The Boy with the Thorn in his Side

by MediocreSalesman

Growing up in a sleepy, English village, Duncan finds very little time for much else save causing trouble and playing football. But when one of his friends gets a shot at the big leagues, he and the rest of the team deal with celebrating his opportunity and wondering where they'll be left without him. Title taken from the Smiths song of the same name. (Bad Language and drinking)

1. The Plan

The Boy With the Thorn in His Side

Duncan sat on his sofa, legs stretched across it, yawning and looking up at the ceiling absent-mindedly.

"Mm-hm!" His father cleared his throat to get his attention. Duncan let his head fall to look at him, raised an eyebrow, then turned his head and continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Young man. This is the last straw." His father was angry as always, his arms crossed and his face an ugly shade of red. Duncan had had this talk before. He wondered how his dad kept finding so many extra straws. The first last straw was when he spray-painted a cock and balls on the head teacher's car. The three day suspension was so worth it, as were the admiring looks of his fellow classmates, but his dad wasn't so lenient, or admiring. Being on the police force meant he had a jurisdiction over his son, and made deals with Duncan's 'victims' over them pressing charges. The head had decided on twenty hours of community service, including scrubbing the graffiti off his car, and a special school uniform for the week when he came back. The outfit they had settled on was an old toga, found in the drama club's cupboard. That wasn't so bad in itself, but the other students were encouraged to yank it down, or mess with it in some way. He couldn't walk between classes without being hassled relentlessly for the first two days, but when Harold tried to lift it up to expose his boxers and received a broken nose, most decided to leave him well alone. Didn't stop all the girls laughing at him though, which would've spelled disaster for his reputation if he wasn't a master of charm, and able to make the best of the toga, getting up at assembly on Friday, and making a large gesture about owning the look.

Respect was the one thing Duncan carried around school, since no bags lasted longer than two weeks with the delinquent without being burned, shredded or 'lost'. His dad was alright spending money on them, because in his words "At least it's his own property, not someone else's".

The second 'last straw' was when he put posters up around the neighborhood for people looking for a dog walker, putting Harold's address on them. Harold, being allergic to dogs, would open his door to a new dog every few hours over the half-term, and would hurry back inside, sniffing and searching for his inhaler. Harold decided that Duncan be subjected to fifty hours community service at the tip, a plan which backfired, as Duncan found himself genuinely enjoying his time there, and especially loving sifting through the rubbish to see what people threw out. Old irons, sofas and radio sets, broken chairs and old, unwanted posters for either overly poppy boy bands or indie bands he had never heard of. Occasionally he'd make a good find, such as a chair he could fix or someone would bring a box of old clothes and he could find some his own size that he liked. He still had some friends at the tip. Nice guys.

The third 'last straw' and the one just prior to this one was when he 'defaced' the statue of the town founder by placing a traffic cone on his head, false nose and glasses on his face, an inflatable rubber ring on his waist, and a United scarf around his neck. The town mayor, a City fan, was not pleased with this gesture, and it was a real struggle for his dad to cut a deal, but eventually, he found his way through. Duncan stood guard over the statue every night for two weeks, from eight pm to midnight. That was proper torture. Boring and technically good for the community, and Duncan doesn't do 'boring' or 'good for the community'.

For a while this had been good enough to keep Duncan out of serious trouble, but like a wild animal, he was drawn to the chase, to the hunt, to the thrill. He had decided this had to be his biggest yet. He was to deface the whole town square, spreading toilet paper everywhere, replacing the cone and scarf on the statue, and perhaps adding his own little flaming touch. As it turned out, the mayor was a bigger fan of the 'guard-on-the-statue' idea than he first figured, and he was caught as he placed the traffic cone on his head, and delivered to the mayor's office and ordered to stay the night. As his dad picked him up in the morning, he had a long chat with the mayor about Duncan's punishment. He had sat outside the office for hours listening in to fragments of conversation. Not all of it was about him, obviously, but it was obviously a big question what the punishment was to be this time. Eventually, as the clock struck noon, his dad emerged from the office to look disappointedly at his son, then gesture for him to follow. Duncan got up and followed his dad to the car, a classic black and white cruiser. When he attempted to get in, his dad shook his head, and opened the back door. Duncan sat silent in the back, separated from his father by the mesh wire. It was humiliating. A powerful gesture from his old man. When they arrived home, his dad opened the door and jerked a thumb at the front door. Duncan entered and sat down on the sofa, waiting for the talk.

"I can't believe you'd do the exact same thing as before! You don't learn at all!"

"Actually, it wasn't the same, you see-" Duncan began

"Don't back talk me." His dad said, his voice low but authoritative. Duncan shut up. "As I was saying," he continued, the anger obviously growing in his voice, "you never learn do you? For Christ's sake son! You're making a mockery out of me, your mother, the family, the police department, and the town. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Oh, I can talk now?" Duncan pondered the question, "I was having a good time."

His dad grit his teeth, "You're running wild, destroying everyone's reputation and ruining Harold's life, for a good time?"

Now, Harold probably didn't deserve all the stuff Duncan did to him. Some of it, definitely, but not all. He was an easy target. Simple as that. A bully's wet dream. Nerdy and scraggly, a stiff wind would get the best of him. He wore two-inch thick glasses and shirts with references to maths, TV shows, or that God awful blue one with the burger. He was allergic to just about everything, and was always escorted out the classroom if they were working on anything remotely cool. It wasn't Duncan's fault he picked on him. It was a duty, almost. Someone had to. Right?

Duncan pondered his dad's question, "Hmm… Yeah, I suppose."

His dad's face turned a deeper shade of red, "And do you really think we deserve this?"

"Well… You and mom? Probably not. But the cops and the town, yes. All they do is try to keep everything down. Nothing ever happens. Everything must be in its place, run smoothly. Why, man? Can't I have a little fun and spread a little chaos without being shut down?"

"When what you're doing is illegal, no." His dad explained. His voice was monotonous, but carried a stern weight to it, like a volcano about to erupt. The calm before the storm. Duncan looked at his watch. It was near one o'clock. Someone should be coming to fetch him soon. His dad stood up, towering over his lounging son, "I've had enough of this. Your school has had enough of this. The department has, the mayor has, and the town has. I've been getting enough complaints from Harold's mom to choke a donkey. What is your vendetta against that boy?"

