I felt the tingle of nerves at my fingertips as thoughts of the big event later today drifted around. The quarterfinals.
Oh man, I felt like my heart was about to burst.
I didn't even notice my right leg bouncing until I felt a hand land on top of it under the table that paused its movement.
"Lyssa, you alright?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Just a tad- a little nervous about tonight."
Leah squeezed my thigh comfortingly and leant to whisper teasingly in my ear. "Well stop biting your lip like that. I can't tell how much longer I'm able to stand to see that without pouncing on you."
I immediately flushed and stopped the unconscious lip biting. She was getting bold with me in the presence of others.
Looking around just in case if anyone noticed her flirtatious words, I turned and shook my head at her humorously as she pulled her hand away to steal a fry from my tray with a cheeky smile on her face.
"Fry-stealer," I huffed with a mock frown. Her smile just grew wider.
I saw her eyes flicker down to my lips and for a second, I thought she was going to lean in and touch them with hers in the middle of the cafeteria. But she broke eye contact and went back to eating from her lunch. "You'll do fine tonight. I'm going to be there as moral support. In fact, everyone is coming to support you, right guys?" the blonde addressed the rest of the table.
Gia, Zach, Ash, Riley and Sara were all sat there with us near the back of the cafeteria. The two of my closest and best friends were quick to positively affirm Leah's sentiment, while Zach nudged my shoulder from my other side, giving me a warm smile and a nod.
Riley, however, spoke up with regret in her tone. "Sorry Aly, I don't think I'll be able to make it. I have a bio test I gotta make up for after school. And since it's an away game, I'll probably only get there by the time it ends."
"It's okay, Riley," I smiled, understanding.
"I'll be there cheering you on," Sara chipped in.
"Thanks, guys." My heart warmed at the amount of love I was getting from them, especially with something that meant a lot to me.
We went back to eating and chatting about random things. The rehearsals for the school play that Gia and Leah were in, Ash's basketball drama in the team, Sara and her 'thing' with a new boy, and so on. As I looked around, I noticed Zach was occasionally glancing to the other side of the table, where Riley and Ash were getting cuddly and couple-y like usual. I would catch him doing this often, but this time, I saw his gaze wasn't one of longing anymore. Something was different.
"You okay?" I decided to ask him.
The sandy-haired boy snapped his attention to me, confused. "Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" My eyes flickered to the couple sitting across from us to indicate what I was referring to and he caught on. He shook his head and chuckled when he realised. "Oh, no. I'm good."
"You sure?" I said, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm over it. It's all fine now." Although his lopsided smile was playful, I could tell he meant it.
"What changed?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "I know I'm never going to have a chance. The only thing for me to do is move on. And I did." He leaned closer to whisper so only I could hear. "Besides, I found someone else."
I pulled away and blinked in surprise. "Wait, really? Who!"
"Not telling just get."
"What! Aww, come on. Does he go here?"
He mimed zipping his mouth and smiled his boyish smile. I narrowed my eyes at that. "Alright, fine. But you better introduce him to us if it gets serious."
"Of course," he said lightly, throwing his arm over my shoulder and hugging me to his side. We've grown close since we came out to each other, understanding each other in a way that our other friends may not. With both of us still in the closet, there's just something that we get about each other. The shared experience was something I took comfort in - him too, and in a way, it's also had a hand in getting me to feel more open to the idea of coming out. Like I wasn't alone in feeling scared, unbalanced, and anxious at the thought. I'd have someone there with me.
But another person that was constantly pushing my comfort zones was no other than Leah. Every day that I spent with her was another day I saw myself coming into my own, being more confident and prouder for who I was. There were moments where she would do a big bold move, like just now, to hint of her willingness to be open about us. Although it can be a bit much and obvious, I think I needed those moments to help come to terms with all this. We were moving forward.
As lunch period neared its end, I said goodbye to my girlfriend with a subtle squeeze of her hand before letting go. My friends would be meeting me at the game after school, so they said their good lucks before heading off. Now, I just had to get through one more period before I could leave early to get to the away game with the team.
