× Mercury

Everything happens for a reason. I wouldn't be standing where I was if I didn't believe that, even if that place wasn't were I actually wanted to be.

In the beginning, it was. Standing on the field was the only thing on my mind from first grade and up until only a month ago. Now my opinion had changed. I had been opened up to new possibilities, and now that I had, soccer wasn't my main priority anymore. Don't get me wrong, I loved the sport, but I had recently discovered that I wasn't playing for myself, and more for the winning and making my dad proud. It was exhausting trying to please someone I couldn't even talk to anymore.

But I had to be there, even if my heart wasn't in the game. I made a commitment to the team the moment I accepted the maroon and gold jersey and I was going to play it though until the end.

Despite my bad choices on walking on my ankle that time in the gym, I had gone into the hospital and had it checked out, and to my surprised, it had healed nicely and I was able to play in the game. I had the option to sit out, but they needed me and I had to make up for the mess I created the last game.

Five minutes until half time and we were losing by one. But I wasn't too worried. The last time we played against Cambridge, we ended up winning by five. We had this in the bag.

The harmony of Niall and I were better this game, not to my surprise. The last game had been rough due to the fact that I broke his heart in half. So it was a complete flip around since I had glued it back together, as well as my own.

The Royal Duo, that's what everyone was calling us.

The first time I was mentioned as the Queen kind of ticked me off, especially since the King was Niall, but that was during a bad time in our relationship. Now I thought it was rather fitting. Niall had called me princess the moment I had stepped foot in London, so it was about damn time I had a promotion.

By the time the whistle blew for half time, I was cold, I was wet, and I was tired.

Everyone wasn't better off than I was. During the night, Mother Nature must have figured out that it was the end of January because when I looked out my window, it had snowed. The temperature dropped below freezing, and even thought I was bundled up, the cold easily slipped through the material. Despite the chill, I was still sweating. Not to mention I had also woken up with a runny nose, so if I didn't already have a cold, then this game would ultimately fate me with one.

"You alright out there, Mercury?" Coach asked once I stepped off the field to the sidelines. Coach had on a fleece winter coat, wool gloves, and a London Lions winter hat with a little ball attached to the top that I thought to be rather adorable. "I know you're not used to this kind of weather."

"Doing fine, Coach," I assured him with a smile.

I myself had on a cotton long sleeved shirt under my maroon jersey with matching mittens on my hands. I had replaced the usual headband with a thinker, warmer one that covered my ears. I may have been from California, but I spent a lot of my winter vacations up in the mountains. I wasn't foreign to the idea of snow.

"You're doing a lot better than some of the lads," he observed, looking over at Matt who was sitting on the bench, totally submerged in a blanket he had brought from his room.

"I thought you knew by now that Lynn's a lot tougher than us," Andrew added.

Coach laughed. "You're right about that."

I quickly excused myself to the restroom before Coach could get into what our next strategy would be for the second half.

Once inside, I found myself immersed in welcoming heat. The moment the doors closed behind me, I instantly felt my toes and fingers start to throb from the sudden change of temperature.

Just as I was about to round the corner, I nearly ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said and backed up, coming face-to-face with Chloe. She was wearing all black winter gear, which made her long, platinum hair shockingly bright. "Hey, what are you doing down here?"

"I just..." she trailed off, looking rather uncomfortable. Then she held up the little bag of mini doughnuts that were in her hand. "I came down here to see if you needed a snack."

I shook my head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I try not to eat anything during a game."

Chloe smiled. "No worries."

Right then, I heard footsteps coming from the hallway I had just come from and not even a moment later, James Moor appeared. He stopped the second he saw the two of us, looking between us in turn. I couldn't help but noticed that his eyes lingers on Chloe's a second longer, before he nodded and kept walking.

My mind started reeling. Chloe's awkwardness and James' lingering look pulled at something in my mind and I wondered if I was missing something. Could it be that these two were seeing each other behind closed doors? Regarding the fact that James blew up on Niall for sleeping with his sister, that possibility could very well be true. If Chloe caught wind of her best friend sleeping with her brother, I was sure hell would break loose just like it had before when the roles were reversed.

