We wear a mask to hide, yet we forget our eyes speak the words we fail to say.

Mae

Stabs of pain ached on every muscle. This must have been the equivalent of a grenade going off in my body. Afraid of the pain flaring when I sat up, I rolled over, which landed me halfway on top of Damien.

"Mae?" He whispered. My head started pounding as I forced my eyes open. It took several rubs to get the crust out of my eyes.

I groaned, clutching onto my head. 

"Do you want some Tylenol?" He asked, and I nodded, trying to sit up with caution. Tightness squeezed and throbbed inside my head, my eyes pulsing with the same tightness. He handed me the pills from his nightstand and something to drink. "How do you feel?"

I shook my head, cringing my face. "What happened?"

"You don't remember anything?"

"I remembered getting sedated...struggling to fight him off...but after that, everything pretty much goes blank." I swallowed the pills and set the water down.

"I had a nurse friend check you. She said you'd be okay, but that your body might hurt for a few days." That's usually how it went. "She said you wouldn't wake until the morning." He seemed confused.

I contemplated whether I should tell him why my body was used to the sedative. The last thing I wanted was him pitying me or looking at me differently. Portraying myself in any way that made me look weak brought difficulty. But a part of me wanted to be transparent with Damien. To show and give him the truth because I wanted him in my life for as long as he was willing to be in it. 

I didn't want to hide painful truths or numbing lies. 

Healthy relationships weren't built on lies. I inhaled a deep breath. "Do you remember our conversation that night at the beach?"

He nodded, looking at me with patience.

"Well, when my father used to hit us, he sometimes...used a sedative." My eyes searched his features, needing to know his reaction, but he composed himself.

"Why?" His jaw kept ticking, and I had a suspicion of what he was thinking.

"Made us vulnerable to protect ourselves or each other. Zach couldn't do anything when Mitch came after me and vice versa."

"And...did, did your dad ever...," he trailed off, his body tensing. 

I shook my head, but his eyes lingered on me for a few seconds extra before looking away. "It was never that type of abuse."

With a slow nod and a few ticks from his jaw, he looked at me. "And that's why you're used to the sedative?"

"Most likely. The one that Lou guy used worked fast, so it could have been GHA."

"Date rape drug," he said, and I nodded. "Is that the one your dad would use?"

"Sometimes. But he mostly used ketamine. Its effects took long but didn't last long. Only a couple hours."

He exhaled an exasperated breath as he shook his head. "It pisses me off that he did that to you!" He kept shaking his head. "I wish I was there for you. I should have been there for you. If only I—"

"Don't do that. Don't place yourself as the should-have-been hero." He couldn't change the past. No one can. Wishing that would only make him live in the past. And that was not a fun place to live. 

"I just—"

"You're here now." I placed my hand over his own. I was thankful he was here now, that he hadn't given up on me like the rest of the world had: people at school, my parents, teachers. When I made things difficult for Damien, he didn't give up on me. Maybe he could have contemplated it, but he cared enough to keep trying. To keep being there for me.

"Can I, can I hug you?"

"I would really like that." 

He leaned over, careful to not cause me any fright. I felt safe and secure in his embrace. It felt as though no danger could touch me. As though, if I stayed in his embrace, all danger would wait and hold off until he let go. I was afraid for him to let go. Afraid to know what that would feel like. Afraid to know what that entailed after he did. 

 "Are you okay, considering what happened today?" 

I nodded, relishing in his warmth and masculinity. My very own protector, my savior. With gradual movements, he started leaning back, and we laid together for a while.

"I really...really...really like you, Mae." The assurance in his voice made me smile, filled me with confidence in a way.

"I really like you too, Damien." I moved higher up, laying my head over his heart. Many thoughts surfaced in my head, a lot of happy ones, but with balance, many sad ones as well. 

I pictured what our future would be like: how many kids would we have, where would we live, would we get married? Then those thoughts shifted: how would I feel if he broke my heart, what would I do if he fell out of love with me? Was there a time limit on love?

"Question," I said.

"Let's hear it."

"Do you think there's a limit on love?" I looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" His eyes searched mine as his hand played in my hair.

"Like a time frame."

"I really hope not." He stared into my eyes, his hand moving to caress my cheek.

