[PAUL]

It was a windy day, so I was shivering a bit even though the sun was out in full force this afternoon. I squinted, getting up with the rest of the crowd at the bleachers when someone scored a goal again.

"They're doing really well," Sky said, making me look behind me. She was sitting at my back. With two other familiar people on either side of her. Sam and Jasper. The two had flown in together the day before and were sharing a hotel room together. I still couldn't believe they were now dating each other. It was kind of odd to picture. Sam was aggressive, and not very nice in my opinion, and after I got with Travis and started to hang around his friends Jasper stood out as the nicest of the bunch. Maybe going to the same college made them close, who knows.

The rest were still going to fly in sometime within this week. Most universities and colleges would be on break then, and it was a convenient time for a meetup. Alex had followed Chris to his workplace this morning, so he couldn't make it from the game. Sam had been relived, she didn't even hide it, and had let out a dramatic 'Thank God' when I had told them after Jasper asked.

I turned when there was another string of praises only to find Travis dribbling the ball until he passed it on to another teammate. He jogged across the lines, and for a brief moment, he looked to the bleachers. I smiled at him, and he smiled back, waving before he put his focus back into the game. Yes, I now knew some soccer terms. The direct result of a year plus of Travis dragging me around for both his practices and main games.

When the second half of the game started Sky left the bleachers to get something to eat while the rest of us kept watching the game. I was surprised when I looked at the side of me to find Sam sitting there. Somehow, she'd managed to get the person that was sitting beside me to switch seat with here.

But why? I wondered as a small confused frown took form on my face. It's not like she was really watching the game. She didn't even like soccer and was more interested in the pool party Travis had planned later this week for a meetup.

"If you keep staring at me like that, I might eventually have a hole on my forehead," Sam said, making me blink before I turned away when I realized I'd been staring at her for a while.

"It's no biggy." She shrugged as the corners of her lips twitched upwards. She hadn't changed much, or even at all. She still wore her dark hair up in a high ponytail, and her fashion sense had matured, but it was still had the same 'stand out' appeal.

"Is there — is there a reason you're sitting here?" I asked, looking at her from the corner of my eyes. She hummed, shrugging again before getting up with the rest of the crowd. They were yelling, someone probably attempted to score a goal.

"Hmm, maybe, maybe not," she said as we all sat down again. She turned to me with a small smile, and I looked away feeling a bit nervous. "I used to think Travis and you wouldn't work out. Well color me wrong," she said, folding her hands over her chest. I just stared at her, not saying anything. I wasn't sure how to reply to 'Yeah, I thought your relationship would fall apart tee hee.'

Thankfully, I didn't have to answer the question at all since Sky returned with some drinks and a couple of bags of popcorn. I checked my bag for any stray hairs and sighed in relief when there was none. Don't get me wrong, Sky's hair was wonderful, but it happened to have a habit of being around the place.

"How has Alex been?" she asked out of the blue, making me turn over to her again. One of my brows was raised in curiosity, and she smiled again before letting out an awkward laugh.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, and she shrugged again, leaning back on the blue plastic seat.

"I don't know, closure?" she said as if asking me a question. She bit her bottom lip as her eyes looked into the football field. "He never apologized, and I wonder if he still does his... you know, games," she said, folding her hands over her chest. She was in a plain white blouse and blue skinny jeans.

"He doesn't play his games anymore," I answered, and I watched as her shoulders sagged with a sigh of relief. I stared at her for a bit, and then I stared at the pack of popcorn in my hand as I thought about what I was about to ask. "Are you trying to get an apology out of him?" I asked. I knew what Alex had done to — or more or less, attempted to do to Travis. I knew Sam was mixed in with it somehow, but I wasn't sure exactly how. I just knew Alex wrote her off as a basket case of 'mental damage' like he always put it.

"Well, an apology from him wouldn't mean shit to him, but it would to me," she said, looking into the field again. I wasn't sure if she was just watching the game or if she was intentionally avoiding my gaze. Sam had a strange personality. One minute she was rude, off-putting and condensing, and the next minute she was emotional and dependent — somewhat like Alex.

