Chapter 14: The soccer game

"So how was it?" Dad asks when I enter. He is sitting together with Quil's grandfather, Old Quil, with some documents spread on the kitchen table.

"It was AWESOME! The wolf spirit came! We saw it!" I shout.

"Really?" Dad asks.

"It must be the lone wolf that has been spotted near Forks. It's probably a young male who has broken free from his pack." Old Quil says.

"It was enormous! I know who it was! It was Ephraim Black! I talked to him. Like this." I say and throw my head back and let out an ear-piercing howl.

My dad lets out a rumbling laughter, and Old Quil is chortling along. "So that was the howling heard last night." Old Quil chuckles ruffling my hair.

"And we are going to have a soccer game against Uley and his troll-pack on the beach next Sunday!" I yell and my sisters pop their heads into the kitchen hearing this. "You are on the team too, we are going to win! And Uley is going to cry! He said Leah couldn't be a winner because she is a girl, but she can! We'll show him! We are TEAM BLACKWATER!" I tell the girls. "I have to make the bracelet now!" I yell as I dart to my room to get started dropping the sleeping bag and all my other stuff on the living room floor.

I work very hard on my bracelet and I get ready in record time. It's perfect! Then I go and fetch the photo album from the drawer in my dad's room. My mum is beautiful with a white dress on and they both are smiling looking at each other.

"Mom! Look at my bracelet. It's for Leah. I'm gonna be married to her. My wedding night was the greatest night of my life!" I tell her as I caress mom's face on the photo. She must think it's wonderful I'm gonna marry the best girl in the whole wide world because she smiles towards me from the picture.

"What are you doing with mom and dad's wedding album?" Rachel asks as she walks into my room a neat pile of clean laundry in her arms.

"I'm talking to mom." I tell her.

Rachel sits next to me on the bed and starts to slowly flip through the pages of the album, her fingers tracing mom's form just like mine were a minute ago.

"I miss her so much." Rachel sighs her voice small, tears clinging to her long lashes.

"Me too." I whisper and she wraps her arms around me. Rachel starts sobbing quietly.

"You and Becca are the best sisters." I tell her wiping my own eyes. What I said only seems to make her cry more.

I want to make Rachel happy again. I know!

"I'll finished my bracelet for Leah! Wanna see it?!" I ask and rush to show it to Rachel.

"It's real pretty Jake! I'm sure Leah will love it!" She says the tears stopping, she is even trying to smile a little.

"I know! And you and Becca can start to choose really pretty dresses to wear." I tell her.

Thinking of pretty dresses makes girls happy. Girls are strange like that, I mean I don't get happy thinking about pretty dresses; I don't understand why girls do.

"Dresses? For what?" She questions.

For what?! I swear girls brains are just slower than boys.

"For the picture of course!" And then I flip open the page in the album with the entire wedding party with mom and dad in the middle, surrounded by family and friends. We will have a wedding picture just like that with me and Leah in the middle surrounded by our friends and families.

"Oh Jake! A team picture?! That's an awesome idea!" Rach says. "But we don't have to dress up in our best clothes for a team picture. It would be much cooler if we all just wore matching t-shirts." she continues.

"I know!" She shouts. "Let's make our own team t-shirts that say: Team Blackwater!"

That is a great idea!

"There should be a picture of a wolf on them!" I decide.

"Sure Jake. Embry could draw the picture, because he knows how to draw really well, like on the card he gave to Leah." Rach says.

Next morning I bolt faster than lightning to Leah to give her the bracelet. To my great joy she has finished mine too! It's neatly done, I like it. Even Seth has finished his bracelet, although it's a complete mess. But I don't tell him that, because he seems very proud of it, so I let him be that. I guess he won't be a craftsman when he gets older.

"Now we have to put them on each others arms and make a promise at the same time. The promise is forever and we can never take them off, because then our hearts will hurt." I tell her.

"Okay Jake." She agrees. "I promise that I will always be your friend!" Leah says putting the bracelet she has made on my arm.

"No Leah, you have to say your promise silently and you have to put your entire heart in to the promise when you say it."

Leah nods, and puts on the bracelet for me again, this time saying no words out loud, but in her heart making me the sweetest of promises. I know because when it's my turn I promise her my all, just like I know she has promised me everything in her.

