To say that I was nervous the next morning would be a massive understatement. What was I thinking?! Telling Willow that I would challenge Boscha for the spot of team captain? Ugh… this is why they say that love makes you dumb. But after consulting the idea with Byron, and the pillow, I decided to see this plan through.
"Now, the challenge consists of a match between the current Captain, the challenger, and one additional person per team, so it's a match of two versus two. Problem is that no one from the team will side with me to face off Boscha…" I muttered to myself on the way to Blight Manor to do what has become routine for me: Invade their home and wake up Mittens.
After surviving another attempt at my life (courtesy of Amity) and telling her about my ridiculous plan, she said that it was about time I did that and even said something that I wasn't expecting at all: She offered to be my partner during the match! Boscha has no chance of winning now! Hahahahahahahahaha!
But evil plans aside, I still need to make it to lunchtime to issue the official challenge. Why lunchtime? Simple! If I make it in a private space, she can reject my challenge. But if I make it in public, with a lot of people watching us, she can't refuse my challenge because if she does, she'll be seen as a coward and weak. And Boscha cares way too much about her reputation to let that happen.
A few hours, and two boring lectures later lunchtime finally rolled around. I gathered my friends and made my way to the cafeteria, telling the others about my plan. Surprisingly they all agreed with it and even were willing to play if needed. Once there finding Boscha was very easy, just look for the bright mane of pink hair.
"Boscha!" I yelled at the top of my lungs to get her, and everyone's attention. "I think it's time someone knocked you down a peg or two!"
The pink-haired triclops glared at me, stood up from her chair, and walked to where I was with her posy trailing right behind her. Once she was in front of me I had to crane my neck a bit to be able to properly look her in the eyes, but I wasn't going to let her intimidate me. I was ready for this.
"And how exactly do you plan to do that, Aerin?" Her three eyes were locked on me and I've got to admit that it was a bit intimidating to have her entire ire aimed at me.
But she took the bait. The moment she acknowledged me and walked to where I was, she sealed her fate. "I challenge you for the spot of Team Captain."
Her three eyes widened in realization when the challenge left my mouth. She looked to the sides and found that everyone in the cafeteria was watching us. There's no way she can back down from this challenge.
"You bitch! You set me up!" The triclops practically growled at me.
"And what if I did, huh?" My smirk just grew wider and I took a step closer to her. "So what are you going to say, Captain? You're going to take my challenge? Or you're too afraid that you won't be able to beat me?"
She stayed silent for a bit, her eyes moving frantically through the room before looking at me in the eyes. "Fine, but I want the usual punishment for the loser."
"That works for me, Cap." I took a couple of steps back and looked at the squad standing right behind her. "Who's going to be your second?"
Boscha simply snapped her fingers and Skara was standing right beside her. As obedient as always. "And who's going to be yours?" The smug look she was giving me would have discouraged me if I already hadn't secured my teammate.
With a smug look of my own, I placed my arm around Amity's shoulder that had her arms crossed over her chest and a smirk of her own. When everyone realized that Amity was going to be my second, their eyes widened and then shifted to Boscha. The triclops herself was fuming!
"Fine! I'll see you during practice, Aerin. And you better be ready to serve me for a week." And with that final threat, she turned around and walked away.
Once Boscha and her bitch-squad were gone the cafeteria stayed silent, with everyone's eyes on me. "Alright people! The show's over, get back to your fucking business!" And with that, everyone turned away and the usual murmurs of conversation filled the cafeteria once again.
My friends and I found an empty table and sat there. Amity and Luz immediately sat by each other (with Mittens leaning against the human) Willow next to me (and if she placed her hand on my leg in silent support, who am I to complain?), and Gus right beside her.
"Didn't know that you used to be a jock." Luz said while poking Amity on the top of her nose.
"Oh yeah, Mittens here used to be the team captain, then she retired and coach offered the position to me. At the moment I didn't want to deal with the responsibilities and declined the offer, so the position fell on Boscha."
"So now you're claiming what's rightfully yours!" Gus exclaimed while waving a pair of flags. Wait… where did he even get those? Doesn't matter.
"Heh, guess you're right". I said with a chuckle. "But enough about that, I just want to eat my lunch in peace and worry about the match when the time comes."
-o-
So it turns out that, when you publicly announce that you're going to challenge Boscha for the spot of Team Captain, people would hear about it. Who would have thought? So it was no surprise when, after getting changed into our sports gear, we found the bleachers full of students and teachers. Even Principal Bump was here!
