"You know, I kinda changed my mind. I really don't want to go," I sighed.

Dean gave me a flat look, not amused in the least. "You're telling me this after we just pulled into the lot?"

"Yes, let's go."

He rolled his eyes. "I can't, I promised..." he trailed off and I narrowed my eyes, challenging him to continue. He cleared his throat and morphed his expression from nervous to blank. "I promised Sky we'd be here."

Breathe, Bella. Breathe.

"Okay, then you stay here and I'll go home," I drawled, even though I didn't want to leave him alone with Skylar. Lord knows what would happen between the two. It's not that I didn't trust him... I didn't trust her.

"No way! Besides, you promised Jaz you'd be here, right? You can't break that promise," he smirked as if he knew that would work.

But his expression dropped when I said, "She'll understand. I'll just go home."

"Arabella, I swear to god if you don't get out of this car right now I will throw you over my shoulder and drag you in there like a sack of potatoes."

I grumbled some profanities under my breath and unclicked my seatbelt. Dean had insisted on driving again, something about being the man of the relationship. I think it was more about him enjoying the smooth drive my car had to offer.

We met at the hood of the car. His hand reached out to grab mine, but I swatted it away, still irritated. He only rolled his eyes and tried again, but I did the same.

Hold hands with your precious Sky.

While we waited in line to grab out football tickets, I noticed him pulling out his phone, smiling at a text, shaking his head with a grin, then replying back. My brows subconsciously raised. Who was making him smile so wide over the phone?

Oh my god, I'm becoming more and more psycho.

We grabbed our tickets and I went ahead to find my friends. They were in the usual spot, close to the field.

I hesitated when I saw Emma sitting up there with them. My brain was screaming at me to run away. I couldn't deal with her right now, but I also didn't want to ignore her in front of everyone. They hadn't seen me yet. I could make a break for it.

Right as I turned on my heel, Dean was behind me with a knowing look. "Arabella," he warned. I rolled my eyes and turned around, trudging to my friends.

I decided to sit next to Jasmine, with Dean on my other side. Will sat next to him and Emma was on the opposite side of Jaz. She seemed nervous as she looked at me, like I was about to spill her darkest secret.

And I truly could if I wanted to.

But I was never one for airing out dirty laundry. She was still my friend after all. I just wish she had talked to me instead of doing this behind our backs. The same went for Dylan. At this point, I wasn't even mad, just disappointed.

"Is everything okay?" Jasmine subtly whispered, pretending to look over my shoulder.

"Peachy," I replied, trying to sound enthusiastic. The look on her face only proved she didn't believe me, but she didn't push. "Hey, where's Kim?"

"Ah, didn't come. She had work," she sighed in disappointment. I reassuringly patted her leg before focusing on the game. She informed me that almost everyone had forgiven Dylan at this point. They even sat with him at lunch today. I was a little disappointed in their weak wills, but also jealous that they had the ability to forgive and forget so easily. 

The game was intense tonight. Dylan actually seemed to have his head in the game. He played much better than last week. I noticed he actually passed the ball when it was beneficial instead of hogging it all for himself. From the looks of it, he also took his teammates' advice during halftime.

The crowd had low spirits at the beginning due to our epic loss, but they quickly rose as the game went on. After all, we had a pretty good advantage over the other team.

"Let's go!" Will shouted as one of the players made a touchdown. I instinctively smiled at his enthusiasm but it faltered when the guilt slowly crept back up.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emma look at him in a sad/loving way.

Aha! I knew she still loved him!

Dean's knee brushed against mine and I looked up to him. "I'm going to grab some snacks. Do you want anything?" he asked.

I shook my head and redirected my focus on the field. Andrew caught my eye and waved. I waved back, earning a grin. He then got back into the game, discussing strategy with the other players.

When Dean finally came back ten minutes later, I didn't question it at first. The concession stand often had long lines. It's no big deal. It's only when I noticed he was empty-handed that I got a little suspicious.

My first thought? Skylar.

Maybe he snuck out to be with her. I mean, he could have just told me. Keeping it from me makes it seem more suspicious.

Now that I thought about it, he never did tell me he went home with her after that party last week...

A loud buzzer sounded and I looked up at the scoreboard. The game was now over. Before I could see the actual scores, bodies covered my vision. Everyone was standing on the bleachers, cheering loudly.

"I'll be right back," I told no one in particular and slipped out of the crowd. No one seemed to mind my absence.

