Comfy Closets - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Nerves were running wild through my body. My heart felt like it was beating at hyper speed at the moment. I could feel sweat running down my forehead and a beat like a drum in my ears. I couldn't keep still, and the game hasn't even started yet.
Taking my earphones out, I could still hear the loud punk rock song playing, the music having done its job in pumping me up for the game.
The locker room was rowdy; the usual pregame mood. Some of my teammates were dancing to the music playing from the speakers, hyping the others up, while others, like me, had their earbuds in listening to the music of their own tastes. It was all around an electric atmosphere, perfect for game day.
Looking at the clock, I realised it was almost time to head out. I stood on a bench and called for everyone's attention.
"Alright, ladies. Listen up!" The girls settled down, taking out their earphones or quieting the music to hear me. "Today's game may seem simple since it's just against Ormond High." Some of the girls grunted at the name, dismissing the challenge they presented. "Yes, we've won against them a couple of times already, but that does not give us any reason to let our guard down. We will treat them like any other competition we've played against. Hard or not. And no matter what, we play our best because that's the competition and game they deserve." Words of agreement travelled around. Satisfied, I jumped down from the bench. "Now let's get out there and WIN!"
Roars of cheers echoed around the locker room, sounds of slamming locker doors and yells filled with spirit bouncing off the walls. Pride filled in my chest at the sight of this team. This was a team I was proud to play with, proud to represent.
Coach came in and called for us to head out, already having briefed us on the game plans and strategies a couple of minutes ago. The team jogged out with vigour and fervour emanating from them, all of us feeding off of each others energy.
As we neared the field, I could hear the distant chanting of the crowd, it's effect spanning to the point where I felt a rumble under my cleats. Stepping out into the open, I could see the fading sunlight slowly disappear from the sky, leaving colours of orange and pink to lightly smudge the edges of each cloud.
Taking a deep breath in, I let the cool November air traverse the canals of my lungs, energizing my limbs even further. The small moment of tranquillity I let myself soak up was broken too soon by the rising cheers of the crowd that had noticed our arrival.
Plastering a smile on my face, I led the team out onto the field and to our bench as the girls grinned and waved at their friends in the stands. I looked in that direction myself, scanning the crowd for a few familiar faces I wanted to see, one in particular...
Stopping in the middle of the stands, I spotted a crazy redhead waving her arms like a maniac as I heard her scream "YOU GOT THIS" from where I stood, while a calmer black-haired boy tried to prevent the girls' flailing arms from hitting anyone nearby. Unfortunately, he failed when the girl was able to smack Zach right in the face. A genuine smile now took over as I waved their way, loving my crazy friends and their enthusiastic support.
Moving on, my eyes continued on their search for a certain girl, only catching sight of her when I saw the dirty blonde waving my way further down the stands. Even from where I stood, her grin shone so brightly and beautifully, and now all I wanted to do was continue to stare in awe. But I had a role to play, but damn was it so hard to concentrate on that right now.
The hazel-eyed beauty gestured for me to come closer, almost seductively, as she got up from her seat and headed down the stairs, squeezing past her confused friends that stayed seated. Seeing that we still had time, I jogged over briskly to meet her by the barrier. I didn't care what other people thought at that moment. I just wanted to hear her personally wish me luck.
"Hey there, Ms 'Captain of the soccer team'," she teased, leaning her arms against the cold metal railing. I looked down to my captain's armband, adjusting it slightly as pride bloomed in my chest. "How are you feeling? Nervous?"
"No, more excited than anything else. I can't wait to get out there and play." I moved from foot to foot, the restless energy slowly seeping through. "Thanks for coming, by the way."
"Of course, I can't miss this. I even dragged my friends along to support." She glanced behind her, chuckling when she saw her unenthusiastic friends shivering in their seats and snuggling into their scarves. "Well, I just wanted to wish you good luck. And whatever you do, don't score an own goal again," she joked, a cheeky smile stretching her naturally pink lips.
"With you here in the crowd today, looking so distracting," I muttered huskily as I looked her up and down, "don't blame me if I do," Slowly backtracking my steps, I smiled when I saw her ears turn red. It's nice when I'm not the one always blushing sometimes.
I didn't know where I got the confidence to say that. Maybe it was the atmosphere, the cheering or just the energy coursing through me. But whatever it was, if it was able to make Leah blush, then maybe a little confidence was what I needed.
I walked back to my teammates, now with a determination to win. Now let's hope that I don't actually score on my own team.
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Half-time came about, and the game was still at a draw with no goals from both teams. Irritation was starting to creep in as all I wanted to do was put the ball into the back of their net, but it stubbornly won't.
