[ it's been a hot minute. maybe reread the book if you gotta. i'll understand. anyway, hope i can keep up with updates this time around ]

✵︎

THAT'S MY FUCKING BOYFRIEND!

[  season 1 — episode 10  ]

THE SHOWER WAS RUNNING, and the only reason Daisy wasn't in it with Roy was because neither would be getting particularly clean if she was. She'd taken her shower while he was still sleeping and was now working on her hair at her vanity table. But her phone buzzed, distracting her. She quickly wiped some of the gel off her fingers so that she could read and reply to the unexpected text from Jamie.

Jamie Shark 🦈
Hey Daisy. I'm in town.
Can I come over and talk?
If your dad isn't home at least?

Daisy didn't think anything of it as she replied, knowing her dad went into work straight from Beard's flat.

Of course you can!
And he's already at the
facility, so you're safe.

After that, she put her phone down and went back to work on her hair. She was quite focused but at least noticed when Roy passed with just a towel around his waist. He leaned down and kissed her shoulder, just next to the strap of the thin tank top she was wearing. Then he went to get dressed.

She didn't know where he went next, but he wasn't in her room. Daisy had just finished up when the doorbell rang, so she quickly went to wash her hands, knowing she could clean up later. Then she scurried down the hallway, only to see that Roy had already gotten the door.

It was certainly a sight — Roy sitting at the kitchen table in just a shirt and his underwear, glaring at a fully dressed Jamie who was sitting across from him.

"Oh, yeah, Roy, Jamie's coming over," Daisy mumbled, realizing she should've mentioned that as soon as he was out of the shower.

Roy raised an annoyed eyebrow, obviously already knowing that now. "Oh, is he? Shall I make scones?"

"I don't like scones," Jamie informed him.

"I'm not making scones, you idiot," he snapped. Daisy just rolled her eyes playfully while coming over, taking the time to kiss the top of Roy's head as she passed.

"Good, 'cause I don't even like 'em," Jamie finished childishly, needing to get the last word.

As Daisy moved to sit between them, she saw both a travel cup and a glass one sitting on the table. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the mug.

"I made you coffee," Roy said. It was what he'd been doing before Jamie ruined his morning.

"Well, what about that?" she asked, nodding to the paper cup.

"I brought you coffee," Jamie informed her, crossing his arms. "Know you don't love tea. Gotta pick one of 'em."

Daisy glanced between the two cups before taking the paper one. She pulled the lid off and poured it into the mug, mixing it with Roy's coffee. "Nothin' wrong with having both," she told Jamie. "Now, what were you wantin' to talk about?"

Jamie stiffened up and glanced at Roy. "Not gonna say it in front of this dry old shit."

"Why? He won't say anything," she said before looking at Roy. "Will you?"

Roy, who maybe was around Phoebe a bit too much, zipped his lips shut and then threw the invisible key at Jamie's head. But Jamie was faster, leaning to the side to dodge it.

"Missed," he whispered smugly, making Daisy giggle. Then at hearing her laugh, Jamie looked her way again. "Your dad is trying to play fucking mind games with me. Saying nice shit about me on the telly. Trying to get in my head."

"Daddy does like you," she informed him.

Jamie scoffed. "Then you're as full of shit as he is."

Roy sat forward angrily, not liking how he was speaking to her. "Oi. Mind your fucking manners."

"All right, RoboCop," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Jamie, not everyone in your life is out to get you," Daisy told him.

"I am," Roy said flatly, making her look at him. He just shrugged, not about to take it back. "What? Thought you respected honesty."

"I do," she said, leaning in to kiss him softly.

Jamie fucking hated the sight of it and he hated how he felt over something so simple. He wanted to be the one making Daisy coffee and kissing her in the morning while she was still wearing cute little pajamas with cartoon cows all over them. And it didn't fucking help that he could see her nipples poking through the fabric of her shirt, reminding him of the night they had together, when he'd left bruises and bite marks all over her skin that were long gone now and replaced by ones in the shape of Roy's infuriating lips.

"Oh, that is disgusting," Jamie groaned, beginning to get up. "Look, Daisy, when you're done feeding mushy peas to the man old enough to be your father, then you give me a call." After that, he looked at Roy challengingly. "Look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Enjoy the view from the bench. And the view of your girlfriend in my kit."

