"Turn left up ahead," Kevin instructed Jeremy from the passenger seat.

"We are being kidnapped," Jean mumbled grumpily.

Neil shrugged. "So far, it's a lot better than my last kidnapping." Jeremy was pretty sure he saw Andrew hit him through the rearview mirror.

"We're not being kidnapped," Jeremy said. He glanced over at Kevin. "But—could you just tell us where we're going?"

"You'll find out in a minute," said Kevin. "We're almost there."

"You could just tell us now, you know," said Andrew.

Kevin looked back at him coolly. "I could. But I think it's more fun this way, don't you?"

"Wait, is that what this is about?" asked Neil. "That was ages ago. And we had a reason."

"And that reason was?"

"Um."

"That's what I thought."

"What are you talking about?" asked Jean. He pivoted to glare more directly at Neil and Andrew. "It is your fault he refuses to tell us where we are going?"

"I don't know. It's possible," said Neil evasively. "You'd have to ask Kevin."

"What did you do?" asked Jean. "And why are Jeremy and I being punished for it?"

"Oh," said Jeremy. "This is about how they had you drive them to their wedding without telling you where you were going, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Kevin cheerfully. "As much as I hate to say it, they were right—secrets can be fun, when they're temporary and harmless."

"Wouldn't it be better for us to know where we're going?" asked Neil. "So we could prepare? Be ready for whatever press is there?"

Kevin snorted. "When have you ever prepared for a press appearance?"

"I'm turning over a new leaf," said Neil. "Or, at least, I would be, if you'd tell me what we're doing."

"You won't need to prepare for this one," said Kevin. "I picked an activity that will be easy. Fun, even."

"For all of us?" asked Jean, the doubt clear in his voice.

Kevin made a noncommittal humming noise.

"That means no," said Andrew dryly.

"You'll enjoy it," said Kevin, "probably. Now, whether you'll admit it is another thing."

"Why would we be unwilling to admit it?" asked Jean suspiciously.

"Because some of you have a problem admitting you enjoy anything," said Kevin, shooting a look towards the entirety of the backseat. He ignored the cacophony of protests and gestured towards the upcoming cross-street. "Take this right, and then you'll see it up ahead on the left after the next curve."

"This looks familiar," said Jeremy. "Have we been here before?"

"Yes," said Kevin, sounding mildly impressed. "It's been a while, but yes."

Jean leaned forward, then deflated. "None of this looks remotely familiar."

"Yes it does," said Neil suddenly. "We're going to Roosevelt High School?"

"What is that?" asked Jean.

"Oh—it's the school where you did that scrimmage a couple of years ago," said Andrew.

"How do you remember that?" Jean asked. "You were not even here."

Andrew ignored him. "Is the rest of the team meeting us there?"

"Nope," said Kevin. "Just us."

"Three strikers, a backliner, and a goalie does not a scrimmage make," said Andrew.

"That's why we aren't doing a scrimmage," said Kevin. "It's a clinic."

"A clinic?" Jeremy grinned. "Fun!"

"Our big, grand finale event is a clinic? For one high school?" asked Andrew. "Seems like we could have come up with something a little better than that."

"Not just one school," said Kevin.

"We are making multiple stops?" asked Jean. "I thought we only had one afternoon."

"One stop," said Kevin. "Kids are coming to us. From all over. My dad helped put together the roster—talented kids who don't have the resources to go to clinics like this. We're all covering their expenses to fly out here and participate."

"We are?"

"Yes," said Kevin. "The U.S. Court team is contributing, too. I worked it out with them. Our next paycheck will be a little smaller than usual."

Neil took a breath. "What about—"

"I worked it out," said Kevin. "The accounting will all be sound."

There was a collective exhale in the car. "Thanks, Kev," said Jeremy, taking the final turn into the school parking lot. "You clearly put a lot of effort into this—it should be a great afternoon! How many kids are participating?"

"Fifty-four."

"Fifty-four?" Jeremy repeated. "How did you get that many here on such short notice?"

"My dad keeps track of kids like these," said Kevin. "It's part of his job. It didn't take long to put together the invitation list."

"Sure," said Neil, "but how did you get so many to accept? Even if we're covering the expenses, most people can't just fly across the country on a few days' notice."

"They had sufficient notice," said Kevin evasively.

"How could they?" Neil pressed him. "You've only known you would be the one organizing this volunteer activity since Tuesday."

Kevin gave a noncommittal hum.

"Kevin," said Andrew, "how long have you been planning this clinic?"

"Since our last Court weekend, when you first set the parameters for the rivalry," said Kevin.

"Wait, really?" asked Jeremy. He put the car in park and pivoted to face Kevin. "But—how did you know we'd ask you to pick the activity?"

"I didn't," said Kevin. "But I did know that planning a major, high-quality event would take more than a week, and the winner wouldn't have that much time. So I took the liberty of setting something up."

"What if we hadn't called it a draw?" asked Neil. "What if we'd come up with a different activity?"