"So, uh, I should get going back to my seat," Chloe said, pointing down the corridor she was coming from. "Good luck with the rest of the game."

I didn't bother responding because her back was already to me as she walked away.

After going to the bathroom like I had said I would, I braced myself for the cold outside once again. Coach was conversing to the team when I joined; talking about the first half of the game and all the things we had done right and wrong.

I stepped up beside a shivering Jace in the circle, rubbing my hands together and shifting my weight from foot-to-foot to keep warm. Jace noticed and draped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a tight embrace. I didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around his waist and tuck my head under his chin and absorb as much body heat as I could before the game started up again.

Across from us, sitting on the bench was Niall. He, too, had on a long sleeved shirt under his jersey and was currently sharing Matt's blanket which draped over both of their shoulders. I could feel his hot gaze on the two of us and I couldn't help but laugh.

Niall and I had agreed to keep our distance when we had practice and games. Now that we were actually together, our bodies might have a mind of their own and forget that we're in public. This was safer. There wouldn't be any questions if we just stayed away.

But let me tell you, it was so freaking hard to keep my distance. All I had to do was look at him and my body would be on fire.

"Do you all remember what we did last practice with passing the ball?" Coach was asking. "If we do that system here, we can easily win this game. Do we all agree? Horan?"

Niall nodded. "I agree."

"Wait," Dylan perked up. "Are you talking about the drill where I tripped over the ball and face-planted into the turf?"

"Yes."

"Great. Just checking."

Coach looked at his team around him. "Any objections?"

To my surprise, my voice was heard over the group. Except I didn't utter a word; I didn't even open my mouth. But the moment my voice was perceived, it only took me a solid second to realize that it wasn't just picked up by my team. It was heard throughout the whole arena.

"If I was an enzyme," my voice was saying through the speakers on every corner of the stadium. "I'd be DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes."

My heart was in my throat when I turned around to see what was happening on the big screen above everyone's heads. I saw myself sitting on my bed, Niall in front of me as my fingers started to briefly play with the button of his jeans.

The stadium was deathly silent, the only sound coming from the voice on the screen. I could feel my heart start to thump rapidly against my rib cage and felt my anxiety take over all my senses.

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as the Lynn on the big screen leaned over and connected her lips against Niall's hungrily.

Suddenly, the stillness was shattered by an uproar all around me.

I could hear Coach shouting and my teammates both catcalling and demanding answers. Though I couldn't understand what the people in the stands were saying, it was clear that they were both entertained and confused.

I was mortified, frozen to the spot as I watched the other Lynn on the screen get onto Niall's lap, pulling his hair and grinding her hips against his. I was traumatized. I couldn't believe it had happened, and in front of everybody, no less. I stood soaking in the cruel mockery, my head beginning to spin.

"For the love of God, someone get control of the monitors!" Coach was shouting through his earpiece around his head.

Not only was this being shown through the arena, but TV stations were here, no doubt capturing every second of the interference that was happening. Not to mention all the media coverage that would appear the next day in newspapers and recaps on worldwide networks. I was going to be the talk of the world in the coming month. I'd never live this down as long as I'd live. People would be reminding me of this as I eat my mush in the nursing home. I'd have to leave town, cast off my identity and start off somewhere new. I didn't see any other way around it.

There were so many factors that could have risked my career, but never did; my ankle, the pregnancy scare that happened just two days ago, and the simple fact that anyone could have walked in on Niall and I at any time... but this? Showcasing the proof they needed to sabotage both of our careers to the whole world, was on a whole other level.

Whoever wanted Niall and I discovered really went out of their way to achieve it, and I hoped they were satisfied because I was beyond ashamed and humiliated.

Just as the Niall on the screen was about to push me against the bed and hover above me, something blocked my view. I quickly realized that it was Niall, wrapping me up in Matt's blanket as he shielded me from everyone's sight. I didn't appreciate it at the time because at that moment all I wanted was answers, but I was later thankful. Being out of the public's eyes, even being shielded by a square of fabric was the best thing for me at that moment.

Niall pulled me away from the team and out of everyone's gaze and into the warmth of the building. The sudden silence of the chaos outside made my ears ring. I was shaking and it wasn't because of the cold.

