our table goes up in cheers again, this time directed at Alex, everyone ecstatic that we're finally officially together. Apparently some of these fuckers have been betting on how long it'll take for me to get my shit together and ask her out. Assholes, every single one of them, but I love them with all my heart. Without their help, I wouldn't have been able to pull off last night.
Alex flushes red at the attention, slowly sitting down next to me. As she talks to everyone, I slide my hand onto her lap under the table, grabbing a hold of her thigh and caressing her bare skin. Her soft hands come over mine, holding them, and I smile to myself. I look at her, watching her laugh, as flashbacks of last night blink through my head.
Holy shit, I'm in love. And she's in love with me. And we had the best fucking sex ever.
It feels like a dream, because I never in a million years expected to be in this position. Head over heels in love with a girlfriend. Ever since I can remember, the idea of love and relationships were so taboo and uncomfortable to me, because the only example of 'love' I saw growing up was my parents. And I didn't want anything to do with that kind of love.
Alex changed all of that. She showed me what love really is, taught me that it's more than what I grew up seeing. That what my parents had wasn't love, that what I have with her is.
And I can't wait to keep learning for the rest of my life with her.
✢ ✢ ✢
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.
I volunteer to take the kickoff, the ball between my legs as I step right outside the line, awaiting the whistle. My body goes into mode, hyper focusing on the game, everything else blurring around me.
The whistle blows, and my foot meets the ball in a swift kick, sending it flying across the field and the game officially begins. The first half passes by in a rush of adrenaline, heavy defense and strong offense from NRU. The score stays at 0-0.
When we retreat to the benches, right in front of the girls' seats, I can't help but turn around and look at Alex as I chug on my water. She smiles down at me, leaning over the railing to get a closer look. I'm so exhausted I can collapse, but the sight of her makes a fresh wave of energy thrum through my body.
"You're doing great, love!" She says, blowing me a kiss and I wink at her, before turning back to Coach, who's telling us what to improve and avoid in the second half.
The kickoff for the second half starts, and the game flurries with me attempting multiple times to shoot a goal, but UCLA's goalkeeper looks like a human version of Hulk, managing to knock out every shot I send his way. Thankfully, Elliot is as good as a goalkeeper even though he may not look like a Marvel character, he manages to keep UCLA from scoring as well.
As the clock ticks by, I can tell my team is getting agitated, and so am I. Neither teams have scored, and Coach Valdez looks minutes away from combusting as he watches from the side, arms crossed over his chest.
Side stepping an defensive player, I make myself free in Kye's line of sight as he surveys the field for someone to pass to. Kye locks eyes with me and kicks the ball, and I rush forward to accept it. Just as I'm about to receive his pass, a body comes crashing into mine from the side and I'm knocked off my feet, skidding to the floor. A sharp pain sears through my head as I come in contact with the ground, the grass prickly. I hear a collective gasp coming from the audience, and the whistle blows twice, signaling to stop the clock.
My vision blurs, and I squeeze my eyes shut, my hand coming up to cradle my head as I lie on my back, trying to focus on the pain subsiding.
"Triton!" I hear Coach's voice and I feel someone kneeling over me. I squint up to see Coach gesturing over a medic, Kye and a few other boys standing over me.
"That motherfucker—" Liam growls, turning around towards the UCLA team, but Jack grabs his shoulder and steers him away.
"Liam! Not the time for a damn fight. It's a foul." Coach snaps as the medic gives me a run over, checking for a concussion.
"Who was it?" Kye asks the boys, kneeling down beside me, his blue eyes pooling with concern.
"That bastard with the buzz cut. That was on purpose for sure." Leo says.
"Shut up, the lot of you." Coach silenced them, before turning to the medic. My vision clears, and the pain fades a little. I sit up slowly, Kye's hand on my back guiding me up.
"Is he alright?" Coach asks, and the medic nods.
"No concussion. He might have a bump in a few hours, but he's fine." The guy assures, nodding at me reassuringly.
"Are we gonna put Derek in to substitute him?" Liam asks Coach, but I cut him off, shaking my head as I pull myself to my feet.
"I'm fine. I'm playing." I state, straightening up and dusting off blades of grass.
"Are you sure, Triton? Because—" Coach looks at me worriedly, but I firmly shake my head again.
"I'm fine Coach." I assure, blinking the last bit of throbbing in my head away. On instinct, I look over to the bleachers, and Alex is watching me, hands covering her mouth. I shoot her a smile, silently assuring her that I'm fine.
In a matter of seconds, I'm back on the field, ready for my penalty kick. The guy that knocked into me got a red card, and he stormed off of the field angrily. I position myself in front of the net, the ball between my legs, my eyes hyper focusing on the goalie that's waiting directly in front of the goal.
