I FINISHED MY AP EXAMS! I AM NOW A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE! CLASS OF 2020 WOOOOO! Thank you guys for all your well wishes about my exams - I think overall I did pretty well, so I am content. :) I'm sure the chapter title has some of you excited, so I'll keep this note short: stay 6 ft apart, remember to wash your hands, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
xXxXxXx
"So, you're going to the big game tonight?" Harrow asked.
Callum paused with a forkful of fruit halfway to his mouth. "Er... yes?"
Ezran frowned. "But you don't go to football games. Especially when they're big."
Callum shrugged as nonchalantly as possible, eating his fruit. "Well, I'm going to this one," he said after swallowing. "No big deal." Hmm. That could have been overkill.
Harrow nodded, taking a sip of his water. Callum did not like the knowing glint in his stepfather's eyes. "I see. Could this have anything to do with a new... friend... of yours, by any chance? Perhaps a certain exchange student?"
Callum also did not like his stepdad's emphasis on 'friend', and attempted to make that clear by glaring at the man. "I am going to the game to support all of my friends, yes. Rayla is a starting wide receiver and Soren is - obviously - starting quarterback. They both asked me to go, so I am going for both of them." Ugh. Overkill again.
Ezran's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute..." He grinned at his brother. "You're only going because you'll get to sit with Claudia, right?"
Callum groaned, now feeling much less flustered and far more irritated with his brother's comments about Claudia. "No, Ez. That is not why I'm going."
Ezran raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "Really?"
"I told you already. Both of you. I'm just going to support my friends!" He paused, then sighed in mild resignation. "Okay, they're kind of forcing me to go, but since it's the first game of the season, I really do want to go and cheer them on. Mostly."
Harrow ate the last of his fruit salad before speaking. "Callum, I noticed that you've been spending quite a lot of time with Rayla lately." A complete subject change, then. He raised an eyebrow at his stepson, a mischievous glint dancing in his green eyes. "Might there be... something going on between the two of you?"
Dear God, his dad was everything but subtle.
Ezran gasped. "Rayla?!" He beamed excitedly. "She's awesome. I totally approve."
Callum's face reddened. "She's not - we're not - no. Ez, you've only met her once!" Okay, he didn't sound very convincing. Even to himself. "She's just my friend."
Ezran burst out laughing. "That's what you always said about Claudia! Callum, you like her."
"What, are you still eight years old?" Callum snapped. He then winced at the harshness of his tone. "Sorry." He sighed. "Fine. Maybe," he muttered. "But even if I did 'like her' like her, it doesn't mean anything. And that fact is entirely unrelated to me going to the game." That was true. He'd promised to go to the game long before he'd realized he had a crush on Rayla.
"Are you going to ask her out?" Harrow took another sip of water. "Not to be an overt influence on your love life, but she's a sweet girl and is very smart." He paused, then grinned at his son. "I'm sure I don't need to mention this, but she could also kick your ass. The two of you go well together."
Callum groaned and buried his face in his hands as Ezran tried and failed to disguise his laughter as coughing. "I really do not need, much less want, either of you to be involved in my nonexistent love life, okay?" A love life that would never exist if they kept at it. He wasn't sure he'd ever been more embarrassed. This conversation was worse than when Claudia had to explain periods to him in 7th grade.
Harrow chuckled, reaching across the table to clap Callum on the shoulder. "Sorry. I just wanted to let you know that I think Rayla is good for you." He gave his son a genuine smile. "You've been a lot happier since you met her. I was worried about you at the beginning of the year. I wasn't sure how you'd adjust to college. But you've smiled almost every day after she arrived here. And for that I still haven't figured out a way to thank her."
Callum blinked, taken aback by his stepfather's honesty. Finally, he smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad."
Harrow's grin widened. "You are very welcome." He started to steal a piece of Ezran's fruit - much to Ezran's dismay - but was stopped by the ringing of his phone. He checked the caller ID and groaned. "Viren. I leave the school for one hour to have lunch with my kids and everything starts falling apart without me." He sighed. "Be right back." Before he stepped out of the room, he signaled to Ezran that their fruit battle was not over, to which Ezran responded by sticking out his tongue.
Ezran then threw a piece of fruit at his brother the moment after Harrow disappeared.
"Hey!" Callum exclaimed, wiping cantaloupe juice off his forehead before picking up the aforementioned fruit from the floor and tossing it into the garbage. "Was that really necessary?"