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "You'd put thought to it, then?" he asked. "If you and Andrew had won, what was your activity going to be."

"It was—we were going to—we would've come up with something," said Neil.

"No, you wouldn't have," said Kevin. "You would have come to me for help, and I would have suggested this clinic, and you would have thanked me profusely and tried to pass it off as your idea."

Jean snorted. "That does sound like something the two of you would do."

Kevin glanced back at him. "You would have done the same."

"What if we didn't, though?" asked Jeremy. "It was a risk."

"Not really," Kevin said with a shrug. "I gave myself veto power for a reason. If you hadn't been willing to go along with my idea at first, I would have just kept vetoing your ideas until it was too late to come up with anything else."

"I'm impressed, Day," said Andrew. "How devious of you."

"It's going to be a great activity," he said, unbothered. "For the kids, and for us."

"What if we'd come up with a really good activity, though?" asked Jeremy. "One you didn't want to veto?"

"If it was really a great idea, you wouldn't have had time to implement it," said Kevin.

"So you set us up to fail," said Neil.

"I did no such thing," said Kevin. "You were the one who suggested the winner pick the joint activity."

"No I wasn't!" Neil protested. He looked at Andrew. "Was I?"

Andrew made a face and looked away. "It doesn't matter who suggested it. Kevin still set us up for failure."

"That means it was Neil," said Jean smugly.

"Can't we just agree to blame Kevin?" asked Andrew.

"No," said Jeremy and Kevin emphatically.

"It could be a good compromise," said Jean. Jeremy gave him a look. ". . . or not."

"The rivalry is over," said Jeremy. "We don't need to blame anyone."

"But it's fun to blame someone," said Andrew.

"I've gotten pretty used to it," Neil agreed. "You know, we've been in one rivalry or another for a long time now. Maybe we should—"

"Absolutely not," said Kevin flatly. "There is no way in hell I am putting up with another one of these."

"What if you were a part of the next one?" Neil suggested. "I bet Allison would make you a cool t-shirt or something. Don't you want a cool t-shirt?"

"I've got plenty of t-shirts."

"But none that say 'Team Day,' right?" said Neil enticingly.

"I'm good, thanks," said Kevin.

"I think," said Andrew, giving Neil a pointed look, "we could all use a break from these rivalries."

Neil nodded slowly. "I think that's a good idea."

"Sure, you listen when he says it," muttered Kevin.

Andrew poked the back of Kevin's head. "Gift horse, mouth."

Kevin sighed. "Yeah, okay, fair enough." He checked the time. "They'll be expecting us in just a minute. Ready to walk over to the court?"

"Let's go," said Jeremy with a grin. He and Kevin got out of the car, and the others followed. Kevin led the way, with Neil and Andrew trailing shortly after him; Jeremy took Jean's hand and hung back a bit. "Hey," he said. "This is going to be fun."

Jean hummed in agreement. "In a way, it makes the rest of the rivalry worth it, no?"

Jeremy snorted. "I think we could have gotten here without the rest of the rivalry."

"Maybe so," said Jean, "but it was not all bad. We got to work in the community garden, go on our favorite podcast, see our friend's play, meet a lot of fans. And we ate at a lot of very nice restaurants."

Jeremy winced. "We might have to do some of those things again. I don't think I enjoyed them as much as I should have."

Jean paused, then nodded. "I do not think I enjoyed them as much as I should have, either."

"That's okay," said Jeremy softly, squeezing his hand. "We'll have fun today. And then we'll go back and re-do some of the things we didn't appreciate as much as we should have."

"I would like that," said Jean.

Jeremy smiled. "Ready to go teach some kids?"

Jean made a face. "Children to not like me very much."

"Remember when you wanted to adopt one just to one-up Neil and Andrew?" asked Jeremy, nudging him gently.

"That was, perhaps, not my finest moment," said Jean with a grimace.

Jeremy laughed. "Perhaps." He looked at Jean and smiled. "These kids will like you. They're here to learn. And you're a good teacher."

"I am impatient, and too focused on winning."

"Maybe, sometimes," Jeremy acknowledged, "but you're good, too. You taught all those Raven drills to me and Alvarez when you first got to USC."

"And then you and Alvarez taught the rest of the team because I was too abrasive."

"You'd been away from the Ravens for all of five minutes," said Jeremy. "You've grown since then. These kids are going to learn a ton from you. They're lucky to have you." He paused. "I'm lucky to have you."

"I am the one who is lucky, I think," said Jean. His smile was warm and full.

The stadium loomed in front of them—large, for a high school. Jeremy would bet most of the kids at this clinic had never played in a stadium this big before. A lot of them probably hadn't even set foot in one. Kevin and Coach Wymack had done a very good thing, setting this clinic up.

Kevin turned back and grinned at them from the entryway. "Let's show these kids how to be champions."

A rush of excitement passed through Jeremy. He still didn't like the rivalry, and he was glad it was over, but maybe Jean was right—if it had led them to this moment, it might have been worth it, after all.