The next two weeks go by in a blur. Sam kept his promise and helped workout with you in the mornings. Dean even showed up a few times. Dean had talked to the coach and from the sound of it, it was the usual skepticism about a girl playing football. But after you kicked a few times for Coach MacKenzie, his attitude changed. As much as you tried to keep it quiet a few rumors got around about a girl trying out for the football team. You hadn't heard any about you specifically, but that didn't mean they weren't out there.
The week of tryouts has finally arrived and once again your stomach is in knots. Sam said he would meet you at the usual time to workout, but he isn't there when you get to the field. You find Dean leaning against the fence instead.
"What's going on Dean?"
"Well, y/l/n, I'm going to put you through what one of our practices will be like. Just to prepare you."
"But... I've been working out with Sam..."
He lets out a small laugh. "If you think you're ready, I'll go," he says walking past you.
"No! Please," you say grabbing his arm. "I need all the help I can get, please." Then you realize your hand is still on his arm and you jerk back from him.
A small smile crosses his lips. "You're sure?"
"Yes, Dean, please. I want to make the team. And not just make the team, I want to play. I want to make this team better."
He doesn't say anything, he just looks at you. "Now, that's an answer I wanted to hear. Shall we?"
You turn towards the field and Dean follows you. He puts you through a few warm up drills and it isn't too bad. Then it's time for the real drills. They are exhausting, but you refuse to quit. You push yourself through everything he has you do.
"Come on y/l/n! Let's move a little faster!"
As much as you really want to give him a smartass remark, you just smile and try to run a little faster.
"Okay. Now I want to see you kick a couple times."
"What? Couldn't... we have... done that... sooner?"
"No. I want to see what you can do now that you're tired."
He sets up the holder with a ball and gestures for you to go ahead. You back up a few steps and do your best. It goes wide left.
"Y/n, focus. You can do it."
He catches you off guard by using your first name and sounding like Sam. You take a deep breath and try again. This time it hits a post, but still goes through.
"Again. It's gotta to be better than that."
Then something snaps and you feel the need to prove something to Dean again. You line up the kick and split it down the middle. And then again three more times.
"That's what I was waiting for y/l/n!" he says holding up his hand for a high five.
You don't hesitate in him giving the high five. "That felt good!"
"Just wait until you get to do it in a game."
"I can't think about that. I need to worry about making the team first."
"I think you can relax a little there," he says with a small smile.
"Dean! I've been waiting for you for twenty minutes. What are you doing?"
You turn around to see Heather standing at the edge of the field.
"Shit. Heather I'm sorry. We're done here."
"Well, I would hope so. I can't believe you're out here with some freshman."
"Y/n can you put things away?"
"Yeah. No problem. Go on."
"Thanks. I owe you," he says walking backwards toward Heather. Then he turns and jogs over to her. You watch as he kisses her quickly. You feel a small pang of jealous, but you try to turn your attention to putting away the football equipment.
You get everything put away and take a quick shower before first period. You have trouble concentrating through your classes all day. The knots in your stomach just get worse through the day.
The final bell rings and you make your way to the locker room to change. You take your time, but don't want to take too long. You make your way to the field and find a few guys hanging around, mostly freshman. You find Sam in the group talking to a couple of your friends, so you make your way over to them.
"Hey Sam."
"Hey y/n. Are you ready for this?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."
"Wait... are you trying out, y/n?"
"Yeah, Mike, I am."
"What?"
"Yeah... I want to play football."
"Okay then. What position?"
Kicker."
"Oh... anything has gotta be better than Patch. But how good are you?"
"She's great, Mike. Just wait until you see," Sam says before you can.
Before you can say anything, Coach MacKenzie starts tryouts. As you go through the drills, you are happy that Dean ran you through what a practice would be like. You are prepared more than the other freshman. You and Sam are the only two keeping up with everything. Every once and while you catch Dean's eye and you swear you see a small smile playing at his lips. By the end, you are exhausted but happy to be there. You got a few weird looks here and there, but overall it wasn't too bad.
Dean met you each morning to run a few drills, but still no Sam. You missed Sam, but you were kind of glad to have these few moments alone with Dean. After Monday, you could tell Dean made sure you were finished early enough so he didn't make Heather wait.
And every afternoon, it was the same. You and Sam kept up easily enough and you hoped it was getting you points in the coaches' eyes. And the end of Friday's tryout, Coach MacKenzie calls you all over.
"All right kids, you all put a great deal of effort in this week. I would keep you all if I could, but I will have to make a few cuts. The list of those that made it will be posted outside my office first thing Monday morning."