"It's just a little fun, is all."

"If you say this is fun again I'll personally make sure you never bloody experience anything fun ever again. For the last time Duncan-"

In the middle of his dad's impassioned speech, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Duncan yelled, motioning to get up.

"You won't," his dad said, "I'll get it." He walked swiftly up to the door and flung it open, "Yes?" He said, still somewhat angrily.

"Uh, Mr Duncan's dad sir, we need Duncan for the game today? Um, we need him now." Geoff stood at the door, his hat in his hands. Geoff's dad had bought him that when they went to America when he was small. Geoff hadn't seen his dad much since then, and the hat was his one reminder of him. No one liked to talk about it much.

"Oh, yes. Of course," Duncan's dad's rage subsided a little, "Duncan! Your friend's here! You don't want to be late for the game." The one thing that kept his dad from really punishing him was football. Duncan captained the local U16 side, a team feared throughout the entire North-East U16 Football Conference. They'd won the competition for the last two years, and were only a few games from a third in three years. Having played a lot of 'footy' as a kid himself, his dad knew how much football could mean for a boy, especially one with such a passion as his son. There was real potential there, as he often said proudly to anyone who would listen, whether they wanted to or not. Duncan appreciated this as more than an almost literal 'get out of jail free card'. The time he spent playing with his friends was the best part of still living in this quiet, sleepy little town, even better than casual vandalism and minor misdemeanours.

He ran outside, grabbing his kitbag as he rushed out the door, "Thanks dad, catch you later!" He shouted as he sprinted up the street, followed immediately by Geoff, who wasn't expecting this immediate reaction.

"Give them hell son!" His dad yelled back, his son's criminal activities all but forgotten.

"Thanks for that, mate. You really got me out of trouble there." Duncan said to Geoff as they hurried up to the local park where they played their games.

"Don't mention it," Geoff replied, "We need you anyway. We're playing Queenstown today."

"Those bums? Easy." He laughed, filling himself with confidence. It's what a captain had to do. If the team knew he knew they could do it, the confidence and bravado spread easily.

"Heh, you're right. We'll batter 'em again." Geoff stated, proving Duncan's tactic was working.

"Actually, Geoff, you know what I was planning to do to celebrate?"

"Uh, we haven't won yet…"

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah but when we do? I'm gonna spend the night in the old house on the hill."

"Isn't that supposed to be haunted?" Geoff gulped.

Duncan smirked, "Well, duh. But it isn't. Ghosts don't exist."

"Oh," Geoff breathed a sigh of relief, "I knew that."

"Whatever," Duncan conceded, "You in? I'm thinking maybe a group of ten or so."

"Yeah I'm in. Sounds cool, like a party. Who you gonna get?"

"Well there's you and DJ, then the girls will want in, then maybe a few of the team. You get me?"

"Yeah yeah, I feel you. Maybe we should win the game first though."

Duncan grinned from ear to ear, "Yeah. Time to play some football."

They made it to the ground in about five minutes, where coach Hatchet, who also happened to be the school cook and an ex-professional himself, having played in over two hundred games himself for lower league clubs, stood waiting for the last two players to arrive. "You've got ten minutes to get changed. Hop to it!" He yelled as they sprinted past him and into the locker room. The coach's tough love was important to the team, as they all knew. Every one of them loved and respected him, and would've followed his guidance to the ends of the earth. Hatchet himself was happy just to be involved again. The kids and their team meant the world to him too, and together their bond formed an unstoppable force.

Inside they were met by the hulking mass of DJ, Duncan's partner in the centre of defense and the club's star player. "Dudes! C'mon everyone else is already out there and warming up!"

"Good afternoon to you too, D." Duncan said sarcastically, "We'll be fine. No need to worry about us."

"Yeah," Geoff agreed, "you just get yourself warmed up and ready to kill 'em."

DJ rolled his eyes, and walked outside, the clacking of his studs echoing through the room.

The guys were out and ready in two minutes, and began to prepare for the fixture by stretching and warming up. Trent, their lone striker in the 4-2-3-1 formation they played, strolled up to his captain as they stood waiting for the game to begin and said "Heard you got arrested last night, man."

Duncan seemed irritated for a second, but quickly took hold of the situation, "Nah, I just got caught putting the cone on the statue again."

"You did it again?" Trent asked, more amused than shocked.

"Well, I thought it was so good last time, it deserved a sequel. Maybe start a trend, you know."

Trent raised an eyebrow and smirked, before shaking off the idea, "Whatever, man. Ready for the game now, captain?"

"You bet your ass Trent. Gather the team, we'll be on in a minute."

The team consisted of entirely students from the same school, as they had dominated the tryouts and formed their own team together, forcing anyone else outside the team if they wanted to really play. In goal was Owen, the fat one. No one really wanted to play keeper, and Owen was desperate to join in, and so the big man was placed in goal,and proved to be somewhat decent. He was more agile than his size would show - but only barely more so - and even if that didn't work, the ball would have a tough time getting around him. The team's defense was really the reason they conceded so few. Duncan and DJ in the centre was a lethal combo. Duncan played with a ferocity befitting someone of his record, constantly chipping in at a striker, and trying to violently barrel through as many ball carriers as possible while still technically getting the ball. The most bookings in the league for two years running and a long list of injuries left behind gave him and his partner the reputation they needed. DJ was the opposite to Duncan, which is probably why they were such an effective tandem. Where the shorter Duncan played aggressive and violent, DJ used his size to his advantage, and would only have to get in the way to scare any player into getting rid of the ball quickly. Unbeatable at set pieces, and a tough tackler when needed, DJ stood out amongst the conference, and his play was enough to get him noticed by a few teams, if the rumours were true. At full back were Tyler and Izzy, arguably the two least talented players on the team. The two were good enough tacklers, and could get the ball forward when needed, but were hardly used in plays when it could be helped. Tyler was almost useless in coverage, and was lucky he had the centre backs to keep him out of trouble if a cross came in, and Izzy was a liability at best. She was somehow more violent than Duncan at times, which thankfully kept people away from her area of the pitch, but if someone could get in her head and outplay her, there was immediately danger.