"Girls. We have to finish our chances. Put more pressure on them so that they'll make mistakes. Don't give them a chance to breathe. Camilla and Hayley, take those chances when you see them. We can do this, girls. Now let's get that goal!" A chorus of 'yeahs' sounded as the girls regained their determination that had chipped away in the first half. "Falcons on three!"
"One, two, three. FALCONS!"
The circle broke and the eleven starters, including me, jogged back onto the field. The whistle blew and the game resumed.
Our team started off this half with a blast, a renewed vigour pulsing through the group from every line. And soon enough, with the assist from Camilla, Hayley was able to slot the ball into the back of their net. A cry of jubilation came from me as I ran over to the two to give them a hug.
Only a couple of minutes later, we got ourselves a corner kick. Olivia went to take it, while the rest of us crowded in the box. For a second, I spared a glance at the cheering crowd, my eyes gravitating towards a certain dirty blonde. When I saw her on her feet cheering her throat out for us, I suddenly felt the need to get this one in. Turning my attention back, I felt my awareness heighten for the moment to come. The ball was kicked and soared beautifully above the players. Determining the angle, I escaped from my defender and found a pocket of space, connecting my head with the ball to redirect it where I wanted.
Goal. Just like that. My teammates excitedly rushed to me in celebration, knowing the other team was done for. It felt like a hugging festival to me at that moment. Soon, the game was over with a two-nothing win.
The girls and I rejoiced in the locker rooms, quickly showering and getting changed to go celebrate with our friends off the field. Some of the girls were talking about attending a party afterwards as a way to celebrate our win. After all, it was Friday.
"Hey, Cap. You coming to the party with us?" Camilla asked as she came up to me.
"No, I don't think I'll come. Not really feeling like a party tonight. You girls go though, have fun," I said, patting her shoulder.
Olivia stopped by us and decided to also try and convince me. "Come on, Aly. You got a goal tonight. We should celebrate together!"
"No, really. I'm good. And anyway, I have other plans tonight, so don't worry about me," I reassured them the best I could. "Go party without me."
Camilla was the first to let it go. "Alright then. But know that we'll be missing you there," she declared before she walked away. Olivia was a little more hesitant to back down, but in the end, she just sighed and went to get her things.
I checked my phone to see that I received two messages, one from Leah saying that she was waiting outside and another from Gia hurrying me up so we could go grab something to eat. I didn't reply to Gia but sent a quick text to Leah saying that I was coming.
I left the locker room with my bag of gear and made my way to the school's parking lot. From a distance, I saw a small group of people clustered near the pathway leading there, but as I grew closer, I realised it was my group of friends mixed with Leah's friends and herself. They were all talking and mingling, which was a surprise to me since high school groups don't usually intermingle much.
"Hey guys," I said, as a way to announce my presence. Everyone turned their attention to me, and suddenly I felt a tad intimidated by all the stares that were directed at me. I didn't feel like this when everyone was staring at me on the field, but I guess that was because they didn't expect me to talk. Now I had to talk. "Okay..."
A redhead jumped out of the group and went to hug me. "Congrats, Aly! That goal was amazing! You gotta teach me that someday so I could really head-butt Ash properly. Hope I don't lose any brain cells though."
"Don't teach her that. Both of us will end up losing brain cells. One already more than the other." Ashton was next to give me a hug. "Great job out there, by the way."
"Thanks, bub," I murmured happily.
"Alright, some of us are going to head to the party that's happening tonight. You guys can join if you want," some girl from Leah's group of friends spoke up as they started to make their way to the parking lot.
"Nah, I'm not going tonight, guys. Not really feeling like a party," Leah spoke up, her friends turning back to look at her.
"You sure, Le? I heard this party is gonna be good," one of the boys in the group mentioned.
"I think one night without partying seems like a good idea."
Gia perked up then and stepped in. "We were planning to go grab something to eat after the game. You can come with us, Leah, if you want."
Her hazel eyes flickered to me before she answered. "Yeah, that actually sounds good. I'll join you guys." Three other girls from the other group also said they'd join, two of them I recognized as Sara and Riley, Leah's friends that I've met before.
"Suit yourself." The group of boys and girls went to leave, chatting excitedly about the night ahead. I internally shook my head, not understanding how they found a party more appealing than food. Although, if Leah had chosen to go to the party, I couldn't say for sure I would've stuck with the latter...
In the middle of my internal deliberation, I suddenly felt arms go around me, enveloping me in a warm hug. For some reason, I recognized who it was instantly, as I felt myself melt into her like butter. "Hey there Lys. Congrats, you didn't run the wrong way." I could hear the humour in her voice.
