"What happened?!?" Charlie and the boys crowded around Rib on the side of the field after the game.

"Printz is what happened," said Rib roughly, adjusting the wrapping on his leg.

"What?" Charlie stared at him widely.

"That jerk knocked me down," Rib leered across the field at the team captain.

"Why would he knock you down?" Charlie knit her brows. "He's on your team."

"Same reason Kane took my popcorn," shrugged Demeter.

"Bullies," Apollo nodded, watching as Bradford ran up to greet Kane and Madsen at the foot of the bleachers.

"I was awesome today, wasn't I?" he boasted to his dormmates.

"Not as awesome as Nix," Kane laughed. "He almost took out the bear!"

Madsen grinned and picked at his tooth.

"Stupid kernels," he mumbled, flicking a remnant of popcorn onto the ground.

"You guys had popcorn?" Bradford gasped. "Where's mine?"

"Madsen's a hog," Kane shrugged. "I guess Max didn't bring enough."

"Wait. The farmer brought popcorn?" Bradford chuckled. "Hey, farmie! You should save some of that corn for your cows! Mooo!"

"Mooo!" Kane and Madsen joined in, then busting out in laughter, the three Spartans walked away.

"See? You've seen how they act!" Rib grimaced. "Is it so hard to believe Printz did this to me?"

"Are you sure it wasn't Bradford?" asked Charlie.

"Well, that would make sense. He did say he'd 'see you tomorrow at the game'," Demeter imitated Bradford's threatening tone perfectly.

"Come on guys, it was Printz!" Rib told them exasperatedly. "Didn't any of you see it?"

"Sorry, man. There was a lot going on and we were all a little distracted by Nix's crazy foul," Apollo frowned.

"He has a point," agreed Demeter. "There was so much chaos during that play, how could you even be sure who hit you? I mean, it looked like a human tornado on the field."

Rib sighed heavily.

"Trust me," he said. "It was Printz."

"Are you sure?" Charlie didn't want to believe it.

"Of course I'm sure," Rib crossed his arms. "Who do you think hurt my leg at practice on Wednesday?"

"Enough about the Spartans," now Demeter folded his arms, looking bored. "Max is making a victory feast! We still won the match, after all!"

"Alright!" Rib instantly lightened up and patted Max on the back. "Pizza???"

Max nodded.

"With extra sauce so that if you squish it it looks like it's gushing blood?" Rib widened his eyes.

Max nodded again.

"And with any toppings I want?" Rib asked hopefully.

Max nodded once more.

"Anchovies and olives and Scary O's?" Rib beamed.

"You're making him a separate pizza, right, Max?" Demeter gagged as the boys began to head towards the school.

"You coming, pretty?" Apollo turned back to Charlie who still had not moved.

"Uhh, I'll catch up with you guys later," she called, giving her dormmates a wave and glancing across the field.

A tall, strong-looking figure was strolling across the grass.

"Charlize!" Printz greeted her enthusiastically, meeting her where she stood. He had already changed out of his jersey and was now handsomely sporting a pair of yellow shorts and a white tee. This was the first time Charlie had ever seen him not wearing any type of uniform, but her excitement was totally dampened by Rib's accusations.

"Hi," she said unsurely.

"What's wrong?" he knit his brows, immediately sensing her mood.

"Oh, I'm just worried about Rib," Charlie told him.

"Yeah, that's some pretty nice cut he got there," Printz frowned. "I think he'll live though," he grinned after a moment.

Charlie said nothing.

"What?" Printz could tell something else was bothering her.

"Well," Charlie hesitated. "It's just that Rib said you were the one who knocked him down."

"Why would I do that? He's on my team," Printz frowned again.

"That's what I said," Charlie shrugged.

"He probably just tripped," offered Printz.

"He doesn't think so," said Charlie.

Printz rubbed his head and looked over the grounds. Nix, Zenith and Bradford were kicking the ball near the net.

"Hey, guys!" he shouted, calling them over.

"What's up, Captain?" Nix asked when he and the others had joined them.

"Did any of you see what happened to our goalie today?" Printz inquired. "Did someone accidentally collide with him or something? He seems to think it was me, but I'm trying to convince Charlize, here, that it wasn't so we can get on with our date," Printz told them, making Charlie's stomach flip.

The Sparta boys stared at each other awkwardly and Printz raised his brows.

"So?" Printz looked at his dormmates piercingly and at last, Bradford spoke up.

"Sorry," he said blandly. "He ran out from the goal as I was diving for the ball and we both fell. I got hurt too, but you don't see me complaining about it," he went on, rubbing his elbow. "If you ask me though, the whole play was pretty pointless since Nix ended up smashing the ball out of bounds anyways," Bradford added, shooting Nix a smirk.

"Well, watch out next time," Printz told him sternly. "I can't have my team taking out its own players."

"Yeah..." Bradford scowled slightly.

"Thank you for clearing that up, though," said Printz. "Really. Now if you'll excuse us."

Printz turned to Charlie as the rest of the Sparta boys ran off. Then, with a sparkling grin, he held out his hand for her to take.

"Shall we?" he smiled.

Charlie nodded shyly, so relieved that she had been right in her suspicions about Bradford and to have heard Printz officially say the word 'date'.

Looking to his outstretched fingers, her heart racing faster than before, she put her hand in his and they began to walk along the field.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," winked Printz, making Charlie blush so fiercely that she had to turn her head.

A couple of birds landed on the other side of the field, a nice breeze ruffled the trees, and Charlie caught a quick glimpse of something disappearing behind the bleachers.

~~~

---AUTHOR NOTE---

Hi, guys!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

We're nearing the end of Chapter 4, and I have to say, so far Chapter 5 is my favorite :3

I can't wait!!!

xox Ray