Our team's next game is away. We're driving the bus to a town I've been to before. A town I had hoped to leave behind me forever.

Sawyer and his family live in the town where our team is playing next. I threw up the second I found out.

But I told myself that it was going to be fine. I was just overreacting and getting into my own head. Sawyer didn't even live in the same town anymore. He had gone away for college out of state by the time I moved on from that town.

He wasn't going to be there and I was worried about nothing. The anxiety settled in my stomach all the same. I had nightmares about moments like this. Seeing him again in person was the darkest scenario my mind tortured me with.

It wasn't going to happen at this game. It just wasn't a possibility. He's thousands of miles away and it was the middle of his semester.

"What are you thinking about?" A voice snaps me out of my thoughts as a bump in the road knocks me against his shoulder.

I shake my head. "Just getting closer to the end of the season. Sports jitters, I guess."

Roman watches me even when I face forward again. I don't even realize I'm fiddling with the rings on my fingers until he brings his hand on top of mine.

I turn to him again as he finishes studying me. "Try again," he says. "I can tell when you're trying to brush something off."

Damn it. I swallow some more anxiety before stretching my neck and looking around us. "It's Sawyer," I whisper. I notice his jaw tense before I go on. "I'm worried."

"Worried about what?" he asks patiently. "Why now?"

"Pearce High, the team we're playing tonight... It was the school I went to when I lived with Sawyer and his family. We're going back to his town."

Roman lets out a rough breath from his nose. He seems to sit on my words for a moment. "You said he was older, right? He wouldn't be at the high school now."

I shake my head. "No, no. He's away at college, I know I'm probably worrying over nothing. I just can't help thinking..." I hesitate. "I just don't know what I would do if I saw him again."

"I know what I would do. If you see him tonight, I don't care what I'm doing. You point him out and you let me worry about it."

"Roman, you-"

"Briar," he says firmly. "I mean it. I don't care if I'm about to take the winning shot. If you see him, you get my attention and you let me deal with it."

He left me with no words. I stare at him and soak in the feeling of relief. People who truly cared were tough to come by these days and it still took me by surprise when someone actually showed it.

"Okay?" he pushes, dipping his head a little closer.

I nod slowly. "Okay," I barely manage to let out with my swirling emotions. "Okay, I will."

He nods in confirmation and faces forward once again. I look down and realize his hand still resting on top of my previous nervous jitters. I take one hand out from under his and flip the other one over to slip my fingers through his.

I don't know why I still expect him to pull away but of course he doesn't. He only adjusts his fingers in mine and gives my hand a subtle squeeze.

He may as well have directed that gentle squeeze straight to the heart beating a little faster in my chest.

>><<>><<>><<>><

We must be close to the school because I gasp at the cake shop we pass. "I loved that place," I tell Roman. "They had the cutest most delicious mini cakes and Laura was an angel of a baker." I reminisce about the smell of walking into the shop. Fresh baked cakes and pastries warmed the air. It was one of the only few things I missed about this place.

"Is her shop open at night?" Roman asks.

"Mhm," I nod. "She especially liked to stay open late on game nights." I keep my gaze following the bakery shop out the window as Roman stays quiet beside me. "I doubt we'd have time to go after the game anyway," I say to myself more than to him.

We make it down the road to the school's gym entrance and unload. I already knew I would be seeing some familiar faces here, so I prepared myself when we entered the gym. The cheerleaders from the other team are already rallying the crowd.

I get a few curious glances from some of my old classmates. I even get a few waves and smiles. I could say and think what I wanted about this town that haunted me so much. However, I couldn't say that any of these people assumed a bad reputation for me here. Things were fairly normal in my school life.

Still, I take a careful scan around the crowd. It doesn't take me very long to conclude that Sawyer and his blonde head of hair are nowhere to be found. My shoulders release a bit of tension and I can breathe just a little easier.

Someone in the crowd catches my attention. I smile and wave back at Sydney Gardner, my old science lab partner, and feel Naomi studying me. I look back and meet her gaze. There's no glare, no underlying hatred in her gaze. She just... studies.

I shake off the oddity and focus on getting ready for our basic routines. It isn't long before the game sets off and everyone gets lost in the hype of the sport.

My old school put up a pretty good fight in the beginning. However, before half time it's as clear as day which team stood a better chance at victory tonight. We got pretty comfortably in the lead during the third quarter.

That's when Roman got fouled.

He took his free shots and continued to limp on his right ankle. The worry set in my stomach right as he signals to the coach with a cut-off signal. Roman never calls himself out, he rarely spends enough time on the bench to even slightly warm it up.

Coach subs him out and he sits himself down. I watch him as he looks up at me. He gives me a thumbs-up and moves to massage his ankle. It takes a lot of extra effort for me to turn my focus back towards the game.

That is until only a few minutes later when I'm tugged by my arm. Roman guides me around the corner of the bleachers, cut off from the rest of the crowd.

"Roman, what are you-"

"Come do something with me," he nods toward the exit door.

"Wha- now?" This was the most random request and the last spontaneous thing I would ever expect from him.

