"Game day huh?" My dad asks me as he slides me a piece of fruit toast.

"Yup," I said monotonously, biting into it.

"Can I come to watch?" He asks me. I knew he would anyway.

"What would I do without my number one supporter?" I ask him plastering a smile across my face. Ignoring the empty void that heaved inside my stomach.

If there wasn't a game today I wouldn't be going to school. And the fact I'm going to therapy today. I needed it. So much. A normal day.

I let out a sigh before finishing my toast and moving past a sleepy Molly as I make my way upstairs to get changed.

Today was sports day. I planned to wear a soccer jersey, and change into my game attire closer to the game. I packed a spare change of clothes into my bag as well for therapy after before making my way downstairs.

"Can I have a ride?" Molly asks me where she fixes her ponytail and adjusts her cheer uniform.

"Why isn't Lyss taking you?" I ask her as I grab my keys off the counter and wave to my dad and Roy and Jake.

"She got grounded so she has to take the bus." Molly says with a sigh.

"Sure. As long as your ready to go now." I ask her as I sling my bag over my shoulder.

"Yup I am." She reply's energetically picking you her own bag.

"Good." I reply before making my way outside to the parked cars.

***

"You ready for this?" Seth asks from besides me. The first words he's properly spoken to me in days. 

We were about to be leading the teams out onto the pitch. I was shaking my legs out and looked over at him.

"Not one bit." I say with a half smile.

"You got this. Unfortunate on being the first game though." Seth says with a non-apologetic smile.

"Gee thanks." I say rolling my eyes.

"Anytime." Seth replies giving me a small smile. 

The girls game was first. Followed by the boys game. It usually was a toss-up and we wouldn't know until the warm up.

"Introducing..... the Lakewood lions." The introducer announces. We start forwards. Jogging onto the field.

We line up and face our opponents. We do the oath before coach call us to the benches.

"Ok ladies. We have our starters you know what to do let's go kick some ass." Coach says excitedly.

"On three." I say holding my hand into the centre of the circles where the girls hands follow suit.

"One. Two. Three. Lions." I yell chorusing into their shouts. With that, the starters including me jog onto the field.

The game starts easily. Back and forth as we size up the other team. They're alright. Their defence isn't that strong but their attack was good.

As I kick the ball to Callie I notice the other team pointing to each other talking up their play.

"Callie, swerve." I call out to her. She looks up and notices what I'm explaining. She boots it over the rush-group of defenders at the last second landing it to Bea. I run around the left of Bea and she backhands it to me. I take it up manoeuvring around their right wing defender. I spot Adrianna running into an open space and I flick it towards her, she easily takes it and with a swift backhand, it flicks into the back of the net.

"Now that's what I call a fly by." I hear coach yell from the sideline.

We all high five before making our way onto defence.

I watch their striker's eyes as the whistle blows. They flick left slightly before going right.

As she swings her foot forward she swings it to the left. With a knowing smile, I reach across to block it. It smacks into my foot satisfyingly as I flick it around her. She lets out an annoyed huff and follows my left side up. A few times she sticks her foot out in an attempt for the ball which I manage to get around. With a huff, I flick it to Bri, who takes it up. After a few more back and forwards they end up having the ball.

"Tight defence." I call out to everyone. I hear the striker beside me huff.

All of my girls immediately gravitate towards their opposition partner as one of their players takes it up the field. Bea is putting pressure on her, swerving around her, Bea attempts a few tackles but pulls out halfway knowing she would get pulled up. The player looks around frantically for assistance but we're all playing ankle breakers with their team. My partner is huffing and elbowing my back as I keep blocking her not letting her in front of me.

"Jesus Christ just fuck off." She mutters elbowing me harshly.

I just grin, knowing I'm pissing her off.

"Keep going Lace." I hear Seth's voice shout from the player stand.

Eventually, Bea makes a clean tackle and we're back. With a start I stride forward leaving my player behind as she struggles to comprehend what's happening. I carry myself to Bea's right and I notice Lexi on her left.

"Backhand by my right." Bea calls out nodding at me.

With an understanding nod I make my way to the right side of the field as Bea passes Lexi the ball. At this, I swerve back spotting the field I would be running to. I start forwards as Lexi kicks the ball. I take it just before the zone and in two steps I flick it into the goal.

Next thing I know there's a weight shoved into my side and I slam onto the grass. Pain shoots down my body. My ribs clutch together. The weigh removes itself from me and I open my eyes to see the striker pulling herself off me with a snarl. I roll onto my back and put my hands on my head opening up my lungs.

My lungs clutch together and I can't breathe. I cough and try to pull in a few raggedy breaths. I hear the running of footsteps towards me so I sit up. I let out a large cough as I lean forwards, putting my hands on my knees in a struggle for recovery. I feel a hand on my back.

"Lacey are you okay?" I hear the medics voice say.

"Winded." I choke out managing to drag in a heavy breath. The medic nods and rubs my back gently.

"Is everything okay?" The ref asks.

"She's winded." The medic says. As my breath starts coming back to me I pull in heavy breathes delivering my aching lungs.

"Ok I'm good." I say standing up carefully. And shaking myself out.

