HAYWOOD'S POV

This was my reaction when I stepped in the Floorball Megastore.

And this was Renn's reaction.

"RENN? HAYWOOD?? COME BACK THIS INSTANT!" Longan McDonald yells in exasperation as we catapult about the floorball mega store like two unleashed feral children set loose in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

Rows upon rows of floorball sticks neatly sorted by brand and blade color greet us as we tear down the aisles of the megastore screaming in excitement and delight. As I run my hand across the many brand new and shiny sticks, they gently sway and softly clatter against each other like wind chimes. This is so cool! I feel like an 8 year-old picking out her first puppy... Like Katniss Everdeen picking out her weapon of choice in the Hunger Games. Now who's gonna be coming home with momma?

"HAYWOOD?? HERE, HERE, HERE!" I hear Renn exploding with exhilaration from the other side of the aisle and instantly bolt to her.

Why, it's a GIANT ball pit filled with millions of floorballs! HOLY MACARONI!

"Renn, Haywood, there you are! Can we focus on the task at hand? Come on, we haven't all day!" Longan says sternly as he approaches us, standing precariously near the edge of the ball pit, his demeanour not unlike that of a strict parent. "Let's quickly pick the sticks and get outta here." Piffle, the guy seriously needs to learn how to loosen up.

Exchanging a naughty glance with Renn, we rush towards Longan McDonald without warning and give him a forceful push off the edge! Hahaha! He yelps in surprise as he falls backward into the huge colourful swimming pool of floorballs... And all I remember are Renn's cheeky cackles and the almighty yank on my arm before I hurtle down the ball pit with Longan.

We explode into the sea of balls. Ouwheeee! It hurts like crazy because they aren't the soft plastic ones that are usually found in kiddy ball pits. How dare that bloody clown pull me down with him! Scrambling shakily to my feet and trying to balance on the moving earth beneath, I begin pelting Longan with the arsenal of balls at my disposal before he can get up.

"Go Haywood, go Haywood, go!" Renn cheered me on as I hit Longan on the nose with a neon green ball.

"Why you little -"

Longan pounces at me like a tiger and pins me beneath him.

"Renn, save me! I can't breathe! He's...too...heavy!"

"Come on Haywood you got this!" Renn tries to help by chucking a few balls in his direction.

And of all the things Longan could have done, the silly boy decides to tickle me. Which is cute, but isn't effective on me at all.

"Shit, are you serious? You're not ticklish?" Longan pokes me hard on my waist several times.

"No. But let's see if you are!" I jab him on the waist lightly and he springs from me as though he'd received an electric shock. Well, well. This is gonna be fun.

"No, please, Haywood, no." Longan backs away from me as quickly as he can but I've launched myself onto him and gone into full tickling mode. He thrashes wildly under my relentless attack and gasps for air between his giggles like a fish out of water.

I must say I'm really having a great time. Longan McDonald looks pretty adorable when he's squirming under my touch.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" A loud voice booms from above. "BALL PIT'S NOT OPEN TILL 11!"

I hastily retract my fingers from Longan and look up to see a large man with an angry red face appear beside a nervous Renn. Judging from his air of authority and the bright yellow shirt emblazoned with the words "Floorball Megastore", he's probably the manager. Ah we're in deep shit.

"Oh hi, Mr K!" Longan jovially waves at the angry man.

"Logan!" Mr K's anger dissipates as quickly as dew under the morning sun. "It's so good to see you! Come, come, you gotta see the new batch of Fatpipe sticks that came in yesterday."

Renn and I are clearly bewildered at the sudden change in attitude. Turns out that Mr K is a huge HUGE fan and sponsor of Longan. Wow, someone actually idolizes him. I can't believe it.

After 30 minutes of trying out the new sticks, Renn and I decided on getting couple sticks since we are forward partners

This is her stick. Mine is exactly the same, but with a green blade.

"40% off for you Missy, since you're Logan's girlfriend." Mr K affectionately ruffles my hair.

What! 40% means $120 off for this stick! Hell I would pretend to be Longan's fifth mistress if I had to.

"Oh, Mr K, but she..." Longan McDonald begins but I cut him off.

"THANK YOU MR K, THAT IS SO SWEET." I give Longan a tight hug and a pinch on the nose, which effectively shuts him the hell up. Ain't nobody gonna mess with my $120. I have to say he's a pretty good actor though, that tint of red on his face sure makes our fake relationship convincing.

And so I leave Floorball Megastore a mega queen and split the gains with a delighted Renn.

"Oh, Haywood, here's a foam roller." Logan mutters once Renn is out of earshot. "Um, Mr K gave me one for free in the store but I already have one. Remember to use it often so you don't get tight muscles!" He stuffs the large pink macaroni in my bag and rushes away, his face as pink as the foam roller, before I can say 'thank you'.

(A/N: Do refer to the video above if you don't know how a foam roller is used! ☺️)
==

"You're a sneaky one Tiana." Stan gripes as he pulls on his soccer boots. I'd sent him the videos via email instead of WhatsApp so he wouldn't get my phone number.

"Oh, wow, you recalled my name."

"I also recall we were in the middle of something on Tuesday." Stan scoots close to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"Justin is already practicing his juggling." I say in a sing-song voice.

"I'm better at juggling... other things. Would you like to find out after training?" Stan leans in with a cocked brow.

"...sure." My mouth is dry from swallowing all the burning lust down my throat.

"Don't miss me too much Princess Tiana." Stan pulls me in and takes a huge whiff of Tiana the wig before heading off to join the other boys. I quickly rub my arms to flatten the silly goosebumps which have burst from my skin, and fish out my notebook to document Stan's progression over the next 2 hours.

1) Juggling has improved significantly, though touches on the left foot could be better.

2) Tries to look out for passing options but still makes the wrong choices half the time.

3) The accuracy of his crosses are still bad, needs better estimation of team mates' running speeds.

4) Making effort to pull opponents apart

5) Coach has bothered to shout at him, which is a good sign, I think.

Wow. I guess Stan did take my advice to heart.

"So how'd I do Princess Tiana?" Stan settles beside me, douses his water bottle over himself and slicks his hair backward.

"A little less dismal than the last training." I say, ripping the notes from my notebook and stuffing it in my bag. "I've emailed you the videos of your practice."

"Is that a... foam roller?" Stan spots the large pink macaroni jutting out of my bag.

"Uh, yea. I -"

"Princess Tiana. You are a life saver." Stan grabs the foam roller before I can stop him and begins massaging his defined calves. "Damn, this is a really good roller. Where'd you get it?"

I can't tell him it was from the Floorball Megastore, can I?

"Oh, I don't know, it was a gift."

"You have great friends. This damn thing costs at least $70." Stan flips himself over such that the roller presses on his solid quadriceps. "Was it a guy?"

"Does it matter?"

"Hell yeah, if it's a guy... it means I have competition." Stan gives me a wink that sets my heart aflutter.

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A/N: This chapter is dedicated to UnhelpfulYoda_ , who has been an incredibly loyal reader and who has no idea who to ship. I hope this chapter makes you more confused XD