Lori's alarm went off, but only woke up Lori. She looked up, letting her eyes adjust to the new sunlight, and found Christine sleeping next to her. A diabolical idea formed in her mind and she reached for her phone. As loud as her phone would allow, she played "What Makes You Beautiful," right next to Christine's ear. Christine squirmed around in the bed frantically and eventually fell out, taking a blanket with her and cussing up a storm. Once she realized what Lori had done she threw a pillow at her face, but that didn't stop Lori from falling onto the bed laughing hysterically. Both of them began to laugh until they were clutching their stomachs.
"In the mood for some breakfast?" Lori asked once she had caught her breath.
"No, it's okay. I should be heading home. Thanks for putting up with me last night. I know I can be like a total mess when this stuff happens."
"What are friends for, right?"
Christine grabbed her dress and heels. Before she left she gave Lori one last hug and thanked her again for being such a loyal and understanding friend. When Christine did leave Lori had a small bowl of cereal and began to get ready for her soccer game. Since she was one of the captains she had to be there an hour early so that meant she only had an hour and a half to get ready and get there. She walked over to her bathroom too see what condition her makeup was in after last night. Once she rubbed away all the smudged eyeliner from beneath her eye she brushed her hair and put it into a high, tight ponytail. Then she walked into her room, changed into her uniform, and began to throw all of her equipment into her bag. As she slid on her sliders she remembered she had painted her toe nails dark blue while her finger nails were black. After making two water bottles, she grabbed everything she needed and headed outside to wait for her co-captain, Abby, who was usually the one to pick her up. While waiting for Abby Lori put in her headphones to listen to something that would get her pumped, music always got her ready for a game. It was a good day to play soccer, the sky was cloudy so that provided shade and there was a slight breeze to cool them down. A familiar red car pulled up in front of her and she hoped in. Abby had pitch black hair and gray eyes that were like storm clouds on the field, but once you got to know her you found out she was fun, loud, and easy going. Music was already blasting inside her car so Lori took out her headphones and greeted her friend with a bright smile which was returned almost immediately. You could tell Abby was energized for this game, she was energized for every game.
"You ready to kick ass?" Abby asked.
"Let's do it!" Lori practically shouted, Abby's enthusiasm was contagious.
While they drove they discussed their strategy, the positions, statistics, etc. Once all the soccer talk was done they talked about each other's weekend. Lori didn't mention anything about her encounter with One Direction or Harry, she just said she hung out with some friends who were traveling. Abby had talked about her vacation to Mexico with her family and how she was anxious to play college ball. She had gotten a full scholarship to play on a college soccer team somewhere in Georgia and Lori was excited for her. When they got to the field they parked the car and walked over to the bench on the side of the field. As they were putting on their equipment more girls began to show up until the entire team was there. All the girls began to do their warm-ups as the other team started to arrive. Before they knew it the ref was calling for captains and Lori and Abby were in the middle of the field with two other girls. The ref flipped the coin and Abby called heads which was correct so they got to have kick off. After heading onto the field she heard a familiar, deep voice call her name.
"Go Lori!"
She turned around to see Harry on the sidelines, cheering her name. He was wearing sunglasses and a huge smile. Shock filled inside her, but the whistle brought back her focus on the game. Being midfielder involves a lot of running, but Lori didn't mind because she liked the chase. Harry became her motivation, she wanted to impress him so she was faster, more aggressive, and more cunning with what to do with the ball. Every move she made was a good move and the crowd loved every second on it. Her coach knew not to pull her out, time was precious and so were her skills. By half time they were tired 2-2. The other team was good, but Lori knew if she could just get the ball she could score. Finally her chance came she slide tackled a girl and gained possession of the ball. Without hesitating, Lori dribbled as fast as she could, burning every player that stood in her way until it was just her and the goalie. Everything was too quick, her decision had to happen now so she faked a shot to the right causing the goalie to dive right and Lori shot the ball into the left corner of the net. Cheers erupted from the parents and her teammates, but the one she singled out was Harry's cheer.
"Way to go Lori!"