Why did I leave during the most exciting part of the game? Simple. A win meant getting a victory hug from Dylan. I didn't want to see whether he'd even attempt it or not. I didn't want him to, but not seeing an effort from him would probably hurt me even more. So, I simply escaped.

Awkward situation: avoided.

Sighing, I waited a couple of minutes by the gate. When the pools of people began exiting, I took it as my cue to go back. My friends were huddled by the fence that separated the field. The players had gone inside, but they were talking to Reece, who was sporting a tracksuit. He looked like a miniature coach. It was kinda cute.

And of course, the poison redhead was also there.

I inconspicuously slid between Jaz and Dean. His hand automatically engulfed mine without ever pulling away from the conversation.

"You good?" Jaz asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, just had to pee," I lied. She gave me a sad smile, knowing exactly the reason behind my disappearance. Sometimes I forget she's known me since forever, there's no reason to lie.

They all chattered about the game for a little. Every time Dylan's name was brought up, I tensed up a little. None of them felt weird to talk about him anymore, which made sense. They were all friends again, whereas I wasn't.

I felt like I was intruding.

The bleachers were empty by the time the conversation ended. We all, minus Reece, headed toward the lot to go home. Actually, I was going home. I had no idea what the others were doing. Quite frankly, I didn't ask.

Everyone went their own ways, including Skylar, thank god. Dean and I were slowly making our way to my car when he abruptly stopped, making me do the same. "Crap, I forgot something, I'll be right back. Go ahead to the car."

I slowly nodded as he handed me my keys. I wasn't sure whether to drive or sit shotgun, so I chose the latter. It was useless to argue with Dean about it. Honestly, I didn't mind his driving.

Okay, maybe I just liked the way his hand felt on my leg.

And when he reversed... my god.

I silently laughed at myself as I climbed in the front seat. I turned the key so I could listen to some music as I waited.

As I scrolled through my Spotify, my phone chimed.

Drew: Come down to the field ASAP!! It's an emergency!!!!

My heart started to beat out of my chest. His text seemed urgent. I quickly turned off the car and grabbed the keys, locking the door after I stepped out.

My first thought wasn't something cute. Now, I don't want to let my trust issues show, but I really thought Andrew saw Dean with Skylar. It was the only explanation I could conjure up.

Yes, I trusted Dean, but not her. And seeing how he acted around her, I could tell he wouldn't push her away if something were to happen.

Hm, maybe I needed to work on that.

Plus the last time I went back to the field because someone "forgot" something ended up in me finding out Drew was only using me to get to my dad.

My brows furrowed as I reached the field. It was empty. My head turned toward the metal bleachers, littered with snacks and trash. There was no sign of Dean either.

"Andrew?" I yelled out into the green space, utterly confused. "Everything okay?"

The spotlights flashed on, temporarily blinding me. I lifted up my right hand and shielded my eyes.

"What's going on?" I yelled again, hoping I'd get answers.

Silence.

The rest of the lights turned on one by one and it felt like something out of a movie. Two things usually happened. Either the main character gets a dramatic love confession, or she's exposed for something terrible she's done.

Dean and I already had the former so that seemed unlikely.

Maybe I'd go against stereotypes and get kidnapped instead? I don't understand why a kidnapper would go through all the dramatics to take me, but I'd probably be killed before I could ask.

Suddenly, One Republic's Apologize began to play. I scoped around, trying to find another life form nearby.

I was confused.

The intercoms made an annoying beep before cracking to life. "Bella, I was stupid and dumb and, quite frankly, a dick."

A rustling sounded from behind me and I quickly turned around. The lights temporarily blinded me but I could see the silhouette of a man.

"And I know it's too late to apologize," he chuckled at the song reference, "but I need to. I miss you too much to let this petty feud go on."

My eyes adjusted to the light, but they didn't need to. I'd recognize that voice anywhere.

I stubbornly crossed my arms. "What makes you think I feel the same?" I did.

Instead of being offended, Dylan feigned hurt by clutching his chest. "Ouch! But, I think I have something that might pique your interest."

A small smile played at my lips, but I tried not to show it. In a quick motion, Dylan tossed his shirt over his head. His torso had a big exclamation painted over it in red.

A furrow formed between my brows as I stared. Was I supposed to know what this meant?