I promise to make you happy, to kiss you as often as I can and to love you until the end of all times. Now we are married. I silently say as I put the bracelet on Leah's arm. It sure is pretty on her. It's the prettiest bracelet ever made.

"Now we have to say 'forever' and seal the deal." I tell her.

We say the word forever in unison. "How do we seal it?" Leah ask.

"With a kiss of course." I tell her. "That's why its called sealed with a kiss."

She hesitates a moment but then she smiles and her lips touch mine! Strawberries and vanilla, that's what she tastes like. It's heaven!

"Jake! Jake!" I hear someone calling in the distance. "Jake!" "Dad! Mom!" What's wrong with him?" There is a lot of voices around me and I feel someone shaking me.

"W-w-what?" I mumble opening my eyes. My Princess is leaning over me the sun creating a halo of light around her head, just like a crown. Then Sue is in my line of vision. "Jake! How are you feeling?" She asks looking concerned.

"GREAT!" I have never felt better.

"You fainted." Leah says.

No I didn't. I went to heaven!

We have been practicing almost every day and now it's the evening before the game. Harry is coaching us and dad is also shouting advice from the back porch of the Clearwater's house.

Suddenly I fall and scrape my knee. There is blood oozing and dirt gets in the wound.

"Jake, go inside and ask Sue to take a look at it!"Harry commands

I do as I'm told.

Sue makes me sit and fetches bandages and disinfection to clean the wound. It stings a little but I don't complain and try not to wince because I'm a man!

"Now Jake, you just have to sit still for a while with your leg resting on the chair and you will soon be as good as new. Do you want me to get you something while you sit here?"

"Do you have an album?"

"An album?" she ask

"Yes, with photos!"

"Of course, I'll get you them..."

She brings a couple of albums, I pick the one that says wedding on it.

"You were very pretty Sue!" She looked a lot like Leah. "But Leah is much much prettier!" I add so Sue will know that Leah always comes first in my heart.

Sue smiles warmly at me.

"That was one of the best days of my life! Only topped by the day I had Leah and Seth!"

I can understand that. Having Leah must be her number one day, the wedding second and having Seth the third.

I think of a really good question. "What was the best night of your life?"

Sue looks at me blankly for a moment. "What do you mean Jacob?"

"Was it the wedding night?" I ask.

Sue rolls her eyes. "I can't believe this..." she mumbles. "You are a strange boy Jacob Black."

"I know. I'm very special!" I laugh, because it's true, I don't think there is another boy as special as me! "That was the most special night of my life!" I inform her.

"What on earth are you talking about Jacob?"

"Mine and Leah's wedding night of course! What else?!"

Sue just sits there staring at me completely motionless for the longest of time, mouth slightly open. Then her face is in a frown, and she gets up and opens her kitchen window.

"WILLIAM BLACK! YOU BETTER GET IN HERE THIS MINUTE!!!" She bellows.

What on earth has my dad done to be in such trouble! I hope he will survive when Sue is through with him! Poor dad must have been really naughty for Sue to be yelling at him.

Harry wheels dad inside.

"What is it Sue?" Dad smiles only to be met by the furious look on Sue's face.

"Would you please care to explain to me why it is that your son claims that the best night of his life was his wedding night with MY DAUGHTER! My daughter who happens to be 11 years old!"

Dad looks at me his face completely at ease. "Jake?" he asks. "What is this about?"

I honestly don't understand anything. Sue is acting very peculiar.

"I told Sue that mine and Leah's wedding night was the best night of my life. And I asked her what her best night was?" I say. I see Harry's face straighten a little from the amused grin that was there minutes ago, but it quickly returns.

"You hear this!" Sue exclaims.

"Wedding night? When did this wedding night happen?" Dad asks mildly.

"When we were on the spirit quest of course!"

I have a question for them, something that has been bothering me ever since I have been looking in the wedding albums. "Why aren't there any pictures of the wedding night only from the wedding day in the albums? I think there should be pictures from the wedding night too, because the wedding night is just as much fun as the wedding day!"

Now I hear Harry's booming laughter and my dad is trying to muffle his chuckling. Sue isn't laughing though, she looks even angrier.

"Sue, you're overreacting. This is Jacob. He is eight." Harry manages to get out between fits of laughter, wiping his eyes.

