Chapter 34

“Room assignments.” Coach said, holding up a piece of paper. 

Even though he wasn’t head coach, he definitely still had the most power and respect. 

“There will be absolutely no switching, at all. You better be in your room at 10 o clock sharp, no later, or there will be consequences. If you miss bed check, you’re not playing on Friday.” Parker said, standing up next to Coach. 

We were all on the bus, ready for our long journey to Wisconsin. I was sitting in the very back next to Dylan. Matt and Luke were to our right, and Nate and Andrew were in the seats in front of us.

Coach started reading off the list of names, but none of us in the back really paid any attention until he got to the seniors. 

“Matt and Luke, you’re together. Nate with Dylan. Sam and Andrew.” Coach said, glancing up from his list to look at us. 

“What! Why does Andrew get to be with Sam?!” Nate protested. “Sam’s always on her own!” 

“Not today, be quiet Nate.” Coach said, shaking his head. “Alright, keep the noise down, we’ll stop in a few hours for a bathroom break and some food. Please do your best not to go in the bathroom back there, we all know how bad that starts to smell after a few days.” 

By now, we were already on the high way. 

I rested my head on Dylan’s shoulder as he covered both of us with a blanket. 

“Are you excited?” Dylan whispered in my ear. 

“To support my boyfriend? Of course.” I said softly. “There’s no way I’m playing though.” 

Dylan sighed, squeezing my hand. “I love you.” He kissed my cheek. 

“I love you too.” I whispered, closing my eyes. “Wake me up when we stop for food please...” 

******************************

“Babe, babe we’re at McDonalds.” Dylan said, shaking me awake. 

“Huh?” I mumbled, sitting up. “Oh shit I have to pee... Fucking hell...” 

The guys around me laughed as I stood up from my seat. 

“Dammit how long was I asleep for?” I swore as we made our way off of the bus. 

“Uh, almost 3 hours.” Dylan laughed. “You were snoring.” 

“Did I talk in my sleep?” I asked him softly. 

“Only things that I heard.” Dylan whispered in my ear, kissing the side of my head. 

“Alright team, get something to eat, use the bathroom, don’t be too loud.” Parker told us as we walked into McDonalds. 

I ran right for the girls bathroom, my bladder feeling like it was going to explode. 

When I got back to the table that everybody was sitting at, Dylan had bought me a smoothie and fries for us to share. 

“Mm thanks babe.” I smiled, sitting down in between him and Andrew. 

“What took you so long in there?” Dylan asked. 

I raised my eyebrows. “I had to pee, and there was a line. Girls aren’t like guys. We don’t just walk into the bathroom, pull it out, go, and leave. We’re much more hygienic than you.” I giggled, bumping his shoulder with mine. 

“Is your smoothie good?” Dylan asked as I took a sip. 

“Absolutely delicious and very fattening I’m sure.” I winked, handing it to him. “Want some?” 

Dylan took a sip and nodded with a smile. “That is good.” 

“Thanks for it, by the way.” I said as I took another sip. 

Dylan leaned over, his lips next to my ear. 

“Just to let you know, just because you’re rooming with Andrew, doesn’t mean that we won’t... You know...” Dylan whispered. 

I raised my eyebrows at him. 

“We’re going to be out of town for like, 4 days. You can’t wait that long?” I giggled, nudging his foot under the table. “You can wait until we get home on Saturday.” 

“Yea yea yea.” Dylan rolled his eyes. 

“Alright boys, back on the bus. We’ve still got 3 hours on the road to go and I don’t know about you but I’d rather not be on the bus too late.” Coach said, his voice loud throughout the McDonalds. 

“Hang on, isn’t Marissa like full term now or something?” I asked Andrew as we all stood up. 

“Nah she’s like, almost 8 months or something. We’ve still got time before there’s a baby.” Andrew said. “But mom just wanted to stay home, have a weekend to herself without, and I quote, all of the disgusting boy business.” 

I laughed. “I’ll call her later.” I said as we walked out of McDonalds. 

Dylan wrapped his arm around my shoulders. 

“Your parents coming?” He asked. 

I raised my eyebrows. “My dad’s in England on business and there’s no way in hell that my mom or sisters would voluntarily come to a football game.” I laughed, wrapping my arms around his waist. “But it’s cool, I’ve got you here...” I said softly, kissing his shoulder. “You’re all I need.” 

Dylan kissed the top of my head, pulling me against him. 

******************************

“What movie do you want to watch?” Andrew asked, sitting down on his bed. 

“Uh... Whatever you want to watch.” I shrugged, laying back against my pillows. 

“You can pick I don’t care really...” Andrew said. 

“I’m not in the mood for a movie so you can watch whatever. I’ve got cramps and my head hurts.” 

“You alright?” Andrew frowned, glancing over at me. 

“No.” I mumbled, rolling over and pulling my pillow close to me. 

“Uh, do you want me to call Dylan?” Andrew asked. 

