THE WHISTLE FROM THE COACH echoed on the field as the football team ran drills, the sun disappearing behind the horizon as the minutes ticked by. I had been sitting on the bleachers for nearly two hours now, all my homework finished. I was trying to read my book to pass the time, hoping practice would just be over with so I could go home.

The coach kept yelling out plays, making the boys repeat it until the it was perfect. Bored with my book, I watched them for a while, noting how Jamie communicated with his teammates during a play.

Though, Jamie ended up getting tackled on this last play and I sucked in a breath. That must've hurt. It looked like Owen pulled him back up, the coach blowing a long and hard whistle.

The football players huddled up in a circle, the coach saying a few words until he dismissed them. The boys dispersed unevenly as some stayed on the field while others jogged off, pulling their equipment free and heading to the lockers.

"Hey Finn!" I looked over to where Jamie was waving his arms and wondered what he wanted.

"C'mere!" He cupped his hands around his mouth, trying to project his voice. I didn't really wanna walk all the way down there, but I didn't really have a choice either. Jamie was stubborn enough to keep standing there until I'd show up.

I shoved my book into my backpack and slid it over my shoulders, leaving the bleachers and heading down to the field. Instead of turf, we had actual dirt and grass, and everyone seemed to think it made our team tougher. I just thought it was more of a safety issue.

"What do you want, Thompson?" I wasn't in the mood for this as I finally reached him and Owen, the football still in Jamie's hands.

"Go down there," he pointed and I furrowed my brows at him.

"I just walked all the way down here."

"Yeah, now go over there," he lightly pushed my arm in the direction he wanted me to go, and reluctantly I complied.

I stood about twenty feet away from him now when he gave me a mischievous smile, suddenly chucking the football at me. My eyes widened and I ducked, covering my head as it landed nowhere near me.

"You're supposed to catch it!" He sassed at me and I whipped my head over to him.

I went to go get the ball and picked it up, gripping it tightly. Before I threw it, I hollered, "Bite me!" and flung the ball to where he was, nailing him straight in the face.

I clasped my hands over my mouth as Jamie fell back, Owen suddenly bursting out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Jamie was going to kill me. I swear, he was.

"Jamie! Jamie, oh my God, Jamie! I'm so sorry," I ran back over to them and watched as he sat up, his hand covering his eye as he groaned.

"Damn McGowan, didn't know you had such an arm," he grimaced, sucking in a breath from the pain.

"Shit," I muttered, sitting down beside him as he finally lifted his hand from his eye. I could see the bruise already forming and I felt terrible about it.

"Is this gonna affect your playing?" I panicked and he shook his head no.

"But it'll sure as hell impress the ladies," and that made me chuckle. How did he have his sense of humor at a time like this where I almost popped his eye out?

"You good to drive?" Owen finally sputtered out after his laughing fit and Jamie waved it off, getting back up to his feet with his eye still shut.

"I should be fine. I drove Finn over here with me, so she can be my extra pair of eyes as I drive her home," he grunted, both Owen and I giving each other a look before putting our attention back on Jamie.

"I have my license Jamie, I'm driving your car," I ordered, my stare intense and sharp, not wanting him to be on the road like this.

"I'm really fine to drive—" I gave him another look as he hesitated to finish, but finally gave in.

"Yes ma'am," he decided not to argue, knowing I was right. Owen and I guided him to the locker room where they both changed as I waited outside.

I truly did feel awful for hitting him in the face, and even though it had been funny, it really wasn't. His eye was beginning to swell shut when they both came out and Owen wished us safe driving before he left us both there.

Jamie could still see with one eye, but I grabbed his hand just in case he needed a little extra guidance. Together, we both walked over to his car and I quickly unlocked it, helping him get into the passenger seat. Once Jamie was all buckled up, I got in and started the car. It rumbled to life and I wasn't so used to being in such a loud car.

"Hang on," I teased as I started to pull out, beginning our drive back to my house.

I ended up convincing Jamie to have his parents come pick him up so he wouldn't have to drive home. He didn't like that, but even though we weren't friends, I didn't want him to get hurt. I had already done enough damage— literally.

"Okay, we're here. When are your parents coming?" I questioned, waiting for an answer.

"In about thirty minutes or so. They went out for dinner, so they're not sure how soon they can leave," Jamie sighed and rested his head back, tilting it upwards so it was facing the top of the car.

"Well...do you wanna come in for a bit? My mom is probably still at the school, but I can get you an ice pack for that," I pointed at his swollen eye and he let out a dry laugh, looking towards me.

"I would love an ice pack right now," he admitted and I took that as my cue to get out of the car, opening his door and helping him out. I hoped he didn't have a concussion as well, seeing as I hit him so hard.

I unlocked my house door and turned the knob, pushing it open with my hip. I pulled Jamie towards my bathroom and helped shuffle him in, having him lean against the counter as I went to go get a frozen bag of peas.

I handed them to Jamie when I returned and he murmured a "thank you" wincing as he brought the bag up to his eye.

"Here," I suddenly jumped in and took it, gently placing it on the swollen area.

I smiled at him and he gave me a lazy grin, looking at me. It was a funny moment with me just holding a bag of frozen peas to his face as he watched me with his one good eye. Our laughter made me realize just how close we were, my smile starting to fade as his face grew softer.

There was that same tension again, the same vibrant energy that buzzed through me. My heart throbbed as he started to lean towards me, the bag of frozen peas falling to the ground.

Jamie looked at me like no one had ever looked at me before. His eyes searched my face and my own searched his as I tentatively brought a hand up to his cheek. He did the same, taking his other hand and wrapping it around my back, pulling us closer, so close that I could feel his heart beating just as fast as mine was.