Moving forward, to two players in a more defensive midfielder role. Justin and Zeke were two more of the weaker players, but could hold their own when needed. Justin was never one to dive in for a tackle, for fear of hurting his face, or even getting too muddy if the pitch was that bad, but was good on the ball, and had a nice pass on him, which he used to get himself out of danger as often as possible. Zeke was the opposite. Seemingly raised in the mud, he had no problem with diving in for a tackle, and would relish any attempt to push someone off the ball. On the ball, on the other hand, he made many mistakes, and would simply offload the ball to Justin if he was under any distress.

Outside of the centre of defense, the team's real star attraction was its front four. Geoff stood in an attacking midfielder role, and was the usual target for removing the ball from the danger zones in their half. He was great on the ball and had a killer through pass on him, and he would gladly spread the ball out to his wide midfielders or to his striker if he saw the pass. Outside of him were the wingers, the girls, Eva and Bridgette. They were practically the reason the league let girls play, as Bridgette advocated peacefully and got petitions signed, and Eva advocated violently if they wouldn't let her play. They quickly won over the governing body, and took up their position either side of Geoff. Eva was a bully on the ball, and defenders were hardly able to stop her at all if she got going, as she would shove, barge and elbow her way through any challenge that came her way. Bridgette was arguably their most talented player with the ball at her feet. She had a silky set of moves that any street performer would be proud of, and could make her way around the most forceful tackle without missing a beat. Trent stood alone at striker as the team's top goal scorer. He was nothing special, a jack of all trades really, but he was the most accurate when it came to shooting, and was great at seeing where the killer strike should go.

And that was the team, beside the three dejected subs that sat on the bench throughout most of the game. Occasionally Coach would bring one on if someone got too tired, too wound up, or injured, though cases of injury on this team were exceedingly rare.

As the beginning of the game drew near, the team gathered around Duncan, and all took a knee as he stood proudly above them. "Now, this is a crucial game, we all know that. Winning this is the first step to our third Championship in three years. We know we can beat them. We're better than them, I know it, you know it and they know it. The only team that can beat us is ourselves. So we're just gonna have to play at our level, exactly as we have all season. Trent, if you don't score twice against that defense, you're off the starting XI."

Trent pulled an incredulous face, "Who are you gonna replace me with?" He asked, trying to take hold of the situation.

"I'll go up there myself, eh? You can do it. Now, as for the rest of you, I expect high energy. Coach will come to outline their strengths and give us our tactics. Coach?" He called over to coach Hatchet, who strolled leisurely over to his team.

"Alright, listen up. They play 4-5-1, because they've got no idea how the game works. They stack the midfield, which is built around their three quality players, the big guy, the girl, and the ginger ninja." Owen stifled a laugh at this. "Justin and Zeke, I expect you guys to keep them in check. If they can't work past you they have one option, the striker. He's fast and can move, and so I expect big hits, you two." He pointed at DJ and Duncan. "The ginger one can't play on the ball, but will always look for a pass. When he has it make sure you cover well, and he'll be forced to try to do something. The keeper's just big, not as big as ours, but big. You should have no trouble putting five on these bums. Clear?"

"Yes, coach." Came the chant from the entire team, as they felt themselves getting pumped.

"Who's the best?"

"We're the best!"

"Who's the best?" He yelled.

"We're the best!" The team shouted back, getting off their knees and jumping around.

"Now get out there and show me!" Coach bellowed, as the team took the field. Duncan was last to go, and as he stepped past him, he grabbed his shoulder, "Listen captain, you're the leader for a reason. I expect them to follow you. You don't let anyone past you. Hit them. Hard. Remember what we talked about?"

"The Battering Ram, yeah, I remember. When we need it. Got it."

Coach smiled an almost malevolent smile, "Good boy. Now go out there and call the toss."

"Yes, coach!" He said, saluting. Coach saluted back and watched him go onto the pitch to meet the other team's captain, to cheers from the tens of parents and fans gathered for their team, and polite applause from the visitors, who brought maybe a dozen spectators. It was going to be a good game, he felt it in his bones. He was gonna enjoy this.

Duncan casually walked through his teammates as they stretched out to the centre of the field, where an overweight referee was standing with the other team's captain, a tall dark-skinned boy with short, electric white hair, and a body like a teenage Greek god, which stuck out as he wore his shirt clinging to his muscles in an obvious vain call for attention. "Dick." Duncan thought. The ref pointed to Duncan, "Since this is your home game, you call it in the air." He tossed a coin.

"Tails." Duncan called as it spiralled downwards.

It landed in the ref's hand, and he looked at it, as the two boys desperately tried to peer into his hand. "It's heads." He announced. What is your choice, Queenstown?"

"We'll kick off." The boy decided smugly, as if he thought Duncan cared in the slightest.

"Alright. Shake hands, and I'll have a good clean game, you hear? No funny business. Keep it civil."

"Good luck." Duncan said almost sarcastically as he reached out his hand.

"Won't need it." The other boy remarked as he shook his hand and began to walk away, signalling to his team that they had won the toss.

Duncan rolled his eyes and turned back to his team, "Line it up. Prepare to defend." As he walked past Zeke, he grasped his shoulder and told him "If that captain comes past you, lay him out. Ruthlessness, yeah?"

"Uh, sure thing, cap." He responded. Duncan grinned and moved to stand next to DJ.

"Let's get 'em, man." He said, raising his fist.

"Let's do it." DJ replied, bumping fists with him, as the ref blew the whistle and the game began.

1st Minute:

Their captain kicked off, playing it to the striker, who immediately played it back into the midfield. Trent, Geoff and Eva pushed into their half as Bridgette stepped back to watch the flank. Queenstown then slipped it back into the defense as they started to cover the midfield, leaving their star players no room to make a play. One of the defenders attempted to play it to the ginger one, but Trent was watching, and simply slid in front of him to nick the ball at the edge of the box. Looking up, he saw Eva running into the box, and chipped it up for her. The ball floated down and she blasted it into the post where it bounced out. She kicked the ground, and fell back away from the goal. Coach Hatchet called from the sideline "Nice, good play. Keep it up. No sweat!"

"No sweat," Trent echoed as he backtracked alongside Eva, who nodded, despite being mildly pissed.

