JJ vs The King

The Bears still had time, but they had to pounce. They rushed up to the Line, both teams formed into walls. It was all too quick for either coach to intervene.

But no one needed to be told what the plan was. Everyone knew Denzel was getting the ball. The Dons just had to stop him.

The ball was snapped and handed to Denzel immediately. Derrick tried to clear the way, JJ met him head on and stood him up. Denzel charged in, sandwiching Derrick between what had to be the two hardest objects on the planet at that moment.

Neither budged for a second, then JJ started to slip back. Denzel pushed forward, his father's voice in the back of his head, urging him onward. He wasn't on a field; he was on the hill outside his house, pushing his car to the crest. His father was in the backseat, staring at him, his shouts clear through the back window. The last few feet were always the hardest.

JJ was slipping, everything was falling into nothingness. No matter how hard he dug his feet in, the ground beneath crumbled and gave way. He found solid ground; he touched a wall. Zayden was behind him, pushing against the bulldozer that was coming to demolish JJ's home with his family inside.

The slipping slowed, then more Dons piled in behind JJ, pushing against Denzel. They stopped him completely, and he fell to the turf. He could taste the paint of the end-zone on his tongue. The white strip was inches away from his eyes.

Half the crowd fell, but their despair lifted the other half. The Dons' fans. rose into the air on the wind of the exasperated gasp. Time ticked away, stopped with only seconds left by the Bears' final timeout.

The Dons clung to their 4 point lead desperately. Really, it came down to 1 point. That was all that stood between victory, loss, and overtime. If not for that 1 point, the Bears would've had the easiest chip-shot field goal imaginable. The Dons barely had the strength for one more play; overtime would've been the end of them.

Tension ruled the timeout. It was too intense for either team to get a meaningful rest. Coach Long had one last mini speech, though the boys were lost in another world, one where only the Bears' offence and a football field existed.

'One last stand!' Coach Long yelled. 'They only have time for one more play. One last stand is the only thing between us and the Regional Championship.' He looked at all the faces surrounding him, their eyes glazed with desire and focus. He hoped his words reached them. 'I'm so proud of all you boys.'

The timeout ended; the teams returned to the field—Coby trudged onto the field last, lip quivering and fists shaking. Ty saw.

The teams formed into huddles for one last time. In the Bears' huddle, Coby raised his voice. 'Fuck the coaches,' he said. He moved over and grabbed John by the chest. 'If the rest of you assholes want to win, give the ball to your REAL star. Stop playing in Denzel's shadow and pass the ball, John. Pass it to me.'

Denzel glared across the huddle. He pulled Coby away from John. All of King Denzel's subjects stood behind him, panting like dogs. His eyes turned to John. 'If you give the ball to anyone but me, you won't ever see game time again. Not here, not in college, not anywhere.'

Torn in two directions, John didn't know where to look. His tongue lay in his mouth, heavier than a crown. Coby and Denzel stared at one another. Their hatred was so palpable and heavy, the rest of the team could barely stay standing.

With the Dons, JJ pulled his brothers close. 'This is it. One more play, one more stop.' He looked around the huddle. Everyone was running on fumes, but not a single person was ready to give up.

JJ wiped his eyes. The sting of dirt was more welcome than the tears that had been blinding him. He took a deep breath. 'We're winning this. I'm not ready to stop playing with you. I'm not ready to lose my family.'

Deshaun pushed a fist into the centre of the huddle. Donte joined him. Zayden too. Fists piled on top of fists. Ty added his last, then everyone looked at their captain. JJ didn't bother wiping away the tears this time. He placed his fist on top and said: 'Family.'

'One, two, three—'

'—FAMILY!'

The Dons hurried to their positions. Ty watched the Bears' huddle break apart. Coby shoved his way out and stomped over to the sideline, standing not even a yard within the boundary. Ty followed.

'Don't bother. Those retards aren't passing,' Coby said.

"He's bluffing." Ty thought. "Stay focused." They'd stopped Denzel; the Bears could be dumb enough to trust Coby and their QB one last time.

But Coby wasn't in a stance. He wasn't even looking at Ty. He focused solely on Denzel in the centre of the field. Disgust and anger dripped off Coby in thick globs.

Panic shot through Ty like a bullet. The Bears were running. There was nothing he could do to stop them. The final play of the game, the play that was going to decide everything—whether his season lived or died—was happening, and Ty could do nothing to influence it.

From where Ty stood near the sideline, the ball was only 25 yards away, but he felt like he was on a separate planet. He was as useful as the people sitting in the stands.

Dread consumed him. He trembled all over. He took a step towards the middle of the field, then stopped. They'd just throw the ball to Coby if Ty left him open—original play be damned—but that wasn't why Ty stopped. He stopped because he saw JJ.

JJ squatted a couple of yards into the end-zone; he was as still as a statue. His eyes were locked on Denzel.

Ty stepped back and exhaled deeply. All the tension, all the fear and anxiety, expelled from his body. He kept his eye on the middle of the field. 'It was a good game,' Ty said. 'My…OUR…toughest fight yet. Still, you fall like all the other challengers.'

