11 years earlier

It was the most intense portion of their day.

Bone crushing. Gut-wrenching. Heartbreaking.

"Red rover, red rover, send Colby Jack cheese right over! This'll be easy, guys. She'll never make it through," Eric chortled venomously.

"Don't let'em get to you, B," Wynona encouraged. "Eric only called you that to make you mad. You can break their hands!"

It was boys versus girls, the first recess of the day. Colby was fired up, mustering all the courage and strength she could manage. She despised the nickname Eric had so thoughtlessly uttered, and knew she couldn't let her team down.

Wyatt was eyeing her from the far end of the boys' line. He nodded, almost imperceptibly.

It was all she needed.

She took off! Running like the wind itself, she took aim, crashing headlong into Eric Owen and Mark Rushford's joined hands.

Upon impact, she sprang backward, landing forcefully on her tailbone, the dust and debris rising up around her. She refused to cry, though the tears were threatening to spill over at any moment.

"Ah ha ha ha," Eric cackled maniacally. "You got shredded like Colby Jack cheese." His features twisted into a devious sneer, and Colby couldn't help but focus on the smear of sticky honey to the left of his ugly mouth. Eric was a cold, brutal bully.

"Call her that again, and I'll jack up your face, you crap head!" Wyatt said, pulling Colby up by the hand. She dusted herself off, and they shared a knowing smile. She knew yet again what she'd always known: Wyatt would never let her fall without being there to catch her.

"Oh, I see," Eric said. "You looooove her." He laughed mercilessly, reveling inthe attention he knew was upon them.

"Why don't you just marry her, then," Eric said victoriously, crossing his arms over his chest.

Gasps and oooohs could be heard from around the playground. And then, silence, for what felt like hours.

Wyatt stepped closer to the bully, matching his stance.

"Maybe. I. Will." Wyatt said, raising his eyebrows in challenge.

Eric's pompous face fell then, and he ran away, not fit to be challenged so. "I'm telling the teacher you called me a crap head!" he called over his shoulder.

Wyatt didn't care. He threw his arm over Colby's shoulder, and they wandered over to the slide.

"It doesn't matter what other people think," Wyatt said, smiling. "I'll always be there for you."

She grinned, finding that she didn't care what everybody else thought after all, as long as she had him.

Colby

We're tied.

This isn't the game we expected. We knew it was going to be tough, but it's too close for comfort. It's the final quarter with two minutes left, so in football time, goodness knows how long remains, but it's still making me nervous.

I've been trying to pay attention, but the truth is, I'm pretty distracted. I know the homecoming game is one of the big ones on our schedule, but today needs to wrap up already. Wynn hasn't spoken a word to me since her tantrum at the assembly, and I can't get Wyatt's face out of my head. Then, of course, there's Cole.

"I'm sorry, but he's gorgeous," Lana swoons, shamelessly undressing the Titan footballer across the way with her eyes. "It's just like Romeo and Juliet. Texas style of course," she adds, winking.

"I don't think Juliet drooled," I laugh. "At least not in the Shakespeare I'm acquainted with."

"He just seems so...young," Morgan smirks, picking at the edges of her manicured nails. Lana and I share a knowing glance.

"You're right. He's just not... not a teacher," I tease, shoving Morgan lightly. She rolls her eyes and then laughs along with Lana and me.

Wynn has been at the other end of the field, opting to cheer with the underclassmen. I hate that she's upset, but I have no intention of seeking her out to work through the assembly scene. I understand what she's saying about not leading Cole on. That was wrong.

Still, I don't know how I feel about being a couple. Part of me just hates disappointing people. I don't want to let Cole down, and I don't want people to think I was just playing games this whole time. I do like him. I'm trying to like him.

That's the problem I guess.

The crowd reaches an ear-piercing volume that draws my attention. The stadium is completely packed, being homecoming. And Texas. Safe to say we love our football.

When I look out to see what the fuss is all about since I'm a great cheerleader and all, I see Wyatt flying over a pile of guys, ball in hand, resulting in a first down at our forty yard line. I let out a squeal of excitement and prompt the squad to begin another cheer. We rally together, keeping the crowd pumped, though they don't really need much help from us.

In the next play, Cole's protected in the pocket. He releases a bullet of a pass that streaks through the sky straight for Ari. Ari reaches for the ball, but out of nowhere gets pummeled into the sideline. Another Titan saves the play for our rivals, intercepting the throw.

"Hell's bells!" Lana and Morgan shout in unison.

"Where's that damn penalty flag, huh?" Coach Castillo shouts toward a line judge, completely incensed as he races toward Ari. Ari is his son after all, and he isn't moving.

The hit was only a few yards downfield from us, and I hear a number of people asking him if he's okay as they kneel beside him.

A group of Titan cheerleaders is among the concerned posse surrounding him. A gorgeous redhead offers her hand to him. Just like magic, Ari is able to rise to his feet.

