I pulled my oversized red and black flannel shirt on as I headed out of my last class of the day. My first few days of college went by smooth enough, I managed to only get lost twice and Jack and I made some friends so now we had a little group.

I walked down the tree lined streets that made up Michigan State as a warm September breeze rustled a few yellow leaves from the branches above. I was going to the Dining Hall to meet up with my friends for dinner before we all go to the Homecoming soccer game. I didn't know too much about sports but I had heard about this game all week, it was the first home game of the season and the school was going all out.

As I entered the Dining Hall I gave my student I.D. to the lady, she swiped it and handed it back to me. I looked around for my friends in a sea of green and white as students were already preparing for the big game by decking themselves out in Spartan gear. Whilst looking for my friends, I caught in my peripheral vision, Jack jumping up and down from a booth to my left.

"Yo! Kellin! Over here!" Jack shouted. I made my way over to my friends and plopped down on the end of the booth.

"Hi everyone," I exclaimed as I was met with a bunch of heys and hellos from my friends.

"Kellin, are you excited or are you EXCITED for tonight's game?!" My friend Jenna said.

I laughed and looked at my blonde friend. "I mean, I don't see what all the fuss is about but I'm excited to go have fun with all of you." I responded.

"The fuss is that this is one of the biggest games of the season, it'll be insane, the whole school will be there, AND to top it all off, all the guys on the team are insanely hot." Jenna exclaimed.

I felt myself slightly blush at her mention of the soccer boys, my mind drifting off to Vic. I had seen Vic in passing all week, he'd be leaving the dorm as I was entering, or I'd see him practicing soccer with his friends on the field that was across from my dorm room window. Not that I was creeping on him or anything. I just haven't been able to get him out of my head since I saw him during our freshman dorm meeting the first day here. I had butterflies whenever anyone would mention his name, which was a lot, since he was the teams' star player. I couldn't help my infatuation with Vic, I had never had a real crush on a guy before, nor had I ever met a guy that could give me these feelings just by looking at him.

Jack chimed in, breaking my daze. "The goalie? Alex? You know, the blonde? He's smoking. Drop dead gorgeous. I plan on whisking him away."

That was one thing I really envied about Jack, his confidence. Over the last few day, Jack and I had become really close; spending every day and night with someone especially in a new environment can really bring you together. I already considered him my best friend. I had learned that Jack came out when he was in 8th grade and that he had a really supportive and loving family who accepted him immediately. This allowed him to experiment with guys and have real relationships with guys in High School, something that was a foreign language to me. I had never kissed anyone before! I was the complete opposite of Jack, which is why I was grateful to have him as a roommate and friend, he gave great advice.

Jenna almost choked on her food from laughing too hard. "Oh yeah and how're you going to do that? Fart and stumble into him in the halls? You aren't exactly Mr. Charming." She teased.

"Hey, I may not have Kellin's big hypnotic doe eyes but I have charm. I have the most charm out of any of you doofuses." Jack replied back.

"Big hypnotic doe eyes? Now can you please tell me what those are?" I laughed and turned to Jack.

"You know, you have those big blue slash green slash grey eyes that look like they're staring into your freaking soul, Kellin! I tell you all the time if you just gave Vic one glance with those suckers he'd be all yours." Jack said.

"JACK!" I screeched and blushed in embarrassment. None of my friends knew about my crush on Vic however Jack instantly knew when I nearly walked into oncoming traffic our second day here because I saw Vic jogging across the street. My friends laughed and Jenna reached over and patted me on the back.

"Don't worry Kellin, we all know about your crush on Vic and we all agree, you should go out there and get him!" Jenna said encouragingly. I bit my lip and looked away shyly. My friends can be super outgoing sometimes which can be overwhelming. I loved how supportive and encouraging they are and I appreciate how they're helping my get out of my shell. Maybe I could try to get Vic's attention. Maybe. Someday. Or not. Who knows.