Ezran shrugged, snickering. "No, but it sure was funny. And it got your attention, so mission accomplished." He grabbed another piece of fruit and crossed the room to drop into Bait's cage. "I really do like Rayla. I hope she says yes when you ask her out."
"I'm not asking -"
"Well, you should." Ezran turned around, and the gentle smile he gave his brother resembled Harrow's so strongly that Callum had to do a double take. "Dad's right. She makes you laugh a lot. And it's nice when you laugh."
Callum found himself standing up to pull his brother into a tight hug. "Ez…" He sighed, his voice muffled by Ezran's hair. "What would I do without you?"
"Probably not ask out the girl you like and therefore be really miserable," Ezran replied, his voice in turn muffled by Callum's scarf.
Callum chuckled. "Fair enough."
By the time Harrow rejoined them, Callum and Ezran had returned to the table, their conversation now about how yes, high school was way worse than college and anyone who said otherwise was a liar. The conversation never returned to Rayla. And Callum was silently grateful for that.
But he was even more grateful for his family, even if they did sometimes annoy him to no end.
Maybe this football game wouldn't be so bad after all.
xXxXxXx
"Touchdown Royals!"
The shout of the announcer was soon drowned out by the screams and cheers of the KSU home crowd - Callum excluded.
"Yes!" Claudia exclaimed, jumping to her feet and shaking her pom poms. "Go Soren! Yeah!"
Honestly, Claudia took football way more seriously than Callum had expected her to. Although maybe it shouldn't have been such a surprise, considering who her older brother was.
"Remind me again why this game is so important?" Callum said, idly erasing a stray pencil mark on the corner of his open sketchbook. He knew it was the first game of the season, of course, but to him that just meant there were several other games they could win later in the year if something went wrong with this one.
"Because Del Bar is ranked in the top ten," Claudia explained, sitting back down next to Callum as the two teams headed to the sidelines and placing her pom poms in her lap. "We're ranked, too, but not top ten. If we beat them, we should be bumped up, and after that the CFP might finally start taking our team seriously!" She clenched her fist. "This year, we're championship-bound. I can feel it."
Callum understood at least three, maybe four, of the words that had left his friend's mouth. "So..." he said slowly, trying to come up with a proper response, "if we beat them, we'll look better?"
Claudia laughed and jokingly elbowed him in the stomach. "Close enough. Glad to see you're making an effort to understand." She winked at him. "Rayla will definitely appreciate it."
"Oh, ha ha," Callum said, rolling his eyes. "Someone thinks she's so funny."
"I don't think. I know I am."
The roar of the stadium dulled, if only slightly, as KSU's defense moved onto the field, followed by Del Bar's offense.
"Remind me how much time is left?" Callum asked, barely processing the next play. How did people watch this stuff for fun?
"Three minutes," Claudia replied, sitting so close to the edge of her seat Callum was concerned she'd fall off. "Technically. And they lead by a field goal. If we stop them here, we can get the ball back and at least tie the score."
Callum perked up. "Three minutes left in the game?"
"No, Callum." She sounded like a grandmother scolding a young child. "In the first half."
He groaned, loosening his scarf around his neck. "I don't think I can handle another half hour of this."
"Oh, we both know it'll be closer to a full hour. But remember - you're doing this for Rayla!"
Callum sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm aware." He returned his attention to his sketchbook, adding more shading to his drawing of Rayla giving a jelly tart to Bait. Logically, he knew he needed to be working on his charcoal mashup of the football stadium and the Roman Colosseum, but the fact of the matter was that he would much rather be drawing Rayla than... well, just about anything else.
He hadn't seen Rayla much during the game. He knew her jersey was number 16, but the ball hadn't been thrown her way once. Not that he'd seen, anyways, which was saying something, as Rayla was the only person he'd been paying attention to on the field. Either the... defender, or whatever, was doing a good job keeping her covered, or Soren simply trusted his other receivers more. Maybe a combination of both?
Callum had also noticed that Rayla was smaller than most of the other players. It wasn't that he didn't think she could hold her own, because he was well aware she could compete with the best of them, but she just wasn't as physically bulky as the other guys.
Except Del Bar's kicker. He looked like a twig.
She was also a few inches shorter than several players, but not enough where it seemed to hinder her. At least as far as he knew, based on what she told him about practices.