"But you've already moved on, you're dating Jasper, aren't you?" I asked, and she turned to me. A small smile crept across her lips as she mumbled a 'yeah' before looking away. I stared at her before turning to look behind me. Jasper and Sky were talking together as Sky pointed at something on her phone. I was still confused about how they got together. Maybe I'll figure out sometime in the future. Who knows.

After the game, I went up to meet Travis like I usually did, but we didn't have much time to talk since Jasper pulled him aside and soon he was surrounded by his teammates as well. On a normal day, I might have been jealous or a little annoyed, but he hasn't seen Jasper in a while, so it made sense. I walked around with Sky as we talked, and Sam lagged behind us not really adding to the conversation.

Sky left to use the bathroom, and I was left with Sam who made to walk up to me. She was humming a song under her breath, and we continued our walk even though it was awkward. I wondered what was on her mind. I wondered if she had anything to tell me or if she was just being typical Sam that made you uncomfortable in her presence for no reason whatsoever.

"About Alex," she started, making me turn over to her. She had a focused look on her face like she was trying to find the right way to put her thoughts into words. "Could you help me do something?" she asked, making me look down at the grass we were treading on.

"Depends on what you want me to do," I said, and she hummed again, making to tighten her ponytail before looking over at where the soccer team was gathered.

"I want to talk to him, but I don't know... So, maybe you can do that instead of me?" she asked, and my eyes went wide.

"You'll be here for at least a week, right? Why don't you just talk to him yourself?" asked and she frowned, sighing before rolling her eyes.

"What are you, scared of him? You live in the same house. What are you, a wimp?" she asked, and I frowned too.

"No, but are you scared of him?" I asked, making her look away as she touched the tip of her ponytail. My eyes went wide in realization. She was. I didn't blame her though, Alex was scary. But whatever he did to her was probably beyond his regular scary. I then wanted to know what had happened back in high school. My mind was coming up with different scenarios on the spot. I wondered if I could ask Travis about it — did he even know? Sky probably did, she was Alex's best friend after all.

Sam shrugged. "Okay, maybe I am," she said with a small choked laugh. "He's practically the devil, the fuck."

"Then what should I tell him?" I asked, and Sam pursed her lips.

"Tell him I'm sorry," she muttered. her words made my eyes go wide in shock.

"I should tell him that you're sorry?" I asked, and she nodded. "I thought you wanted an apology?" I asked, and she nodded again before stopping in her tracks. I stopped too, and Sam started to talk.

"Look, I'm doing this to clear my conscience. Plus, Jasper said it's the right thing to do. Alex is a monster, so he can live with being wrong, but..." she trailed. "I'm different." from the way she frowned after those words you could tell she didn't quite believe her own words. I chuckled a bit, and she came out of her thoughts before laughing too. "Okay, not different, just trying to change," she said. "Plus, I'm not going to hold my breath for an apology from him." She shrugged before we both looked at her pocket when we heard her phone buzz.

"It's a text notification," she said, unlocking her screen. "Jasper said they're about to leave, and we should come over. Sky's already with them," Sam said, before tucking her phone back into her jean's pocket. We both walked over to the parking lot. Sky waved both Jasper and Sam goodbye. We were having the meetup before the end of this week, so we would get to see Jas and Samantha again.

"You were great back there," I said to Travis as he started the car. I hadn't had much time to talk to him back there, so it was better late than never.

"Thanks." He beamed at me. I smiled at him, my blond-haired boyfriend. I wouldn't have him any other way. He leaned in to give me a kiss as Sky texted whoever on her phone at the back of the car. As usual, a kiss was never just a kiss with him, so Sky had to cough loudly to break up off. I blushed, while Travis laughed as he drove the car out of the parking lot and into the main road.

My mind was preoccupied with what Sam had told me during your walk. It was a simple request — that is, telling Alex she was sorry. But do I just go up to him and say it or...? How would he even react? I came out of my thoughts when I felt Travis' free hand on my tight. I looked up at him, and he gave me a small smile before taking his hand away and looking back to the road.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No."

Travis hummed, at that, and I watched him visibly relaxed. I smiled, liking the fact that he had been looking out for me. I tried to get the worry out of his mind by talking to him about the game, and some other stuff like school. I turned to look at Sky who was in the backseat when Travis had to stop for a refill. If I wanted to know what happened with Sam and Alex, I would have to ask her.