Work Text:
St. James was losing before Anne entered the game.
The final of the Spring Tournament was being played and the seats were filled with students. Everyone had been waiting for this final match for 2 weeks. The spring festival always put the school in a positive mood before summer vacations and exams and this was no exception. The reason everyone was waiting was that St. James had never been this high in a tournament event before. Now they had a chance to be champions in two of them.
The first one was a chess tournament. It was before the tennis tournament. Marcy had already won that one. Ever since she won, she'd been surrounded by people. Popularity was really something else, she thought. She stopped watching Anne warm up where she stood, looked around and took a deep breath. At least no one was trying to come and sit next to her at that moment. She could easily focus on her friends. On Anne playing tennis as well as Sasha supporting her with her team.
The cheerleading team was doing really well. Marcy didn't know if it was because today was the final match or because the sick members of the team had finally recovered and returned. But it was clear that they were showing really good coordination and radiating positive energy.
Anne and the other players started waving to the cheerleaders. Sasha, her face red, turned around to give commands.
"Kickin' butt and taking names!
We're the school that called Saint James!
Never give up light that flame!
We're together in this game!"
When the crowd started shouting, Marcy grinned and turned in that direction. The girls bowed and took their seats. But Marcy couldn't miss Sasha's focus on one thing. One person.
"You can't just be subtle about this, right?" She chuckled, moved and sat next to Sasha. The blonde glanced up and put the towel on her head.
"You're doing great, Sash. The morale of the whole team has recovered."
"Thanks. It's my last game here, I want to do my best."
"You're really not coming to the club next year, huh?"
"Unfortunately, I have other plans."
"Such as fencing?"
"Umm..." Sasha scratched her head as if it was the first time she had heard this. "Not a bad idea actually."
When the whistle blew, they focused on the field. The game started. And for the last match, Anne was chosen from the team. Marcy smiled. That makes sense. Ane is the most resilient of them all. Leaving her to the end was very important to turn the game in their favor.
The game started calmly. As the ball went back and forth, Marcy was busy analyzing Anne and the opposition player Clara.
Clara sprained her ankle in the semifinal match. This is not a good situation for her. She'll focus more on her arms than her legs to keep her body balanced. Anne doesn't have that problem. It's really bad that the other team picked their injured players. They've given St. James a chance to—
The crowd on the side where Marcy was sitting erupted in cheers.
—attack.
"Anne's gonna win this."
"How do you know?"
"My calculations are rarely wrong, remember?"
"Eh, beats me. That's what I'm talking about! Go Anne!"
Brunette put the water bottle down and raised her fist towards Sasha and Marcy. Marcy waved and looked at her friend. Her hairpin had slipped out of her hair, releasing golden strands into the air. Her blue eyes sparkled. At least when she looked at Anne. But at that moment she was waving silently, his face the darkest shade of red.
Her friend couldn't hide her giggles.
"What?"
"You can't be subtle when it comes to Anne, can you?"
"T-tha-that's..." She looked away and watched Anne score another point. The Thai girl turned back to them. Sasha hid her face with her hands.
"Guardian, kill me..."
Marcy laughed hard. She put her arm around her friend and hugged her from the side.
"Frankly, I'd like to see this resolved before I move out. Why don't you talk to her after the game?"
"After everything we've been through? I don't know, Mar-mar."
"Especially after everything we've been through."
"I'm..." Marcy could feel the blonde's accelerated breathing and trembling body, even though she was not moving. She patted her on the back.
"I'm not sure. Too much has happened. She might not want me. Or maybe I don't want to commit to someone. To her. I... I saw her die, Marcy."
Marcy nodded and made a sound of approval. All three of them still had appointments with the psychiatrist. While she had managed to overcome most things, it was not the same for Anne and Sasha. She knew that Sasha had traumatic issues, but she had no idea how much they affected her life and her decisions.
She stepped back and ruffled her friend's hair.
"Is that what you really want though?"
"Huh?"
"Do you not want to think seriously about Anne? Or do you want to but are afraid?"
The match was tied for the moment. Anne frowned as she dried her sweaty curls with her towel. There's one last round left. Everything depends on it. If I ruin it, it's all over.
"It's that easy, Boonchuy." Clara was laughing slyly. She shouted.
"One more round and you'll be out of my way."
The crowd on the other side also shouted. It was inevitable that Anne would feel pressure in this situation. It hadn't gone unnoticed by her two friends, though. Sasha put her hands on either side of her mouth and shouted, ignoring the stares of those around her.
"Come on, Boonchuy! Where is the Frog Lady that I know? Show us that. Keep going girl!"
"Yeah! You can do it, Anne!"
Everyone started cheering again. Brunette looked towards the seats and raised her fist again. Her lips curled involuntarily as her eyes found Sasha after Marcy.
"I'm not going anywhere until I win this round. For us. For you."
She hadn't taken her gaze away. She was still in those blue eyes. Did she just... Sasha put her hands on the pom-poms in her lap and lowered her head. She felt like she was on fire.
"Hey Marcy?"
"Hmm?" Hazel eyes turned to her curiously. She could see that her friend was preparing for what she was going to say and didn't want to interrupt her. So she remained silent until ocean eyes turned to her.
"I don't want to give up what I want because of my fears."