I laid my head back on his chest, counting his heartbeats. "You have a strong heart." I was glad. It meant he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Can I hear yours?" Getting up, my back rested against his headboard, and we switched positions. "I had a hard time sleeping as a kid. My stepmom always had fake nails, so I would always ask her for back scratches. She would be so sleepy, yet she would invite me to lay in my dad's empty spot, and scratched my back until I fell asleep."

I smiled at the memory he recalled, running my nails over his shirt. 

He closed his eyes, and mumbled against my chest, "It feels better under the shirt."

We both laughed, and I dragged my nails over his warm skin. After a while, I checked for his reaction. His mouth was parted as airy snored escaped his mouth.

"Are you asleep?" I kept my voice just above a whisper. 

"Mm-mm," he hummed. I placed my other hand in his soft hair, playing with it as I scratched his back. "Trying to put me to sleep?"

"Does it feel good?"

He nodded, moving his arms underneath the pillow I was laying on to hug me. After a while, I felt something wet on my chest. He was drooling on me. I stifled a laugh, and he moved before his snores grew louder. My hands never stopped until I knew he was in deep sleep. I laid him on his back and gathered my things before walking out of his room.

"Oh shit," Deacon said, steading his big bowl of cereal.

"Hi." I smiled. 

"What's up." He nodded up once. "Your car keys are on the entry table." His footsteps echoed through the floor. "Mae?"

I turned halfway to look at him, his face laced with concern.

"I know today was my brother's fault, but don't blame him too much." 

His brother's fault? Deacon walked into his room, so I made my way outside. I got into my car and grew a little frustrated that someone drove it, which forced me to adjust everything in my car before I drove home.

"Where were you?" Zach asked from the living room as he watched a movie with James.

I didn't want to tell him what happened today, so I smiled and said, "Damien's."

"We were supposed to go food shopping."

"We'll go tomorrow." My shoulders slumped as I walked into my room.

"You okay?" James asked.

"Yeah." 

"You seem...off."

"Just tired." I feigned a smile.

He kept staring at me, and I wanted to tell him about today. Tell him, he was right, that I wouldn't always be able to protect myself against someone who came after me. But I couldn't.

I looked away, walking toward my closet, but James stood in my way.

"Did he hurt you?"

My eyes were on him in an instant, and I shook my head, stifling a laugh.

"Just gotta make sure before I kick some ass."

"Oh, yes." I laughed, and when I threw my bag on the bed, I noticed a red dress.

James smiled at my reaction. "My mom asked if you were going, said it's a gift."

"I can't—"

"Don't even." He shook his head.

"Thank you." I hugged him. 

He laughed. "You're welcome."

"How did she know my size?"

"I pay attention."

I kept smiling. It was really thoughtful of both of them. "This is why I love your mom." His mom was the sweetest woman I had ever met. She constantly made sure James didn't feel excluded from his Black side and his White side. She worried that he would feel he didn't fit into either, which he did growing up. He had always said he was black but didn't feel like he fit in because he was white but didn't fit in with the white people because he was black. James grew comfortable with identity when he was in high school and his friends were Black, White, or biracial like he was.

"Yeah, and even though you annoy her, she loves you too," he said, and I mocked a gasp. "Yeah, she knows you drive crazy! She saw you."

I smiled. Oops.

Walking out of school for lunch, I saw Damien with his hood up as he worked on his car. "Hey, cutie." I smiled, but it was Axel who was working on the car. I covered my mouth, my face heating up. He smiled as his face went a shade pink.

Damien got out of Axel's car with a smile. "Did you call him cutie?" Damien asked, and I laughed.

"I thought..." I trailed off, looking at both of them. Their backs were uncanny, as was their height. "Sorry." 

"Don't worry about it." Axel signed. I peeked in Damien's hood, and they were jump-starting his car. 

"It died?"

"Yeah," Damien said, unplugging and closing Axel's hood. "Thank you, man."

"Of course." Axel nodded, stepping away when his phone rang.

"Mae!" James shouted from the school's entrance, making his way toward me. "Here." He extended his arm as his white and green jersey dangled down. "Good luck charm, 'member?"

"Right. You guys are wearing white this time?" 

"Yeah. Coach is a little scared of the change, but the Northside changed their colors to black and green, so we gotta wear this." He shrugged.

"Is it clean?" I smelled it.

James smiled. I shook my head, and he hugged me. "Alright, I'll see you later." His eyes lingered on me as he pulled away, and I gave a slight nod.

I turned around to Damien when James left, but he looked away from me. "Wanna leave for lunch?"

