Time had flown by, and before they knew it, they were about to leave for States. The girls spent the night in Honoka'a so that they could get ready for Oahu together. Santana was on the phone with her dad, who was giving her words of encouragement. Brittany was giving them space, knowing that it wasn't often that she got to talk to her dad. She did sometimes join in the conversation with them but tonight she knew that it was special. Santana had been sad for the past few days. She wished that her dad could've been home to see her play but she understood that he couldn't be home.
Brittany walked out into the kitchen to get a glass of water to take with her ibuprofen. Her back was bothering her a little and so the pill was just a precaution. Even though Santana was now back to 100%, Brittany was still catching. She felt like Santana was still holding back a little and she understood- because Santana didn't want to reinjure her shoulder.
Santana's mom came walking in and startled Brittany. "Oh I'm sorry Britt I didn't mean to scare you."
Lani was coming to Oahu with the team as a chaperone. She was just as excited as the girls were, and made a promise to her husband to record every game for him to watch later. The time difference was preventing him from getting to watch it live.
"It's okay aunty." Brittany said as she placed her now washed cup on the dish rack.
"Are you guys ready for tomorrow?" Lani said as she placed her sheet protector full of papers on the table. She was a very organized person, so Brittany knew that the sheet protector had all of her important documents for Oahu in it.
"We are. San is talking to her dad right now."
"I know she's sad that he can't be there. But don't let that be a reason she doesn't have fun while you guys are there."
"I won't. Oh yeah Coach Sue wanted to ask if you could drive one of the team vans. I wasn't sure if San asked you or anything."
Their conversation went on for about five more minutes until she got a call on her cell phone. Brittany returned back to Santana's room, where she found her putting the last of her uniform in her dufflebag.
"States babe. I'm so stoked." Santana's back was facing towards her.
Brittany immediately walked up behind her and put her arms around her. "It's okay baby, I know you really wanted him there."
Even though they had been together for a while now, it always surprised Santana when Brittany could read her without even seeing her face. Yeah, she was disappointed. And she missed her dad a little extra tonight. That's why when she heard Brittany walking back to the room she turned around so she couldn't see the tears falling from her eyes.
Brittany spun Santana around and gently wiped her cheeks dry. "Mom said that she'll take videos of everything so he can see it."
"I know, but it isn't the same." She moved her bag to the floor and sat down. "But he said he'll be there in spirit, and for now that'll have to be enough."
They sat in silence for a little while before they finished packing. Brittany made sure that Santana had her shoulder brace just in case, as well as her own for her back. Injuries were a pain in the ass.
Once they were finished, they laid down in bed as the tv played friends in the background. Before long, they fell asleep.
*******
The team's flight was early the next morning, so they had to get up at 5 am to make it to the airport in time. Everyone met up at the school where they got on the bus to go to the airport in Hilo. Even though everyone was tired, they were all equally excited.
When they got to the airport, the team helped Coach Sue get all the equipment out of the back and checked in. The flight to Oahu was about fifty minutes. Most of the girls slept, but Brittany and Rachel were awake. Brittany was sitting between the pair of bestfriends. Santana had fallen asleep as soon as they had gotten comfortable in their seats.
"Are you ready for this Rach?" Brittany asked. "States is a huge deal."
"Hell yeah I am." Rachel turned to her. "I bet this is pretty exciting for you too. But I mean, Quinn told me last night that your team were State champs for the last three years. You never told us that."
"I mean, yeah we were. I kinda told Santana, but I didn't want you guys to think that I was saying it to sound better than you." Brittany shrugged. "It's not a big deal for me honestly. I just love playing."
"We wouldn't have thought that, Britt. She's worried though you know. Quinn thinks that they won't be going back to the tournament without you. Which is crazy because they're still doing pretty decent. From what she's told me at least."
"They are doing good, so I don't know what she's talking about. The team still won sophomore year when I wasn't playing because of the accident."
Rachel kept the conversation going for the entire flight and before they knew it they were landing. Brittany gently woke Santana up to let her know they had landed.
Once they were all off the plane, the team walked down to the baggage claim to get their bags and the equipment bags. They waited outside as Coach Sue and Lani got the vans from the rental company and then they headed to the hotel.
The team was planning on checking out the games that were happening that day. They had a bye for the first round of the tournament because they were BIIF champions. That put them as the second seed in the tournament. They were excited to see the games that day, and to see the team they would possibly be playing the next day.
After getting everything settled at the hotel the girls loaded up the vans and headed over to the softball field. The tournament was being held at the UH Softball Stadium.
The vibe at the field was intense. It was the first time a lot of the girls got to experience a tournament of this nature, so most of them were in awe. The bleachers were nearly filled, and Santana seemed a bit intimidated.
They made their way up the stairs of a section of the stadium that had enough space for their entire team.
It worried the Dragons, being that their biggest competition at home was the Wildcats.