5th minute:

After Queenstown bounced the ball around themselves with no hint at a dangerous attack, they won the ball back as Zeke slid in on their captain. He had nowhere to go as Zeke hung around him, suffocating him. The captain slapped the ground as he watched Zeke play it to Justin who passed it through to Geoff. Geoff turned and ran it past the girl in midfield, before lobbing it to Bridgette in the corner. She controlled it, and looked up, crossing it onto Trent's head. Trent smashed the ball towards the bottom corner, where the keeper was just able to tip it around the post. The linesman signalled for a corner.

"Corner!" Duncan shouted from his position, "Five! Five!" Trent, Geoff, Eva and Justin fell in the box, as DJ moved up to stand at the edge. Bridgette stood at the corner flag, and waited for the ref's whistle. He blew and she whipped it in, as DJ rushed into the box and leapt upwards. He connected his head with the ball hard, blasting it into the top right corner. Goal. 1-0.

"Atta boy DJ!" Coach yelled from the sidelines as the boy retreated to his half, high-fiving his teammates as he went past. The supporters applauded and cheered as he tracked backwards, while the visiting supporters stood around with their arms crossed and brows furrowed, annoyed, except one, a skinny red-haired girl wearing a pink scarf, pink gloves, and a pink flower in her hair. She politely clapped along, smiling at both teams. Duncan raised an eyebrow, as she told the players that walked past her "Good job," or "You can do it. Keep at it," depending on which team they played for. As she scanned the field, she noticed Duncan looking at her incredulously, and her face became the same shade of red at her hair. She looked down sheepishly, smiling at her feet, embarrassed. Duncan rolled his eyes and turned to DJ, "Nice work man. How many's that now? Three, four?"

"That was my… fourth? I think?" DJ said, trying to remember his goal tally.

"Still doesn't beat nine does it?" Duncan laughed.

"Doesn't Bridgette have ten?" DJ asked, smirking.

"Whatever, she plays on the wing." Duncan brushed off the question. Duncan and Bridgette had a bet that Duncan would finish the season with more goals, more based on Duncan's faith in himself than a lack thereof in Bridgette. Duncan was close, and there were few games left to pull himself ahead.

7th minute:

Queenstown finally brought on their first genuine attack. Zeke slipped as their captain ran past, so the ginger one passed it through and the captain was able to march it forwards. Without warning, Izzy left her position and leapt in at the ball, thankfully feet first, powering it away to their striker. The skinny redhead on the sidelines called "Yeah! Go Mike!" as he tried to move it past Justin. He swept the ball through his legs and tried to run onto it, but DJ came barrelling in, and booted it back to their defense. 'Mike' as his name seemed to be, looked up at DJ and gulped, before shaking and talking to himself as he backtracked. Duncan walked up to DJ, "Nice…" and then, referring to Mike, "What's his problem?"

"Can't handle me." DJ shrugged.

10th minute:

"Corner!" the linesman called, as Trent's shot bounced off the keeper's stomach and hit one of the defender's backs before rolling out of play.

"Two, two, two!" Duncan called, ushering Geoff and Trent into the box, himself standing at the edge of the area. Bridgette stood over the ball once again, waiting for the whistle. It came and she lashed the ball in again, onto the head of Geoff, who knocked it back for Duncan, who violently lashed it into the side netting. Goal. 2-0. As Duncan made his way back, waving his arms to pump up the crowd and soaking in the applause, he shuffled past Bridgette, "Hey, I think that's ten now…"

She blushed and smiled, "You're getting close. Still got some time though."

"Yeah, and I'll still score more in that time," Duncan jeered.

"Oh, wanna bet?" She asked, giggling to herself.

"Isn't that what we're doing?" He smirked.

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever Goal-Machine, go do your actual job and I'll keep setting them up for you."

"As long as you're not scoring!" He called as he picked up the pace, hurrying back. She smiled to herself. She didn't have a comeback.

Setting himself up, Duncan caught the eye of the girl on the sideline, and smirked at her, giving her the 'OK' hand gesture. She blushed, and avoided his gaze. Looking around for Mike, Duncan reasoned.

17th minute:

After a period of little happening, the ginger passer somehow saw an opening, and lobbed the ball up to the striker. Mike controlled it and turned, confronted with DJ and Duncan. DJ stood his ground as Duncan trekked behind him, covering the middle of the box. Agile as possible, Mike flicked the ball outside and somehow slid through DJ's legs. Before DJ could react, Mike had collected the ball and began to close in on goal. Tyler attempted to tackle but tripped over his own feet. Duncan saw the opportunity and rushed to meet Mike, trying to steal the ball. Mike saw him coming and seemed to panic, booting the ball haphazardly towards the net. The ball floated in, and over Owen's outstretched arms. Goal. 2-1.

Duncan grimaced as the boy ran off to his side of the field. They thought they were back in it now. Time to teach them otherwise. As Mike ran off, he stopped by the redhead and hugged her, as she clung on tight, jumping and cheering, telling him what a good job he was doing no doubt. Lucky bastard, Duncan thought, his anger boiling over.

DJ walked over and extended a hand. Duncan took it and he helped heave him onto his feet. DJ looked at Queenstown somewhat solemnly, "Lucky devil, ain't he?"

"Ha, yeah," Duncan admitted, "but it seems his only move is how agile he is. Shouldn't be a big deal honestly, yeah? Next time, unleash the battering ram."

"Aw, man, c'mon," DJ whined, "you know I don't like the battering ram."

"Look, we're all gonna have to do things we don't like. I don't like conceding goals, man. To teach this guy and that team a lesson, we need to use it. If we concede any more, how many teams are really gonna have their interest piqued? None. You're the big strong half-back who don't take shit, yeah? Prove it. We are not losing. No way."

DJ sighed, "Yeah… yeah. Next time he comes past…"

Duncan nodded and pulled a face, "Yeah. Let's get this started."

21st minute:

The team was enjoying a good bit of possession and dominance now. Eva had another shot clatter off the bar, and Trent tried to slide one around the keeper, only to be denied by a defender, who came sweeping in at the last minute, clearing the ball to his full back. Geoff was now on the ball, standing in the centre, waiting for someone to challenge him. Luckily, the captain was a fan of brawn over brains, and came charging at him. Geoff knitted his brows and chipped the ball over the sliding tackler, collected it, then sent the ball to Eva, who ran into the box, shoving off defenders, before the girl in midfield sliced at her legs.