Damien shrugged.

My eyebrows furrowed at his reaction. Axel came back in a hurry, needing to leave. He sped out of the school. My eyes moved to Damien as his heavy hood dropped, a loud bag erupting and scaring me. 

"My bad," he said.

"Are you mad?" 

He shrugged.

"Why do you keep doing that? What does it mean?"

He shrugged again, and annoyance bubbled with the lack of communication. 

"Can you talk to me?" I asked, and his eyes met mine.

"Why can't you see it?!" He snapped.

"See what?!"

"James!" He leaned forward, shaking his curled fingers before turning away.

I laughed. Did he think James was trying to tear us apart or something? I wasn't going to stop being friends with James either just because Damien felt intimidated. "He's like a brother to me."

He threw his head back, bellowing a laugh. "Why is that a girl's favorite line?"

"Is that why you're mad?" 

He refused to look at me. 

"Hmm?" 

Nothing.

I counted to five in my head. When I reached five, I started to walk away. I wasn't going to have a one-way argument. If he didn't want to talk, fine. 

"Wait!" I kept walking, and he rushed in front of me. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

I shrugged. 

He smiled. "It's just...put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel if a girl was always around me, hugging me, has known me my entire life, was my best friend, how would you feel?"

I looked away. I would hate to lose what I wanted more than anything.

"That is what I go through every day James is with you. It's just hard going slow."

I looked at him. "What does that mean?" I was going too slow for him? I didn't want to do anything that made me uncomfortable, and I wasn't going to force myself just to please him. "I'm just not used to those kinds of things."

"But I am," he said, and I didn't like what he was implying. My heart started racing as an intense zoo tortured my stomach. I took a step back, my eyes staring at the ground. 

"I don't plan to have sex until after I graduate," I told him with a firm tone. 

"What?!" He was shocked as he took a step back. "That's not—I—what gave you that impression?"

The corners of my lips pulled back. That's not what he was talking about? "See, this is what I mean about communication!" 

We started laughing, and he pulled me to him. "I didn't mean that, Mae."

"Well, I don't know." I looked down. He caressed my cheeks as they heated up. 

"I respect your choices, Mae. I was just expressing how it feels."

"But what did you mean by slow?" I looked up at him.

"I lo—iked you for a long time, Mae. I want to hug you everywhere we go, hold your hand, kiss you. I pictured all of it. Damn, I even pictured us being married!"

I chuckled. "Guys do that?"

"I do." He lifted his shoulder. 

Cars started driving in, so I backed away. Damien removed his eyes from mine, but I saw the annoyance that crossed his face before he masked it. I felt bad that I was making him annoyed. I didn't want to be shy with the PDA: it was a tight leash, one I wanted to run away from.

He inhaled through his nose and looked at me. "Is lunch over?"

"Yeah. We get out earlier today."

"Because of the dance?" 

I nodded. "Are you going?"

He shrugged. 

"Ugh!" I walked away, and he laughed.

"You're cute when you're annoyed!" He shouted, and a few people who were walking in front of me turned around giggling.

Fast, heavy footsteps sounded behind me. Damien's lips held a mischievous smile as he ran, and I took off sprinting. He laughed as he chased me. I laughed, turning a corner and going into an empty classroom. He grabbed me, and I screamed. 

Hours later, I went to take a shower, doing everything to cleanse my body in preparation for the dance. I pressed the towel over my body then applied lotion to my shaved legs. 

I didn't have a red bra to match my dress, and the back of my dress was low. Was I even supposed to wear a bra? Go braless? Risky move. One wrong hug and I could have my boob pop out. I laughed at the image.

Guess I'll have to hope for the best. I changed into a t-shirt and panties and finished doing half my makeup.

"Hey," my brother called from outside my room.

"Restroom," I said.

"Do you mind if Crystal uses your restroom to get ready?" Zach asked as he peered into my restroom. 

"I—"

"Thanks," Zach said.

Crystal walked in, and I froze. She smiled, so I smiled too, and Zach left. "You have really pretty lashes," Crystal complimented.

"I curl them," I said, and she chuckled. She started doing her makeup, so I continued to do mine. 

This isn't awkward, I tried to convince myself. Just another day in the life of Mae.

I looked at her as she did her eyebrows and noticed her shirt looked familiar. My eyes moved to my reflection in the mirror, and I continued doing my mascara. Where have I seen it before? The more I thought about it, the harder it was to grasp.