Blushing would have been no problem, but what I did was go as red as a beetroot and radiate heat like a Bunsen burner. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole, but there was no rescue from this embarrassment. It was absolute torture. Utter humiliation. The memory would be seared into my brain forever, ready to pop up and torment me again when I'm ever in a quiet moment.

"Lynn..." Niall said softly.

I didn't know I was crying until Niall reached out and wiped away a tear that had rolled down my cheek. From that simple act, I completely broke down.

It had all happened in a second, but that was all that was needed to completely flip my world upside down. Not only was our relationship outed publicly, but our privacy was invaded in the cruelest way possible. It was one thing if we were caught kissing in the hall or holding hands at a party, but openly displaying an intimate moment like that to the world, when we were clearly behind closed doors, was an act of vicious revenge.

I've dabbled in the art of retaliation, even just recently with the boy whose arms were around me, keeping me safe. That had backfired on both of us, but it all worked out in the end. I didn't see a light at the end of this tunnel, however.

Apparently Niall did.

"We'll figure this out," Niall added gently. "We'll figure out how this happened and build from there. We'll be okay, Lynn. We'll make this work."

I wasn't sure how long the two of us stood in the hallway, sharing warmth under that blanket. But I had managed to stop crying, and instead just lay my head against Niall's chest and took deep breaths. Everything may have come crashing down around me, but I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of my tears. I've portrayed the strong girl from the very beginning; I wasn't going to let my solid exterior crack when I needed it the most.

Eventually, the doors to the building opened and I removed the blanket from over my head. Not to my surprise, I saw Coach making his way over to us.

Before I could step away from Niall, he pushed me behind him protectively and stood tall in front of Coach, clearly nominating himself as the spokesperson between us.

"Coach, just hear us out," Niall started, holding his hands up in front of him. "I just-"

"Shut up," Coach snapped.

I stood there frozen as I watched in awe at his expression. I saw nothing short of disgust on his face, almost hatred, as he reddened with anger.

He pointed to the doors he just walked through, where all the chaos we had left behind from the entertainment on the screens. "I don't know what I just saw out there, but it was enough to understand what's been going on between you two."

"This isn't fair," Niall pleaded angrily. "That was an incursion of privacy!"

"I don't give a shit!" Coach shouted, his face becoming rigid, jaw clamped tight, teeth grinding. "That is beyond the point of what just happened. You knew the rule! Same goes to you, Lynn! Just because you're a girl, doesn't mean you get to be pushed to the side."

"Leave her out of this," Niall argued. I couldn't see his face, but I could imagine it was just as livid as Coach's.

I knew I needed to say something, but I honestly couldn't move a muscle. The simple act of opening my mouth to speak seemed impossible at the moment as I stood ice cold in the middle of my downfall. Besides, saying anything right now might just make things worse, if that was even possible. Trying to justify what was shown on the big screens wasn't going to fly with Coach, and clearly being civil about it wasn't going to work either. So I stayed where I was and kept my mouth shut.

"I get that it's an invasion of privacy, but it's the matter of you two together that's most important right now," Coach continued, fires of fury and hatred smoldering in his narrowed eyes. "You're both extremely stupid to do this shit. I thought I could count on you two, but I guess I was wrong."

"Don't try to pull that fatherly talk on us," Niall sneered back. "That rule was a ruse to control us even more than you already were. You knew that forbidding us to infatuate with Lynn was going to lead to this just like I pointed out from the very beginning. It wasn't because it was distracting; you just wanted an edge to keep us on our fucking toes."

"That's not it and you know it."

"You shouldn't even be yelling at us, you should be figuring out who the fuck pulled that stunt out there! There's children watching and they practically witnessed porn!"

"It never got that far," Coach explained. "And just thinking of what you two have done after the lights went out only makes this whole thing worse off for you. You shouldn't be worried about who set you up, but instead worrying about you're future careers because as far as I can see it, you don't have one."

"Coach-"

"You're done for the rest of the game. We'll talk more about this later, right now I have to go back and sort things out for the second half."

"Let us finish the game."

"You two have done enough already."