"I'm not worried about now, but what will happen when this wild boy hits puberty. Have you men thought about that? There will be no camping trips with Leah then, you mark my words!" Sue says sounding like a general. I wonder what puberty is. I hope it will never happen me, because I won't like it if I'm not allowed to go camping with Leah anymore.

"What did you do on this wedding night of yours?" Dad asks.

"Leah stroked my hair and sang to me!" I tell them. "And before that we made shadow wolves. Like this!" I say and show with my hands. But it's too bright in the room so they can't see a shadow cast on the wall. That's a shame because otherwise I could have given them a small theater performance.

"You see Sue, nothing to be fretting about. It's all completely innocent. It's not like she was in his sleeping bag." Harry adds chuckling.

"Oh, I did try to get Leah to share a sleeping bag with me but she refused! But next time I'm going to soak the entire sleeping bag and then we will have to share!" I tell them.

"I rest my case!" Sue says looking like she has won something.

"Ah Sue, come on..." Harry tries but Sue is only muttering.

"It's not like I don't know what you two men are hoping for. Thank god the days of arranged marriages are over, because if you don't think I haven't heard you conspire about how great it would be if our daughter wind up married to your son Billy, how the two of you hope to become one family, so you can sit on our back porch together as senior citizens while our kids take care of us!"

"What's wrong with that?" Harry asks. Oh, I thought Harry was against my wedding, but looks like he is happy for it. Then I might reveal that I am already married to Leah. Harry will be happier than he has ever been when he hears it!

"WHAT'S WRONG?! LET ME TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG! MY DAUGHTER IS GOING TO CHOOSE FOR HERSELF!!! SHE DOESN'T NEED ANYONE MEDLING IN HER CHOICES! AND SHE WILL GET TO LIVE HER LIFE BEFORE SHE MARRIES." Sue raises her voice and storms off into the kitchen.

"Looks like I have to sleep on the couch tonight..." Harry laughs and dad chuckles along. i laugh with them, simply because it feels nice to laugh, but I don't really know why we are laughing.

Finally the day has come. The day we are going to kick the trolls butts and I'm going to be the hero of the team! Charlie Swan has a striped shirt on. Leah and I pestered him until it was agreed that he would be the referee. Paul tried to protest, but Sam told him that Charlie Swan is an police officer and not related to anyone on the Rez and therefore impartial.

Quil is our goalie, Rebecca and Rachel the main defense, and then Embry and Seth as midfielders and Leah as the center midfielder and me as forward. It's the positions I like best because that means I will be scoring the most goals!

The trolls have brought more trolls with them. They are friends of Sam. Even if they are older then us we still are going to win!

A lot of people have come to watch. Of course my dad and the Clearwater's and Quil's parents and Embry's mom are here. There are a lot of girls from school too who try to talk to Sam and I hear them say that they will cheer his team. I don't care about that, we are still the better team. We have matching t-shirts that has TEAM BLACKWATER written on the back and a wolf on the front, a really good looking wolf drawn by Embry. The trolls don't have matching t-shirts. They are green with envy, I know because Paul is trying to make fun of our t-shirts. Luckily Rachel hears him and makes him shut his mouth! Rachel is good like that because she knows how to make Paul shut his stupid mouth. Rachel can get anyone to shut their mouths just like Becca and Leah. before the game starts we take a picture. I'm goign to put it in mine and Leah's wedding album.

The game starts!

It's hard, I'm sweating, but this is fun! I already think about how Leah will kiss me when I score the winning goal. I hope she will kiss me after every goal, because then I might just score a hundred of them.

We have been playing a good while now and still neither team has scored, but there have been some pretty close calls for both teams. Suddenly Leah is free! I would like to dribble the ball myself, but Leah is my team captain and she shouts for me to pass it to her. Harry has told me that the key to a successful marriage is listening to your wife. So I pass the ball to her.

SHE SCORES! YEEEESS!

I rush overt to Leah and throw myself on her! Soon everyone on our team has thrown themselves on top of Leah!

"OH MY GOD!" I hear Sue Clearwater's voice. "YOU ARE SUFFOCATING MY GIRL. GET OFF HER NOW!" And someone is tugging us off her. It seems to be the troll. I don't care because soon I'm met with my Princesses bright red and overjoyed face!

"HA! WHO SHOULD BE ON WHOSE TEAM ULEY?!!!" Leah gloats and dances wildly in front of him.

