Alright y'all, I'm just gonna spam post the first five chapters, since that's what I had done originally, and we're finally gonna get to debut the sixth one. I've had it done for months but that doesn't matter right now. Don't own any of the characters. Enjoy!
The shrieking sound of a whistle echoed through the gym, which simply made Annabeth's lungs feel like they were even more on fire, if that was possible. "Hustle, girls!"
That would be their coach, a shorter woman named Kim, who had been coaching volleyball for Goode for almost 30 years. She had about 20 district, 10 regional, and 3 state championship wins under her belt.
So, yeah. She knew her stuff.
At the moment, they were running full court sprints, touching each line on the length of the volleyball court in succession and sprinting back to the baseline repeatedly until they made their way back and forth across the court. Whenever they slacked too much, their coach would blow her whistle and signal that they'd better pick it up or else they would be running more.
As she reached down to brush her fingers along the hardwood floor at half court after their fifth consecutive time up and down the court, Annabeth winced.
Her skin was burning and sweat poured down her face and her chest. She hadn't been worked this hard in a while. Their coach strongly believed that a good volleyball team was a conditioned volleyball team, which was a fair thought.
They didn't have a game until next week on Wednesday, and their coach thought that they needed to do more intense training and workouts the entire week before.
Annabeth enjoyed the challenge to an extent, but her body certainly did not. One of her life mottos was that "running is good for the body but bad for the soul".
When she finished her series of sprints, she slowed down back on the initial end of the court and smacked her forehead against the padded wall, breathing harder than she thought possible.
They had spent most of the practice sprinting and lifting weights and doing other strenuous full-body workouts rather than actual volleyball drills, and everyone was thoroughly exhausted.
When the team had finished their sprints, their coach gathered them up in a loose circle near the middle of the gym and stood in the center of them all, looking around at every one of them.
"Nice work today, ladies," she said in a voice tinged with approval. "The effort and hustle I saw on that court today shows all the makings of a championship team."
Her statement was met with whoops from the volleyball players, all tired and sweaty but grinning nonetheless. Their head coach made eye contact with Annabeth as she spoke her next words.
"The leadership I see on and off the court is what is going to lead us to states this year."
Her gaze moved on, and Annabeth gave a little grin as she brushed off some sweat that had been dripping down her forehead. "Keep working hard and get ready for a light practice on Saturday and Sunday."
The team cheered one final time before they all dispersed to take off their shoes and knee pads, Piper and Annabeth walking side by side over towards where their bags were laying near the wall. "I feel like I'm going to collapse," Piper muttered, tugging loosely on the collar of her sweat-soaked t-shirt. "Coach is really making us work for starting spots this year, huh?"
Annabeth simply cracked a grin at her friend as she plopped down to remove her shoes. "Yeah, well, I wouldn't worry if I were you, Pipes. You've been varsity setter for two years even before this season started. I think you're gonna be alright," she chuckled as she loosened the laces of her volleyball shoes.
Her brunette friend sat down beside her and sighed. "Whatever, Annie. If I can't doubt myself, then you can't doubt yourself starting outside this season," she stated firmly with a grin, causing Annabeth to flush.
Ever since she'd been in middle school, she'd been training to be a hitter. Every day working on her form, her footwork, her approach, her swing. She had been moved up to the varsity team as a freshman, and was their starting outside hitter by the end of that season. All Annabeth had ever known in her life was hard work, and when it paid off, it only made her want to work harder.
She tried to ignore her friend's comment as she slipped on her tennis shoes and her blue Goode sweatshirt. When she had finally finished throwing on everything, she glanced at her friend once more.
"You and Hazel are still coming over before the game, right?" she asked before they both looked over to where their younger friend was gathering up her things a couple yards away.
Hazel was a couple years younger than the captains, but was already a rather talented back row player for their team. They always went and hung out before the football games, which was an event that every single person in town attended. The bleachers were always a full sea of blue and white, and the cheers were deafening.