"Yeah, fucking right," Roy laughed, rolling his eyes.

"She promised me, mate. Innit that right, love?" Jamie asked, looking back down at her, reminding her of the note — he kept it folded up in his wallet as proof.

Daisy bit the inside of her cheek, knowing Roy wouldn't like it. But Jamie still meant something to Richmond, so she felt she had to keep her promise. Besides, Lassos didn't walk back on their word.

"Tell you what — stop sayin' all that mean stuff about Richmond in your interviews, and maybe I'll be in number nine on Sunday."

Jamie smirked at her. "I'll be on me best behavior, then."

Roy glared at Jamie the whole time as he let himself out of the apartment. Then the glare fell on Daisy — it did soften, at the very least.

"What?" Daisy asked nervously.

"When'd you promise you'd be in his kit for the final match?" he asked, obviously jealous.

"Well, before we got together," she said honestly. She wasn't embarrassed by sleeping with Jamie but knew it was still a sore spot for Roy. "You can't be surprised. I was wearing his jersey during all the matches after he left it behind."

"Great," he huffed. "I'm gonna be on the fucking bench, and my girlfriend's gonna be in Tartt's fucking kit. Not to mention that I kinda want mushy peas now."

Daisy let out a huff of a laugh through her nose as she moved to sit on Roy's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I can fix that last one even though that sounds like a gross breakfast."

✵︎

Sunday arrived, and Daisy was freezing. She wore a long-sleeved white shirt underneath Jamie's jersey. While they team was changing, Daisy rushed to the owner's box to sit with Keeley, Allora, and Rebecca for a few minutes. All of them could feel their nerves practically shaking, knowing how much was riding on this match.

"Oh, this sport," Rebecca grumbled, "I'd forgotten how stressful it is when you actually give a shit."

"We always give a shit," Allora said before cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting, "Get fucked, Man City!"

Keeley smiled at her — Allora wasn't her girlfriend, but she wasn't not her girlfriend either. "I have a confession to make. I've never really cared about football. I know. I know it sounds insane, but I know how to act at a match."

Then Keeley jumped up just as Allora had and began shouting and throwing her arms around. "Referee! Offside, you turnip!"

Rebecca snickered. "God, you're awful."

"You believed me," Keeley laughed, sitting back next to Allora.

"Well, show that kind of fake passion all night, and you are so getting laid," Allora told her, smirking.

"Please," she rolled her eyes while leaning her head on her shoulder. "I'm gonna get laid anyway."

"I do get where you're coming from," Daisy chimed in. "Even with Daddy coaching, it took a long time for my heart to really be in it, ya know? But now, today I care a whole heck of a lot."

She didn't want them to fail. Daisy didn't think she could stand the crushed looks on Sam and Richard and Colin's faces. Not even Dani would be able to put a positive spin on it if they got relegated. And god, Roy would do nothing but blame himself if things went poorly.

Soon, the women were joined by Higgins, who wasn't alone for the first time. Rebecca gave him tickets for his whole family. "Okay, here we are. Family Higgins."

One by one, boy after boy, they filed into the row of seats behind them. And Higgins rattled off their names, though Daisy would have a tough time remembering them since there were so many.

"This is Terry, Kris, Dana, Stevie."

"How many kids do you have, Higgins?" Rebecca asked with wide eyes. "Jesus Christ."

Just her luck that the next to come through was in a full priests' getup. "And this is our eldest, Lindsay," Higgins said, making Rebecca quite embarrassed.

"Good evening," Lindsay greeted politely.

"Forgive me, Father," Rebecca muttered while Allora was snickering.

Then Mrs. Higgins leaned in with a smile on her face. "Don't worry. He's a cool priest. When your parents have you out of wedlock, it allows you space to explore life's little gray areas."

Before they could respond, Higgins then began to spin a noisemaker, the rattling louder than any of their talking. "Come on, Richmond!" he shouted.

And his wife echoed him, just as excited. "Come on!"

"Where have they been all season?" Allora asked, liking the intense energy. She wanted to sit by people that were just as excited and passionate about the sport as she was. Then she was on her feet, grabbing an extra noise maker that one of the Higgins boys wasn't using. "Let's fucking go, Greyhounds!"

