So, this is a Calum chapter. It's all about his feelings (mostly for Mack.) Hope you like!

November 2005

Calum finished his work and looked across the room. He and Mack were in the same math class and he found himself staring at her quite often. When he told his brother – leaving out that the girl was Mack – Cam had laughed and said it was the eight grade hormones kicking in.

Mack shook her head and frantically erased one of her answers. Calum smiled; math wasn't Mack's strong point like it was for him. He looked away from Mack for a moment and up at the clock. Class was getting out in a few minutes, meaning Mack was going to have homework because her paper wasn't finished.

The bell rang and Calum grabbed his binders before walking out the door and toward his locker. Adam was already waiting for him when he got there. "Stalker," Calum said to the blond boy leaning against the set of red lockers.

Adam shrugged and moved away letting Calum undo his lock. "We have try outs remember," Adam said. "Not that you need to try out like the rest of us. Coach Diego was looking at your technique all try out yesterday. He was, like, in awe of you."

"I wouldn't say that," Calum said modestly.

"I would," Teagan said walking up. "You just didn't look at him. He's in love with your-"

"I agree with Teag," Adam interrupted. "He's in love with you."

Teagan groaned. "I was going to say he's in love with Calum's style, not him. Jeez, Adam, Diego's got a wife."

Adam shrugged. "What ever. Ah! Here comes the 'East High Girls'."

Calum turned around and shut his locker just in time to see Mack, Bailey, and Keisha stop in front of the group of boys. "What do you want," Adam sneered.

Mack's eyes narrowed at Adam before turning to Calum. "I wanted to say good luck Boucher."

"Why?" Teagan asked.

"Because," Keisha interjected. "She wants the boys team to do well too because she's actually got a heart, unlike you fools."

"That's enough Keish," Mack said, holding up her hand and starting to walk away. "We don't want them to feel bad about themselves."

"Why don't you say that to my face, Bolton!" Adam yelled after her.

Mack turned on her heel and walked up to Adam putting her face centimeters from his. They were so close they could feel each other's breath on their skin. "You're a jerk, Duval," she hissed. "Go hide in a ditch."

"Why don't you go run to your brother?" Adam hissed back.

"I'd like to see you up against Troy," Bailey snickered from behind them. "Oh, Troy, I'm sorry. That was your sister? I didn't realize that," she said mocking him.

"I wouldn't do that," Adam said.

"Oh, wait, Bailey, you're wrong and he's right," Keisha joked. "He wouldn't do that. He'd just run away because he knows Troy can kick his butt."

The three girls laughed and walked down the hallway of the school. "Man, if she wasn't such a...ugh!" Adam yelled. "I'm so glad we're getting rid of her next year. We won't have to see her again."

"Until she gets her face in the newspaper," Teagan said. "Ms. Basketball."

"Bad part is we have to share a bus with their girls basketball team to away games," Calum said, trying to hide the fact he hadn't talked the entire time Mack had been there.

Adam groaned. "Oh I know! It's so stupid. I'd rather go with the seventh grade boys."

"Me too," Teagan said, pushing the door to the gym open.

"Boucher!" they heard. Calum looked over and caught the ball Jeremy Pollard had thrown at him. "How do you think the team's going to be this year?" Jeremy asked.

Calum bounced the ball back and shrugged. "Same as last year, a little better maybe."

"Well, next year, our team's going to be unstoppable," Jeremy explained. "We're all going to West High and have played together since forever, unlike those stupid East High kids coming from, like, eight different schools."

"Eight?" Calum asked, knowing Jeremy was exaggerating.

"You know what I mean."

Calum smiled and followed Teagan and Adam into the locker room to get changed. The entire time he was thinking about what Jeremy said. We're all going to West High...

Of course, Calum knew he was going to have to attend West High, in the back of his mind, he really didn't want to go. In fact, he was dreading it. At West High he would be known as Cam's little brother and cherished as if he was a god. At East High he'd get picked on for the same reasons he'd be loved at West. For Calum, it was a lose lose situation.

Calum dominated at try outs as he had the first day, securing his spot on the team. Not that anyone questioned if Calum was going to be on the team. Coach Diego had known before the try outs even started he would probably be picking Calum. He was just happy Mack was a girl. The worst year in his coaching career had been when Troy and Cam both played for him. Neither passed to each other, making the coach make them a sub for each other. It had been hard because each group of friends hated each other just as much as they hated each other.

Walking home after try outs, Calum was silent. Teagan and Adam were laughing and talking, completely unaware that usually talkative Calum hadn't said a word. His thoughts were on why he had done so well at the try outs, a certain Bolton.

A certain Bolton he knew was going to make his life hard. Calum was going to have to keep his feelings for Mack a secret because if he told anyone, it wouldn't be good. Not only would Mack use it to torment him, but his family would turn against him. Neither the Boltons or the Bouchers liked each other, and Calum liking Mack was disturbing the chain.

So, Calum's starting to realize something...hmm...

Anyway, tell me what you think!