I pushed open the glass doors of the Diner.

The building was practically empty. The only people here sat alone, sipping morning coffee.

The woman at the register was the same from the weekend.

I held out my green folder to her.

"I'd like to submit a job application." I smiled.

She took the folder from my hand and smiled.

"Of course sweetheart."

"Also, can I get a double double to go?"

"Yes," she tapped a few keys on the register. "One fifty."

I handed her the change and she went to prepare my drink.

She gave me the warm paper cup and I headed out the door.

###

"Alright," Ms. Devon said, pacing back and fourth across the front of the classroom. "So for your project, I would like you to re-write an article of your choice, but you may only use the information provided by the article. Also this will be a partner project."

People started eagerly looking at their friends from across the room.

"And I will be picking your partners."

People groaned, and rolled their eyes.

Whenever Ms. Devon picks partners she never puts people with their friends.

She started listing off who would be with who.

I didn't pay it much mind, until she called Caiden and I.

Why?

Why me?

He's likely still mad at me.

I glanced over my left shoulder to look at my partner.

He seemed to be sleeping.

His head rested on his crossed arms. The sleeves of his Crooks & Castles hoodie were pushed up.

His tattoo sleeve on his right arm was partially visible.

The visible part of the tattoo consisted of a boy and a girl who sat in a bare, dead tree. Below the tree was a cemetery. The clouds in the sky were dark and had lightning-bolts jolting out of them. And an old fashioned stopwatch sat next to the tree.

Just as I was about to swallow my pride and wake the sleeping beast, Ms. Devon spoke again.

"Just so you all know, this assignment will be due Thursday."

Wow. That's just fantastic.

I slowly pushed myself out of my chair, and approached Caiden.

Tapping him lightly in the shoulder, he raised his head groggily.

"Hmm?" He raised a brow.

"Umm, Ms. Devon partnered us up for a project." I muttered.

"Well I'm kinda resting up for practice later. Do you wanna go somewhere after practice, to get this over with?" A small smile formed on his pink lips.

I was a little taken aback, by how nice he was being.

"Uh, yeah sure. How bout my place? I can give you a ride."

"Yeah, that works for me." He replied, setting his head back down.

###

I stood by the chainlink fence next to the football field.

I could tell the practice was almost over. The guys were starting to slow down. They breathed heavily, and went though the plays sloppily.

Coach Baxter blew his ear piercing whistle.

"Great job today boys." His deep voice bellowed. "Now, hit the showers."

The guys pulled off their white and red helmets, and shook the sweat out of their hair.

"Hey," Kent smiled, approaching me. "You looked pretty good out there today." His damp brown hair stuck to his forehead, and his cheeks were flushed.

"Thanks, it was a pretty good practice today." I smiled. "And you didn't look to bad yourself."

"Thanks." He chuckled. "Umm," he glanced in the direction of the outdoor change-rooms. " Caiden said he'll just take a quick shower and meet you back out here."

"Okay, thanks."

"And how does a movie sound for Friday?"

"It sounds great." I was pretty excited for our date. I hadn't been on one since the beginning of grade ten, just before my old boyfriend and I broke up.

Well I kinda dumped him. But I had a valid reason. He cheated on me with four other girls.

He was a bit of an asshole, to say the least.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at six?"

"Okay."

He shot me one last smile over his shoulder as he stalked off.

Only a few minutes later Caiden approached me, backpack on, and gym bag in hand.

"Where's your car?" He called, as he was still a decent distance from me.

"Just over there." I pointed with my keys.

He turned in the direction of the parking lot, and I started to catch up to him. It was actually easier than I thought it would be. Although I do have long legs and a fast pace.

"Which one?"

"The white Mercedes." I replied.

He took a moment, scanning the abundance of vehicles in front of us, before he spotted mine. His eyes widened, but he didn't say anything.

I unlocked it and slid int to the leather seat.

"You can just toss your stuff in the back." I instructed. My bags were already back there, I put them away after practice. He nodded and threw his stuff messily in the back.

Caiden crouched down into the vehicle, his 6'3 figure struggling to fit in the small space.

As I pulled out of the parking space, he spoke again.

"What kind of car is this?" He studied the interior.

"Benz C-class." I answered over the light hum of the engine, and my 1D CD that was playing.

"Nice car. It's not very messy either."

I shot him a look from the side of my eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just always thought girls had messy cars."

"Not all girls. Just some of them. But this is my pride and joy." I said, keeping my eyes locked on the freeway, that led from the school to the residential part of the city.

Angel Woods was a pretty big city. It had a population of over eight hundred thousand. But compared to our neighboring city of Los Angeles, it was really small.

Caiden just nodded again, as I turned on my signal light, and turned.

I came to a slow as I rolled on to my driveway.

I locked the car and grabbed my backpack off the back seat.

I unlocked the door to the house and let Caiden in.

To my surprise, he took his shoes of before stepping off the mat at the door.

I did the same, leading him up the stairs to my room.

"Wow. This is your room?" He said in awe, taking in his surroundings from my doorway.

"Yeah," I replied slowly. "Why?" I furrowed my brows.

"It's like, really clean and organized."

"Is that a bad thing?" I opened my laptop, and sat on my bed, sinking in to the white comforter.

"No, it's just I've never seen a girl's room this organized before."

He's probably seen his fair share of girls' bedrooms too, I thought.

"Uh, thanks." I chuckled.

"Yeah." He murmured, taking a seat across from me, in my desk chair.

He sat on it backwards, with his legs on either side of the back of the chair, and rested his crossed arms on the top of the back.

"So, do we have any idea what article we want to do?" He asked, pulling his phone out of his front, right pocket.

I looked up at him from the login screen of my MacBook.

"I thought you were sleeping. How do you know what the project is on?"

"I was kinda listening."

"Oh," I nodded. "And no, we don't have an article yet."

"Can we do a Florida man article?" His eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his face.

"Do you have any in mind?"

"Umm," He scrolled on his phone some more. "How about this one?" He showed me the headline on his phone screen.

'Woman Stabs Husband With Squirrel for not Buying Beer on Christmas Eve'

"What the hell?" I giggled.

"Florida people headlines are the best."

"Yeah, they really are. If you want to do that news story, we can."

"Yes!" He pumped his fist in the air enthusiastically.

I giggled a little more, at how happy that made him.

"Okay, lets get to work then." I clapped my hands together.

###

I glanced at the time on my alarm clock.

5:37 pm

Caiden was now laying on his back on my desk, his hands resting on his stomach. His chest heaved up and down, and his eyes were shut.

I was resting on my stomach, my computer screen was dark. We had finally finished the project.

We laid in silence, taking a break.

"So you and Kent eh?" The blonde, asked breaking the silence.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "I guess so."

"You know, he really likes you."

"He does?" I looked over at him, but his eyes were still closed.

"Yeah, he does. Please just take care of him. Don't hurt him."

A/N:
Well another chapter is up. What're your thoughts on it? Let me know.

-Grace 🍒