This chapter is dedicated to @phemaor16 for voting! Thank you x

••••

Wednesday passed without any drama.

Thank god.

It's now Thursday which means it's match day. Which is something that's hard to ignore because campus really goes for it.

Posters are put up everywhere. Blue gold streamers are up in every single corridor and the players walk round like their Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on their first red carpet.

Including Axel.

I've not seen Axel alone today, he's always got people around him.

Mainly girls in cheerleading outfits which I am totally calm about, by the way.

Totally calm.

So when Rob and I are doing last minute homework in our dorm room, the last thing I expect is for Axel to walk through the door.

"Hi star player!" Rob shouts as Axle walks in, a smile on his face from all of the attention today.

Rob is just as bad as the rest of them so I roll my eyes and put on a smile.

"Hey, you coming tonight?" Axel asks, pointing at Rob.

"Duh, I come to every match." Rob points out, rolling his eyes.

"Wait. Seriously?!" I ask, Rob told me this earlier but I didn't quite believe him.

As it was at the same time he said that he wasn't that obsessed with Drew. Which we all know is not true because they went on a date yesterday and Rob hasn't stopped smiling since.

It's admittedly kind of cute.

"Yep. Been to every single one since this idiot was eleven."

"Why is everyone calling me an idiot these days?"

And then rob and I answer in sync saying, "Because you are one."

Axel rolls his eyes, however a smile is still on his face. "Anyway, here's my jersey." He says as he hands me it.

The fabric is ridiculously light and the whole thing is blue, it's detailing in gold.

I pick it up and hold it in front of me. "Number eleven?" I ask, wondering if there's a deeper meaning.

"My birthday, the best day of the year." Axle says, proudness laced through his deep voice.

"You are wearing his jersey?!" Rob shouts as he looks at me and Axel.

We both turn away from each other and face Rob.

"Eh, yeah." Axel says scratching the back of his neck.

I look at Axel's slightly pink cheeks and let out a laugh. "You're embarrassed." I sing.

"I'll embarrass you." He threatens, the embarrassment disappearing.

"Go ahead." I challenge, knowing that I don't usually get embarrassed.

"Not yet, sweet cheeks, tonight." He winks.

"You're getting worse at these nicknames. It's Cupcake Axel, c'mon." Rob points out.

"No, it's not. Axel isn't allowed to give me a nickname. It's too couple like." I fake shudder.

"One day." Axel grins, showing off his dimples.

Picking up the duffel bag he had brought with him, he throws it over his shoulder and opens the door.

"See you two tonight!" He shouts as he shuts the door behind him.

••••

"Okay, I think we're ready."

"Thank god, I cannot be bothered with this anymore!" Rob exclaims as he falls back into his bed.

For the past hour, Emma and I have been getting ready for the match. And singing.

Okay, mostly singing.

But, it does mean I'm now in a great mood before the match.

Slipping on the jersey over my t-shirt and black skinny jeans, I assess my outfit in the mirror.

"Wow we look cute as hell." Emma approves as she stands beside me.

"Yeah, yeah. Nobody will really care! Let's go, I'm not being late to this." Rob argues.

"Someone's grumpy." I laugh as the three of us head out of the door.

••••

The crowd is a hub of excitement as Rob, Emma and I go to find a free spot.

There's girls talking, guys wrestling and the opposing school supporters sitting grumpily.

We soon find our seats, that are so close to the field, I take a look around.

The pitch is a luminous green and the flood lights shine down on it. It's September and so whenever I breath out, my breath forms an icy cloud.

Rubbing my hands together, I regret not bringing a jacket.

As if ready my thoughts, Emma leans over and whispers to me, "Beauty is pain, Boo. Plus, it's working." She winks.

I look around, utterly confused.

Until my eyes land on Axel, staring at me. His mouth is slightly open and he's got a hand rubbing his chin, as if he can't believe what he's seeing. He stands at the players entrance to the field and due to our perfect (and very close seats) we can see him.

Rob begins laughing once he catches on to Axel and I's speechless looks.