✵︎

After getting to know the Higgins family a bit better, Daisy slipped back inside, thankful that the heaters were running as she made her way to the locker room. Everyone was anxiously getting ready for the match, knowing how much was at risk for them.

"Hey," Roy greeted, walking over to her. He held her waist and leaned down to kiss her gently. "Fuck, your lips are cold."

"Thanks for warming them up," she said, smiling up at him.

"Get a room," Richard said while sliding past them to go to his locker.

Roy rolled his eyes and then looked around the room, his gaze finally landing on Isaac, who was getting his socks on. "Be right back, yeah?"

Daisy just nodded, knowing he was going to make Isaac the next captain. They'd talked about it that morning after he picked her up for breakfast. While he did that, Daisy went to sit by Sam, who was whispering a Nigerian prayer with his head bowed. She didn't say anything and instead just repeated the words in her head, only knowing what half of them meant as she wasn't fluent in Yoruba yet.

Though there wasn't much chatter going on, it all died down when Ted came out of his office. It was gonna be his last speech to get them ready.

"All right, now, fellas. Hey, let's focus up, huh? So I've been hearing this phrase y'all got over here that I ain't too crazy about. 'It's the hope that kills you,'" he said, repeating Mae's words. Nate and Allora had also said it while discussing the trick-play plan. "Y'all know what? I disagree, you know? I think it's the lack of hope that comes and gets you. See, I believe in hope. I believe in believe."

All of them looked at the poster above his doorframe when he pointed to it.

"Now, where I'm from, we got a saying too, yeah? A question, actually. 'Do you believe in miracles?' Now, I don't need y'all to answer that question for me but I do want you to answer that question for yourselves. Right now. Do you believe in miracles? And if you do, then I want y'all to circle up with me right now."

Everyone, Daisy included, got up and gathered around. And Sam looked at her, letting her pinch her earlobes one last time before joining in.

"Come on. Let's go. Get 'em in here. All right, Captain. Let 'em know," Ted said, looking to Roy when their hands were all in the circle.

Roy just silently nodded his head to the left, toward Isaac who now had the captain arm band. And everyone let out happy noises of encouragement and congratulations as Isaac moved his hand to the top of the pile.

"Let's go, Skipper, let's go," Sam cheered, grinning at him.

"All right, Captain," Ted said, happy with Roy's decision. "Let 'em know."

"Richmond on twelve," Isaac ordered, which confused them all. But he still began the countdown. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, nine—"

"You forgot—" Roy used his free hand to cover Daisy's mouth, keeping her from pointing out the missing eight they all noticed.

"—ten, eleven, twelve!"

"Richmond!"

Then the whole team rushed out of the locker room, shouting and clapping to get their energy up. Daisy walked alongside her father, knowing she'd split and return to the stands in just a minute.

"Is that miracle thing from a movie or real life?" Nate asked, walking a few steps behind them with Beard.

"Both," Beard shrugged, and Daisy nodded in agreement.

"It's a hockey movie," she said, looking at him over her shoulder. Then she stopped and hugged her dad. "You're gonna do great."

"I think we got this one," he said, rubbing her back as he hugged her. Then he glanced down at her jersey. "Mighty kind of you being in Jamie's number."

"He's still a part of the team, you know," she murmured. "Alright, get going. They need their manager out there."

✵︎

The first half of the match kept everyone on their toes, and the score was still tied at zero when the half ended. Jamie was still one of the best players on the pitch, but Zoreaux was turning out to be one of the best goalies in the league as well.

Keeley was pretty sure Allora hadn't sat down once until the half ended. She'd been standing and shouting profanities, and Keeley was pretty sure her behavior was making her fall even harder for the dance instructor.

It was when the second half started that Daisy began to mirror Allora's behavior. Because Roy walked onto the pitch with the captain band around his arm, meaning he was going to play this quarter.

"Go, Roy!" Daisy shouted, jumping to her feet excitedly. "Yes, baby!"

The match continued with the same back and forth from before, a lot of blocked goals keeping the score tied at zero. But then there was a penalty against Colin, and Man City got to take a penalty shot.

