𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 nationals day, only one hour left for the event to commence. Now, Coach Hiroshi was giving the girls a pep-talk before they headed to the locker rooms to change.

"Each one of you is special in her own way, one of you alone could do a lot. However, all of us together could do much more. So, go get ready and do your best." Every cheerleader clapped in response to the coach's words.

"Are you nervous? I sure am." Haru asked as she changed her clothes into cheerleading attire. "A bit, but coach's words made me feel less nervous." (Y/n) admitted.

Once everyone changed, they all began to head to the field. "Wait, I'll be right back, I forgot something." (Y/n) stated as she headed back to the changing room.

On her way there, she noticed Akari talking to Sae. She quickly hid behind a pillar; however, she couldn't hear them due to them being a bit far. After about a few minutes, Sae and Akari parted ways as (Y/n) quickly left.

"There you are! Nationals is starting now." Haru told (Y/n). "Welcome everyone to our annual nationals!" A lot of people were seated on the bleachers as they cheered. "Starting this year's nationals, there will be a cheerleading competition between the two schools, Kyotō and Shiketsu High!"

Shiketsu High was to perform first as Kyotō's cheerleading team watched them closely.

They started by forming two squads as each of them sent a girl upwards into the air and two other girls did some cartwheels in front of the two groups. Then, the two groups did a backflip and performed a few other moves, then they finished it off with a cartwheel.

Shiketsu High's fans cheered. "Oh wow! An excellent performance by Shiketsu High! Our judges seem impressed. Now it's Kyotō High's turn."

"Alright girls, you got this!" Coach Hiroshi shouted.

Akemi and Haruki started at the front, performing a handstand and falling into a bridge. Then half of the team performed an elbow stand as the other half performed a backflip falling into splits.

Then, they all got up and performed an aerial cartwheel. Now, the big finale, the pyramid. Coach Hiroshi was super nervous; however, he believed in his girls.

Now all the girls stood at the center as they all got into their positions. (Y/n) stood at the top, her breathing shallow as she became anxious; nonetheless, she took in a deep breath and stood steadily, and got ready for her move.

The two girls below her used their arms to send her flying upwards as (Y/n) performed two flips and landed on her teammates' hands.

Everyone burst out cheering for the Kyotō High's cheerleading team as the squad huddled all together doing a group hug as they cheered amongst themselves. On the other hand, Coach Hiroshi cheered the loudest as he joined the girls.

"What an outstanding performance from Kyotō High! Our judges seem to be pleased. Stay tuned for the results after a half-hour break."

"I'm so proud of you girls! This was even better than during practice! Let's hope this performance makes us win." Coach Hiroshi exclaimed.

After the cheering died down, (Y/n) left to find Sae, but he was nowhere to be found. "Who are you looking for?" Haru asked (Y/n). "Sae, but I guess he's getting ready for his match against Shiketsu." (Y/n) stated.

"Yeah, let's go, they're going to announce the results!" Haru took (Y/n)'s hand as they ran back to the field.

"Thank you both teams for the excellent performances we witnessed; however, there can only be one winner. Judges, please vote for the cheerleading team you find best."

Both teams stood anxiously as they awaited the votes. "Our first Judge, which cheerleading team do you select?" "Kyotō High." The first judge stated as the Kyotō High team almost screamed from happiness.

"Second Judge." "Shiketsu High." The second judge selected. "Alright, now our final judge. This vote will determine the winner." "I select... Kyotō High."

The cheerleading team screamed as they all jumped in delight. "Yes! We did it!" Coach Hiroshi shouted in excitement as they were given the trophy.

"One, two... three!" They all shouted as they all held the trophy and raised it up high as pictures were taken of them. On the other hand, the other cheerleading team was saddened.

"Now, everyone take your seats, as the football match between Shiketsu High and Kyotō High will commence in a few minutes."

"Let's go sit down," Haru stated as the two girls headed to the bleachers to sit amongst the crowd.

Both teams headed to the field as both team captains headed to the center to shake hands and select where they would be shooting.