The ref blew the whistle and pointed to the spot. They'd won a penalty. Duncan smiled. But Eva was not so happy, and was nose to nose with the girl that tackled her, who may not have been as big as Eva but seemed at least as feisty, and was exchanging words with her with no fear. Eva grit her teeth and clenched her fist, as Bridgette came rushing over to stop it. She glared at her, and Bridgette backed down.

"No, please," the other girl smirked, "have someone else help you out. No biggie."

If not for Trent and DJ, Eva would've flattened the girl, but instead she was carried away, still hurling insults at the offender. The ref blew the whistle again, and stared at Duncan, as if the fight was his fault, and he wasn't keeping his promise in keeping the game clean. Duncan shrugged. Not his problem. The ref pulled out a yellow card, and called the girls over, booking both of them. The girls kept staring each other down, the other girl daring Eva to do anything, and put her team at a disadvantage.

Once the girls were discharged, there came the question of who would take the kick. Usually it was Trent, but Bridgette and Eva had both taken pens in the past. Hell, so had Geoff, Justin and Duncan. Eva was not going to accept 'no' for an answer though, and stood over the spot and the ball waiting to see if anyone was dumb enough to argue. No one was.

The teams lined up outside the area and waited for the signal. The ref blew and Eva ran up, hammering the ball home into the top corner at seemingly Mach speeds. Goal. 3-1.

As Eva came back, she pointed at the girl, who stood her ground, smirking, but her eyes gave away a bit of fear. No need to be ashamed, Duncan thought, everyone was afraid of Eva.

27th minute:

As the game neared halftime - halves were 30 minutes at this level - the teams' attacks became fewer and far between. After a lapse for the defending midfielders, Mike came bounding at the goal, his lanky frame shaking as if it were about to come toppling down, and he'd be nothing but a pile of bones and dust. Duncan took one sideways glance at DJ, then approached Mike, DJ following after him. Before Mike could get rid of the ball, Duncan came flying in, taking the ball but clattering Mike in the process, sending him flying over him, into the path of the hulking mass of DJ. Mike was hit at full force by the running DJ and flattened to the ground, as Duncan looked for a pass to play. Queenstown were in shock, and Duncan decided to run it out. He got to the halfway line before the ref blew his whistle to stop the play. Duncan raised his arms to shoulder level in silent complaint, and the ref angrily pointed to Mike lying on the floor as if he'd been shot.

DJ leaned over him, "Oh my, are- are you okay, dude?" He asked, kinda frightened he'd hurt the kid, "Hello? Hello?"

The ref came bumbling over, his belly jiggling and the sweat flying off his forehead. He signalled for an amateur medic to come on the field. Duncan searched for the redhead in the crowd as he sauntered back to his position. As he expected, she was in complete shock, her gloved hands almost inside her mouth, her eyes inhumanly wide, and brimming with the slightest hint of tears. She noticed Duncan and gasped slightly, her eyes seemingly pleaded him, for a reason neither of them knew. Duncan pouted and shrugged, his arms raised in mock innocence and ignorance. Her eyes flashed something slightly angry, furious, even, as she gasped again and turned her attention back to her beloved 'Mike'. Duncan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, waiting impatiently for the game to return to action.

After maybe a minute, Mike stood up, holding his head, and lifting a thumb up to the sideline, where the visiting supporters applauded and the home supporters clapped along politely. The coach came up to him, but Mike waved him off, clearly indicating that he thought he could carry on. Duncan grinned malevolently. This was an opportunity.

The 28th minute of play was beginning, and Duncan played the drop ball short to Justin, who floundered, not expecting to receive it, as the captain tackled him and kicked the ball to Mike. Duncan grinned again, wider. Mike was clearly flustered, but still attempted to move the ball forward. Duncan raced at him, and slid in again, removing the ball clean from under Mike's feet over to Izzy, and causing Mike to tumble over again. The redhead called out his name, worried that this one would push Mike over the edge of injury. Alas, he got up again, but at this point, Bridgette was speeding down the sideline, effortlessly making her way past the fullbacks, and whipping the ball across into the box, where Trent headed it harmlessly over the bar.

Soon, the half came, and the ref blew the whistle to stop play for the next five minutes, so the teams could look over the half, plan tactics, and get properly re-hydrated.

Coach Hatchet signalled his team to gather round, and they all shuffled into a vague semi-circle, each taking a knee. "Alright kids," he said, showing no signs of joy and no signs of anger, "Alright. They got one lucky goal. Ain't no big deal, right?"

The team nodded warily.

"Ain't no big deal if we stop them scoring any more."

The team nodded again.

"You're all over 'em. All over 'em. They don't stand a chance when you play even half as good as you can. I know, I've been watching and you guys sure as hell should know, you've been playing. Duncan, DJ great work in defence, and nice goals, they can't handle either of ya. Bridge, Eva great work, keep them full-backs frightened and on their toes and they'll be shitting themselves to deal with ya. But you've gotta keep your head, Eva. Don't let that angry chick try and distract ya. Everyone else, good job too, great job all round. I expect at least two more goals, yeah? Let's go, team on three."

Everyone put their hands in the centre of the semi-circle and Coach counted down: "1, 2, 3…"

"Team!" The kids yelled, each one hopping up and clapping their hands, getting pumped for the second half.

Each one lined up, and Duncan and DJ reached over for a fist-bump as they watched Trent and Geoff line up for kick-off. Duncan eyed up Mike looking jittery as he stood across from the spot, his eyes desperately searching for his red-head girl in the crowd. He locked eyes with Duncan as his gaze returned to the field. Duncan grinned, and he saw him gulp and visibly quake with fear. This was gonna be one fun half-hour.

31st minute: Trent played the ball to Geoff on the sound of the whistle and the ball found it's way to their defence soon enough. Duncan slid the ball to DJ, who waited for their players to approach, before blasting it upfield to Bridgette, who caught the ball on her chest, controlling it and sprinting to the edge of the box towards the sideline. She stood for a split-second, the ball under her foot, and whipped it in towards Trent, but the ball was intercepted and brought back to the relative safety of midfield.

