The hot California sun was beating down on Aurora. She didn't know how she was going to survive two hours of it while she watched Conrad play football. As Aurora walked down the stairs of the stadium with Keenan leading her, she understood why all the girls at the game were wearing basically swimsuits. Everywhere she looked there were small tube tops covering only girls breasts and mini skirts that barely covered what it was supposed to. Maybe she should have worn a skirt, she thought to herself. There was sweat where there shouldn't be sweat.

"Here we go," Keenan said, stopping at the first row of seats. Aurora looked at the row of people, then Keenan, then up at the hundred rows above her.

"How did you manage to snag the first row of seats," she asked confused.

"I'm on the team remember," he laughed. She looked him up and down at his white t-shirt and green shorts. She gave him a quizzical look. He rolled his eyes. "I told you I'm suspended but I swear I'm on the team."

"Yeah," she laughed, walking past and into the row of people. "Sure Keenan. You have to learn how to stop lying to people."

"Just keep walking. It's the seat right there," he pointed to two of the few open seats still in the row. Aurora mumbled her apologies as she brushed past peoples legs to get to her seat. Once there she plopped down, nearly spilling the nachos and three hot dogs in her hand.

Keenan followed her lead, taking some of the food from her lap. "I can't believe you wanted that much food before the game."

"Who said it was all for me," she asked, looking towards the field in front of her. They were at the fifty yard line and in the front row. She didn't know much about American football but she knew that getting these seats must make Keenan important. Football to Americans is Hockey to Canadians and she would die to get front and center at a hockey game.

"Conrad convinced you to get that for him didn't he," Keenan asked, staring at her with a fake glare. She simply ignored him, taking a bite of the nachos. "The coach will kill him, and then me!"

She waved her hand in the air as a man's voice erupted through the speakers. "Shhhh something is happening."

"Oh whatever," Keenan mumbled, take a bit of one of the hotdogs. "I paid for it so I deserve one too."

Aurora watched intently as the large screens on top of the stadium came to life.

"And welcome," yelled the announcer with a deep voice and enthusiasm that the whole crowd was starting to feel, including Aurora, "to the first game of the 2017 season of the University Southern California Trojans!" The whole crowd cheered so loud Aurora jumped in surprise. She looked around her as people jumped to their feet and shouted with every breath their lungs had.

Keenan could only keep his eyes on her. Her face lit up with so much happiness he had not seen since he surprised her with the ice skating rink in April. She looked so damn beautiful.

Aurora looked around her and was reminded of one of her favorite childhood memories: hockey games. This wasn't the same game but people showed just as much enthusiasm, maybe even more. She felt adrenaline in her veins she hadn't felt in so long. She felt like a piece of home was there with her in the first time in a week that she had left Canada.

Aurora watched the screen that began to show players running through a hallway that she could assume led to the field. She watched and watched and watched.

Eventually she laid back in her seat and groaned. "My god how many people are on this team?"

Keenan laughed with the last bit of hot dog still in his mouth. He swallowed it quickly, answering with, "A lot."

Suddenly the video changed from the live video of the team to another one. Music started blaring as different clips of the team and players showed up on screen. It looked like a movie to Aurora.

"How come I don't see you," Aurora asked Keenan.

"I'm the third string quarterback which means I'm not that important to be in the video. Also, once again, I'm suspended."

"Yeah yeah, that's your excuse for everything." Keenan threw his arms up in the air frustrated as Aurora laughed at him. He knew she was only kidding but he liked playing along. This version of Aurora that has been popping up every now and then for the past week has given Keenan such comfort. She's starting to act like old Aurora again, but without the actual attitude.

Aurora watched in mild interest as the players began to be introduced. It was the same thing with every player. A video of them will state their name, their highschool, their position and then they would run onto the field, introduced by a line of cheerleaders and the crowd cheering. But with every player the crowd began to loose it's enthusiasm.

When Conrad came onto the screen Aurora and Keenan stood up to cheer, nearly spilling their food. "I'm Conrad Holland. I'm the fullback I graduated from Compton High School class of 2017."

Someone cursing made Aurora and Keenan look behind them. An older man with what looked like his son and daughter or wife looked at the screen with an angry face. "Seriously," the man scoffed. "Did he really just say Compton? I hope they search him before he gets on the field."

Keenan clenched his hands by his side, not wanting to throw fists once again. This time he would get kicked off the team for good and it was kinda supposed to be his career.