Now without the distraction of my friends, I felt my nervousness tickle inside my chest.
This was going to be the longest history class ever.
___________________
My final lesson seemed to last three hours before it ended, and when it did, I bolted out of there and headed towards the bus waiting outside for us with Camilla. She was in my last class with me and chatted excitedly the whole time. The nerves were starting to grow stronger as time went and by now, I've fidgeted with the hem of my shirt sleeve so much, to the point where it's now fraying.
Making a quick stop at my locker for my gym bag, we continued on our way and went through the front doors to see coach already there by the bus's entrance, checking names off as my teammates climbed on.
"Woods, I see you look ready for today," Coach Ackerman remarked, noticing my nervous energy as I shifted from foot to foot, Camille getting on first.
"Yep, ready to win."
"Good, love that way of thinking. Now get in."
I turned and was about to but bumped into someone who was also going to do the same. "Oof, sorry-" Crystal blue eyes flickered to me and I felt my breath get caught in my throat. "Um-"
Olivia cleared her own throat and gestured me to go ahead, quickly averting her gaze. "You go first."
I regarded her for a second longer before moving to go up the steps. As I walked down the aisle, a sigh escaped my lips. Ever since that party where she found out about Leah and me, she's been distant from me. Don't get me wrong, we still talked during practice and say the occasional 'hi' when we were with the other girls, but it doesn't go past any more than that. It's sad because we used to talk all the time. Now, it's just... nothing.
Shaking those thoughts out, I spotted a free seat next to Hayley and plopped down next to her. "Hey, Hayes. Excited?"
"Hell yeah! It's gonna be fun kicking their asses tonight. We're so close to getting back to where we were last year."
"Just one more game..."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Olivia take her seat two rows back and next to our keeper, Jordan. They started chatting amicably just like Hayley and I, and when I compared it to our interaction earlier, it just made me frown with dejection.
The rest of the bus ride was filled with excited chatter and pop music that pumped through the bus, riling us up with energy as most of us shouted along. Coach let us do this every game day just so we could get ourselves in the right mindset for the coming match. It was one of the parts that I absolutely loved about away games - the vibe was always a blast on the way there.
The bus arrived at our destination thirty minutes later and stopped by the front gates of the school. I hauled my bag over my shoulder and got off our ride with the rest of the girls. We quickly made our way to the changing rooms by following the signs stuck on the walls for us.
As we changed into our kits and put on our gear, chattering noises filled the background and laughter popped up once in a while as some of the girls joked around. However, my attention was primarily focused on the indie rock music blasting from my earphones.
It's what I needed to listen to before every game to help get me mentally ready for the match. From the Wombats to Vampire Weekend, I rocked my head to the beat as I sat on the bench and waited for Coach to come back and call us to the field.
However, I was pulled away from my music when I heard several hysterical laughs sound out and echo around the room. Pulling my earphones out, I noticed most of the girls chuckling as a particular chatterbox had her mouth stuffed with what looked like a sock by a very flushed Lindsey. I hope the sock was clean...
Camilla tried to shove Lindsey's hand away as the latter tried to keep her palm over the former's mouth. The chatterbox must've said something about Lindsey that she wasn't supposed to say.
"I told you that in confidence! What the hell, Camilla!" Lindsey yelled, her face still beet-root red with brunette strands flying everywhere.
"Ack! Mmph-urmmph!" Camilla spluttered out, the sock still in her mouth. Finally, with effort, she pushed Lindsey's hand off and got the sock out. "Blah! Why did you have to do that! Shitting your pants is nothing new! People do it more than you think."
"It was one time! And I was eight!"
I chuckled and put away my music, deciding to join in on the fun. "Since we're spilling things - Camilla, don't you remember that time you choked on boba while slurping that milk tea in front of that cute cashier?"
Now it was the Latina's turn to turn red. "Why did you have to bring that up again? It already sucks that I can't ever go back into that shop without dying with embarrassment."