I took a moment to inhale her intoxicating scent, relishing in the comforting smell of lavender, mixed with something faint I couldn't really identify... Was that musk? Either way, it was definitely appealing to me.
I burrowed my nose into her shoulder for a second before I pulled away, not wanting to seem weird in front of everyone watching. "I guess you were more of a motivation than a distraction."
She bit her bottom lip at that, raising an eyebrow as the corners of her mouth tilted up slightly. Before she could reply, Gia chose to speak up then, grabbing everyone's attention. "Okay, people let's head off to the diner. Like now. I'm starving." With that, she spun around and marched to her car, Ash and Zach following her lead at a much slower pace.
I shrugged at Leah and followed them. Leah didn't bring her car, so she followed me to mines instead. I noticed she could've gone with her friends since they had space, but I wasn't complaining. I enjoyed her company a lot.
The ride was unfortunately short, but it was filled with laughter as she took over the AUX cord and started rapping to a song, and I've gotta say that I was pretty impressed.
But honestly, I wanted to talk about us, but now didn't seem like the right time. Maybe a bit later when we were alone and had time to talk.
We got out of the car and headed into the diner, joining Gia and them as Leah's friends followed behind. The place was bustling like usual. It had a classy design that held modernistic touches, like the lights or the sleek tables, adding to its appeal. Whenever someone mentioned 'the diner', we knew they were referring to this one because it was the best in town.
As we had eight people, we decided to squeeze into a six-seater booth, with one person dragging a chair over to sit at the end of the table. On one side, it was Leah next to the window, then me, the girl I didn't know the name of, and then Riley at the end. Gia was sitting opposite of Leah, with Sara and Zach on her side and Ashton sitting on the outside. Most of them went to grab a menu, but I already had my order in mind, having eaten here many times before. We ordered right away, the others settling into conversation easily right after.
I didn't mind being squished next to Leah, not at all, but it was a little awkward to be pressed against a stranger, and a little uncomfortable too. Leah, noticing that I was squirming nervously, and so decided to give me more space on her side. "Right, I forgot you guys didn't know each other. This is Lyssa- sorry, I mean Alyssa, and she's Emma."
The auburn-haired girl smiled politely my way. "Hi, nice to meet you."
"Hi."
She turned my way to converse with me properly, tucking her loose bangs away from her lightly freckled face. "You know, what's funny is that I've never heard Leah mention you before." She didn't say it in a b*tchy way, it was more matter of fact than anything else.
I looked to my other side at the girl in question, but she had already moved her attention elsewhere and was currently in one of those silly debates Gia had started. "I don't know. I guess she wanted me to meet you myself?" I said unsurely, phrasing it more like a question as I turned back to her.
"I guess I'm just that interesting, right Leah?" she quipped sarcastically, looking to the dirty blonde for a response.
"Huh?"
"Never mind," she dismissed, rolling her eyes like she had expected that. "Anyways, did you hear that new song by Hollow Coves? It's so good, isn't it?"
After that, our conversation took off as we discussed the music we preferred to the artists we personally liked. It was nice to talk about music with someone who was so passionate about it, I could just tell it was something she was going to pursue in the future.
In the middle of eating and talking about the indie bands that we liked, I looked around to see how everyone was doing. It was surprising that everyone was getting along so well. Ashton was talking to Riley who was sat beside him. From my angle, I could see they were leaning pretty close to each other as they talked, bordering on intimate. Looking to the right across from me, Sara was cosying up to Zach and not so subtly brushing against him as they ate. I saw Gia glancing at them from time to time, and as much as she tried to hide it from everyone, I recognised the annoyance and jealousy shining through.
Catching her eye, I gave her a look of sympathy. She just waved me off and proceeded to not look in their direction for the rest of the time.
When everyone was done eating and we were about to pay the bill, I leant close to Leah and whispered in her ear. "I want to bring you somewhere. Just the two of us."
She moved her head back to gaze into my blue orbs, a serene smile present. "Okay," was her simple reply.
We left the diner soon after, and I quickly came to Gia side before she left. "Hey, how are you holding up?"
She passed a hand through her fiery hair, a resigned expression on her face. "Doesn't matter. I'll get over it."
I didn't know what to say to that. I looked at my friend who seemed so indifferent on the outside, but I knew she was disappointed.
"Gia." She lifted her head to focus her gaze on me. "You have always been bold and confident, so where did my best friend go?" She didn't say anything to that, just kept silent. I decided to give her a course of action instead. "Ask him if he sees you like that. Ask him if there's even a chance, because if his answer is no, at least you know instead of pondering on the 'what ifs'. At least then, you can move on."
