"There's still some time left for the first period to end, what do you want to do?" Tyler asked as he pulled up into the parking area.

"Let's get some coffee," I said massaging my forehead.

We got out of his jeep and started walking towards the campus cafeteria. I was already feeling the first signs of the oncoming flu, because of my adventurous night. And the lack of sleep certainly didn't help my situation.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing my discomfort.

"Nope. I feel like ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bag."

"Wow." He chuckled. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah. Stop looking so upbeat, and fresh, it's not fair. You were with me all night too!"

"I have had nights which were far worse, " he said looking ahead. "And like I said earlier, I had a lot of fun last night, so naturally I'm in a cheerful mood."

"I had a great time too."

"But you are still grumpy, " he grinned and I shrugged.

"I guess, I'm always grumpy in the morning."

"True that, " he said and I rolled my eyes.

We got our coffees, and when I started walking towards a small bench outside the cafeteria, he grabbed my hand and started leading me the opposite way.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see, " he said dragging me along with him.

After a few minutes, I realized where he was taking me. Our school football field.  He led me to the bleachers and climbed up, to sit down at the topmost seats. I followed him and took a seat next to him.

It was very windy out here, and I struggled to tame my hair, as I redid it into a tight ponytail. The ground was completely empty except for us, which made it oddly peaceful.

When I turned to look at him, I found him staring off into space, with a hint of smile on his lips.

"So this is your happy place, " I said with a smile and he shrugged.

"I don't know, I never thought of it like that. But it surely is one of my favorite spots in this school, " he said and I nodded.

None of us said a word as we drank our coffees in silence and after a while, he reached for my hand as he said, "Come on, let's take a long walk back to the school building before the next class starts."

He led me towards the center of the football field and I stopped, looking around in wonder.  It was a massive stretch of green, and the bleachers placed around the field looked tiny from here. I could only imagine the thrill of playing here, when the entire area, including the bleachers, was packed with a huge crowd cheering you on. The excitement and adrenaline that comes from it.

"I wanted to show you how it all looked through my eyes, " he said, watching me look around with a smile.

"Thank you," I said looking up at him. "I have never told this to you before, but you are an amazing player and I know how much this game means to you. I can see you make it big."

His expression suddenly changed to something unreadable. He clenched his jaw and there was this sudden emptiness in his eyes. It felt like he wasn't here with me anymore. Like he wasn't looking at me anymore but was looking through me.

"Hey, where'd you go?" I softly asked placing a hand on his cheek. "Did I say something wrong?"

My voice snapping him back to reality, he looked into my eyes and shook his head. "Sorry."

"What is it? Is it about the upcoming match?" I vaguely remembered Jace and Neil telling how important it was, and how much hard Tyler was making them all work for it.

"No, it's nothing. I'm confident about the match."

He clearly didn't want to tell me what was bothering him, so I decided to let it go, hoping he will tell me in his own time. I thought of asking him about something else, that was bothering me for a while now, "I know you will win it. But what happens after that?"

"What do you mean?" he said, looking confused.

"You told me Max is blackmailing you to lose every match against him. If his team is against us in the finals, what will we do then?"

"I...I don't know, " he sighed. "I'm hoping, I'll be able to deal with this shit and put an end to it before I'm put in that situation."

He was suddenly looking all tensed and I kicked myself for spoiling his mood. I knew this was a difficult situation and things might go wrong for us, but for now, I just nodded and squeezed his hand for comfort.

"Right now, I want to talk about what happens after the match this weekend, " he said, intertwining our fingers together.

"What do you mean?"

"The homecoming dance, " he answered.

Shit. No-no-no.

"I want to ask you something," he murmured.

"Okay?" I said, panic flaring in my chest.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked with a nervous smile.

Crap. What do I do now?

I blurted out the first thing that popped into my mind, "What about Courtney?"

"What about her?" he frowned.

"You usually go with her, " I shrugged. "So I thought..."

"You do know there is nothing going on between me and her right?"

"Do I? Most importantly, does she know that?"

"Of course she does. We are just friends Veronica. She is very close to me, but that's it. Whenever I asked some other girl to be my date, for any of my dad's business events or school dances, it always seemed to raise their expectations. And I wasn't ready for any commitments, or serious relationships, " he said.

What if it raises my expectations too?

"So I always took Courtney with me. As a friend. And she didn't mind helping me out, " he shrugged.

Of course 'she didn't mind'. Because she likes you, dummy. I thought and rolled my eyes.

"Why are you rolling your eyes at me?

"Oh no, it wasn't for you, " I shook my head, flustered. 

"Huh?"

"Nevermind."

"So?.." he looked at me expectantly.

"I don't know. I don't think...." I started and his face fell.

"It's alright, " he quickly started saying. "I know you usually go alone. I have seen you shoot down a lot of guys." He chuckled awkwardly.

It hurt me to see him disappointed, but I couldn't bring myself to say yes. I was afraid of getting too close, too attached. He was easily a person I could see myself falling for, and I didn't want that to happen. I had to avoid it.

But looking at his face, I wasn't so sure about my decision anymore.

"I'm sorry, " I whispered.

"It's okay. Really, " he said giving me a weak smile.

"Can I think about it?" I suddenly found myself saying.

He looked at me for a second and nodded. "Of course."

Suddenly my phone started buzzing in my pocket, and I took it out. It was from Ashley. "Hey."

"Turn around, we are standing near the bleachers, " she said. And I looked over and saw Neil, Avi and her standing there looking at us.

"I'll be there, just a min, " I hung up.

"Let's go, " Tyler said, spotting them. "Jace and Ryan asked me to meet them at the cafeteria too."

"Okay, " I nodded and we made our way towards my friends.

He left me alone with my friends, without another word and started walking away, towards the cafeteria and I found myself staring at his retreating back. I just ruined everything. Didn't I?

"Hey, " Avi said and I looked at them.

I had almost completely forgotten about our little fight yesterday. It seemed like it had happened ages ago, and I just wanted to get back to being normal with them.

Before I could even manage to get a word out, Neil took a step towards me and engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so fucking sorry for yesterday. I really am, " he said.

"I know. It's okay, " I said and hugged him back.

"You forgive me?"

"Yes. There is nothing to forgive, I know you guys meant well," I mumbled against his chest.

"Thank God. I was so scared that you will stay mad at me, " he said tightening his arms around me. "I promise I'll never blow up like that again. I was just worried about you. "

"Uh, Neil? " I squeaked. "I can't breathe."

He chuckled and let me go. "Sorry."

"We are sorry too, " Ashley said pulling me into another hug. "I was so scared when I didn't see you in the morning, today. You never miss any classes, and I thought you were still really upset. "

"I'm fine, really, " I said pulling away from her.

"So, we're good? " Avi asked.

"Yep. We're good, " I smiled and he let out a breath of relief.

"Wait. Why aren't you guys in your classes? " I asked.

"We don't have classes for the rest of the day. It was just announced, " Avi said.

"Why not?"

"Students are busy with the homecoming dance preparations. And the football team is going to be training for the match this weekend, " Neil said, and exchanged a weird look with the others before continuing, "The teachers are getting our auditorium ready for Andrew stone."

"What?" I asked. "What does that mean? Wait......Andrew stone? As in, Max Stone's father?"

"Yes," Avi nodded watching me carefully. "He is coming here to address all the students. As the new member of our school committee and one of the candidates running for Mayor, this year."

Well, shit.

***

A/n - What do you guys think about the story so far? Any suggestions? Critics? Or theories? I'm all ears.