(Author Note: Hi readers! I hope that you are enjoying the story. Here is another chapter. Comment what you think! Thanks! ~Potter-Weasley-Granger1)

Amy

Band practice was amazing. Truly. They accepted me like I was family there is only four of us, but I feel like I fit in really well with the other three. They seem very intelligent. It's hard marching around for an hour in the blazing sun while carrying a mellophone, but it's home.

Our band director dismisses us, and I head into the band room to put my mellophone away. This is the first time that I get a chance to look at my phone and I notice that three of my brothers have given reasons to why they can't come pick me up from school.

I guess I will have to wait for my parents to come get me unless I can get a fellow band member to take me home. I start to lose all hope when four people tell me that they can't give me a ride.

I suppose I will be here for a while. Just as I am preparing to sit on the curb, I hear a familiar voice, "Hey Amy."

I look over and walking towards me was Jake Peralta. At first, I smile, but as he gets closer my smile turns to a frown. Jake looks awful. His face is all bloody and his nose is swollen.

I can't control my words when I say, "Jake, what happened to your face?"

He frowns then says, "Football accident. I'm good."

"What are you still doing here if football is done," I ask confused at why Jake Peralta is sitting at a bench watching the band rehearse.

Jake stops and seems like he is really thinking about his answer before he speaks, "Well I have always enjoyed the band on Friday nights when they preform, but I have never been able to actually watch them practice and I was kind of curious, so I came over when I heard that they were practicing. I had no idea that you were in the band."

"Yea, my parents encouraged us to try music. It turns out I really like it and I am pretty good at it."

Then he says, "Are you waiting on someone?"

As honest as I can be without being desperate, I say, "I was hoping that someone could give me a ride. My parents can't come get me, so I don't know what I am going to do."

"Well, I could give you a ride. My cars still where I left it in my parking spot and I don't mind giving you a ride," Jake says, and I know that he is attempting to seem smooth.

I can't believe that Jake Peralta is offering to drive me home. After he insists that he could take me home, he comments that he has to grab his bag from the locker room.

Then me being the person that I am, I insist that we clean Jake up before we leave.

Jake checks the locker room to make sure that there isn't any guys that have stuck around before he calls me in to help him. His jersey has blood all over it and he probably didn't realize, but his hands are bloody too. I doubt that it is his own blood, but I am going to let him tell me.

We are standing at the sinks and Jake just stands as if he isn't quite sure what to do. Is he in shock or confused? "You should probably change out of your jersey. There is a lot of blood on it," I state thinking that it was the obvious next step.

I watch Jake's face has he tries to carefully pull his shirt over his head to not touch his nose.

I am oddly sad when his shirt is pulled off to reveal a white undershirt. I think maybe I was hoping that he would be shirtless, but what am I thinking. I am here solely to help Jake clean his face, that is all.

I gather paper towels as Jake puts a clean shirt over his under shirt and I soak them in the sink. I have had to clean up my brothers before when they have gotten into fights. They have come home with bloody noses and brows and they didn't want my parents to see the blood so I would help them cover, so I am pretty good at removing dried on blood.

I start to dab at the blood that has dried and started to crust on Jake's face, and I promise that I am doing it as easy as I can.

"Ahh, Amy, that hurts," complains Jake.

I suddenly go into sister mode and I don't even realize that I am doing it as I say, "Well stand still and it will hurt less."

I try not to think about how close my face is to his, but it is kind of hard when he is right there. Sure, he is a little taller than me, but we are really close. I have to keep my cool until this is over.

I am finally finished, and I have one last comment in hopes he will be honest with me and tell me what happened. I know that it wasn't just something that happened on the field. Jake plays kicker, there really isn't a reason why he would get pummeled also his hands are beat up that doesn't come from being tackled, "You should really be more careful."

Jake then scrubs his hands clean under the water and I watch as he winces at the pain when he touches his knuckles. He doesn't reply to my comment he just scrubs.

He quickly dries his hands and promptly asks me if I am ready to go as he grabs his bag.

We get out to his car and his bag and my own are tossed into the trunk and we are going down the road headed to my house. It's odd because no guy other than my brothers has ever offered to drive me home before. Should I be worried that Jake offered?

The car ride is quiet, and I am not really sure what to say. My brothers don't really talk when driving usually they will just turn on the radio or talk on the phone if we are in the car together. But I want to thank Jake, so I just start to pretty much ramble, "Hey, thanks for driving me home. It could have taken hours for one of my brothers to realize that I wasn't home. Normally I would probably ride the bus home, but with-it being football season I have to stay after."

Jake smiles then responds, "It's no problem. I wouldn't want you to have to wait. Do you also ride the bus to school?"

Suddenly I am embarrassed. What kind of high school student doesn't have a car? He is probably judging me right now. "Yes, I do. My brothers that have cars have other things to do and my parents leave early for work. I don't mind it all that much. I can sleep in the mornings and in the afternoon I either do homework, I read, or I get in a couple of crossword puzzles."

