I kicked the ball hard, the sound of it hitting my boot resounding across the field as it barrelled straight past the goal post. It whipped through the grass, beyond the field, until it slammed against a wall and rolled to a stop.

I groaned, falling to my knees, my head going into my hands. I was sweating, and sore, and tired, and pissed off.

I breathed heavily, my breath turning to a cloud in the air in front of my lips as my chest heaved.

"Fuck!" I shouted, punching the grass. My fist ached and I punched it again. And again. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Shit, Sebastian. What did that grass ever do to you?"

I spun, my knees and shoes sliding on the dewy grass, and I slipped onto my ass. I frowned, looking up to see Rowan towering over me, a smirk on his lips.

"Nothing," I grumbled, pulling myself up to stand and dusting my shorts off.

He lifted a brow. "Sure, didn't look like nothing."

He was dressed in his usual too-fancy-for-college outfit, his pretentious shoes shining from the dew on the grass, and I vaguely wondered if they'd be ruined by the mud. He didn't seem to care, only tugging his satchel higher on his shoulder, his fingers gripping the strap tightly.

I flicked my eyes up to meet his, directing my anger at him now.

"Oh, and what about you, huh? Storming off in the middle of a conversation, multiple times. Ignoring me. Insulting me. Didn't look like nothing, Baines," I shot back, stepping towards him and shoving his chest.

His eyes widened and he lifted his hands. "I just don't like Reed. Shit. What has gotten into you?"

I sighed, realising how stupid I was behaving. This was pointless. All of this was pointless, and stupid, and not worth my energy.

I turned back to the goal, kicking another lined-up soccer ball as hard as possible, watching as it barely missed the goal post to hit net. It wasn't satisfying, though. I wasn't aiming for that corner. I grimaced, staring as the ball rolled onto the grass, feeling Rowan's eyes on me. Feeling my anger turn my chest hot. Feeling embarrassed that he'd seen me play horribly. Act stupidly.

It was all just so stupid.

"Sorry," I said, eventually. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to calm down, running a palm over my face. When I opened them again, Rowan had moved in front of me, and he was openly frowning at my expression.

"Sorry," I repeated.

"Stop saying sorry," he said. I opened my mouth to apologise, and he held a finger up, cutting me off. I figured I had to explain.

"I – uh – Coach put out the starting line-up for the season," I said.

"Right," he said. "And?"

"And." I looked down at the grass. My curls fell over my sweaty forehead, sticking to skin and falling into eyelashes. "And I'm not on it."

There was a silence.

And then, Rowan was laughing.

"Well, obviously. You're pretty shit, Seb. I mean, you just missed like three goals in a row."

I scowled, snapping my eyes up to meet his and shoving him forward. "Say that again."

"You're shit," he repeated, straightening his back and puffing his chest out. "And you're a freshman. Of course, you're not going to be as good as the rest of the team. Of course, you're not going to be on the starting line-up. Especially when you play the same position as the captain of the team."

I frowned, glaring back down at the grass.

He had a point. I was shit. I was the worst on the team. I shouldn't have expected anything more.

Rowan stepped forward, hooking a hand around my neck and tugging me forward so hard that my steps staggered. I blinked, snapping out of my daze to meet his stare.

"Calm down, Seb. You'll get better. You're literally in your first semester of college. You didn't expect to be the best right away, did you?" he asked.

"God, you really know how to cheer someone up, huh?" I deadpanned, shooting him a glare.

He rolled his eyes. "What? You want me to sugar coat it? You're doing great Seb! You're the best player I've ever seen! They're just jealous of you! Does that make you feel better? Cheer you up?"

I narrowed my eyes, then sighed, glaring at the grass. I hated that he was right.

"See?" he said, squeezing my shoulder. "You need to be realistic, but that's not a bad thing. Yeah, you're not the best player at the moment. But you're better than you were a month ago, and by the time you're a sophomore, I'm sure you'll be playing games every week."

"I... guess you're right."

"I'm always right." He shrugged, releasing me, and leaving a burning trail where he'd touched my skin. "Besides, it's no big deal. You'll still play second half."

