I snatched my buzzing phone from the bedside table, still half asleep, and answered the call, not bothering to check the caller I.D. 

"What?" I snapped, sounding like an angry witch. I probably looked like one too.

"Where are you?" It was Neil.

I was supposed to be somewhere.

"Where are you?" I yawned. I forced my eyes open and checked the time on my phone, pulling it away from my ear momentarily. 8:30 am.

"You're still asleep, " he stated. "Why are you still asleep?"

"What do you want Neil?"

"It's the semifinals today and I'm freaking out." He sounded anxious. "Can you please come over to the school grounds before the match starts?"

"The match is at our school?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there, I'll text you when I'm leaving," I promised before hanging up.

An hour later, I was all ready, dressed up in my school colors; red and white and I shot off a text to Neil, before leaving my house. On my way to school, I stopped by the Cane cafe to buy some warm brownies to go. Both, Neil and I loved their brownies and it always worked as a great mood lifter. 

When I got to school, I saw that there were a lot of students already milling around, mostly dressed in team colors.

"Hey!" I heard Neil call out from behind me and I turned around to find him jogging towards me, already wearing his jersey and ready for the game.

"What's that?" He pointed at the little brown bag I was holding.

"Brownies." I grinned.

"Just what I needed." He snatched the bag from me. "You're the best."

"Just take one, Neil. Your game starts in an hour, you're not supposed to stuff yourself, " I warned.

"I know, " he grumbled and took one brownie out before handing the bag to me. "I'll eat another one after we've won the game."

"How do you know you'll win the game?"

"There's that supportive spirit I know and love."

"Sorry." I laughed. "Where's Sam? She might have some special ways to ease your nerves."

He smiled at the mention of her name. "She got selected for the cheerleading team, remember? She must be with her team."

"Oh, right. I forgot." I sighed. "Anyway, I know you're nervous because it's your first time playing for the championship and you're scared of disappointing your team, but you've nothing to worry about. You're gonna do great. Trust me. You've worked really hard for this, I've seen it.  Just go out there and give your best."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. I just need to stay calm and do my best."

"Exactly."

We walked around the campus and I tried my best to boost his morale, while we waited for Avi and Ashley to join us.

"Have you seen Tyler?" I asked.

"No, I haven't. But he must around because he usually comes in super early to warm up."

I took out my cellphone and texted him: Good luck with the game. I'm already here at school but I can't seem to find you.

We walked over towards the boy's locker room and found both Avi and Ash waiting for us in the empty hallway outside the locker room.

"Good luck, man." Avi and Neil exchanged a bro hug.

"You're gonna kill it, " Ash said, giving him another hug.

We chatted for a while, before the team coach called Neil in for the pre-game huddle.

"Make me proud!" I gripped his shoulders, giving it a little shake.

"Yes, Ma'am." He grinned before disappearing into the boy's locker room.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong arms grip my waist and I whirled around to find Tyler.

"Hey, " I whispered.

"Hey." He gave me that dimpled smile, that always managed to fry some of my brain cells.

"Good luck with the game." I got up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"That's it? Don't be a tease, " he said, gripping my chin.

"I was trying to be encouraging."

"Be more encouraging, " he suggested before he kissed me. Really kissed me. So intense and thorough, like he had all the time in the world.

"Crosby! Get your ass in here!" I heard the coach's stern voice from behind us and I pulled away.

"I gotta go, " he murmured and I nodded. "I'll look for you in the stands." 

After he left, I turned around to find both Avi and Ash smiling smugly at me and I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, let's go!"

We navigated through the stream of students and got to the bleachers. Ryan was already seated there and had saved us some of the best seats.

As soon as we sat down, Ash suddenly spoke up from beside me, "I thought you'd wear Tyler's jersey or at least wear his number or something."

Oh. That thought hadn't even occurred to me.

"You think I should have? Won't that be...weird?"

She sighed. "Have you seen Courtney?"

"No. Why?"

She pointed her finger towards where the entire cheerleading squad was standing and I noticed Courtney immediately. She was wearing her usual cheerleading uniform, but while the others had stripes of red and white paint on their faces, she had the number 21 written elegantly across her cheeks. Tyler's jersey number. 

"They are apparently very close to each other, " I muttered, trying to ignore the sting of jealousy in my chest and Ash rolled her eyes. "I don't think Tyler even cares about all that stuff."

"What if he does? A lot of guys do. You have to do these little things to show him how important he is to you. It's not weird, it's sweet."

