Nigel had never known a situation like this before. His girlfriend was angry with him. Well, not angry per se, but she certainly didn't look very happy with him either. They'd been fine so far, talking so long the previous evening on video that time soon got away from them and she realized she was nearly an hour late into her shift. After her shift, they'd talked again but he didn't hold her long since she sounded like she'd been drained of all her energy in the short hours she had her shift.

Things were fine then. He couldn't pick her up for school the following morning since he had to go much earlier to discuss strategy for the competition tomorrow with coach. He met her shortly after that in the hallway and she refused to even meet his eyes. His usual, "hey, love, how was your night? dream of me?" was awarded with nothing more than a grunt.

"Hayley," he tried to coax but she just glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and ultimately maintained her silence. They were currently on the left lane of the bus they were taking upstate in preparation for the competition tomorrow. He'd gotten on earlier and watched her hesitate a couple meters away with Aries and Cassandra before ultimately coming to take the seat next to him, their friends finding their way further back, not looking any less awkward with the cold war between them.

Her willingness to sit next to had him optimistically hoping things weren't so bad they couldn't be easily resolved. He even felt relief that she was part of the cheerleading team and tagging along to cheer the team on. If that weren't the case, then he'd likely have worried himself until he returned back to her.

"Hay-Hay," he called softly as the bus waited for the rest of the students to find their seats. Her cheeks tinted pink, the dusting turning a tad darker when he reached over to interlace their fingers together. He cheered a little for himself in his heart when she didn't try to pull away and tightened his grip before calling again, "Hay-bear."

Pink burnt to red, stretching to her earlobes. He resisted the urge to lower a kiss to it and straightened his neck when she suddenly turned on him, gaze fierce.

"Have you no shame?" she said but Nigel could tell she wasn't that upset about it with the little roll of her eyes. "I told you not to call me that."

"I'm sorry, okay?" he said, shaking their intertwined hands. Pleading, "don't be mad, alright? I won't do it again."

Her lip twitched and with the deep amusement drenching her grey eyes, he could tell she was holding back a laugh. "Do what?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," his shoulders slumped depressingly in response. "Tell me?"

"Penny approached me earlier today," she finally relented, lips pursing as she finally met his gaze. Only, it didn't fill him with as much relief as he'd thought.

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask just who Penny was and what that had to do with her being upset but curbed it at the last minute as he didn't think she'd respond kindly to his cluelessness.

Though he didn't exactly need to ask. His confusion was blatantly written all over his face.

"Typical," she scoffed. "You don't remember your own ex?"

Nigel's memory blanked. He remembered Cassandra well enough. The other six, not so much, more or less just a blur of faces in his mind. Glancing down at her gradually tightening expression, he could only manage an awkward smile.

"Fiery red hair? Green eyes?" she elaborated. "Pretty dimpled smile?"

That was describing at least twenty percent of the girls in their high school but he still forced any trace of confusion off his face and pretended like he'd remembered. "Did she say something to you?" he wondered. "Don't mind her, alright? She's spouting nonsense."

"What do you think she said?" Hayley was rolling her eyes in exasperation, ignoring his coddling tone. "She analyzed your relationships. Save the long, intermittent one you had with Cass for a while, ever other one barely scraped past a month."

Nigel didn't really have anything to say to that.

"She analyzed ours."

"Don't listen to her," he persuaded. "She doesn't know shit. We're going to be together forever."

"You really dare to say anything," she snorted even though her lip curled up at the edge.

"It's true," he reassured. "I've never liked anyone as much as I like you."

Hayley blinked, caught off guard by the intensity of sincerity in his speckled eyes. Then she was blushing, ripping her hands free and lowering her gaze to fiddle with her fingers in her lap.

"She thinks it's probable we'd soon break up and you'd return to her or one of them," she managed, words a strangled whisper.

"Don't listen to her, okay?" he continued. "She's in over her head."

She managed a smile at that and lifted her eyes to him again, even redder now. "Why. . ." she wanted to ask why he'd dated them all in the first place if he'd never really liked them but at the last second, changed her question. "Why do you like me?"

"You're you," he responded without missing a beat. While her eyes widened at all the heartfelt emotions laid bare in his, he continued. "The sexiest, most loveable, most adorable, most charming, most—"

Hayley clamped her hand over his mouth before he could carry on with anything else that was sure to only intensify the raging blush coating her cheeks. Any redder and it'd be enough to extract the hue from them.

Nigel's brows furrowed in dissatisfaction at being halted but he gently pulled her palm from over his mouth, hand gently encircling her wrist as he dropped a kiss in the center of her palm.

Hayley felt the skim of his lip against her palm like the brush of a butterfly's wing against the petal of a flower, the honeyed feeling spreading all the way to her heart. It also felt itchy where he'd kissed and she made to pull her hand away but trust him not to let go.

"You're the only one for me," he said, frankly, dotting another kiss in her palm.

She swallowed, watching him place a couple more over the surface of her palm and then affectionately kiss up the length of her ring finger. His words couldn't get any more mushy but she knew, as sure as she breathed, that he wholeheartedly meant every word that crossed his lips.

His grip had loosened and she hastily pulled her hand away, embarrassed.

Before she had a chance to do same with her eyes, he leaned the remaining inches across and covered her lips with his. "Only," his peck came and went like another brush of the wing. Soft, soothening caress. "You." Warmer, fuller and she'd only just parted her lips, intoxicated for more, when they were interrupted.

"Cruz. Sanders."

Coach was staring at them from where he stood at the still open doors though there were no longer any students showing their slips. The bus was full.

