If you grew up in a small town, you know that after the school year starts, Friday nights become a huge deal. Whe are Friday nights such a big deal? One word: Football. The hot chocolate on the cold nights, the popcorn and the nachos, the kids playing their own game behind the bleachers and, of course, the clash of the players. Mascots. Players. Cheerleaders. Fans. Teachers. All there for one reason: The Game. Touchdowns and field goals. Fouls and whistles. Cheers and chants and halftime dances. Yells of delight and groans of disappointment. Small town life means Friday night High School Football.
"Alright lads, this is it. Senior year. OUR time to shine. Let's get out there and kick some Lion ass." Killian "Hook" Jones said to his fellow senior football players.
"We have been playing together since Freshman year. We have a great bond and one hell of a captian to lead us. Any word of encouragement, Swan?" David "Charming" Nolan asked.
"They don't really want it now!" Emma Swan yelled as the Pleasant Way High School entrance song began to ring loudly through the speakers.
Here Come The Boom by Nelly echoed all through the small town of Pleasant Way and shook the bleachers with the bass.
"Here comes the..." one Patriot player poked a hole in the run through banner.
"Here comes the..." a second player poked another hole in the banner.
"Here comes the..." a third hole poked by a third player.
Holes being poked while players yelled "Hey!" along with the song.
"BOOM!" The Patriot players burst thorugh the paper banner with a Patriot head on the visible side. A cheerleader carrying a blue flag and the letters "P" and "W" stitched in red with white outline to match their school colors.
"Hello everyone and welcome to Friday night football. Game one for the Patriots against the Clarksville Lions. Tonight's Patriots are sporting their white jerserys with red letters and blue numbers while the Lions are in the red jersery's with white letters and numbers." the announcer's voice sounded through the speakers. "If you will check the paper given to you at the front gate, you will find both teams and a list of their players, jersery numbers, and their positions. And how about our Patriot line-up for tonight's game? Coach Gold and Water Boy Henry Mills. Neal Cassidy, number tweleve, Robin "Hood" Locksley number ten, David "Charming" Nolan number sixty six, and Will Scarlett number ninety nine are on the line tonight. Graham "Sheriff" Humbert number thirteen at wide receiver. August Booth number twenty nine full back. Killian "Hook" Jones number eighty seven half back. And Emma Swan number fifty six leading the boys tonight. Don't mistake this girl. She would rather play football than worry about her hair and make up any day of the week. She can throw. She can run the ball. She can take a hit and do some hitting just like the boys."
"I hate it when he does that shit." Emma said to August. " Ignore that shit, Swan. We got a football game to win!" Booth yelled back to his captain.
Emma, Booth, Hook, Charming, and Sheriff all walked to the fifty yard line for the coin toss.
"Home team call it in the air." the referee said before flipping the coin into the air.
"Tails." Swan called.
"Tails it is. Kicking or receiving?"
"We'll receive."
With that, the seniors ran back to their team.
"Line it up boys. Bring it home." Coach Gold yelled.
-30 MINUTES LATER-
Half time. The cheerleaders for the home team go out to the fifty yard line and perform a dance that they have been practicing for weeks. Then, the cheerleaders from the opposing team do the same thing. The football players return to their respected dressing rooms for a pep talk from their coach or from their team captain or even both depending on the score and the way the game seems to be playing out. The spectators in the stands rush to the concession stand for more drinks, a popcorn refill or some nachos, and a pickle for the kids.
-PATRIOT DRESSING ROOM/FIELD HOUSE-
"Alright, dearies, you have the lead on this one but do not underestimate your opponents. Things could easily change in the next two quarters. Run fast...Jump high...Protect Swan with everything you have. That hit in the first did a real number on her. We don't want to go losing our Savior now do we?" Gold asked. "Swan, any words of encouragemnet for these boys?"
"This is our first game. Our first of ten games this season, guys. Now is the time to set an example. Now is the time to get the word out about the Pleasant Way Patriots. We want state. We want a championship. Clarksville is not the most athletic. Their defense is poor at best. Their offense is even worse. Most of their team consists of Freshmen and Sophomores. The don't have the history or the bond that we have. This is OUR game! This is OUR house! We will NOT back down! We will NOT accept defeat! We will NOT show mercy! We will take this game and every other that we play! When we step out onto that field I want them to already know who we are! They will hear us coming and the will fear us! We wear the colors of America! America does not run! The Patriots do not run! WE KICK ASS!" Emma got louder as her speech went on.
The attempt from the captain to motivate her teamwas successful as the boys began clapping their hands and stomping their cleats against the bare concrete floor.
"WHAT DO WE WANT?" Swan yelled.
"VICTORY!" The Patriots replied.
"WHAT WILL WE HAVE?" Swan yelled.
"VICTORY!" The Patriots replied.
