V.   F I V E   //   T H E   S T A R T   O F   S O M E T H I N G

Louis was in the middle of getting his uniform on when one of his teammates called him out of the change room. He pulled his footy jersey over his head and walked out to see Liam standing in the corridor, his own uniform already on. "What's up?"

            "There's a little midget here who wants to see you and she refuses to get to her seat near the front until she sees you," he said with a smirk. Every time he and Pyper had met, Liam would always make fun of her height; with him at five-foot-nine, he was seven inches taller than her. He slapped Louis' back before turning to go back into the change room. "Oh, and Lou?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Take Max's word of advice. You might wanna talk to her soon or you'll miss your chance." With a nod to Liam, Louis jogged out the side doors and saw Pyper there, typing away on her phone. Before he even reached her she looked up and smiled at him.

            "Hey, all star," she greeted.

            Louis scoffed. "You and I both know I'm nowhere near that yet. How come you aren't sitting down yet?"

            "The one thing you're modest about is the one thing you're good at," she said with a sigh. Louis raised his eyebrows in mock hurt as she continued to speak. "I wanted to come down and wish you luck. And as motivation..."

            Pyper opened her messenger bag and rummaged through it for a few seconds, pulling out a paper bag with the insignia from Coffee Hit on it. His mouth began drooling. "Is that—"

            "Yup," she confirmed. "Your favourite."

            He made a grab for the doughnut but Pyper stuck it behind her back, delicately placing it back in her bag. "I just thought I'd show you your prize to get you motivated. Now go make your goals out there."

            Louis groaned. "Fine, I'll make the goals. But it's only for that delectable item you're holding."

            "Just remember—no goals, no doughnut," Pyper warned. "I'll wait for you afterwards. Let me know if you're getting a celebratory meal or something, alright?"

            "No problem. I'm pretty nervous about tonight, but thanks for coming out, Pipe." Louis ran a hand through his hair. "It means a lot."

            "That's what I'm here for." She gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "Now go knock 'em dead. Someone's saving my seat right now, so I should get back. I'll be cheering for you—and Nottingham, of course."

            Assuming she had come with Lydia, Louis said, "Let them know I say hi, then. I'll see you afterwards."

            Twenty minutes later and the home team ran out onto the field, warming up on the side opposite that they entered. Nottingham followed afterwards and Louis saw Pyper in the front row, on her feet, cheering her heart out. Once the cheering died down, she shouted, "Gooooo Louis!"

            He looked over at her directly and waved, but he felt his smile falter when he saw who she was with. Why was Brendan there? Were they on a date? He shook his head and stood straight, looking ahead so that he would be ready when the game officially started. There were only three things that would keep him fuelled for the game: (1) Pyper's encouraging cheers while ignoring Brendan on the side, (2) the team's success for a good season, and (3) a doughnut with his name on it that was currently being held hostage.

            He could do this. He knew it. With the loud blow of the whistle, he was out from his area on the right and into the game. Come on, Tomlinson. Knock 'em dead.

+++

"We did it!"

            The entire team rushed into the change room, slapping each other on the back and giving out high fives and fist bumps. Winning by 4-2, Louis grinned to himself as he took his uniform off. He had scored the amount Pyper had wanted. He made two of those four goals happen.

            He was getting his doughnut.

            After taking a quick shower to get the sweat off his body and out of his hair, he put his uniform into his football kit and slung the bag over his shoulder. After saying bye to Liam, Alex, and the rest of the guys, he walked out with determination and confidence. Not only was he getting a doughnut, but he'd finally tell Pyper that he was interested in her.

            He turned the corner of the hallway in community centre they had played in and didn't find her by the door, where she said she'd be. "Pyper?"

            A loud yell sounded from behind Louis but it was too late for him to turn around. Pyper jumped onto his back and wrapped her legs around his waist, laughing after two attempts to growl like a tiger. "Congratulations on winning, Lou!"

            "You're—you're cutting off—my air cir—circulation."

            She jumped off his back and stepped in front of him, arms crossed and pouting. "It was fun up there."