36th minute: Mike came staggering through to the box again, seeming wary and careful, not fully concentrating. DJ met him at the edge, and Mike tried to use his skill to get round him, but DJ predicted his move, and swept the ball away to Duncan. Seizing his opportunity, Duncan sprinted it through the middle of the park up to the edge of the box, either dodging tackles or intimidating players into backing off. There, he eyed up the keeper and the goal, before swiftly curving the ball around a defender with the side of his foot and into the bottom right corner. Goal. 4-1. For a second everyone went silent, not believing what they'd just seen. After making sure the ball was well and truly in, Duncan, a little shocked himself, turned to the crowd and slowly walked towards them as they began to applaud and cheer. Smirking, he jogged along the sideline, bigging up the crowd, waving his arms and jumping around. The home supporters loved it, the parents laughing and clapping along. The away crowd did not. They glared into his eyes, as he just smirked in their faces, lifting a hand to his ear to indicate that he couldn't hear them. The red-head emerged at the front of the crowd her arms crossed and her brow furrowed. Duncan stopped in front of her, turned, bowed and winked. She turned a deep crimson, as he peeled away to his team, who were watching his display in awe, shock and varying states of amusement. The group grabbed him in a hug, and as they peeled off to go back into position, he grabbed Bridgette's sleeve, "Hey, I think that's ten."

She seemed flustered, before muttering "Lucky…"

He laughed out loud, and she smiled before running back to her spot. DJ grinned wildly at him, "Dude! How?"

"Pure talent, my friend." He said, grinning just as wildly, "Pure talent."

41st minute: The crowd had all calmed down and so had the game. The team were bouncing the ball around Queenstown's box as they let them, showing no effort and no attempt to rob them of the ball. Trent collected the ball on the edge of the box, stopping it under his foot. Suddenly, the aggressive girl from before slid, two-footed, through the back of him, avoiding the ball altogether. After an audible "Oof" from the crowd, the ref bumbled over and produced a red card, ejecting the girl from the pitch. After she argued for a few moments, Eva walked over and pointed to the sideline. Seeing an opportunity, Duncan ran over and joined her. Soon, so did Geoff and Zeke. Angered and defeated, the girl walked dejected to the sideline, where her coach yelled at her, before indicating she should sit at his feet and watch the rest of the game. As they attempted to get the game restarted, Trent hung over the ball, expecting to take the free kick. No one argued. He stepped back as the ref attempted to deal with the Queenstown wall. He blew the whistle and Trent stepped up, whipping the ball into the top corner, far from the keeper's outstretched hand. Goal. 5-1.

Trent wheeled off in celebration, moving his arms in small circles by his side, the way the rail ran along the wheels on an old steam train. He'd done this after every goal, and no one really wanted to ask why. His teammates clapped him on the back as he returned to them, but by now, most of the excitement had died down. It was just too easy at this point. No reason to let up though, Duncan thought.

50th minute: Zeke aggressively ripped the ball away from the Queenstown captain and booted it up to the wing where Bridgette was waiting, much to the frustration of the captain, who raised his arms in desperation and knelt down. Seeing this brought a signature smirk to Duncan's face. Bridgette deftly controlled the ball, and flicked it on over the full-back who slid in. Weaving between two defenders she jinxed her way into the box and onto the penalty spot, where she quickly curved the ball into the bottom corner. Goal. 6-1.

Immediately Bridgette turned and raised one finger at Duncan, as he watched from just outside his own box. He shrugged and Bridgette stuck her tongue out at him as she was tackled by Geoff and then mobbed by her other teammates.

Looking around, somewhat bored and slightly angered that Bridgette had scored more (Though there was enough time for him to win) Duncan noticed some late comers. The popular girls. They never showed up. Nothing better to do, he reasoned, trying to get the attention of 'Head Bitch', Heather. She popped a gum bubble and looked over, elbowing the blonde Lindsay at her side, who nudged Gwen to her side. Gwen glared at her and Lindsay looked down at her feet, embarrassed and kind of scared. He had no idea why Gwen hung out with them. She seemed so out of place with her teal hair, short black dress, and goth boots compared to Heather's white crop top and ponytail, and Lindsay's polkadot summer dress and red headband. Courtney was there two, scribbling down notes on a small notepad she always had on her. She'd been here the whole time though, and had just appeared to greet her friends. She wrote the school newspaper that nobody actually read. Well, unless he was on the cover. But he was on the cover a lot. Heather raised one corner of her mouth and mouthed "Score?"

Duncan held up five fingers on one hand and one on the other, before changing the five to a one and flicking between the two. Heather raised an eyebrow, and looked at her friends. Lindsay was counting the fingers on her own hand and Gwen rolled her eyes and Duncan saw her say "Six-one." The look on Heather's face seemed to show that she was impressed. Suddenly, Courtney stepped in front of the girls, much to Heather's annoyance, and waved her notepad at him, indicating she wanted to talk to him afterwards. Duncan waved her off - better to play hard to get, he decided - and turned back to the game as the ref was finishing preparing kick-off. Again.

59th minute: The game was practically over. Hell, it had been practically over for about thirty minutes. DJ lifted a lazy ball up to the box and one of the defender's hoofed it out of bounds for a corner. Trent looked at Duncan, who shrugged. "Um. Two? I guess." He said, slowly making his way to the edge of the box. Trent shrugged at Geoff and they stood together in the box surrounded by Queenstown players. Bridgette stood over the corner ball, as the ref called "Last play of the game!"

She raised an arm and whipped it in, onto the head of Geoff. He launched it directly at the bottom right corner. Blocked. The captain swooped in and swept it out to the edge of the box - and Eva. Eva hit the ball with her full power... Straight into a defender. The ball was free again and Duncan went up to fake lashing it, before chipping it up into the centre where Geoff leapt again and sent it back to the other corner. This time, no one was there to stop it. Goal. 7-1.

The ref blew the whistle.

Game over.

As the keeper fished the ball out of his net, Duncan went over to the ref, shook his hand as Coach encouraged him to do, then proceeded to greet and shake hands with the team, as his friends did after him. A nice tradition and a great way to see who they had offended the most. The captain refused to shake anyone's hand, and stormed over to his coach and the girl who had been sent off earlier. Duncan specifically waited to shake Mike's hand last, wanting to see the effect he'd had. After being blanked by the ginger one, he shook his head and walked over to Mike on the sideline, as he was talking with the redhead who'd been cheering him on. "Hey," Duncan interrupted, "Good game, man. Sorry for that thing earlier. Hope it didn't affect you too much." He laughed after this sentence to try and keep a light mood. Mike and the girl did not laugh. Just how he liked it.