Daisy was surprised when Jamie wasn't the one to step up and take it. The name Hendrick was printed across the back, which she wouldn't have been able to make out if not for the huge screens projecting a clear image of it.

Zoreaux was ready, his hands spread wide as he tried to anticipate where the ball would go. Unfortunately, Hendrick got it past him, finally scoring for Man City. Daisy sighed and sat back in her seat, rubbing her cold nose. There was still a little time left but it felt fairly hopeless.

Rebecca wasn't nearly as upset as Daisy and the rest of the Greyhound fans. "We're only one goal down. There's still a chance. Come on, Richmond!" she shouted while throwing an arm around Allora, who screamed with her.

Keeley grinned at her. "I love you when you give a shit."

"You are so fucking hot right now, Rebecca," Allora added, grinning at the older woman.

As the game went on, Jamie got the ball for the countless time, running straight for the goal. Daisy found herself standing, her body wanting to root for him even though he was on the wrong team.

But then the unthinkable happened — someone was catching up to him as he zoomed down the pitch. Daisy squinted, realizing it was someone very familiar. Roy's slow-ass was the one running down Jamie.

"Go, Roy, go!" Daisy shouted, jumping up and down. "You got him! That's my fucking boyfriend!"

Jamie had no clue what hit him when Roy kicked the ball out from underneath him, making both men tumble to the ground. Daisy clapped and cheered, unable to believe it was Roy of all people to chase Jamie down and keep him from scoring.

Jamie was the first to hop to his feet, stomping away, feeling embarrassed that Roy was the one to stop him. Daisy kept her eyes on Roy, thinking he'd just up and rub it in Jamie's face, but the man stayed grounded, so her cheers died off as she grew worried.

"What's the matter?" Allora asked, spotting her upset look.

Daisy leaned forward, grabbing the railing, wishing she was closer so she knew what was wrong. "He ain't gettin' up, Lora."

It was agony, watching from so far up as Colin, Richard, and Sam ran to check on Roy. Daisy was far too worried to join in when the stadium began to fill with the familiar Roy Kent chant, everyone encouraging him to get up as Sam took his hand.

"He's here, he's there, he's every-fucking-where. Roy Kent! Roy Kent! He's here, he's there, he's every-fucking-where. Roy Kent! Roy Kent! He's here, he's there, he's every-fucking-where. Roy Kent! Roy Kent!"

After a long moment, Colin joined Sam and helped pull Roy to his feet. Daisy sighed in relief as the whole stadium clapped. Roy took a few hesitant steps on his own before slowing down, clearly in pain. Then he took off the captain's band and gave it back to Isaac, his way of letting them all know he couldn't go on.

"I think his knee is really hurt," Daisy muttered as Roy walked off the pitch, trying to hide his limp. He raised his hands and clapped them, thanking the fans for their support, which just made them cheer louder.

"Maybe you should go check on him," Rebecca said with a frown. She cared a lot about Daisy and Roy.

Daisy nodded and then moved past all of them, managing to give a half-hearted goodbye to the Higgins family. Then she was running down to the bottom floor of the arena to get to the locker room, shedding her thick jacket as she did so now that she was out of the cold.

Roy made it to the locker room before she did. She could see through the window in the closed door that he was sitting down, having taken off his kit already. He was staring down at his already bruising and swollen knee, letting himself be upset now that no one was watching.

Daisy slowly opened the door, making him look up. He swallowed thickly, holding back tears. "You're not allowed back here during a game," he said, making her roll her eyes. They both knew she was welcome in the locker room any time she wanted. "I told you, you have to get out. I mean it. Stay the fuck away from me."

Daisy shook her head while walking up to him. "I'm not gone leave you in here alone, Roy," she said softly while sitting next to him on the bench.

Roy was tense, reminding her of a skittish animal that wanted to run away — except he physically could run. So, when she wrapped her arm around him in a hug, he leaned into her touch, savoring the feeling of her reaching up to run her fingers through his sweaty hair. He let out a breath he'd been holding, his shoulders shaking as he did so. Then he reached for her free hand and grabbed it, holding it tightly between them.

They sat in silence for several minutes, Daisy just letting Roy process it all before she spoke up. "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

"What? Fucked my knee up," he grumbled. He moved his leg the slightest bit and winced, feeling the pain.