"You okay babe?" Brittany and Santana had left the team to go to the concession stand to get something to eat.
"I'm okay. This is just a lot to take in. I can only imagine if this is the first day of the tournament? Dang. Imagine how much people is gonna come tomorrow."
Brittany thought back to her first state tournament. She remembered sitting in the dugout for the first round and looking at Quinn who was a nervous wreck. The bleachers were completely full, and louder than they had ever experienced. Brittany was nervous, butterflies flying around in her stomach. But the moment she stepped onto the field, the adrenaline was pumping. That first game of the tournament was the best she had been ever. Now she could only imagine how Santana was feeling.
"Tomorrow when we get on the field you won't be nervous, trust me."
After getting their food they rejoined the team in the stadium. The game was nothing like they've seen before. The intensity was high. It was much more fast paced compared to games at home. It was a quick game, with Waialua TKO'ing McKinley in five innings. They all would've been more impressed if it hadn't scared them so much.
The team was getting restless, so they decided to head back to the hotel. On the way, Kalei had gotten a text from her cousin was the team manager for Konawaena who let her know that they had also lost their game, and in spectacular fashion.
It shook most of them, knowing that Konawaena was basically their biggest competition at home.
As a team bonding, Santana decided to have the team eat dinner together without the coaches. Zippys was a restaurant that they all loved, and sadly- there wasn't one on the Big Island. Luckily for them, there was one right across the street from their hotel so they walked over and got a table all together.
"Okay guys. So I know today was a little, intimidating." Everyone was at the table with their food. "But we got this. We just need to play like we always do."
"Hell yeah. And when we win tomorrow? Then we'll prove everyone wrong. Big Island can keep up with anyone." Rachel said.
The rest of the night they all enjoyed each others company. Santana took it all in, looking around at her friends all sitting at the table. The end of the school year was creeping closer, and they weren't going to have much time left together. So she cherished every second she had with them. A year from now, nothing was going to be the same. They weren't going to be together, everyone would be heading their separate ways.
Santana grabbed her phone out of her pocket and quickly snapped a picture of everyone together. It was a bittersweet moment.
Brittany turned to Santana and smiled, knowing that she was just happy to be there.
When everyone was done eating they headed back to the hotel to rest for the next day. It was going to be a fight to the finish, and the team was ready for it.
*******
It was about 11:30 in the morning and the team was on the field warming up. The first game of the day had the entire stadium on edge, up and up until the finish. Now it was their turn. Santana wanted to show everyone what the team was capable of, and she knew that they were so much more than that small school from the Big Island that everyone referred to them as.
Santana had gotten better at first base by a lot, she wasn't quite ready to play catcher just yet. Brittany was comfortable now at her girlfriend's position, but of course she wasn't as good as she was. But she did her best.
Everyone was on edge, but Santana brought them in for a huddle before Coach Sue went over the line up.
"Okay guys. This is what we have been working for, for the last three years. And we're finally here. Let's show them what we're made of. If you make a mistake, shake it off, and get your head back in the game. Do this for you, for us. For the title. Dragons on three!"
1, 2, 3.. DRAGONS!
Coach Sue went over the lineup and the captains met at home plate. Waialua had a deep bench, compared to the thinly stretched Dragons. They were up to bat first, so Rachel was in the batters circle watching the Bulldogs pitcher warm up. She was fast, and scary accurate. The umpire waved Rachel over, and the game was beginning.
Brittany was about to walk out of the dugout when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to see Santana, with a smile on her face.
"You got it babe. Go get your hit."
Santana had her usual face paint on, with a tiny B painted on her cheek for Brittany. With a returned smile, Brittany gripped her bat and walked out of the gate.
Rachel was quickly behind in the count, and she ended up swinging and missing on her last pitch- striking her out.
Brittany low fived her as she walked by, and made her way to the batters box. Before stepping in, she looked over at Coach Sue who motioned for her to calm down. She nodded and then stepped into the chalk outlined box.
She looked up, to see the pitcher winding up for her first pitch. The ball came straight down the middle hitting the catchers glove.
STRIKE!
Brittany stepped out, and regripped her bat. She could hear Santana in the dug out, shouting words of encouragement. She couldn't let them down now. Not this team. They worked too hard to get to where they were.
She stepped back in, tightening her grip. The pitcher wounded up once more, and when she released she swung. Her bat made contact, and the ball shot between third and short stop. Brittany dropped her bat and took off towards first. The crowd was roaring. Deafening.
Brittany made it to first with ease, and she hoped that the rest of the game would be the same.
*******
Santana watched as her girlfriend hit a nice shot towards left. She was excited, heart pounding. Nalani went up and she got out of the dugout and stepped into the circle to warm up. The catcher stumbled the ball on the first pitch and Brittany took off for second.
"GO BRITT!"
She watched as her girlfriend slid, making it safely before the throw. Nalani struck out, which left it all up to Santana. She didn't want to leave Brittany stranded on second, and she wanted to start the game off right.
