Fated Rivals

Chapter 16

Elijah's POV

"Alright boys, time for a practice match! A team from one of the neighboring schools has kindly accepted our request for this match, so make me proud and show them what we've got! But don't reveal all of our secret moves," coach says, chuckling at the last part.

Alright Eli, time to show off how good of a libero you are. While we exchange greetings with the other team, I glance towards the bleachers where Eris and Conner are. Conner is busy taking photos for the article, and Eris is writing something. She tucks her hair behind her ear, then looks up at me and I quickly turn away. Focus! I can't be distracted by the fact that the girl I have a crush on is watching me play and analyzing my every move. Great, now I'm nervous. I shake my head, getting rid of most of my nerves, and focus on what couch is saying.

"Remember, this a 3-set match so make every move count. Melvin, Ryder, Kai, Deion, Oscar, and Eli. You guys are up. Give'm hell boys!" coach says.

"Yes, sir!" we respond, and jog over to our spots once the whistle is blown. Once both teams are in their ready positions, I'm given the ball, and take a deep breath. The starting whistle blows and I throw my complete focus into the game, tossing the ball into the air and delivering a killer serve.

***I still suck at sports scenes so we're gonna skip***

The final whistle is blown, and the practice match ends. We won the final set by 4 points, but overall, it was a pretty good game. We meet the other team at the net and shake hands, saying "good game" to each other while catching our breath. After we all part ways we jog back to the bench, to drink water and wipe off the sweat dripping from us in buckets. Thank goddess for the water girl coach found recently who already has everything laid out for us as we rest from the demanding game. Someone clears their throat behind me, and I groan from having to move my head to face them but slowly straighten up when I see its Eris (what? I'm still sore).

"That was a really fun game to watch Eli! That ball was moving so much I lost track of it several times!" she says giggling, "Though sometimes it looked like it was floating through the air! You're really talented."

I fiddle with my t-shirt, chuckling along with her. It's nice to hear a compliment come from someone at this school instead of a slur of insults. Especially when everyone looks down on the volleyball team for the number of omegas on it. Maybe we wouldn't all flock to the only accepting sport here if it wasn't for the abuse we receive when trying to join anything else. You know this is a school of assholes when even the golf club is shunning you.

"Thanks Eris, I'm glad you enjoyed the show! We're practicing really hard to get back to states this year, but I'm confident that we have a chance with the winning streak we've had so far in real matches. We might even make it to nationals with this team," I say.

"Fascinating!" She starts writing some more stuff down, and I chuckle at her enthusiasm. Conner is off taking more photos of the team and talking to coach about possibly joining us on trips to games and tournaments. It's nice to see him in his element, considering how shy he seemed at the dinner two weeks ago. He's barely even stuttering! He must really be passionate about photography; I should get him to take some reference photos of cool scenery for me.

"Okay, so ready for the rapid-fire questionnaire. I must warn you I tend to ask a lot of questions," Eris says with an evil grin.

"Bring it on, but I do have to help clean up so try to keep up!" I say, and she starts pop quizzing me on everything volleyball while I help pack up the net and equipment. It ends up making the chore more fun, as I try my best to answer her questions on the team, its players, the game, tournaments, and anything else she can come up with. By the time I'm done with clean up she's filled up half of the pages in her little notepad.