The match was going horribly.

Luhan watched from sidelines, clenching his teeth – and his fingers despite the pins in his knuckles locking them in place – as their striker was once again tackled and let the ball go. The guy had a good sprint and plenty of stamina but no ball control. And the opposing team were taking full advantage of Luhan's absence.

He longed to ditch the benches and just go into the field but the coach, sensing his intentions, put a heavy hand on his shoulder. 'You're not moving.'

Luhan resisted the urge to snap his teeth and closed his eyes as another cheer went up in the away crowd; their opponents had scored again. It was 3-1 right now and that was before half time. When the referee whistled the end of the first half, Luhan rushed into the field, cornering Minho.

'You're getting killed out there!' He whispered fiercely. Minho glared at him. 'Do you think I don't know that?'

'Talk to coach, tell him to let me in!'

Minho closed his eyes in frustration. 'He's not letting you unless he' he nodded towards the striker, 'gets injured or gets a card. And while I'd love to have you back, I'm not deliberately doing that to him.'

Luhan gritted his teeth. He'd come to play to let out his frustration, not increase it by watching his team get brutalized. One of the opposing teams' players smirked at Luhan – it was the guy who'd had his handed to him by Luhan on previous occasions. Luhan bared his teeth but Minho stopped him.

'Ignore him.' Then with a sigh, 'We'll discuss the play – I'm telling coach to put me in front.' Luhan nodded. Minho was in midfield but his strikes were always well placed and actually went into the goal instead of wandering into the crowd.

'We need a draw, at the very least.' Luhan emphasized.

'I know, bucko. Ya, gather over here team!' He dashed away and Luhan stared at their huddled backs before heading back to the bench dejectedly. Coach patted him comfortingly before moving to the team.

And so the second half began. He watched intensely as Minho tackled the ball away from the opposing team and started sprinting towards the goal. The cheers became deafening – it was the home crowd, after all – as he finally struck and the ball hit its target.

'GOAL!!!'

Finally, they were getting closer. Minho scored another goal within the next five minutes and the crowd was now wild because they were even. Luhan was beginning to feel cheerful because his team was gaining an edge.

But Minho, not the most careful person on the field, got the ball the third time and started sprinting. Again. He kept running, dribbling the ball along expertly, until one of the defenders came sliding out of nowhere and he fell, face first, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop.

The referee signaled a stop, the medics rushed onto the field and everyone gathered around him. His nose was bloody from his fall but it was his foot that was worrisome – it was obviously twisted. He kept a stoic face as the medics put him on the stretcher to carry him off. Just before he was leaving, he grabbed Luhan's arm.

'I leave it to you now!' His parting words held all the passion of a soldier martyred in the battlefield. Luhan gripped his hand with his bandaged ones and nodded. 'Rest easy. We'll win this!'

Minho let go, then groaned dramatically as the fans booed the opposite team. Luhan turned to coach who was eyeing his hands apprehensively. 'Well coach, can I play now?'

'You sure it won't be a problem?' Coach was worried about him but he was worried about the game as well.

'Does that matter if we lose?' Luhan quizzed, smiling in triumph at the pride on coach's face.

 'Fine.' Coach patted his back. 'Go get them, boy!'

 Loud cheers erupted when Luhan stepped into the field. He scanned the crowd, trying to see if Mei was among them. She wasn't.

Looked like his strategy had worked after all. He suppressed a dejected sigh – this was what he had wanted, wasn't it? For her to leave him alone.

But she never missed his games. She'd said so herself…

Well, this wasn't about her. His captain had left him in charge to win this round and he'd honor his word. With a wild cheer, he ran to take the free kick.

……………………

Mei wasn't too sure about Tiffany's strategy but she was willing to try. One last effort before she gave up on him.

She'd been chasing – determinedly and stubbornly – after Luhan but she had her pride and there were only so many unattended calls and no replies to her texts she could take. There were only so many times she would willingly humiliate herself by showing up at his door – or the shop's, to be exact – only to be turned away. And if Tiffany's plan didn't work, she'd take her advice and stick with Kai.

She bit her lip at the thought, tears filling her eyes. She quickly blinked them away. There was also a limit to the amount of tears she could shed for him.

Mei had no idea what Tiffany was planning, either. She just kept saying 'You'll get your date, now get yourself ready!'

Well, she had done all the beauty makeovers she could think of – pulling a Sehun, skipping classes to go to the salon and get a nice trim, a professional mani pedi and facial. If Luhan, for some inexplicable reason, did show up, she really would blow his mind. And if, as was more likely, he didn't… well, she'd still look stunning.

She sighed heavily because it was time for the match now. Although she wasn't sure he would be playing – did they allow players in the field immediately out of surgery? – but she'd still liked to go and make sure. As it was, she leaned back and let the beautician have her way.

………………………