It was so cold on Saturday that I regretted agreeing to watch the boys' varsity final. But I went anyway, huddled between Audra and Gyeong-Ja, all bundled in a jacket with my hood pulled up against the wind.

"I hope it's going to be warmer tomorrow," Gyeong-Ja said, pulling on a pair of mittens midway through the first half. "As much as I love you both, I don't think I can do this two days in a row."

"It will be," Audra said through chattering teeth. "I'd—"

She was cut off as the ref's whistle pierced the air, calling yet another foul on the opposing team.

"Are they always this dirty?" I asked, while one of our midfielders lined up for their third free kick in just 20 minutes.

"Always," Audra muttered darkly. "JJ actually debated doubling up his gloves because they're notorious for stomping goalies' hands."

"Rude," I muttered.

"I wish the boys weren't playing like absolute turds," Audra said, then raised her voice to shout, "Oy! Wake up, sweeper! Don't let that mess near the net!"

JJ emerged from the scrum with the ball this time, but the past two times he hadn't. The opposing strikers were playing circles around our defenders, and it was only thanks to some stellar goalkeeping from JJ that they boys weren't down by more than two. Unlike in all the other games I'd watched, they hadn't managed to put any points on the board yet, either.

My eyes followed the arc of the ball as it sailed off JJ's foot, deep into the neutral zone. One of our midfielders controlled it, and then, to the sounds of cheering from the crowd of home fans, lobbed it up for a chip and run to Theo.

"Ellerby needs to wake the hell up," Audra muttered under her breath, and she was right. Theo had been off all game, losing the ball in cheap giveaways and messing up crosses that should've made for easy goals. This time, he controlled the ball, but didn't manage to shake the defender tailing him.

Audra leaned forward. "Shoot the bloody—"

The defender slid low into a slide tackle and slammed Theo's leg out from under him.

"What the hell!" Audra and I shouted in unison, leaping to our feet. My hood fell off, and I shoved my hair out of my face as the ref's whistle sliced through the air again. I only sat down when Theo pushed up from where he'd tumbled to the ground and shook himself out, apparently unharmed by the dirty play. It wasn't the first hit he'd taken, and I still held my breath every time he went down. Just because we weren't a thing anymore didn't mean that I wanted to see him hurt. But it did mean that I wouldn't be first in line to see if he was okay after the game.

Jaw working, my traitorous eyes settled on Madeleine's bright white coat, five rows below us. Just like all the other times when Theo had gone down, she hadn't even looked up from where she was chatting and laughing with her friends. Almost as if she were here just to be seen and not because she actually gave a damn. I swallowed the bitter lump in my throat and focused on the game. Thankfully, the ref held up a yellow card to the defender, then gestured for a direct free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.

The opposing defenders set up a wall, with two of our mids jockeying to shove themselves in the middle of it. Theo jogged to the opposite side of the net, hovering level with their sweeper. For the barest of moments, I could've sworn he looked right at me before I ripped my eyes away, back towards the ball.

"All right, here we go." Audra rubbed her hands together.

"They've left him wide open," Gyeong-Ja said.

And they had. When our defender punched the ball up and high, Theo was already sprinting towards the goalie. They jumped at the same time, and Theo managed to get his head on the ball before the goalie could reach it.

The home crowd exploded when the ball curled into the net. Audra punched a fist in the air, her screams echoing mine and Gyeong-Ja's. Across the field, the 0-2 on the scoreboard switched to a bright, hopeful 1-2. The boys crowded around Theo, cheering and clapping him on the back before they all hurried back to their half. As he ran, Theo looked towards the bleachers again.

Gyeong-Ja eyed me when I pulled my hood back up. "You sure you want to do that?"

I lifted an eyebrow. "It's freezing out."

Audra nudged me with her elbow. "Hate to say it, but it looks an awful lot like the wanker only scored once he saw you."

I crossed my arms against the tingle blooming in my chest. "He was only looking at Madeleine." I jutted my chin towards where she was still standing after the rest of the crowd had sat down, dramatically blowing a kiss at Theo.

"Okay," Gyeong-Ja drew the word out, until Audra shouted at our defenders again.

I sucked in a frigid breath and burrowed deeper under the blanket we were all sharing. Forcing myself to concentrate on the game, I dissected the boys' tactics and positioning so I wouldn't start overanalyzing what Theo's goal meant.

Except by the time the clock had ticked up to the last five minutes of play, there was no ignoring it. Theo's game had changed completely, almost like he'd finally woken up. He held the ball longer and stopped giving it away so easily. He'd even scored once more, this time off a chip and run breakaway where he'd gracefully leaped over the sweeper's attempt at a slide tackle and had nailed the ball into the top left corner of the net, well past the goalie's outstretched arms.

