Love stories are simple. A boy meets a girl, a girl meets a boy, the boy falls in love, the girl reciprocates. It’s seen all the time in high school, where there seems to be a new couple every week. There’s much to be said about this cheesy form of love, but, in the real world, it never seems to be that clear-cut. Love has always been more complicated than that, which unfortunately usually results in more drama than people want. Maybe that’s why every love story consists of bubblegum skies and bright happy rainbows, because people wish for their lives to be simple and care-free like the lives of characters they read about. 

Point being, as much as Quinn Torres wished her life could be drama free like the lives of her favorite anime characters, she knew deep down she could never achieve that. But, at least there were opportunities to escape her constant overthinking and unnecessary worry, and that was by putting her full attention into the lacrosse game that was playing out right in front of her.  As the sun beat down on the football field, she waited anxiously in the bleachers; with a racing heart and sweaty palms, she stirred internally about her problem.

Meanwhile, on the field, Fiona Hansen was about to score another goal. If she was successful, it would put the game at a tie, shifting their chances to win for the better. The ball was cradled comfortably in the net of her lacrosse stick. Before the season started, Quinn had no idea why they would refer to carrying the ball as “cradling.” But as she watched Fiona’s stick rock back and forth, she couldn’t help but hum the tune to a lullaby under her breath. As she hummed, she let the momentary thought drift, imagining how she would play the lullaby in the school marching band. That made her wish there were halftime shows during lacrosse games. 

It was the second quarter of the Falcons last game of the lacrosse season, so in addition to Quinn’s dilemma, tensions everywhere were high. Thankfully, as expected, Fiona had scored. Fiona played midfield for their team. Of course, she was more than just a midfielder. She had two dogs, her favorite food was cherries, she wore perfume that smelled like peaches, and she brushed her teeth three times a day: once in the morning, once at night, and once after school, just behind the bleachers before practice started; she used a water bottle and a portable tube of toothpaste. She was incredible. Clearly, Quinn was a dedicated fan. She went to every game Fiona played in, she always cheered her name the loudest, and she always waited until the very end to congratulate Fiona. With their senior year coming to a rapid close, Quinn had realized that there wasn’t much time left for her to tell Fiona how she really felt. Because while all of Quinn’s supportive behavior seemed indicative of a dedicated friendship to the outside eye, the reality was that Quinn was in love. 

At the heart of the action, Fiona burst through the opposing team's defense and slammed the ball gracefully into the goal again. She wiped sweat from her forehead, smiling triumphantly. The bleachers exploded into  proud cheers. 

“GO, FIONA!” Quinn contributed, clapping her hands above her head. “YEAHHH!!” She jumped. However, the goal added to her anxiety. Mainly, her fear of Fiona rejecting her. She also worried that maybe her confession would ruin Fiona’s day all together. Besides their exchanges at games, Fiona and Quinn barely had any time to really hang out outside of school or away from their friend group. 

Returning to her spot in the middle of the field, Fiona prepared for the draw. Her hair looked beautiful, tied up in a high, bouncy bun. She had a generous helping of tight curls, which she maintained ritualistically and openly. She put on a serious expression, staring down the opposing teams midfielder while the seconds ticked by. 

One, two, three. 

  After three long seconds of waiting, the referee’s whistle screeched and the girls flung the ball up high into the air. It soared above their heads, and as it sailed down they made a rush to be the first to grab it. On the scoreboard above, it was illuminated that there was only one minute left in the game. Who would get the final taste of victory was a mystery that left everyone at the edge of their seats. 

“C’mon, Fiona…” Quinn whispered, fists balled tightly, “You can do it. I believe in you.” 

Seconds passed. Quinn gnawed on her bottom lip, leaning closer to the edge of her seat with each moment. Fiona had the ball. The opposing team was on Fiona’s trail, swinging their sticks wildly in a desperate attempt to slow her down. But their efforts were fruitless. Fiona surged through the angry horde, with only four seconds left and shot the ball into the goal. At that point, somebody had a right to wonder if the goalie had just given up. But they dove for the ball, just as it hit the back net.

The way the stadium reacted, you would think that somebody broke a record. They erupted from their seats in thunderous applause. 

“GO, FIONA!” Quinn shouted as loudly as she possibly could. She shouted at the top of her lungs, she shouted until everything burned and she couldn’t shout anymore. Pride surged in her chest. “That’s my friend!” she esteemed.

