St. Ivy Soccer Grounds – Second Half Begins
The whistle rang out.
And the field changed.
Tyler on the left. Jay on the right.
Two forwards. One game.
One stadium holding its breath.
First Touch – Jay x Tyler Combo
Tyler dashed up the flank, cleats slicing through the turf.
A midfielder passed wide—too fast for most.
But Jay caught it in stride, barely looking, his foot curling around the ball like he was born doing it.
Tyler shouted, "Back to me!"
Jay flicked it behind him—perfect timing, perfect space.
Tyler caught it, danced past a defender, tapped it forward—
Jay was already cutting across the box.
"NO WAY!" someone in the bleachers screamed.
Jay faked left. Defender bit. He stepped right. Wide open.
Shot.
The net rippled.
GOAL.
Crowd – Chaos Ignites
Class 1-A erupted.
"SOMEONE HOLD ME!" Sofia shrieked, grabbing Emma's arm. "Did you SEE THAT?!"
Luna didn't even look up. "I'm out of blue pencil. I've been sketching too fast."
"Is this real? Are they dating?" a girl from Class 1-D whispered.
"No," said someone else, "but they should be."
Even some upperclassmen near the front row stood up, stunned.
From across the field, the rival school's cheer squad stared.
"…Who is that?" one of their girls murmured, literally clutching her water bottle.
"Number eleven. Jay Markov."
"God bless substitutes."
Sidelines – Coach + Rei
Rei nodded slowly. "I knew he was good. Didn't know he was this good."
The coach folded his arms. "They're reading each other like twin CPUs. I don't even need to yell instructions."
"Let them run."
On the Field – Second Act
Vellmont was shaken—but not broken.
They pressed harder. Played rougher.
Jay took a hit—shoulder first—but stayed on his feet.
Tyler intercepted, spun, passed.
Jay took it, ran it up the sideline, paused, waited—
Then chipped it.
Tyler burst forward and volleyed it mid-air.
Another GOAL.
The crowd nearly collapsed.
Even the assistant coach yelled, "HOLY—!"
Bleachers – Amaya and Emma
Amaya clutched her little handmade flag so tight the paper crumpled.
"Jay's really…"
"Different out there?" Emma finished.
Amaya nodded. Her voice was small. "I've never seen him look like this."
Focused. Sharp. Free.
Emma didn't answer.
Because she was thinking the same thing.
It was like the version of Jay they knew—the flirty, calm, casually perfect guy—had been peeled back.
And this was something rawer. Realer.
Emma's chest tightened.
Then she saw a girl from Vellmont—tall, tan, long black hair—watching Jay from behind the away team fence.
Watching.
And smiling.
Emma frowned.
Hard.
Opposition – Miles Burns
Miles had been silent the whole match.
Now he was pacing near midfield, fuming.
Every pass Jay made.
Every cheer from the girls.
Every unintentional flex as Jay wiped sweat from his jaw.
It all felt like knives.
He turned to the assistant coach. "Put me in. Right now."
"You're not on the rotation."
"I'm better than half the midfield!"
"You're not better than them."
Miles stared at Jay like he could kill him with willpower alone.
But Jay?
Jay was laughing with Tyler, bumping fists after their second goal, sweat dripping down his chin.
Completely unaware.
Or maybe… just not caring.
Final Minutes – Jay Turns Up
Tyler passed wide. Jay caught it near the corner.
Defender on him.
Jay danced.
One step. Two.
The defender lunged. Missed.
Jay slipped past, kicked it through the smallest space between two others—threaded it straight to Tyler.
Tyler looked up, barely had time to think—
BOOM.
Third goal.
Hat trick.
The crowd exploded.
Final Whistle – St. Ivy Wins
3–1.
St. Ivy advances.
Tyler collapsed to the turf, laughing, breathless. Jay jogged over and pulled him up, their forearms locking together like warriors.
"Tell me you saw that pass!" Tyler gasped.
Jay grinned. "Like you weren't already there waiting."
Behind them, half the crowd was chanting both their names.
"Ty-ler! Jay! Ty-ler! Jay!"
"Golden Duo! Golden Duo!"
Sofia held up a sign she made halfway through the game:
"OUR PRINCE PLAYS FOOTBALL TOO?!"
Luna had sketched the entire second half. Again.
And somewhere in the Vellmont stands?
That tall girl was still watching.
Post-Game – Emotions in the Air
The team filed off.
The locker room was buzzing. Water bottles flying. Cleats clacking. Shirts off. Towels snapped.
Tyler high-fived everyone twice.
Jay peeled off his jersey, ran a towel through his hair, and slumped onto the bench.
Rei walked over, arms crossed.
"You're not a backup anymore," he said.
Jay looked up. "Didn't plan to be."
"Doesn't matter. You're starting next match."
Tyler tossed him a protein bar. "We're the chaos combo now."
Jay smiled. "Let's give them more to talk about."