She kept her silence, her eyes gazing into nothing as she let my words sink in. Finally, she broke it. "Alright, I'll do that." Her words held a resoluteness to them, a determination to find the answers to her questions. She made a move to head off to her car, only turning around to say one more thing. "Thanks for that."
I gave a nod in return, hoping she will find what she wants. Turning back to my car, I saw Leah standing beside it a few metres away, a soft, patient smile gracing her lips.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"No worries. You want to head off now?"
"Yeah. Let's get out of here."
The drive to our destination took twenty minutes, our journey filled with a comfortable silence as soft indie music played in the background. I parked the car and switched off the engine, announcing our arrival. "We're here."
Getting out, the first thing my senses absorbed was the familiar smell of the sea that bombarded my nose. Leah had a look of surprise as she gazed at our surroundings. "The pier, huh."
I locked my car and went around the other side, stopping by her. "It's one of my favourite places to be." She smiled at that.
We started our walk up the pier, our slow pace allowing us to just observe and take in the surrounding environment. The sky was now a midnight blue, the previous gentle orange and pinks having long gone. There was only a couple of people walking about. Some were couples. Some of them had headphones on and were walking alone. And there was even the occasional fisherman that stayed to the sides. Everyone looked like they were in their own world, living and breathing in the moment.
Looking at the beauty beside me, I saw how the wind swept through her hair, playfully twirling them about in a dance that was all unique but improvised, putting up a performance for anyone who watched.
"Why do you like this place?" she asked curiously, turning her gaze to me.
"I like the atmosphere. It's peaceful and quiet. Everyone is in their own world, appreciating the now in their own way." I said, not realising how deep that sounded until it came out of my mouth. "I sometimes come here just to watch the people go by, and I like to play this game where I guess what's happening in their worlds."
"Hmm. So, what can you tell me about them?" she asked, gesturing with her head at an elderly couple walking by us, inching closer to me as the winds grew stronger.
"I guess that they do this every weekend, take a walk on the pier. They like to spoil their grandchildren with sweets, always giving them something every time they visit, even when their own children reprimand them for it. They're content with their life, living out their days together, with their peaceful weekend walks on the pier as something they looked forward to each week," I finished, a content smile on my face at the thought.
Leah took my hand in hers then, lacing them together like it was the most natural thing to do. My heartbeat started escalating, butterflies erupting inside of me as I hoped my palm wasn't sweaty. She continued on as if she hadn't almost given me a heart attack with her actions. "What about her?" She gestured to a girl in a hoodie, who was sitting on a bench and looking out into the ocean.
Swallowing the nervous lump in my throat, I pushed on with my answer. "I guess that she's trying to figure her life out. She has a lot of questions in her mind that she can't find the answers to. She escaped her lonely house to come here and think. She doesn't know what to do with her life, what purpose she has in this world, but she's sure about one thing. She wants a dog."
She burst out laughing at that, caught off guard at the last sentence. "Damn, now I want a dog," she chuckled softly, calming down from her outburst. "Now, I have one last one."
"Okay, shoot."
"What can you tell me about us."
Looking into her dark hazel orbs, I knew she was serious about the question. I let myself think for a minute, gathering my thoughts and preparing them for what I wanted to say before. "Well, I guess that we are two girls who are attracted to each other but haven't taken the step to define the relationship between us. I know that one girl is really wanting to know but isn't sure how the other girl will react to that." Stopping to turn to her, I gazed at her earnestly, vulnerability pouring through my being. "But I know for sure that one girl wants something more, even if she's a bit scared to take that leap."
I waited for her reaction, a mixture of anticipation and trepidation slowly growing as the seconds went by. Finally, she gave a response. She let go of my hand. My heart dropped then, falling to the floor in despair, only to jump right back into my chest when she looped her arms around my neck.
"Lyssa Woods, will you be my girlfriend?"
I stood there, speechless as my mouth gaped open in disbelief. "Wait, for real?!"
"Yes, for real! You're so silly," she mumbled affectionately as one hand went to stroke my cheek.
I couldn't believe this was happening right now. My heart felt like it was beating as fast as a hummingbird, to the point I felt it might explode.
"Yes!" I cried out to answer her, feeling myself fill up with elation as I hugged her tight to me, burrowing my head into the crook of her neck as I wanted the embrace to last forever.
In the excitement of it all, I forgot about all the risks I would be taking and all the heartbreak I may be setting myself up for. And that was the way I preferred it to be for now.