A while later we arrived at their school. It was already packed. There were people everywhere.

We got out of the shuttle bus and made our way to the field. The bleachers were full of people. Most of them were kids from this school but there were a few younger and older people here as well.

I looked around and took it all in. People were excitedly shouting all over the place. The team we were playing against was together in a corner.

"Okay, this is it. Our first game," coach said. "We have about 10 minutes till the game starts so warm up."

We started stretching when I heard a voice behind me.

"Nice to see you here."

I let out an exasperated sigh and rolled my eyes. I already knew who it was. "Hello, Nick," I said without turning around.

"Come on. You're not even a little excited to see me?"

I turned around to face him and gave him a blank look. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"You know, you should be a little more respectful. You are at my school after all."

"No matter where we are, I will never treat you with respect unless you prove to me that you deserve it," I retorted.

"Good afternoon everyone! Are you all ready for a game?" the announcer shouted through a microphone.

The crowd cheered and hollered wildly.

"That's my cue to leave," Nick said. "I'll see you on the field." He winked at me before walking away.

"Yeah, look for me! I'll be the one kicking your ass!" I shouted after him.

"I think you've got the roles reversed, sweetheart!" he called over his shoulder and walked to where his team was.

I glared at his back and didn't even notice when Ryder stood front of me until he said something.

"Come on. You can plan on how to kill him later. We need to go," he said and held out his hand.

I snapped out of it and looked at him. "Oh, uh...thanks," I said and grabbed his hand.

He pulled me up but I wasn't expecting him to pull with such strong force so I stumbled forward. Ryder caught me before I could fall. He staggered back a bit but managed to keep both of us up. We were tightly pressed against each other so it was probably a bad idea for me to look up into his eyes, but when do I ever choose the smart choices.

"Thanks. For catching me," I said and placed my hands on his chest to push myself up.

I could feel his muscles tense slightly under my touch but I ignored it and gave him a thankful smile. He smiled back and we walked over to the group.

"Alright. We got this. Just do what you've been doing. Kennedy and Ryder, make sure to stay focused. You two are our fastest players. And watch out for Cody, he has very quick reflexes and will take the ball back before you can even steal it."

I raised my hand. "Uh..who's Cody?"

"The guy who's currently auditioning for the role of the worlds best gymnast," Blake answered and pointed to a guy who was currently doing back flips over in a corner.

"Well then..."

"There's no reason we can't win this. We've beaten them before and we can do it again. And if you need any more motivation, if you don't win you will never see the sunlight again. Now let's do this!" coach cheered.

We walked onto the field and got into our positions. The guys on the other team gave each other confused looks when they saw me, a girl, walking out onto the field. Nick however was standing there completely unfazed. I'm guessing he already knew I was playing against them.

"Welcome!" shouted an announcer into a microphone. "It's a great day for a game! Please give a warm welcome to opposing team from Shoreline High!"

The crowd cheered and clapped for us. But when the announcer called the other team's name, the noise was twice as loud.

"Are the teams ready?"

I looked over to the other team and I caught Nick's eyes.

"Good luck," he mouthed.

"I won't need it," I mouthed back and sent him a glare.

He just smirked at me and got into a position to run.

We heard the referee blow his whistle and we started to run. Ryder ran to our goal with the ball but he quickly got surrounded by the other team. He looked over if anyone was free and I nodded at him. He kicked the ball and it flew through the air. It landed directly in front of my feet and I started to run.

It took the other team a while to realise that I know had the ball but once they did they quickly tried to steal it from me. I saw Blake at the corner and dodge a player before kicking it towards him.

Blake took off and the other team chased after him.

The crowd was going crazy. Some people were cheering and other people were yelling at the players. It looked like complete chaos from down here.

A player from our opposing team stole the ball from Mike, who Blake had passed it to before, but Ryder quickly took it back and started to run. He got close enough to the goal to make a clean shot and he shot the ball.

The ball flew through the air again an to the goal. The goalie jumped up to catch it but the ball barely grazed his fingers before flying into the net.

