"Who are we?"

"Bulldogs!"

"Who are we?!"

"Bulldogs!"

Jasper tightened his helmet, staring at his teammates. He eyed the seniors, meeting all their gazes and the memories flashed through his mind; all the brutal sweat and tears and injuries they lived through, the brotherhood to strong to be broken. They had sacrificed their time for the honour to be able to play on their home field, and it was finally game day. The official beginning of their season, the day that had been waiting for the entire summer.

"Let's go!" They burst through the lock room door, all eighth of them zooming through the field, their heads down as the crowd starting cheering. The bleachers were packed with students from both schools, as well as families. Jasper's father was standing by the fence, leaning over and waving a hand towards his boy who patted his heart, before point toward his father. For many, this was simply a game of football.

But for Jasper, this sport was his entire life goal, his mortification to keep going, to wake up everyday with a purpose. As always, the most popular kid is always the quarterback, and that was the position Jasper played, to which he was amazing. His throws were unreal, the spin breaking the winds current and twisting into such a pathway that fit right into the next player's hands. He was quick, launching the ball as soon as it reached his hand, and he barely took time to think before it was into the air.

The angles, the projections, the strength—all was perfect, and he knew he was ideal for that position.

Before they knew it, the game began, and Kane sat back down as the crowd settled onto the bleachers. Jay decided not to show up because he didn't like being around football players after they ambushed him in their locker room, meaning Kane was beside Ally, Jamie being on the other side of him. Ally nudged him and sliced him a piece of her garlic bread, "You want some?"

"Sure."

"I haven't talked to you in a while," Jamie leaned forward, meeting Kane's gaze. He did not seem interested in a conversation, glancing towards her for a moment before returning his eyes to the field.

He was following one player and one player only.

"I haven't seen you around much," Kane replied coldly.

Jamie shrugged her shoulders, "Or maybe it's because you're talking to someone?"

Instantly, Kane's eyes turned to Ally who tightened her lip into a line, "I didn't say anything, Kane."

"So you are," Jamie leaned her head against his shoulder, her fingers reaching for his bicep as she moaned, "Ugh, I can't help but feel a little jealous." After a few seconds, she pulled her head away and smiled, "So tell me, what type of girl caught your attention?"

"I'm not talking to anybody."

"We don't like a liar," Megan spoke from behind him , and when he glanced over his shoulder, she winked before straightened her spine, "It's obvious someone caught your attention."

"Unless he's dating Jay—"

"I'm not dating Jay," Kane snapped at Kristen, swallowing the rest of the garlic bread as a whole since his rage was starting to burn his stomach. "Your friends are annoying, Ally."

"We're just teasing you, lighten up. We apologized for what we did to Jay—it won't happen again."

Kane met Jamie's gaze for a second but eventually pushed himself to his feet, "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be back."

"You want me to come with?" Ally asked, but when Kane shook his head, he stepped past the crowd and mumbled a few apologizes before finally descending the bleachers steps. Once he reached the walkway, he headed for the school when he heard a few familiar voices.

He glanced towards the fences and saw the back of Jay and Ava's heads, both pointing towards the football field and giggling to themselves, Ava reaching for Jay's palms and interlacing their fingers. Jay turned towards Ava for a moment and pecked her nose before continuing to watch the game.

Kane couldn't help but approach them. He thought Jay would let him know if he changed his mind, but it was clear Jay had other plans he wasn't told. Even though he was not upset, he felt a bit of stinging in his chest as he finally met the gazes of the loving pair.

Ava was the one that noticed him first, ecstatically waving a hand as her dimples poked her cheeks, "Hi! Didn't know you were here!"

When Jay glanced backwards, Kane noticed the sudden uneasiness crossing his eyes before he waved nodded his head as well, "Hi Kane."

"You two seem...pretty happy."

"Yeah, he heard from someone that I was cheating on him, so we decided to make it official," Ava beamed, wrapping an arm around Jay's shoulders. "This is my boyfriend."

"She's the one that asked me," Jay murmured, his cheeks flaring red as he lowered his gaze to his shoes.

One instant, Kane's entire body began burning, feeling a sudden fuel that swept through his vessels instead of blood, and he struggled to control the rage that was booming through his body. Both of them had not even considered mentioning this new fact to him, and he eyed Jay for a moment before forcing a smile.

"I'm glad." Without anything else, he turned away from the both of them, unable to stop the feeling of betrayal from not only Jay but Ava as well. However, his mother had been right, maybe it simply wasn't his place to meddle into Jay's business. If he wanted to have his heart shatter, that would be his own decision.

As Kane began walking away, Jay jogged after him, "Kane, wait a second." When he realized he wouldn't stop, Jay reached for his wrist, "Let me explain."

Kane spun around and leaned towards him, making sure Ava was out of earshot, "You weren't supposed to share what I told you."

"It's my relationship; of course I'd talk about it with my partner. She said it was a rumour and that it was not even true, and asked us to be official right after." Jay furrowed his brows, noticing the flames burning behind Kane's gaze before murmuring, "Why aren't you happy for me?"

"She's not good for you."

"She explained herself." He paused for a moment, glancing back towards Ava before a sudden though tormented his mind. He didn't want to ask this question, knowing it would send Kane over the edge, but he needed to. He had to get to the bottom of this, "Do you like her?"

Kane inhaled a sharp breath, instinctively taking a step back.

Suddenly, they heard the crowd boom into cheers, all of them jumping to their feet as they announced a touchdown for the bulldogs. They saw one of the players began sprinting across the field, throwing the ball to the ground and widened his arms as he faced the bleachers. It interrupted the tension between them for a moment, enough for Kane's thoughts to settle.

He had enough of choosing Jay over himself with nothing in return, enough of attempting to prove to him that this girl was not the one, and Jay couldn't see it.

He slowly shook his head, "I'm not into her, Jay."

"Then why are you—?"

"I'm just trying to make sure you're alright. I didn't like the way you were when the guys beat you up." The smile on his lips was not genuine, but he forced it anyway, "I don't want to see you hurt again."

Jay glanced backwards to Ava, seeing her wave her arms ecstatically before turning as well and motioning for him to return. That instantly caused his blood to warm, and he loved spending every single minute he could with her. He was seconds from heading back, facing Kane to let him know when he realized Kane had already walked away from him.