"Yes, now. Especially now. We can go and make it back by the time they're loading up the buses again. Come on," he takes my arm again and we're leaving the gym, the sounds of cheers and sneakers on the wood left behind us.

"Go where?" I ask, still shocked and holding back my giggle of excitement.

"It was this way, right? That little bakery shop?"

A full laugh slips its way through. "You've kidnapped me from a basketball game that you haven't even won yet for mini cakes?"

"Yeah, chop chop, Bear. We don't have all night." He picks up the pace and I follow suit.

Then I look down at his perfectly working ankles. "Did you fake an injury to sneak out of the game?" I smack his arm as we're hurrying along.

"You hit me any harder, I won't have to fake any injury." He turns to me with a smirk to match his playful words. I think I'm half floating when he takes my arm again to keep up with him.

When he entered Laura's shop, it smelled exactly like I remembered. Laura greeted us as we walked in. She cuts herself short when she recognizes me and surprises me by coming around the corner to envelop me in a warm hug.

Gosh did I soak that up, because it felt real damn good to be remembered.

She gives us a discounted price and since I was dragged out of the gym, Roman pays for our sweets because he actually brought his wallet with him. Laura boxes up her only mini red velvet that was shaped like a heart and throws me a very slick wink before giving Roman a look.

We say our goodbyes and I walk out with Roman feeling the happiest I've felt in a while.

"I don't know why you let everyone think you're some Oscar the Grouch."

"Do not compare me to a Sesame Street character, Bear."

"Okay, sometimes you're absolutely a grouch," I mumble. "But not all the time. You know, you can go on trying to hide it all you want."

"I'm not hiding anything from you, Bear."

I stop walking with a smile on my face. "Roman," I stop him too. He turned around to face me, and both of us paused in the middle of our empty sidewalk. "Thank you. You didn't have to walk out of that game for me and you still did. Just to do something nice."

I barely notice he's stepped closer as I go on. "I think you're one of the sweetest boys I've ever met." Something every so slightly brightens in those dark forest greens. It happened so subtly that I'm not even sure I even saw it. "I don't really know how well off I would have been this far into the year without you."

"Briar..."

"No, I need to say this. I know I'm a pain to deal with sometimes. I know I talk way too much about the stupidest things sometimes, but I love that you let me."

"Bear-"

"And the last thing I ever wanted to do to you is trauma dump so I'm also sorry that I had to do that too. But you haven't walked away and I really appreciate that. And then there was my whole dread about being here and you practically wiped it away. And that's how I know that you're such a good person. You're a really good listener and you're really patient."

I didn't realize he was at my feet until his hands cupped my shoulders. "Briar you don't have to-"

"And I think I've said this in my head before, but you have really pretty eyelashes." I roll my eyes. "And of course, I mean that in a super masculine way because I know how touchy you get with compliments. But did you know being a little sensitive can also make you a good person? That's also how I know you-"

My rambling is cut off when his lips suddenly crash into mine. His hands move from my shoulders to cup my face and he moves my hair away. All I can think of are his hands on my face and how soft his lips are and oh my gosh why did it take me this long to feel them?

I'm so shocked at the moment that I don't move. Roman tenses and pulls away. He observes my face and I have no clue what it tells him. "Fuck, Briar-" he steps back. "I'm sorry, I should have asked you. I should have-"

I drop my bag of cakes and pull his face back towards mine because it was my turn to cut off his words with my lips.

It doesn't take long at all for him to find his confidence again. He relaxes into the kiss and takes my waist to pull me closer. I feel his other hand on my jaw seconds later. His thumb drags from the front to the back, angling our mouths more in sync and I melt. I melt into a puddle of bliss. I'm buzzing with the feeling of ecstasy pumping through my veins as his mouth moves with mine.

And there was nothing, nothing that could ruin this moment for me. Nothing that could make this moment any better. I knew that no matter what happened from here on out, I would remember this feeling forever.

Roman pulls away once again, leaving me like putty in his hands. He drops his forehead on mine and takes a breath. "If I'm really all that you say I am, It's because of you," he says.

I take the next breath with him. The sounds of the town are coming back to life before I can even think of words to say. The game must have finished. Roman looks back and notices a crowd slowly forming, people are walking from the school to the town square.

He turns around again, back towards me. I can't help but smile as he watches me. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, reaches down to grab our bag of cakes, and nods his head back towards the school. "Let's get back before they leave us."

As we're walking in the comfort of each other's company Roman lets out a single breath of laughter. I'm still in a daze but I manage to hear it. I look at him and ask what's so funny.

"The sweetest guy you've ever met," he mocks.

"Don't mock my words. I truly mean that."

He turns to me with a considering gaze. "I know you do." He switches the bag to his opposite hand and takes mine with his other.

We make it to the bus just in time to hear about our team's win.

^them fr^ hehehe

I need thoughts on this one. TELL ME YOUR OPINIONS ON THIS CHAPTER ?

Thanks for reading my loves <3 I'll update as I go but let's expect at least once a week.