"It's torture." I groaned, sipping at my Big Gulp and watching as Kacey kicked the ball toward her newest boyfriend, Troy. He nearly tripped as he moved his foot back to kick it.

"It can't be that bad, Quinn. It's not like you used it all that much anyway. You're like some magical queen, you are probably the only teenager that isn't constantly on their phone. You need to teach me your ways." Kacey said, picking up the ball and rolling it into the garage. Troy joined us after grabbed his jacket out of his car.

"That was before Austin moved two hours away and barely even calls anymore."

"Hey, if you're having issues with your parents why don't you just go live with Austin?" She questioned, plopping down in the grass beside me.

"I can't even go over to your house, Kace. What makes you think my dad's going to let me go stay with Austin?" I grumbled, rubbing my forehead.

"What did you do that was so bad anyway? I mean, they were just pictures of you that were staying with you. Why does he care so much?" I shrugged, my mind drifting back to what my dad had said about the pictures.

"He was worried they'd fall into the wrong hands." I explained.

"Well, I guess knowing Jayden, they probably would of." She laid her head against Troy's shoulder, smiling.

"Although, I bet Max would get all kinds of turned on by some of those pictures." Troy snickered at Kacey's comment, I was too busy trying to stop myself from blushing to respond. All three of our heads snapped up when we saw an obnoxious orange car pull up in front of the Duncan's, a car I'd never seen before.

I watched in silence as a tall and thin car climbed out, her hair a strange shade of blue. I was amazed by how long it was, and barely heard Kacey start talking.

". . . another girl already? See, this is why I hate that pig. He couldn't even wait for you to think about your feelings." I caught the last of what she was saying, my head shaking as the girl turned around and a grin spread across her face.

"That's Belle." I muttered, turning to face my best friend. "That isn't some girl that Max is with. It's his sister."

And she was heading right toward us, Max in the wheelchair in front of her.

"Oh my God, Quinn. Look how much you've grown!" I didn't even have enough time to take in the pissed off look on Max's face before Belle had pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"Hi!" I choked out, gasping for air. She seemed to get the point and pulled herself away, shaking her own head in disbelief.

"You look great. How are you doing? You have a boyfriend yet?" It had been at least seven or eight years since she'd seen me, that was quite a while before I had dated Jayden, and I sure as hell wasn't going to mention him.

"Nope." I smiled, "I'm single right now. How about you?" She held out her hand, flashing an engagement ring.

"My fiance proposed to me a few months ago. We're trying to have a baby. How's that smoking brothers of your doing?" I laughed at her comment, only to get strange looks out of Kacey and her boyfriend.

When we were kids, Belle had always been forced to hang out with Austin at school, and most of the time it hadn't ended well. She was the quiet nerdy girl and my brother was this obnoxious idiot who was probably half monkey.

"He's great. And that's amazing. Congratulations." She returned my smile, patting Max on the head as if he were a dog.

"I heard my idiot brother needed to talk to you and was refusing to, so I brought him over here. Please return him when you're done." Belle said, winking. I could hear Kacey laughing behind me as she flicked the back of her brothers head and jogged back across the street.

"Troy's parents are expecting us for dinner. I'll see you on Monday, yeah?" Kacey said, standing up. I nodded, letting her pull me into a hug, one less bone crushing that Belle's.

"Sure. Have fun and be safe." Troy started busting up as they walked back down toward his car, Kacey hitting his arm playfully.

"I heard you got grounded." Max spoke up, avoiding eye contact completely. I stared down at him in confusion.

"How?"

"You talk extraordinarily loud." He replied. "Why'd you get grounded?" He wondered, meeting my eyes with a curious look.

"That's none of your business." I snapped. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at his lap with a small smile.

"Who's being defensive now?" He asked.

"I let Jayden take pictures of us during sex when we were dating." I said, exaggerating a little. Max's head whipped up in surprise, his mouth dropping open.

"What?"

"And my dad found the pictures and grounded me. Can we please just stop talking about it now?" I scratched at the back of my arm nervously, staring at sunset behind Max.

"Why would you let that asshole do that? He-"

"Quinn! Get in here!" My mom shouted out the front door, sounding more anxious then mad for the first time all week. I held up a finger to Max before darting back up the patio and into the house. My mom was standing in the kitchen, her hand over her mouth.

"It's the Coach."She mouthed before handing me the phone. I took it, turning my back to my mom.

"Hello? Coach Welts?" My mom was holding on to my arm, her eyes wide as she waited for my expression to change.

"Quinn. I've been informed that the incident was not your fault. In return, we would like to welcome you back on to the team." I was in too much shock to thank him.

"We've also taken into consideration that Maxwell won't be able to play in the playoffs and were thinking maybe you could." I could feel the shock drain out of me and confusion replace it.

"But sir, the team is males and-"

"And I think you're possibly one of the best soccer players I've seen in a long time. Please think about it, Quinn. We could use you. If you have any more questions, stop by the Gym after school on Monday and we can talk." I whispered something that I barely remembered once I was done with the conversation.

"What happened? Why did he call?" My mom asked, taking the phone and slamming it down on the table.

"I'm back on the team, Mom. I'm back on the team!" Despite my mom's hatred of me being on a team, I knew deep down she was just as excited and thankful as I was.

"That's great. Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you!" I threw my arms around her, burying my face against her neck, laughing.

"I did it!" I cried again, "Mom, I'm going to get a scholarship now." She nodded, her grin stretching even further across her face.

"Hun, I hate to break this great moment, but it looks like someone is outside waiting for you." I whirled around to stare out the window, my eyes falling on Max who was still waiting in front of the steps. I sent my mom a quick nod before walking back toward the door and shutting it behind me.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I jogged down the steps and met Max at the end of them.

"You did it, didn't you?" I asked, still smiling.

"Did what?" He raised his eyebrows. I leaned down and kissed him, my head screaming for me to stop and my heart saying the opposite. I went with my heart.

"Thank you, Max." I walked back up the steps, another smile tugging at my lips.

"Quinn?" I stopped in front of my door, my hand on the knob.

"Hmm?"

"Don't make me regret doing it." He whispered. I shut my eyes and nodded.

"I won't." I said, "I promise."

***AN***

Hope you enjoyed!

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24