I'm basically doing the same expression back.

He's wearing a training top and some joggers, his dark brown hair perfectly messed up.

He recovers from his shock when he sees a group of six girls running up towards him. He sends them a guilty smile and runs away, towards us.

"Hey." He says breathlessly.

Axel plops into the tiny space on the bench beside me, our knees touching.

We all greet him back and begin talking about the match. As soon as Emma and Rob get into an argument about who looks better in blue, Axel leans into me.

"Sexy jersey." He whispers into my ear, my skin breaks out in goosebumps.

"Thanks." I smile, biting my lip.

Axel's blue eyes darken as he places his hand on my chin and uses his thumb to pull my lip away from my teeth.

Okay, that was hot....

"Sorry." I whisper, our faces inches apart.

"Don't apologise." Axel whispers back, his eye gradually becoming lighter again.

Axel then clears his throat and gains the attention of Rob and Emma.

"Wish me luck." He winks as he walks back down the stairs.

"You don't need it, I believe in you, baby!" Rob shouts back.

To which, Axel flips him off in response.

••••

It's the last minute of the match. The Bruins are leading by seven and we're currently in possession.

Axel passes the ball to number nine and they manage to make yet another touchdown.

The stands go wild, popcorn flying in the air. Cries of joy and relief surround me. I'm making them too.

On the field, Axel catches my eyes and points at me. As if to say, that was for you.

I can't stop myself from smiling.

••••

The Bruins end up winning against the Red Wings thirty five to seventeen.

I'm pretty sure I've lost my voice from shouting.

I've finally admitted that I actually love watching football, once I get past the cold anyway.

Everyone files out of the stadium, with the intent to go out to a club.

There is no such thing as 'weekdays' in college.

However Rob, Emma and I all stand at the exit of the stadium waiting for Axel.

"Finally, thought you had got lost." Rob groans as he spots Axel's figure coming out of the tunnel.

"Just didn't want to see you." Axel shrugs, an innocent look on his face. He sees Rob's hurt expression and quickly adds, "I'm joking. Thanks for coming, man."

They then do that weird one hand hug, that all guys seem to do, whilst Emma and I watch in amusement.

"So, I'm freezing my tits off! Can we get in the car?" Emma complains, ruining the moment.

Although she's not wrong, it is freezing.

Piling into Rob's car, Axel and I sit in the back.

He's freshly showered and wearing a t-shirt and those Nike joggers again. His amazing smelling cologne seems to be suffocating me in the car.

"So, you looked like you hated that." Axel laughs as he looks at me.

Rob starts the car and begins driving, him and Emma talking in the front.

"I enjoyed it, okay?" I say, my throat croaky.

"Damn, you sound worse than me." Axel says.

I then realise that his voice is deeper and raspier sounding than usual.

"Why's your voice messed up?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowing.

"Shouting at people the whole match." He catches my confused look so he then explains. "I need to make the plays, so I need to shout a lot."

"Oh, you could use a hot drink then." I suggest.

Who am I? A parent?

"Only if you join me."

••••

I take another sip of my hot chocolate, looking around my dorm room. Rob recently put fairy lights up, which seemed stupid to me at first, but I'll now admit that they look great at nighttime.

Rob and Axel are sitting side by side, leaning against Rob's bed. Whilst Emma and I lean against my own, I'm facing Axel.

"You were good today, Axel." Emma compliments.

Axel takes another sip of his own hot chocolate, before answering. "I know."

"I mean, you try to be nice and he throws it back into your face." Emma says to me, waving her hands around in the air and pretending as though Axel and Rob aren't here.

"Boys." I roll my eyes, before the four of us crack up laughing.

And to be honest, for the rest of the night, none of us stopped smiling.

••••

Awww I love them so much!

Fun fact - That last scene was added last minute because I felt like the four of them needed it :)

I also wrote this whole chapter to the chill-out session playlist on Spotify, which I highly recommend if you have the app!!

Please vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter! It helps more people discover this story :)

Much love,

Jade x