"That's not how it works," I muttered. "I'll never be subbed in. Not when Reed plays the same position. Not when Reed seems to have some sort of vendetta against me."

"Fuck Reed."

A laugh burst at my lips at the suddenness of his words and he only cracked a smile at me.

"What?" I sputtered.

"Fuck Reed," he repeated. His eyes fell to the next ball on the grass, and he ran forward, kicking the it towards the goal. His kick wasn't as strong as mine and it stopped metres away from the goal but he laughed and spun to face me, stretching his arms out, his dark skin glowing in the golden shine of the rising sun.

"Seriously!" he was shouting now. Waving his arms around. "Fuck him, and fuck the coach, and fuck anyone else who doubts you!"

I laughed, moving closer. "What are you on about, Baines?"

"I'm being serious!" he said. He stepped towards me, jabbing me in the chest. He wasn't quite smiling, but his lips tilted in the corners in a way that made me grin back. "You know your own damn worth. Who needs anyone else?"

I shook my head, still laughing at this sudden change in personality – or rather, reveal of personality.

"Where is this coming from?"

He shrugged. "I know what it's like, being the shitty option. Unwanted. It's the worst. You can do anything and everything to try and impress them, but it'll never be enough. And you know what?"

He stepped back, spreading his arms again and shouting, "Fuck 'em!"

"Dude!" I leapt forward, clapping a hand over his mouth. "Shut up! There're dorms around here and it's six in the morning. You're going to get security called on us!"

I could feel his growing smile under my palm until he shoved me back and wiped a sleeve over his lips.

"You're fucking sweaty man, did you know that?"

I lifted a brow at him. "You have a dirty mouth. Did you know that?"

"What can I say? Had bad influences growing up."

I narrowed my eyes at him, but before I could think too much into it, he was stepping towards me and reaching for my face. I flinched back, expecting a slap, or pinch, or punch, but instead, he was pushing his fingers through my hair.

He pushed my curls off my sweaty forehead, raking it back over my head. As soon as he retracted his hand, they fell right back over.

"You need a haircut," he said.

I laughed, pushing my own hand through it, only for the same thing to happen again. "I know. I haven't cut it in months. It's become a real hassle during training."

Training.

Which was what I was supposed to be doing right now.

I glanced over my shoulder at the soccer balls scattered across the field. Coach didn't put me on the starting line-up. I was the worst on the team. At this rate, I needed all the training I could get.

"Look," Rowan said. I snapped my eyes back to him. He was already watching me, one hand tugging on his satchel again, fingers toying with the threads of leather. "There's a frat party tonight. You should come. Some unwinding would do you good before the match, and it's not like you're going to play anyway, so you might as well get a horrible hangover and black the fuck out, right?"

I chuckled, scrutinising him with a raised brow. "Wouldn't have picked you out as a frat boy, Baines."

"Oh, please. I'm not," he said, waving a dismissive hand. "This guy I know, Ben. We hooked up once in high school. He invited me."

He watched me carefully and I realised this was him gauging my reaction at the sudden news of his sexuality. I blinked, nodding, and hurrying to speak.

"Right. Well, if you hooked up with him, he must be a nice guy," I said. "I mean, we all know how high your standards are. You ignore half the college population."

"Trust me, my standards in high school were way lower than they are now," he said. His shoulders sagged, his hand falling to his side, and he offered me a small smile. "I wasn't going to go, but if you come, I guess we can get drunk on free alcohol together."

"Free alcohol is always a good sign," I agreed.

His smile grew, then slipped, then grew again as he met my eye. "Right. I'll see you tonight, then?"

I nodded, starting to trace my steps backwards towards the nearest ball. "I'll see you tonight."

He nodded. I reached down to grab the soccer ball, lining it up against the goal beside Rowan. I paused, looking at him. and he blinked, probably realising he was still standing in the middle of the field.

"Right," he repeated. He tugged at the strap of his satchel. "I'll see you. Tonight."

Then, he turned, his movements slow and graceful as always, and walked to the edge of the field to read for the rest of the morning. I watched him for a moment – watched how he paused at his usual spot, fingers undoing his satchel to pull out a withered book covered in sticky notes. He turned to sit, his eyes catching on mine, and I cleared my throat, moving back towards the soccer ball waiting for me.