I gasped. 

I remembered. She looked at me, and I laughed. "Almost got it on my eyelid," I told her.

She laughed. "I hate it when that happens." She applied eyeshadow, and I started connecting the pieces. Holy crap. "Mae?"

My eyes met hers in her reflection.

"Can I ask you something?"

I nodded.

"You know I don't hate you, right?"

I shrugged. Could have fooled me.

"When Rhonda said I talked about you, that was true, but I only did it to fit in with her. Peer pressure." Her eyes locked in with her eyebrow gel. "I was so desperate to be popular, to be seen and noticed, but in reality, Mae, it's not even worth it."

I stayed listening.

"She saw Damien with you and Bennett and Ryder. Hell, even Max, and he's not even her type."

"He's too toxic?" I joked, and she laughed.

"Try not toxic enough."

"Damien's not toxic."

"Says he looks dangerous." She shrugged. I twisted the cap of my mascara onto the tube and applied a strawberry chapstick to moisten my lips. "I miss you, Mae. I know you're gonna think I'm crazy because we haven't been friends for a decade, but I miss you! I ask James about you all the time, and he can go on and on about you, but I really just miss our friendship."

I remained still as I processed the information. The emotions I felt were unknown to me. I had never been in this potion before. Was I supposed to express how I felt, or tell her what she wanted to hear? If it was the latter, what was it that she wanted to hear?

"I'm actually pretty jealous of the way you turned out. You seem like an amazing person."

"Thank you," I said as I looked at her. "But if you wanted to be my friend so bad, why did you try slapping me that day at school?"

She took a deep breath as her eyes remained on her hands. "During the summer, I took a class so I could get ahead. One of the teachers wasn't from the school, so I thought it wouldn't be that inappropriate if we had fun." She looked at me, and I nodded to show I was listening. "I didn't tell Rhonda, but she found out anyway, and when we started school, she saw the guys all over you, and she was pissed."

"So...she blackmailed you?"

Crystal nodded. "Mae, I felt really bad. You don't understand. Ask Zach. He knows about the teacher."

"Are...you two...?"

"Kind of?" Her eyebrows raised, weary of my reaction.

My movements were slow as I nodded. "How does he seem?" I asked. I worried about him. We used to talk a lot more about Mitch when he was alive than we did now, and we seemed closer then. Now, there was a small drift in our relationship, and I wasn't sure if that's how it was supposed to be. When we get into relationships, are we supposed to drift from each other?

"He's distant at times, but he says he's trying." She nodded.

I wondered if she knew. I analyzed her features, but she gave nothing away. We finished doing our hair and makeup.

"Are y'all ready yet?" James asked. He walked into my room and sat on my bed. "I like this view."

"Of course you do," Crystal said, and James looked away, smiling. 

"I just need to put my dress on," I said. I went to my closet and slid through the dress. The bralette inside had thick padding, pushing up my small boobs, which I was thankful for. I had found a nice pair of silver heels to go with the dress when I went to the store yesterday. I was in love with the dress. It wasn't flashy or showed anything off too much. I was a little insecure with my small fupa, but the muscle on the top of my thighs extended and provided a small coverage for it. I put my heels on and walked out of my closet. 

"Alright, let's get this over with," I said. 

Zach smiled. "And here I thought I had a brother all this time."

"Shut up." I laughed and looked over his suit. He looked really handsome. I often felt older than him, so it felt like my little brother was all grown up. "You look really handsome, Zach."

He smiled and looked away. "You're supposed to insult me."

I laughed.

James' eyes kept scanning my body up and down. "You...yeah"—James nodded—"yeah, you look good."

"Thank you." I smiled and picked up my phone.

Are you going? -M

You're going for sure? -D

Yeah. You? -M

I'm not sure. I have some things I need to take care of. I'll try. -D

I looked up as Crystal walked out. Her dress was gorgeous. The off the shoulders, silky, dress with a slit up to her mid-thigh fitted her body in every attractive way possible.

"Mae, you look gorgeous." She smiled.

"Thank you." My laugh shook. "You look really pretty."

"Gorgeous," Zach said, and Crystal smiled as she walked to him. I set my phone down on my nightstand and saw Crystal's smile fade as she looked at me. She saw them, my scars on my back. I grew self-conscious, but they were a part of me. I was starting to grow tired and annoyed of hiding who I was. Everyone else didn't, why did I have to? The answer was, I didn't, so I shouldn't. I could see her thoughts turning in her head. It didn't take a genius to match Zach's scars and mine.

