His left foot touched the soccer ball, kicking it with just enough force to bounce it upwards a few inches before repeating the action with his right foot. Left. Right. Left. Right. A simple juggling motion. An exercise of control, rhythm, and posture.
[break][break]
He shouldn’t have stayed behind, he knew as much. Everyone was going home, and yet there he was: seeing for how long he could juggle his own soccer ball before moving on to everything else he wanted to work on. Dribble, kicks, it all needed working on. He was the youngest in the team, the newest, and so, also the one with the most limited technical skill set. It didn’t matter that he had played soccer for years with his friends. It didn’t matter that he could run faster than even most of the older players. Things were different once being in a team, and he needed to do better. They all wanted him to do better. They all expected it.
[break][break]
“Hey, kid!”
[break][break]
The voice, terribly easy to recognize as it was, startled him, missing a kick so that the ball ended up bouncing on the grass and rolling away a few feet. What had that been? Ten? Fifteen?
[break][break]
Bright, lavender eyes looked up to meet those of kris flynn-edwards, and although it may have been easily disguised beneath the glare of the sun and the effort of a hard day practice, his cheeks reddened oh-so-slightly. Really? The captain?! Messing up at something like that in front of him was so embarrassing!
[break][break]
“Oh, hey! You know I’m just a year younger than you, right?” He laughed despite the embarrassment, a grin of his own matching that of the other boy. ”What’s up?” Wasn’t he leaving to go home? Why was he back?


[break][break]

+ kris flynn-edwards

the kid was the try-hard sort — they'd known it even at try-outs. you could see that kinda thing, you know? it was why, after all, vic had made the team. well, maybe not the only reason, but a good one! after all, you could tell a lot of things from try-outs. there were the kids with sheer bleeding talent, the kids who were forced there just 'cause their dad made 'em.

[break][break] and then, there were the kids like vic.

[break][break] his voice startles the other student, causing the soccer ball to bounce against the ground several feet away. flynn breaks into a jog to grab the ball, dusting a few pieces of grass and dirt from it, before making his way over to the team rookie.

[break][break] if flynn notices the blush on the other's cheeks, the one that ironically matches his cherry blossom pink hair, he doesn't say anything. he merely grins.

[break][break] "nah, with those cheeks? you're definitely a baby." he laughs, a joke, and then tosses the ball gently towards the other. "y'know you aren't supposed to be overworking yourself, right?" he huffs, hand on his hip. "coach's orders."

[break][break] of course, the way flynn's eyes are gleaming, you can tell he's just ribbing the other.

[break][break] flynn wanted to play too. he always did.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"] Victor Wexler

[attr="class","flynnsq"]

Hard work was the core philosophy in the Wexler household. Ever since Vic had been a little kid, he had been taught that if he wanted to be the best at the things he liked, he needed to work really really hard, and that same lesson had clearly stayed with him well into highschool.
[break][break]
He liked soccer a whole lot. He wanted to be much better at it, for both his sake and that of not disappointing everyone who knew him. So, he just needed to keep practicing, right? It was simple logic.
[break][break]
”Huh, my cheeks?! Oh, come on!” There is a laugh on his part too, not at all oblivious to the other’s joke, but still somewhat self-conscious about being teased by an older boy – especially an older boy who he looked up to as much as Vic happens to look up to the soccer team’s captain.
[break][break]
He catches the ball and he watches him, well aware that even if Flynn is joking, there is still truth to his words. And so, he shrugs. Offering in response a sheepish and somewhat apologetic smile. “Heh… Sorry! I guess I just felt like playing for a little longer.”
[break][break]
It was no lie. Boundless amounts of energy as Vic had always had, the pink-haired boy had wanted to keep playing because he had been having fun. But, admittedly, that was also far from the main reason he had stayed behind. Not like he would tell Flynn that though! ’I don’t want you and the rest of the team to think I suck, so I want to keep practicing.” Yeah, no thanks! That was a pass!
[break][break]
“...Do you wanna join?” he offers, somewhat hesitant at first, but beaming brightly and joyfully.
[break][break]

+ kris flynn-edwards

"i get that, man," he says, watching as the other handles the ball. something shimmers in his gaze - something fond. flynn remembers the first time he ever kicked a ball, first time his pa ever taught him. it was one of the few good memories that they had before —

[break][break] anyways. they weren't going to be thinking about that!

[break][break] flynn grins, leaping forward at the invitation and wraps an arm playfully around the other in a quick hug. "can't take it back!" with a laugh, he grabs the soccer ball from the other's grip and drops it onto the floor, throwing off his own backpack in one fell swoop. he expertly dribbles the ball between his sneakers as he puts distance between the both, turning around to look at the other in the eye. "c'mon, now. try stealing from me!"

[break][break] if memory served correctly, vic wasn't yet good at head-on-head confrontation. few rookies really were.

[attr="class","tag"] Victor Wexler

[attr="class","flynnsq"]

It may have only lasted a couple of seconds, maybe even less than that, but the older boy’s arms had suddenly wrapped around him, pulling him into a quick hug. Why? There was no particular reason why. Vic often did the same sort of thing with his friends, so he knew as much, but it wasn’t the sort of action he would have expected from others, especially not from someone like the soccer team’s captain.
[break][break]
’So, that’s what it feels like…’
[break][break]
A grin illuminates his expression, bright as the sun that shines above them on this warm summer day. He’s stunned by Flynn suddenly deciding to take the ball back, but he chuckles, watching the other boy as the distance grows between them. ”You want me to steal it from you?!” Flynn being the best player in the team, the task seems impossible. It’s a challenge; one that Vic welcomes with laugher.
[break][break]
One deep breath later, he runs.
[break][break]
See, the difficult part isn’t catching up. The difficult part is always moving around the other player in order to steal the ball, especially when they know what they’re doing with defending. 'Wait for the steal.'
[break][break]
Vic isn’t one for patience, but he does try to wait. Running side by side, shoulder to shoulder, his gaze meets Flynn’s for a mere second, a smile on his face. And swiftly, as the ball passes from one foot to the other, he attempts to kick it away...

