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A row of steel shielded light fixtures dimly light up the room. There is a smoky haze to the open space without there being any smoke at all. The pressure of the room is enhanced by the suffocating silence withholding Kinsey from making any noise.

The blonde sits in silence on the polished oak bench with her head hanging low. She breathes in and out, not loud enough to disrupt the silence but enough to maintain her meditation. She coaxes her rampant thoughts into submission by thinking of nothing, or at least attempting to do so. Visions of running routes and the sensation of the gritty football against her bare hands cloud her mind.

Can I still do what I always do?

There is a possibility that I can fuck this up. I can fuck up a route. The ball can slip through my fingers.

The blonde tilts her head over to the pair of football gloves sitting beside her on the bench. Her jaw tightens. She draws her head away from the gloves, allowing her eyes to glance down at her trembling hand. The tremor in her left-hand goes haywire.

Kinsey stares down the hand as if to intimidate it into ceasing its shaking. Her breathing is slow but steady, not erratic.

She lifts the quivering hand to her collarbone. Her crooked, long fingers take hold of Nana's necklace. The gold necklace with the inscription of Kinsey's name is pulled from underneath the thick black laces holding together her shoulder pad unit.

Kinsey glares through the gold jewelry, not admiring the superficial aspect of the item, but thinking as to who it represents. Remembering everything her grandmother had ever told her about being Kinsey Scott.

"Kins, you're the only one able to do what you do. If they could've found anyone better wouldn't you think they'd have found her by now? You're the only one for this gig, so prove it to those bastards every time you step out there."

"No matter what happens out there, you have me to run to."

"Don't make me get out of this fucking wheelchair and show you how to spiral a football."

The memories of the headstrong woman force Kinsey to crack a small smile. A little chuckle rolls out before Kinsey's face straightens.

The blonde blinks away the salty liquid building in her eyes. It only takes two blinks before the blonde stuffs the necklace back into her jersey, snug underneath the front of her shoulder pad unit. Her neck cranes up and before she even knows it, she is on her feet. The feeling of her cleats against the tile floor sends a chill up her legs. Her hands rise above her head to flatten out the stray hairs from her gelled-back low bun.

After getting most of the little rascals, Kinsey motions for her helmet on the bench. In a swift movement, she has the helmet on over her head.

She no longer appears as Kinsey Scott as the helmet settles around her face, squishing her cheeks and muffling her hearing. Her face is barely visible through the mask of the helmet.

Her only identifier is the outlined silver number seven on the back of her jet-black jersey. Her eyes narrow as she pops the white mouth guard hanging from her helmet's mask into her mouth. Her menacing teeth sink into the rubber with no hesitation.

Kinsey struts toward the locker room door, leaving behind her gloves on the bench.

The usual sight greets the blonde out on the field. The high-resolution L.E.D. lights start to blur into one as the blonde jogs out onto the not-so freshly-cut grass that has been experiencing growth in the last week. Some of it withering under the harsh conditions of Kingsman Bounty's weather lately.

The crowd of excited spectators roars their respective chants. Oddly enough, today Kinsey can't seem to discern the Kingsman Bounty fans from the Royal Palm Wildcats fans. This is the first time where the cheers of Kingsman Bounty are given a run for their money.

The blonde decides to block out the sound altogether as she jogs onto the field, spotting her team standing around in a huddle.

Kinsey barges her way into the huddle, forcing two teammates to embrace the blonde with their heavy arms resting on her shoulders. Kinsey glances around the circle, making eye contact with almost everyone on the team. She sees bags under many of their eyes, she sees anxiety in the wrinkles above their eyes, she sees excitement in the heights of their brows, and she sees nothing from James.

His face is blank like he's trying not to feel at all. Once the two make eye contact, James instinctively directs his eyes elsewhere.

Kinsey can't sigh with the mouth guard in her way. She can't express anything and she doesn't know if it's a blessing or a curse to be obstructed from such expression.

