Chapter 28

I never believed this would be happening. In my four years at Southridge, who would've thought the track team could make a comeback? Well, we just did. It was today. States. Finals, call it whatever you want, but I would call it Southridge's comeback. This could be the beginning of a new legacy.

"Is this real life?" Brett joked, looking up at the sky as if seeing heaven above. "Because it is one hell of a miracle that we've made it to state."

A light chuckle from our team floated through the air. Everybody was in a good mood; even McKenna was being bearable.

My eyes assessed the other teams around. Some were set up on the bleachers, clad in their school colors. Another couple teams were gathering with themselves as they looked over at other runners from time to time, undoubtedly speaking about their competition. I saw Olivia, Michael, and Sabrina at the top of the bleachers, their eyes entranced on their phones. Every once in a while one of them would look up and flail their arms at us. A sign of support, I guess.

Coach Segal was listing off names and events, averting his eyes from us to his clipboard in a flurry of nerves and excitement. He did this often: not telling us what event we're running just so we wouldn't have to worry about it beforehand.

"Aurora, you're running the 800 meter hurdles," he announced quickly before moving onto another name.

I made eye contact with a wide-eyed Joey who mouthed an 'Oh, shit' to me. Every runner knew the 800 hurdles were absolute hell, and they required crazy amounts of skill to finish it and be the best.

"Wait, wait, wait," I interrupted Coach's spewing of names and events. "The 800 meter hurdle? As in, I haven't been back in running for longer than a month, and you want me to do the 800 hurdle?"

Coach nodded flamboyantly, like his neck was composed of a noodle. "Yes, sir. Now if I can go back to assigning events and you not interrupting me?"

I nodded my head slowly, averting my eyes to anywhere other than my reprimanding coach. "Sorry." Rubbing the back of my neck due to nerves, I looked around for one person in mind.

After a couple seconds of scanning the field of runners dressed in differing colors, I felt a pinch at my sides. I yelped up in surprise and turned around to see none other than Alexander Kings adorned with a mischievous smirk.

I slapped his shoulder and squinted up at him, the sun's afternoon rays momentarily blinding my vision. "Don't do that!"

"Couldn't help myself," he reasoned with that classic smirk of his and ran a hand through his dirty blond locks. He averted his eyes to the field, as if inspecting the other runners for a second. When he did, his hair was messy-on-purpose type of way and I swear I've seen it right out of a magazine before.

I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes to bring his attention back to me. "And where are you looking?"

"At other girls. Damn, track girls are smoking," he teased, winking at me.

I rolled my eyes and turned around to see Cooper gulping water from his thermos. "Hey, Coop! Come here for a sec."

Cooper jogged over, his hair as neat as locker at school. He was the biggest neat freak I knew. "What can I do for ya, Rory?" He asked, resting his arm on my shoulder.

"Xander here thinks track girls are hot," I said, assessing Xander up and down in a challenging way.

"Really?" Cooper asked, genuinely surprised. "You being a football player and all, I would've thought you were into cheerleaders."

"The point is," I said as I averted my gaze from Cooper to Xander while putting my hand up to block the sun's light, "you should only be into one track girl, Xandy: me."

A grin broke out on his face at that as he stepped closer and played with a loose strand of my hair from my ponytail. His face was daringly close as I remembered our debate about PDA from a few days ago. He had said he wanted to show off our relationship as much as possible. Me on the other hand? Quite the opposite. There was a time and place for everything, and being in public was not the place for dry humping.

"The sexual tension just went from one to 100, so," Cooper said as he started to walk away. "Did you hear that? I swear I just heard my name. I better get to whoever called me."

-Nobody called his goddamn name.

Looking after Cooper's retreating form, Xander let out a small laugh at the sight. Music to my ears.

I couldn't help but focus on the race that would begin in only a few minutes. Teams were huddling and the referee was discussing something with each coach.

"You're going to do great, love," I heard Xander breathe out, making me snap my head over to him. "Don't stress."

I noticed his leg shaking as he stretched his arms.

"Looks like I'm not the only nervous one."

He narrowed his eyes at me playfully. "Take my hypocritical advice, gem."

"And how would you know I'm stressing?" I asked as I crossed my arms, trying to cover up my nerves.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "You're brows scrunch up and you look all constipated like this." He furrowed his eyebrows to the point that I thought they'd leave premature wrinkles.

"I do not look like that!"

"Yes, yes you do," I heard McKenna say from behind me surprisingly.

Whipping around to face her, my facial expression of ease and playfulness was replaced with a nasty look directed at the one and only McKenna.

"What was that?" I asked, daring her to continue.

Just like lightning, realization struck me. For once, her face wasn't a distorted picture of rudeness or sharpness. She showed pleasantries, rather than insults.

"Jeez, chill," she said, putting her freshly-manicured hands up in faux surrender. "I was just kidding, Aurora."

I shook my head, expelling any rude thoughts as I realized her true, good intentions. "Oh, sorry. I just- it's weird seeing you be nice. I just got defensive."

"I know. Everybody does around me," she said like she was exchanging gossip. Maybe that was just her normal expression, I thought. "But it's weird being this nice to everybody too."

"It looks better on you than hatred. And bitchiness," I said. At this point, Xander was sending weird looks between me and McKenna, as if it was completely unfathomable that we were having a civil conversation.

McKenna giggled at my joke which somewhat doubled as an insult. If there was one thing I knew about her, it was that she had tough skin. To survive through the wrath of the 'Queen Bee' and know that you were only on a team because your dad was the coach could be brutal. I guess that was something I admired about her.

She opened her mouth to say something but a whistle interrupted her, and a deep voice was heard over a speaker.

"The first event is starting. Competitors on the track."

"This one's my event. Brett and I are running it," Xander said before pecking me for good luck and leaving to step on the track.

