Tennessee Orange - Megan Moroney

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I never expected Colt to fit in so well with my friends as he is now. He was meant to be a frat boy in another life. I stood with my friends, watching him do a keg stand at the Lambda Chi tailgate before the game. "Twelve, thirteen, fourteen..."

He was in total frat boy mode. He dressed in a pair of khaki pants and had a navy pullover quarter-zip jacket on. He wore an 'I love Auburn Football' button, courtesy of me, of course. He didn't even put up a fight since I asked after he was three drinks in. It was a cold morning in Auburn, Alabama. I would think it would almost snow if I didn't know any better, but it doesn't snow here. It was cloudy, and I prayed for it to clear up so the sun could warm me.

I wore jeans with a navy sweater to match Colt. I paired it with a vintage Auburn letterman my grandfather had given me, a navy beanie, and boots with the warmest socks I could find. I also wore a button saying, 'Phi Mu loves Auburn Football.'

Colt cheered as they set him down from the keg, "That was fuckin' sick!" He yelled, high-fiving the frat boys and walking back towards me.

He wrapped his arms around me from behind, joining in on my private conversation with Willow and Julia. "Was Brooke at the farm?" Willow asks, sipping on jungle juice.

I lean into Colt, trying to get warmer, "we didn't see her car, so she must still be at her place. I'm sad she's not here. You know how much she hates Bama."

"She can't hide from us forever, you know," Julia adds. "For all we know, he's murdered her, and Colt was lying to us, saying she was pregnant and hiding."

He gasps, "Am not lying. I saw her in a towel entering the kitchen the morning before we left!" She had hidden every time I had walked into Knox's house looking for her.

"Maybe we all need to have a sleepover at Colt's and force her to talk to us." That could work. But it would make me feel so guilty pressuring her to explain her whereabouts to us. We will just have to wait.

We finally decided to head into the stadium, where blue and orange specks of people were littered all over the stadium, with random burgundy showing up. This was, no doubt, the most entertaining game all season to watch, with the Auburn-Georgia game coming second. Though we hardly ever win, the game is so intense with hatred and rivalry to see what team was best in the state of Alabama. UA proves their point almost every time, but we give them a run for their money.

I, of course, made Colt stand for a small photoshoot, and then he stood next to Jayden, Willows's boyfriend, as he took photos of the three of us. We were just missing one person.

The game was, of course, intense from start to finish. Auburn was trailing six with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. We had the ball. The entire stadium shook as we cheered our team on, trying to make it to the other end of the field. Being drunk also helped how loud we were.

The center snaps the ball back to the quarterback as the rest of the offense guards off Alabama. Of course, Bama has larger, stronger men than us since they have a better team. I'd be lying if I said Auburn was better.

The quarterback scrambles the ball, trying to find an opening to throw to the wide receiver. He throws it and finally finds a spot to throw to the player nearing the sideline. He jumps up to catch it, but Alabama blocks it, sending the ball out of bounds—second and ten.

They huddle up again, waiting for the coach to sign them a play. They break and take their spots on the same line again, preparing for their second chance. The center snaps the ball into the quarterback's hands. He fakes left, gives the ball to the running back, and heads right. Alabama takes a moment to realize where the ball is, and they charge after the running back who is charging down the field past the first-down line. He makes it to the thirty-yard line before Alabama's defense racks him. First down.

The entire crowd is cheering. You can't hear a thing. Colt looks so excited; I'm sad he's never been to a college football game. It makes me want to take him to every game for the rest of my life.

The team lines up again, ready for the next play, as the entire arena goes silent. They snap the ball, the quarterback waiting for the running back to charge down the field. He throws it and catches it, sending the crowd crazy. He makes it to the ten-yard line before he is tackled.

This is about the point where they screw up every time. They choke. I shake the bad thoughts from my head, exchanging them for prayers for them to make it to the end zone.

They snap the ball again, and the quarterback is tackled as he waits too long to throw it. The clock has forty-five seconds left as it continues to trickle down in time. They line up quickly again, trying to start the play. They snap the ball, and the quarterback fakes the throw, running toward the end zone. The crowd erupts in cheers as the quarterback nears the end zone.

He jumps to catch the ball, and is tackled. The men pile off him as the whistle blows to see where the ball landed. Once they make it to him, they see the ball is in the end zone— touchdown. I begin to scream along with the entire stadium that we have taken the lead. I jump up and down in Colt's arms, "We did it!"

The kicker sets up to kick through the field goal, slightly outside. We don't get the extra point. The clock trickles to zero as the Alabama team stands defeated. We did it. We beat Alabama for the first time in so many years.

The entire stadium storms the field, cheering with the team. I hold onto Colt's hand as we run to Toomer's Corner to help roll the trees like we do every game.

"This is the best part," I say, breathless, as we reach the street where everyone else is. I grab a toilet paper roll and chunk it into the trees, where it latches on, and the roll falls back down.

I grab him and kiss him, "You must've been the good luck charm today."

"Lucky, I think both of us being here was the magic."

"You have to come to every game from now on, you know that, right?" He chuckles, pulling me close and kissing me again.

We meet up with the others and walk back to our apartment, still cheering over the win. We would immediately eat something and then head to the bars like normal.

Julia walks in the door first, gasping as she opens the door. We walked in, and the rest of us gasped as well. "Hey, guys," Brooke says, standing up from the couch beside Knox.