Still, I brushed my long hair back so that it would cover almost all of my scars.

"She a'ight. Let's go," James said and walked out of the room.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're my date. What a damn honor," Crystal said. We walked out and Crystal and James went into his mom's car, and I followed after them.

"So...you and Crystal," I said, and Zach chuckled.

"Yeah." He nodded. I wanted him to say something else, but he didn't. He had grown quieter recently. 

"Is everything okay?" I glanced at him.

"Just a lot of anxiety for tomorrow's game. A lot of scouts are gonna be there."

Made sense. "You're gonna crush it." 

He nodded and looked out the window. 

We arrived at the dance, and he handed me my mask. As we got off and started walking, I stopped when I saw what everyone else was wearing.

"Okay, hear me out," Zach said.

"Zach." I looked around, the embarrassment settling in.

"You wouldn't have come!" 

"You're damn right!" I whispered. The people around me glanced at us as they passed by. "Zach, how could you do this to me?!"

"Crystal is wearing red too!"

"Who else?" I signed. "The rest of the football player's dates?"

"No. It's black and white theme for everyone else."

"Zach!" 

"I'm sorry!" He laughed. That was the first genuine laugh I had heard from him in a few days. He kept smiling, and I couldn't be mad. "Come on."

"Fine." 

He laughed again, and we put our masks on before walking up the stairs of the entrance. We went into the elevator, and Zach and I grew a little claustrophobic as we were going up. "Come on, dude," Zach said, counting down the numbers. The doors open, and he rushed out. I followed suit. Zach pulled out the tickets from his jacket and handed them to the lady at the door. 

"Stop before going downstairs to take your picture," the lady told us. 

We nodded and walked in. I liked the song immediately. Electric Love. I bobbed my head a bit, and Zach smiled as we stopped to take our picture. 

"Thank you," he told the cameraman. "Thank you for coming with me."

"Of course." I smiled. He needed me, and I would always be there for him. I look around as we descended and someone caught my eye. 

He was talking to some girl, but his real attention was elsewhere. He kept scanning the room as the girl talked to him, but once he saw me, he stopped with his tactics and stood.

Damien looked at me, and I felt put on display. Zach walked us to the bar they were at and told me he was going to find James and Crystal. Damien's black mask fit every feature on his face with perfection. I loved his grey eyes; they were my favorite. He smiled and his dimples put that to the test. Maybe they were a tie.

I heard Ryder sigh as he looked off to the right with a detached expression. "When is Cupcake coming? This shit sucks." 

"I sort of feel bad for Mae," Bennett said, and my heart dropped.

"Why? Mae's awesome," Ryder said.

"Because she has to deal with your bullshit." Bennett laughed. Heart rate went back to normal, and I look at Damien, his eyes refusing to stop scanning my body.

"With all the staring, I assume I look okay?" I asked but was unable to maintain eye contact. I saw from the corner of my eye Damien nodding. "I thought you said you weren't coming."

"I wanted to surprise you," Damien said. "Is that lame?"

I shook my head. If anything, it was cute.

Ryder brought his cup to his lips, chugging, but when his eyes roamed to where I was, he spat the contents back into the cup and started choking and wheezing for air. "Cupcake?" He coughed. Even a half dying Ryder still managed to do a full survey of my body. 

"Drink," Bennett told him. Ryder grabbed the water bottle and took small sips. "You look really pretty, Cupcake."

I looked down and mumbled, "Thank you." I looked up at Damien, admiring the all-black suit. It really fitted his style, his aura. He took a step and closed the proximity between us.

"You look really handsome," I told him.

"Thank you." Damien smiled. "You look really beautiful, Mae." 

My vocals betrayed me and released a shaky laugh. "Thank you." My eyes met his tie, and he placed a kiss on my forehead. My shy smile grew. He really tried his hardest to be the death of me. 

Ryder settled down and stood next to me. "May I have this dance, Madam," Ryder asked, holding out his hand. I released the pent up laughter and nodded. We walked to the dance floor, and he stood in front of me.

"I can't dance, but I can, like, grove." I lifted one shoulder at a time and dropped them in an awkward way. Ryder laughed so hard he snorted when he inhaled. He pulled me into him as he kept laughing. The song changed to Feeling Good, and we began to sway. "For real. I have serious moves."

