Blazes knuckles are so white you could mistake them for paper. He sits so straight one sudden movement and he might snap. He's been like this for the last hour, no one in the Mustang's said a word since the moment we got on the road... all with the exception of-

"Fucking asswipe! Get the fuck out of the middle of the fucking road!! Who gave you your fucking licence." Blaze shouts, windows down, as he zooms past a Toyota signalling left. Blaze is...nervous to say the least. We're on our way to Alabama for his Campus tour and meeting with the football coaches, it was cheaper to drive and so Blaze insisted he takes us because, and I quote, 'Helen drives like an eighty-year-old woman,'.

"For god's sake Blaze!" Helen scolds from the backseat as he exceeds the speed limit...way exceeds the limit and not for the first time. I glance back at Gemma sat next to Helen, she pulls a face and we exchange a look then giggle, her plaits swing around her small shoulders. She clutches her notepad on her knees and picks up another red pen.

"He was driving like a dick!" Blaze shouts back.

"Like you are right now! Slow down!" Helen leans forward into the front. "I'll drive! I've had enough of this."

"No!" He growls back. I sigh and place one of my hands over his on the wheel.

"Pull over Blazey. Let her drive." His jaw ticks and his eyes dart over to mine full of frustration, I smile lightly and eventually, his eyes soften. He pulls over onto the side of the road and we switch places with Gemma and Helen. I climb into the back next to Blaze and clutch his hand in mine for the rest of the drive. His knee bounces up and down excessively but Gemma covers it up with some pop songs she's put on.

"Hey, It's going to be okay." I squeeze his hand, "They already like you, this is just a friendly meeting and a chance to experience where you're going to be next year." I smile reassuringly, his lips turn up slightly and he places a kiss on my temple.

"What if-"

"No. Absolutely none of that today. Just be you, show them all that talent and enjoy yourself." His leg stops bouncing and he pulls me into him so I'm resting my head on his shoulder. An hour and a half later we pull into a parking lot near to the campus and make our way to the main office we were instructed to go to. Blaze clutches my hand so tight I'm surprised it doesn't break but I hold on all the way to the main office. The sun is high in the sky, burning into my pale skin but the breeze makes it a comfortable warmth. We walk through grand buildings and a tidy looking courtyard lined with bright green shrubs and many dark wood benches, it looks friendly and calm, too serene for any place of education. We reach the office and a young overly friendly receptionist signs us in and gives us visitor lanyards, she tells us to wait in the allotted reception sofas and someone will be along to escort us around campus soon. Gemma perches on my lap taking in the rather lavish reception space as the young receptionist peers at us from behind her desk... well she peers at Blaze from behind the desk with rather glassy eyes. If she doesn't see our joined hands the poor woman must need glasses. Blazes leg bounces wildly, even I'm catching the vibration from the chair next to mine but before I can say anything a man in a finely pressed blue suit walks through the door at the opposite end of the reception, he holds several pieces of paper and brochures under his arm. One look at his fixed smile and I remember he's the guy who came to nationals- Colin McCave.

"Blaze Beckett!" He booms arms wide, Blaze jumps off the sofa so fast Gemma nearly falls off my lap. McCave greets us all, handing us a few campus brochures enthusiastically before leading us out the door for a full campus tour.

The campus Is... incredible, it's so vibrant and youthful, the sun caps the top of the red brick buildings and the dense foliage screams springtime and health. The lawns look like they're pampered to within an inch of their lives and the neatly bricked paths wind on for miles full of students chatting and laughing, exchanging notes and listening to music. It's massive, I'm sure I could get lost within five minutes.

I end up picking up Gemma and situating her on my hip because her poor legs get tired, Blazes hand stays tight around mine though. His face remains blank rather impassive but Helen is positively animated, chatting away with McCave as we trundle through the different lecture halls and classrooms. Eventually, we end up around the athletics department, McCave stops outside a large brick building, more modern than the rest.

"And this is my department, I'll give you a tour of the training complex and then we can get you on the field, see how you are with the rest of the team?" He shoves his hands in his suit pockets and looks expectantly at Blaze, stripy tie flying off his chest with the breeze.

"Yeah, sure." Whilst it may only be a few syllables it's the most I've heard in the last few hours. Colin leads us in through the double doors immediately being hit with the chill from the air conditioning. A giant A sits on the wall in front of us backed with red tiles.

"Welcome to the University of Alabama Strength and Conditioning facility." McCave extends his hands in a sweeping motion and leads us further into the air-conditioned building, past an empty reception desk and through another set of double doors... and... wow...in front of us is rows upon rows of weight machines, walls decked with several TV's playing game footage. Sure the room smells worse than the boy's locker room but it's too impressive to be a deciding factor in any case against it. The room is framed with long windows that give us a view to the outside field where a few guys are out training in their white and red.