He slowly backed up and it was then that I noticed the line of men behind him. As he went to stand on the left of the formation, the other five began taking off their shirts, making my jaw drop.

Each had a letter painted on their very delicious abs.

'Sorry!'

I stifled a laugh as I looked at the boys. Dean was the 'S' and looked very unamused. Reece was the 'R' and looked pretty smug, obviously knowing his body was drool-worthy. Andrew was the 'O'. My eyes may have been deceiving me, but he looked a little self-conscious. The other two letters were random kids I recognized from the team, but I wasn't that close with. They were definitely the fittest.

"I'm the exclamation point because I'm the most exciting out of this lot," Dylan continued, earning protests from the others. I couldn't help but crack a smile. "So, does this mean you'll forgive me?"

"I have conditions," I shouted over the music, arms still crossed.

His face broke out into an eager smile. "What?"

"We get to talk. I haven't decided if you're worthy of forgiving yet. Also, you have to let me have my intervention for you," I smirked, enjoying the upper hand. And for good measure, I added, "And you have to be my slave for as long as I want."

"Fine, fine, and we'll discuss the terms of that later," he replied without much of a fight. I expected a little backtalk.

"Then I guess this'll work," I nonchalantly sighed. The last thing I saw was a running exclamation point coming closer until he gripped me in a tight hug and spun me around.

"Victory hug," he whispered, making me laugh. My head tilted back and I let myself burst out laughing for the first time in a long time.

"How'd you do it?" I asked when he put me down again. We both looked over at the boys, some more miserable than others. Just the idea of Dylan convincing them to go along had me cackling again. He didn't answer, only chuckling in response.

He waved his hands at the boys. "You're dismissed, except you Dean. Keep your shirt off."

My boyfriend grumbled some harsh words under his breath. I gave a questioning look to Dylan, to which he only winked back.

Blessings in disguise.

"We'll talk later, but get your boy right now. You're basically eye-raping him," he said, gently nudging me.

I scoffed. "Excuse me, I'm appreciating all of them." That was a lie. The others were handsome, but I truly only had my eyes on one man.

"Mhm," he sarcastically hummed, then looked down at me. "We're okay, right?"

"We will be," I admitted. He nodded and looked ahead.

My inner self was exploding at the fact that he apologized. It was long overdue and I hadn't completely forgiven him, but the effort was appreciated. Now that I knew we were both calm, we could have a civil talk.

The sooner we talked, the sooner the guilt would end. Hopefully.

He gently nudged me toward Dean and I shot him a nasty glare and walking toward him.

"You look incredibly sexy," I laughed as I approached his stonecold face.

He didn't find this amusing. "That's it, I'm putting my shirt on."

I bit back a smile and looked at the other boys. Most of them had their shirts back on, except one, of course. With a mischievous tone, I glanced over at Andrew. "Hm, I guess I'll have to ogle Drew instead."

"Let's go," Dean groaned, gently pulling me toward the direction of the lot. I waved at the boys, sending a silent thanks, and followed him. A small grin made it's way to my face when I noticed he didn't put his shirt back on.

Bella: 1 Dean: 0

I shamelessly stared at his flexing muscles. I had to admit, Dylan really knew how to get me to listen.

"You're drooling," Dean smugly said from in front of me.

My hand touched the corners of my mouth. "Am not."

He scoffed but didn't comment. I took a last glance at his sculpted back before handing him the keys. He seemed a little surprised that I wasn't putting up a fight, but what could I say? I was in a great mood.

Once we were in the car, I turned to face him. I rested one of my elbows on the console between our seats and held my head up with my palm. Completely amused, I asked, "So, why'd you go through ten torturous minutes for Dylan?"

He turned his head to look at me. "It wasn't for him, it was for you."

Obviously.

I broke out into a grin and leaned in, kissing him gently on the lips. His hard demeanor slowly faded and I felt him smiling as he kissed me back.

When I pulled away, I gave him a sincere smile. "Thanks. It really means a lot."

He tucked a stray strand of blond behind my ear. "Anything for you."

"Whipped," I teased, earning an eye roll.

We drove back to my house, the radio playing to drown out the silence. A happy silence, not a bad one. With Dean's hand on my thigh and Dylan's friendship in my heart, everything seemed to be falling into place again.

~

Sometimes I cringe at my own writing but then I realize not everyone is as cynical as me.

Anyway... How's that for an apology? Dylan knows the way to my– I mean Arabella's heart.

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