"THEN LET'S! GO! GET! IT!"
The Patriots grabbed their helmets and ran from the room yelling and cheering themselves on with their blood pumping and their hearts soaring. The onlookers in the stands cheered for the Patriots on from a standing postion. Emma had been looking at a man standing on the sidelines in a United States Navy uniform and didn't see that she was about to run into a brunette girl. But that is exactly what she did. They collided, hard.
"Watch it you over grown ass!" the girl yelled.
"Oh shit, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Emma asked with her arms still around the girl to keep her from falling over.
"Oh...um...yes. I'm just fine. I'm sorry for the outburst. I didn't realize..." the girl said hearing a female voice under the white helmet.
"That I'm a girl. Yeah, I get that pretty often. I'm Emma."
"Hello, Emma. You are gonna be late. I believe you have a date with the offense."
Emma turned to look at the field and turned back to the girl but found that she had disappeared. With that, she ran onto the field and met her teammates on the sidelines.
Swan, Cassidy, Hood, Charming, Scarlet, Booth, Sheriff, and Hook took their positions on the fifteen yard line.
Swan took her position behind the center, her hands ready to take the snap. Everything seemed to slow down to slow motion. She looked to her right an dthen to her left to check the her boys.
"BLUE EIGHTY SEVEN!" she yelled and then stopmed her right foot.
"BLUE EIGHTY SEVEN!" she yelled again.
She looked to her right and made eye contact with Hook.
"HUT!"
Sheriff took off like a rocket. Emma rolled back. Hook ran aound behind Emma and took off for the End Zone. Emma bent down, sending a Lion defensive player falling over her back. She ran forward a few steps and jumped over anouther Lion defensive player. Finally seeing her opening and that Sheriff was in position, she pulled her arm back and threw the ball. It sailed up into the line of the lights, across the field and then fell straight down into the ready hands of number thirteen Graham Humbert. A Clarksville defender was right on his heels, though. The defender jumped with the intention of wrapping around Sheriff's legs and succeeded. As Graham was going down, he flipped the ball to his right where Hook had just run up beside him.
"TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS!" the announcer yelled through the speaker.
Most of the crowd had disappeared by the time the players had come out of the field house. They were showered and dressed back in their khaki pants and button down shirts. It was a requirement of Coach Gold's that all of his players dress "nice" on game days.
"If you wish to gain respect, you must dress respectfully." he had told them.
Emma stood in the doorway of the field house and watched as her team mates received hand shakes and slaps on the back from their proud fathers, hugs and smiles from their loving mother's, and even a kiss or two from their girlfriend.
"Feeling sorry for yourself again, Swan?" a female voice called from the opposite direction from where Emma had been watching.
"Fuck you, Lucas." Emma replied trough gritted teeth while trying to hide the tear that had escaped down her face.
"Hey, I meant no offense. I was just fucking with you...Are you okay, best friend?" Ruby asked.
"I'm fine. How did we do tonight?" Emma asked.
"One hundred fourty seven yards for passes. Thirty eight running yards. No sacks. One incomplete pass. Oh, and I made eighty seven dollars in tips."
"That puts us just shy of a thousand, right?"
"Yes it does. We will have that rent house in no time. Especially if we both keep saving the way we have been. We just have to pay our bills and keep on going and we will get there. Speaking of which, did you pay your car payment and insurance yet?" Ruby asked.
"They won't be coming to get the car this month. And the insurance is all caught up. Rubes, we have talked about the rent house. You know that I can't..."
"Em...you have got to live your life and stop worrying about them. It's been nearly two years. When are you going to stop and..."
"When I know that they are safe, Ruby!" the blonde interrupted with an outburst.
Seeing the hurt look on her best friends face made regret fill the blonde quarterback.
"I'm sorry, Rubes. Are we going to the party tonight? It's going to be at Hook's this time."
"Hell yeah we are! I need some music and some hunch punch in my life after working with Granny for so long."
"Dude, it was like four hours." Emma said with a side grin, knowing how impossible it was to please the older woman.
"Four hours of hell with that...woman." Ruby said and then bumped the back of Emma's right shoulder with her own shoulder with a smile on her face though she noticed the flash of pain in her friend's green eyes.
"Hard hit in the first quarter." Emma answered the silent question.
Ruby didn't believe her for one second, though Emma told her best friend all of her secrets and Ruby only, the brunette knew that Emma was lying in this moment. She knew that this was an injury that happened before the game. Football was a convenient cover up for all of the bruises and the injuries and the aftermath caused from her life at home. Ruby would never call her best friend out on these particular lies but she would always know the truth and this is why she is pushing so hard for the rent house. Her goal is to get Emma out of the situation that she is in. She WOULD get Emma out come hell or high water. That will happen but for now...party, music, and alcohol.