"If you don't mind sir shutting your mouth, I would like to watch my dear friend play football," Aurora seethed with a glare like a snake. The man opened his mouth to probably yell at her, but his college aged son stopped him by grabbing his arm. Keenan was too focused on trying to gain Aurora's attention to realize that the son was whispering something in his Dad's ear.

"Aurora," he whispered into her ear. "Why would you say that?"

Aurora turned to give Keenan an evil glare. "Because Conrad is our friend and he's a human being who should not be judged by strangers!"

"I completely agree," a man said from the other side of Aurora. Both of them turned to the young man sporting a USC shirt like the rest of the fans in the stadium and red paint below his eyes. The man shared a bright white smile with Aurora. "People should learn to keep their mouths shut and shove their racism up their asss."

Aurora chuckled a bit behind her hand as the father grunted in anger behind them.

"I'm Blake," said the man, holding his hand out to Aurora to shake. He didn't look at Keenan even once. Keenan tried to control his temper as Aurora shook his hand. It got harder to contain though when she cheerily replied with her own name. Keenan was saved by the appearance of Conrad.

"Yo," he yelled, jumping onto the wall dividing the stands and the field. His entrance made Aurora jump back from Blake and into Keenan's chest. He much preferred that. "Where's my hotdogs?"

"I got it, I got it," Aurora muttered. She turned to Keenan and whispered, "Do you have it?" Keenan rolled his eyes and grabbed the two hot dogs that he placed on his seat. He handed them to Conrad who instantly shoved them into his mouth.

"Ank u," Conrad said with the two hot dogs basically falling out of his mouth.

"Nice," Aurora applauded. "Wanna see if another fits."

Keenan pushed Conrad off the wall, earning a shocked look from Aurora. "What," Keenan shrugged his shoulders. "He was gonna make a joke about putting wieners in his mouth, I knew it."

"Um exactly," Aurora stated, giving Keenan a dubious look.

...

Fifty minutes into the game and Aurora was about to lose her voice from screaming so loud. She was never a big fan of football, but now she saw the fun in it. It involved a lot of big guys hitting each other, which also made hockey one of Aurora's favorite sports.

Although, it would be a lot easier to enjoy the game if Keenan wasn't sulking the entire time. She looked over to see him staring straight ahead, not taking notice of anything happening. His arms were crossed and his jaw hardened.

"What has your panties in a twist," she asked him, nudging his arm. He huffed through his nose, quickly sending a glare to his left, towards Blake. AKA, the man who took interest in Aurora for point five seconds before devoting his entire attention on the game before him.

Keenan sighed, a look of defeat crossing his entire face. "Nothing," he murmured as he uncrossed his arms. Aurora opened her mouth to begin prodding him for an answer but when she heard a sickening sound from the field, and the entire stadium echoing in sounds of disgust, her attention was diverted elsewhere.

Keenan whispered a cuss as he got to his feet, like the rest of the people around him did to get a better look at the player squirming on the ground in agony. Aurora followed their lead, watching as people rushed to the guys side.

"Do you know him," Aurora asked.

"Yeah, he's the first string quarterback."

She didn't really understand what that meant, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of the field. The player had disappeared into the crowd of coaches and medics. The stadium filled with thousands of people was now dead silent. It was creepily haunting.

Her eyes wandered around to the players, home and away, that were kneeling to the ground. Some had their heads bowed which made her assume they were praying. Aurora looked over to Keenan who was in a similar position. Instead though he was sitting back in his chair with his head in his hands. She could see every deep breath he was taking as his entire body moved. Aurora didn't think twice before sitting down beside him and offering a comforting hand on his shaking shoulders and one on his knee.

Keenan froze, shooting his gaze to Aurora as she stared at him with sympathy she didn't know she even possesed. Visible emotions on anyone made her feel uncomfortable. But with Keenan, this boy she barely knew, she felt different. She wanted to comfort him and stay by his side, when usually she would awkwardly look away.

Keenan stared at her with bright blue eyes that almost made her cry right then and there. They held something so familiar and comforting, but yet something so terrifying. It was like she was staring into a dark deep hole that racked her body with nightmares, but a voice was telling her to jump. Jump. Jump, there would be a safety net on the bottom.

So she did.

She grabbed his hand and wrapped her fingers in his shaking ones. Aurora then fully realized she wasn't fifteen years old anymore. She was a grown woman and this man... he was something else.

Maybe her safety net.

Or simply a dark abyss.

...

I'm sorry it's so late. I had a really hard time writing this chapter because I kept comparing it to the first book and I just wasn't pleased. that said, I had a glass of wine and finished the last part lol I hope you enjoyed it!