Jake doesn't say a word instead he smiles at me as if someone said a funny joke or he just had an epiphany.

I give him the right, left, left directions to my house. The blue one on the top of the hill.

I gather my things out of the trunk, and I am about to head up the path to my front door when Jake's mouth opens and words just spill out, "Amywouldyoulikemetopickyouupforschooltomorrow?"

I stand for a second and I think about what he just said. Trying to understand the words that tumbled out his mouth.

I am proud of my response, "That would be lovely. Thank you. I'll be ready at 6:30." I totally nailed it. Once I figured out what he said I was so nervous to even make a sound. Would I scream? I really wanted to. But I had to be cool, calm, and collected. And I am proud that I was.

Jake

After dropping Amy off it takes a couple tries before I make it out of her neighborhood, and I am headed back to my house. My house is closer to the school than Amy's is, but I really don't mind giving her a ride. Maybe this will teach Teddy a lesson to leave nice girls alone.

Is it selfish of me to try to keep Amy away from Teddy when I know that he does not mean well? I am just doing the best for her interest.

I finally get home and I am thankful that my mom is still at work. I really don't need her to comment on my nose or my hands. She will ask what happened and make a bog deal of it to the coach.

I have to be at school early in the morning for punishment with Teddy, but hopefully I will have an opportunity to shower before I go and pick up Amy.

After a quick shower I sit down on my lumpy bed to hopefully get through some of the precalculus that Amy and I didn't work on today during tutoring. That's on me though.

I work on the homework until I see my mom's car pull into the driveway an hour later and I have one problem complete, I think, and one problem partially complete. Maybe I can ask Amy some questions about them tomorrow when I pick her up. Because I have no idea what I am doing.

I look down at my phone and I see that there is a text from Charles.

-Jakey, how was football practice? I heard that you and Teddy Wells got into a fight, tell me all about it. I want all the deets!

Charles is my best friend. And he is great it's just sometimes he gets into business that isn't his to get into. I really don't want to tell him about the fight because he will tell everyone. Charles can't keep a secret for the life of him. On the other hand, if I don't tell him he will annoy me until I do. I take a deep breath and I write back,

-Hey Charles. Football was good. Wells just made me mad that's all. I am not going to go into details. I got a couple of good punches in before anyone pulled me off. That's all dude.

Charles doesn't text me back and I know that I am in for a lot of questions tomorrow. At this point I don't even care. Our big game is three days away and I can't wait to give Marshall High a butt whoopin'.

They have been our rivals for years and every year it is up in the air as to who will win. Both teams are really good and it's always a fun game to play in. nearly the entire school shows up in support.

After a quiet dinner with my mom I head off to bed hoping to sleep before having to get up for the running drills that I know I will have to endure in the morning.

The Next Morning

I jump at the sound of my alarm going off before the sun has risen and I have to force myself to not fall back asleep and to roll out of the bed. In the dark I blindly pull on a pair of running shorts and a under armour shirt and throw on a hoodie. After slipping into my old running shoes I grab my key and am out the door.

I know that I need coffee, but if running is involved this morning, I am positive I will see that coffee twice so I will wait and pick some up on the way to get Amy.

I arrive at the field and I am early. Coach is setting up cones on the field and I didn't see Teddy's car in the parking lot.

"Peralta," booms Pimento across the field.

"Yes coach," I respond hoping he will take it easy on me.

"It seems that Wells slept in this morning. Even though I am severely disappointed with you, you will be starting this Friday, due to Wells' tardiness. This morning you will do fifty sprints and fifty hills. That will pay off your debt to me. I don't care what happened yesterday, but you better keep it off the field. Don't injure yourself or another player. We have to win on Friday," Pimento says actually quite calmly.

He waves his hand and I start my punishment.

Fifty sprints and fifty hills later and I am exhausted. Teddy didn't show and I know that I didn't get enough sleep last night. I imagine that coach will have an even better punishment for him since he skipped.

I jog over to the gym even though my legs are like noodles and I hurry to shower and change.

Good, I have just enough time to stop and get coffee before heading over to Amy's.

I'm not really sure how she likes her coffee, so I got it black and I requested that the barista give me a couple of everything so she could make it her own. I hope I don't look to desperate doing that.

I turn on her street at 6:25. Ha ha! I am early for the second time today and for the second time in my life. I am usually always late. For school, for practice, for class. You name it I am probably going to be late, but not to pick up Amy for school.

Am I supposed to honk? Will I wake someone or scare them? I pull up to the curb just like I did the night before and I am at a loss. There is two minutes till 6:30 and I don't know weather to honk or just wait. Do I go up and knock on the door? No that would be stupid. I have never picked up a girl for school other than Gina before and Gina is even later than I am.

(Author Note: I hope that you enjoyed. Leave a review! Should Jake honk, knock on the door, or just sit and wait for Amy to come out? ~Potter-Weasley-Granger1)