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By the time the sky paled into a light blue and the sun was glaring down on me, the rest of the team had slowly joined me. I grabbed the last of my soccer balls and made my way to the bench at the edge of the field where they'd dumped their bags, leaning down to grab my bottle and take a swig.

"Sebastian!"

I turned at the high-pitched voice, Flora bouncing across the field towards us. Beside me, I heard a few quiet groans.

"Hey Flora," I said, smiling.

She stopped in front of me, swinging her back to her side to dig into it.

"Hey," she said breathlessly. "I got you guys something. In celebration of your match this weekend."

"Oh," I said. I lowered my voice, glancing at the rest of the team who had started moving further away from us, like we'd spread the plague to them if they got too close. "Thanks... Flora. But I'm actually – uh – I'm not on the starting line-up. I'm probably not going to play."

"Probably?" one of the boys muttered with a snort.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring him. Flora frowned, pausing her search. "So, what?"

"So what?" I repeated.

She nodded firmly, grabbing something from the bag and waving in front of my face. "You're on the team, aren't you? You worked hard, didn't you? So, here."

I took the small paper bag from her hands, opening it to find a cookie. It had been frosted with blue and white – our school colours – white letters scrawled across it – Go Team!

I laughed. "You made these?"

She blushed, shrugging and staring at her bag as she grabbed the rest. "I like to bake. No big deal."

"Well." I paused to take a bite, exaggerating a groan at the taste. "This is the best cookie I've had in my life."

She laughed, her hand flying to cover her mouth. "Shut up, Sebastian. They're not that good."

"Oh, they are."

"I just wanted to wish you guys luck." Her eyes drifted over my shoulder to the rest of the team, and she waved a few packages in the air. "Alex! Chris! Come get some cookies."

A tense silence followed, and I turned to see the team exchanging dubious looks. Reed was in the middle of it all, his eyes narrowed, and lip curled at his ex-girlfriend's presence.

"Come on guys, they're good. She made them herself," I said, showing them my cookie.

Reed snorted. "Well, if she made them, how could I resist?"

With that, the team filed forward, taking bags of cookies from Flora as she grinned and giggled, handing them out until the coach appeared.

"I'll see you after practice?" Flora whispered, quickly zipping her bag up.

I nodded and she sent me a final smile, turning and racing off the field before Coach could yell at her. Instantly, the team began tugging their sweaters off and stretching their legs out as Coach went through attendance and today's plan. I quickly put the rest of the cookie into my bag to eat later while Reed threw his onto the bench. The team, always Reed's loyal followers, tossed theirs beside his.

Reed paused beside me, glancing down at my bag as I zipped it up.

"You're seriously keeping that?" he asked.

I blinked, looking at him. "Obviously. She made it for all of us. It was nice of her."

"It was creepy of her. Dude, she's not part of the team. Why is she so obsessed with us?"

"What the fuck?" I spat, shooting him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? She grew up with you guys. She was your girlfriend! Of course, she's going to care for the team. And she likes soccer. It's nice that she supports us."

Reed snorted, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, dude."

He turned to join the rest of the team in stretching and warming up but I grabbed his shoulder, nodding towards the bench covered in cookies.

"What about those?" I asked.

"What about them?"

"Aren't you going to put them away? Birds could get to them. The wind. Rain. She put a lot of effort into those, man."

Reed glanced at the cookies and lifted a brow. "Let the birds have them. I don't care. I'm not eating that trash. Could be poisoned for all know."

He turned, shoving my hand off him and jogging towards the field where everyone else was stretching. I sighed, beginning to walk after him before stopping and glancing back at the cookies.

Flora had been so happy giving them to us. She was so excited. I hesitated, quickly grabbing my duffel bag and shoving the cookies inside, zipping it up before anyone could notice. I stood, turning to run towards the team, my heart weighing heavily in my chest.

Rowan was right. Fuck Reed.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

Seb's team being mean as usual - let me know what you thought of this chapter! And of course predictions for next time! I'll try update again this weekend!

Next time: the party hehe

(not edited)