            "Of course it was," he said. A mischievous smirk crawled onto his face. "Anyways, I scored two goals. This means I get the doughnut, doesn't it? I believe I deserved it after sweating out every piece of clothing I was wearing."

            Pyper shook her head. "You aren't getting it."

            "Why not?"

            She held up two fingers. "I told you more than two goals. Getting two goals doesn't count."

            "But—I—" Louis' eyes were wider than when his air stream was cut off. "You promised!"

            "Come on, Lou. Let's go back home." Pyper began walking towards the exit but not before pulling the brown paper bag out and dangling it by her thumb and forefinger. He chased after Pyper in an attempt to get the dessert; clearly being as tiny as she was worked to her advantage. After ten minutes of trying to grab the baggie he almost gave up. Almost.

            "I have a proposition for you."

            Pyper froze. "What is it?"

            "Even though I only scored two goals, you give me the doughnut," he began as he stretched his arm out towards her, "and I'll carry you home on my back. You said it was fun, didn't you?"

            They looked like a frozen panel in one of Louis' drama classes—Pyper stood sideways, head facing him and hands clutching the dessert close to her chest; Louis with one leg in front of the other and one hand outstretched, waiting in anticipation for the moment she would say yes. She moved towards him and gave him the little baggie. "You got yourself a deal."

            The second he was finished he picked up his kit and bent over slightly so that Pyper could jump on his back with ease and not choke him in the process. The entire time he carried her back to the building (which was thankfully close to the centre—it was chillier than Louis had anticipated) he decided to work up the nerve to ask her about what was bothering him before he decided to confess anything. "So Pipe, what was Brendan doing at the game?"

            Her face lit up when his name was brought up, which created a small pit in Louis' stomach. "Well," she began, "you know how I've had this little crush on him and all? Ever since the night you took me to Walkabout?"

            The pit was already getting bigger; Louis was hoping the crush stayed as a crush. "What about it?"

            "I was texting him earlier today about tonight, yeah? And I mentioned how I would be watching you versus Nottingham and then I asked him if he wanted to come and he said yes but only if we made a bet." Pyper pressed the up button in the lobby of their apartment building; the elevator doors opened swiftly.

            Once the door was closed, Louis asked, "So what was this bet?"

            "That if Nottingham won, I'd get to choose where our first date was, since I didn't consider today one," she explained. "And if Doncaster won, he was allowed to give me a surprise."

            Louis eyed Pyper carefully. The way she was fidgeting with the bottom hem of her jumper and how she tried to keep a large smile back by biting her lip, he could tell he did and didn't want to hear the answer at the same time. "And...we won. What was the surprise?"

            The first time she replied, the words were a hurried mutter with her looking at the floor. There was silence. Before he could ask her to repeat what the surprise was she burst and exclaimed, "He kissed me! I didn't expect it in the slightest and I didn't know what I was supposed to assume when he meant a surprise. I mean, I thought maybe he meant sex but of course I would have said no to that—not yet anyways. But yeah, I don't know. I guess the crush on him was worth it because now we're together!"

            Now we're together. If that wasn't the sound of a chasm opening in Louis' stomach he didn't know what was. "That's...That's great, Pipe. I'm glad you're happy."

            And he was, he really was. She deserved happiness—if it was Brendan that gave it to her, he would live with it. He'd just learn to forget how he felt about Pyper. It was for the better, that was a given.

            "And here's my floor." Before she walked off she went on her toes to give Louis a kiss on the cheek. "Are we still on for the study date tomorrow?"

            "Yeah...Yeah, we are." It was a good thing Louis was majoring in theatre, otherwise him pretending to be okay would never get past Pyper. He waited until the elevator door closed before he groaned in the empty space. He hated to admit it, but Max had been right. He was shot down before he even had a chance to confess.

            At least he was saved the embarrassment of rejection...right?

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            103 votes. one hundred and three votes, total. i actually can't believe this story got so many votes so fast. it really was a lovely (belated) valentine's gift. 

            anyways, here's the second part of the day of the match... i suck at keeping chapters even, but an update is an update, right?

            – linn