"There's no overtime." Audra said, eyeing the clock as it neared 90 minutes. "Post-season rules go straight to penalty kicks, and JJ's bollocks at PKs."

"Let's hope there's some decent injury time then," Gyeong-Ja said.

All I could do was chew my thumbnail.

When the scoreboard clock hit 90, Audra and I both sat up. Given all the fouls, there was probably a solid three minutes of extra time, but it was all in the ref's hands. Frustratingly, the ball ping-ponged around the neutral zone, with neither team able to nail down a set play or gain an advantage.

My fingers curled into fists when the ref lifted his whistle to his lips after JJ punted the ball back towards the center.

"Don't blow it now," Audra said through her teeth, eyes tracking the ball when it landed a few feet from Theo. The ref still held the whistle between his lips, primed to end the game the moment we lost advantage. Theo scooped the ball up with a sweep of his foot and both Audra and I leaned forward. The defender had long since given up on slide-tackling him, so this time, he slammed into Theo with his shoulder. But Theo didn't stagger off the ball. Instead, he cut hard towards the sideline.

Audra seized my hand when he sent a cross sailing towards the net. I held my breath, but the goalie managed to punch it away. My shoulders sagged, ready for the ref's whistle to end regulation and move them into penalty kicks, when, suddenly, one of our midfielders burst from the scrum at the top of the 18-yard box.

The ball sailed off his foot, low and right, straight past the goalie, and into the net.

"Oh my God!" Audra screamed. The two of us leaped up so quickly that Gyeong-Ja had to stop the blanket from flying off in the wind. A roar of triumph filled the air, from both the now-standing crowd and the boys on the field, who were all sprinting to crush around the midfielder who'd scored the winning goal. When the ref's whistle finally came, the two short and one long blast signalling the end of the game had never sounded sweeter.

"Come on." Audra pulled me down the bleachers along with the rest of the crowd that was flooding the field. When I hesitated, she pointed towards the boys' bench. "It's tradition!"

The rest of our team, bundled in jackets and sweatshirts, had gathered around Coach Patel and a duffel bag. She was handing something out to them, and when we got closer, Deanna tossed two of them to me and Audra.

"Sweatbands?" I frowned.

"Not just any sweatbands." Deanna turned hers over to show me the embroidered school crest, year, and team name. "Varsity league champion sweatbands! Our way of congratulating the boys. So pick a player!"

My fingers froze. My stomach clenched. I hated how pathetic my reaction was, and how desperately I clung to the little bit of hope that the stupid sweatband had given me. Theo was lots of things, but I didn't think he'd be mean enough to snub me if I mustered the guts to march up to him. Not after yesterday, when he'd asked if I was okay. Maybe this was my history paper all over again—one last shot before I really gave up, for real this time.

At my hesitation, Audra bumped me with her elbow.

"There's always JJ," she leaned in to say over the sound of the cheering crowd.

But I didn't want to give my sweatband to JJ. Not if it was my last chance to mend things with Theo.

I gulped, then followed Audra and the rest of my teammates onto the field. The boys had all lined up to shake hands with their opponents, and when they turned back towards their bench, each of our players either tossed or handed a sweatband to one of them. Apparently they'd known it was coming, because most of them immediately slipped the ridiculous things on, posing for joking selfies or high-fiving my teammates. Deanna even leaped onto her boyfriend's back and shoved it onto his sweaty forehead with a kiss.

And then time seemed to slow. When Theo turned, my heart leaped into my throat. I crushed the sweatband between my freezing fingers, unable to move when his eyes met mine. His lips kicked up into that half grin I hadn't seen in weeks. Not since Thanksgiving. Not since—

A white blur shot out of the crowd. Before I could process that it was Madeleine in her white coat, her arms wound around Theo, and her lips pressed to his.

That hole in my chest yawned open, swallowing up every giddy and hopeful thing that had set my fingers to trembling. I ripped my eyes away and cursed myself for being a fool. Did I think some stupid sweatband was going to make him treat me like he had before? It's not like a silly victory tradition was going to erase all the hurt between us. It certainly wasn't about to make him shove his new girlfriend off to accept me and my stupid gift.

My eyes prickled. I whirled around and bolted, back towards JJ and Audra.

"Ellie!" he exclaimed, a bright smile on his face when I stopped in front of him. "Did you see that goal? What a..."

He trailed off when I wordlessly extended the sweatband. I barely waited for him to accept it before I pivoted on my heel.

Dashing the traitorous tears from my eyes, I hurried back towards the safety of the dorms, every ounce of excitement and victory that had swelled inside me gone, all thanks to a stupid kiss.

**A/N: Poor Ellie. All that courage just to get shot down...or was she? Do you think Theo was about to say something to her for the first time in forever? (Or am I just torturing everyone now with the hope?!? lol)

As always, if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to vote and comment!**