Chapter 3 The next day,
The next day.
The field was alive again.
Whistle blows. Cleats stomping. Jerseys swaying in the wind.
But Zayn wasn't paying attention to any of it.
His eyes kept darting to the edge of the field, scanning the crowd.
She wasn't there.
No Novie.
Not again.
He told himself he didn't care.
Told himself he was just checking to make sure she was okay.
But his heart was pacing faster than his players.
Nelson noticed. Of course he did.
"Looking for your favorite fan?" he asked mid-stretch, smirking.
Zayn rolled his eyes, but couldn't even pretend anymore.
"She's usually here."
Nelson just chuckled.
"I feel you, I'd also be worried too if the only person who ever clapped for me disappeared."
Zayn shot him a glare, but just then—
She appeared.
Jogging up from the pavilion with her bag slung over one shoulder, sunglasses half-hiding her face.
But even from a distance, he knew it was her.
Novie.
His pulse skipped.
She didn't look toward him.
Didn't wave.
Just quietly walked to her usual spot beside the water crates and sat down.
No smile.
No excitement.
Just… silence.
He wanted to go to her.
Wanted to explain—no, wait—what exactly would he explain?
Instead, he blew the whistle harder than necessary and barked at the players to move faster, run harder, do something to distract him from the girl sitting thirty feet away who wouldn't even look his way.
Practice ended.
Players shuffled off the pitch, sweaty and exhausted.
Novie was packing up the towels and water bottles like it was her job—but she looked like she wanted to disappear.
Zayn couldn't take it anymore.
He walked over.
"Novie," he called gently.
She froze.
Her back was still to him, hands paused mid-fold over a towel.
Slowly, she turned around.
"Hey, Coach."
That smile she always wore—
Gone.
Her voice wasn't angry.
Just… tired.
Like she'd already rehearsed this conversation in her head and accepted that it would never go the way she wanted.
"Can we talk?" he asked.
She hesitated, then shrugged.
"If it's about the phone—I know it was weird. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to see that."
Zayn scratched the back of his neck, frustrated.
"That's not what I want to talk about. Well—maybe it is. But not the way you think."
Novie looked up, finally meeting his eyes.
It hit him like a punch to the chest.
She looked hurt.
And somehow stronger at the same time.
He took a breath.
"I was surprised. But not because I was creeped out or anything…"
He exhaled slowly.
"I was surprised because I didn't realize I meant that much to you."
Her voice cracked just slightly. Didn't think about her??
"Well, you don't have to worry. I've changed it."
Zayn smiled softly.
"I kinda wish you didn't."
Novie blinked.
"Why?"
He stepped closer.
"Because when I saw it… I started thinking about you. More than I should've. More than I thought I ever would."
A long pause.
The wind brushed between them.
"But you have a girlfriend," she whispered.
He nodded slowly.
"I do. But… maybe it's time to stop hiding behind that like it's enough."
Novie's breath hitched.
Her guard slowly lowering.
"So… what are you saying?"
Zayn smiled.
That real, rare smile—the one even his players barely saw.
"I'm saying… I see you now, and I think you should give me a chance to repay for being such a jerk"
Novie stared at him, and then smiled…"you were just being you"
Then— "can this, work?".
"I think, if you buy me cola everyday and carried me around like a princess"
Zayn smiled so lovingly, "I'd carry you around like a queen "
She smiled so widely Nelson saw it from across the field, he couldn't concentrate on what he was doing, he thought he'd be ok when the time comes,..but he couldn't help but feel a little….