---This chapter has a lot of words so hopefully I didn't make too many errors. Thank you to anyone who Reads, Votes, Shares or Comments. It makes my day! ---

A couple of minutes later and we arrived at my house. Cortney dropped me off and went home after chatting a bit. Today was another great day. I wish it would continue this way, though I have a bad feeling about tomorrow.

I head inside to shower. I cook breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. I made veggie patties, and pizza. I make a cup of European tea and head off to bed.

I woke up to the sound of passing cars, like I often do. Today would be the final match in me and Zeal's dreaded competition. I shower, brush my teeth then pack the breakfast and lunch for school. I was more excited than ever to see my friend. Hopefully Gale will still want to be my friend when I arrive at school.

Today was pretty cloudy. It may rain later in the day. I got to school and walked inside the building. Gale approached me with a smile.

"Hey, Harvey." He greeted.

"Hi Gale!" I say growing a goofy grin, happy he didn't brush me off.

"Where you headed?" He questioned.

"Ah, I was on my way to the cafeteria." I answer. He bent over putting his back to me.

"Hop on." He laughed. Was he going to give me a piggyback ride?

"A-are you sure?" I ask nervously. I've always wanted to try this but I never imagined Gale to be the one offering.

"Yup. I'll be going fast so you better hold on tight." He warns. I gladly hop on, chuckling.

He charged down the hall extremely fast. I was having a laughing fit. It was just as much fun as I imagined it to be. People just looked at us like we were crazy. He boosted through the entrance of the cafeteria, over to Cortney and her friends' table. He let me down and hunched over, out of breath. I continued laughing. Cortney and Luke looked at us in shock while Lillian, Emily, Becka, and Remira watched in amusement.

"Thank you for the ride." I say, finally gaining composure over myself. He looked at me and smiled.

"When you said you became friends I had no idea you meant you were this close." Luke said, wide eyed. Cortney nodded.

"Look man, I'm really sorry I've been treating you the way I have." Gale apologized to Luke. "We can talk about it later though, I gotta get going."

"Y-Yeah, sure man." Luke replied, looking beyond confused. Gale ran off. I opened my backpack and pulled out the veggie patties. I laid the bags on the table and they all grabbed one each.

"Oh wow, you seriously know how to cook vegetables." Luke complimented.

"Yeah, my father makes them taste pretty awful." Becka said.

"It's the same for my mom." Luke chuckled. 

"Speaking of her, I think she ate all of the veggies you made yesterday." Cortney said. I grinned. The others looked confused by our conversation.

"Harvey came over yesterday." Cortney clarifies. Emily made an 'o' with her mouth. 

"We should all hang out sometime!" Remira suggested. "I noticed we don't do much but eat together"

"That would be fun." I agree nodding, with the other soon following behind. I'd really like that, though I feel it wouls be quite chaotic hanging out with this bunch.

School was actually bearable so far today. However, earlier I did hear rumors spreading about me liking Liam. I don't mind them too much though, but I'm curious as to who started them. Cortney is far from tight lipped so I wouldn't be surprised if somehow she let someone hear her.

We ate pizza for lunch, with Alen joining us this time. After much chatting something all too familiar happened.

"Today will be the final match of our friendly little competition. Come to the soccer field after school for a great match." Zeal announced from the speaker. I mentally rolled my eyes. Some girls squealed, clasping their hands.

We finished lunch and went to our final classes. After finishing up with school and placing my stuff in my locker I immediately begin searching for my teammates. I spotted Luke at his locker.

"H-Hey Luke. You ready?" I ask making my way up to him.

"Yeah, one second." He says finishing up with his locker. He tagged along with me while I scoured the school for the remaining members. I spotted Alen near the exit of the school, and Gale already in the locker room.

"Thanks for doing this guys." I say, trying to show my appreciation.

"Sure bud." Alen said wrapping an arm around my neck.

"Of course man." Luke said, getting dressed. The locker rooms were empty so I assume Zeal has already made it on the field.

"This Zeal guy needs to be dealt with anyway." Gale states, tying his shoes.

I shyly got dressed in the corner of the locker room, hoping to avoid any wandering eyes. We all got ready and headed to the field. I we saw Zeal and his team standing in a line, looking around. It seemed we've already accumulated a pretty large crowd.

"Uhh... Harvey?" Alen began, sounding frightened. "D-didn't you say you guys weren't supposed to have any soccer members on your team?"

I shot him a questioning look while nodding. "Well uh... you see his teammates? One of them is the captain of the soccer team... the others are the two best players in the whole school."

"That son of a b****!" Gale shouted under his breath.

"What a total bastard!" Luke shouts in frustration. As I look back to the other team I noticed one of the players was the guy Alen confessed to. I look back at Alen to see him radiating with both fear and excitement. This seemed very unexpected for all of us, though It's Zeal, so I'm not surprised. I'm not holding back in the slightest. If Zeal wants to get rough I'm not going to restrain myself.

We made our way to our sides of the field. The goals were pushed closer since there were only four people on each team. We have Luke as our goalie, and they have Zeal as theirs. What a coward, he chooses the best people on the soccer team and hides behind them like a brick wall. He's the one who started this game, and now he wont face me like a man. His cowardice is getting on my nerves. 