"No," she said, smiling a little. "You just ruined Jamie's entire season with one tackle. He's probably miserable over it."

Roy let out a huff of a laugh. "The posh twat isn't as fast as he thinks."

"I'm proud of you," she told him, kissing his cheek. "And so is everyone out there still on the pitch."

Roy's face shifted, the smile caused by the thought of a distraught Jamie fading. "Yeah, but that was my last time on the pitch, wasn't it?"

"Maybe," she said, knowing lying was no good. "It'll just depend on what the doctors say when they look at it. Until then, I'm gonna get some ice for it, yeah?"

He nodded and released her, letting her get up. Daisy went to the physical room and found an ice pack. She also dragged a chair with her so that Roy could keep his leg elevated. And while she passed the TV in the locker room, she turned it on so that they could watch the last bit of the match together.

"Palace won six-nil," Roy claimed while Daisy was focused on getting his knee situated. The news was scrolling along the bottom of the screen as the game went on. "We just need a tie."

Daisy glanced at the screen, wondering if her dad knew. Ted hated ties, but now a tie would be their miracle. She laid her head on Roy's shoulder as they both watched the game, the final minutes flying by.

"Montlaur runs left. Fouled hard by Scharfenberg."

"Oh, no," Daisy frowned, seeing Richard on the ground, holding his leg.

"He's fine," Roy informed her, a smirk on his face.

"No, he's not! He's really hurt!" she insisted as Richard began to hit the pitch in pain.

But a second later, he jumped up without any effort, ready to keep playing. Roy snorted in amusement at his show of it. The Man City players were surrounding the referee, complaining about it. And as they were doing that, they missed Isaac, who was calling a play.

"Oh, heck yeah," Daisy said, grinning as the team got into a familiar stance that was confusing the fans. Jamie was shouting at the ref that they couldn't do... whatever the hell they were doing. "Now this is football."

"No, this is fucking insane," Roy said, scoffing. But he was kinda sad he wasn't getting to run the Lasso Special.

As the team lined up, the Man City players had no idea what to do, not knowing where everyone would head. Sam ran behind the defense line but still didn't kick the ball, confusing them even more, letting time run out. Then Zoreaux began yelling numbers and colors. Daisy couldn't help but giggle at the commentary on the TV.

"Hut, hut, hut! Hike!"

Richmond then behind rushing toward the Man City players with their hands out while Zoreaux kept shouting. The Man City defense was lost in the chaos, completely missing Sam, who got the ball and shot toward the goal. Dani was left unguarded, who went airborne when Sam passed the ball. His foot met the ball and it sailed past the goalie and into the net, bringing them up to a tie just as the game was ending.

"They did it!"

"Fuck yeah!"

Daisy's excited laugh was cut off as Roy leaned down to kiss her. She smiled into it, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull herself closer. They would've been content to make out until the team returned if the voice of Arlo White hadn't pulled them apart.

"Tartt loses Winchester with ease. It's only him and the goalkeeper."

"No," Daisy whispered, seeing that Jamie wasted no time in getting the ball again.

Most teams — most players — would've given up and let the clock run out, but not him. No one was even close to catching him as he had a clear path to the goal. All of Zoreaux's attention was on Jamie, ready to stop his ex-teammate. But before they could really comprehend it, Jamie passed the ball across the pitch to his teammate, who was the one to make shot that Zoreaux couldn't catch in time. The football was hurled into the goal mere seconds before the whistle was blown, the end of the game arriving.

Roy stared at the screen in disbelief, as did Daisy. Richmond were going to be relegated and all because Jamie took the goddamn extra pass. It was bittersweet, really.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, squeezing Roy'a hand. He just let out an upset grunt. "I'm so sorry."

They sat in broken silence for a few minutes before a physician finally came into the locker room to check on Roy. Daisy kissed his cheek and let him know she was going to check on her father to see how he was handling things. And as she walked down the hall, she could hear the muffled cheering of the Manchester City team as they celebrated in the guest locker room.

Ted was in the media room, countless cameras flashing as they documented the loss. And though he was upset, Ted was putting on a brave face, trying to not think about Rebecca firing him.