Everyone laughed at that, the mood lightening with the banter and teasing. Camilla took it like a champ and waved it off, instead, bringing up another embarrassing memory that had the changing room filled with laughter.
My heart warmed whenever the team got like this - all of us vibing and having fun. There were a few clashing personalities in the team, as expected when you put a bunch of people together, but there were moments like these when that all just faded away. Even Olivia was giggling like the rest of us.
It was soon cut short when Coach Ackerman came in with a clipboard in hand. She threw me the captain's armband to wear and Lindsey helped me slip it on. "Alright ladies, quiet down. So, I know we went over the things to remember in our last session, but I want to make sure it's drilled into your heads."
She went through the opposing players to watch out for, their known weaknesses in the team and the plays for the game. We all listened intently, knowing that this could mean either a win or a loss.
Our team have done an amazing job in getting us this far, not that it was a surprise since these girls were skilled, adding onto how Coach has pushed us to our limits in every training session this season. Last year, we got knocked out of the semis by a late goal from the other team, practically the ninetieth minute. Well, the way we were working our asses off this season was paying off. For now.
She ended her speech with this. "Ladies, this is an important one. Listen out for each other, rely on your teammates, and make me proud. Now get out there and kick their asses!"
Whoops and cheers rose as we jumped to our feet, high fiving our coach on the way out as I led my team in the front.
We quickly made it onto the field and when we did, cheers erupted from the people who came to support us. It wasn't as loud as the other side's support, but it was enough to know that they were there. I saw my friends on the bleachers waving my way, and I eagerly waved back. We got to the benches and my eyes were still glued to the crowd.
I spotted Leah get out of her seat and make her way down to the fence. Since I still had a bit of time left, I broke away from my team and jogged over, a grin stretched across my face.
"Hello~ beautiful. Here to wish me good luck?"
"Of course," she said, a soft, genuine smile on her face. I'll never get tired of seeing that. "Don't score in the wrong direction and go kill it out there, yeah?"
I placed my hand briefly on top of the one she had resting on the bar. That small touch was enough to send electricity through my arm and down my spine, creating a type of warm I couldn't describe. "I will."
"You mean you will score in the wrong direction or you'll kill it out there?" she asked teasingly.
Rolling my eyes at her, I was about to retort with some quirky response, but Leah's attention was suddenly drawn to something to her left.
I turned my head to see what it was, and there stood Olivia with a boy I recognised from school but didn't know the name of. And they were kissing.
"I thought she was just into girls..." my girlfriend trailed off. I furrowed my brows.
"Same here." All my head was filled with was confusion. She never really said anything about her sexuality, or even talked about the people she was attracted to like the rest of the girls on the team. I guess I assumed it was because she was like me, where she didn't want others to know so didn't say anything about it. But I guess I was wrong.
"Well, the boy looks cute," Leah shrugged.
I turned back to her and narrowed my eyes jokingly, but I wouldn't admit to her that there was a spark of jealousy in me at that comment. Just a bit.
"But I'm cuter," I feigned a pout.
"Of course, babe," the blonde affirmed, chuckling.
I casually glanced back at the couple and saw they were now talking. Olivia's eyes drifted over at the same time, and for a second, we held each others' gaze. She was the first to turn away, but I couldn't help but think there was something- odd with that look. I brushed it aside for now. "I don't think I ever told you this, but at one point, a kinda liked Olivia."
Leah's face sobered up at that, turning serious. "Wait, for real?"
"Yeah, but it was before we were a thing," I tried to laugh it off. She didn't seem to be taking it as lightly as I was.
"But how could you not have told me that?" I could tell she was starting to grow irritated as the line between her brows deepened quickly.
"Because it was just a tiny crush, and it disappeared soon after - Leah, why are you getting so angry about this?"
"Fucking hell Lyssa, I-"
Before she could continue, I could hear the coach calling my name to bring me back to the team. I didn't want to leave Leah like this, but I knew I couldn't do this right now. "I'm sorry, I have to go. We'll talk later, okay?"