"Ok goal to the Lions." The ref says blowing a whistle.

"What about a penalty. I was just body slammed?" I ask the ref stretching out my lungs one more time.

"No penalty." The ref says.

"Why not? You saw what happened. She body slammed me. That's a yellow card." I say in protest. The striker flicks me a smirk.

"No she was coming for the ball. It's not a penalty it was a delayed reaction. She was unable to stop in time." The ref declares. Does he know the rules?

"Even then it's still considered a fucking yellow card." I shout in protest.

"Look I'm not arguing with you about this." The ref says beginning to move towards the centre again.

"Nope. That's unfair. What if I'd broken a bone. You can't be serious. That's one hundred percent a yellow. I know my rules." I shout the anger boiling inside me.

"Would you like a yellow card?" The ref asks me.

"No." I say with a sigh and move to the middle. The ref gives me a nod and passes me the ball. I look around and my players are evenly spread.

With a whistle, I boot it to Adrianna. She takes it forward as I jog forward gently. Anger bubbles inside me.

Half time is called after a few more back and forth a without a goal.

"Lacey I need you to sort yourself out. I know the ref should have called that as a yellow but you need to accept it. Go take a walk while I talk to the team. Clear your head." Coach says to me. With a huff I grab my drink bottle and start walking around the field.

I hear footsteps behind me which I ignore.

"Hey champ." I hear Seth's voice say as his presence falls into step beside me.

I raise my eyebrows at him unable to fathom any nice words.

"You took a bit of a hit earlier aye?" He asks concerned.

"I'm fine. Just pissed off." I say with a sigh.

"I can tell." Seth says a small smirk on his face. 

"That striker is so obnoxious oh my god I'm actually going to punch her." I say angrily.

"Hey, it's fine. You guys are winning. And will win theres no way they can catch up. Your defence is too good." Seth says positively, an attempt to cheer me up.

I send him a look and he chuckles to himself.

As we make our way to the other side of the field we pass the oppositions bench and I hear a few whispers.

"Hey Seth." A girly voice says. My head whips around and my eyes narrow. Seth turns around eyebrows raised expectantly.

The striker moves away from the group with a sweet smile.

"Uhh hi?" Seth says closed off. Moving closer to me. My shoulder brushing his chest.

"Do you remember me?" She asks hopefully.

"I remember you slamming Lacey over." Seth says angrily as I feel him tense.

The girls face drops as she narrows her eyes at me.

"I didn't mean to." She lies her jaw clenched.

"Whatever. Enjoy getting your ass handed to you." Seth says before grabbing my wrist and pulling me away.

I hear the whistle blow and I jog across the field. Seth follows me. I drop my drink bottle into the bottle holder, have a quick word with the coach as Seth goes to join the boys warming up on the sidelines.

I jog onto the field to meet the striker in the middle as the teams take their places.

"What'd you do to get Seth to like you? Probably had to stoop really low." She scoffs.

"We're friends, I don't have to stoop anywhere for basic respect," I say giving her with a smirk.

"Whatever. It's not like he'd go for you anyway." She says with a roll of her eyes as the whistle blows. She starts forwards and I follow her, moving in front of her.

She huffs angrily as she struggles to move around me. She ends up kicking it backwards towards her defence before she slams into me as she moved past me. I stumble back slightly but remain seated.

I follow her around the field. Blocking any possible passes she could get. I hear her huffing and puffing.

As we go back and forth for a while my team gets the ball. I start forwards away from her and follow Bri up the field. Ready to assist her if she needs. She backhands it to me and I take it up. I feel a presence besides me and I know it's the striker. She follows me up and as I kick it towards she kicks my leg making my knees buckle slightly.

"Are you done?" I ask. Once the whistle blows.

"Whatever." The striker says rolling her eyes.

Without thinking I shove her gently.

"Stop getting fucked off because all of a sudden your not getting all the passes or scoring all the goals." I yell.

"You stop fucking getting in my way and we wouldn't have an issue." She replies shoving me back.

"I'm here to play. I'm not going to tone myself down to your level so you can be the player of the day. Who are you trying to impress huh?" I shout in her face.

"Fuck off." She growls.

"Is this about Seth huh? Cause he and I are real close. You know really really close." I seethe, trying for a reaction.

"You. Bitch." She sneers swinging at me. It clicks me in the face and I stagger back slightly. I start forwards and my fist collides to her nose with a smack. She starts forwards towards me and tries to tackle me to the ground. I bring my knee up which collides with her head as we stumble onto the ground

As anger floods me I straddle her, struggling to stop her hands which fly at me in an attempt to scratch me. I try to pin her to get her from stopping hurting me but she's strong enough not to be pinned.

Arms are grappling at my own which I shrug off, voices are screaming, yelling, filling my ears. Blind fury crosses me.

I feel two strong arms wrap around me and pull me off the girl.

"Hey hey hey. It's ok." The voice says soothingly. I instantly soften in the arms compared the rigid stance I had taken to.

I look around to the destruction I had caused. The girl was lying on the ground, clutching a bloody nose, refs where yelling at me, girls where screaming and being held back by their teammates. My teammates were yelling back. The coaches were yelling at each other.

