Hi everyone, sorry for the delay but I had a lot going on with school and was out of town for a few days, along with working on a chapter for a new story that I'm working on. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for your reviews, follows, and favorites, they really make my day!

I woke up at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, slowly going through the motions of showering and getting ready for the day. The big game was at 9 o'clock, and I needed to be as energized and prepared as possible.

When I had first woken up and dragged my feet into the bathroom, I took a look at myself in the mirror, only to find someone almost unrecognizable staring back. My entire face was slightly distorted and my eyes were still so swollen and puffy they could only open about halfway. The bags under my eyes were also dark blue and sagging, indicating a total lack of restful sleep.

I sighed heavily as I thought back to what happened the night before:

I somehow was able to hold back my tears as I returned to my family and Mariah, all of them curious as to where Joe or I could possibly be. They looked at me expectantly as I walked up, but all I could do was mutter something unintelligible about not being able to find him anywhere. They could obviously tell something was wrong, but didn't question me any further when I asked if we could leave. No one said anything on the ride home either, leaving me to do nothing but reflect on my morbid thoughts and mental images that would no doubt cause me to have nightmares.

As soon as we got home I bolted up the stairs to my room, flinging myself onto the bed and instantly burying my face into my pillows and sheets. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I made a slight effort to control myself for the sake of my family, but I knew my agonized sobs could easily be heard throughout the entire house. My brothers chose to ignore it, of course, oblivious to what I had been going through in the past few weeks. My mother also gave me more space than usual, only coming in once to hold me tight and allowing me to cry into her chest. She knew there was nothing she could do to cure the heartbreak I was feeling, without even needing to know what happened.

When I finally stopped crying, not being able to produce any more tears, my sobs slowly turned into dry heaves of sorrow as I slowly drifted off into a restless sleep.

I finally got dressed in my uniform and went downstairs to eat a quick breakfast. My family was all in the kitchen, and as I entered they all turned to greet me.

"Good morning, sweetheart. How are you?" My mother gave me a sympathetic smile.

"I'm fine."

"Hey, Kate. Ready for the big game?" my oldest brother, Carson, asked. My mother must have laid down the law to my brothers beforehand, knowing now was not the time for teasing me about the night before.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Of course you're ready. You're gonna be awesome!" my enthusiastic brother, Clay, told me, grasping me by the shoulders and shaking them gently.

"Thanks." I didn't really feel like talking. I just turned to my oatmeal and ate in silence.

I also remained quiet on the ride to the stadium and even through the small crowd of cheering fans awaiting the players as they arrived. When I finally got to the locker room, however, the blaring music and excitement of my teammates caused a smile to creep onto my face. I was determined to let myself relax and put everything behind me, at least until the game was over.

When we went out on the field to warm up, my adrenaline finally started kicking in. There were so many people there. Almost the entire stadium was full of people, most bearing our school's colors as we were the home team. I was in awe of everything, and the excitement grew as time for kickoff was rapidly approaching.

It wasn't until ten minutes later, when I was practicing my juggling, that I heard him yelling my name. I turned to see Joe, along with several other guys, bare-chested and completely covered in body paint. They were all waving at me frantically, and I gave a small smile in return. Joe tried waving me over to come talk to him, but I simply waved and turned to join the line of girls shooting at our goalie.

He had tried to come over the night before, calling my phone several times, but there was no way I would answer. He then called our house phone and my mother had answered, but she refused to let him come over, claiming I was very nervous about the game and I had already gone to bed.

Though the thought of him distracted me for a few minutes, when I took the field to start the game, my mind turned back to only one thing. All other thoughts vanished as the referee blew the whistle and the game began.

All eleven members of our team were in total sync with each other, and before we knew it, we were winning 2-0. The atmosphere was electrifying, every single one of our fans on their feet and screaming at the top of their lungs. I let my concentration slip for only a moment to look into the crowd, seeing the looks of sheer excitement on my family's faces. I even dared to steal a quick glance at the row of shirtless boys, a single letter painted on each chest to spell out our school's mascot. They were the loudest of all, even starting the cheers and chants for the rest of the crowd to follow. I smiled at their enthusiasm but refused to let myself look over to the one I really only cared about.

We won the game with a dominating score of 7-0. The final whistle blew, sending the crowd into their biggest uproar yet. I hugged all of my teammates excitedly and then we went over to congratulate and thank the other team for an excellent match. Soon, we were back in the locker room, celebrating and dancing like maniacs to the blasting music.

Joe's P.O.V.

After the game ended and what seemed like an appropriate amount of time waiting for the girls to come out of the locker room, I began searching for Katy frantically. All throughout the game, I couldn't help but smile and scream like an idiot as my best friend helped bring her team to an incredible victory. I was so proud of her.

I continued to look until I finally spotted Katy's family gathered around a fence near the concessions. I hurried over to them and asked Mrs. West eagerly if she had seen her daughter. She hadn't, they were still waiting for her to come out of the locker room. I thanked her and walked away from them, resuming my search once again. I knew she wouldn't still be in there; it never took her very long to change.

I rounded the corner of one of the small buildings to the back, stopping dead in my tracks as I saw something I never expected coming.

There she was, slightly sweaty and still in her uniform, but mostly concealed by the pair of enormous arms engulfing her in a hug. The guy was extremely tall, 6'4'' at least, and he obviously seemed to know Katy well. They finally pulled out of the hug and continued talking to each other animatedly about who knows what, while I looked on in growing suspicion.

Why do I not even know this guy? He seems to know her so well. He's definitely flirting with her, and she's basically flirting right back.

I turned to go back to Katy's family to wait for her there instead.

I didn't like this. I didn't like this at all.

Katy's P.O.V.

I was too excited to take a shower and get changed, so instead I left the locker room in search of my friends and family.

As soon as I walked out the door, however, I heard my name being called and turned to find myself staring into someone's strong chest. I turned my gaze upward to see a vaguely familiar, handsome face.

"Hey!" the man said.

"Um, hi" I said a little hesitantly.

"You don't remember me, do you? I was one of the sponsors at the soccer camp last summer, and you were in my group."

Realization spread across my face as memories from the local university's summer soccer program came flooding back. James was the student instructor assigned to my group. He was the main star of the university's team, and also well known for being a popular topic among the girls at my school.

"Oh yeah, of course I remember! You were one of my favorite leaders. You're really an awesome player."

"Thanks" he said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I just wanted to say I thought you had an amazing game today. You've actually improved quite a bit since I last saw you play."

"Thank you." I smiled a little bashfully.

We stood there in a few moments of awkward silence until James finally said he should get going. But as I turned to walk away, he suddenly grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. His arms were extremely strong, and I could feel his hard chest against my own body. I definitely wasn't prepared for his sudden action, but I surprisingly found myself enjoying the gesture and instantly moved my arms to hug him back.

Hope you liked this chapter okay, I thought it was kind of a weird one myself, introducing a new character and all. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see ya soon!