“No.” I repeated, burying my face in my pillow. “I just want to sleep.” 

“Then sleep.” 

“But I’m not tired.” 

“Then stay awake.” Andrew laughed. 

“But I’m tired.” I groaned. 

“I’m getting mixed signals here.” Andrew sighed. “Do you want anything?” 

“Food.” I whispered. 

“We just ate dinner.” 

I groaned and rolled over again, facing away from Andrew towards the balcony. 

It was 10:30, we’d just gotten to the hotel and checked in. After a long day, I was finally able to just sleep in a nice big comfy bed. 

Except Dylan wasn’t here. 

I’d become so accustomed to sleeping next to him, that the bed felt cold and empty. 

It was dark outside, but I stood up from the bed anyways. 

“I’ll be outside.” I said softly, grabbing a fuzzy blanket as I walked through the doors onto the balcony. We were on the 8th floor or so, and had a beautiful view of the city. 

I sat down on one of the chairs, pulling the blanket around me. 

It was chilly outside, and I was only wearing athletic shorts and a tank top, but I didn’t have the energy to get more clothes. I just snuggled up under the blankets and sighed. 

My first two years of Nationals, my family had shown up. They sort of had to. They thought I was too young, and I’m sure part of them secretly hoped that I would change my mind and decide that I didn’t want to play football anymore. 

But last year it was at West High, our home stadium. 

Now, it was all the way in Wisconsin. My dad wasn’t even in the country, and my mom could care less what I did. 

I still had that feeling that I didn’t belong anywhere. I’d become so distant from the family I grew up with, if it wasn’t for the legal documents, I don’t think I’d even consider them my family. 

As much as I wanted to fit in with my real family, there was an invisible barrier of 10 years that separated me from them. Marissa was having another baby, she just didn’t have the time to bond with her estranged daughter. Coach was busy with Marissa and still half coaching the team, I was still just another player to him. Andrew was just... Andrew. We were definitely best friends, but it was no different than my relationship with any of the other guys on team. Sure, we understood each other more than most other people, and we sometimes said the exact same thing at the exact same time. And yea, we did similar things, liked similar things, but it was the same thing, an invisible barrier of an entire lifetime that was spent apart from each other. 

The only person that I really felt like I fit in with was Dylan. He was the only one that I could be myself. He was the only one that knew me inside and out, and I knew him the exact same. 

He was my true soulmate, and I was sure of that. 

I sighed, looking out at the stars in the clear sky. 

I heard noises on the two balconies to my left, and glanced over to see the guys out there. 

Dylan and Nate were on their balcony talking to Matt and Luke on theirs. 

“You guys ready for Friday?” Nate asked them. 

“Hell yea.” Matt said, receiving a pat on the back from Luke. “Guys this is our senior year. We’ve been waiting for this moment for four years.” 

“You think we have a chance without Sam?” Luke asked softly. 

“Of course we have a chance without Sam. Sam’s not the whole team you guys, we all contribute just as much as she does. And hey, Andrew basically is Sam.” Nate laughed. “Have you seen the two of them together? It’s like he’s the boy version of her.” 

“Yea I guess they are pretty alike.” Dylan laughed. 

“So you two are dating now, right?” Matt asked. 

“What, me and Sam? Yea of course.” Dylan said happily. “She’s my girl.” 

“I’ll be surprised if you two don’t get married one day.” Matt replied. 

“Oi, I’ll be your best man, right?” Nate asked. 

“Uh, no man, you’ll be one of Sam’s bridesmaids, obviously.” Dylan teased. 

“Who votes that we get shit faced drunk after the game on Friday?” Luke asked with a grin. 

“Not me, man. No way am I spending an entire day on that bus with a team of hungover guys. We’ll get our drink on when we get home Saturday night.” Nate said responsibly. 

“Yea and that’s if we win.” Dylan said, sending the group into silence. 

“Come on man, don’t talk like that.” Matt sighed. “We’ll play our best. Andrew’s good. He’s no Sam, that’s for sure, but he’s an Andrew.” 

I sighed, standing up from my seat. 

I quietly slipped back into the room. 

Andrew was watching some action movie on TV as I climbed into my bed. 

“Night.” I said softly. 

“Night, Sam.” Andrew replied, preoccupied by the movie. 

******************************

“So! Boys, we’ve got an entire day to do whatever the hell we want, what do we want?” Nate said happily as I walked out of the bathroom. 

My eyes widened to see Nate and Matt on Andrew’s bed with him, with Luke and Dylan on my bed. 

“People.” I raised my eyebrows. 

“Come on! We’ve got a light practice this afternoon, other than that, we’ve got a whole day to have fun.” Andrew grinned. “What should we do?” 

“Uh, I vote that we go to the pool because I need a tan.” I said. “And I’ve already got my bikini on under here.” 

“Did you just shower?” Dylan frowned. 

“Yea?” I gave him a weird look. 

