The match and the meeting

★ Asif's POV ★

The final bell rang.

A stampede followed.

Students poured out from every classroom like ants after rain. Some headed off for club meetings, some were already in groups planning their next hangout stop, and some—like me—were unwilling victims dragged toward the football field.

By force.

And by Sajim, of course.

"Bro, can't I just head home?" I asked one last time, making a final attempt at escape.

"Denied," Sajim declared, throwing his arm around my shoulder. "You're coming to the match. You owe me for yesterday, and you're already halfway famous for being Mr. Opposite of Awake. Time to build your own legend."

I groaned. "You do realize I have no interest in football, right?"

He smirked. "You have no interest in anything that isn't under a blanket."

That wasn't even wrong.

Still, I tried a different approach. "Don't you have student council work? That paperwork you got in the morning?"

Sajim scoffed. "Done and dusted this morning. Besides, as a proud general member of the student council, it is my divine duty to observe the performance of our soccer team."

He held his fist up dramatically, as if he was defending the honor of an empire.

I sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Let's go, General Sajim."

The field was already crowded by the time we arrived. The cheer squad was there, a few teachers were present, and even students who never showed any interest in sports were gathered—mostly for the noise, snacks, and gossip.

As expected, the match was completely one-sided.

Our school, being a public one, had a decent balance between academics and extracurriculars. Our players were trained, experienced, and honestly kind of cocky. Williston Private High, on the other hand, was... not so sports-oriented.

Before long, Rimon, our classmate and resident overconfident striker, slammed a goal from outside the D-box.

A banger.

The crowd exploded.

"LET'S GOOOO!" someone screamed from behind.

Everyone around me jumped to their feet. The cheer squad went wild. Sajim high-fived a random stranger. Meanwhile, I just stood there with my arms crossed, quietly watching.

But then… something caught my eye.

Actually, someone.

On the far side of the field, in the much smaller Williston cheering group, stood a familiar figure.

Silver hair. Calm face. That same gentle expression.

Ayesha.

My heart skipped a beat.

I don't know if it was the afternoon sun hitting her at the right angle or my brain being overly dramatic—but in that moment, she looked like the moon in the middle of a sunny sky.

Even though her team was losing, she cheered anyway. Clapping, smiling… and somehow, she drew more attention than her entire squad.

She stood out.

And once again… I froze.

The match ended 3-0. No surprise there.

But what was surprising?

The Williston supporters were still clapping. Still cheering. Still proud.

Even our own crowd gave them a round of applause. It was kind of wholesome, not gonna lie.

As people started heading off, I felt a tug on my sleeve.

Sajim.

"Let's go."

"Huh?"

" Let's say hi to our 'mutual friend,'" he said with a teasing smirk.

My feet instantly turned into jelly. "Wait, hold on—what do you mean by—"

"Oh come on, she waved at us, bro."

True to his words, Ayesha had already spotted us and was actually waving. In public. In front of a hundred people.

My soul left my body for a second.

I didn't have time to hesitate as Sajim was already dragging me along. We made our way through the crowd until we reached the Williston group.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Sajim said, smooth as always.

Ayesha smiled warmly. "Yeah. Our team needed a few volunteers to come cheer, so I signed up." She looked directly at me, then added, "Also… I was hoping to run into you guys."

Me?

I blinked.

Did she just say… us?

I felt my face heat up immediately.

Sajim, of course, picked up on that and grinned wider than ever. "See? She came to meet you. Won't you greet her properly, sleepyhead?"

I knew I was being set up.

But I still had to say something.

So I gave her the most awkward wave in history and mumbled, "Glad to...see you…"

There were murmurs around us now. Other students were staring.

"Wait, do they know each other?"

"Isn't that the quiet guy who always sits near the window?"

"Did he just talk to the girl?!"

I was one second away from melting into a puddle when Ayesha chuckled softly.

"No need to try so hard," she said. "It's also good to see you, Asif."

My name.

She said my name. With that soft voice of her.

That was it.

My brain short-circuited. I looked away, cheeks on fire. I wanted to hide behind Sajim like a toddler.

And just as I was about to completely shut down, someone called out from behind.

"WHAT THE HELL, MAN?! I scored two goals and was the MVP, but you guys are the ones getting girls?!"

It was Rimon.

He jogged over dramatically, sweat still on his forehead, but his energy as chaotic as ever.

"Oh, you played really well," Ayesha said politely.

Rimon stopped dead in his tracks.

"W-wha—you—thank you!" he stammered, then cleared his throat and puffed his chest out. "I mean, yeah. Just another day at the office, y'know."

He turned to Ayesha with a grin.

"Name's Rimon. Classmate of these two legends here."

Sajim got forward and introduced Ayesha to Rimon.

" She is Ayesha, from Williston High. well, once Asif bumped into her, so we knew her since then."

At this Rimon turned to me and noticed my tomato-red face, his grin grew even wider.

"Speaking of legends—did they tell you how this guy became the 'Opposite of Awake'?"

I let out a silent noooooo in my head.

Rimon just told her about my embarrassing story with a bit of more sugarcoat.

Ayesha chuckled again.

"That was… really clever, actually."

I buried my face in my hands. Sajim gave Rimon a thumbs-up. Rimon kept laughing. And the crowd around us just got more confused.

By the time our banter was winding down, Williston's team had started gathering to leave. Their bus was ready.

Ayesha gave us one final smile.

"Well… I'll see you around. Hopefully soon."

She turned to me. Just me.

"Bye, Asif."

And then she walked away, back to her group, her silver hair swaying behind her like a scene from a movie.

Sajim clapped a hand on my back.

Rimon leaned in. "So… when's the wedding?"

"Shut up."

They laughed. I didn't.

But I couldn't stop smiling either.

And just like that… the event came to a close.

And I… had a whole new set of butterflies to deal with.