Chapter 1:A Step Behind

On a sunny afternoon, a boy straps his bag as he leaves class.

Bodies collide. Books scatter across the floor.

“Watch where you’re going, dude!”

The 6’3”, dark-toned, lean boy crouches to pick up his books.

A white-haired boy stumbles back, brushing his messy hair out of his face.

“...Sorry, I was in a rush.”

The dark-toned boy studies him for a second.

“You’re that wing-back from Iron Wolves FC, right?”

He taps his chin, looking at the ground as the white-haired boy nods.

“Yeah. The name’s Liam.”

A grin spreads across the tall boy’s face.

“That’s right, man. You were great last week.”

Liam glances up, a bit shy. “Thanks...”

The boy throws an arm around Liam’s shoulder.

“My name’s Marcus.”

He sticks out his hand, grinning wide.

Liam shakes it.

“I’m in a rush, so we’ll talk later — and sorry about earlier.”

Liam smiles faintly and runs off.

At a quiet community field, Liam trains alone.

He weaves past the cones, dragging the ball with his left before hammering a right-footed strike.

The ball rockets forward, slicing the air — but whistles just wide of the post.

“Shit!” he shouts, stomping the ground before kicking a cone.

“I’m always a step behind...” His eyes lock on the ball, frustration written all over his face.

“You make it so hard to love you.”

A voice calls out.

“You’re still training?”

A boy strolls over, hands in his pockets, tongue poking out playfully.

“You’re wasting your breath, pal,” he laughs, casually juggling the ball like it’s nothing.

“You’re never playing with me on the team — you’re just dying an unpleasant death.”

He dances past a cone and fires a clean shot into the top corner without breaking a sweat.

Liam stands still, jaw tight.

“They say talent without hard work is nothing. Yet I play every damn time while the workhorse warms the bench.

“You’ve been training three months and I’m still better,” Derick smirks as he turns away.

“Keep training — I’ll keep winning.”

Liam’s fists clenched . His teeth grind.

“We’ll see... I’ll bring you to your knees!”