'What?' Coby said, confusion joining his malice.

Ty laughed, unable to contain it. 'No matter what you do, you can't beat us. You'll never beat me … and JJ won't ever lose. Your King is about to lose his crown.'

'Denzel won't lose!' Coby wouldn't accept it. Denzel COULDN'T lose. Not after being so selfish, not after taking all the responsibility. Coby couldn't lose after leaving his fate in the hands of someone else.

The ball was snapped, and all Coby and Ty could do was watch helplessly. Coby froze. Ty grinned.

John turned. To no one's surprise, he handed the ball directly to Denzel. The Line parted for The King like his name was Moses.

JJ charged into the hole—even someone shot from a cannon would've been slower. He slammed into Derrick and swatted him aside like he was nothing more than a gnat.

JJ was all that stood between Denzel and the end-zone. The two of them both held victory in one hand and defeat in the other.

JJ braced himself and lunged forward. His and Denzel's collision boomed across the field, smothering even the crowd's frantic cheering.

Denzel crushed his mouth guard, pumped his legs, and tore up the ground in his efforts to push into the end-zone. JJ dug his cleats in, squeezed his arms around Denzel's bulky frame, and pushed with all his might to hold Denzel back. Their helmets ground against one another.

Neither made any headway, both were stuck in place, the world revolving around them. Whistles hung silent in the umpires' mouths.

John rushed forward and slammed into Denzel's back, adding his weight and strength to the struggle. It was minuscule compared to the titans battling it out, but even a grain of rice can tip the scales.

JJ's feet skidded back. He was slipping again. The team was slipping, and this time, none of them could reach him before it was too late. Everything was slipping through his grasp. The practices, the celebrations in the locker room after a win, the road trips … his family. It was all slipping away. Deshaun, Stephen, Jay, Christian, Cole, Cameron, Benny, Donte, Zayden, Tyrese, the coaches, they were all slipping away into the abyss.

'GRAAAAH!' JJ planted his feet. His muscles burned. They strained to their breaking point. He pushed back against Denzel. He pushed with not just his own strength, but the strength and weight of his dreams. He wasn't ready to give up his family yet. He wasn't ready to lose these glorious days yet. He wasn't about to lose his last chance at a championship.

Denzel's second surge stopped, even with John pushing against his back. JJ kept pushing. It wasn't just his dreams that fuelled him. His family was counting on him. Deshaun's journey couldn't end here—he needed to keep playing to get a D1 offer. Stephen needed to prove he was strong enough to keep playing WR. Jay needed this family to keep him focused and on track. Christian wasn't ready to stop—he needed to prove he was strong enough to be a one-man offence. Cole and Cameron needed to prove they could be number one options. Benny still needed his chance to shine in the spotlight. There was still so much Donte needed to learn to unlock his full potential and become the leader JJ knew he could be. Zayden and Tyrese were too hungry to be satisfied—losing would crush them, they still needed to grow and bloom into the superstars they could be. And the coaches … JJ couldn't let them down, they deserved a championship win, and it was about time JJ stopped failing them.

JJ yelled. It was beyond guttural; it was primal. His teammates couldn't reach him, but their dreams did. With that heavy burden on his back, JJ pushed forward.

Denzel's eyes shot open as JJ forced him back. He stared through the back of the end-zone, seeing the championship that awaited him, not the Regional crown, but the State Championship. There lay the rematch and revenge that he DESERVED. He saw his father too, saw the disappointment if he was to fall again, at an even earlier hurdle this time. His chest felt as if a ton of concrete was pushing down on it. He cried out as well … his was no war cry, but a shriek of dismay as he was driven back.

JJ kept his head down, pushing endlessly. The crowd faded, everything did. He wasn't on a football field; he was on the edge of the abyss, at the bottom of the steepest hill he'd ever seen. Salvation awaited at the top. His feet were slipping over the edge. Never-ending darkness waited below. His family's dreams were pushing against him. He was all that stood between them and the abyss; he was the only thing that could push them to the top.

"I won't let my family die. I won't let their dreams disappear. I won't forget my dream. I'll keep playing by their side for as long as I can!" He pushed even as his body screamed at him to stop; The burden was too much, it hurt, the hill was too tall, it was too heavy, it was impossible. He didn't listen. He kept pushing and inch by inch he climbed that towering mountain. He rose higher and higher until he finally reached the top, then he collapsed.

Denzel lay on top of John, who was flat on his back, JJ on top of both of them. They were 5 yards back from the end-zone. Time had run out. Officials swarmed over, whistles blared over the roaring crowd.

Before the officials could reach JJ and pull him off the two Bears, the rest of the Dons' defence piled onto him, screaming with joy. He'd done it. They'd won.

Denzel stared up at JJ, eyes full of disbelief. Even Sierra Canyon hadn't crushed him so thoroughly. How was it possible? It shouldn't have been. No one man should've been that strong.

Tears pelted Denzel's cheeks—they weren't his own. The defeat hadn't fully settled into Denzel's core yet. The tears belonged to JJ. A grin split his face from ear to ear, and tears were streaming from his eyes.