My lungs are burning with exhaustion, and I can still feel the effects of my fall prickling behind my eyes. Pushing everything to the back of my head, I take a few steps back, and make the kick. The ball flies across the grass and the goalie lunges toward it.
And misses.
The ball bounces into the net, and the field erupts in cheers as the score board blinks a number one on our side, making the score 1-0, as my teammates jump all over me, excited. I grin proudly, slapping everyone's backs as we go back into position.
The next few minutes pass by, with us trying our best to keep UCLA from scoring. When my eyes lift over to the clock again, it reads 00:10.
Ten seconds left.
I return my focus to the UCLA player that has the ball between his feet, running through the field. Liam dips in front of him and manages to steal the ball, making our side of the bleachers go wild, everyone screaming for another goal. I can feel the restlessness and desperation coming off in waves from the audience, getting to the players on the field too.
My heart is thundering in my chest, the howl echoing in my ears. Sweat is trickling down my spine, my throat dry with thirst and exhaustion we're so damn close to winning I can almost taste it.
Liam passes the ball over to Leo, who turns to me and makes eye contact. He doesn't have to say a word for me to know what he's trying to tell me. I sent him a quick nod, confirming.
We're on the opposite side of the field from our goal, on UCLA's side. Making a kick that long is risky, and literally a long shot. But it's worth the risk.
I run to the halfway line, bouncing on the balls of my feet nervously as I wait. The next few seconds happen in a rush of blur. Leo kicks the ball to me, and I receive it. Without a moment's hesitation, I swivel to face the direction of our team's goal and make a long kick.
It almost happens in slow motion, and it's like the entire field holds their breath as the ball flies through the air, the UCLA defensemen jumping up trying to block it's path and failing. The goalie launches himself up into the air, his arms thrown up above him to knock the ball away.
The buzzer screeches milliseconds after the ball collides with the back of the net.
We won.
Maroon and white confetti rain down on us as I'm attacked by my teammates until I'm on the grass, all of them piling on top of me excitedly, yelling their heads off. The happiness and adrenaline that surges through me is strong, and I feel my eyes growing misty as I laugh, hugging whoever my arms can reach. The announcer is going crazy over the speakers, announcing the statistics and officially declaring North Regal University as the NCAA soccer final champions.
The boys roll off me, hooting and cheering, some of them crying happy tears. As much as I want to join my team in their celebration, I only have one thing in my mind.
Getting to my feet, I launch into a sprint towards the bleachers, fully aware of everyone's eyes and cameras on me. I see her face, her smile ten times brighter and her eyes shining with excitement and happy tears. Alex is hugging Chloe, but she pulls away and leans down over the railing when she sees me approaching.
Jumping up, I reach for the railing and hoist myself up, my mouth pressing against hers as I kiss her in front of everyone. The crowd around us goes wilder, and I can hear Nessa squealing behind Alex, but all I can focus on is the love of my life kissing me back, her smile melting into our kiss.
My hands start to ache because I'm basically holding myself up in the air, my feet hovering over a few inches off the ground but I don't give a fuck. I nip at her bottom lip just before we break apart, and I let myself drop down on the ground again.
The NRU crowd behind her is taking pictures, recording, or cheering their lungs out. I can hear the press behind me, the sound of shutters going off in cameras. This is it, now everyone knows. The untouchable soccer captain has finally fucking fallen head over heels, and everyone knows now that she's mine and I'm all hers. The excitement and celebration all around me is incredibly cathartic, and I feel like I'm on cloud nine.
"I love you!" I yell up at her, backing away to the field again, my eyes on her.
"I love you too." She replies, blowing me a kiss.
I don't believe in a lot of things, but I believe in her. I believe in us.
I catch her kiss, pressing it to my heart with a wink at her before turning around and jogging over to my team and Coach, who are in the middle of the field, still jumping around in joy.
As Kye and Leo bombard me with a hug, I glance over their shoulders at the bleachers again. She's still watching me, and even from this distance I can make out the look in her eyes when she looks at me, full of love.
We've just won a championship, but to me it feels like I've won so much more than that, knowing that there's an amazing, beautiful woman that loves me and that she's all mine.
___________________________________
hi guys!
just letting you know that in honor of hitting 700K, i made a trailer for DOTD! you can watch it on YouTube, the link is in my carrd, which is in my wattpad bio. you can also find it in my Instagram highlights, my username is @freedofdark
thank you for all your support. every single comment and vote hits me right in the feels.
i love you all ❤️
that's all for now.
take care mwah 💋