Callum could see her now, standing on the sidelines. He noticed that she kept her helmet on even when she wasn't on the field, and he recalled their conversation in the ice cream parlor where she'd explained that her coach had instructed her to keep her recruitment to the team on the down-low for the time being. Her name wasn't even on her jersey yet.
He'd wanted to talk to her at halftime, shoot her an encouraging text or something, but Claudia had informed him that the odds of her being able to get on her phone were slim. Which sucked.
"Ugh," Claudia said, slumping back into her seat and snapping Callum out of his thoughts. "Well, at least we held them to a field goal."
He blinked. "What?"
"It's halftime. Our defense held Del Bar to a field goal." She pushed her hair out of her face, the white streak that still remained creating a stark contrast against her natural jet-black color. "But if our defense doesn't figure out how to tell the freaking difference between a run and a pass play, we won't be able to stop them from scoring again."
Callum ignored the bitterness of his friend's tone and instead focused on the positive of her statement - it was halftime! Only another half hour of the game to endure. A half hour that would probably double, like Claudia had said, but... It was the principle that mattered.
Callum spent most of halftime talking with Claudia about a kitten that was brought into the animal shelter she volunteered at. Well, the conversation was mostly her gushing about how cute the kitten was and showing him photos while he listened and continued working on his sketch of Rayla, but he didn't mind. Claudia could make anything entertaining. It wasn't until the last few minutes of halftime that something strange happened. 'Something strange' being that he got a text from Rayla.
Weird. Claudia had said that she probably wouldn't be able to get on her phone.
Rayla: Enjoying the game?
Callum: As much as I can, considering my limited knowledge of football
Callum: Claudia told me that you wouldn't be able to text during the game?
Rayla: Oh I'm definitely not supposed to be on my phone lol I'm hiding in the back of the locker room
Rayla: That's a perk of being the only girl on the team
Rayla: No one in the same locker room as me lmao
Callum: Nice
Rayla: But I texted you because Soren told me about an old entrance onto the field that you and Claudia can use at the end the game to meet up with us faster
Rayla: *end of
Rayla: It's on the west side, down the first stairwell to your left when you leave the stands
Rayla: At least according to Soren. Hold him accountable for any mishaps. I'm just the messenger
Callum: We'll be there!
Rayla: Can't wait!
Rayla: Also the second half of the game is gonna be great. Coach Zhou pulled Soren and I aside and told him not to be afraid to target me
Rayla: So I might have a big play or two
Rayla: Just so you know ;)
Callum: I'll keep an eye out for you!
As if he hadn't been doing that the entire game.
But she didn't respond after that, and Callum figured that she'd probably been forced out of the locker room - which meant the second half was about to start.
He tucked his phone into his satchel and attempted to focus on the field. Sure enough, the teams soon returned. Callum was able to see Soren take the field after kickoff, but for some reason Rayla remained on the sidelines. And based on the way her arms were crossed stiffly over her chest, she didn't seem too pleased about the fact.
Weird. Hadn't she said -
"Their offensive coordinator wants to run another wide receiver," Claudia explained before snickering at his wary confusion. "Sorry. You were like, super obviously staring at her."
Callum flushed and rolled his eyes. "Thanks." Then he frowned. "Why do they want to run a different receiver? Rayla wasn't even given a chance to make a play for the ball in the first half."
Claudia shrugged. "No idea. Soren was so pissed he actually called me about it, but he couldn't have been on the phone for more than 30 seconds before he had to hang up. Something tells me he's going to have a few choice words for that coach."
Callum nodded in agreement. Soren was nothing if not protective of his friends. Rayla was sure to be back in the game before the final quarter. But after a few plays, he realized that Rayla didn't seem to be heading out onto the field anytime soon, so he busied himself with sketching.
He eventually found himself drawn back to working on his piece of the stadium and the Colosseum. His shading mistake hadn't proved to be too debilitating; switching the angle of the light had proved to be easier in many more aspects than he'd expected. Just as well, too - he was terrified that he'd ruined the piece.
But overall the picture was shaping up nicely. If he didn't hate the final product, maybe he'd even submit it for the KSU art showcase. Rayla and Claudia would probably tell him to submit it regardless, of course, but he did hold himself to certain standards regarding quality.
"Ugh, this is so not good," Claudia groaned, running both of her hands through her hair.