With a last glance at her displeased expression, I turned around and tried to get my head back into game mode. You've got this, Alyssa. You've got this.
__________________
It was just past half-time and both teams haven't gotten in a goal yet. We had more possession in the first half, resulting in more time spent on their half of the field. But their defence was good and wouldn't let us slip through easily.
I lofted the ball upfield again to Hayley and ran forward. The ginger made sure she was not ahead of a defender, so to avoid an offside call, and now, it was a chase between her and the centre-back for the ball.
The attacker was one of the fastest on our team, which allowed her to easily get to it before the other player and run ahead as the goalkeeper remained the only one standing in her way. The defender looked pissed as she chased after the ginger. With the quick change of momentum, it prompted all the other players to the other side of the field.
I could see that Hayley wanted to take her shot, but I knew she was too close to the left post and so the angle wasn't in her favour. She seemed to realise that too, as I saw her head swivel around to find another way, and I quickly spotted an opening for myself. Running ahead, I caught her eye and pointed at the place I wanted her to pass.
I knew she acknowledged it because as she made it seem like she was going to make her shot towards the goal, keeping the defenders' attention, but the way she angled her body said something different.
Making her turn, she passed to me as I arrived in the box and right away, with my target already set in my head, I took my shot. The ball went past the goalie and slotted into the right upper corner of the net.
An eruption of cheers sounded out from the crowd as a grin spread wide on my face. I ran up to my ginger friend and jumped into her arms, hugging her tight as a fist-pumped the air.
Most of my other teammates came to pat my back as we did our little celebration before we went to reset. Looking into the crowd, I saw my friends going crazy and even from here, I could tell they were screaming with effort. I spotted Leah's dirty blonde hair and noticed her clapping with a small smile curving her lips. I hope she wasn't still mad about earlier.
I shook my head to get rid of the distracting thoughts. Now in the sixtieth minute, we knew we had to keep this lead and not give the opposing team any chances of getting to the semis.
Getting back into the play, we continued our efforts in driving the ball upfield while maintaining the crucial defence we needed to win.
A couple of minutes passed with nothing but occasional changes in possession. However, I noticed that our opponents were growing rougher with their tackles as they battled for possession on the ball. Time was running out for them, so I knew they were getting desperate. All we needed to do was maintain.
They were close in getting a goal but was thankfully stopped by Jordan, our insanely talented keeper. She opted to kick it really hard and send it above most of the players' heads. I was near enough to receive it in time, letting it bump against my chest before it landed on the grass. With it at my feet, I made a run towards the goal, knowing that if we secured this goal it would be even easier to maintain our lead.
I got past one defender who miscalculated my move and headed towards the box. Getting close enough to it to be a threat, the defenders came at me, but seeing Camilla and Hayley on the flanks, I was prepared to pass it to the former who was left open. In my periphery, I saw that they were closing in. I was about to make my pass, but as I did so, the girl dove to tackle the ball away. She managed to, but, a few milliseconds later, I felt the force of her foot against my outer ankle.
A strangled scream left my lips as I fell to the ground, not even feeling the impact my body made on the dirt. All of my attention was on the throbbing of my ankle as it sent spikes of pain emanating from the area and up my leg.
"Fuck!" I barely whispered out as I gasped for breath, clutching the area of injury with shaking hands as I wished for the pain to go away.
I could feel the presence of others surround me, blocking the darkening sky from view as they came to check on me.
Feeling a steady hand on my shoulders, I made the effort to open my squinted eyes whilst in pain and barely recognised the ginger that was saying something I couldn't hear, probably comforting words. Coach Ackerman came into view next as she knelt by my body, inspecting to see if I was okay as - what I was assuming was the school's nurse - gingerly checked out my ankle.
"You okay, Woods?" Coach asked in a stern tone.
I breathed through my lips and mumbled out an answer. "I don't know." The pain was prominent, but the throbbing was becoming a little less, so I hoped it wasn't too bad. "It's not hurting as much as a few seconds ago." I decided to wiggle my ankle to see if it was okay but immediately regretted the stupid idea as pain shot through again. "Holy crap, that hurts," I hissed through my teeth.