"Yeah… yeah sure good game, man." Mike waved him away. Duncan held out his hand. He was acutely aware of the girl giving him one hell of a glare. Mike looked at Duncan's hand and said "Look, we were kinda doing-"

"Look just shake my hand, ay? Ass?"

"There's no-"

"It's a gesture of goodwill, man. If you're gonna act like an ass I'm gonna treat ya like one. Shake my damn hand" Duncan hissed, annoyed that this boy could possibly have the balls to refuse this gesture. Especially after he'd been battered so badly. Prick.

"I… you… we… I- okay fine, man. You happy?" Mike limply grabbed his hand and turned his back to him, looking only at her. She however, continued to look at him, but instead of anger in her eyes, he saw something else. Pity? Desperation? Sadness? He couldn't be bothered to work it out. He gave her the "What a dick!" gesture behind Mike's back and went to walk off.

"Actually Mike, I think Coach is calling you over." He heard her say, "You should probably see what he wants and what he thought about the game."

"But Zo… Alright, yeah, you're right."

Duncan heard him jog off, and turned, smirking, back to 'Zo'. She stood, arms crossed, pouting, looking like a child that didn't get its way. Adorable, he thought.

"So?" He asked, approaching again.

"What you did wasn't nice." She stated, trying to seem as angry or intimidating as possible.

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, thanks. It's an accident. Accidents happen. Be happy he ain't hurt."

"That doesn't excuse any-"

"What else is there to excuse?" He asked, getting slightly annoyed with the scolding.

"You played on."

"Didn't know he was hurt. Gotta take every advantage here. It all happens so fast, you've just gotta keep the ball rolling."

She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Just a high-pitched squeak. He laughed and she pouted again, "Look, I just don't want Mike getting hurt."

"There's nothing I can do about that," he stated, "if he gets hurt he gets hurt. My job is to stop him. And I stopped him."

"He still scored."

"I scored two. We scored seven. The job was done." Now she was completely lost for words. "What's your name?" He asked, hoping to make the conversation slightly less awkward.

"Zoey."

"I'm Duncan."

"I know. The notepad girl couldn't stop bringing you up. Like-"

"What did she say?" He asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Like," she continued, ignoring the interruption, "is that Duncan on the ball? Is that Duncan who scored? Oh that's classic Duncan. He better not get near Duncan." She seemed somewhat hurt. And maybe a little jealous.

He smirked, "Classic Courtney. I'm kind of a big deal around here."

Zoey rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure, whatever."

He blinked, "I…"

Now she had the upper hand, and she realized, "No, we've all heard of the mighty Duncan," she teased, "he's the greatest. Better not get near him or he'll tackle you or draw a penis on your shirt."

After stuttering for a split-second, he came out with "Ah, my reputation precedes me."

"It's not funny you know. Or cool. Or clever."

"Hey, it's cool and funny enough to get me on the front page 'news'," he used air quotes for the word news, "and it definitely doesn't have to be clever."

"Yeah, but…" she trailed off.

"You in town for long?"

She gasped, taken aback by his bluntness, "I-I-I have a-"

"I know. I don't care. I'm just curious. Setting up a party of sorts. Y'know, to celebrate the victory."

"I-I-I'm only here for the weekend…"

"Perfect. You can come?" And before she answered "Great, tomorrow night. The old house up-'" he paused "You don't know where that is. Meet me in the square. Big old statue. Cone on the head. 9. Yeah?"

She was getting truly flustered now, her face completely crimson, "I… suppose… can Mike?"

"Oh no, it's a victory thing. Can't have a loser coming. Just be embarrassing for him. Alright?"

"A-alright."

"Great. You wanna give me your phone number, and I'll call you when we're ready, or you call me."

"Okay…" she stated nervously and giving him her number, as he gave her his.

"Nice. See you there," and with that, and a wink, he left her there, feeling confused and ashamed but strangely proud. Maybe she was finally becoming popular? Cool at least?

After his conversation with Zoey, Duncan jogged back over to his side, who were celebrating together on the side of the pitch with water and their friends. Geoff greeted him as he arrived, "Coach said no need for a talk. We know we kicked their asses."

"Hell yeah we did!" He laughed, "Great work, team!"

"Team!" They all shouted, lifting up their own water bottles in some malformed version of a toast.

"Alright, we can celebrate this all weekend, time to get changed so the party can continue, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Came the echo, as Eva, Justin, Tyler, Owen, Izzy, and Zeke headed off to the changing rooms. Bridgette motioned to leave, but Geoff nudged her and whispered something. Her eyebrows raised and her lips curled into a smile as she stopped and turned to look at Duncan.

"What's the announcement then?" Trent asked, looking around to check everyone here was meant to be here.

"As Geoff has probably said," he gestured to his friend, "I have a little something planned for tomorrow night."

"Uh huh." DJ nodded

"You guys are all aware of the Old House?"

"The one on the hill?" Trent asked

"The one that's supposed to be haunted?" DJ asked, shaking slightly.

"The very same." he smiled, "I'm thinking of throwing a little victory celebration overnight there. Sound good?"

"Shouldn't the rest of the team know?" Bridgette asked, looking back to check they were all out of earshot.

"No, no, no." Duncan said somewhat incredulously. You want any of them at a party? C'mon. It'll be us, I can get Heather and then obviously Lindsay, Trent can bring his girlfriend-"

"She's not my girlfriend, man." Trent complained.

"Fine, Trent's girl-that-he-likes-but-constantly-rejects-him can come too. If she wants to bring a friend: cool. Courtney will come, and if you guys want anyone else tell me now. I've already got a surprise guest." No one spoke up. "Okay then. 9:15 on the hill. Bring any supplies, you know, sleeping bag, torch, cards, booze?"

"Can do," Geoff grinned, "This is gonna be one wicked party."

"Yeah it will. Alright guys, let's actually get changed. Tell no one else in there."

The group nodded and dispersed into the locker-rooms.

Leaving the locker-rooms, DJ to his right, Geoff to his left, Duncan was greeted by Courtney, who prodded a finger into his chest and demanded "Where were you? It's been half an hour, and you knew I wanted an interview!"

"I assumed it could wait," he shrugged, "I still remember what happened, yeah?"