"Why? What's wrong?" Callum guiltily realized he hadn't looked up at the field in… forever. Oops.
"Del Bar is leading by a touchdown," she explained, "and they have the ball. There's only four minutes left in the game! Unless we hold them to a three-and-out here, or by some miracle get a fumble or an interception, I don't know if we can pull off a win."
Callum closed his sketchbook, almost surprised to find himself curious about how the game was going to end. Apparently Claudia could even make football entertaining.
He watched Del Bar's quarterback nearly drop the ball when it was snapped - he was pretty sure that was the right word - to him, followed by a KSU defender jumping up to block the ball as it was thrown. The defender managed to get a hand on it, and then -
"Intercepted!" Claudia screamed, jumping to her feet and waving her pom poms like a maniac. "Oh my God! Yes, yes! Callum, we can still win this game!"
Callum cheered, too, albeit with less enthusiasm then Claudia. "Go Royals!"
KSU's offense took the field, Soren leading the group with a determined expression that Callum was only able to see with the help of the giant screen at the east end of the field. He was once again disappointed to note that Rayla remained on the sidelines.
"Two and a half minutes left," Claudia muttered, her foot rapidly tapping the floor of the bleachers. "Come on, Soren!"
Callum watched as Soren threw two incomplete passes. Claudia looked like she was about to chew a hole in her lip from the tension.
Suddenly the teams moved off the field.
"Wait, what?" Callum said, puzzled. "What's going on? Where are they going?"
"Soren took a timeout," was Claudia's terse reply.
Callum decided not to ask her anything else. She seemed… stressed was putting it lightly.
He watched as Soren dragged two people, his coach and... someone else that looked important, over to where Rayla was standing. He couldn't hear a word that was said, but he saw Soren gesture towards Rayla in some sort of pleading motion. There was a long pause while no one moved. Finally, Soren's coach nodded.
Seconds later, the teams returned to the field, and Rayla was out to the right as a wide receiver.
"Go Rayla!" he shouted, though he was fully certain that he was drowned out by Claudia's cry of "Go Soren!" Theatre had definitely made her good at projecting.
Callum didn't even watch as the ball was snapped. His eyes were glued onto Rayla as she sidestepped the defender guarding her - a corner, maybe? - and ran down the field. It was almost insane how quickly she was moving. No one seemed aware that she'd broken away from the line.
"The Royals have a receiver down the field that is wide open!" the commentator shouted. "Oh, but it looks like KSU's quarterback overthrew the ball - no! With a leaping grab, number 16 has caught it at the 15-yard line!"
Callum screamed in excitement as Rayla grabbed the ball out of the air, clutching it tightly to her chest as she tumbled to the ground, her helmet falling off as she landed. He had no idea where his sudden energy had come from, but he wasn't going to question it.
"And the receiver is -" The commentator stopped. "The exchange student?"
The crowd quieted, screams of joy transforming into hushed murmurs within seconds as Rayla's white hair fell out of its bun and tumbled down around her shoulders.
"Is that the Xadian girl?" someone behind them whispered.
"I think so," someone else muttered in response. "What's she doing on the team?"
Callum bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying something that he would regret. No need to tarnish Harrow's reputation. His stepdad was already looked down upon by heads of other universities, and his stepson punching some random kid in the face would not help.
But it was tempting. It was so, so tempting.
Just as he'd turned around to give them a verbal piece of his mind -
"Oh, shut up." Claudia had beaten him to it. "The 'Xadian girl', as you so crudely put it, just gave us a major chance to win this football game and finally be ranked in the top ten like we deserve. I can't tell if you're being sexist or xenophobic, but either way, please - get your heads out of your asses, smell some roses to clear your nose of that scent of bullshit, and watch the damn game."
Callum knew he had no chance of topping Claudia's comment, so instead he satisfied himself with glaring at the two before returning his attention to the field. He noticed that Rayla wasn't lined up like before - she was back on the sidelines.
"Her helmet came off, so she has to sit out for a play," Claudia explained, and Callum realized that he'd been thinking aloud.
"Oh. Okay."
"One minute on the clock," Claudia muttered. "Two timeouts left. We can do this."
Soren threw a pass that slipped between the hands of an open receiver.
Claudia groaned. "Okay. Okay. Not the end of the world. At least an incomplete pass stops the time."
"And Rayla can go back in the game," Callum muttered, only halfway listening to Claudia's rambling. His eyes were glued to his friend, who did indeed return to the field as the play clock was counting down from five.