He continued to laugh through his nose, and I smiled. Making people laugh felt nice.

"You look really handsome."

"Thank you." The corners of his lips pulled into a wide smile, but he kept trying to force them down.

"So I hear I'm awesome," I teased him.

"Must've been a rumor," he said, making me laugh now. The beat from the song dropped, and he started swaying my hips to the beat. I moved them on my own, and his hands came back up to my waist.

"I don't know. You know what they say about hearing it from the source, must be true." 

Ryder's eyes met mine and he smiled, giving nothing away. Stubborn.

"So is this why girls are always around you, because you clean up nicely?" I complimented, and gradually his ears went a shade pink.

"Yeah," he mumbled. I tried looking at him, but he placed his hands on my back pulling me into him. "Sor—" His hands grazed my scars and his dancing slowed. Out of fear, I clenched my teeth. He stopped and apologized. 

I looked at his tie.

He backed away a bit and tried to peek under the curtain of hair I was trying to hide behind. "Hey," Ryder whispered. I looked up at him, and he smiled. "It takes courage."

"Feels like fear." 

He shrugged, and we kept swaying. I noticed something when our eyes met. The corners of his lips pulled back as his eyes stared into mine. He wasn't wearing his contacts. "It takes courage."

I smiled and nodded. "It takes courage."

"So why is it that I call you cupcake, but you only call me Ryder?" 

"You want a nickname?" 

"Hell yeah I want a nickname!"

I laughed, thinking of a name for him. "Like what?"

He shrugged. "Think of something."

"Do you have a middle name?" Maybe he could have an initial nickname like me.

"So, do you like the weather?"

I laughed. "What?"

"Contemplate something and tell me later." We finished dancing to the song, and Damien approached us. "Terrible dancer, this one." Ryder shook his head. Damien smiled and nodded up once toward Ryder.

They switched positions, and Damien put his hands on my back but removed them when he felt my exposed skin. "Sorry."

"That's okay," I told him. "You can...."

"Are you...."

I nodded. He placed his warm hands on my back and we began swaying. I glanced at Ryder's retreating back, and he lifted his arms up, moving his hands to mimic an hourglass figure to Bennett. Bennett nodded and glanced this way before turning his face the bar. I laughed, confused about what it meant.

The lights dimmed, and a new song came on. Damien started laughing when Love Faces came on. I listened to the lyrics, and my face heated up in the first seventeen seconds. I followed Damien's gaze to the bar and saw Ryder pound his fist against his chest as he pointed at Damien. 

Ryder saw me look at him, so he turned around in an instant. I laughed, and Damien shook his head with a grin on his face. The lights turned up, and the song change. The principal went on stage to apologize for the mishap.

Damien started laughing again, and I felt uplifted by his carefree laughter. His laughter made me feel as though there was hope. I wasn't sure for what, but it was pure. His deep dimples made him look as carefree as his laughter sounded. I pressed both of his dimples, and his laughter settled as my hands stayed on his face.

He was beautiful; it was insane. "Has anyone told you you're beautiful?" I asked him, and he chuckled.

"I-I think I'm supposed to tell you that." His smile was shy as he looked down. "It's not fair you know?"

My eyebrows furrowed.

"The way you make me feel." Every look he gave stunned me with his beauty. He leaned down, staring into my eyes with nothing but admiration and adoration. I had to look away. "Has anyone told you you're beautiful?"

I laughed as I looked down. Making eye contact when he said stuff like this always became difficult.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a speech from the Captain and Co-Captain of the football team if you could please settle down. Thank you," the principal said. Zach and James walked up on the stage. James tapped the mic and feedback sounded in the room. 

"Is this thing on?" James asked, reciting what they practice they would say on stage. "Testing, testing, one-two."

The room laughed, and James smiled, taking a step behind Zach.

"Thank you to everyone who could make it," Zach said. "It means a lot to not only me but to the team as well. They have grown on me these past four years, and it's been a blast. Tomorrow's the rival games, the one-hundredth game. What's gonna happen, James?"

"I dunno, man. I just hope we don't lose," James told him, and Zach closed his eyes. I never understood how James could have such a short-term memory. James remembered and stepped up to the mic. "We're gonna win!"

"BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DO!" Zach shouted into the mic.

The room was in an uproar, agreeing. 

"WE NEVER LOSE!" James' voice boomed without the mic.