After the teams said their farewells and gave one last cheer, Quinn waited at the bottom steps of the bleachers, fidgeting with her hands anxiously. 

“Hey, Quinn!” Fiona greeted warmly. She had her jacket thrown over her shoulder loosely, grinning from ear to ear, clearly ecstatic about her win. People patted her on the back as they passed, and she smiled and thanked them. 

“Hey…” Quinn greeted, laughing nervously. “I just wanted to say congratulations. Well, I didn’t want to say just that,” She explained awkwardly. It was hard to focus with the amount of people who kept interrupting their conversation, “Sorry, I’m being so vague, haha! Ummm…” She rubbed the back of her head. 

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” she thought, “I can’t even get a word in…” She sighed. 

Fiona grinned, “No worries. Here,” She grabbed Quinn’s hand and led her away from the buzzing crowd.

 She ducked behind the bleachers, Quinn in tow, and paused by one of the large cement pillars that held the seats up. The sun filtered through the holes in the seating, casting a soft halo around Fiona’s head. She brushed a curl away from her eye. Quinn noticed just how heavily she was breathing, no doubt due to how much she ran in the past hour. Quinn appreciated that, though, because it muted the sound of her own racing heart. 

“So, ummm…Good job!” Quinn gave an awkward, yet supportive, thumbs up, “I just wanna preface this by saying that sorry if this ruins your day…” She rubbed the back of her neck, “nd, ummm—”

Suddenly, Fiona giggled, catching Quinn off guard in her ramble. “Quinnnn!” Fiona whined, “Get to the point!” 

“Okay, okay!” Quinn chuckled. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the bomb she was about to drop. Was her gas mask on? Yep. Better now than never. “I like you, Fiona. I like you a lot,” She spat out, eyes widening. Once the confession had come out of her mouth, it felt like something had been lifted from her shoulders, a weight she had been carrying around for far too long. “And, I guess, if you want to of course, if you like me too, we could go on… a date?” She expanded nervously. 

Fiona blinked. Her expression was blank, cat-like features twisted into shock. “You like me?” She laughed nervously, “Me. You like me?” She gestured to herself, as if there was some other Fiona hiding behind her, waiting to pop out. “How?” She continued to laugh, “Wow… I… Wow…” She rubbed her head. 

“What do you mean?” Quinn exclaimed. She was bewildered that Fiona would even question her, “You’re amazing, Fiona! You’re smart, funny, kind, an amazing lacrosse player…,” she listed. “I’ve just been…” Quinn rocked back and forth, “...completely enamored with you.”

Fiona blushed a deep shade of red. She looked down at the ground, back at Quinn, and down at the ground again. “Aw, geez…” she replied sheepishly. “That's really sweet of you, Quinn,” She waved her hand, “Shucks.” 

Quinn stared at her with burning anticipation. Every nerve in her body was tensed up. She stood completely still, fearing that one wrong move would jeopardize all of her luck. 

“I like you, too,” Fiona finally responded, “And I would really like to go on a date with you.” 

Quinn erupted. She exploded into a ecstatic smile and even jumped for joy, whooping and hollering at her stroke of success. “Yes! Yes! YES!” She cheered, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is so amazing, you’re wonderful, I can’t even-” She exclaimed, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was still pounding, but it was a good sort of pounding, like a drumline in a spring parade. “I’m just really glad, Fiona.” She smiled. 

Contrary to Quinn’s burst of energy, Fiona remained poised. She nodded in agreement, “I’m glad, too. I think this’ll be the start of something beautiful.” She offered her hand out carefully to Quinn, who took it eagerly. Together, they started to make their way to the parking lot. 

Overhead, birds continued to chirp, and trees continued to sway in the breeze. Everything was the same, but now the atmosphere had something different added to it. A pinch of happiness, a layer of gratitude, and most importantly, a lot of love. Quinn’s confession had been far from simple. It involved a lot of sweat and anxiety, actually. LOTS of sweat. Quinn spent weeks thinking things over and debating back and forth with herself before finally mustering up the guts to tell Fiona how she felt. But, despite all of that, love prevailed, and she couldn’t have been happier about it. Looking back, she appreciated the hard feelings that came with harboring a crush. She figured that if her life was like that of her favorite anime characters, then she wouldn’t be able to appreciate how much Fiona’s acceptance really meant. So, she thanked the stars for giving her a little rain in order to get her to appreciate the rainbows.