The ball was snapped. The person defending Rayla attempted to jump into her path, but she sidestepped them again without missing a beat, darting through a hole in - in coverage, was it? - and ended up open in the end zone.
"And 16 is wide open - touchdown, Royals! With just under twenty seconds on the clock!"
"Yes!" Callum screamed, jumping to his feet as Rayla easily caught the ball well within the end zone. "Go Rayla!"
"Holy shit," Claudia breathed as she watched their offense take the field again after the score, massaging her temples. "They're going for a two-point conversion?!"
"Uh," Callum stammered, slightly afraid to ask her any questions but also not at all understanding what she was talking about, "what does that mean?"
"It means I'm going to kill Soren if they lose this game," she glowered. "That idiot!" She took a deep breath before giving him a very tight smile. "Instead of kicking a field goal for one extra point, they have to throw or run the ball into the end zone for two points." Claudia began to pace in the little room she had in the stands. "Why aren't they just trying to tie it and go into overtime? Why are they risking the win like this?!"
"Maybe they just want to try to end it now?" Callum suggested, trying to cheer her up, though the glare she sent him made him wish he hadn't spoken at all.
"It's a terrible idea," she growled. "Oh, I am so going to let Soren have it after this is over!"
The center, or whatever that position was, snapped the ball. Callum felt like his heart was beating out of his chest as he watched Del Bar's team blitz Soren - he was pretty sure that was the right term - who somehow managed to scramble away. An angry shout then slipped out of his lips as he watched Rayla get shoved to the ground inside the end zone.
No flag was thrown. The clock was winding down.
Rayla quickly got back to her feet and darted to the corner of the end zone. She caught Soren's eye, and he threw the ball in her direction.
Time seemed to slow. Rayla reached out with her left hand, clutching at the tip of the ball and somehow pulling it into her chest just as the clock hit zero, dragging both feet to make sure she didn't step out of bounds.
The stadium erupted into cheers, with Callum and Claudia leaping to their feet at the same time.
"We won! We did it! Finally!" Claudia kept screaming, though Callum could hardly hear her amidst the other noise. "Top ten, here we come!"
Callum then remembered Rayla's text about where to meet her and Soren after the game. Without any explanation he grabbed Claudia's hand and began dragging her towards the west end of the stadium, the light of the setting sun just bright enough for him to see the places the stadium lights didn't reach.
"Where are we going?" Claudia shouted, stumbling but regaining her balance by grabbing a nearby railing.
"To celebrate!" was his only reply.
Callum absentmindedly registered KSU's team kicking the ball and Del Bar's quarterback throwing one complete pass before the clock officially ran out. The team and various fans crowded around Rayla on the field, smothering her in appreciation they wouldn't have had only minutes earlier, which Callum noted with immense irritation. He pulled Claudia down what he hoped were the correct set of metal stairs and through a damp-smelling corridor. Fortunately, it wasn't a long hallway, and he could see the field at the end of it. Soon Claudia was the one doing the pulling, and in a matter of seconds they emerged outside. With the mass of players and fans swarming the area, however, it was hard to determine one person from the next.
"Soren!" Claudia called. "Soren, where are you?! I am going to rip your head off!" She paused. "With love!"
"Look!" Callum pointed at two figures breaking off from the main crowd. "It's them!"
"Callum!" Rayla shouted, running towards him and crushing him in a hug. He was relieved to note that she was no longer in uniform, because the protective gear the players had to wear might have broken his bones otherwise. "We won! We did it! Oh my God, I can't believe we did it!"
Callum laughed, returning the hug despite his surprise at being lifted off the ground. Well, he wasn't that surprised - Rayla was ridiculously strong, after all. Unexpected. That was more the word. "Hey, give yourself more credit! Of course you were able to win! You're amazing!"
Rayla grinned and pulled slightly away, though her arms remained wrapped around him. "I'm hoping now I won't get quite so many weird looks from people in class."
"I mean, I still think people are crazy for not giving you a chance in the first place," Callum replied, silently berating himself for rambling. "Like Claudia said about some jerks who were sitting behind us - they had their heads too far up their own asses to see."
Rayla burst out laughing. "That does sound like Claudia."