“Oh, your hairs not wet.” Dylan said. 

“Yea obviously.” I rolled my eyes. “You think I’m going to get it wet and then go look good in front of people?” 

“So! Pool it is!” Matt announced, getting up from the bed. 

I laughed and stepped into some flip flops. I slid my phone into my back pocket, a grin forming on my face. 

“Who’s ready to get our tan on.” I said happily, walking towards the door. 

“You’re such a girl.” Andrew shook his head, shutting the door behind us as we left the hotel room. 

Most of the team was downstairs at the pool, as were lots of other people there no doubt in town for nationals. 

I immediately stripped off my shorts and t-shirt while the guys pulled off their shirts, all of us ready to swim. 

“Whoa shit you can see them...” Nate laughed, looking at my shoulder. 

“Yea obviously. Theres this thing called scarring?” I laughed, running my finger over the marks on my stomach from the two wounds. “But whatever, they’re my battle scars.” I teased, pushing my hair back from my face. 

I looked around the room, my jaw dropping when I laid eyes on a group of people across the room. 

“You’re kidding me...” I whispered, shaking my head as his eyes landed on me. 

“Who’s that?” Andrew asked, standing behind me. 

“Caleb Lockwood.” I muttered, raising my eyebrows as he walked over. 

“Sam Carson... I heard your team was going to Nationals.” Caleb laughed, standing in front of me. “You playing?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I raised my eyebrows. “What are you doing here? Last time I checked, the Johnson Academy Lions were no where near Nationals Material. And we’re not in DC.” 

“Oh come on, you aren’t going to go insult my skills again, are you?” Caleb raised his eyebrows. 

“Nah I won’t insult your skills... I’ll just insult your team.” I teased with a grin. 

“You aren’t even playing, so technically I’ve played better than you this season.” Caleb said, crossing his arms. 

“Did you guys even win a game this year?” I asked. “Oh right! You didn’t!” 

“You didn’t even play a game this year!” 

“Yes I did actually, I played half of a game once, and then almost a full game the other day.” I said. “And we won those games.” 

“By the way, have you talked to Annabelle recently? She’s not answering my calls anymore...” Caleb frowned. 

“You talk to Annabelle?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. 

“We’re dating. Didn’t she tell you that?” Caleb asked, giving me a weird look. 

“You’re dating Annabelle?!” I exclaimed. “Since when?!” 

“Since like, 4 months ago!” 

“No way!” I gasped. “But no I haven’t talked to her in a while... I’ll give her a call later if you want and tell her to call you back.” 

“Really? Awesome thanks she’s been really weird and spacey lately, I just thought you might know something.” 

“It could be something to do with her mom. How’s she doing?” 

“She just got out of the hospital again a few weeks ago, and she was doing really great, I don’t know if she’d be sick again so soon.” Caleb frowned. 

I sighed. “Annabelle goes a little bit off sometimes when there’s shit going on with her mom, don’t take it personally.” I shrugged. “But if you talk to her, tell her to give me a call too.” 

“Yea totally. And hey, good luck tomorrow.” Caleb said, backing away. 

“What are you doing here anyways?” I asked with a laugh. 

Caleb shrugged. “My cousins on your opposing team.” Caleb laughed. 

“Ah well, I would say good luck to them, but, nah.” I winked. 

“Bye Sam.” 

“See you later, Caleb.” I laughed, turning back to my team. 

“Who was that?” Andrew asked. 

All of the guys were looking at me. 

“The QB on my old school’s team.” I shrugged. 

“Oh hey isn’t he that guy that Jess’s friend is dating?” Matt asked. 

I gave him a weird look. 

“Jessica as in my friend Jessica?” I raised my eyebrows. 

“Uh, yea...” Matt said, his cheeks turning pink. 

“Oh my God he’s blushing!” Luke teased, poking his best friend’s stomach. 

“Stop okay! We’ve just been talking a lot recently!” Matt protested. 

I glared at him. “Don’t pull your usual shit with her because I swear to God if you hurt her or play her like all of your other girls, I will make you pay.” I said firmly. “She isn’t like one of your cheerleaders that you can fuck and then dump, okay?” 

“Chill, chill, this isn’t like that, alright?” Matt said defensively. 

“Come on, let’s go get ourselves some ice cream.” Dylan said, grabbing my shoulders and walking me away. 

“If he hurts her...” I shook my head. 

Dylan kissed my cheek. “Calm down.” He whispered. 

----------------------------------------

I'd completely forgotten about this chapter to be honest... I knew that there was a chapter about the day before notionals but I seriously had no idea that this was it. I don't even remember writing this???

I'm gardening this afternoon for my aunt, and I'm still not sure if she's paying me or not :/ but all I have to do is weed and stuff which sucks because I still can't sit on my knees oops

Update: Tomorrow morning bright and early (around 11 lol)

-Panda

COMMENT YOUR FAVORITE COLOR:)