A huge prideful smile spread across her face and she raised her arms into the air. Her team ran to her and gave her a big, compacted group hug, squeals coming from all of their mouths. Lori knew though that there was still a few minutes in the game so she stayed focus, making sure that the ball didn't get past her. She slide tackled, she took hits, she did whatever it took to keep the lead even if it would give her bruises the next day and all of her hard work paid off because they won. The whole team ran to the bench and cheered before packing up their stuff and leaving. After wiping off as much sweat as she could and taking off all of her equipment Lori began to walk towards Harry while she slung her bag over her shoulder. It still seemed surreal that Harry had actually come to her game and she was so grateful that so far no one had recognized him. About halfway to Harry Abby jogged over to Lori.
"Where are you going? The car is parked that way."
"I think I'm going to get a ride from my friend."
Abby looked over at Harry and smiled mischievously. "Is that your friend in the shades?" Lori nodded. "Hey cute guy! Take care of Lori!"
"Got it!" Harry yelled back.
"He's hot Lor. Are the two of you going to celebrate?" Abby winked.
"Go away," Lori said teasingly as she shoved Abby towards her car and started towards Harry again. They met only a foot apart and Harry smiled at Lori.
"That was brilliant. I underestimated you, you're even better than I thought."
"Thanks, and thanks for coming to my game."
"Was that last goal for me?" Harry asked cheekily. Lori laughed and nodded. "I still don't think you can beat me," Harry said as he crossed her arms over his chest.
Lori raised her eyebrows. "Really? Want to put that theory to the test?"
Harry nodded causing Lori to put down her bag, take out her ball, and take off her shoes. Green blades of grass felt soothing under her tired feet and she liked the weather; the kind right before a storm. She ran over to Harry who had taken her ball and began to juggle with it. They messed around for a whole hour, but it only felt like minutes to them. Sometimes they would shoot on each other or other times they would try to keep the ball away from the other. Almost every time Lori got the ball Harry would just lift her off the ground and plop her down away from the ball. Neither of them noticed the clouds started to get darker and closer together. When Lori had scored on Harry for the second time rain began to pour down on them, soaking them and the field instantly. While her guard was down Harry ran over to Lori and threw her over his shoulder, fireman style, and began to run around the drenched field. Despite Lori's laughing requests Harry didn't put her down until they were in the center of the field. He put her on the grass and laid down next to her, both of them laughing hysterically. Rain drops fell onto their faces, but it didn't seem to bother them. Harry looked over at a smiling Lori and he began to smile as well, showing off his dimples. She had closed her eyes and was literally soaking in nature, letting the rain run down her skin. There was no doubt in Harry's mind that as he was admiring her beauty he found Lori to be fascinating.
"Go out with me Lori."
"What?" Lori asked as her eyes shot open and she turned her head toward Harry.
"Go out on a date with me Lori. Please?"
"Harry, you're insane. You've only known me for two days."
"And the feelings you've given me in those past two days are so insane it scares me. These past two days with you have been amazing and I want to have more amazing days with you. Please, go out with me."
Harry turned to his side and rested his weight on his elbow while his other hand caressed Lori's damp cheek. The expression on her face was stunned, but she didn't lose eye contact with Harry's mesmerizing green eyes for a moment. His touch sent chills through her body and she knew it wasn't from the rain. Slowly, Harry lowered his lips onto Lori's, pressing them gently on hers. Excitement ran through both Lori and Harry's body simultaneously as they mouths stayed in contact. Despite the cool rain Harry's lips felt warm against Lori's and she lightly placed her finger tips on the side of his neck. Lori pulled away and smiled at Harry who returned it with pleasure. Rain drops slid off the tips of his now straight and fell onto Lori's face causing her to giggle.
"Yes," Lori said.
Harry smiled with relief and lowered his head once again, but this time he kissed her more passionately than before because now he knew her answer. They ignored the rain, they ignored the obstacles that would get in their way, and they ignored the hate they knew they were going to get. The only thing that mattered, the only thing they noticed, was the person they were kissing in the rain.