"This whole area is 37,000 ft with all state of the art equipment, there's a rehab room upstairs and an indoor pitch just through here." He leads us along past the weight benches to another set of doors he pushes open with ease. I look up at Blaze, he's said virtually nothing just a few grunts and curt nods but his lips are ever so slightly turned up, I doubt he even notices it. McCave leads us out of the building and into a second one next door. "And this is the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility. This is our pride and joy, where you will spend the majority of your time when you are off the field. It's unlike any other training facility in the country, recently renovated with pretty much everything a college football player could need." Inside, McCave leads us down a hall where the wallpaper is a collage of past Crimson Tide players. Blaze scans the wall collage eagerly, I even recognise a few from his own posters, the very few that sit on his bedroom wall. The collage is broken up by trophy cases and priceless UOA memorabilia. Eventually, we reach the locker room where each individual player has their own cubbyhole- far superior to the high school locker rooms- it's massive too and it doesn't even smell too bad. The halls in this place are even superior to anything I've seen, LED lights run along the ceiling equipt with motivational quote type things and plaques from past championships. We pass a little room with black leather chairs each sectioned off by a wall labelled and belonging to each player before we get to the uniform stock room. Colin shows Blaze every style of the jersey they have before passing him one and saying- "This could be your very jersey, kid." Blaze says nothing again, just stares at the material beneath his hands, his eyes as big as saucers. He goes to hand it back but McCave puts his hand on the jersey and simply says, "Keep it." Smiles and carries on leading us through the facility. We're shown the cinema room where the players analyse games, it's nicer than any public cinema, a few lecture halls and the fricking pool- oh yeah they have a bloody pool with a TV screen in there. Finally, we reach the common room which is practically a bar, pool tables, high rise stools and tables, sofas, games machines, foosball tables. This place is crazy, assessment rooms, rehab centres- they even do cryotherapy. I can't take it all in and I'm not even the one who wants to train here.

"So that's the training facility, there are many more rooms but I'm sure if you decide to join us you'll have time to explore them." McCave leans against a table in the common room a bright genuine smile on his stocky face.

"It's... well it's pretty fucking insane." Blaze releases a breath, his shoulders slumping, face curving into a smile. I almost squeal with delight.

"Blaze!" Helen scolds going red, "I apologise for my son's foul language." She smoothes her hair down but McCave laughs, a deep laugh that sounds like he smokes fifty a day.

"That it is kid, that it is." He shakes his head, amused. "It's-"

"McCave!" A loud bellow sounds from behind us, a group of guys with red duffle bags amble towards us. All as tall as Blaze and... very... built. Holy shit, mass wise they're all like Blaze's doppelgangers. Tall, muscly and all pretty handsome. "Who's the newbie." One dressed in a letterman steps past us and slaps the suited man on the shoulder, he's only about an inch shorter than Blaze but still towers over me. He runs his eyes over Blaze and beams, "Shit, Blaze Beckett." He holds out his hand and Blaze gingerly shakes it slightly awestruck.

"They've heard a lot about you." Colin smiles and the rest of the guys join the one shaking Blaze's hand.

"Man, you're kind of a legend. When we heard you wanted to come here." A second guy lets out a whistle. "I'm-"

"It's good I know who you all are." Blaze shrugs, his cheeky grin plastered on his jaw, what he won't tell them is Blaze probably has a bigger man-crush on them than he has on me. I resist the urge to laugh as they start chatting, stats, gameplay and general player shit. It's like watching a group of long time players.

"Your guy- Jenkins was down here last week." The tallest one says.

"Brady?"

"Yeah great player, I can see why you two are champions."

"WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU LAZY SHITS OUT ON THE FIELD?" I jump as a man in a red and white polo, whistle around his neck, commands from the door I'm facing. He looks young, not much older than thirty. The boy's eyes go wide and white as he strides over, I notice the bulky clipboard in his hand.

"Sorry coach, we just got chatting with the newbie." Letterman gulps looking at Mccave for help- who chuckles helplessly.

"I don't give a fuck if JLO is in here giving a lap dance, you should be out on that field-" He finally turns and all malice fades from his features. Instead, he sticks out a hand and smiles slightly, "Blaze Beckett. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Coach Simon Nocki."

"A pleasure to meet you too Sir." Blaze smiles back.

"Your tardiness and lack of competence are forgiven this once." Coach Noki turns to the guys who all breathe a little easier, "I hope these fuckwits didn't embarrass us all here." He turns back to Blaze- a coach that swears just as much as him is probably a recipe for disaster but I don't think Blaze could be more ecstatic if he tried.