"We can 'woulda, coulda, shoulda' all day long, but that's... it's a tough loss. It's a tough loss," was all he could say. Then he cleared his throat and perked up. "I do wanna congratulate Man City on their win though, and their coach, Pep. Boy, did he look sharp tonight? Yeah, my man should be proud."

A few more questions were thrown out, and of course, Trent was the one to ask about the relegation. Ted kept his answer short and composed, promising that Richmond would do some wonderful things in the Championship League. Then he put an arm around Daisy and led her out.

"I'm proud of you, Daddy," Daisy told him once they were alone in the hall. "I mean, Beard and I thought you wouldn't even win one game, you know?"

Ted snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, me neither, if we're being honest."

Then Ted's phone buzzed with a text from Michelle. He flashed the screen to Daisy, who read it and looked at the picture of a robot that Henry drew.

Michelle Lasso
Henry said his robot is a
great coach, just like his dad!
We're proud of you, Ted.

"Tell her I love her," Daisy said. "And I'll call her before the recital tomorrow."

"You got it," he said while already typing it out.

But Ted stopped and walked back a few steps when he saw Jamie through a door window leading into the physical room. He was in the blue uniform and looking down.

Daisy was the one to move toward the room to talk to him — congratulate him. But then a cleat was thrown harshly his way, bouncing off the wall as Jamie flinched and dodged it.

Daisy stumbled back, hearing someone's muffled shouting. Then an older man stepped into view, getting right up in Jamie's face as he yelled. "You! Do you really think I would've come all the way down to London to watch my son pass the ball?"

Jamie's father shoved his head back into the wall and stomped off. The action pushed Jamie's head to the side, and he made eye contact with Daisy. He fucking hated the sympathetic look in her eyes. And he hated that when she took a step toward him, Ted pulled her back, not letting her get involved in the heated moment.

"You could've scored the winner. You're better than that, Jamie. Fuck!"

"Daddy," Daisy said when he pulled her away. "You're just gonna let him talk to Jamie like that?"

"Darlin', it's Colin and Isaac botherin' Nate all over again. Me stepping in ain't gone make it better. And I don't want you anywhere near that man if he's throwing cleats, yeah?"

"I still don't wanna see him treated that way," she said with a deep frown as they went to their own locker room.

Ted just hummed in agreement before going to find Beard, needing to say a few things about the loss. Daisy returned to Roy's side, whose knee was now wrapped up in a tight bandage with a larger ice pack on it. He instantly wrapped an arm around her when she joined him, looking around the locker room.

Rebecca has joined them, sitting next to Sam. Keeley and Allora were there as well, joining Higgins over by Colin and Nate. Everyone was visibly crushed by the loss, no one uttering a single word as they processed it.

After a few minutes of letting them sulk, Ted had enough of it. "So, look, I—" Will had chosen the worst time to offer him a bottle of water, interrupting him with it. "Oh, I'm good. Thank you. Yeah."

Daisy saw Nate smile the slightest bit, remembering when he was first starting the job.

"Hey. Y'all played a heck of a game out there. We may not have won, but y'all definitely succeeded. I mean, you gave the champs ninety minutes of hell. Zoreaux, where you at?" he asked, scanning the room for the goalie. "That dude had more saves than a Baptist preacher. Give it up for Zoreaux. Yeah."

"Whoo!" Daisy called as everyone clapped for him. And Zoreaux smiled bashfully.

"That's right. What about Roy?" Ted then asked. "Roy chased down his grandson. Stopped him from getting an easy one."

As Roy laughed, Daisy turned her head and kissed his neck gently, making the soft smile remain on his face.

"Now, look, this is a sad moment right here. For all of us. And there ain't nothing I can say, standing in front of you right now, that can take that away. But please do me this favor, will you? Lift your heads up and look around this locker room. Yeah? Look at everybody else in here. And I want you to be grateful that you're going through this sad moment with all these other folks. Because I promise you, there is something worse out there than being sad, and that is being alone and being sad. Ain't nobody in this room alone."

Daisy found she couldn't smile, only able to think of Jamie. Even with such an important win, he wasn't happy. He was all alone, being berated by his father for doing something that helped them win anyhow. When they were getting rid of the curse, Daisy was just starting to understand Jamie, but now she could really see why he was the way that he was. And she hated it for him so much.

