There was nothing sweeter than winning the state championship for your senior year. Getting lifted up and holding that trophy above all your teammates was the best feeling I'd ever had. That's right, Jean Kirstein had just scored the winning touchdown for our championship game and I was feeling the effects of it. We were a long ways away from home and Marco had driven down here to watch the game.

When we had all gotten changed and had our coach give us our speech, I walked out and found Marco. He was waiting by his car but when he seen me, he smiled and jogged over to me, throwing his arms around my neck and nearly tackling me. I was totally okay with that however.

"Jean I'm so proud of you." He said tiredly. I laughed and shook my head. "I feel like I was the one that played and you watched because you don't even seem sweaty right now." He finally pulled away and smiled once again at me. I nearly pulled him back to me in order to keep the warmth he'd given me for a short time.

"Well it is negative forty degrees out here." I chuckled at him. "Anyway, can I catch a ride with you?"

"You can drive for all I care. I'd probably fall asleep at the wheel." I chuckled again and nodded, throwing my bag in the backseat while he got in on the passenger side. I cranked the car and started on our way back. I looked over to my best friend and seen his eyes closed and him resting peacefully. I smiled softly at him.

We were driving on the interstate, which was relatively empty with the exception of a few others speeding by us. I wasn't about to drive as fast as the others would or even as fast as I would if it were just me in the car. I was t going to put the sleeping angel next to me in any kind of danger whatsoever.

Marco had been there more than he should have the past month or two. He was always willing to let me come over and vent to him about any and everything that was bothering me. He let me sit at his home and eat his food and his mother was even nicer about it. She offered to let me stay there for a few days, weeks, months even if I needed to. Marco's father, on the other hand, wasn't so nice about it. He was an ass, is what he was.

He'd called me a pussy a few times, causing me to glare at him and almost retort before Marco stopped me and said it would be best to go to another room. I probably would've gotten arrested too if it hadn't been for my freckled Jesus. I nearly got into an altercation with one of the officers that showed up at his house and he's also called me a pussy, let's just say that I don't like being called that because I was having a bad time.

Coming to the exit we were supposed to take, I slowed down so that I could take extra precautions in getting onto the road, but I guess the people speeding up behind us didn't see my break lights.
~
"Sir I need you to look and follow the light." The persistent doctor said once more.

"I've already told you, I'm fine. Now can I please go check on my friend?" I pleaded. Sure, he probably would've let me go if I'd just followed directions but I wasn't thinking properly since I'd hit my head on the steering wheel pretty damn hard.

"If you'll just follow this light for five seconds, I promise you can go be in there with him." Rolling my eyes, I did as told. "Alright, you're going to have headaches for a couple of weeks but we're going to prescribe you some pain medication, other than that you're good to go. I also wouldn't drive for a little bit until you're mentally healed as well, just a precaution." I nodded and hopped off the bed to find Marco.

It didn't take long to find him, but when I did I seen his parents in there, and his father was scolding him.

"What kind of person let's a mentally unstable kid drive their car and fall asleep while doing so? I knew you were stupid but this is an entire different thing. No wonder you don't ever make good grades, you're always hanging out with that piece of crap and that makes you just as bad if not worse!" Oh that was it. I stormed in there, bandaged head and wrapped arm and everything.

"You listen here you piece of shit father that you are. Don't you ever talk about him that way again. That boy right there, that you just called worse than me, just so happens to be the nicest person alive. He's also the smartest out there because he has fucking straight ass A's in every class. He's one more one hundred to being top of the class, something that I'm sure you'll never be. And you won't ever and I mean never will say that he is anywhere as bad as me because I'm as bad as it gets and he will never even be close to me. He's like Jesus and I'm the one that crucified him. And just so you know, it's not his fault that your daughter got adopted and not him." I was seething and I was clenching my fist and jaw.

All of them stared wide eyed at me and I just stood there, breathing hard and glancing between all three of them. Eventually, I just turned around and walked out. When I reached the bitter outside, I finally allowed myself to relax. I slowed my breathing finally and say on the bench, holding my hard in my hands. I sat there by myself for a couple of minutes before I heard someone walk up and sit next to me.

"Y'know," he began, "That was really sweet of you, to stand up for me like that." He said and I laughed humorlessly.

"It was a bit salty, more than sweet, don't you think?" I asked, looking at him from my hunched over position.

"It may have been a little harsh, but it got the point across. I've never seen my dad speechless before. I've never even seem him shocked like that before, but that little outburst of yours did the trick." I simply hummed. "By the way, you're not that bad. I love hanging out with you, you always have something interesting to say or do and I admire t-"

"Marco stop." He seemed hurt but that. "Marco I'm tired of you saying you admire me. I've never done anything in my life worth being admired. Now you, on the other hand, I do admire you. You make me want to be a good person. You make me want to live life to the fullest, you make me want to live period. I love everything you do. Hell, you could cough and I would admire that because it's you. And I admire you. Not what you do, but who you are."

"What's up with you being all sweet today?" He asked, trying to cover up the blush on his face and ears. I shook my head.

"Not sweet, I'm salty." He laughed again, and I joined in as well. We both stopped, however, when his dad walked outside of the hospital and over to us. I put my arm in front of Marco protectively, almost subconsciously. He put his arms up as if to say he wasn't going to do anything.

"I wanted to come out here and apologize to both of you. Jean, I'm sorry that I haven't been very nice to you lately and I shouldn't be that way because you are a friend of my son's. Marco, I would like to uh, say I'm sorry for the way I've treated you the past eighteen years of your life. I know it wasn't your fault that you got stuck with us, but I didn't think that it would matter to you if I blamed it on you. However I have noticed now that doing such a thing doesn't make me a good father. My point is, I would like to try to be your father again, if you'd let me."

Marco stared at his father with shocked, wide eyes. His father had clearly been crying, for his eyes were bloodshot. A single tear escaped Marco's eye and he jumped up and hugged his father, having the hug immediately returned. I just sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to do while the two fixed everything. I walked over to where Mama Bott was standing outside by the door.

"I'm sorry about my outburst in there. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up." I said quietly, scratching the back of my head.

"Oh no, don't be. That's exactly what he needed in order to finally realize that his son needs him just as much as his daughter would have. If anything, I should thank you for helping with this." She smiled kindly at me and patted my shoulder. "Oh and, I would also like to thank you for getting my baby out of the car afterwards." Her eyes watered, but I had no idea what she was talking about.

"I don't recall?"

"Really? Well, after the other car hit you two, and the car hit the concrete wall, you pulled yourself out of the car and then forcibly pulled Marco out too, and far enough away so that when the car exploded it didn't hurt anyone further." She wiped her eyes.

"Oh shit." I said without thinking. "Sorry, I was trying to be careful and the wound up causing more trouble than needed."

"We know what happened, the other man involved has agreed to pay for everything to be fixed and taken care of. He knew what you were doing. I still thank you. You're very sweet."

"Sweet is salty."

I don't even know where this came from.