"Of course not Coach. I am wounded you even think that." Letterman clutches his bulky chest and pouts.

"Head out of your ass Jenson and on the fucking field." Coach Nocki rolls his eyes not even looking at the six-foot giant, who is actually nearer to Helen's height than any of the guys, on the short side of six-foot... if there is such a thing.

"Hey coach, why doesn't Blaze join us today? Yano it would be kind of cool to see him play in person." The one who spoke about Brady looks hopefully at the back of his head.

"I think that's a good idea, Simon." McCave nods assuringly.

"Looks like you've finally had a good idea, Stephens. Get your kit on kid and I'll introduce you to the other coaches. Let's see how you play." Nocki winks and heads back out of the common room in even strides.

"Wait. Really?" Blazes face pales, he looks seconds from passing out.

"Wear the jersey, Jenson will show you to the field." McCave says then gestures towards us, " If you'll follow me, we can watch from the sidelines." Helen nods eagerly and I pick up Gemma who is dying on her feet. Before we leave Blaze catches my arm and leans down towards me, his eyes are hooded and frightened.

"I can't play with them." He murmurs.

"Blaze. Don't be stupid. They already know who you are, they're already impressed. Just go out there and enjoy playing with the team you've wanted to be a part of since you were four. Don't start doubting yourself now when you've come so far. Be that annoying cocky asshole I first met- the one I first fell in love with." I squeeze his arm, his frown eases slightly as he places a lingering kiss on my lips.

"Will you be watching?"

"Of course." His eyes dance over my face, lingering on my own then he nods and straightens up.

"Go Blazey." Gem smiles on my hip and I give her a small high five watching as her brother retreats over to the group of players. They slap him on the back and lead him across the room. They look like a puzzle and Blaze was that missing piece. The piece lost that no one thought they'd find until they looked under the couch and could complete the puzzle.

Helen grips my hand and I hold Gemma in my other arm, Blaze runs out onto the field in the numberless jersey, the crimson tide uniform moulds to his body and shoulder pads, jaw locked determined sporting his gorgeous grin. I don't know how it's possible but he looks even bigger, bright and alive. His eyes shine in the sun beating down on the green carpet of grass beneath us. His inky hair is pushed back with his ring clad hand, inked biceps contrasting against his red sleeve. Watching him play, it's like I've never seen him play before. It's as if he left the old Blaze behind in Georgia and picked up this new glow in Alabama. He plays with such grace and enthusiasm, every pass or play done as if he's known these players for years.

"An incredible player your boy." McCave drawls.

"He really is." Helen smiles, eyes watering as she watches her son jog across to Jenson, clapping him on the shoulder pad.

"He belongs out here. On this pitch." I push the words through my lips. My mind is equally proud and so ecstatically happy for my Quarterback but seeing him here, fit in so perfectly I would be lying if there wasn't a niggling pain deep in me that knows wherever we go we'll still be far... far apart. He'll belong here and want to forget everything else, find a nice Alabama girl and focus on the NFL. Wherever I end up, will I still fit into this new life of his?

Christ, I don't even know where the hell I'm going to be next year, I feel like the only one that hasn't heard back from Julliard.

"I can't disagree with you there Miss Grove," Colin remarks pulling me back to the present. I love Blaze and he loves me but he also loves football and she was his first love, to put it lightly. I'd never want to come in the way of that, he deserves this and damn he looks so good doing it.... Like illegally good. I'm just... scared... scared of being left behind and losing the only real family I've had, everyone ends up leaving in the end.

I'm playing with the Crimson Tide at the University of Alabama. Holy fucking fuck. I'm playing under Coach Simon Nicko alongside Jonas Jenson, Asher Stephens, Lloyd Alton, Ruben Helios, Connor Young and Tyson Londras... just to name a few on the field... playing with me. What the fucking fuck. This is... this is fucking crazy. I'm in an Alabama jersey... It feels right, so fucking right. everything I've been building and working towards. The campus, the facility, the people of this place is incredible and I feel like I belong here, finally somewhere that wants me... a place where people look to me not down on me. I will play on this team. I will be a part of the Crimson Tide.

Hey hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! Please press that star if you did! Also I can't believe how close we are to 300k reads like uhhh wtffff???

Thank you all so so much!

On a more negative note I currently have covid which is making me feel soo bad right now, I'm only thankful I've already had both vaccines so hopefully I'm not feeling as bad as I would have! But drop me some Netflix and book recs since I'll have a lot of time on my hands for the next week or so hahaha. I'd love some more fantasy recs, more books like the acotar series! So if you have any pls drop them! Xx