Hey guys! Just wanted to say again that I'm sorry if you're reading this offline. I use photos of text conversations to tell dialogue sometimes, and those obviously won't load without wifi. Hope you're not mad at me!

I looked up and saw Paully at my door, an apologetic look on his face. I guess I was so loud he felt he should check up on me.

"I'm fine," I lied, wiping whatever tears were left on face.

"No you're not. And I'm guessing Ryan is a boy from back home," he said, sitting at the edge of my bed.

Yup, he definitely heard me.

"Yeah. He's in the past now, though," I clarified, and I meant every word of it.

"Good."

A few silent moments passed between us, and I watched as Paully started to look at the things I had around my room.

"Woah, all these trophies are for first place!" he exclaimed, surprised when he saw my shelf full of swimming trophies and medals.

"Yeah. I'm pretty good," I bragged, thinking of all the memories I made.

"Nice," he nodded, looking at more of them. "You know, I saw a sign saying they were looking for lifeguards at the gym further in town. You should apply."

"Really?!" I practically screamed from interest. "Where?!"

Paully turned around and looked at me with a goofy grin, probably because I was acting like an emotional roller coaster; one minute I was shouting, the next I was crying, and now I was screaming with excitement.

"It's some gym a few blocks away from the mall," he informed me, turning back to my display of awards.

"Oh, I am definitely applying!" I said, my heart lifting at the thought of being even more like her.

Paully stayed a little longer to make sure I was alright, and I finished the rest of my ice cream, loving all the attention I was finally getting. Don't worry, I'm not an attention-seeker; but since I rarely got it from the people that mattered, moments like these were everything.

"So, did you get it?!" Riley asked, perking up when he saw me run out of the gym.

At school the next day, I told him about my plans to apply as a lifeguard and he insisted on coming with me.

"They couldn't wait to hire me!" I screamed with glee, running over to him.

"Of course they couldn't," he laughed, pulling me into a congratulatory hug.

"I had to do a couple of swimming tests and exercises to prove I could handle it, which I aced, but that's why my hair is wet," I said, pointing to my wet, raven waves.

"I figured that happened, but that's great that you did so well," Riley smiled.

"Thanks. You should have seen their faces when they saw my list of accolades. They made a sign-up sheet right then and there for swimming lessons that I'm going to be teaching," I boasted, grinning so hard my face started to hurt.

"Careful, HP. If you get any cuter you might steal my heart," he said, placing his hands over his chest like he was protecting it.

"Oh, shut up you big flirt!" I laughed, smacking his arm, but I couldn't help the happiness I felt at my accomplishment.

Maybe I'm more like her than I know.

"Wait right here. I'll be back," Riley said with a smile before jogging to the gym door.

"Where are you going?!" I called out to him.

"To pee!" he shouted shamelessly.

I let the authentic laughs come out as he disappeared inside.

When he came back out, he had a huge grin on his face; but this grin seemed mischievous.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked, suspicious of his sudden demeanor.

"Don't worry about it. We have somewhere to go," he said, opening the passenger door to his SUV for me.

"Where are we going?" I asked once he'd been driving for a while.

"I won't tell you now, but it's somewhere that me, Drew, Jayden and a few other friends go every Tuesday night," he answered, keeping his eyes on the road. "Tonight we're playing so I want you to be there to cheer us on. But it's okay if you only want to cheer me on," he winked playfully.

I just rolled my eyes before asking my next question.

"Who does stuff on a Tuesday night?"

"You'd be surprised the turn out we get," Riley said with a grin. "Since we'll be early, you'll get to pick the best seat. It'll be awesome. You could be our good luck charm."

Trust me, I am not a good luck charm. But, maybe I could attract all the bad luck and there would be none left for you.

"Well, can we pick up a friend? If we're going to be early, and you're going to be off doing something, I don't want to be alone."

"Uh, sure. Who?" he asked, glancing over at me as I started texting.

"My friend, Kimi."

"Kimi Jang? But, she hates Drew!"

"And? I don't like him either," I replied, finishing up my text.

"And it's sent."

"You just love starting drama," Riley said, shaking his head with a cute grin on his face.

"More like drama loves me," I mumbled, looking at my phone that just vibrated in my hand.

"We're picking her up at school," I told Riley.

He nodded, turning the car around since we weren't heading in that direction.

"So, Riley Baker. Why isn't there a girl in your life?" I pried, deciding to do what me and Jayden loved to do; make Riley uncomfortable.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed, blushing.

I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"I date, but none of them are someone I want to commit to long term," he answered honestly, after recovering from his initial awkwardness.

"That makes sense," I said, nodding my head in approval.

We spent the next few minutes listening to the radio. Riley started singing, and I almost died from surprise.

"Riley! You have a great voice!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks," he said through a laugh. "Maybe one day I'll play you a song."

"You play? What instrument?" I asked.

"Guitar. I'll show it to you some time."

Dang, what can't this boy do?

"You better," I said, done fan-girling.

When we picked Kimi up, she climbed into the back seat. Wearing a black hoodie, jeans, and a beanie, she looked adorable and warm.

"Hi," is all she said before plugging in her earbuds and tuning us out.

It made the ride a little awkward, but eventually we pulled up to this big building, covered by trees and surrounded by overgrown grass. It kinda looked like a giant abandoned warehouse.

