The game on Christmas Eve went horribly. Everything that could go wrong did. Sam Baldfish couldn't score a field goal from 20 yards away, Bus Jibbus kept throwing the football to players that weren't there, the best players were being injured left and right, and Naanee was unable to keep his grip on the ball. Seven interceptions and fourteen fumbles occurred and that was only during the first two quarters.

Tits fans were booing at the top of their lungs. All the spunk had gone out of the cheerleaders. Someone cursed at the quarterback in a foreign language. All in all, it was a disappointing Christmas Eve game.

To top it all off, something seemed different with Naanee. It was as though he were severely distracted. Kawaii noticed him staring off into the void more than once almost like he was pondering whether or not he would have been a better baker. The announcer would laugh and make jokes when this happened, almost taunting in their nature.

The comments obviously started to get to Naanee because he played even worse in the last two quarters, a sad expression on his usually upbeat face. It hurt Kawaii to see it.

She wondered worriedly if his preoccupation was her fault, if he was too busy thinking about their upcoming date to focus on the task at hand. She also wondered if he even remembered it. With the way the game was sure to turn out, she wasn't sure he would even want to go.

Her breath formed a translucent white cloud in front of her as it did to many of the other spectators. The drop in temperature had been sudden and unexpected. It was comply different from the relative warmth of the previous game and people were bundled in jackets and gloves. A slight drizzle accompanied the cold, not enough to be a big problem, but was an irritating nuisance. Kawaii supposed it was fitting, dismal weather for a dismal game.

"Did you hear what might happen to the Tits if they keep playing this poorly?" Kawaii overhead a middle-aged lady say from the seat behind her.

"No, I didn't. What's gonna happen?" her friend asked.

"I heard that they might get kicked out of the league if they don't shape up."

Kawaii's breath caught in her throat upon hearing that. The Toronto Tits not be a team?! They couldn't do that! It was only their first season, surely they weren't expected to play at top of the league standards! The players hadn't had a chance to mesh yet, they were still learning each others behavior and movement on the field. The machine like cohesion would come with time and couldn't be rushed. It would form when it formed and not a second sooner.

"No way! How long do they have?" the friend asked with bated breath.

"Until the end of the season, tops. Maybe less if they don't improve. I hear a new team is already being considered. The Louisville Louts have already started training in preparation to take over the Tits' place. They're quite confident they will make their debut soon."

Kawaii shuddered at both the prospect and the potential new team's name. Who in their right minds would want to be referred to as the Louts? It was neither amusing nor catchy and did little to strike fear into the opposing team's hearts.

"Oh, how tragic! And right when the young quarterback was starting to garner quite a following too," the friend said in an 'oh, well' manner that hurt Kawaii. The idea that the team might simply be tossed aside and virtually forgotten was a tough pill to swallow.

"Well, that's how the cookie crumbles. Shape up or ship out. I never did like this team anyway," the middle-aged woman said with a hoity toity disdain that was mirrored on the faces around her.

Kawaii chose to sit quietly figuring it was better than the alternative, defending the team and yelling at the woman. That wasn't going to solve anything and, as much as Kawaii disagreed with her, she was entitled to her own opinion, even if said opinion was completely and entirely wrong.

The last two quarters of the game were just as bad as the first two, if not worse. The Tits fought valiantly, but with the majority of their best players off the field and their star wide receiver preoccupied, they didn't stand a chance.

Getting to the northern field goal after the game was easy, the crowd of Tits fans were mostly dispersed, save for the usual group of Bus fans. Naanee had no problem going to meet her and Kawaii noticed how his eyes lit up upon seeing her waiting for him.

"I wasn't sure you were going to remember," Kawaii said, a sudden wave of shyness overcoming her.

"Of course I remember! How could I not? I'm sure if I hadn't, something would have reminded me anyway."

"I'm really sorry about the game. You had a rough time out there. If you aren't feeling up to the date, we don't have to-" Kawaii started, jumping right in and saying what she wanted to say before nerves got the better of her. Because she didn't really want to speak those words, didn't want the date to be cancelled, but she felt she ought to offer.

Naanee interrupted her. "Not feeling up to it? After that miserable excuse for a game, this date is exactly what I need. It'll help get my mind off it and fill my thoughts with more pleasant ones instead."

"You're sure you aren't too worn out?" asked Kawaii. She hoped the answer was no.

Naanee took her hand in both of his, looking her straight in the eye. "I'm positive," he said, smiling. "Let me go change first really quick, and we can head over to the bowling alley."

While Naanee went to the locker room to get changed, Kawaii whipped out her phone and texted her friend Julia.

I can't do this, she wrote hurriedly, fingers flying over the keyboard. She had no need to specify her problem as Julia knew all about it from their late night texts.

Sure you can. Just be yourself. You're so fun to be around, and if he is stupid enough to not like you as you are, he isn't worth having, was Julia's immediate response.

I know that, but it's difficult. I get so flustered around him and these inexplicable meetings have me thinking and the expectations I already have in my mind about how it will go are driving me crazy. Kawaii looked at her run on sentence and sent it before it had a chance to get even longer and more confusing.

What if it doesn't go well? she continued, sitting cross legged on the grass despite the damp. She hardly noticed it.

KAWAII ! Julia texted, the caps lock trying to bring her back to her senses. Just listen to me for a sec.

The next sentence came as a single word in each message:YOU. WILL. BE. FINE !

Kawaii could practically feel Julia shaking her through the phone. But what if I'm not ?

You'll do great. Lift your chin up high, think of him as a normal human being (which he is) and at least feign a bit of confidence. I believe in you, you should too.

Kawaii stared down at her phone where the text glowed in bright letters. She stared at it so long in fact, that by the time she finally looked up, Naanee was out of the locker room and heading in her direction. Kawaii hastily shoved the phone back in her pocket and rose.

"So, bowling. Are you ready to go?" she asked, biting back the nerves that threatened to show.

"That depends. Are you ready to lose?" Naanee asked teasingly.

"Yeah, right! You don't know who you're talking to! I could say you can have my leftover pins, only there won't be any." The competitive side of her was brought out and the apprehension was pushed away.

"We'll see about that," Naanee told her.