"Sam, do you remember what animal has the shortest memory?"

Sam looked up from his hands and smiled at Daisy — they had hardly known each other back then. "A goldfish."

"That's right. It's a goldfish," he confirmed. "Sam, what do you think we should all do once we get done being sad and-or angry about this situation?"

"I think we should all be a goldfish."

"I agree. Let's be sad now. Let's be sad together. And then we can be a gosh-darn goldfish," Ted told them. "Onward. Forward."

Daisy looked at Roy then, repeating her father while squeezing his hand. "Onward. Forward."

✵︎

The Man City supporters were partying in the streets, making it all the more miserable for the Richmond fans, their home being overtaken. Daisy just tuned out the chanting as she approached the bus that was loading all the Manchester players to take them back. She had an envelope in hand that Ted asked her to deliver, and she was all too happy to.

"Jamie," Daisy called before he could get on the bus.

He froze and stared at her for a moment, surprised she was coming to see him. But then one of his teammates moved him to the side so that they could get on the bus, and Jamie snapped out of it.

"What're you doin' out here?" he asked, glancing from her to the arena.

"Got something for you," she said, holding out the letter.

"What?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow as he took it. "This a love letter? Already over Grandpa?"

"Grandpa chased your ass down," she said with a laugh. He just grumbled and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, though, I'm proud of you, Jamie. And I know your mama is too after the way you played today."

Jamie sniffed a bit, trying to hide how much something so simple meant to him after the way his father had treated him. "Take care of yourself, love."

"Only if you do too," she said. Then Daisy stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. Jamie's eyes closed, savoring the feeling, knowing he'd never kiss her again so long as she was with Roy. "Night, Jamie."

"Goodnight, Daisy," he mumbled, watching her walk away, fairly certain the girl was taking a part of his heart with him, no matter how small.

✵︎

"You're supposed to look like a tree, not a cute little woodland fairy. It's not fair," Allora grumbled while helping weave little fake baby's breath flowers into Daisy's hair. "I looked like a dirty troll when I filled in one year."

"Lora, you're tall and gorgeous. You couldn't look like a troll if you tried," Daisy said, rolling her eyes.

Allora was right, though. Daisy looked real fucking cute in her costume, and if it had a set of wings, she'd believe she was dancing as a fairy rather than a flower-and-moss-covered tree. It had always been one of Daisy's favorite things about dancing — the costumes. She'd kept every single one in the back of her closet in Kansas, and would give this and the dress she'd be wearing for the showcase the same treatment.

"Look, everyone in town is in a shit mood because of the relegation," Allora told Daisy while holding her shoulders. "I know it's a stupid little dance with stupid little kids in shit flower costumes—"

"Hey!" a seven-year-old named Marshall said as he passed them in his flower costume, rushing to get in place.

"Oh, just get in line, Mr. Donovan," Allora said, rolling her eyes. Then she looked at Daisy. "You're the manager's daughter. Go out there and let them know the Lassos aren't all losers."

Rather than defend her father, Daisy just nodded. Allora had been even more high-stress ever since the loss, so she was a bit frantic as the time for the curtains to be drawn and the seven-year-olds to start off the dance recital. But everything would work out fine no matter how worried the owner was.

"Nothin' is gonna go wrong, Lora," Daisy said in a calm voice.

"Holy shit!" Charles, one of the jazz instructors exclaimed.

"Fuck, what's gone wrong?" Allora asked him, looking at the man who had been peeking through the curtain.

"Burke, how'd you get the whole Richmond team to come to this?" he asked, his eyes wide. "Obisanya, Rojas, Zoreaux. Fucking Rebecca Welton!"

"What?" Daisy asked, her face scrunching up in confusion. Only Ted, Beard, and Roy were meant to be in the audience along with his sister.

So, she quickly went to the curtain and pulled it back the slightest bit. And there they were, crowded into the first three rows. She could see Dani, Sam, Colin, Richard — all of them were there to support her and Phoebe even after their recent loss. In that moment, Daisy was so glad Rebecca hadn't fired her father because she couldn't imagine leaving behind so many great people.

And there, in the very back row with the shadows hiding him away, unnoticed by everyone, was Jamie Tartt, having just sat down after sending unsigned flowers for Daisy to receive after the show.