Sam smiles, but it's not a real smile, it's the smile he puts on when he tries to be polite. "That was a great goal, Leah." He says and pats her shoulder, but he doesn't sound too happy. Ha!

The next goal is scored by Sam and that makes me mad. He shouldn't be allowed to score any goals at all. All the girls in the audience screams his name like he is some kind of a star. He is not! He is a troll!

The game continues. I SCORE THE NEXT GOAL! I'm the best! I passed every player on the field and then I tricked Jared who is the goalkeeper and SCORED! I throw my arms around Leah and jump around the entire field with her. Take that trolls!

The game gets going again and I'm sure we will win by the biggest goal difference in history!

Paul has managed to get the ball from Seth and he is dribbling it and manages to pass Rebecca somehow. He passes the ball to Sam, but where is Quil?

Oh no! I can't believe my eyes! Quil is standing off field bouncing the other ball we brought with us on his knees. He isn't any where near our goal. QUIL!" All of us scream. "QUIL!"

Now he reacts looking goofy. "Oh!"

But there is no way he can get to the goal in time. Sam scores! NOOOOO!

I'm so mad at Quil I think I won't give him a birthday present. Leah yells at him for a good measure and I join her in the yelling.

"But I was near breaking my record." Quil tries to explain. "I think Sam could have waited until I got back to the goal..."

Leah mutters under her breath and orders Rachel and Quil to switch places. Rach is a good keeper. She won't leave the field mid-game like Quil.

Nothing much happens for the rest of the first half time. In the half-time we switch plane halves.

Now we are hit by several catastrophes. I strongly suspect that the trolls have cast an evil spell on us!

I get a yellow card almost immediately! I can't believe it. I did nothing! Besides Sam deserved it!

"Jake, this is the second time I see you kicking Sam in the chins!" Charlie says waving the yellow card in my face. Stupid Charlie!

"I did not! You can't be the referee because you don't see properly! You're too old and blind!" I yell.

Sam comes up to us. "Officer Swan, it's alright. I'm sure Jake didn't mean to. You don't have to give him a yellow card. This is just a friendly game."

Why does the troll always have to kiss grown-ups butts.

"That is really big of you Sam. You truly seem to understand the concept of fair play." Charlie beams towards Sam. Sam doesn't understand anything!

I take the ball from Charlie's hands and kick it hard.

Oh! Oh no! It hits him straight in the face.

He topples backwards and might have fallen if Sam hadn't reached out and straightened him up.

Before I know it a red card is flashed before my eyes and I'm being carried off the field by Jared's dad and Harry.

"Jake! You have to calm down. Stop kicking and screaming. There is nothing to be done about the verdict now. You are out, but you can still support your team!"

Leah looks unhappy by this development, and I understand her. Her beloved Wolfboy, her husband and top player is manhandled and taken off the field, all due to the stupid troll.

Then the next catastrophe hits. It's spelled S-E-T-H. He gets the ball. Good! Now he is running, but why is he running towards our own goal. Maybe he is trying that cool trick I showed him? But wait, what? What is he doing? He kicks the ball hard and it soars into our own goal. I grunt and bury my head in my hands.

"I SCORED A GOAL!" Seth happily beams, but quietens when he is met with dead silence. Then Paul and some of the other trolls starts laughing.

"Why are they laughing?" I hear Seth ask confused.

"HE MADE AN OWN GOAL! WHAT AN IDIOT!" I hear Paul screeching.

Seth starts blubbering and Leah looks like a wild wolf with rabies.

She flies towards Paul and before he has time to react she is pounding him with her fists screaming. "NOBODY LAUGHS AT MY LITTLE BROTHER. EVER! DO YOU GET THAT YOU IDIOT!" Paul throws in some punches of his own before Charlie, with the help of Harry and Jared's dad get them separated from each other. I have also run onto the field to punch Paul myself for hitting my wife, the princess, but he is being carried away before I have the chance to.

Both Leah and Paul get red a red card. Uh-oh!

The trolls have tricked us, getting both our best players off the field. Before Leah sits down beside me she calls our team together. "Embry! You are captain now! I trust you. We can still win! We just have to do our best." Embry nods his head solemnly.

"And Sethy, don't worry about the own goal." Leah hugs him. Seth's eyes are puffy and his nose is running. But at least he has wiped the tears away.

"Yeah! It was a great goal, I mean if it had been the first half before we switched." I tell him so he will feel better. He can't help he is a baby who didn't know any better.