"Okay boys, this is the second to last game before nationals. I would tell y'all to keep your shit together but I'm pretty sure you already know that. You motherfuckers know what we've been practicing. Remember to keep your routes sharp and don't give those motherfuckers any chance to infiltrate. Mow them down! We're starting off with route Randolf-22. Is that good with you, James?" Kinsey inquires respectfully, rightfully getting the quarterback's input before putting a play into action.

James sharply snaps his eyes to Kinsey, losing himself for a second as it's been a while since he's allowed himself to absorb the gaze of those bright blue gems. He pauses.

"Yeah, sounds good. Their defense looked weak during warm-ups, so it'll be a good route to fuck 'em up with." James swallows deeply.

Kinsey nods, maintaining eye contact with James.

"3, 2, 1!" Kinsey yells, signaling for the unified clasp of all the teammate's hands.

The huddle disintegrates into a group of eleven players headed towards the field and the rest headed towards the bench.

Kinsey rushes to the line of scrimmage where an opponent is already there to meet her. His eyes scream aggression but that doesn't faze Kinsey one bit. She's seen worse. Most of the time, the look on their faces is a mask, making many of these players feel like they have a chance at catching up with Kinsey Scott, one of the fastest football players in the region.

Her eyes calmly look back at James as he gets in position. He nods at her and she turns her head forward, gazing past the opponent burning holes through her skull. Her eyes rest on the touchdown area instead of looking at the "boy" trying to psych her out.

"Randolf-22, Randolf-22!" James screams on both sides of the center. "Down, set, hike!"

The ball is live and Kinsey is off. The blonde sprints past the defensive cornerback, completing the first half of her designated route before turning around to see where the ball is headed.

As expected, the ball is heading in her direction. The ball reaches its apex and starts to come down as Kinsey reaches the end of her route.

The blonde already senses that the ball was overthrown. She extends her right arm beyond where her body is. The tip of the football bounces off the tips of her fingers twice but ultimately falls into the palm of her hand. She encases the ball with her other hand, caressing it as she dashes for the touchdown zone.

She makes it another twenty feet before arms wrap around her hips, tackling her body down. She falls to her knees with the ball still in her hand. After the whistle is blown, Kinsey simply gets up one leg at and time and heads back to the new line of scrimmage, closer to the touchdown area. She crouches down and prepares for another run like the one she just pulled off with stoicism.

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Jade's hands rest tensely in her lap as she observes the field littered with players who appear as specks of black. Her fingers ripple systematically in loops against the skin of her thighs. Her short pleated skirt cuts off where her palm lies on her thigh. A long sleeve nylon top tucks into the hem of the skirt. An assemblage of jewelry decorates the pulled-up turtle neck. Two gold vine chains and a thin silver Cuban link hang across her chest. The lowest hanging gold piece has a rectangular pendant with a detailed inscription of a rose inside of it.

The cool breeze comes in waves as the night sets. The Sun continues to shine brightly, but the rest of the sky seems to contrast. The baby blue starts to morph, darken into a shade of navy. The stars set in their positions to set the night.

The benches are filled with spectators left and right. Luckily, Jade is caught in between her best friends. Lucia and Alexander are exhibiting their unique fashion senses, with Lucia going for the highlighter look once again, with the tapered ankles of her black drawstring cargo pants tucked into her neon yellow Doc Martin boots. Her solid white tee pulls the look together.

Alexander goes for the Tommy Hilfiger preppy look with the collars of his white dress shirt peaking through the solid beige sweater he has tucked into his long coffee brown corduroy pants.

It's not a stretch to assume that the three musketeers stand out amongst the Kingsman Bounty crowd, but that's the beauty of the trio and their friendship. It's not that they are simply similar, but similar in different ways. They seem so different from one another but have been found to be the same.

"It's still unfortunate that I still don't have anyone to cheer for," Lucia whines, running her hand back through her bouncy strawberry blonde locks.

"Luc, I'm sure you can find someone to cheer for. Just cheer for the ones you've slept with," Jade sneers with a growing smile.

Alexander cackles, bursting into laughter at the drag. "I-I have no words. That was brutal."

