The Fault Line (GxG)

36. It's over now

Frozen in my spot, I stare endlessly at the floor in the hallway. Hands trembling, I push them up against my sides to hide them. The shouting from the crowd outside turns me cold, yet my heart feels the need to burst out of my chest. 

Never have I ever felt as nervous as I am today. My team depends on me, my coach, and to make it worse, half the town. This does not feel like a soccer game, more like a battle in an infinite war. It's never going to end, whether we win or lose today, but losing is not an option.

However, it brings me to a conflict knowing that the girl I love is playing for our greatest rivals. The best goalkeeper in the country for our age. It makes me proud; of course, it does. She is incredible, and she deserves to go to England and play for a great team. It's an opportunity and an experience only a few can dream about in their lifetime. 

My team comes in behind me, waiting for the same as me. A tap on my shoulder makes me turn in my place to Lynda.

"Are you okay?" She asked, and I only nodded; I don't know what to say. I'm too nervous and worried to form words. As my team and I stood still and patiently, we could hear shouting coming from down the hall. The Griffiths come up next to us and, of course, like always, the captain first. 

Nico turned to me, but with no smile, more like a concerned look. I think we are both nervous, but then again, we shouldn't really smile when we are together like this. In the first game, she did interact with me and smiled, but those were different circumstances. We didn't know each other, and certainly, we weren't in a relationship at that time. 

The referees come in between us and look down the hallway at both teams.

"Okay, let's go," Said the main referee, Nico and I following after the older woman into the evening. When we stepped onto the field, the cheering turned loud to the point you can almost hear the echo going through town. People banging onto the bleachers as if they were drums, wearing either blue or red. Who would have thought that girls' soccer would make people go so crazy in a small town?

Both teams stand on a line next to the referees, the captain first like always. She indicates for us to shake hands with them as much as I don't want to. I know it's a must. I look up at Nico, who offered a small smile as she took my hand into hers. 

As we went through the awkwardness of greeting each opponent, I ended up with Aubrey, who ignored me by not watching me nor accepting my hand. I shook it off, and the rest of my plays kept themself active as Nico and I met with the referee. 

"Heads or tails?" She asked Nico.

"Heads," She answered quickly as the lady had already thrown the coin. 

"Heads it is," The referee said. 

"We take that side," Nico pointed to the goal behind me and gave me a little wink. I know she chose it because of the light breeze we have. I hate running against the wind; hopefully, it will change early on. 

"Okay, good luck" The older woman takes Nico's hands in hers and then mine, then Nico and I. She smiles again before running past me to the goal as I walk down to the middle of the field where the referee has placed the ball for me to kick off the game. 

It's like the whole place is holding their breaths now as we wait on the referee to blow the whistle. The quietness is a sort of relief, as if it's all a dream, but then it all exploded. The match started with me kicking the ball over to Lynda, the defensive midfielder. Then, Abby, Sally, and I ran up to our attacking positions. Abby is central, Sally is right and I am left-wing like always.

Lucy, my partner on the left side, kicked me the ball, and I shot it back as she runs up the side. I rush up to her but lost the ball as someone kicked it out on the sideline.