"I don't know how to handle all this, Ash." I groaned. "It's still all very new to me."

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. I'll help you learn." She winked and I chuckled.

***

The rivalry between the opposing team and us was nothing like what we had with Edgewood high, but it was still fierce and bragging rights were at stake.

The atmosphere was electrifying and tense.  The away supporters were segregated in one corner of the ground.

Soon the announcer began to introduce the teams, right before they ran out to the center field.

As soon as our school's name was announced, Tyler bursts out towards the field, with the rest of the team following behind him. The entire AVM high crowd roared with enthusiasm and we joined in with them.

Tyler hyped himself up and then gathered the team together in the middle of the field for a few seconds before they all split up.

It was mesmerizing to watch Tyler in his element. For such a tall guy, he was surprisingly very graceful. He was fearless and nimble and commanding...and all mine.

Yikes! Possessive, much?

Tyler's leg flew back, before snapping forward as he aimed for the first goal in the game. While everyone's eyes followed the football, mine remained glued to Tyler. His body was tensed as he watched, his focus completely on the ball. When the opposing team's goalie missed the ball and it hit the goal, he fist punched the air and all of us jumped up from our seats and cheered loudly.

Tyler turned to look at the bleachers, his eyes scanning the crowd until they finally met mine. He smiled big, before kissing his fist and pointing to me.

A bunch of people turned around to look at me, but my eyes were locked on him, my smile wide and proud.

The next hour was action-packed with drama and tension. Tyler had scored another goal for our team, helping us stay in the leading position. There were near-misses, penalty shouts, and a lot of undeserved abuse hurled at the referee.

With five minutes left on the clock and our school leading with one point, we had adopted a defensive stance, while the other team was frantically trying to score.

At the last minute, Jace had the ball and was weaving with ease through the opposite team's defense. A few yards away from the goal he was cornered by their defenders and I shot up to my feet in anticipation. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Neil make a run for it. As soon as he was close enough, Jace made a smooth and tactful diagonal pass across the stretched defense and now the ball was in Neil's possession. In one fluid motion, he netted the ball past the goalkeeper, who tried to block it but failed.

Everyone shot up from their seats and we cheered at the top of our voices, as several students filtered through the field to congratulate the team.

We had won the game with a score of 3-1 and were in the finals!

***

We had a small gathering in the school gymnasium, where Mrs. Smith and our coach congratulated the team and said a few words. As soon as they left, the speaker– a girl from the student council, asked Tyler to come and speak a few words.

I found myself smiling broadly when he made his way towards the center and grabbed the mic.

"We're into the finals, AVM high!" He yelled and all the students wildly cheered for him. "Thank you for the immense support all of you guys give us while we are on the field and we promise you that this time we will bring that cup back home with us. We will wrap up this championship just the way we started it. Sharp!"

"Aim, attack, achieve!" The entire team chanted and everyone responded with a thunderous applause.

"Let's all celebrate this victory and have a great time at the dance, tonight. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make my way to the back of the room and ask my beautiful date for tonight, Veronica, to be my girlfriend, " he added the last part smugly and I gasped.

Everyone turned, almost as one, to look at me. Beside me, Ash was hyperventilating with joy. "Oh my god, this is so romantic!" She squealed.

I watched Tyler breathlessly as he made his way towards me, his eyes never leaving mine. My friends took a step back, melting into the background as he came to a stop in front of me.

"I know you're freaking out right now and I know you are probably feeling awkward as hell, but just focus on me." He smiled and I took a deep calming breath. "Don't over think this."

When I looked into his eyes, I forgot about all the other eyes on us. The deep intensity and sincerity in them stole my breath away.

"I know I promised you that we will take this one day at a time, but I really want to take you to the dance tonight as my girlfriend. I want to do this right, " he said and I just stared back at him, unable to say anything else.

"So...would you like to be my girlfriend?" He gave me an uncertain smile and I nodded. Really hard.

How could I ever stand a chance against that smile?

"Is that a yes?" His eyes twinkled down at me.

"Yes, " I whispered, stepping closer to him.

He grinned broadly, then suddenly lifted me off my feet, crushed me to him, and kissed me with breathtaking fervor, as boisterous cheers erupted around us.

He had pushed past my defenses, just like that. He slipped underneath my walls just by looking at them and acknowledging them.

I don't know what would happen if he did more. How quickly I would fall. But I could only hope that he would be there to catch me.

A/n :- Thoughts?

Thank you so much for reading so far with me❤