Lucia side-eyes the brunette, eventually rolling her eyes away. "You see, this is not what I expected when I wanted to be your friend in the first place. Alexander and Kinsey have created a monster out of you," Lucia scoffs, crossing her arms and directing her eyes back to the field.

"I didn't do shit. It's always the quiet ones that you have to look out for," Alexander adds, taking a handful of popcorn from the box container sitting on his lap.

Jade smirks at the statement, reflecting on how far she's come from being the abnormally, shy seventeen-year-old new girl to being the gay, semi-outspoken eighteen-year-old woman she is now.

As the game prepares to start, Jade's eyes narrow in on the field to find her number seven. She finds Kinsey pretty quickly by recognizing the blonde's ass. Who knew Kinsey could compete with Jade in that category?

Before the brunette knows it, she is rising from her seat. "Fuck 'em up, babe!" Her arms rise above her head before she starts flailing them around for Kinsey's attention. Fortunately, the blonde can recognize that squeaky, high-pitched voice from anywhere.

That's my girl.

Kinsey looks up in the stands with most of her face covered by her helmet and a mouthpiece stuffed in her mouth. The blonde finds Jade and it's like everything else in her vision fades out like a blur. Only the brunette in the really hot outfit can be seen clearly in Kinsey's view. At the sight, Kinsey's heart doubles over, not in pain, but it beats as if it is afraid. Afraid to feel so strongly, to beat so rapidly in the presence of this one mortal. Jade Hill.

Despite its fear, the heart continues to beat in quick succession in both of the girl's chests as they bask in one another.

Kinsey hears the sound of the whistle and snaps out of it. She snaps out of the moment with an energy so consuming but saccharine, like caffeine with a bit of sugar.

The blonde nods aggressively at Jade. The brunette chuckles at the adorable action.

Get 'em, Kins.

Jade drops back into her seat on the bench. The first play starts and the game is on.

The brunette's hands clasp together tightly with the whites of her knuckles showing.

Lucia places her hand on Jade's. "She's got this. You're like her good luck charm."

"Exactly, just think about getting some when she wins," Alexander adds, "cause I know I'm getting some, too." Alexander purses his lips as he playfully side-eyes the two girls to his right.

They both burst out laughing.

A loud cheer erupts from the crowd as the crew laughs. The bench shakes beneath their bottoms as the spectators start stomping collectively. Jade averts her gaze to the field to see Kinsey in the touchdown zone with the football in hand. The blonde then tosses the ball back to the referee as if she making a touchdown no longer surprised her anymore.

The blonde starts to jog back down the field casually, obviously with her head still in the game. She knows that anything can still happen in the second quarter of the game. Kinsey isn't one to celebrate too early. Cynicism is one of the personality traits she's been cursed with.

"Okay, hush up, my girlfriend is playing," Jade instructs her friends with a solid index finger over her mouth.

"Bye. You act like you understand the game." Alexander tightens his lips wittily.

"If there's one thing I'm good at, it's pretending."

"Aren't we all," Alexander immediately responds, shrugging his shoulders, taking another handful of the popcorn in his lap to stuff in his mouth.

Jade tilts her head and tightens her lips. Fair enough.

"Quit hogging all the popcorn," Lucia intervenes, reaching across Jade to grab a handful of the snack she paid twelve dollars for. "The amount they charge for this is just highway robbery," she remarks before filling her mouth with the buttery snack.

The crowd of people maintaining their conversations in between screaming and chanting, fill the bleachers with a consistent roar of miscellaneous sound. The sounds are everywhere and words are jumbled, but particular words seem to tingle Jade's ears.

She can hear them loud and clear and they are irritating her.

"I don't know why they'd allow a bitch on the field like that. Our boys are afraid to hit the prissy little thing," a man in the crowd jabs, whispering his ridicule to the woman sitting next to him. His crinkled, dirt brown beard hides his neck, reaching down to his potbelly. A cheap cap with the Royal Palm Wildcats logo on the front sits atop his head, hiding most of his eyes.