"If you both have had your fill," he began, raising a swarm of laughter. "Then perhaps you'd like to sit back so we can get on the road?"

Hayley felt like her face was on fire.

"We've not had our fill just yet," Nigel retorted, shameless. "Maybe leave us be so we can finish in peace?"

"Cruz," Coach called again before she could turn her mortified glare on her boyfriend. "Swap with Martinez."

Fucking kill him.

He had no time to consider whether there'd be any rescinding to that decision if he tried to take those words back before Hayley was bolting to the back of the bus and Aries was soon collapsing in her place.

Nigel stared at him with distaste as the bus started moving, lip nearly curled up in disgust.

"How cruel," Aries tsked under his breath. "You're hurting my heart."

Nigel ignored the living epitome of stupidity right next to him, gaze lighting on the bruise on his lips. "Are you okay?" he asked, brow arched.

Aries met his gaze, his darkening as he abruptly turned away. "I'm fine," he managed, letting his eyes fall shut. "He's traveling for a while anyway. Business."

"And?"

"He apologized."

Nigel stared at his face for a minute, taking his tired tone and the tired lines on his face to mind and deciding to leave him be. He ended up falling asleep and Nigel soon felt his head nodding against his shoulder.

He glanced at him in annoyance, unable to help think how it'd be Hayley nodding off against his shoulder if he'd just kept his mouth shut and half-tempted to push his head off. In the end, he let him, properly adjusting his head and then glancing out the window on his side.

The bus whizzed like their driver was on a challenge for a racing championship cup and his fellow teammates and the cheerleading team droned around him softly, almost like a lull despite Gabe and Monica's obnoxious flirting just in front. His eyes cramped but he couldn't really will himself to sleep so settled for enjoying the passing scenery.

What was up next was a blur. Their settling in the accomodations, being on the receiving end of coach's long sermon to stay away from the cheerleaders and just get a good night rest, both genders still converging in one of their rooms as the night wore on since they were stupid teenagers and needed a little booze to hype themselves up. Of course, there he made good on the happiness Coach had ripped from them by putting Aries next to him and sending Hayley off.

"Up so early?" Aries mumbled as he turned over so he could look at the time, then watch Nigel trying put on the rest of his clothes. "Are you meeting Coach or something?"

"No." The man was either still sleeping, freshening up or poring over strategy.

"Hayley?"

"Don't give me ideas," he grunted. "I didn't bring any chocolate. I'm going to see if I can find some."

"Good luck." A pause then, "keep for me if you can."

Nigel muttered an assent. It was inching past nine but their little friendly wasn't until nearly one on the afternoon. He was lucky enough to find a snack vending machine when he got into the hallway where there were a couple of students lazily moving past. It didn't seem like they had much on but still had to put forth basic attendance and he went on his own business, headed straight for the vending machine and felt his throat bob slightly.

Mars. Twix. KitKat. Toblerone. Ritter Sport. Snickers. . .

Nigel wished he could shrink and carry the whole machine about in his pocket for the sake of convenience. After a lifetime of debating, he settled on getting the KitKat and Toblerone in plentiful amounts that could at least last him till he got back.

He turned around but hardly made sense of the shock plastered into the features of the guy standing right behind him before he was ramming into him and knocking the glasses off the bridge of his nose.

A slew of sorry's tumbled put of his mouth and he watched as the brunet, eyes unfocused in its startling glory of amber, almost near liquid gold, stooped slightly to feel for his glasses.

Nigel bent to swoop it up for him, only for someone hurrying past to stomp it to smithereens but not bother with a glance back. They might not even have noticed. He turned to the guy whose nervousness was now rolling off him in waves.

"What happened?" he asked, voice hoarse as he shifted his balance between his feet.

"It broke," Nigel's tone turned airy as he considered actually just leaving. He'd just wanted some chocolate. In consideration of the fact that it'd be a while before Coach started rounding them up for another pre-game briefing, decided to do his best to help since literally everyone else was walking past, nose in the air. "Is there someone you can call? Do you have any spares?"

He was handed a sleek phone and then told the password without any qualms at all.

Nigel felt his lip twitch as he pulled up his contact list. This person was quite trusting and Nigel wasn't really sure what was stopping him from just leaving and pawning the gadget off later on. It looked quite pricy. His chances of getting away were at least seventy percent and who'd find him when he was already back home and miles away from here?

"Who should I call?" he asked because there was still a staggering difference between fantasy and obvious reality. When he quietly uttered a name, Nigel promptly dialed the person labelled Rhett and related the situation to him as he accompanied the other person to wait somewhere quieter.

The person soon arrived and Nigel realized from their similar features save the softer amber eyes that they were brothers. "I told you to carry your spare," he sounded half exasperated half helpless as he stuffed the glasses in the hands of the guy who'd just been blankly staring ahead all the while. Then he turned to him, lips soon parting in similar shock as his eyes moved over him.

Nigel's brow furrowed instinctively as he recalled it was the exact same expression the younger guy had on before his glasses had been knocked off and then smashed. "What?" he said, smiling slightly instead as he glanced between the both of them. "Is there something on my face?"

The younger guy couldn't seem to find words right enough.

"You just. . ." Rhett trailed, staring fixedly at the face of the person across from him. "You look a lot like someone. . ."

But Nigel was no longer paying attention, distracted by Aries' message of Coach waiting on him, having been stalled long enough and rounded up the rest of the team.

"Sorry, I've got to go," he left after that with the urgency in Aries' text, feeling the burning stares from the sit-out he'd just left.

He'd think about what it all meant later.

—

finally getting into the thick of things