She nodded. "Alright, don't move it. Let's get you to your feet so you can get checked out in the side-lines. Put your weight on me."
I slowly sat up with the help of Hayley and as Coach offered a hand, she was able to pull me up to my feet. The area started throbbing again with the movement, but I pushed through it and rested most of my weight on my coach as I limped off the field.
The crowd cheered at the fact that I seemed to be okay and I managed a weak smile in return. The journey seemed long, but I finally got to the edge of the field and sat down on the bench. The subs looked to me with concern as the nurse inspected the damage.
"Well," the lady said, a very motherly presence surrounding her, "it looks like it's just a sprain. Doesn't seem to be too bad. You'll need to rest the area and ice it for twenty minutes six times a day. And we'll need to compress it-"
The woman went on to list the things I'll need to do to treat it, but I was only listening with half an ear, a more pressing thought at the forefront of my mind. "Will I get to play in the semis next week if we win today?"
At that, the nurse had this look of sympathy in her kind eyes as she held my gaze. I turned to Coach Ackerman to see she had that look too. I didn't like it. "Woods, I'm sorry. I don't think this will heal in time if we go through."
For a second, my brain couldn't comprehend the words. But when it did, I felt my heart drop like a stone. I wouldn't be able to play for the team.
My glazed vision drifted onto the field and as it searched around, I saw the player who tackled me still running around out there with no card received. I didn't know what to feel, but there was this fiery sensation in my chest that felt like it was going to burn me alive.
I stayed out on the field for a few more minutes as they let me rest for a bit before moving me to the nurse's office. In that span of time, they had subbed another player in, but the opposing team was able to score on us as they headed a ball in. I didn't know if I could stand to watch.
The nurse took me into the building, but as we slowly made our way there, I heard footsteps behind us rapidly approaching.
Spotting dirty-blonde hair in my periphery, I turned to see Leah walking up to us with a worried look in those hazel eyes.
"Hey, you doing okay?" she asked, placing a gentle hand on my lower back.
"I'll be okay." Although the words were positive, the way I said it must've given her a hint that it wasn't all good.
Leah accompanied us to the nurse's office and when we got there, the lady went on to fuss about me, repeating the instructions she gave earlier and compressing the injury with bandages like she said she would. The kind woman left us to ourselves when she was done patching me up, saying that she needed to have a quick talk with my coach before letting me go. I was left in the small room with Leah as she stood next to the bed, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"What else is bothering you? I can tell it's not only about this."
I gazed distantly at the white linoleum floor and sighed. "Coach won't let me play in next week's game if we go through. I don't even know if we will, but this fucking sucks."
Leah didn't say anything. But a few moments later, I felt her hands cup my cheeks, lifting my head up to get me to focus my eyes on her. "This is just a small hiccup. You know your team is good, they can handle it. You just focus on getting better, okay?"
I couldn't help but be mesmerized by her gorgeous eyes and the way it softened when they looked at me. It was like a blanket of comfort was laid over my body as I let her words and gaze reassure me. In this moment, charged with affection and intimacy, I couldn't help but lean in and touch her lips with mine.
She moved hers against mine immediately, our movements slow and sensual as we savoured the taste and comfort of each other.
We only pulled apart when we heard the door open suddenly, startled by the sound.
"Alyssa! Your team won! You're-"
Sara's sentence was cut short as she caught what was happening before we knew to pull away. I saw her jaw drop as her gaze flickered between the two of us, shock clouding every one of her features. Then something else slipped in to replace it. And it didn't look reassuring.
Before either me or Leah could get a word out to explain, she rushed back out the door and ran off, letting it shut back close with a click.
A/N
Whew, this was a bit long. What will Sara do now, now that she knows? Give it a like and comment if you enjoyed this one!
I'm trying to get updates up every week, so be on the look out for the next one!
Also, pop down here which character you currently like the most! I'm actually very curious to find out :))
Till next time