The last game of the playoffs takes place Friday. I end up watching the game with Lana, as showing up to football games together has become somewhat of a tradition for us. I've never been as nervous to sit on a bleacher and scream at boys in leggings throwing around a ball (thinking about it, football sounds a little stupid) as I am tonight, my nerves brought on by the realization that this is the last game of the season. My school has one chance to win, or we lose the championship title. It's a little bittersweet to me, honestly. The next football games I'll attend will be when I'm in college, as this is my last year of high school. It's funny how fast time flies when you aren't paying attention.

Speaking of not paying attention, the sound of the referee blowing his whistle abruptly brings me back to the present. The whistle signifies the starting of the game, and I'm on my feet the instant I spot Jack step onto the field. He turns to face the crowd, eyes locking with mine in moments. Shooting me that smirk of his I've come to love, Jack forms a heart with his hands, causing my actual heart to flutter in my chest. I blow him a playful kiss before returning to my seat, bumping my shoulder against Lana's.

"I don't think I've ever cared so much about football as I do tonight," Lana teases. When Kyler steps out onto the field, she rises from her seat and cups her hands around her mouth before crying, "You better win or I'm never kissing you again, Kyler!"

Spotting Lana in the crowd, Kyler glances up and raises his middle finger, to which Lana rolls her eyes and blushes. I furrow my eyebrows as I watch their encounter, noting that they have a very . . . interesting relationship, to say the least.

"My dad is terrified," I murmur to Lana, finding my dad standing on the sidelines of the field, clipboard in hand. "This is the first football season he's ever coached, and I know he wants it to turn out successful."

"He's a natural at coaching," Lana assures me with a bright smile. "Plus, he lucked out. With Jack Crawford playing, how can we go wrong?" My friend's blue eyes shine with a devious gleam as she adds, "That is, unless you decide to break up with him again."

I shove her, rolling my eyes good-naturedly. "Never again," I say, meaning the words. "I'm happy with him. He makes me happy."

"And I'm happy for you," Lana teases, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into her side. "I hope you know that you deserve this, Morgan. To be happy, I mean."

I'm positive that Lana doesn't know even half of how much her words mean to me. After all that I've been emotionally put through in the past, it's a struggle to find happiness and to make that happiness last. What's harder than trying to stay in a good place is when I get to wondering if I even deserve to be happy at all. But to hear Lana say that I do deserve it means a lot, because she has never lied to me. And if she thinks I deserve to find happiness, then maybe that's true.

I glance up toward the sky, noticing the stars twinkling brightly in the dark night air above. My gaze zeroes in on a small speck shining a little brighter than the other stars, and for a moment I can't help thinking of my mother. She used to enjoy studying the stars and planets through her telescope once night fell, always fascinated by how vast the universe is. I remember the first time she'd let me glimpse through her telescope, pointing out the Northern Star to me. Holding me close to her so I could reach the telescope lens, Mom had whispered to me, "Whenever you look up and see the brightest star shining down on you, know that I'm thinking of you, love."

Staring up at the night sky now, I can't shake the feeling that my mother is looking down on me and thinking of me just as she'd promised. The thought is enough to bring a smile to my lips, though tears sting my vision. I'm thinking of you too, Mom. Always.

The roar of the crowd around me breaks through my thoughts, and I glance back down at the field to find that Jack has made the first touchdown of the night. I'm on my feet in a flash, cheering loudly so as to get his attention, beaming once his gaze finds mine and he offers me that endearing smirk of his.

As the game draws on, the suspense about who will take the win rises. The opposing team—the Wildcats—are winning by four points when half-time rolls around, which has everyone sitting in the school's section of the bleachers stressed. Once half-time ends and the players return to the field, we only have a few minutes left to gain enough points for victory.

After the whistle blows, the ball ends up in the other team's hands. Jack quickly intercepts the ball before another Wildcat player is able to make a catch, sending it spiraling toward Kyler for a touchdown. In retaliation, the Wildcats end up gaining two more points, bringing the score up to a tie. The clock is ticking as the game slowly unfolds, the suspense becoming more unbearable by the minute. I know it would crush my dad to lose this game, and I'm certain it would crush Jack and the team as well. Thinking of Jack, I remember that this is the first game of the season his parents have attended, as they're trying to work things out as a family after the trauma they've faced. Knowing Jack, he'd take a loss much harder with his parents around to witness it.

