Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long. I had the PSAT to worry about and impending exams. Also, I realized that I use 'at this point' a lot, so sorry about that. Anyway, enjoy!

It was Wednesday morning. Two days before the first game of the season, which also happened to be on Halloween. Is that weird? I don't know.

It was currently six thirty am, and I was almost done with my morning run. I'd taken a new initiative to work out more, since it would help me if I gained some more muscle. I was pretty fit, but no harm in being a little leaner and stronger. Besides, while my stamina may be great, my muscular strength could be better.

I finally stopped running, walked one round to cool off, and then went back home to work out. We didn't have a home gym or anything, but with a yoga mat and some dumbbells, I could exercise just fine. I did that for around forty-five minutes, then went to shoot some hoops in the backyard. Soon enough, it was time to get ready for school.

Once I was done, I went downstairs for breakfast. I saw my mom cooking up something delicious in the kitchen. "Woah, mom everything smells amazing."

"Glad you approve. I made your favourite. Nutella waffles!"

"Thanks mom!"

I sat down at the dining table and heard Nick slowly trudging down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and yawning. I scoffed. Mom turned around to put the food on the table, and that's when I saw her face for the first time. I nearly had a heart attack.

There were huge dark circles under her eyes, which were alarmingly red. She looked sick and stressed, her cheeks hollow and shoulders slumped. She was trying to hide it, but everything about her clearly conveyed there was something wrong behind that smile.

"Mom? What on earth happened to you?" I asked, a little less gently than I probably should have. Don't blame me, I was in panic mode.

"What? Oh, honey don't worry about me, I'm all right."

"Tell that to your face mom."

I turned to face Nick, who was also looking at her with a look of horror on his face. Our reactions were probably rude, but it's not our fault. "Where's dad?" Nick asked, looking at his empty seat on the table.

"He's out on work honey. Don't you both worry, everything's okay."

Nick and I exchanged glances, knowing that everything was very much not okay. Whenever our parents fight, dad usually storms off for a few hours, calms down, comes back and it's all good. But he's never been gone for days together. It's clearly taken a toll on my mom.

Nevertheless, Nick and I ate our food quietly, neither of us saying a word. Once we were done, I cleared all the plates and quickly grabbed my backpack and gym bag. "Come on Nick, I've got to drive you to school and head to work." My mom spoke up, taking her keys out. Nick and I went to the same high school, (he was a sophomore and I was a senior), but Megan usually picked me up and if she couldn't, I'd take the subway. It's definitely not efficient, but Nick didn't want to ride with us in a 'girly' car, when I said we could go to school together so mom wouldn't have to drive us.

"Um, it's all right mom, I'll ride with Alex and Megan."

She stopped. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine. You don't have to take me."

She hesitated for a second, but smiled. "Okay Nick." He gave her a weak smile back and walked up to me. I nodded and went out the door, seeing Megan's car waiting outside. As we walked down the driveway, I turned to look at my brother. "That was good of you Nick. About time you rode with us."

He shrugged guiltily. "I guess. I didn't realize she was so stressed. Her face really scared me, Alex."

"It's okay. I'll take care of it, I promise."

He sighed gratefully and got into the backseat of Megan's car. I got into the shotgun seat. "Well well well, looks like the little runt is riding with us huh?" Meg smiled at Nick. He grinned at her. "Runt? Are you fifty?"

She reached out and tousled his hair mischievously. "Hey! It took me ten minutes to do my hair."

Megan started the car and we drove off. I turned on the radio and Drag Me Down by One Direction started playing. "Whoohoo! This song is freaking legendary. One Direction was amazing."

Nick made a fake gagging noise in the back. "Why do girls like that band so much?"

"Shut up, they were legends. Guys like it too; they just won't admit it."

Megan and I were straight up vibing to it the entire ride to school. The beat drops in that song are just too damn hype. It may be repetitive, but it's still addicting. I could recognize each and every one of the guys' voices at this point, even without seeing the video.

"With your love, nobody can drag me down!" Megan and I yelled at the top of our lungs, while Nick covered his ears to no effect. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out, seeing a text from Ezra-

I'm going to do it.

I almost squealed like a little girl right then and there. I looked at Megan on my left, unknowingly singing at the top of her voice, and grinned. About freaking time. I can't wait to see it.

We arrived at school two minutes later, and saw Tyler waiting for us at the entrance, a huge smirk on his face. I think I knew why.

We got out and Nick was greeted by the same girl I'd seen in his room a little while ago. She pecked him on the cheek, her face red when she noticed me behind him. He took her hand in his, and the two of them walked off. Aww. I think. Weird that my little brother has a girlfriend now. I should probably talk to him later, I don't even know her name.

"Hey guys!" Tyler greeted us and we walked inside. "Holy shit, I can't believe he's going to do it." He whispered to me, as Megan walked ahead to her locker.

"I know right? Where is he though?"

As if I'd manifested it, we saw Ezra waiting for Megan at her locker, looking extremely nervous. She stopped and smiled at him. "Hey Ezra! What are you doing at my locker?"

He smiled back at her nervously, playing with his fingers. "Well, I wanted to ask you something that I didn't have the courage to ask you at Ty's house the other night."

Now it looked like she was holding her breath. I grinned.