Mm hmmm. Typical. I raise an eyebrow as I watch the scene unfold.

Ari plants a lingering kiss on her cheek, certainly out of his immense gratitude for inspiring him to walk again.

I roll my eyes. Only Ari.

He's never been able to resist a pretty girl, and why they all fawn over him is beyond my realm of understanding. He's attractive in all of the traditional ways, and very charming, but anyone who puts effort into winning his affections has to know there's a list of twenty more prospects behind them.

The redhead bats her lashes at Ari, who seems to have forgotten he's in the middle of trying to win the homecoming game.

He smiles, taking a step closer to her when out of nowhere a Titan running back levels him, slamming into Ari and throwing them both backward into the fencing behind them. Gasps and shouts quickly follow as the Titan's fist collides with Ari's temple, and I'm sure the world is going black for him right now.

I'm close enough to the action that I hear the running back spitting profanities at Ari, and shouting something about how his cousin deserves better than a prick like him.

Oh.

Looks like Ari picked the wrong time to kiss a girl that isn't his girlfriend. I mentally applaud the Titan for so fiercely defending his cousin. Ari's a friend though, so I hate to see him get hurt, even if he is a player.

Coach Castillo attempts to peel the two apart, and the rest of both teams have now made it to the showdown. The running back blindly throws a punch at Coach Castillo and all hell breaks loose. The kid's face went pale the instant he saw who he'd just tried to hit, and that was the last excuse anyone needed to throw themselves into the ring.

The stands are going absolutely berserk. People are scaling the walls and storming the field, trying to get in on the action. All of the players on our team appear to be engaged in some capacity with the players from the other team. Some are simply yelling at one another, while others are actually brawling.

It's a disaster.

I search the chaos to find Wyatt— who is right by Ari's side. Of course he is.

And what do I do?

I smile as I watch him, throwing punches and putting people in headlocks. Wyatt, the guy who's always there for everyone.

It doesn't matter what other people think. I'll always be there for you.

The words surprise me when they flicker through my mind, spoken by Wyatt so long ago. I see now that he meant them, for me and for anyone he sees fit to allow into his tight circle of trust.

If only I were still a part of it...

Sighing, I quickly scan my surroundings to make sure the cheer squad hasn't jumped into the action, and I'm relieved that we're all too enthralled with the pandemonium before us to consider that an option. Wynn and I make brief eye contact, and even though we just had it out, we still share a brain. We are both wide-eyed as we watch the fighting ensue, and we can't help laughing at the insanity.

She makes her way over to me. When she reaches me she immediately pulls me into a hug. A really, really tight hug.

"B, I'm sorry," she shouts through the turmoil. "I was outta line."

I look away, contemplating my response. I'd been so caught off guard by the whole thing. She wasn't wrong to bring up my indecision about Cole, but the way she did it was on the verge of psychotic.

"It's fine Wynn," I say, knowing she can't have possibly heard me over all of the shouting, but she smiles, hugging me again.

"I mean, I kinda get why it's been hard for you to decide about Cole, but he's a good guy, so just try to be fair," she shouts, rubbing my arm. "I'm crazy hormonal right now. I was like a freaking bottomless pit at Whataburger earlier," she adds, patting her food baby. "I should have reigned in my crazy."

"We're good," I say laughing. "As for these guys..."

We exchange a look before surveying the damage of the free-for-all, and it seems to be winding down. They've somehow managed to get some guys back onto the field for an actual play. Who knows what kind of repercussions they'll be looking at after this fiasco. They look a little rough, but there's still a minute on the clock.

I have a suspicion this will go into overtime, but that'll be more manageable now that I'm not at risk of a shanking from Wynn. I eye her suspiciously, knowing she's not on her period, as she claims. We're on the same schedule, and I had mine last week. I'll accept the excuse, though. I know it was hard for her to apologize, and we all wake up on the wrong side of the bed now and again.

The boys take their positions, and it's the Titan's ball. The quarterback struggles to get rid of the football, and then finally releases it. He completes the pass, but the receiver drops the ball. He's scrambling to recover it when Nash goes in for the fumble, and ohhhh my gosh!

Nash scoops the ball up and runs at the speed of light down the sideline, tap dancing down the white line.

"Stay in bounds!" I squeal, completely caught up in the moment. I'm jumping up and down, losing my mind! I'm not the only one.

The crowd is back on their feet roaring with excitement. He's nearly there!

Ten yards.

Five.

Touchdown!

"Ahhhhh!" I scream. Wynn, Lana and Morgan slam into me, hugging and hopping up and down at the same time.

"We won! We won!" we all shout together, swaying and stumbling in the sea of maroon and navy that has consumed us.

"How 'bout that game, babe?" says a voice from behind me. But it's not the voice I want to hear.

I turn, smiling at Cole as he wraps his arms around me.

"Some game," I say breathlessly, my eyes drifting in Wyatt's direction once more.

Let it go, Colby...