[break][break]

+ kris flynn-edwards

"you want me to steal from you?!"

[break][break] flynn grins. "yep."

[break][break] it was typical — flynn remembers the first time that he was asked to steal from his captain, and is the reason that he was able to make captain so early. despite his young age, there were few that could best him when it came to handling the ball.

[break][break] even as a kid, he'd been able to race past others on the soccer field in reckless abandon, throwing all caution to the wind. it was one of the few things that he could truly enjoy, without having to worry about ma, about school, about anything else.

[break][break] Victor Wexler breaks into a run, and at first, flynn doesn't bother moving. his cleats rest on top of the ball as his eyes follow the form of the other racing towards him. only when he gets close does he bother running, careful to dribble the ball beneath him. together, the two run - shoulder to shoulder. just as predicted, vic goes for the ball, attempting a steal.

[break][break]

[break][break] "nope!" flynn says with a laugh, picking the ball with a single deft movement. it floats in the air, briefly, just giving flynn just enough time to maneuver around vic. he rolls the ball behind him, jogging backwards, before standing just as he was moments ago, several feet away, flashing a grin at the other.

[attr="class","tag"] Victor Wexler

[attr="class","flynnsq"]

Talk about a failure, huh?
[break][break]
Everyone knew Flynn was the best player in the team, so it wasn’t supposed to be easy and Vic hadn’t expected it to be. If it had been, he would have probably thought the older boy had taken pity on him.
[break][break]
Still, when he goes for the steal and Flynn so easily and expertly maneuvers around him, there is the slight and always unwelcome sting of failing at something he enjoys. A sigh escapes him, and he looks at the other boy. ”Man, that’s just not fair!” There is a laugh though, one that doesn’t really go well with the surprise and slight whining in his tone, and also a grin – for he doesn’t really mean his words. It’s fun; in the way playing soccer always is, and also in the way that comes with being in good company…
[break][break]
He’s not about to give up just yet.
[break][break]
”Okay, again!” The grin turns into a smirk, and taking that as enough of a warning, without waiting a second longer, he takes off. This time, everything about him, from his posture to every movement his body makes signals that he will try to kick the ball with his right foot and towards the right, but instead, he puts all of his weight on it in the last second, reaching to kick the ball with the left one. A feint.

[break][break]

+ kris flynn-edwards

"man, that's just not fair!"

[break][break] flynn lets out a laugh at the other's remark, grinning wholeheartedly. he understands the other's frustration — how many afternoons had he spent trying to steal the ball as a freshman from a player that was better than him? too many. but that was the point of the exercise — there was no way to get better than practice! practice, practice, practice! that's what coach always preached, wasn't it?

[break][break] when Victor Wexler calls again! so happily and excitedly, there is a flash of something in flynn's eyes. the fierce heat of competition. though he knows that he could keep the ball from vic so easily, there is just something thrilling about finding someone as excited about the sport as him.

[break][break] his underclassman takes off again, and flynn is just as quick on the uptake. he rolls the ball underneath his foot, breaking out into a run once more. this time, flynn is careful to slow down his speed so he can meet the other shoulder-to-shoulder, glancing carefully and keenly at the other's form.

[break][break] to vic's credit, it was a good idea. just not good enough.

[break][break] unfortunately, flynn doesn't fall for the feint.

[break][break]



[break][break] just as it had before, the ball flies up just seconds before vic's sneaker can hit it and steal it away. flynn's laughter can be heard as he jokes, "you're so easy to read, kid. you're thinking too much!"

[break][break] this time, as flynn stays several feet away from him, he now rolls the ball towards the other. "watch me, kay?"

[attr="class","tag"] Victor Wexler

[attr="class","flynnsq"]

”You can’t know what will happen if you don’t try!” is what Vic’s mother always says to him with a bright smile, and these are words he lives by. She is right and he knows it. He has to try. Although, sometimes trying simply isn’t good enough…
[break][break]
Trying isn’t going to cut it when it comes to Flynn, for example, and that becomes more and more apparent to Vic with the more minutes that pass. Just like before, the soccer team’s captain easily maneuvers around his attempt at stealing the ball, leaving the freshman to sigh in frustration. ”What! How?!” He exclaims, chuckling despite his own failure.
[break][break]
”You're thinking too much!” These, by contrast, are words that are not often said to the extremely impulsive pinkette, and they leave him to look at the other boy just as the ball rolls his way. Is that really the reason? Can Flynn see it that easily? Vic can’t help but think that he has never before met anyone their age who is that talented at anything, and in his heart grow the seeds of admiration. Is it bad if he wishes he could be more like him?
[break][break]
”Okay, okay, but don’t show off too much!” Vic grins, laughing. This time, it’s his turn to defend, and while many would perhaps say that this is much easier than trying to steal the ball, Vic knows that isn’t always the case. He readies himself, wondering exactly what the other boy will do next, and through it all, there is a smile on his face.


[break][break]

+ kris flynn-edwards