She rolled her eyes, "That's not the point…"

"Then what is the point?"

"Just… Just answer these questions, okay? How was the game?"

"Good, we won."

"Can I have a more detailed answer?" She asked through gritted teeth.

He sighed, "It was an easy game. No challenge, but we could've done with the break and easy games towards the end of the season. We've proved that we're the team to beat, and that we're not to be messed with. We've got three actual tough games coming up to finish the season and this was a nice tune-up. Another three points closer to the title."

She scribbled some notes down, "Yes, and how do you think the team played? Did anyone stand out?"

"We played as a unit. DJ here was a total rock and showed why all those teams are interested. Maybe you could talk to him ins-"

"Just answer the questions. Are you concerned with Eva's temper?"

"No."

She glared at him. He shrugged. Geoff and DJ stood off, watching the staring match between the two, "Feel the tension!" Geoff whispered to DJ.

"Whatever," Courtney admitted defeat, "what are you gonna do next?"

"Funny you should mention," he began, proud of his victory of wills, "I'm throwing a party. Up in the old house and you are very much invited, Court. Saturday. 9:15 on the hill."

She blushed slightly, "I… I can't I'm too busy…"

"No you're not. Show up, bring a sleeping bag or something. Something fun too, cards or something. Or drink."

"I… I don't drink…"

"I can fix that."

"... Who's going to be there?"

"Me, DJ, Geoff, Trent, Bridgette, Gwen probably, and a special mystery guest of my own. I'll be sure to rope Heather and Lindsay in too."

She smiled slightly, "I'll be there. Thanks for talking with me."

" No problem," he said, as she turned and jogged away, muttering to herself and going over her notes.

DJ and Geoff shuffled back closer to Duncan and Geoff elbowed him, "Smooth, dude!" He said, with a giant grin plastered on his face.

"Whatever, man. She digs me."

"Duh," DJ said, "but what are you gonna do about it?"

"We'll see." He shrugged, "Tomorrow night we'll see."

As they sauntered around the corner of the building back to where the pitch was, Duncan caught sight of Heather, her back to him, lecturing Lindsay and Gwen about something which Gwen didn't care about and Lindsay didn't understand, judging in their facial expressions.

"What's up, girls?" Geoff called, quickening his pace to get closer.

Heather turned, and rolled her eyes, "As if, cowboy."

Geoff raised an eyebrow, "I don't get it…" Heather was about to retort when he continued "I just have an announcement to make."

"Don't you think Duncan should say it?" DJ asked, towering over Geoff from behind. Duncan smirked as Geoff's face fell, and Heather and Gwen looked at him expectantly.

"Huh?" Lindsay said, "What's going on?"

"Duncan's got some lazy, no-good scheme to tell us about." Gwen spat, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Please, that was a one time thing, Gwen you've got to let it go."

"That clown makeup didn't come off for a week, moron!"

"Okay, maybe I misled you for a harmless prank-"

"It was horrifying!"

"One, it was no worse than what you've got on now. Two, it was hilarious and everyone knows it."

"You're a dick," she said, turning away.

"Now, Bozo…"

"Don't call me clown names, shithead!"

"What's your thing, eh, Duncan?" DJ intervened, trying desperately to defuse the tension.

"I'm glad you asked DJ," Duncan said, bringing himself back on topic, "I am planning something. A party if you will. In the old house on the hill, tomorrow at 9:15. You're all invited, and may bring an extra if you're desperate to."

Heather folded her arms, "Alright. I'll check my schedule."

"Great, see you there," he replied, seeing through her bitchy retort, "Lindsay?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. When's 9:15?"

"... We'll collect you from your house, alright?"

"Yay! Carpool!"

Duncan glanced sideways at Geoff, but quickly looked back at Gwen, "Pennywise?"

"I'll show up if you stop calling me clown names."

"Deal. You wouldn't want Trent to have fun without you anyway."

Gwen's normally pale white skin became tinged with red, as she averted her gaze to the ground.

"Alright. All set. Bring something fun, or drink. It's an exclusive party you know. All scrubs arriving without anything will be turned away." He joked, "Catch you later."

"Later," Heather waved him off, as DJ waved goodbye, following Duncan.

"Yeah, later guys," Geoff echoed, holding back a few seconds, before realising how far behind the other guys he was and hurrying to catch up.

"So, sounds like a party," DJ smiled as the guys walked along the road together.

"Sure does," Duncan smiled, "Meet me in the square tomorrow morning at like ten-ish and we'll go buy some shit for the night."

"Can do," Geoff said, "It's gonna be so cool tomorrow. Old house, cold night, drink, hot girls…"

"Easy there Geoff, it's not gonna be that type of party. Just a little get together. Y'know?"

"I getcha." He winked

"I don't think he gets ya," DJ offered.

"Neither do I." Duncan admitted, "No matter. This isn't about the girls anyway. It's about us, ennit? About how good a team we are, about how we're gonna win the league again, how about that?" Geoff whooped at this, "And it's about you big guy. You're gonna get your shot at proper football. Those scouts and everything? This is celebrating how you're gonna go off and how we all appreciate you, man. Team wouldn't be the same without you."

"Thanks dude," DJ blushed, "but wouldn't it make sense to do that after the season?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Duncan smirked.

"Plus you're gonna be getting trials very soon during the season anyway." Geoff piped up.

"Yeah, maybe," DJ mused, "Let's just enjoy every moment we have left together?"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Duncan yelled, "Every moment. Nothing wasted."

"Yeah, yeah, save your energy for tomorrow," DJ said, peeling away from the group towards his own house, "Ten tomorrow?"

"Ten tomorrow!" Duncan waved as DJ entered.

Geoff strolled alongside him, "This is gonna be awesome."

He grinned, "You're damn right it is."

Writer's Note

So this is what I've been working on for a while. I know, it's long and may be a little boring at times, but this is just the beginning. I'm planning a rather long story from this and all the CONSTRUCTIVE criticism I can get would be much appreciated. It's the first time I've actually written anything that's actually kinda long. So. I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter, review it and such. Please tell me what you thought of how I set out the match, because obviously there's gonna be some more and I wanna know what people think so I can make improvements to the presentation. Anyway thanks for your patience and your time (and maybe your opinions). Hopefully the other chapters won't be this long