As I fluttered my eyes shut, tilting my chin to meet his height, his lips just barely grazing mine did we suddenly fly apart, the front door slamming shut and scaring us both straight.

Flustered, I grabbed the bag of peas and pushed them into his hands, rushing out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind me, trying to catch my breath.

"Mom?" I called out and went over to the kitchen. She was humming something as she dug around in the fridge, no doubt trying to find dinner.

"Oh, hey sweetie! I noticed that car out front. It doesn't look like Monica's. Do you know whose it is?" She placed the leftover spaghetti in the microwave and pushed a button, the machine rotating the food. I didn't know how to tell her I'd had a boy home alone for only five minutes when Jamie answered that question for me.

"Oh," my mom looked stunned as she saw Jamie appear out of the hallway.

"Mom, this is Jamie. Jamie, this is my mom," I gestured to the both of them, but my mom was more interested in the fact that Jamie had a bag of frozen peas covering half his face.

"What happened?"

"Your daughter happened."

"Finnley!" She shot me a look as she scolded me and I gawked at her. It wasn't my fault I had good aim...

"You poor thing," she tsked and examined his eye, her face full of worry.

"It's not that bad, the swelling should be down my tomorrow. And my parents are coming to get me, so you don't have to worry about me driving home," he reassured my mom. She still was all over him like a mother hen, doing what moms do best— nurturing.

"Well, are you hungry? I can whip up something besides leftover sphaghetti," she encouraged as she went back to the fridge, shuffling around to see if we had anything worth cooking.

"No, no, I'm fine. My parents should be here soon anyways," Jamie held out a hand with a small smile. Well, if he wasn't hungry, I sure was.

"I'll have something to eat," I turned on the charm, but my mom ignored me as she shut the fridge.

"So you'll cook for him, but not for me?" I heightened my voice, pretending to sound hurt as I looked with pain at my mom.

"Your dinner is with mine in the microwave, young lady. Jamie here is our guest. He deserves my best cooking," she implied and I crossed my arms over my chest at that. How annoying, but true.

My mom, Jamie, and I sat around our small kitchen table for a while. Jamie and I discussed our project with her and I could see that all-too familiar gleam in her eyes, the kind where it's a little too admiring. I was going to talk with her after this.

"You said your name was Jamie Thompson, right?" My mom finally asked, her face puzzled as she tried to dig around where she'd heard that name before.

"Uh, yeah. Finnley and I actually used to go to middle school together. I'm Owen Davidson's best friend, so you probably saw me a lot around here," Jamie revealed and I glanced over his way, my mom's eyes alight with recognition.

"That's right! Oh you boys were so cute when you were little, and look at you now," she gushed and Jamie slightly chuckled at that, his cheeks flushing at her compliment.

His phone started to ring and Jamie picked it up, saying a few words before hanging up and getting out of his chair. He set the bag of peas on the table and extended a hand towards my mom.

"My parents are here but it was great to meet you Mrs. McGowan."

"Please, call me Hannah," and she shook his hand as he nodded his head, turning to head out the door. He stopped before walking out and glanced at me, smiling before giving me a small wave.

And then he was gone, and I didn't realize that I'd been holding my breath.

"That boy likes you," my mom nudged my shoulder and as much as I wanted to fight her on it, I was too tired to. Instead, I shrugged and headed upstairs, flopping onto my bed.

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The next day, nearly everyone was talking about Jamie's black eye and how it happened. Crazy rumors were flying around in the hallway like: I heard he got into a gang fight! He was hit by a car! His best friend punched him because he kissed Miranda! Yeah, that last one was a little overboard and most people were smart enough not to believe it. Owen and Miranda had been dating for two years now and Jamie never showed any interest in her like that. He only ever did for Ginny Andrews.

It was my free period, so I decided to stop by my locker to see Monica. We hadn't talked much after lunch yesterday, but I missed her this morning and at lunch again since I needed help with my AP calculus homework.

I rushed over to her and tapped her shoulder repeatedly. "Ow! What?" Monica flipped around and her annoyed expression softened when she saw it was me.

"I need to talk to you, like, now," I demanded and Monica knitted her eyebrows a little bit, leaning towards me.

"Are you dying?"

"Might as well be!" I suggested and didn't give her a chance, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into an empty classroom. I started to pace, chewing on my thumbnail as I kept watch of the clock.

"Are you gonna tell me or make me late?" Monica cocked an eyebrow at me and I stopped. Taking a deep breath, I took a step towards her and looked her in the eyes.

"I was the one who gave Jamie his black eye and we almost kissed yesterday," I blurted out and her eyes widened so much I thought they'd pop out of her head.

"Are you freaking serious?" Monica's voice was so shrill, but I threw my hands up, going back to pacing.

"AP calculus wasn't awkward, we just had normal class today so we didn't really talk. And I don't know if we should, because I swore off of him. I don't know what to do," I stressed and Monica gave me a sympathetic look, placing her hands on my forearms.

"Do you like him?"

"No...I don't know. But all I know is that I don't want to," I managed to sputter out and all she could do was laugh at that.

"Look, you've liked Jamie for six years Finnley, it's bound to take some time to get over him. Just try to avoid the boy as much as possible, okay? Now I really need to get to class, but I'll see you later," she fixed my hair and walked out of the room.

Avoid him? Much easier said than done. We were partners for math, how was I going to avoid him? Plus, I'd see him every day no matter what because of math.

I groaned, wondering how my life had gotten so complicated so fast.