Sweet Like Honey

37.

Senior Week had come to an end, ending the week with a nice picnic on the green, which was just a chance for the seniors to goof around and have a good time on the football field. They had three blankets, fitting the eleven seniors. The original group of nine, Matt, and Adley. It took a few months for Adley to come back into the group, as she couldn't fathom the fact that her cousin had decided to stay with Lennen, but she could see how happy they were together, so she let it go. 

Finishing off the week, it was the OCAL final for the men's lacrosse team. It was Sage Hill versus North Shore, and the winner was heading to State.  The football stadium was jam packed with the student body, anxiously waiting for the game to start. Sage Hill was North Shore's biggest LAX rivals, and ever since Duke transferred to Sage Hill, they had been knocking North Shore out of getting into State. This was the year that North Shore was hoping they would get their redemption and finally get the chance to compete for the title of state champions. 

Lennen was on the edge of her seat as she watched her brother and one of her closest friends take the field, ready to face off against her best friend and his team. She of course wanted her school to win, but it was always strange when she had to root against Duke. She was always in his corner, no matter what. But for today, she had to make an exception. 

The whistle blew, and the game was off to a quick start. The ball was going back and forth from each side, it was getting hard to keep up. It was clear that both teams really wanted to head to state, and they didn't care how hard they had to push themselves to get there. After about a minute, Sage Hill was first to score. In that moment, you could hear the entire crowd let out a groan of annoyance. Not only did the team want this win, but the student body did just as much. After two years, they were tired of getting to this point and losing to Sage Hill. 

When half time rolled around it was 8-5, in favor of Sage Hill. Both schools were playing equally well, but Sage Hill had pulled off a few lucky shots, that had put them in the lead. Lennen watched both teams walk off the field, North Shore headed into the locker rooms, having a team chat about what they were going to do so they were able to pull off a win. Sage Hill was at their bench, going over strategies, figuring out how they were going to keep the score in their favor. 

"This is so stressful," Lennen shares with her group of friends that were surrounding her. She was obviously cheering for her brother and Holden, but she knew that she had caught Duke's attention a few times when she was cheering after North Shore scored and she felt guilty. They had promised that they would always be there for each other, and during this game, Lennen felt like she was betraying him. 

"I think we can pull off a win. We still have plenty of time to come back and we're only down three points," Sawyer responds. She was hopeful in her boyfriend and the rest of the team that they could turn this around and come out with a win. 

"It's hard to tell at this point. Both teams are playing with the same speed and intensity. The only reason why Sage Hill is ahead is because they had three lucky shots. If it wasn't for those then we would be tied, meaning that it's really anyone's game at this point," Miles chimes in. He wasn't trying to be discouraging toward his school, but at this point in the game it was a complete coin toss as to who was going to win. 

"Be more pessimistic why don't you, Miles," Margo scolds her older brother. Matt chuckles as the twins banter back and forth, debating whether Miles was being pessimistic or not. 

"You two will literally argue about anything," Ellis speaks up. Most of the time the twins got along great, but they had their few moments where they would turn a simple conversation into a bickering match, one of them always wanting to be right. 

"Oh, the game is about to start up again," Lennen points out, getting the twins to shut up and focus their attention back to the game rather than arguing about something completely pointless. 

Lennen's eyes darted back and forth from one end of the field to the other, from team to team. Time was so slowly ticking down and the game was getting closer to the end. The points were starting to rack up, each team pushing for the win. 

When the final whistle blew, the score came out in Sage Hill's favor, 14-12. The crowd let out a defeated sigh while the Sage Hill team celebrated, Duke being hoisted up on shoulders, as he was the most responsible for the teams win. North Shore started filing out of the bleachers, heading home, no longer wanting to be in this atmosphere. The team had their heads hung low, in defeat. 

The group stuck around for Holden and Oliver to come out, wanting to offer their condolences for the lost, but congratulate them for a well fought game. Everyone was on the edge of their seats near the end because they had thought North Shore was going to win in, as they were ahead for a while, but Sage Hill ended up coming back with a few more goals, allowing them the win. 

"Hey, I'll be right back," Lennen tells her group as she sees Duke starting to make his way out of the stadium. She jogged over to him, wanting to catch him before he left. "Duke, wait up."

"Hey, Lennen," Duke smiles, happy to see his friend. It had been a week since their trip to Barcelona, and they hadn't seen each other since. And he was certain that the wouldn't see her until graduation, as they were both going to be busy focusing on their finals and writing their valedictorian speech. 

"Congrats on the win. You all played really great," Lennen compliments. She was a little bummed that North Shore had last, but she was happy for Duke. Leading the team to state, once again, was going to make Yale love him even more. 

"Thanks, though for a little bit I thought you guys were going to take it. I couldn't let my team know that though, so just had to keep on pushing and hope for the best, which seemed to work out for us," Duke laughs. He still loved North Shore and all the amazing memories he had made while he was there for a year, but he had poured his heart and soul into this Sage Hill team and his work had definitely paid off. 

"I'm incredibly proud of you Duke, and I can't wait to see flourish at Yale. I know that you have such a bright future ahead of you." 

"And you are going to just as amazing things. You are the brightest of the bunch and you are going to thrive beyond belief. Can't wait to see your name in the newspaper one day, something like The New York Times."

"Oh, I don't know if I would go that far," Lennen laughs. She didn't want to be cocky about her potential, but ending up in The New York Times was something she could only dream of. She had been reading that newspaper since she was six years old. 

"Don't doubt yourself or your abilities, Lennen. You deserve so much and the world has a lot to offer. Don't forget that." Lennen hugged Duke, before thanking him and heading back to her friends.