"Dang… that's a lot of people," I said while looking around, trying to find our friends in between the crowd.
Turns out that I didn't need to look too much for them because they were walking towards us with nervous smiles on their faces.
"You guys nervous?" Luz asked us while, without an ounce of shame, checking her girlfriend out.
"What? This? Pffft! This is nothing, Noceda." I said with a smirk while cocking my hips to one side and resting one hand on it.
"Yeah! You should see this place during a match against Glandus!" Gus said while waving his flags.
"Yeah, it's insane. But we came here to wish you two some luck." Willow said while slightly turning to look at the others and I did the same. Luz and Mittens were having a small pep talk and Gus was happily waving his flags around, not caring about anything else. Suddenly I felt something press against my cheek, right at the corner of my mouth, and I turned surprised to find a blushing Willow who wouldn't meet my eyes. "For… for good luck." Then she turned and walked away, dragging Gus and a complaining Luz to the bleachers.
Meanwhile, I stood there with my fingers lightly touching the spot Willow just kissed. "Everything okay?" Thankfully Mittens question snapped me out of my stupor.
"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine!" I gave her my best smile, though I'm sure that she didn't buy it. "I hope you still remember some of our old moves."
"Please, give me some credit," She says while smacking me in the shoulder. "I remember them like it was yesterday the last time we used them."
"Perfect". I said while starting to walk towards the field where Boscha and Skara were waiting for us. "Let's kick their asses!"
The grin on Amity's face was a perfect mirror to my own. It's been such a long time since I've felt this excited over a Grugby match! The excitement, the challenge, the risk! It all summed up to the experience and I love it. Amity likes to joke about me being an adrenaline junkie that lives for the next batch and I never say no because that would be lying, and lying is bad.
Once we stood in front of the Captain and her second, a puff of blue smoke appeared to our side and the coach manifested itself from thin air. The coach was a three-headed, gold-scaled lizard witch who had a flare for the dramatic. They were dressed in a black and white striped shirt, with black pants and a whistle around their neck.
"Alright kids you already know the rules, but I will explain them anyways!" The coach said, their three heads talking at the same time (which I find kinda creepy) while slithering forward. "The teams will consist of two players each; the match won't end until one team has scored ten points, and there will be no harmful spells aimed at the players."
"I would like to add something else for this match," Boscha called out while crossing her arms over her chest. "How about the usual bet?"
Oh! So she wants to make this more interesting! Fine by me!
"Then you better get ready to serve me my lunch for a week, Boscha," I said while extending my hand, never breaking away eye contact. "Because Amity and I are going to win this game."
She took my hand (with more force than necessary) and shook it.
"We'll see."
After letting go of my hand, Boscha and Skara took a couple of steps back and stood ready. Amity and I did the same and the coach manifested the ball from a spell circle.
"Both teams ready?" And when they got the approving nod from both captains, they threw the ball up and blew their whistle before disappearing and reappearing on the referee stand.
And so the match to decide the next captain of the team began.
-o-
The match was as intense as I expected it to be but, thankfully, Mittens and I were leading the match with the score being 9-6 to our advantage. I really need to thank Boscha for choosing Skara as her partner. I like the girl, she's kind, caring, and talented with her instruments (she's also an amazing kisser but she was drunk and doesn't remember any of it), but her biggest weakness is that she's way too easy to scare off. And with Amity and I being a couple of beasts on the field, it was fairly easy to scare her and get past her defenses to score a couple of goals in our favor.
The real trouble was Boscha: I hate to admit it, but she's just as good as me. Where I pride myself in my swift movements and well-timed passes, Boscha prides herself in her toughness and her strength. The bitch can take a hit from one of the growing vines and shrug it off like it was nothing!
Currently, we were walking back to our half of the field after Boscha scored their sixth point. We were both tired and sweaty, with a few bruises here and there either from a rough tackle, or an obstacle that jumped out of nowhere.
"Alright, I say it's time we end this match with style," I said while making sure that my hair was properly in its place.
"What's your plan?" Mittens asked me while doing the same as me.
"Remember our spectacular, flashy goal?"
"…you do know that we can't use a spell to harm them, right?"
"I know." And I flashed her my signature I've-got-a-crazy-plan smirk. "And I'm going to use that rule, and Boscha's toughness, in my favor. Just don't look in her direction when I shoot my chain at her and be ready to catch and score."
"And what about Skara?"
"I'm hoping that she'll do what Boscha taught her and keep her eyes on the ball. Hopefully, this will work out and we'll be able to score and win." I said while putting my hand in a fist and extending my arm towards my best friend.