Stepping into the batters box, she was ready. Confident.
She let the first pitch go by, the umpire calling a strike. Santana didn't step out of the box, she only repositioned herself- keeping eye contact with the pitcher. On the next pitch, Santana swung. She was a little late, but the ball went soaring between right and center field.
Brittany had taken off, nearing third. Santana was on her way to first preparing to round the base. When she made the turn, she watched as Brittany took off for home.
Santana made it safely to second, and Brittany had beaten the throw home so that put them up 1-0 early.
Jen struck out, leaving Santana stranded but that was alright with her.
*******
It was the bottom of the 7th now, and the Dragons were up by one. The entire game was close, and it left an uncomfortable feeling among the team. They weren't giving up, but they were scared. They made several devastating errors that put them in very compromising situations. Kama had stopped a hard liner down the third base line but ended up overthrowing to Santana and that allowed the Bulldogs to score their first run. Jen missed a pop fly in right which gained another score for the opposing team. The score was 3-2 so all the girls needed to do was finish the inning and they would win.
It was two outs, full bases. They were in the middle of Waialua's line up, which had all of their heavy hitters.
Rachel was tired, but pushing through. On her next pitch, the batter swung and it was a hard grounder to short. Nalani fumbled a little and panicked, immediately picking up the ball and throwing home. Brittany had thrown off her helmet once the batter made contact, and stood up in position just in case the infielders decided to throw home.
Nalani threw and it hit Brittany's glove. She turned to tag the runner, who basically tackled her.
Santana watched as Brittany hit the ground. The dust settled and the umpire called the runner out, and the Dragons won the game.
Brittany was slow to get up, but she did and handed the ball to the umpire.
Santana ran over to her, placing her hand on her lower back.
"You okay babe?" She was worried.
"I'm okay. I promise."
The team cleaned up the dugout and met up in the locker room. Coach Sue talked to them about the game, addressing each error. The girls knew that they had messed up and they were lucky that it wasn't worse.
"Alright. Now, put that game behind us. We have to make sure that we don't hold onto today's game, tomorrow. Let's get changed and head somewhere to eat. Rachel, Santana. After you two are done changing I'm expecting you both to get ice."
The girls nodded, and Santana looked over at Brittany who was now changing out of her uniform.
Rachel and Santana grabbed their things and walked out to where all the athletic trainers were congregating. Holly was waiting for both of them, ice bags in hand.
"You guys played a good game. Heard you had a nice hit in the first, I'm sorry I missed it."
"It was pretty nice, I was late though."
Holly wrapped Rachel first, then Santana. When they were finished, Santana slipped it to Holly that Brittany's back could be sore later so Holly gave her some ibuprofen just in case.
"Hey, so Quinn and I put in our applications for UH Manoa." The two girls were now walking back to where the team was gathering. "You and Britt should too. Imagine all of us playing together?"
"That would be insane. In a good way of course." Santana said. "I'll bring it up to Britt today. If we all end up going there, this would be our home field. And I can honestly say, I could get used to playing here."
Back at the hotel, Brittany helped Santana take her ice pack off and wiped her shoulder dry with a towel.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm good. Shoulder feels good. What about you? Cause that girl looked like she was playing football out there." Brittany laughed. "It isn't funny babe."
"I promise I'm okay baby. Let me worry about you." She reached into her bag and grabbed the tiger balm.
"Let me shower first, then I'll put that on." Santana grabbed her things and walked into the bathroom, but before leaving she placed a kiss on Brittany's cheek. "I love you babe."
"I love you too."
Brittany turned the tv on and sat at the edge of the bed. She didn't want to lay down, she was still kinda sweaty. The Waialua girl had knocked the wind out of her earlier, and she was surprised that her back wasn't sore. Maybe it was the adrenaline running through her, but she was hoping that it wasn't a fluke. She didn't need her back hurting at the beginning of the state tournament, not when they had made it this far.
Santana was standing over the bathroom sink, waiting for the water to warm up. She slowly rotated she arm to stretch her shoulder out. It was a little sore, she had gone a bit harder than she had been the past couple practices. San knew that the tournament wouldn't be easy, but today was hectic. She knew inside that they were so much better than they were today, but she wasn't giving up hope.
She was nervous, but it was just the beginning of the what was to come. They would end this tournament with the championship trophy.
When she was finished showering, she found Brittany sleeping at the edge of the bed. She woke her up, and told her to take a shower so they could relax. Most of the team had gone down to the pool but a select few decided to stay in the rooms and relax. Santana took the tiger balm off of the table and began to rub her shoulder. Once she had it massaged in, she slipped into her brace and layed on the bed. Brittany came out of the bathroom a little later, seeing Santana comfortable on the bed watching tv.
Brittany made her way over, laying on Santana's left side- getting comfortable. "We're gonna win this tournament babe. We got this."
"Hell yeah, we got this."