"What is this place?" I asked, confused.

"It's the IceBox!" Riley exclaimed, gesturing to the building in adoration.

"Yeah, and I know exactly what that is," I said sarcastically, which only made him laugh.

"Oh no, you brought us here?" Kimi sighed, now joining us.

I looked at her, wondering what she meant. She picked up on my confusion and very kindly spelled it out for me.

"This is an old stadium that used to hold hockey games and stuff like that. Riley and his pals think it's fun to play illegal hockey games here."

"What?! Illegal hockey games? What about them are illegal?!" I whisper-shouted, a subconscious reaction to finding out we might be breaking the law.

"Relax. Nobody comes out here who would snitch. And it's only a little bit illegal," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"How?" I asked in a tone that said I was being serious.

"Sometimes people can get hurt. Money is involved. But don't worry, we've never gotten hurt," he smiled, giving me an assuring side-hug.

It didn't help me feel any better.

"Relax, HP," Riley said, wrapping an arm around me. "You'll have fun."

I doubt it.

Inside the old stadium it was cold, like freakin' Antarctica. I was glad I wore leggings, an oversized sweater, and my black Timberland boots, but my hair was wet which made me even more cold.

Like a true friend, Kimi offered me her beanie, and I practically stuffed my face into it for warmth.

"Thanks." I was already starting to feel better.

"Anytime, girl," Kimi said with a smile.

"The guys are on their way now since I told them we were here, and they're bringing food. We can wait for them outside if you guys want," Riley offered, probably because my teeth were chattering.

"Yes, pl-please!" I stuttered out, already running back outside.

Almost a full hour later, I saw a familiar black jeep pull up onto the grass infested parking lot, followed by a silver Lincoln Navigator.

Drew and Jayden got out the jeep and walked over to us.

"Ladies," Jayden greeted politely with a smile.

"Hey, Jayden," I said as Kimi smiled and waved.

He walked to the other side of Riley as Drew walked past us without even acknowledging our existence.

"Nice pick of cheerleaders," I heard him say to Riley. "Out of all people, you bring the two girls I can't stand."

I laughed to myself at the irony.

Choosing not to eavesdrop anymore, I turned my attention to the two strangers getting out of the other car, carrying a bunch of pizzas.

Food!

I skipped over to the two guys, a smile on my face.

"Hey, boys. Whatcha' got there?" I asked, now walking at their pace back to where the boys were standing.

"Pizza. And if you're the one who doesn't eat pepperoni, you can take that abomination off the top of my pile now," the dark one with pretty brown eyes said to me with a smile.

"Don't mind if I do!" I grinned, grabbing my pizza. Pineapple never gets the recognition or appreciation it should.

He laughed, which made his friend laugh with him. The friend was a little taller than the dark-skinned boy, and he had ginger hair with blue eyes and like a million freckles on his face. They were both attractive, although not as attractive as the boys, but they seemed really nice.

"I see you've met Levi and Greg," Riley said when we got to them. "Careful Greg, she fancies redheads. Isn't that right, HP?"

I felt a blush creeping onto my face at the reminder of how I declared myself "more of a Ron Weasley girl" that night Riley hung out at my house. Lucky me, Drew clearly noticed.

Please note that sarcasm.

"Shut up," I whispered, jabbing him in the side with the corner of my pizza box.

"That's fine with me. I love hot brunettes," Greg joked, making me laugh.

Moments after everyone finished eating, people started to fill the parking lot. Not wanting to lose our pick of the seats, we all went inside and sat down.

"We play second today, so we'll get to sit with you guys for the first half of the night," Riley mentioned as we sat down.

I nodded before turning my attention to Jayden.

"How come Lauren isn't here?" I asked, surprised that his other half was missing.

"She hates that I play these games. It makes her crazy with worry, so she doesn't come very much," he shrugged sadly.

I understood why she wouldn't want to come, but it was obvious Jayden wanted her here to cheer him on.

While we waited, I learned that Levi and Greg went to a different highschool, but met the guys at the local ice rink and had been playing together ever since. Kimi seemed to like Levi's company, and spent a lot of her time laughing and joking with him.

All the seats were basically filled, everyone looking like highschoolers or college students. I guess real adults aren't that interested in illegal hockey games.

Moments later, a man's voice filled the stadium.

"Thank you all for your placing your bets on the first game of the evening: The Players vs The Baby-Daddies!" the man yelled, trying not to sound judgmental as he said the team names.

The crowd broke out in laughter, especially the guys. I turned around to find them hysterical. Levi couldn't stop saying "baby-daddies" and I think I saw literally tears coming out of Riley's. I glanced further down the row and saw that even Drew has a small smile on his face. He should do that more often. It almost makes him look nice, instead of a cold-hearted gremlin.

Unfortunately, I took too long of a glance and he looked up, catching me staring. I decided to own it, instead of looking away so that it seemed less like I was embarrassed. A second more of eye contact and then I turned my attention to my phone, acting natural, but I could still feel him looking at me.

Thankfully, the announcer's voice bellowed through the speakers, taking everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Let the battle on ice...BEGIN!"

More Character Appearances
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Levi Madden:

(Great representation of how I imagined him.)
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Greg Keller:

(Couldn't have found a better photo!)