It was an energy that always gave Annabeth a rush of adrenaline. It reminded her of when her and her team made it to the state finals last season. The entire gym was packed with fans and a lot of people from home there to watch them. Of course, they had lost that game.
The final point that had ended the game haunted all of the returning varsity players who hadn't graduated. It's what drove them to compete this season.
But football was a much different energy altogether from volleyball, and Annabeth lived for it.
Hazel perked up when she heard her name, and raised her head to look at the two captains, giving a grin. "Hey, don't leave without me," the shorter girl laughed as she stood up, now dressed similarly to Annabeth in a hoodie and shorts. Piper finished up before they all headed out together to the blonde's car.
When they arrived at the field about fifteen minutes before the game was set to start, the bleachers were already packed with fans decked out in blue and white to root for the Goode Sharks in their opening game of the season against their rivals, the Central Titans. As the three girls walked in and found seats together near the front of the student section in the bleachers, they looked to the field where both teams were warming up.
That was about the time that Percy was getting thrown passes as he mimicked his position in some of their plays. Every kind of way he handled a football felt natural to him, whether it was catching, passing, or rushing. He had played football ever since he was a little kid, and he'd loved it ever since. Since it was his senior season and he was a team captain, he felt a certain pressure to perform well this season. He really hoped that he would deliver.
The clock for their warmup ticked down, and he felt a rather anxious feeling enter his stomach as he went to jog over and meet his team. He was decked out in his white number 15 jersey and his dark blue helmet with the outline of a shark on it. He fiddled nervously with the straps of his worn black gloves as their coach began to give them a final pre-game pep talk.
"Listen guys, this team we're playing? They won the state championship last year. They play nasty and they play scrappy. This," he said, gesturing off to the black-and-red-clad players finishing their warmup at the other half of the field, "is the hardest team you'll all play this season." He paced back and forth in front of them methodically, thinking to himself as if he was calculating the exact words that needed to leave his mouth.
Percy didn't know what the head coach could have actually said to make this better. Ever since his own freshman year and long before, the Central Titans had been their rivals. The game was always a sought-after time of the season, and everyone came knowing it was going to be an amazing game. Percy actually had some...history with some of the guys on the Titans team, and all he knew is that he had to crush them every time he saw them.
Y'know. For pride reasons.
"I know you can pull this out. Everyone in the damn town is here to watch every single one of you kick their asses," he continued, looking pointedly at Percy before his eyes shifted on to the rest of the somber team. "So do it. Get out there and do it. We've been working hard all summer for this!" As he continued to speak, he got louder and the players around him got more and more hyped up, cheering and clapping and smacking each other on their helmets.
Their coach went silent, and it took Percy a moment to realize the team was staring intently at him, waiting for their captain to speak. He coughed to clear his throat and gave everyone a big grin. "What are you looking at me for? Let's get out there and win!" he yelled before everyone cheered as loud as possible, the entire team rushing forward and accidentally crushing their coach between them.
"Let's go boys!" Jason yelled before they all cheered "SHARKS" at the top of their lungs before the clock on the scoreboard hit zero and the buzzer went off loudly. It was time to start.
For Percy, the game was a blur. Hitting people, getting hit, catching passes, running until he physically couldn't anymore. He ended up scoring a couple times, thanks to his almost psychic style of communication with Jason.
The blonde quarterback seemed to know Percy's intentions before he even began moving, and hit him with passes whenever possible.
By the end of the fourth, Percy was exhausted both physically and mentally. He hadn't really gone out the entire game, since his coach loved keeping him in for both defense and offense to play separate positions. What could he say? He was pretty fast.
They had the ball for what they hoped to make the final possession, and they were on the opposing team's 21 yard line with 15 seconds remaining in the quarter. The score was 32-35, with the Goode Sharks losing by a mere 3 points.