Even if we are two players down, and the trolls just one, Embry manages to score a goal by careful and well-planned team effort. Now the score is even. He plays very smartly, because after he evens up the score, he puts all effort into defense play.

When time is up the score is 3-3. Charlie orders for a penalty shootout.

Ha! We just might win. We have Embry. He has the calmest nerves in the history of soccer. He will certainly make a goal when it's his turn.

He switches with Rachel in the goal. Hmm, well I guess it makes sense. He will both be the keeper and then the person kicking against the trolls and Jared.

Sam of course is the one going for the kick for the trolls team.

Sam aims, his foot is on the ball. EMBRY CATCHES IT!!!

Both Leah and I cheer loudly and hug each other and everyone around us.

Now Embry just has to manage to kick the ball past Jared into the goal from the penalty mark. Jared looks incredibly nervous.

But what is Embry doing?

He talks to Seth for a long while and pats his back encouragingly. Seth is walking up to the penalty mark.

Why?!

It makes no sense!

"Oh! Embry has a heart of gold!" I hear Harry say to Sue.

What does he mean?

"Why isn't he taking the shot himself?" I ask Leah.

She shrugs and looks just as confused as I.

Dad smiles to us. "I think he wants to give Seth the chance to become the hero of the game!"

Really? Why? Doesn't he want to be the hero himself? That's what I would want!

Seth looks slightly nervous, but Embry goes up to him and whispers something that makes Seth smile and nod his head. Then Seth looks up at us and waves towards us.

"SETHY, SETHY, SETHY!!!" We cheer. Seth's smile widens and he practically beams.

Then he places the ball on the grass and backs. Jared is jumping side to side in the goal. Seth runs. He kicks.

SCORE! IT'S A SCORE! IT'S A SCORE!

WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!

"WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!" Leah is shouting along with me. We are running on to the field throwing our arms around Embry and Seth in a group hug. Soon all of us in our team are lying on top of each other shouting.

"TEEEEEEEEAAAAAAM BLACKWAAAAAAATER!"

"WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!" Leah shouts when she gets up straight to Sam's face.

Sam smiles but it looks a little strained. Ha! I knew he would be a sore loser. I think it's ridiculous how he tries to hide it. I'm a sore loser too but at least I let everyone know how I hate to lose. It's more honest!

"Congratulations Leah." Sam says extending his hand. I hope Leah won't take it! But of course she does. She is too well-mannered. "Great game! Maybe we can do a re-match someday or better yet, just play for fun you know. You can come and play with us whenever you like."

She won't ever want to come and play with you stupid troll-leader!

"Hey Embry! You were really good" I tell him. He beams. "Why did you let Seth do it?" I ask.

"He was so sad because of the mistake he made earlier and I wanted him to feel good about himself. I mean otherwise everyone would have remembered how he did that mistake, but now everyone will remember him as a hero." Embry tells me quietly.

Oh! I wouldn't have thought of that. I would only have thought about winning. I think it's true what Harry said, that Embry's heart is made of gold.

"Embry, you know what? Your heart is made of gold. That is really good. It's the next best thing you know. I and Leah have hearts made of diamonds, but gold that is really special too!" I tell him.

Leah comes up to us and throws one arm around us and tells us to come to her house because Harry has promised to buy us pizza.

We march all together carrying Seth on our shoulders so he can feel like a hero singing 'We are the champions' the entire way to the Clearwater's. My dad invites the trolls too, but only Sam and Jared comes and they just sit in the corner of the living room looking grumpy, because Leah doesn't talk to them much. She talks to me... and a little bit with Rach, Becca, Embry, Seth and Quil too, but just because a wife and a husband shouldn't be glued to each other all the time. We have the bracelets that tie us together now.

Today has been a great day with my princess, who just happens to be my wife! Maybe I will tell her that we are married soon!

I can't wait until Christmas because then we will get our puppies. That is what you get after you are married and you have had a wedding night together.

AN: So I took some of the ideas I got from your last reviews and used them.

So thanks ZuXy.Q for the idea of Jake telling about his wedding night, to Ari11990 for the idea of Jake kicking Sam in the shins and KeiKatJones for the idea of Seth scoring the winning goal.

And thank you to everyone else who has been reviewing!

I think we might be nearing the end of this story... with just one or possibly two chapters to go...