"Timeout!" The ref called with a long whistle.

They all jogged off, Johnny making it last to the huddle, making the long trek from the net. "So what's going on out there?" Coach yelled.

"We're getting our asses kicked, sir!" Johnny shouted back.

"Exactly. Rex, explain."

"We let two bad goals in and suddenly everyone lost hope. Not okay. The game isn't over yet. We have fifteen minutes, and it's our possession. This is finals! We win this, we move on to provincials, and that's gonna be tons of fun, so lets do this!"

"Hell yeah!" Johnny bellowed, and the rest of the team nodded halfheartedly.

"So go out there and kick some uh, figurative ass! We need three goals to take the lead. We've been training all year. Don't just give up now!" Coach bellowed.

The zebra looking ref blew the whistle again, marking they didn't have much time left.

"Lets go boys!" Rex yelled, jogging back to the field. They had the throw-in, which was on their half of the field. A mid took the throw, sending it up the line to the left attacker who dribbled down the line and sent it down the field to Rex, a beautiful pass, honestly.

There were only two defence, so it was his time to shine. He put on a burst of speed, keeping the ball close, before stepping past the first, then the second a few paces later. He had a free shot, so he took it closer and faked, sending the goalie diving, and Rex rolled it in, grinning like Cheshire cat.

The other team took their jolly time getting the ball back to mid, so the ref pulled out the yellow card, warning them. Rex was back at the circle and nodded at the two forwards with him, and looked to the left. "Sing, this one's yours."

"Hell yeah, bro. Rush?"

Rex nodded, making sure the other attacker, Joseph, understood.

Tweet.

The ball was passed directly backwards, and the three attackers, well, attacked. It wasn't often people would play like this, and obviously they weren't expecting it at all. They passed it once, and the next guy panicked as Joseph closed in on him, stealing the ball and passing it sideways to Rex, who moved it down to Sing.

It was what every coach wished for, the quick, precise passing, without a single error.

It was a work of art.

Sing passed forward to Rex, who passed it back, where he took the shot. It was honestly a bit of a long shot, but it worked, and Sing got the goal

The next was a bit more nerve-racking, as the other team got their rear in gear and actually made a comeback, making a few close shots on net before Johnny tipped it out, giving them a corner kick. They passed it high above the net, and Johnny, being the tall kid he was, snagged it from the air, launching it forward to Joseph, who was waiting for it off to the side, keeping out of view of the defenders, who took it and ran.

One of the defenders was quick, though, and managed to catch up before sliding, looking like he might hit the ball first, but instead taking out his feet, sending Joseph sprawling. It was an instant yellow card and free kick where he hit, two thirds up the field.

Joseph took it, passing it sideways to Rex, who managed to pass it forwards past the defenders right by the net, before Joseph beamed it in, making the goalie flinch and letting it slide past him.

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The ref blew the whistle for time there, signalling the end of the game. It was the most euphoric feeling ever.

----------------------------------------

"I guess now we get to go to Provincials, eh?" Johnny asked with a grin.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that."

"We're coming in second to last for sure."

"Ha! Who cares? It'll be fun even if we don't score any goals." Rex said, smiling.

Rex ended up being last out of the change room, being the captain and all, so it was obvious Charles and Cole were waiting for him, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He'd have to walk by them to get passed.

And that wasn't a big deal, but his friendship with them had devolved over the months, since he was hoping for it to just fade away and he wouldn't need to worry about them. But here they were.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"What's up?" Rex asked.

"You won." Charles grunted.

"I believe that was apparent." Rex rubbed the gold medal hanging over his shirt.

"With our team." Cole said, a furious looking flashing through his eyes.

"You're team?"

"Yeah. You told Coach to kick us off or something. It's obvious you don't hang with us anymore. Since when did you hate us that much, though?" Cole said, pushing off the wall and trying to look threatening.

"I don't hate you guys. I don't really hate anyone. Honest."

"No, you just want all the glory for yourself. Captain, MVP. What next? Scholarship for university?" Charles said, moving beside Cole.

"Uh what. Look, I didn't do anything. Coach told me I could try out, so I did, and then he formed a team. It was surprising how you or any of that group were on the team, but Coach makes the rules. You know that." Rex reasoned.

"He took all the nerds and beanpoles and shoved them on one team, and this was our year! We were training for years for this." Charles exclaimed.

"It's obvious it wasn't hard enough, then, since the guys who never played school soccer made the team instead of you." Rex said, getting a little bit frustrated now. Where were they going with this?

"And you."

"And me." Rex nodded.

"You were always Coach's favourite. Or it's because your parents are so damn rich. If you still hung out with us, we'd be on the team too! This is such bullshit, man." Cole shook his head, hands clenching and unclenching now. Rex had spent enough time around him to know what that meant, but he stood his ground.

"Well, I best get going. I've got a team dinner I need to get to. You know how it is." Rex said, moving to the right to get past him along the wall.

He felt his danger sense tense, and a fist passed into his shoulder and Cole stumbled into Rex, or rather, through him and right into the wall, catching himself with his face on the drywall.

"Wha?"

"Bro! How long have you been a meta?!" Charles exclaimed.

"Uh, since the lab explosion, of course."

"What the hell? Why didn't you tell us!"

Rex shrugged. "Confidentiality, and also so I could figure out my powers. I didn't want to become some big thing, y'know? There's only like six people who know about it. Eight, now."

"Nine, actually." Johnny said, appearing from around the corner.

"Hey! What are you still doing here? We told you to piss off." Charles rumbled angrily.

"Just waiting for a friend, of course. We've got a team dinner I'm driving him to." Johnny said, a peaceful look on his face, not even flinching when Charles stepped towards him.

"Ah, well, I best get going." Rex said, nodding at the two.

Johnny turned on his heel, then paused. "And don't think about punching me in the back, Charles." Charles froze mid-step.

Cole shook his head, dripping blood over the floor from his nose. "You've fallen far, Rex." He sneered. "Hanging with b-"

"Save it, Cole. I've changed." Rex walked through the corner, ending up beside Johnny.

"Well that went great." Johnny muttered. "I recommend avoiding them in the halls next week or so."

Rex raised a brow. "Oh?"

"They seem pretty intent on bashing you're teeth in. I know it won't work, but it will reveal your powers to them, so yeah, just a heads up." Johnny said. "Anyways, check your emails."

Rex pulled out his phone and tapped a few times. The top email was from UBC.

"Congratulations! - UBC"

"Congratulations on your acceptance into UBC's most prestigious program. It seems as though you have a sponsor, so you'll have a full ride scholarship, including on-campus housing. You're roommate is Johnny Prigier, a Delta tier Psychic. Complaints about this can be raised: here. Be in parking lot M with your stuff at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, September 3. Everything else will be taken care of."

"What." Rex said, his mind not comprehending.

Johnny smirked. "Never realized I was a psychic, huh?"

"Oh, no, it's just you have a really weird last name. Never heard it used, before." Rex paused for a few seconds. "Okay, that too."