I watched as he turned his back on us and walked through the doors and into the arena. I was glad he told us not to finish the game because I wasn't so sure I could stomach going out there and facing the crowd after what they had witnessed.

If Coach really wanted us to be punished, he would have let us finish the game.

× × ×

Niall taking me back to his place before the game ended was probably the smartest thing to do. I knew by the time it finished, reporters, not to mention anyone who's just curious, would be waiting by the back doors, fighting for the first words of the new scandals.

Now I was sitting on Niall's bed, staring off into oblivion as everything from the last hour came rushing back to me.

The two of us sat in silence, my legs over his as his fingers gently trailed up and down my calf in reassurance that he was still there, and that he wasn't going anywhere. I had changed out of my uniform and into some sweats and a T-shirt Niall had given me. I tried to think of this as just a sleepover, cuddling up on the bed in his clothes as we watched a movie, but there was no getting away from the bigger picture of the reasoning for all this.

I wouldn't say I was depressed, but I could go as far as numb. I was more familiar with being numb than I was being depressed. I've pretty much gone through all the likely emotions for this humiliation - shock, embarrassment, denial, and now finally numb. I was detached to the whole situation. I didn't want to do anything but stay in this room, with Niall next to me, and do absolutely nothing. Apathy was a better description to what I was feeling.

Maybe I'm supposed to just sit. Maybe we all should. Just sit and... do nothing.

"We're going to be fine," Niall said into the silence, more to himself then to me. "We've gone too far for it to crumble now."

I didn't look at him, I didn't move. I didn't think I could; if I twitch I was afraid to fall apart. I heard Niall's words, but they were meaningless to me. My body felt hollow, like a cracked china doll super glued back together. I was staring at a pushpin on the wall, my eyes fluttering only slightly, like a gust of wind came and disturbed my peace.

Niall took my hand in his. He started to trace his forefinger across my palm, following the curves and indentations and I wondered if he caught onto palm reading from my grandma.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to figure it out because right then the door opened.

I felt myself stiffen; the sudden interruption of stillness made my anxieties shoot up like heroin in my veins. Niall's hand suddenly clamped onto mine, like he, too, was expecting the worse.

But it was only Jace stepping through the threshold, a fast food bag in his hands.

"Hey," he said with a hint of a smile, like he was afraid to show any sign of happiness in such a miserable room. "I brought you two some food. Thought you might want to eat."

"We're not hungry," Niall spoke for the both of us.

Jace sighed and sat the paper bag on the desk. He was still wearing his soccer uniform, only he had removed his shin guards and his socks were pushed down to his ankles. He looked just as exhausted as we were.

"The media was swarming the field after the game, asking about you two," he said as he took a seat at the desk chair. "No one said anything and just kept doing what they were doing. Coach may be pissed, but the team is on your side."

"It wouldn't have mattered if they told the reporters everything they knew," Niall said sadly. "They got everything they had been speculating about in that video."

I watched as Jace wrung his fingers through his black hair. "I just wish I could do more. I feel like I'm not doing anything to help. I tried talking to Coach, but he was mute on the subject. I just need to do something."

"Find out who set this up," Niall spoke monotonously.

"They're trying," Jace admitted. "They talked to the tech people and the commentators, but they don't know how it happened and who did it. Someone seriously skilled must have hacked the system or something."

I sat in silence, thinking back on that video playing over all the heads who came to watch the game, only to get a surprise no one was expecting. The video was during the night Chloe was rattling off random facts about giraffes from her laptop, only to leave a few minutes after Niall had come into the room.

Then it all made sense.

That familiar flame reputed inside me, fueled by rage and avenge.

The flame has no culture, no pity, no mind, yet it consumes whatever it pleases. The flames burn hot, short, and violent, with no care what will be left behind. I see through the hot tear-drop dance and saw someone I knew well, someone I thought I could trust. I recalled all the late night talks about the latest gossip and our worries for the future. Now they only torched my insides until they charred before disappearing with the memory.

Our exposure was worth less to them than the vengeance that they cooked up.

"I know who did it," I spoke for the first time since I witnessed my privacy flash on the big screens. "It was Chloe Reed."