"Good luck!" I said after him.

He turned around for a moment to shout something back. "I won't need any of that, gem!"

And he didn't. When he walked back to me, a smug smile was on his face as he put up his pointer finger and mouthed, "Number one, baby. Number one."

***

"800 meter hurdle race beginning. The last event of the meet. Competitors on the track."

"Wish me luck," I said as Xander gave me a quick peck and my teammates all slapped my back as I made my way to the starting line. I momentarily wished they broke it so I wouldn't have to race.

"Okay, White," Coach said walking next to me as I approached the track. "We're in second place right now, and this is our last chance to win. You have to win this for us, got it?"

"Got it, Coach."

"You're going to win it," Tommy shouted from the sidelines, causing an eruption of inspirational comments from the team.

"Do it for the win!"

"Beat all of 'em!"

"Only wins, baby!"

"Losing is not an option!"

"Yes, Rory!"

"You've got this, gem!"

I lined up on the starting line next to other boys. God, having only a boys team sucks.

"RORY, RORY!" my team chanted on the sidelines as they stretched. All eyes were on me, and I would definitely not disappoint. Chandler was flailing his arms to get my attention, and with wide eyes, he pointed upward to the bleachers.

My parents were there, sitting next to Olivia, Michael, and Sabrina. They stood out like a sore thumb among the other high schoolers. My mother was dressed in a white blouse and my father in a business suit.

Olivia was, as usual, talking their ears off. She tended to ramble when she was nervous or intimidated. I quietly laughed to myself at the sight.

When I caught my parents' eyes, a wide grin was simultaneously wiped on both their faces. Something other than judgment lit up their eyes: pride. They were here supporting me, for once. This was the first meet of mine they've been to since the first one in freshman year.

I remember freshman year when I barely left my dorm. But when I did, I'd run. I would run and leave a trail of fire behind me, never once looking back. It seemed I was running in circles, running through the flames. Now, though, I'd learned an alternate route.

I bounced on my toes, either in a way to warm up or expel my nerves when I heard the referee say over the speaker, "On your mark."

"Go," he finished with a shoot of the starting pistol.

I ran and hurdled over my hurdles. I didn't look at my competitors next to me because for once, all I could focus on was myself.

I focused on pushing my legs faster. Jumping faster over the hurdles. Leaving a trail of fire behind me for my competitors to fight. My legs were moving so fast I swore they almost imploded, and I quickened my strides and leaps, my sneakers pounding heavily across the track.

My lungs combusted in fire and my breathing quickened, trying to fulfill my need for oxygen. All this pain, yet I couldn't acknowledge it until it was over. In the corners of my eyes, everything became a blur and I couldn't seem to spot any of my competitors. But I didn't care to find out. My mind and body was set on one thing and that was the finish line.

My hair in my ponytail flew back in the wind, making me feel freer than ever.

After hurdles and running around the track, the finish line was already in sight, every thud of my footfall signaling a step closer to finishing.

Before I knew it, I had crossed the finish line with heavy steps. Either my heavy footsteps or my heartbeats were echoing through my ears as I felt a bead of sweat drop from my forehead.

I was enveloped in applause and cheers from my team, my friends, and my parents. They were all my family.

I was too much of a breathless mess to smile back at them.

Turning around, I realized my place. First place. I shifted my eyes from my team to my parents to see them standing up alongside Olivia, Michael, and Sabrina, all chanting my name and cheering.

As the team crowded in, hurrahing, I turned to Xander. I had to say it. Eight letters. Three words. This was the moment, and I had finally realized it was true.

"I love you, Alexander Kings. Goddamn, I love all of you."

"Remember when I said I love you because I need you?"

I nodded, curious where he was going with this.

"Well, I take it back."

"What?"

"I need you because I love you, not the other way around."

"Is there even a difference, you lovesick fools?" I heard Cooper shout as he jumped up and down with the rest of the team surrounding us.

Xander averted his eyes from Cooper back to me. "A huge difference."

I took a moment to look around, and time seemed to slow as I took in the cheers and hoots of the team. My team. The guys were hopping up and down like rabbits as we held the trophy up. For once I saw happiness and good-hearted pride on McKenna's face. Her smile wasn't her signature nasty one. It was happy. It was good.

Nothing but joy and victory was on their faces. This wasn't just my victory, but it was all our own individual symbols of what we had to overcome to be here today.

This victory was for Brett and Joey's difficulty to find themselves. It was for McKenna earning her father's respect. It was for Xander finding true happiness in this team. It was for Cooper finally realizing he had the power to live up to his high standards.

Staring into Xander's silver eyes, I truly understood that he was right, he always was. There was always light. He was a star in the night sky, keeping the moon company all alone in the darkness. But that's the thing. The moon was never alone, and it never would be thanks to the stars.

I turned around to look up at him. I rested my palms on his chest and said, "I won. We beat them all. We won, Xandy."

And in that moment, I wasn't just talking about the state victory.

Finally, his lips captured mine and it was like our first kiss in English. Xander made everything feel new with a fresh beginning.

***

wow. it's over. it doesn't feel over though ;). I cried while writing that last scene just because I'm not ready for this to be over. I'll write an epilogue if you guys want me to, so let me know. I'm really not ready to part with Xander's charm, Aurora's comedic oblivion, or Olivia fierceness.

this story took longer to finish than I expected, but life happens. you guys who have supported this story were, as Xander says it, the light in my darkness. this isn't the last you'll hear from me, though. I'll be releasing a new story very very soon! stay tuned! ;) along with these characters, this has been my pursuit of happiness, so thank you for helping me.

thank you for being here. thank you for reading this. thank you for giving me an escape from real life. I love you so, so much. you all mean the world to me, each and every one of you.

-s.