A couple weeks has passed since I last saw Mason. With CIF finals coming along, my coach has been pushing us harder than ever. I come home exhausted and then wake up to go to school and practice. It's a cycle of tiredness. The California Interscholastic Federation for the Southern Section final playoffs are this weekend Corona, CA. Currently, we are not taking it too hard because coach wants us to be in our tip top shape this weekend.

It's currently Wednesday. As the playoffs get nearer, I get more nervous. This the final show. This is where I could potentially be contacted for schools for a verbal commit. Then, potentially, I can sight a National Letter of Intent for the specific university.

I sit at my desk, looking at the secondhand of the clock tick so slowly. As soon as the bell rings, signaling the end of class, I grab my belongings and head to my locker.

"Hey! Dela!" Someone calls out to my name. I spin around immediately to search for the person. I glimpse at Hunter running towards me.

"Hey!" I grin widely, happy to see him but also a little nervous. Ever since my little outing with Mason, I have been avoiding both Hunter and Mason for one-on-one interactions. I feel something for the both of them, but also haven't had the time to analyze what exactly these feelings are. Thus, I ignore the feelings and focus on academics and soccer. I really don't have much time to do anything else what with my busy schedule. 

"I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" He walks alongside me. 

"I've been well. I'm just a bit stressed for my upcoming AP exams, normal exams, and CIF."

"CIF playoff is this Saturday right?" Hunter asks. 

"Yeah." I grimace. "We are leaving Friday morning. So soon..."

"...And we are playing the previous champions from last year." My stomach clenches in anxiety as I say this. There's a lot of pressure for this game. 

"You'll do great. I believe in you." Hunter smiles warmly and places his hand briefly on my shoulder. "Let me know the details to when and where your match is."

"You're not going to drive there, are you?" I ask surprised. "It's a five hour drive from here."

"Of course I'm going to go. It's your last game of the year. Also, some of my friends are playing anyways so I'm going to support them too." He explains. 

"Okay," I feel a little relieved for some reason. 

"Was there something you wanted to tell me?" I ask since I can tell he seems excited about something, or at least more happy than usual. 

"Guess who just contacted me for soccer?" 

"Stanford?" I say my first guess.

"Unfortunately, no..." He pauses, "Cal Poly Slo contacted me and I'm going to sign the NLI for them." 

"Congratulations dude!" I cheer for him happily and hug him impulsively. 

"What happened to the other schools you were looking at it?" I ask curiously.

"Well, I heard from some of the UC's, USC, and privates, but I'm ultimately looking for somewhere that is affordable and in state. I also ended up visiting a lot of the campuses. I liked San Luis Obispo the most. I guess it reminded me a bit of home. My second choice would have been either Berkeley or LA, but I think I don't want to stay in the city."

"Wow, those are all great offers. Hey, you do what makes you happy! We can celebrate once CIF is over and I'm done with sports for a while. Sorry I've been MIA for a while though."

"You're all good. Don't sweat. We still have a few more months until graduation anyways." 

I glimpse at my watch and realize I'm going to be late for practice. "I have to go for practice, but let's hangout sometime...like a congratulations thing!" I state before running off in a rush.

"Okay! See you around."

As I run to practice, I realize what I just did. Did I just ask him out on a date? 

Then, I pause. It's not a date if I didn't say it wasn't a date? I said 'congratulations thing' so technically it could be just a friendly hangout. 

Do I want it to be a date? 

No idea. 

I shake these thoughts away because I know it's only going to distract me from the game. I change hurriedly into my gear before running on the field. 

My coach spots me, "Dela, take two laps around the field and give me 30." 

I sigh before doing his little punishment for being late. 

Push ups are not my thang. I struggle after twenty as my arms start shaking quite noticeably. When I'm done, I join the rest of my team going through some drills. As I continue the practice, I find myself completely focusing on soccer. This is why I love it so much since it just clears my mind from all my problems. 

After our practice finishes, coach calls us in. "I want you guys to take it easy tomorrow. Practice is cancelled but we are all going to be meeting at IHOP tomorrow morning before leaving on the bus. Meet there around 8AM. Again, please don't overeat." He looks to me when he says that and the team snickers. 

