"Hey, look who it is," Travis says as we pile out of our vehicles in the school's parking lot. "What're you doing here alone, Roxie?"

At the mention of her name, my ears perk up. I haven't seen much of her since Emori forced her to apologize. If I'm being honest, I kind of like it that way.

"I need to talk to Tay." She looks right at me, and I cringe.

Travis shrugs and gestures for the guys to follow him as he makes his way to the field house.

"What is it?" I lean against the hood of my truck and cross my arms. Usually, Roxie's presence would annoy me, but right now, I'm indifferent to it. It's nice to not have negative feelings for her again.

She looks down at her feet and taps the asphalt with the toe of her Jordan. "I miss you."

"Roxie, I'm not getting back into a relationship -"

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, yeah, I miss our relationship, but I mean I miss you." She moves closer and lends against the hood beside me. "I miss being able to talk to you when my dad is being an... I just miss you."

I sigh and look down at her. She looks different. Like she hasn't been getting much sleep. Home life must have gotten rough again. I hate that for her.

I use my hand to pull her chin up so I can see her face. "I'm sorry that you... I'm sorry. You don't deserve that."

She gives me a small smile. Her eyes dip to my lips, and I can feel her move against my hand. It reminds me of before. Back when our only problems were what party we'd get to go to next. Her lips are inching closer. I can almost -

"Shit." I push myself away and put some space between us. "Roxie, I can't. I don't have feelings for you anymore."

"Yeah, I know. You've made that abundantly clear." She turns away, embarrassed and blushing. "I thought I might still have a chance, but I guess I don't." She stands up and brushes herself off. "She's an idiot for breaking up with you. Anyone with eyes can see that you still love each other."

I stare at her in silence. Of all the things I'd expect Roxie to say, that isn't one of them.

She takes a deep breath and rolls her eyes at me. "You better find a way to get her back, dumbass. Call me sometime. I miss our talks."

Without another word, she walks away, leaving me to watch her in shock.

How can she just say something like that and walk away? I miss having her as a friend, too, but what she said about Emori startled me. I thought Emori only sees me as a friend now. But that girl wears her feelings on her face. And Roxie practices with her every Tuesday and Thursday, not to mention competitions. She's been around her enough to know.

Maybe it isn't too late.

A whistle sounds in the distance, and I glance at my watch. It's six o'clock. Almost time for the teams to head down to the field for warmups.

Sighing, I walk down to the field house. The white cement building is warm and familiar. It's something I used to look forward to seeing at the end of every week. The locker room inside is where we got ourselves geared up for the game, planned last-ditch efforts when needed, and celebrated our wins.

I push the door open slowly, hoping no one will notice my entrance. When Coach catches sight of me, his eyes light up, and he beckons me over to him.

"Glad you decided to join us." He pats me on the back when I reach his side. Turning around, he rummages through a locker and pulls out some protective gear and a jersey from a hanger. My jersey.

Wait.

What?

"Coach?"

He turns around and, at my confused stare, tilts his head. "Well, you're playing, ain't you? The athletic director said you were eligible." When I keep staring at him, he frowns. "The boys told you, right?"

"They told me I was just gonna stand on the sideline with you." I frown. Those fuckers tricked me. Well done, assholes. I almost smile. "You... You want me to play?" I ask dumbly. I know the answer to that. I just need to hear him say it.

"Yep. You heard me right, son."

"I can play," I repeat slowly.

"Did you suffer long-term brain damage or something, boy? I said you could play." Coach watches me worriedly.

My lips slowly stretch into a wide grin. "This is... Holy shit, this is amazing!"

"Watch that mouth of yours." He picks up a bundle of football gear and shoves it into my arms. "Here. Go get ready."

I nod and turn toward the locker room, letting out a cry of excitement as I do. I'm gonna get to play! I want to celebrate. Do a happy dance or some shit.

Once I have everything I need, Travis bumps into me and hugs me the best he can with his own gear in the way. "It's gonna be good to have you back on the field."

I open my mouth to yell at him for lying to me, but Coach blows his whistle, effectively interrupting me. "Time to head to the field, boys."

The whole team forms a line, and hoots and hollers surround me. There is nothing like the hype before a game. Especially a rivalry game. Travis slaps me on the back with a huge grin on his face.

"Start with some sprints, y'all," Coach says when we reach the field.

I smile to myself as I take off across the field next to Travis and Jackson. My breath grows short and quick, and my lungs burn at the effort as I run. I'm out of shape, and my whole body is screaming at me, but it feels good to run like this. Fuck that, it feels amazing.

Despite it being forty-five minutes before the game, people are packing the bleachers. I've missed this. I've missed the awesome plays that send everyone to their feet in anticipation. I've missed the band playing our fight song when we scored a touchdown, and the cheering when we won an intense game. I've missed all of it.

Once all our warm-ups are done, Coach orders us off the field so the band can start their pregame show. Our band is small, but when they raise their instruments to play the fight song and our alma mater, pride swells in my chest. The football team and I rush through a thin paper barrier amidst the cheers coming from the stadium ahead of us.

This is it. It's all I've wished for these past four months. I can play again.

So why am I still searching for Emori's face in the crowd of cheerleaders?

—

We were winning by fourteen points at the beginning of the second quarter. But then Dawson High catches up and surpasses us by twenty when halftime hits. While the other team cheers as they run to their locker rooms to rest, the rest of us drag our feet to ours.

"Damn." Jackson plops down on one of the benches. "I thought we'd be kicking their asses by now."

I sigh and sit down beside him. "No kidding."

Last year, Dawson High wasn't so difficult to beat. But they usually only played their Seniors then, with the odd Junior here or there. This year, they have a combination of Seniors, Juniors, and even some Sophomores. They chose their strongest players, and that makes them a more formidable opponent than before.

"Let's not give up hope yet, boys." Coach stands in the middle of the room. "Now, you all know I'm not great at pep talks. Never have been. So, I'm not gonna make a fool out of myself by trying, because you all know what I'd say. But I know just the person to get you riled up. Tay, come over here."

I shoot up out of my seat. He wants me to give everyone a pep talk?

I do as he says, and everyone looks at me expectantly.

"Uh... Can't say I expected to be behind right now. But I know we're not going to lose tonight." I grin. "I mean, not to sound arrogant or anything, but I know that for a fact. Because I didn't just go through hell the past few months to come back to play and lose. That's not what we're here for. We haven't lost to Dawson High in years. And I don't know about y'all, but I'm not ready to start yet."

A whistle comes from Jackson's area as he begins to clap. Eventually, everyone joins in, and cheers fill the locker room as the guys begin to hype themselves up.

"Well done, son." Coach claps me on the back.

I chug my water and run a hand over my face. In a way, football wasn't the only thing I was talking about.