Chapter 36

*Payton's POV*I finally, and might I say barely, got up all 43 flights of stairs. I finally reached our room and Kaden was waiting outside, sitting against the back of the door on his phone.

"Hey, what took you so long? I was just gonna go looking for you," he said, getting up and hugging me. I held him extra long, because I didn't know if I was going to again.

I was still thinking about what Brooklyn told me, and I couldn't stop myself from thinking about if we should be together again.

"Um, the elevator got stuck on the way down, I took the stairs up because.. well," I laughed.

"Are you okay?" He asked panicky.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just got stuck between floors, it started working in a few minutes, but I got the room key," I said holding up the black shiny card. I inserted the card into the door handle slot, and it opened.

Once inside, Kaden and I changed into our away game uniforms(pic in media slot), and I braided my hair over my head(pic in media slot), to get it out of my face for the game.

"Ready?" he asked me, and I nodded my head. I grabbed my phone, and we both touched the top of the door frame as we were leaving per ritual.

The whole team has this "winning superstition," where every member upon wearing the uniform on game day, has to touch the top of every doorframe they walk through to ensure good luck, up until the game starts. I'm not exactly tall enough for some, so someone usually just lifts me up. The team was apparently already in the lobby, so me and Kaden went to the elevators to make our way down. Kaden lifted me up by my waist and I touched the top as we entered as did he, and we did the same on the way down.

As predicted, the whole team was in the lobby, waiting for the coach. I walked over to Jai, who looked a bit nervous but wasn't trying to show it.

"You'll do great," I said smiling.

"I just don't wanna mess it up for the team, you know?"

"And you won't! Have some faith in yourself, you're just as good as anyone else on the team, and you wouldn't be here if you weren't." I said.

"Thanks Pay, this is why you're my fav," he laughed.

"And you're my favorite twin," I winked, "but don't tell Luke that."

"Yeah, okay," he smiled and the coach came through the front entrance.

"The bus is ready, c'mon guys," he said, piling everyone onto the bus.

"And girl," I corrected.

"And girl," he said rolling his eyes.

I sat next to Kaden on the bus, and he held my hand the whole ride there. I could tell that everyone was stressed about this tournament, because it's the biggest one we've ever had, and it's tough competition, in front of a big crowd. This was basically the Junior World Cup Finals. We got to the arena, and there were people lined up and around the front entrance. The team piled out of the bus, and cheers erupted from the part of the crowd that was supporting our team.

Security guided us through the front doors, which we all touched the top as we walked in. We were all led to the field, and warmed up there. The other team kept staring at us as we warmed up, and I couldn't help but feel eyes on me. I ignored it, and kept doing drills, until the game was about to start after the huge crowd sat down. The arena was packet now, and the team huddled.

"Alright guys, and girl," coach said hinting at me, "there are about 10,000 people here to watch you right now, but I want you all to forget that. Just play like there's no one watching, except for your team and yourself, no one else matters. Just pass the ball to Payton as often as you can, the guys will be intimidated by her being a girl, not expect her to do what she does, and we'll get our head starts that way, and hopefully continue through the game." We all nod our heads and start our chant.

We broke out of our huddle and shook hands with the other team before flipping a coin, and choosing sides. The opposing team had the ball first, so we all took our positions.

Then the game started.

Nothing else mattered.

No Brooklyn vs. Kaden thoughts flooding my brain, and no trying to figure out who was blackmailing Brooklyn and I.

It was just me, my team, and a ball at our feet.~~~~~~~Throughout the 90 some minutes we've been playing, the score happened to be tied 5-5 as we ended the game. I used plenty of tricks to get around the other team, some that no one was expecting(video in media slot). Our team had a penalty kick left, that would determine if we won or not.

Sean stepped up to the pk line, and the arena was silent, waiting in anticipation. He backed up from the line and I could tell that he was trying to calm himself down by breathing deep breaths. In a few steps, he runs up to the ball and kicks it with his right foot, and I close my eyes until cheering from one side of the stadium.