"Will you go out on a date with me?"

I swear to god, at that moment it was like somebody scratched a record. The people walking by had heard it, stopping curiously to see what would happen.

Megan was in shock, staring at Ezra with her mouth wide open. Uh oh.

She shook her head and recovered quickly, a huge smile on her face. "Sure."

Tyler and I hollered, running up to those two with our hands in the air. "Yes! About time!" Tyler yelled, throwing his arm around Ezra. I winked at Megan. "Told you so."

She blushed. "Shut up."

Everybody else around us were also smiling after seeing what happened. I'm sure the entire school would know soon enough.

Tyler and I walked off to class, leaving those two alone. The day went by as usual, although a tater tot battle between Tyler and Megan at lunch was certainly...interesting. Ezra sat there the whole time with a gooey look on his face while I laughed my ass off and recorded it. The four of us were pretty great friends together. I hope Megan and Ezra dating doesn't make it weird though. Onto other things, after school I went to practice, which went great.

"Sorry Meg! I can't have our study sesh today. I promised my mom I'd help her with something."

"No sweat. See you tomorrow!"

I waved goodbye to her with a huge smile on her face, until she finally drove off. I put my hand down and sighed. Great. Now I've got a job to do.

I set off down the street, newspaper in my hand, showing all the places in need of employees. I saw an opening at Loco Latte, but there was no way I could work there. It's the place the entire school is at. If my mom found out I was trying to get a job, she'd kill my ass.

I couldn't help it. My dad was never around, even though he may support us financially. I wanted to try getting a job so we wouldn't have to depend on him too much. My mom has a job, but its more like volunteer work. Not something with a steady pay check. She loves helping people and trying to make the world a better place. One of the things I loved about her.

I tried five different places, out of which two had already hired someone, one jerk didn't even give me an interview, and the other two weren't very impressed by someone with no job experience. God, I'm so screwed.

Finally, I decided to try one last place, a froyo shop ten minutes from my house. A little closer that I'd like it to be, but it would have to do.

I walked in and the bell tinkled above me. I gasped at the sight I saw. It wasn't very big, but it was one of the most aesthetic cute shops I've ever been in. You can feel the good vibes radiating as you walk in, looking at the bright walls and posters. It had a very homey feel.

The people inside were clearly very comfortable. Two couples, one mother and her child, as well as a group of four friends- two boys and two girls. I smiled as I watched one of the girls, swat the eager boy trying to eat her ice-cream. It reminded me of our friend group, only three years younger.

I walked up to the counter, trying to get the attention of a guy clearly busy pouring froyo into foam cups. I waited till he served his customer and he spoke. "Hey there! Sorry for the wait, we're short on staff today. What can I get you?"

He had a thick British accent, but nothing about him was 'sophisticated'. He looked like any normal kid, no older that nineteen. He had dirty blonde hair, tanned skin and a goofy smile, his hands messy and apron covered in different bright coloured stains. Everything about him gave off a nice surfer vibe, and his grin would never waver. He had a tag that said Asher- Assistant manager. I smiled back.

"Hey! I'm not here to order, I'm here to apply for the job actually. I saw your ad in the paper?"

"Oh, yeah! I was just about to get off my shift anyway, how about we do your interview now?"

"Sure."

He went to the back and called out to a girl to take his place, and then guided me to one of the tables. We sat down.

"So, what's your name?"

"Alex."

"Great name. I'm Asher. You don't look older than eighteen, I assume you're in high school?"

"Yeah, I'm a senior. I'm seventeen. I turn eighteen in December."

"Good enough for me. Anyway, tell me something about yourself." He asked cheerily, putting me at ease. His calm and cool nature didn't give me anything to be worked up about.

"As you know, I'm currently a high school student. I'm captain of our varsity basketball team, which means everything to me. I'm also hoping for a scholarship to Stanford with my best friend. I try to keep my social circle small, just a few friends and not too many. I have a fifteen-year-old brother who I take care of a lot, as my parents are really busy. That's pretty much it."

The entire time I spoke, he listened intently with his hand on his chin, not letting go of a single word. Once I was done, he leaned back and smiled. "That's great Alex! I've got to admit I'm more of a football man though." He joked. "Getting back to the point, do you have any job experience?"

This is where I hesitated. Uh oh. This is where I end up loosing the opportunity to get a job. I took a deep breath and started to ramble.

"Well, I don't have any job experience, but before you say no, I really think I'd be great here. I have leadership skills, being captain of my school team, and I'm really responsible. I'm also a super quick learner, and I'll learn the ropes as quickly as I can. Not to mention, I already absolutely love this place."

He stopped for a second, looking at me with a stunned look on his face. Then he laughed comfortably. "All right Alex, I like your energy. I'll let my manager know that you're the one for the job."

"Really?! Thank you so much!"

"There are just some details you have to fill, like your phone number and whatnot, but I think your good to go. I also need to know which days you can come in. Are you good to start next Monday?"

"Well, actually I have practice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but three other days I'm good to go!"

"I think that works with the shifts. All right, I'll see you Tuesday?"

"You bet!"

I shook his hand and walked out of there will a gleeful look on my face. I must look like an idiot. But I was freaking happy. Yes! I can finally help my mom.