"I want a fair match, any bad sportsmanship will result in a disqualification." The referee stated as he blew the whistle.

The ball was with Shiketsu's team as Rin successfully intercepted the ball as he sped towards Shiketsu's goal. However; the ball was taken by Shiketsu's team once again.

Throughout the match, the ball went here and there as both teams tried to score; nonetheless failing to.

Before the end of the first half of the match, Oliver Aiku scored as Shiketsu's team cheered. And then a few minutes later, Nagi Seishiro scored a goal and everyone burst out cheering as the Kyotō team celebrated.

It was now break time. The first half ended with a tie between the two teams.

"I hope they score soon. This is so stressful yet exciting." Haru stated happily. "Yeah, it is." (Y/n) replied as she looked at Sae. He had his hands on his knees as Shidou talked to him. Shidou then looked up at (Y/n) and Haru and waved as they waved back.

Then, the other half of the match began. The ball was with Kyotō as they passed it to each other. Shortly after, the ball was intercepted by none other than Oliver Aiku as he sped towards the goal. He passed it to his teammate as he scored.

Now it was two to one for Shiketsu's team. Rin passed the ball to Isagi as he headed towards the goal and passed it to Shidou. Shidou tried to score; however, the ball was taken by Shiketsu's team.

Only two minutes remained of the bonus time. Chigiri had the ball and then passed it to Kaiser as Kaiser ran towards Shiketsu's goal. Sae ran across Kaiser as he shouted for him to give him the ball.

Kaiser passed the ball to Sae as Sae got ready to score, but out of nowhere, someone from Shiketsu's team tackled Sae.

The referee called out a penalty to Kyotō's team as the fans watched in suspension. Sae took a deep breath and shook himself.

He ran towards the ball and shot it; however, the ball missed by very few inches as the referee blew out the final whistle and Shiketsu's team cheered happily.

(Y/n) felt sadness wash all over her. She was sad for the team's loss and Sae. "(Y/n)? You okay?" Haru asked. "Hm? Y-yeah, just thinking." (Y/n) replied and headed down towards Sae as Haru followed.

"Sae." (Y/n) spotted him walking. "Sae." (Y/n) repeated as he finally stopped and turned around. "I don't want to talk to you right now," Sae asked. "I know how you feel, just talk to me and get it all out, and you'll feel better." (Y/n) stated.

"No, (Y/n), you don't get it. I don't want to talk to you." Sae replied. "What, why?" (Y/n) was hurt. "I missed that goal, because of you," Sae admitted. "What do you mean?" (Y/n) questioned.

"I missed that goal because you distracted me," Sae stated. "How did I distract you?" (Y/n) asked. "I kept thinking about our kiss. I couldn't get you out of my mind." Sae answered. "Is that a bad thing?" (Y/n) mumbled.

"Yes, it is. You're distracting me from my goals. That's right, you're just a distraction." These words hurt (Y/n) even more as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "Distraction?"

Then, (Y/n) thought about the conversation Sae had with Akari. "What did Akari tell you?" (Y/n) felt like she couldn't breathe. "That you were going to distract me from my goals, and she was right," Sae answered.

"I should have seen this coming." (Y/n) sped away past Haru as she called out her name, but (Y/n) ignored her. (Y/n) headed inside the school's hallways as tears fell from her eyes. Then, she bumped into someone.

"(Y/n)? Hey, what's wrong?" It was Rin. (Y/n) looked at him as she burst out crying. Rin held her close as he rubbed her back. "Shh, it's okay, I'm here. Tell me what happened."

"I'm a distraction, Rin." (Y/n) cried out. "Distraction? You're not. Who told you that?" Rin asked. "Sae did. He thinks that I'm a distraction." More tears fell from her eyes. Rin got angry at his brother for hurting the person he cared about most.

"I was ready to give him my heart, Rin." (Y/n) spoke. "I know. I'm sorry, he's a big idiot." Rin continued to rub her back as she told him everything.

He was never hers, but losing him broke her heart.

♫

(A/N): this chapter was longer than promised!

𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓿𝓮.