Luke left not even fifteen minutes into lunch, and he hasn't returned since. Most likely with that blond girl, no doubt. Every few seconds I'd turn around to see if he had return, but he was still MIA, and so was that girl.

It made my blood boil at the thought that those two were alone. It shouldn't, but it does.

"You all right?" I glanced over at Harry, who pulled himself out of the conversation without the other lads noticing. "You keep looking around, like you're looking for someone."

"Oh, I keep hearing someone call my name," I lied. Truth is, I really wanted to see if Luke had come back and was NOT alone with the blonde. Every time I turned around I hoped to see him sitting next to his friend, but the table would still be missing Luke and the girl.

Lunch ended a half hour later, and there was still no sign of Luke or the girl. I was kind of curious as to what their relationship was. Hell, I don't even know what the relationship is between me and Luke; it's most likely injured and caretaker. Actually, it is that.

I told Harry and Michael that I'd see them after school. Harry was calling me to come back, but I was already hurrying to my fifth class. Whatever he needed to tell me can wait until after class.

I had to get to class so I could talk to Luke's friend. I wanted to know if he knew where Luke went and, maybe, what he was doing with the blond girl.

I reached Art and saw that there were only some students there. I took my seat and set my stuff down on my desk. If I had my phone I would have some sort of entertainment until the brunet shows up. So what I did was closed my eyes and used my backpack as a pillow.

Each time the door swung open, my eyes darted to it to see if it was the brunet, but it'd just be someone else. Disappointment would wash over my face and I'd rest my head again.

After many students later I gave up. I didn't feel like looking up, because I was feeling a bit exhausted. When I heard the warning bell ring, someone tapped on my shoulder. I opened an eye just a bit to see who it was.

"Hey, um, you're Ashton, right?" I sat upright a bit too quickly.

Finally, the brunet guy!

"Yeah, that's me," I answered, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"And you're the guy that... Luke hit in the head, right?" I nodded. "Are you okay? You passed out right away once the ball made contact with your head."

I brought my hand to the back of my head, grazing over the bump as gently as possible so it wouldn't start to hurt.

"It's okay now," I told him. "Hurts when I apply pressure."

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday."

"You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything," I chuckled, removing my hand from the bump.

"Right." He stuck his hand out towards me. "Well, I'm Calum. I've known Luke since we were little, and we've been best friends ever since. Does he talk about me? He better, or else."

"Sure, he talks about you a lot," I told him, even though the only time he ever mentioned Calum was when he was telling me who his best friend was.

"Well, just so you don't think I'm a creep for knowing your name, Luke told me your name. He's been talking about you all morning."

Calum better have a phone on him right now, because I'm just about ready to pass out from happiness.

"R-really?" was all I could say.

He nodded, "Yeah, he told me how he went over to your place and you two hung out with some of your friends. Honestly, for someone who he just met by a football to the head, you seem pretty close to him already."

"But he has to take care of me for a week, because of the policy his coach made up. I don't think we're that close."

"Luke wouldn't go to someone's house just to take care of them."

"But my friend invited him over to hang out..."

"Still, he was protective of you, wasn't he? Besides, the policy only applies at school." The policy only applies at school? But... Luke still cared for me after. If I knew that before, I would've thought he'd ignore me until his coach was present.

Could Luke actually care about me?

I still don't know him that well to think that that's true. What if he's being like that just so he'd appear like a good person?

Again, I don't know him well enough to start thinking, but I can't let my guard down at all, no matter how many times he makes me weak in the knees and takes my breath away.

"Speaking of which, he was looking for you this morning and at lunch. He told me to keep an eye out for ya. He was worried that you probably were too injured to even come to school."

"Him? Worry about me? We just met yesterday."

"True, but he's responsible for you." Yeah, for six days.

"Um, I actually saw him at lunch," I admitted. Calum's eyes went wide as he scooted his seat closer to mine. The bell that rang for fifth class had rung right then, but he still didn't take his brown eyes off of me.

"Why didn't you go to him? He could've gotten in trouble! If Coach Fenton saw that he wasn't with you, then Luke would be in major trouble!" I felt myself grow smaller then. If Coach Fenton did see, it'd be all my fault, and Luke wouldn't be able to play on the school's football team. Then he'd hate my guts and then we'd never speak to each other again.

But in six days things will just be like that, except he wouldn't hate me. He'd probably just be glad that he didn't have to be around me anymore.

Why can't this be some cliche story where I get the guy? I think I'd like it a lot if I did get Luke.

"Ashton?" I snapped back into reality. "Sorry if that came out a bit harsh and rude. I know you didn't know. What I meant was, Luke really loves football, and it's one of the few things he looks forward to every day. It wouldn't be your fault. Sorry for making it seem like that."

"No, you're right. I would've gotten him kicked off the team."

"It wouldn't be your fault. Besides, we'll do everything in our will to make sure that Coach knows that Luke did try his best to take care of you."

"'We'?" I repeated.

"Yeah, because wouldn't you?"

I thought for a moment, and then nodded. Calum smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder, but then he quickly took it off.

"I know he's taking care of you, because of the policy, but just remember that Luke really does care about you. It may seem weird, since it hasn't even been twenty-four hours yet, but believe me. I'm his best friend. If Luke really cares about someone I would know or he'd tell me. It's mostly me knowing."

I wasn't sure if what Calum said was true, but I gave him a nod anyways.

"Can you... tell me where Luke went during lunch?" I asked, biting my bottom lip.

"Hmm?" he hummed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he left after the first fifteen minutes of lunch, and he didn't come back after."

"Oh... He... went to class early. Yeah. He has Biology Honors, that guy. He's always taking the advanced classes, and he's not even a science person."

"And..." I wanted to bring up the girl, but what if Calum realizes why I'm asking? What he tells Luke? What if Luke rejects me? Then he'd avoid me for the rest of the year. I wouldn't want that at all.

"And?" he asked.

I shook my head, "Never mind. It's not important."

"What's your next class?" he randomly asked. I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, I don't have a sixth," I answered.

"Really? Only seniors don't need a s..." His eyes widened in realization. "Oh, snap. You're a senior."

"Yes?" I laughed. He grabbed a bunch of his hair in both of his hands and just had his mouth gaped.

"Oh, my God! You're a senior! A senior! I made friends with a senior!"

"We're friends? Yeah, okay, we're friends," I laughed. Calum nearly jumped out of his seat as he exclaimed in joy. And I thought Harry was a dork.

"Okay, since you don't have a sixth, you have to come to football practice with me. Luke's going to be there, and when he sees you he's going to be so relieved, like you don't even know!"

"As much as I'd like to, I can't. I'm hanging out with some friends of mine after school, then I'm getting tutored for maths, because I am completely lost in the one I'm taking."

"Really? I thought Geometry was hard, and today's only the second day of school." I chuckled before turning my attention to the front. The teacher finally walked in, apologizing to the class for her tardiness.

Fifth period finally ended, and I began collecting my stuff and heading out of the classroom. Someone grabbed the loop of my backpack and yanked me back. I nearly stumbled backwards, but managed to regain my balance. I turned and saw Calum holding onto my backpack.

"It was great finally meeting you, Ashton. Even though Luke's taking care of you, you better do the same." He winked, and then left the class.

What's that supposed to mean?

I headed over to my locker and took out my Stats and Spanish textbooks. I was about to close my locker before it was slammed shut for me. I flinched at the sudden action and held the books closer to my chest. I looked at who shut my locker, and saw who I really didn't feel like dealing with.

"Oops, were you still getting something?" hissed that freaking guy from this morning and yesterday in the locker room.

"Mate, Mason, we gotta get to practice. Deal with him another time," said one of his friends.

"Shut it, Phil," the guy called Mason snapped. "You're awfully close to Hemmings, aren't ya?"

"I don't feel like dealing with your shit today, Mason," I retorted, spitting out his name with a venomous tone.

"Oh, wise ass, aren't ya?" He shoved me against the locker, causing me to drop my books. "I don't care who you are, but don't get in the way of the football team, and don't get in the way of Hemmings."

"Hey, he's supposed to take care of me for a week. Coach's policy." Mason stepped back and began to feign a thinking pose.

"I don't fucking care. If we lose the next game because of him, I'm blaming our loss on you, and I'll make sure you don't see the next sunlight."

"For someone who's got a big bark, you don't have a big bite." The next thing I knew his fist was flying right at me, but it landed only inches away from my face, hitting the lockers with a loud boom. I froze and went pale.

This guy almost punched me. I nearly died.

He stepped away from me, and I was still feeling sweat drops fall from the side of my head.

This freshman seriously intimidates me.

"I'm going to practice. A word about this out of you will result to the reason why your family's at your funeral." He left without my response, and I just stared at him and his posse leave. My heart was racing, because I was honestly terrified. He scares the absolute shit out of me, and he almost hit me!

I clasped the fabric above my chest, and slid my back down the locker, breathing heavily. I was still trying to recover from the fact that he nearly hit me. I looked up at where he had hit, and saw that he left a dent in the lockers. I gulped, still trying to make my breathing return to normal.

"Ash!" I glanced over and saw Michael and Harry running over to me. I shakily stood up from where I was and waved at them, a nervous smile forming on my face. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost?"

"Why were you sitting on the ground with your back against the lockers?" Michael asked.

I shook my head, opening and closing my mouth a couple of times before finally forming words. "I nearly fell, a-and it gave me a heart attack."

They didn't look too convinced by my lie, but let it slide anyway.

"So, Michael and I were talking, and we decided what was the best way to spend this hour," Harry told me as Michael began collecting my books that were laying on the ground.

"What's that?" I quizzed.

"We're gonna watch your boyfriend!" Michael exclaimed. I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't have one- AH!" My backpack slipped off my shoulders and Harry had me thrown over his shoulder and began carrying me off. Michael stuffed my books into my backpack and carried my stuff as he followed behind Harry. "Put me down! Haz!"

I continuously hit Harry's back with my fists and, in failed attempts, kicked my feet around. After two minutes I gave up. This is the con of being a lazy person. You give up after a short period of time.

I just let Harry take me to what I assume is the football field. I stopped struggling, because Harry is a lot stronger than I am, so why fight him?

I saw the football players running around the field, chasing after a dirty black and white football. I felt myself slipping from Harry's shoulder and I instinctively grasped at him, letting out a yelp.

"Relax, Ash, I'm setting you down on the bleachers," Harry laughed.

"A warning next time!" I yelled at him, swatting my hand against his chest. Michael dropped my backpack next to me and I instantly pulled out my Stats book so I could look over a bit on what I'm going to learn the next time Mr. Ziller teachers the class. Michael sat down on the other side of me and Harry stood beside me, shuffling on his feet. A hand pulled my Stats book away from me.

"You did not come here to study. Pay attention to your love," Michael said. I huffed when he set my book as far away from me as possible. I looked out onto the field and scanned the place for Luke. Everyone was wearing P.E. clothes, so it was going to be harder to find him.

My eyes caught Mason, but he didn't seem to notice that I was there. I shivered. I really didn't want to get involved with him.

Then I found Calum. He must've noticed me, because he stopped running and waved. I waved back, a smile coming across my face.

"Who you wavin' at? Because it sure as hell ain't Luke," Harry asked.

"Oh, I was waving at Calum," I answered.

"Who's that?" Michael questioned.

"He's Luke's best friend. He's never mentioned him, but if he ever asks about that, say he did." Michael and Harry both nodded. "So, where's Luke?"

"You three!" We jumped at the loud voice, and our eyes landed on Coach Fenton who was coming this way. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, this guy here was the guy Luke injured yesterday," Harry answered, "and he's here, because Luke has to watch over him, but he's out there instead of here. So we're waiting for him."

"And you two are?"

"It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is what we're doing. We're helping Luke take care of this poor, injured boy." The coach squinted his eyes at us.

"As long as you three stay on the bleachers, I don't mind if you're here. No interfering with the players until after practice or during break." We nodded, and he headed back onto the field, blowing into a whistle.

Instantly after the coach left I found Luke. He had the ball most of the time, and then he scored a goal, earning a cheer and a bunch of compliments from other players. Then his blue eyes turned my way. I tensed up where I was, but I smiled at him. He smiled back gave me a small wave. I blushed a bit when his smile widened, and then he was back into football mode.

Half an hour came by, and the football players were on a water break. Harry was complaining how he had nearly twenty minutes left before he had to go off to tardy detention.

"Well, if you wanted to do something fun you should've said something," I told him, shaking my head.

"But then wouldn't you rather watch Luke run around the field in shorts? Don't lie, Ash, you're drooling." I didn't realize that I had brought my hand up to my mouth and wiped at them. Harry let out a laugh as he pointed at me. "You're so in love!"

"I am not!" I retorted.

"You're whipped over freshman," Michael chimed in.

"But I'm not in love!"

"You're in denial," Harry and Michael both said at the same time. They stared at each other with wide eyes. "Jinx! Double jinx! Triple jinx! Shut up!"

"You guys..." I laughed, using both of my hands to shove them away from me.

"Ashton, freshman at twelve o'clock," Michael murmured. I looked up and there was Luke and Calum approaching us. I saw from my peripheral view that Harry and Michael had wandered farther away from me, and I was mentally begging for them to come back.

"Hi, Ashton! Remember me?" Calum beamed as he waved at me.

I chuckled, "Yeah, I remember you. You're in my Art class." Luke kept his eyes on me, and I, for some reason, felt a bit exposed to him. The next thing I knew he sat next to me, taking a drink out of his water bottle. He capped the bottle and set it aside before he turned his entire body to face me.

"I was looking for you this morning," Luke began. "Where were you?"

"Oh, I was... late. But I had a substitute in my maths class and he arrived late, so I wasn't marked down as tardy, thank goodness for that."

"And at lunch?" he questioned.

"I was at this table that the guys and I usually sit at. It's not too far from you. You just need to turn your body around, and you'll see our table."

"I did see your table, but not you."

"Well, I must've been getting my lunch then." I looked at Calum. "Could I ask Luke something alone?"

"Sure," Calum nodded, but still stood where he was at. He glanced from me to Luke. "Oh! I'm leaving! Got it! Have fun, Luke! I'll just be over there." He left to join another group, and then it was just me and Luke.

Luke didn't seem to notice that our thighs were touching, but it was all I could stare at. I shook my head and mentally slapped myself before I began to speak. I was going to bring up the blond girl. I'm honestly in no position to question what relationship he has with anyone, but I really want to know.

"I saw you at lunch," I told him.

"Yeah, Cal told me. Look, if Coach Fenton saw that you weren't with me, don't blame it on yourself. You didn't know."

"That's not what I was going to ask. I mean, you were with someone..."

"Calum, some footie players..."

"And a girl," I mumbled. He leaned closer to me.

"I'm sorry? Didn't quite catch that."

I took deep breaths before repating myself, louder this time, "You were with-"

"Lukey!" a high pitched squeal sounded. Our heads turned to where it came from, and my eyes widened and my heart grew heavy. When she said that, I was instantly reminded of what Luke had said yesterday.

Hehe, she calls me Lukey.

She... she is the girl that Luke likes.

It was the blond girl I was going to mention.

"Hey, Aleisha," Luke smiled as he stood up to go over to her. She threw her arms around Luke's neck and he wrapped an arm around her waist.

Did you hear that? That's the sound of my heart cracking. Just looking at them hug was enough for me to want to run back into the school building and wait for Ben.

"Oh, Ashton, this is Aleisha," Luke introduced. She gave me a big smile as she waved at me. I returned with a weak smile and a small wave.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, gleefully. "Lukey, you are going to help me with English, right? I just don't seem to understand Romeo and Juliet." She began to pout, but I'm almost certain that it was fake.

"It's just reading. You just need to understand the first act, and you're ready to go. But if you really need my help, then yeah."

"Yay! How 'bout we talk about it over ice cream?"

She's asking him out.

Aleisha's asking Luke out.

I feel like I'm not wanted here, so I began to slowly back up and walk over to Harry and Michael, who were sitting at the top of the bleachers. I didn't want to hear Luke's answer, because he's definitely going to say yes to a beautiful girl like Aleisha.

"Ashton, what are you doing here? Go back to your boyfriend!" Harry said as he pointed over to Luke.

"He's not my boyfriend, Haz, and he never will be." I motioned my head over to them and he finally realized what was going on.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Ashy."

"Big whoop," Michael snorted. "He's got a girlfriend, so what? You can probably still snatch him away."

"Mikey, I'm not going to do that. I'm not mean."

"He's coming!" Harry whisper-shouted. I whipped my head around and saw Luke coming over. Why is he coming here? Shouldn't he be with his girlfriend?

"Aren't you still talking to Aleisha?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Nah, I told her to wait up for me after practice. She insisted that I take her out to ice cream, but I'm not much of an ice cream fan myself." He chuckled before the coach blew the whistle. "I better go. Is your head okay?"

"You've asked that quite a few times, and it'll still be the same answer," I reminded him.

"Can you, uh, turn around?" I raised an eyebrow, but listened anyways. I saw that Michael had pulled out his phone and was pretending to check himself out in the reflection, but that's just his way of hiding the fact that he's recording.

Before I could tell him to put his phone away I felt arms slip around my waist. I froze as I felt Luke's breath hit my hair. Harry and Michael were gaping at us, and I was feeling a bit awkward with them just staring at me and Luke.

"Mom says this always helps the pain," Luke whispered into my ear. The next thing I knew I felt something in my hair, and then something soft press against the bump on my head. It was there for about five seconds before Luke finally pulled away. I looked at him, a bit confused as to what happened, but he was already walking down the bleachers. "I'll come visit you tonight to make sure everything's okay!"

He ran into the field and over to where the football team was huddled.

What did he just do?

I took my eyes off of Luke finally and looked over at Harry and Michael, who were still gaping.

Harry suddenly stood up and reached into his pockets. "I'm done. I am so done. This is too much for me. Here are your keys. I'm going to detention early." He forced my car keys into my hand ,jogged down the bleacher, and began running back to the school.

"Wait! My phone!" I yelled back, but he must've not heard me, because he didn't turn back. I groaned and sat down next to Michael. He still had his phone up, and it's probably recording still. "Stop that."

"I GOT THAT ON VIDEO!" he finally exclaimed. "YOU WANNA SEE?! IT'S SO CUTE!"

"Not now. Can we go check the lost and found to see if anyone took my phone there? Then after go with me to my Stats class. I'm going to be waiting for my tutor there." I swung the car keys around my finger as Michael and I made our way down the bleachers to my backpack that was abandoned at the bottom. I threw my car keys inside and slipped the bag over my shoulders.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go. I'm just about ready to go home anyway." We then started walking back to the school building. I stole one last glance at Luke, and I saw that he was even looking in my direction. I quickly turned away, blushing a bit. "I still can't believe he did that to you."

"What did he do?" I asked, honestly curious. He did something.

"He kissed your head." He kept walking, but I stopped, staring down at my feet. My face was literally all red now.

He... kissed... my... head?

Why?