"She's right, though! Even if I'm not sure I would have phrased it exactly like that." Callum removed his arms from around Rayla to slip his hands into hers. It felt like a perfect fit, even though he supposed it really wasn't. Ugh. Technicalities. "They should have given you a chance. They're not allowed to be all appreciative now and expect you to be cool with it."
Rayla shrugged. "People will act the way they were brought up." She smiled at him and gave his hands a gentle squeeze. "But that's why I'm so grateful for those people who did give me a chance. Like you."
As moonlight started to dance over the field, Callum suddenly understood how her clan had gotten its name. The moonlit shadows that fell across her face made her seem to glow, and wow. She was… radiant. Her violet eyes sparkled with the brightest, most genuine joy he'd ever seen.
Callum sighed, and it sounded so awestruck he was too embarrassed to acknowledge it. "Rayla, you are so..."
Next thing he knew, he was standing on his tiptoes and pressing his lips to hers. They were warm and tasted faintly of salt - and then his brain caught up with his action. As soon as he realized what he was doing, he jerked away from her, his hands dropping to his sides and his face burning red with embarrassment.
"Sorry!" he stammered, his gaze falling to the ground likely because his subconscious desperately wanted to avoid eye contact with her for fear of a negative reaction. "I just - I just got carried away, because you're so beautiful and smart and, and really fast" - his voice cracked, forcing him to clear his throat as he winced in embarrassment at the strange compliment - "and I like you a lot, but I totally understand if you don't -"
"Shut up."
Callum did so at the speed of light, looking up to see Rayla rolling her eyes at him, an amused smirk on her face. "What -"
"I said shut up, you dummy." Rayla grabbed his scarf, pulling him close to her and crashing her lips onto his in a fiery kiss.
Callum vaguely heard a surprised squeak before realizing that the noise had come from himself. Then he leaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist and closing the space between them. She was damp with sweat and her hair was in the messiest ponytail he'd ever seen her wear but he couldn't care less. Hell, he was probably going to start hallucinating things as a result of the euphoric, serotonin-induced high he was riding on, but really, what did it matter when he could have sworn that he felt her heart beating in perfect unison with his own?
Rayla was kissing him. He was kissing Rayla!
When the need for air became imminent, he slowly pulled away, his hands sliding down to rest on her hips. Rayla leaned in to press their foreheads together, her free hand moving down to his chest.
"Wow," was all Callum could think to say. How witty of him.
Rayla giggled - a gentle, airy sound he'd never heard from her before, but one he hoped to hear a thousand times again. "I can't lie - I have been waiting to kiss you like that for quite a while now." She released his scarf with her other hand and tucked her hair behind her ear before resting her arm on his shoulder. She stared at him for a moment, and her gaze softened. "Just so you know, I think you're amazing, too," she whispered. "You're so brave, Callum, and funny, even if your jokes can be really stupid sometimes." She winked at him. "I would even go so far as to say that you're dashing and noble - my prince."
Callum laughed at her use of the nickname, then froze as she placed another soft kiss on his lips. He couldn't help but hum in contentment after she pulled away. He again took a moment to admire her appearance in the moonlight. The way she shone and - and glittered was almost ethereal.
She, a goddess in all but name, liked him. Was it too good to be true?
"So..." he said slowly, wincing and then laughing as his voice cracked yet again. "Does this mean we're... a thing?"
Rayla's gentle smile widened into a delighted grin. "Hmm. I suppose it does."
"I guess we'll have to work out the nuances of... us. People might be even crueler towards you when they find out we're together."
Rayla shrugged. "Who cares? I've got you, Soren and Claudia, Felix, Ezran, even Professor Harrow. I don't care what anyone else thinks."
That time, when Rayla leaned in to kiss him again, Callum was prepared for it.
And sure - maybe they were just kids. Maybe they would only be together for a short while. Maybe things would end the moment Rayla had to go back to Xadia.
But right then… Rayla felt like home.
Rayla was home.
And that was everything.
xXxXxXx
I told you guys it was just a medium burn, lol! And I couldn't resist blending in a bit of their kiss on the Ambler from the series into the end. ;) Y'all wanna know something wild? My favorite part of this chapter to write wasn't even them getting together - it was Claudia during the football game lmao. I love football - I know, disgustingly American of me, but it's something my dad and I bond over so :D - which meant it was super fun to write Claudia the way I sometimes react when I get really into games. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Now that exams are done, I should be back to my regular updating schedule so... See you in two(ish) weeks! Thank you for reading!
