The Guardian

Chapter Eleven

I stood in my room, staring into the mess that is my closet.

Do I wear Niall’s jersey or do I not?

Most people would say not to get stressed over the little things, but I’m Ali. That’s what I do.

But, my dilemma was this: it would feel weird to not wear the jersey since I’ve worn it to every game I’ve ever been to. But I wasn’t exactly sure of the circumstances between me and Niall at the moment, so would it be considered inappropriate to wear his jersey if we were fighting? Cause I don’t really know if we are. I’m overreacting, I know.

I decided on the jersey.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.

‘Here!’ Ella said.

I quickly typed back ‘coming,’ before slipping on Niall’s lucky snapback and heading out.

“Hey,” I said as I plopped down in the passenger seat.

“Decided on the jersey?” she asked.

I raised an eyebrow.

She giggled “I knew you were gonna have an internal dilemma whether you should’ve worn it or not. I’m actually surprised you didn’t call me.”

I shook my head, half in shame and half because of how well she knows me.

“So before we go, did I make the right decision?”

“Yes you did, now give yourself a pat on the back!” she teased as she pulled away.

We arrived at the game at the perfect time, the bleachers weren’t quite full yet and the boys were still warming up on the field. Ella and I grabbed a pretzel and some nachos to share before we took our seats.

“Yeah Michael!” Ella yelled, already making her boyfriend blush and the game hasn’t even started. He was so precious and cute with her, I was actually kind of jealous. Yeah this whole thing with Brian was a start I guess, but I don’t think he’d ever love me the way Michael loves Ella.

The announcer’s voice began booming through the speakers, and everyone rose to their feet. Welcome back Mullingar! It’s the the second game of the season and captain Niall Horan is hoping to lead the Rams to another victory against the Lions! Niall took his position in the goal as the rest of the team took their positions on the field.

I watched as Niall scanned the crowd, but his eyes stopped when they landed on me. A small smile curved up on his lips and I looked down as I felt my cheeks turn pink. I guess I made the right decision to wear his jersey if it was gonna make him happy, and I guess his expression reassured me that we aren’t fighting. I looked back out to the field and I locked eyes with Brian, whose bottom lip was caught in between his teeth as he winked at me, sending a chill down my spine.

The referee blew the whistle and they were off. As usual, I was paying close attention to the game and Ella was confused the whole time, asking me questions whenever I started to yell.

Junior Michael Walsh has possession, the announcer boomed, causing Ella to erupt into a fit of screeches at the mention of her boyfriend. She probably doesn’t even know what possession means. And he makes the pass to senior Brian Cassidy who’s headed towards the goal and… it’s good! Brian looked up and pointed at me after he scored, and I immediately felt my heart skip two whole beats. The Rams are in the lead by 1 with 10 minutes left! This is gonna be a tight one, the Lions are getting pretty aggressive out there, not wanting to lose to the team that cost them the championships last year. Niall was getting tense in the goal, being extra alert and not wanting to give up another goal. The minutes went by and both teams were on their toes, as well as the crowd. Defense was tight and nobody could keep possession of the ball, until the Lions’ captain headed towards the goal. Shit. This is it, if he scores then the game is tied… doesn’t look too easy for Horan but he’s ready for anything…here it goes and—AMAZING SAVE! The buzzer signaling the end of the game sounded, and the crowd erupted in cheers. The Rams win! Their record is now 2-0, with game 3 next week! Niall jumped up in excitement, pumping his fist in the air as his team ran to the goal for a group hug. I smiled wide as I sprinted down the bleachers to wait for him as the team exited the field.