The mustache connected to his beard hides the shape of his lips. The lips that continue to move and spew shit.

Jade bites her bottom lip harshly, a tactic that often works in satiating her unbridled anger. She can feel the blood boiling beneath her skin as the man continues.

A messy pile-up tackle takes place to end the play in motion. Kinsey is at the bottom of the pile. A flag is called on the play and the referee calls, "Unnecessary roughness!"

"What the fuck!" The larger man erupts from his seat behind Jade. The brunette can feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Get the bitch off the field!"

Jade doesn't know what possesses her. Her body moves before her mind can. She magically appears facing the large, seemingly six-foot-three man behind her.

"That bitch is my girlfriend! You frothy flap-mouthed idiot should start thinking before you speak. Maybe then, something worthwhile would come out for once. Shut your fucking mouth and enjoy watching my girlfriend beat your boys' asses!"

Jade's tan skin carries a tint of red. Her fists tighten at the sides of her smaller body. Her brows knit tightly as the corner of her lips narrow inwards.

Alexander and Lucia freeze and slowly look at one another with mouths wide-open and eyes bulging.

Jade finishes her statement with a solid glare into the man's empty blue eyes. My Kinsey's eyes look much better. She actually has life in them.

Her specked hazel-brown eyes stare down the man that practically hovers over her. The lack of emotion in his eyes is slightly terrifying to Jade, but she stands her ground. She'd never seen anyone who looked emptier than her when she was at her worst. Now she has.

The man's hardened face relaxes as hints of pink start breaking through the visible skin on his face that is not covered in hair. His thick brows scrunch in towards one another, making him appear confused.

Jade scans him up and down with sharp eyes before turning back around in her seat. She sits down quietly and leans forwards, legs tightly squeezed together. She rests her elbows on her thighs as her eyes casually return to scanning the field in peace.

"Okay," Alexander drawls, "I guess we're gonna act like she didn't just curse that man out with Shakespeare. Alright, bet."

Lucia shrugs. "I wouldn't know, but she looked so darn adorable trying to stand up to someone." The strawberry blonde gushes with a warm smile.

The friends turn their bodies back toward the field just as their brunette bestie and watch the game as intently as her, silently letting her know that they are with her.

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The game is reaching the latter end of the third quarter. Everyone is tense as the score stands at sixteen to fourteen with the Wildcats in the lead.

The game has been ruthless between two of the region's strongest teams. The players are drained with sweat becoming a second layer of skin. Their limbs feel detached from their bodies. Fantasies of the food they'll devour after the game run through their minds, giving them that final push they need.

Kinsey stands at the line of scrimmage for the thousandth time in her life. Her mind is focused on her goal. It's as if her mind is run on motors, grinding past one another to run the vessel that is her entity, Kinsey Scott.

The blonde doesn't feel her body anymore. At this point in the game, her mind takes over. Her body is no longer paid attention to.

Unfortunately.

It's too bad, she's can't feel the way her muscles are knotting up and inflaming at the pressure placed on her calf.

She can't feel the way the muscle in her hamstring starts to slowly tear apart.

The whistle sounds and Kinsey is ready. James shouts another play and her head is in the zone.

Once the word "hike" is yelled from the quarterback, the determined blonde is off.

Jade squints at the way Kinsey starts her sprint. Her direction looks off and her legs don't seem to be moving as fast as they usually do.

Kinsey pushes herself five yards, ten yards, fifteen yards before a sharp, electrifying pain shoots up from her calf through to her hamstrings. The blonde clenches her teeth as the pain becomes unbearable.

Her hand instinctively reaches down for the back of her leg, but that ultimately takes her down. Her loss of balance renders her incapable of standing. She stumbles to the ground helplessly with excruciating pain running down her leg.

Jade gasps, placing her hand over her mouth. "What the fuck!"

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So... cliffhanger anyone? I hope I haven't tortured you too much.

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Describe your reaction at the end with either one word or emoji lol.

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Any other comments are welcome here!

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I'll see you beauties next week. Don't forget to be an amazing human being! See you soon, babes! ❤️