different game | same field
The adrenaline rush was normal for the teenager, in fact having the rush was what made him believe he was destined for the game. As a little boy, he had always loved sports. Many made it out to be a guy thing, that guys were naturally supposed to be into sports, but he knew that wasn’t the case. School was something that wasn’t the same as hiking a ball. All his life, people had always told him that he was smart, that he just had to apply himself but that wasn’t the case. Owen wouldn’t say he was stupid, but he knew that no matter how hard he worked for the A average, he’d always be pulling the C baggage. Sports was different, though, it came easy to him. It was natural for him to pitch a curve ball, kick a ball to the net, block a defender just to score a touchdown or even shoot a hoop.
If it hadn’t been for the girl reacting as quickly as she did, Owen would’ve thought he was seeing things. It wouldn’t have surprised him if he had been picturing her, the brunette seemed to appear a lot in his mindset the past days. Shoving a hand inside the pocket of his sweatpants, the boy nodded at the girl. “Sorry, I didn’t exactly know your name.” Owen explained, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Releasing his hand from his pocket, the boy reached for the water bottle that he had first came for and took a giant gulp of the liquid, letting it refresh his body. The petite girl came closer to him, and he forced himself to make out every word she said despite his heavy breathing. “Do what?” He questioned, his eyebrows furrowing. Licking his lips, the male shrugged. “I am a football player, I was just messing around with the soccer ball. You don’t play anything? Don’t you come from a family of athletes?” The boy asked, taking a seat on the bleacher that was across from her.
"Well, don't pull any punches on my account. My ego will recover. Someday. Maybe," she teased, sitting down gingerly. The girl had learned his name almost immediately after he had chewed her out. Katie had never been spoken to like that before, most people just treated her like some sort of porcelain doll with a big mouth, and she had asked her brother about him almost as soon as they had gotten in the car to head home. Now, sitting across from him, she couldn't help but notice that without a shirt on, it was even more obvious how well built he was. Not that she cared or anything. She didn't like Trojans period, even if they had six packs. "Just messing around? You're kidding right? That was," Katie stopped herself before she complimented him too much, "pretty good, I guess." Sretching out her legs in front of her, the brunette looked at her feet. "I come from a family of Matt, really. He plays; I watch. It's one of the best perks of being the little sister." She looked back up at him with a wry smile before looking back at the field. "Where'd you learn how to play soccer?"
Aside from always being in her older brother's shadow, Katie had always been too short, too skinny, too girly, and basically any other "too" to play sports. She had instead become the smarter one, but to her getting good grades was more second nature than actual hard work. Since she never had practice to go to, Katie always had time to read or do extra credit, and she was often bored enough to do just that. This was the first year her parents had let her go with her brothers to parties, but even they weren't enough to interest her for too long. She had always wished she could have something to dedicate herself to, something that she loved to do. For that reason she had always been obsessed with athletes, to her they were almost superhuman; they were something she couldn't be. Sitting on the stands was fun, but it just didn't feel like it was enough anymore.