Hey, I am very competitive sometimes when it comes to food and my brothers. I might have went overboard and couldn't play a game, but I learned my lesson the hard way.

"Remember to rely on one another and support each other for the game. All of you are strong individuals who have worked so hard for the finals. I believe in all of you..." He looks at all of us with pride in his eyes.

"Teamwork on 3. 1-2-3!" Someone yells as we follow.

Teamwork!" 

Christy runs up next to me. "Are you coming tonight?" She's referring to the party that the guys' soccer team is throwing (mainly for us). Unfortunately, they didn't make it to finals this year. They almost made it. 

"Dude, it's a school night." 

"We don't have school tomorrow or practice." She winks.

"We have to meet up with the Coach for our team dinner tomorrow." 

"C'mon, you never come out. Have some fun with us!" She begs me and tries to persuade me. "Hunter will be there."

"So? I can see Hunter anytime, not just at a party."

"please please come..." She nudges me. "I'll buy you your favorite Hot Cheetos puffs." She grins wickedly.

"Two bags."

"Deal." 

I laugh. 

It will be fun since I've never went out with any of my teammates no matter how many times they begged me to go.

"YAY!" She does a weird dance of joy before leaving. "See you tonight! I'll text you the details."

"Sounds good." I smile.

Part of me is so tired and wonder if I should just go to sleep instead. That sounds like a better plan. As I drive home, sleeping sounds like the best idea ever since I keep yawning. 

"How was your day?" Allen greets me when I enter the house. There is a heavenly aroma coming from the kitchen. My mouth starts salivating. It smells like Korean BBQ. 

"So much better now." I mean the food. 

"Hurry up and shower before coming to eat. You smell bad." Al crinkles his nose before going back to the kitchen. "We can talk about your day after."

"Thanks."  I say sarcastically towards the part where he says I smell bad. 

Thinking about the food downstairs, I take the quickest shower I have ever taken in my life before running to the dining table. 

It's glorious. 

Meat soaked in savory and tangy sauces. Meat grilling on our small grill. Garnishes surrounding the meat to pair with it. 

I smile as my monster in my stomach growls impatiently. 

I take my seat next to Al. 

"Itadakimasu!" We all say before digging in. My brothers and I speak conversational Japanese since our mom was Japanese, but it's become a bit more broken since her passing. We still keep some small Japanese traditions though since my mother was always trying to teach her culture. My uncles are more Americanized so we don't really practice our Japanese with them either.

(A/N idk if you remember but they're half white half Japanese)

"I heard you're going to the party tonight?" Fin brings it up casually.

"Maybe." I say vaguely. "Can you pass the kimchi?"

"Maybe?" Finny says as he passes the dish. 

"I'm a bit pooped so I don't know if I want to go anymore." 

"The three of us are going though." Ollie says.

"Since when?" Allen perks up. "It's a school night."

"That's never stopped any of y'all." Ollie grins.

"Now what type of an example are you making for the children." Finny grumbles as he looks at me.

"Shut up." I throw a broccoli at him with my fork. He catches the broccoli with his mouth.

"Thanks. I need some greens in me." He grins as he chews with his mouth open. 

"You're gross."

"Thank you." 

"Kids. Behave." Of all people, Ollie says.

Finny and me throw food at him. 

"Don't waste food!" Allen says in dangerously low tone.

"Sorry." The three of us gulp and continue eating meekly. 

"When are you guys heading to the party?" I wonder.

"After the dweebs finish their homework." Al says. 

"How much homework do you have?" I ask the twins.

"Not much. It's not due tomorrow, so we will do it tomorrow." They shrug. "let's go in an hour after we get ready."

"You guys take forever to get ready." I say to the twins, who take forever because they want to look "banging." Their choice of words, not mine. 

"Says you." 

"Whatever." I'm too tired to battle with him. I head upstairs.

"You got dish duty." I say to Finny. 

The first thing I do is crash on my bed once I get inside my room.

I sigh in content and find myself sleeping very quickly.

______-

a/n

something's going to happen at the party :') 

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I'm finally on summer break