As they lined up to begin the next play, Jason gave Percy a knowing look through his face mask, which he responded to with a subtle nod. It was time for the play the two of them had been working on all summer. Their "finishing move" as Jason liked to call it.
After the ball was snapped, Percy took off in a flash, zipping around his defender and taking off down the field. He was well into the end zone when he finally saw the ball spiraling towards him. He reached out to catch it. He could almost taste victory. He vaguely heard the buzzer go off to signify the end of the quarter and the game, but it didn't matter. All he needed to do was catch the ball, and they would win.
The moment seemed to go in slow motion, the ball flying towards him, him leaping up to catch it, when all of a sudden he was knocked out of the air and slammed into the ground. The wind was knocked out of him, and all he could see was a guy in a stark black and red jersey above him, smirking from underneath his helmet, and the ball falling to the ground somewhere above his head.
He'd been flattened before he could catch the ball.
Immediately, the entire crowd erupted into angry shouts and jeers at the refs, who jogged to the middle of the field as if all was well. Even their coach and his own teammates were screaming at the refs, calling for pass interference. His coach threw down his headset and just yelled angrily, though the refs acted as if nothing had happened.
As Percy struggled to get up, the opposing player still on top of him shoved him back down, sneering. "Just remember," he said in a voice laced with arrogance and cruelty, "you'll never be able to beat us. No matter how hard you try. You're not good enough." With one last laugh, he got up, using Percy's helmet to push himself up. It shoved his head back against the ground before the Titans player jogged off to meet his team.
Percy sat up and rested his helmet against his knees. He hadn't been able to do it. They had lost.
Everyone watching the game simply stood there, stunned, as the victorious Titans left the field, jeering at the Sharks the whole way off.
Percy couldn't even stand up. All he could do was sit there and watch as everyone in their blue and white gear filed out of the bleachers. The student section headed down to meet the players and get pictures and everything before the boys headed to the locker room.
He saw a lone, scrawny guy in a white jersey and helmet coming towards him, and by his stature and the smile underneath his helmet he knew immediately it was their team's kicker, Leo Valdez.
The shorter boy came over and silently took a seat next to Percy, removing his helmet and settling it between his feet as they sat together and watched the fans file out.
"It's not your fault, Perce," he said eventually, glancing over at the halfback with a small sigh. "If anything, it's mine." Leo dropped his head and kicked at the grass in the end zone. "I missed that field goal in the third quarter. If I had made it, we would've tied..." He trailed off and shook his head slightly before he looked up at the halfback. "Just don't beat yourself up about it."
Percy just shook his head in response and removed his helmet as well, setting it in front of him on the grass. His dark hair had fallen into his eyes, but he didn't feel like moving it out of the way. "I still feel bad," he admitted with a shrug. "I should've caught that. If I had just run a bit faster, I could've gotten it before he took me down."
Leo gave his friend a look and shook his head, patting his shoulder. "Dude, it's not your fault," he assured with a small smile. "The refs didn't call anything on what definitely should've been pass interference. And plus? There's nothing you can do about that catch now. This game's over." He have Percy his signature crooked grin that made everyone feel a lot better, no matter what the situation was. "All you can do is gear up and get ready to kick ass in the next game."
The dark-haired captain gave his teammate a small smile before sighing and shaking his head. "Fair enough," he laughed and stood up, grabbing his helmet before Leo hopped up beside him and grinned. As they began their walk together across the field towards the exit, he jabbed Percy in the ribs.
"By the way, Jason invited us over to his place to hang out. Luke's home from college and wanted to meet up with us and some of the other guys."
Percy nodded in agreement as he glanced around quickly, taking in the lights and the field one last time before they exited and began to head to the locker room to join their coach and their team. "Sounds like fun, Leo."
He stayed silent for a moment before he gave the kicker a lopsided grin. "I bet Jason invited Piper over too, didn't he?"
"Well, shit. Of course he did."