Me and the captain of the soccer team stood at the center of the field waiting for the whistle to be blown.

"Not sure why you didn't choose anyone from the soccer team to play on your side. Good luck though, bud." The captain said, looking at me with pity. The other guys looked like they felt bad for us. I bet we look pathetic, so I don't blame them.

"Zeal told me I wasn't allowed to do so." I answer preparing for the match.

"Why would he do that?" He asks, also preparing.

"C-Cause he's Zeal, he doesn't plan on losing, though neither do I." I warn. That's when the whistle blew. I instantly swipe the ball from under the captains feet. I assign Gale and Alen to their positions while quickly charging for the goal. I didn't notice but my eyes narrowed, making me look angry, it was something I did when I was focused. The two players charged for me. One of the guys slid to get the ball from my feet but I kicked it above my head and hopped over his legs. I caught the ball with my head and dropped it to my feet, charging for the goal once more. I've already distanced myself from all of Zeal's teammates, so they wouldn't be able to keep up with my speed. Zeal looked horrified at my swift approach. He underestimated me once again. He was too cocky for his own good. He nervously got in position to try and stop the ball. I struck it with my foot, making it fly past Zeals face, straight into the goal. The audience gasped in surprise. The captain and his team stopped to look at me in disbelief.

Zeal picked up the ball after a moment of shock and chucked it towards the middle of the field. This time the captain got hold of it. Alen ran towards our goal making sure he'd be there in case they advance that far. Gale charged at the captain, putting pressure on him. Gale successfully blocked him off. The other two guys began making their way over, so Gale would only be able to hold him off for a little longer. But to my and everyones surprise Gale stoled the ball from him. His movements were incredibly fast.

He sprinted to the right of the field, and I the left. We set up a formation, sort of resembling a stretching 'Y'. We kicked the ball between ourselves. The kicks were power, making sure the opposing team wouldn't be able to reach it. This was a strategy we made up when playing those college students. Zeal was looking back and forth trying to decide which one of us to focus on. We joined up when making it closer to the goal. I charged front and center, making them take their focus off of Gale. That's when we swapped. Gale split from behind me swiftly taking the ball. The other guys were too focused on me and let Gale slip away not noticing him with the ball. He gave the ball a pretty solid kick, and Zeal wasn't able to block it. We were now up two points. Zeal was trying to keep cool, but I could see him getting frustrated. I ran up to Gale and gave him a high five.

They had taken control over the ball once again. This time they were playing much more strategic. They had the two guys block me and Gale from reaching the captain, while he tested Alen's skill. Alen was able to fend him off for awhile but eventually got warn out. The captain struck the ball, which went flying straight into Luke's hands. He saved it! After a couple more plays they'd gotten two points but we were up to nine. We were all beginning to wear out so the coach called for a timeout. We scurried off the field, and to our resting zone.

"Harvey, your skills are insane man." Alen complimented, wrapping an arm around me. Luke and Gale looked at me wearing smiles.

"Thanks guys, for everything." I say, a bit shy. We were actually likely to win the competition! A few minutes of chatting went by then we noticed Zeal making his way over to us.

"You're so good Harvey!" Zeal spoke. His tone was so fake I almost cringed.

"What do you want?" I ask, dully.

"Oh, nothing I just came to say we won't give up yet." He states, before approaching. For some reason he got uncomfortably close to me. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground.

"Uh, oh, sorry I didn't mean to." He apologized. He kept getting closer, reaching his hand out to pull me up. I felt a sudden pain shoot through my leg. I look down and shout in agony. Zeal had stepped on my calf, wearing metal cleats. The fresh blood slowly began to  drain down my leg. Some of the audience members noticed me in agony and gasped, drawing more attention. Gale shoved Zeal away from me. The coach ran towards us when he noticed all of the commotion. 

"What the hell did you do?" Gale shouted.

"N-Nothing." Zeal said, trying to act innocent. He couldn't help but to break a quick smile. It made Gale, Luke, and Alen infuriated. They were about to attack him but the coach reached us.

"What in heavens is goin' on here?" He said.

"I, I accidentally stepped on Harvey's leg." Zeal lied, pretending to be scared. "I don't know if he can play."

"Hm, this could be a problem." The coach said, holding his chin. There is no way I'm gonna give up now.

"I'm going to play!" I shout. "I can handle it!"

"I don't know..." He said, narrowing his eyes.

"Please!" I begged.

"Fine, but  if the pain gets too bad you'll have to forfeit the match." The coach ordered. Not the results Zeal was hoping for but he wasn't to upset with the outcome. They walked off onto the other side of the field. My teammates glared at Zeal the whole time.

"He's a piece o' s***" Gale said, gritting his teeth.

"I see what you meant now, Harvey. He isn't the person he makes himself out to be. He's just a total douche." Alen realized, looking a bit disappointed. Luke cleaned the wounds and wrapped them with sports tape. Coach signaled us back on the field. It was extremely painful to walk, but I couldn't let it show.