"WE STAY WINNING!" Zach roared. His teammates were hyped, chanting and hooting. James looked at me with a small, crooked smile as he winked. I looked at Damien, and he was glaring at James, his face tense. My eyes wandered back to James, he was smiling as he looked at Damien. The boys walked off stage and went with their teammates.

"Let's get a drink," Damien said and turned around. I interlocked our hands, and he looked down at them, his face lighting up.

I stayed close on his arm as we walked back to his friends. "Hey, where's Max?" I asked.

"His grandma's strict. She didn't let him come," Bennett said. "My mom barely let me come. I may have lied and said I was at group study."

"You Sinner," Ryder told him and poured a clear liquid substance from his flask into his cup. 

"Oh, yes, I'm the Sinner." 

"True, that'd be me." Ryder held out his cup to me, and I debated taking it but remembered I was driving.

"I'm driving."

"I'm not." He chugged his cup and poured more from his Redbull and flask. Damien opened a water bottle and handed it to me.

"Wanna dance?" James asked when he approached us.

"Thought you'd never ask," Ryder said, and we chuckled.

James waited for my answer, so I nodded. We went to the dance floor, and he stopped me from walking. I smiled as I faced him. Bennett was dancing with a tall, orange haired girl. She looked pretty. The mask she wore covered both her eyes and the side of her face.

"I'm nervous for tomorrow's game. There's gonna be hella scouts, news reporters, the whole shebang." James' voice shook as he spoke.

"You've got this. I've never seen two better partners than you and Zach," I told him, but his eyes never met mine, so I shook him, and he looked at me. "You're going to do great."

He grinned. "Thank you."

We kept dancing, and I glanced at Bennett, seeing him laugh and dance with the girl. They stopped when the same color haired boy walked up to her.

"Mom found out we snuck out," the boy said. 

"Oh, shit." The girl laughed. "Gotta go, Thor." The ginger pair started rushing out.

"I didn't get to see your face!" Bennett told her.

"That ruins the mystery," she said and ran toward and up the stairs.

"Mystery?" Bennett asked himself. "Fuck the mystery." He ran after her. 

James and I laughed as we finished dancing. My eyes wandered the room, and I saw Zach and Crystal dancing. She was smiling as she was talking to him, making him laugh. I was happy he had her. Happiness consumed me as I knew Zach was happy. He deserved it. If only that happiness could have lasted, maybe things would have ended differently.

"Looks like your boyfriend found another date," James said and nodded toward the back of me. I looked back and saw a girl with her arms around Damien as they swayed, her head resting on his chest. 

"He doesn't look comfortable," I said. Damien looked everywhere but her. His lips moved a few times but never long enough where it looked like he formed long sentences. He looked at me and mouth, sorry.

"I don't know, looks cozy."

My eyes narrowed at James, and he laughed before bringing me closer. He leaned down a bit, resting his chin on my shoulder, and I smiled at the feeling of his freshly shaved undercut. "Your hair's pokey."

He chuckled but remained silent as we danced. The song finished but he asked for one more. 

"I might have to start charging," I teased, making him laugh.

"I'd pay whatever price." 

A few songs later and with much comfortable silence, we stopped dancing. I went back to the bar where Damien was sitting with Bennett, and James went with his friends. 

"Any luck with mystery girl?" I asked Bennett.

"You saw that?" Bennett asked, a smile pulling at his lips.

I nodded.

"She left."

"Who left?" Ryder asked when he walked up to us, tucking his button-up back into his pants. His hair was messy, nothing like the neatness from earlier. He smiled as he saw me stare at him. 

I averted my eyes and looked at Damien. His emotions remained masked, nothing could solve the mystery behind them. 

"The girl I was dancing with. She was hella funny." His smile waned and formed into a frown.

"You don't need her, you have me," Ryder said, and I laughed.

"That...makes me more sad." 

I was tired from all of the dancing. I looked for Zach and saw him sitting alone, his head kept falling, so I walked to him and patted his shoulder.

"Do you want to go home?" I asked him, and he nodded. I looked for Damien, but he was nowhere. I looked for James and Crystal but only saw Crystal dancing with her other friends. 

I removed my heels the moment I walked inside my house. The relief was insane. Walking into my room, my heart dropped, adrenaline flooding my system as I saw a silhouette sitting on my bed.

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A/N: I wonder who this mystery girl is.

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If music didn't exist, how would you feel?