The next few weeks passed in a blur.

Our team made it to the championship game like it wasn't a big deal, at least that's what the news said. They didn't see the training we had been going through non-stop, they didn't hear the two hour long lectures Coach Welts gave to us every day.

It hadn't been until today that Coach had let us have most of the day off to prepare us for the championship game tonight.

"You okay?" I threw my hand over my chest in surprise, my head whipping around to find Kacey sitting on Troy's lap beside Max who was too involved with the playbook Coach had given me to pay attention to what was going on around him.

"I'm fine." I replied, tearing my eyes away from my boyfriend and sending a reassuring smile in my best friend's direction.

I had heard from Austin a few days ago, he had said that he'd found a job and had started seeing a girl. Our mom, well she wasn't exactly keeping in contact with either of us. Austin had said she showed up at his place a couple times, but left within a few hours without really saying goodbye. When I would ask my dad what happened, he really wouldn't talk a lot about it, but change the subject to soccer.

"You look like you're about to think-puke. You know, when you think too much about something and then puke because it becomes too much to handle." I smiled a little, feeling Max tug at my hand. Once I had sat down on his lap, he handed the closed playbook back to me.

"You're gonna do great, Quinn." He kissed me, ignoring the fact that my best friend and her boyfriend were in the room, "We're going to win this game." I nodded, looking passed him and at the trophy case my dad had set up, almost as if he were positive that I was going to get the trophy tonight.

"Hey guys, save it for later. It's not good to have pregame sex." I couldn't help but start laughing, and after a second, Max joined in.

He had talked to his doctor a week or two ago, asking what his cans and can't were, sex being one of them. According to Max, he could have sex without any real issues, but the doctor had said to go back to them if there were any problems trying to do anything else.

We hadn't really talked about doing it a lot. I had been busy trying to talk to my dad and with soccer, that I rarely got time with Max, and if I did, I was exhausted and fell asleep. He had been busy himself, helping his parents repaint the house and redecorate his room.

"Babe," Troy whispered in Kacey's ear, "Don't worry about them. They're just having fun like we did last night." My best friend's cheeks flushed and the whole room fell into a laughing fit, including her after a second of shock. Somewhere in the middle of laughing, I met Kacey's eyes and we stared at each other for a minute, sharing some inside joke that the boys didn't understand. Which made everything just a little bit funnier.

**

"And if we fail, we fail together!" I joked, nudging Leo beside me. He was laughing, shaking his head in amusement.

"Hey, Cyrus." One of the guys called out, "Is Duncan here tonight?"

"Yeah. Hopefully he'll be our good luck charm." I crossed my fingers in the air, smiling to myself as Coach Welts stomped into the room with his face pulled into an emotionless mask.

"You hear that crowd out there?" He said as we all rose to our feet, "They're here to see you! Every single one of you has someone out there wanting you to win, so we aren't going to let them down, are we?"

"No, Coach!" We all yelled back. I knelt down and tightened the knot on my shoe, feeling someone crouch down beside me.

"We've got to win this, Quinn. Not just for us or Max, but for the town." I nodded in agreement and rose to my feet, only to come face to face with Coach Welts.

"Cyrus! We're all counting on you, you hear me?" I nodded, my eyes flickering toward the doors that had started to open.

"Let's go." We all yelled and rushed after the coach toward the door, my heart pounding against my chest.

**

I stood in the mess of a crowd as everyone rushed by me, all of them moving in slow motion. Every few seconds I'd feel someone pat me on the shoulder and stop and say something I didn't quite hear. My eyes were on the score board, at the name of our school as it stretched across it.

We had one. I had won. The rival team had even walked over and congratulated us, some of them surprised to find that a girl had beat them, some of them pissed. Even after Coach had shoved the trophy into my hands, I still couldn't bring myself to move.

Now, as I scanned the crowd for my family, for Max, my hands gripped the trophy tightly. A trophy that should belong to the entire school and not just me.

". . . amazing!" I caught the last of what Kacey was saying as she threw her arms around me, squealing at the top of her lungs.

"You did it! You crazy bitch, you beat those whiny losers!" She said, laughing hysterically. I hugged her back, letting my dad take the trophy from me as he pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you, baby girl." He kissed my forehead, "I love you." I responded with the same, surprised when Austin picked me up and hugged me against him.

"You did it, Q. You fucking won!" I laughed at the expression on his face once he set me back on solid ground. Luca and Troy, as well as my brothers new girlfriend Tonya, congratulated me a few minutes later. My eyes were still scanning the crowd for Mr. and Mrs. Duncan. And Max.

"Hey, Dad." I looked up at him, "Have you seen Max?" He gestured toward the school, tearing his eyes away from the trophy in his hands.

"I think he's in there. He said something about finding a bathroom." I thanked him, darting off toward the school. I had a few of my teammates yell after me, congratulating me once again as I passed by.

My dad had been right. I found the Duncan's standing in front of the trophy case in the hallway, Mrs. Duncan leaning over the wheelchair as she spoke to Max.

". . . always be. I think we should go see her now, honey. She. . . she's right behind us." I waved at them, my eyes drifting down to Max. He was holding his jacket in his hands, staring at his name stitched across the back of it. He sighed after a second and held it out in my direction.

"Here you go, Champion. It's yours." I took it from him slowly, scared he might change his mind and yank it back. I unfolded it and felt Max's eyes on me as I slid it on. I laughed when I realized how big it was.

"I'm floating in this thing." I exaggerated. He chuckled, nodding at his parents.

"Let's go back outside." Sometime on the way out there, I had taken the wheelchair from Mrs. Duncan and started pushing Max myself. I leaned over it the entire time, listening to Max talk about how bad ass I had been on the field.

When I finally looked up, I stopped at the sight. My family was all in one place, passing around the trophy. My dad had a look on his face, one I hadn't seen in years. He was proud. He was proud of me. My brother and Luca were laughing as they talked about it, nodding toward Mr. and Mrs. Duncan as they joined everyone over there. Even Kacey and Troy were still talking over there, smiling.

It had been years since I'd seen any of them this happy, and it made me do a double take when I realized that I was the reason why they were acting this way.

"Come here." Max tugged at my hand and forced me to sit on his lap, his hand draped over my stomach as he nodded toward both of our families.

"They love you, Quinn. Just as much as I do." I laid my head against his chest, watching as Austin kicked the soccer ball in my direction. Once he caught my eye, he winked and threw his arm over his girlfriend's shoulder.

As I stared at everyone in front of me, I was positive that my life had changed in the last few months. I could also remember the exact words my brother had said, about life and how it eventually works things out.

I hadn't understood it then, not really. But now, now I did. Maybe life did get rough and hard to get through, but in the end all we needed was to have a little faith in the world, in ourselves, and it wouldn't be all that bad.

***AN***

I really really hope you guys enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed writing it! 

I know I'm going to miss these wonderful characters! 

Let me know what you guys thought while I go try to pick up all the tissues I left around me. . .

~ChasingMadness24