With a minute left on the clock, the Wildcats are ahead by a single point. I watch as a member of our team punts the ball through the air, which lands in Chris's arms. Chris tosses the football in the direction of an open teammate, and an observant Jack quickly takes off down the field. The boy with the ball sends it flying toward Jack before any of the Wildcats can tackle him. Jack has the football in seconds, one shot to make it through the opponent's end-zone for a touchdown. Without those points, we're done for.

I watch the last few seconds through my hands, worried that this game is going to end on bad terms. Time seems to be moving in slow motion as Jack races down the field, members of the other team hot on his trail. I'm not breathing as I watch Jack, enough seconds left to count on one hand. Just as I'm about to give up hope, Jack somehow manages to cross the end-zone, making it over the field's yellow line an instant before the whistle is blown again. The Wildcat team member who had been following him is mid-tackle, though he's too late. Still, he ends up taking Jack down, though Jack is back up and on his feet in the blink of an eye.

Lana and I—as well as everyone else in our section—fly out of our seats. I let out a loud cry of excitement and relief, turning to face Lana, both of us jumping up and down before embracing. Then I'm racing down the bleachers with Lana in tow, running out onto the field before the referee even gives the clearing. I bound over to the sidelines where my father stands, stunned expression on his face. Throwing myself into his arms, I grin as I cry, "You did it, Dad! We won!"

"Am I dreaming?" my dad questions, sounding as if in a daze.

I shake my head as a round of laughter escapes me, saying, "No! It's real!"

I notice Elena making her way onto the field, watching with a faint smile as she wraps her arms around my father. "Told you we would win!" she teases, cupping my father's face in her hands. And then she's pulling him forward into a kiss, which is a little startling to see, to say the least. Pulling away, my father's grin is wide and genuine, happier than even coaching football has seemed to make him lately.

Across the field, the team lifts Jack into the air as they cheer, their way of congratulating him for gaining the winning points. Kyler and Lana are off to the side, making out by the field gate. When the team sets Jack back onto the ground, I don't hesitate to make my way over to him. His arms are already outstretched, waiting for me to fill. So I do. Jumping into Jack's arms, I wrap my own around his neck, laughing as he spins me around in the air.

"You won!" I say excitedly once my feet return to the grass, taking Jack's face in my hands. "I'm so proud of you!"

"This game means nothing," Jack admits with a shrug of his shoulders. "All that matters to me is that you're here." And then he's kissing me, long and hard, arms wrapping around my body and pulling me into him tightly. Standing back, I study Jack's eyes, knowing that I'm looking into the eyes of my future. This is the boy I want by my side through thick and thin, for better or for worse, for forever. With this in mind, kissing him again feels . . . different. It's more passionate, as if what we have between us is stronger somehow, and it's something I know we both notice.

It took a lot for me to get to the place I'm in now. I had to go through so much just to reach this point of my life, and I think the only person who can really say the same is Jack. Because he understands what I've experienced, having lived through a similar tragedy; he's gone through the same things I have, had to deal with the same demons that still haunt me from time to time. Jack trusts me to hold his heart in my hands the same way he holds mine, to keep it safe and sheltered from any further pain this world has to offer. And in the time that we've known each other, I think we've both come to realize that it's easier to move past the pain we've faced when we're able to rely on each other.

So when our kiss breaks and Jack rests his forehead against mine, holding me close as we share a breath, the rest of the world fading away as he tells me he loves me, I don't hesitate to say the words in return. I know in my heart that I will never love another the way I love Jack Crawford. He somehow managed to steal my heart when I wasn't looking, and I don't think I ever want it back.

Maybe the road that led the two of us to end up together was a twisted one, but we ended up reaching our final destination all the same: each other. And if I were given the chance to go back in time and take an easier path of life, I don't believe I would. Because the horrid pasts Jack and I share, the pain inside of us we both struggle to contain, is what makes us need each other so much more; what binds us and brought us together in the first place. So I know that everything I've been through, despite how hard my journey may have been, was worth it in the end.

Because it led me straight to him.

• • •

a/n: i wrote this story when i was 13, and found the copy a while back and fell in love with the story line and the characters. after some revising, i decided to share my work with wattpad, with no expectations whatsoever. knowing that people are taking time out of their day to read something i created what feels like forever ago means so much, and will never cease to amaze me. so if you're reading this, thank you.

it's hard to believe that my second work on wattpad is now completed. it's time for me to say goodbye to these characters, as bittersweet as that is. i hope that reading this story was as enjoyable as writing it was. don't hesitate to leave a comment telling me what you thought, as feedback is always appreciated! so are votes, but no pressure. ;)

until next time,
- c ♡