It was chaos.

Never had a game brawl become this chaotic. Next thing I knew there was an ear piercing whistling, which immediately made everyone flinch.

As Seth loosens his embrace around me, knowing I wasn't going to hurt the girl anymore I shrug away from him, ashamed.

"RED." The ref shouts at me and the opposing girl. Sending his arm shooting upwards holding a red card.

"Over to the benches please." The penalty ref says ushering the girl and I away, taking our arms. I tug my arm away from him but he only grips it harder. I rip my arm away from him.

"I know how to walk to a penalty bench." I snap angrily.

"Lace." I hear a gentle voice call to where Seth is being ushered back to the sidelines for the game to recommence. I whip my head around and catch Seth's eyes.

"Your okay hey. Deep breaths." He says sending me strength through his soft gaze. I nod and turn back to the penalty ref and the other striker.

"Ok. Your off for the game, A team rep will bring you your gear to keep you warm." The ref says sitting me down in a bench while another woman takes the striker to a bench further away.

"Want some water?" A medic asks as she returns with a drink bottle holding it out to me.

I shake my head.

"Let's check out those hands then." She says perching beside me cheerfully and holding her hand out for my hands. I raise my eyebrows at her expectingly.

"Lace. Let the woman do her job." Seth's voice says sternly as he stops besides me. He passes me my school football hoodie and I pull it on before reluctantly holding my hands out to the woman.

As she digs through the first aid kit I send Seth a look. He raises his eyebrows at me, as if telling me to behave. At this I let out a sigh and let my head drop, waiting to be patched up.

"Are you okay?" Seth mutters gently, sitting besides me on the bench. I nod as I begin to tap my knees. Anxiety, stress, post fight tremors. I was full of so much emotion I was ready to cry at any moment.

Seth's hand moves to lie gently across my legs, an attempt to stop my legs from tapping. I stop with a sigh as the woman let's my hands go.

"All done." She says picking up her first aid kit.

"Thank you." I say giving her a half smile. The woman replies with a genuine smile before makes her way down the sidelines to the other girl.

"Wow Lacey being mad and having manners?" Seth chuckles sarcastically.

"Your politeness at all times is rubbing off on me." I reply dryly, tapping legs again as he removed his hands and I couldn't help.

He replaces a hand on one of my knees, I stop again. Turning my attention to the game.

"Go Bea. You absolute beauty." I mutter as Bea sends the ball flying into the goal. I find myself getting more involved into the game. My leg starts tapping again.

"Lace. Do I have to sit on you for your legs to stop tapping?" Seth asks me with a small smile.

"No.. Leave my anxious legs alone." I reply pretending to carefully place my legs as if they were fragile.

"Here." Seth says pulling me onto his lap, his strong hands lifting my hips up onto his legs. I lean back so his right shoulder digs into the top of my spine before my neck. While my legs rest, tucked around his gently.

"Now stop fidgeting." He says returning his attention to the game, wrapping his arms around my waist and clenching them together casually. I return my attention to the game.

Trying to ignore the butterflies that envelop my stomach, my back, my waist.

As I watch the last few minutes of the game Seth's hands cover mine, to stop them from fidgeting. It earns me a halfhearted roll of the eyes, but it's okay.

My heart tickles my chest at everything Seth does. As I sit on him, as his hands caress my own. As he keeps my emotions in check, making sure I don't become my emotion and that I remain a decent human being.

Seth was good like that. A good friend like that.

The final whistle blows and I climb off him and start towards the group forming on the field. I flick him a thank you smile over my shoulder before jogging to the centre of the field. Where he jogs over to his team. To begin warming up.

"Lacey nice to see you." Coach says nodding at me curtly. I reply with a submissive nod. She was going to give me a hounding next practice. 

"Good game girls. That win was well deserved. I love to see that our training has been paying off and those new plays we worked on have finally come clean. I would say a great last game of the season." Coach says with a grin.

We all do our cheers before making our way to shake hands with the other team. I shake everyones hand with a smile and a 'good game'. Even their striker. Before we make our way back to coach who has moved to the benches for the boys to warm up on the field.

"Lacey I would like to speak to you. The rest of you are dismissed. You may watch the boys or go home." She says waving them off. Bea squeezes my shoulder apologetically as she reaches for her drink bottle and soccer bag. Callie grabs my hand and gives it a quick squeeze.

Everyone moves away and coach motions for me to sit down besides her, which I do so immediately.

"Lacey I know you didn't throw the first punch, but you have to be careful. We don't accept violence at this school and as we know this was your second fight this semester. Make sure you keep yourself in check. Because yes high school is finishing but colleges are less likely to be as forgiving as we are if they hear about a fight. Your an intelligent girl. Don't let other people bring you down to their levels." Coach says fluently. Like a recited poem.

"Thank you coach, I'm really sorry for stepping out of line. I will take your advice." I say apologetically, staring down at my lap.

"It's okay. As long as you've learnt your lesson I won't dob you into the school." She replies with a small wink.

"Thank you. Enjoy the game." I say as I pick my stuff up to move to sit with my family and Bea's to watch the boys.