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It was two hours later and my friends and I were walking across the dark campus to the soccer field. I could see the bright lights in the distance and could hear the loud chatter of the entire university. I pulled my dark green beanie , in all of its school pride glory, down over my ears as the breeze had now changed to a brisk one and I was feeling a bit chilly. We approached the stadium and my eyes took in the entire sight. There were students everywhere, some were standing around in big groups while the rest were filing into the cold green metal bleachers. We took our seats at the very top and waited for the game to start.

All of a sudden there was a loud bag as silver fireworks shot up into the sky behind a huge green and silver balloon archway on the far right side of the field.

I leaned over to Jack and laughed, "Intense much?"

"I know right? What is this, the Super Bowl?" Jack responded.

"This is soccer, Jack. It would be the World Cup not the Super Bowl. Even I know that." I laughed.

"World Cup, Super Bowl, World Series, who cares? I just want to see Alex!" Jack exclaimed.

I laughed to myself and shook my head as I turned my attention back to the field. Jack was too funny. I couldn't judge him too much though because I too, just wanted to see Vic. I got my wish instantly because right before my eyes, Vic emerged through the balloon archway last. He ran through his line of teammates, high fiving and chest bumping them as the crowd cheered even louder. He ran his hand through his long brown hair and wiped a bit of sweat that was already forming off his forehead. He rolled his shorts up once and stretched his arms over his head, revealing a tan sliver of toned abs.

The announcer boomed over the loudspeaker as the cheerleaders cheered. "Last but certainly not least, the team captain, Michigan's star player... VIC FUENTESSSSSSSS!" I took noticed of all the students cheering and all the girls visibly swooning and giggling over Vic. Same girl same, I thought to myself. Of course no one like Vic would ever be interested in someone like me, let alone even be interested in guys.

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The game was almost over and the score was tied. Jenna had her hand gripped tightly around my arm, squeezing even tighter at every play. Finally during the last 10 seconds of the game Vic emerged out of nowhere with the ball. As he dribbled down the field, the visiting teams players were gaining on him but he dodged them all with ease as he approached the net. With 3 seconds left he pulled his leg back and kicked the ball with such precision right as a visiting teams player slid their leg under Vic's knocking him down into the grass.

I audibly gasped as I watched Vic fall down hard.  Jenna released her strong grip on my arm to cover her eyes in fear. The visiting teams' goalie dove to try and catch the ball and missed as it crashed into the net. We had won! Vic had won the game! The crowd erupted into loud screaming and cheering as the team lifted Vic up onto their shoulders and carried him towards the students; Vic's smile was huge and infectious as he laughed and cheered along with the school. The cheerleaders ran forward and I noticed a blonde run right over to Vic and start tugging on his jersey. Ah, so that must've been his girlfriend. Figures. I watched Vic as he glanced down at her, his bright smile fading just slightly, his eyebrows furrowing for a split second before returning to his signature heart melting smile. Weird.

I pulled my glance away from Vic as I followed my friends down the bleachers. Of course Vic had a girlfriend, he was too perfect and too obviously straight not to. And of course she was the head cheerleader, it was all too predictable. I felt eyes on me that pulled me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see Jenna smacking my arm.

"Kellin! Vic is staring right at you!" She whispered excitably.

I looked up and tucked a piece of my long black hair behind my ear as my eyes locked with Vic's brown ones. From all the way across the field I stared right at him as he stared back. It felt like time had completely stopped and the whole world around us was moving in slow motion for those few seconds. I kept my eyes on him as his mouth moved into a little toothy smile and I could've sworn I saw him blush. Or maybe it was just me feeling myself blush. Either way, as quick as his smile came, it disappeared, as he peeled his eyes off mine and looked down at his teammates, chatting and cheering with them. He didn't look back in my direction as we walked out of the stadium and towards our dorms. I couldn't believe what just had happened. I couldn't stop thinking about Vic's warm, brown eyes. And even worse, why was he looking at me? Of all people? Me. Shy, nervous, Kellin.

___________Author's Note_________
Here's chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and I can't wait for what is going to happen next. 🤔😊

Friendly reminder to vote if you're enjoying! It means a lot to me! I hope you're all having a lovely day.