The crowd went wild. They were people screaming and clapping.

Ryder got pats on the back when he walked back to our start positions. We were all really excited that the game was starting off so good.

Let's hope it lasts.

_____________________

It was the last game. The score was 1-1. Whoever scored a goal next would win.

We got into our positions again. Quite a few of us were panting slightly. That was what happened when you run after a soccer ball for quite a while.

The referee blew his whistle and the game started.

The other team ran towards their goal. The ball got passed to Nick. He smoothly dodged players and ran towards the goal. He shot the ball and it flies to the goal.

We all held our breath as it flew through the air. Our goalie jumped up and grabbed the ball with his fingertips before it could go in the goal.

Our team let out a sigh of relief and we got into position again.

Justin ran to our goal with the ball. Cody, the guys who had been doing the flips, stole it from him and ran in the other direction. We chased after him. Cody kicked the ball to one of his teammates but Ryder intercepted and stole the ball.

He ran back towards our goal. He looked as if he wasn't even concentrating. He looked so at ease you would think that playing soccer was like breathing to him.

The other team surrounded Ryder again and he passed it to me. I ran off.

Nick caught up to me and tried to steal the ball.

"You're not gonna win!" he called and tried to take the ball from me.

I moved away from him and kept running. "You wish. But just so you know, it'll be us winning today!"

I picked up my speed and ran away from him. Other players were coming towards me. I would have to shoot now or we would never win.

It was just like at the library. A cheap shot. The chance of the ball actually going into the goal was very slight, but I had to try.

I took a deep breath and shot the ball.

You could hear the whole crowd take in a sharp breath. Waiting impatiently.

I watched as the ball soared through the air and to the goal. The ball bounced off a goal post but somehow twisted in the air and went into the net.

The goalie was never expecting it. So before he could even react the ball was already laying on the ground in the goal.

The whole place was silent. That is, until the crowd started going wild once again.

I got a huge smile on my face. I couldn't believe we won!

My team started attacking me with hugs. We jumped up and down like a group of girls whose crush just asked them to prom.

I saw Ryder standing a few feet away from me. He was watching me with a smile. I matched his emotion and started to run towards him. He held open his arms and I jumped into them, giving him a big hug.

"We did it!" I cheered excitedly.

He spun me around and chuckled. "Yes we did," he said and set me down but didn't let go of me yet.

I really wanted to kiss him right now. To just close the distance between us and feel his lips on mine. But things were confusing right now. I had no idea what we were.

We both needed to figure that out later.

We just stared into each other's eyes, not saying anything until we heard someone clear their throat.

We let go of each other and turned to the person. I smoothed down my shirt and also cleared my throat before looking up. Once I did I wished I hadn't.

Standing in front of us was Nick with a very smug expression, which was weird, considering him and his team had just lost.

"Good game, guys. You really aren't what I thought you were, Kennedy," he said.

I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked an eyebrow.

"Are you actually being serious or..."

"No, I'm being completely serious. You guys deserved to win," he said. "I also wanted to invite you to a party tonight that one of the guys from our school is throwing cause of the game."

"You want the team that beat you at your party?" Ryder asked.

"Of course! It'll be a blast. Why not come?"

"We'll see," Ryder said without any emotion.

"Oh come on, Ryder! Why not? I'm sure your team would want to go."

"You don't know what my team wants," Ryder said.

"Whatever. Look, if you decide that you do want to come, it's at Devon's house. You remember where it is, right Ryder?"

"Yes."

"Great! Then hopefully I'll see you there," he said and clapped his hands together. He smiled at us before turning around and walking away.

"I don't l--"

"Oh and by the way!" Ryder got cut off by Nick, who had turned back around. "I'll be looking for you tonight!" he called and winked at me.

I gave him a disgusted look but turned the thought of going to the party over in my head. It seemed like a genuine idea. Why not go? I mean, the guys would be with me the whole time and I'm sure I could handle Nick.

What could possibly go wrong?

Hope you enjoy the chapter!