"Let's do this." She tapped her fist with mine and stood ready.
Since they scored the last goal Amity and I currently had the ball and were waiting for the coaches' signal. After they blew the whistle Mittens and I dashed forward, dodging whatever the field decided to use in its attempt to kill us. Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Boscha was doing what she does best: rushing straight forward like a rampaging bull-demon. Skara was right behind her and, just as expected, with her eyes trained on the ball. This also meant that she was looking at me. Just as I hoped.
I nodded to Amity and she sped up, hoping to reach Boscha at the same time as whatever I had planned happened. With a quick twirl of my finger, I summoned, and shot, a chain towards Boscha. My usual chain ended on a spearhead; but this one ended on a round, glowing tip.
When the triclops saw my chain coming at her she smirked, knowing that if it hit her I would be penalized and the match would end right there with her as the victor. And that's exactly what I was expecting. Just as it was about to collide with Boscha's chest, I broke the chain and placed my plan in motion. When the chain broke, so did the ball at the tip and that unleashed a bright flash of light that blinded Boscha, Skara, and me. At the same time, I tossed the ball where I knew that Amity was.
Now since Bosh was still running, and so was I, we crashed against each other. Well, I say crash, but in reality, she ran over me with the strength of a bull and knocked me over, and hitting my head hard against the floor. I think I also may have fractured my ankle… I don't know… everything feels weird right now.
Suddenly I began to hear muffled cheers all around me. Did Amity manage to score? Did we win? I really want to know what's going on, but my head feels like it was stuffed with cotton and then placed inside a blender.
Everything felt weird as if my head was underwater. I tried to open my eyes but they felt heavy as if they had been glued closed. And… was someone calling my name? Ugh… this is so annoying.
With a bit of effort, I managed to open my eyes and found myself face to face with a worried Amity, who sighed and smiled once she made eye contact with me.
"We did it, Captain." Wait a minute… did she just call me.
"Captain?" And then the reality of the situation hit me. She did it! Amity managed to score the final goal. "We won?!"
Mittens nodded enthusiastically and offered her hand to help me stand up. When I got to my feet I looked around and saw the most amazing scene ever: Boscha was staring at the scoreboard with a dumbfounded expression on her face; Skara was doing the same, and the guys at the bleachers were cheering as loud as they could. Our friends were vibrating with excitement and, after Mittens and I turned to look at them, they jumped down from the bleachers and ran to us at full speed.
Amity, being the lovesick puppy that she is, rushed at Luz and hugged her; Gus stayed by the sidelines, waving his flags like the madman he is; Willow… she did something unexpected: once she was within arm's reach, she lunged at me and practically crashed her lips against mine.
Now under normal conditions, I would have been able to catch Willow and keep us both steady. But these weren't normal conditions. So, when the Plant Witch crashed against me, we both fell to the ground with a yelp, which then turned to giggles.
"You did it!" Willow said while placing her arms over my shoulders and around my neck.
"You kissed me…" Was my amazing answer because of course my dumb brain focused on that.
"Was… was that not good?" She asked while making the most innocent face she could. She even dared to pout!
"No! That… it's okay." I said with a smile before wincing. Stupid head injury ruining the moment.
"We should probably take you to the healers. Get your head looked at." Then she leaned forward, placing her mouth right by my ear and whispered. "And, after that, we can talk about another kiss, okay?"
If I'm being honest, I was speechless. I didn't know this side of Willow and I absolutely love it. So, with a small nod, Willow helped me back on my feet and led the march of our little group to the healer's office.
-o-
Turns out that I got a mild concussion and a twisted ankle, and Amity twisted her ankle with a bad landing after the final goal. That means that we both got confined to absolute rest for a week, which also means that Amity would be staying at my place because, somehow, I managed to convince her parent to let her stay.
Sadly, since both of us were on a forced break, we missed the school trip to the Emperor's Castle. Mittens was really looking up to it, so Luz and the others promised to tell us all about it when they returned.
Speaking of the others… Willow and I talked after the game. Well if you can call a really intense (and objectively the best) make-out session a proper conversation then yes, we talked.
Amity and I spent the entire day just relaxing on our respective beds, with a crystal ball in between us to watch crappy movies and dumb series. She obviously teased the hell out of me once we were alone in my room. Aside from that, the day was spent in relative ease.
That is until late that day where a simple news flash ruined our days: Eda had been captured and was to be petrified tomorrow at sundown.