Author's Note:

I just wanted to apologize for this update taking so long. Hopefully you all enjoy this update, and as always please feel free to leave comments. Every comment is very appreciated and read as soon as possible. Thank you for reading this story. =)

Summer woke up to the sound of a car horn, which she could have sworn was outside her window. Getting up, she got out of bed noting that her leg was healing better, it hardly hurt her now. She chose a simple blue t-shirt and a pair of shorts from her dresser and dressed quickly before going downstairs. What shocked her was Gary sitting in her living room talking with her father. The two seemed concerned about something, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Gary looked up when he heard her coming down the stairs and the conversation dropped suddenly. Summer was beginning to worry when her father asked her to sit down. The last time he had asked her to sit down was when her mother had died. Fighting the pain of the memory, Summer sat down next to Gary on the couch.

"Summer, something happened last night." Summer looked at her father and sighed trying to hold back her frustration. No one simply told her what happened anymore; sometimes she wondered if it was because she was the only female in the house. Gary put his arm around her before speaking softly. "Someone threw a brick through Coach Boone's house window. They drove off, but the team is a bit shaken up." Gary watched as Summer seemed to process what he had said before speaking. There was no hint as to how she felt and he found it hard to wait for a reaction. "Why is the team shaken up by it? We survived camp didn't we? If we could survive they hate we felt for each other, why worry now? We're a team, we play football, and everything is level on that football field Gary."

Gary sat there struck by what she had said; none of the guys on the team had come close to looking at it that way. Gary remembered the talk in the locker room, how they swore to keep a stronger image for the team. Summer hadn't been there for that talk, yet she felt so strong and encouraged by what they'd done in the past. She seemed to have a clear sense of what happened around her, rather than just reading the surface of things around her. Her dad smiled slightly at Gary guessing his surprise. "She's a strong girl Gary, she had to be to come this far. Take really good care of her today." Summer looked up from her hands over to Gary. "What does he mean?" Gary laughed softly and smiled. "I'm taking you to dinner before the game this weekend." Summer shook her head and then realized she had slept in past the game scheduled for today.

"Gary! The game was today! I missed it! I'm going to be in so much trouble! I swore I turned my alarm on and…" Gary had put his hand playfully over her mouth to silence her. "Relax, I called your dad. The game today was cancelled in light of the recent events, it's been rescheduled for this weekend. Your dad probably turned your alarm off for you and that's why it didn't go off." Summer sighed relieved then she hit her dad playfully. "Thanks make me worry like that!" Her dad laughed and nodded. "It's just a taste of what I get each time you play on the field." Gary laughed seeing Summer shocked to hear her dad still worried about her. "Now Summer, he is your dad. Parents are always going to worry." They all laughed at his comment agreeing that indeed they all had reason to worry.

Richard watched as Summer and Gary walked into the hallway at school. He was surprised to see how happy they were in light of what was happening. The school seemed torn in all different directions. People believing in the football team, others that didn't, and people caught in between were among just the few. Richard watched as they walked by people no doubt hearing whatever comment towards them, for the most part they ignored them. Richard couldn't believe how far he had come in just a few weeks. He had truly changed his mind set, at first Ray wanted him to befriend the team to cause trouble, but deep down he couldn't do that now. He saw people as equals caught up in a society where the wrong idea was the majority. Summer waved to him and Gary whispered something to her.

She walked over to him and grabbed his hand pulling him with them. "You shouldn't stand there all alone." Richard laughed a bit surprised, he was a natural loner. "Why not?" Gary smiled. "You're part of the team now remember? You took Ray's spot, and no teammate should be alone through this." Richard smiled from having a team to support each other. He'd never tell anyone, but he didn't have such a good support system at home. "Thanks, it means a lot. I was starting to get sick of all the negative comments." For a moment Gary noticed the pain that Richard must have shared with Summer. Their eyes had a certain shine to them, yet he never asked what pain Richard could have had. Knowing he had felt some sort of pain meant he'd have to bring it up again to know. Gary had seen the effects when he asked Summer about her parents, and he wasn't prepared to do that to another teammate.

Richard noticed Gary staring at him and laughed. "What is it?" Summer looked at Gary and could tell he wanted to ask Richard something. It was natural, once you spend so much time with someone, you know their behaviors. "I'll be right back; I have to go put my hair up." Gary laughed and quickly kissed her cheek before she left. It was a simple sign of affection that meant so much to Summer. Gary turned to look at Richard and then tried to ask the best way he knew how. "Is something wrong?" Richard seemed a little shocked that Gary had noticed anything, yet he didn't say anything. "No, everything is fine." Gary was never good at reading emotions, but he could tell when someone lied to him. "Richard, whatever it is you can tell me. We're a team it's what we do. I saw the look in your eyes, the way they look like Summer's sometimes. What's going on?"

Richard looked down and sighed softly giving in. He knew there was no way to avoid the reality for long. "My dad kicked me out of the house. He says if I'm going to be on a team like this he can't support me. My own family through me out Gary…" Gary looked down at the floor of the school not knowing what to say. His family at home had always given him a place to stay, though they didn't always agree with him. He couldn't imagine getting kicked out of his own house by his parents. There was an awkward silence, and Summer came back immediately noticing the awkwardness. "What happened I thought we were all getting along?" Richard spoke first knowing it was unfair to Gary to tell her. "I told Gary that I don't have a home anymore, my parents kicked me out."

Summer looked at Gary and understood then how he could be so silent. He had never been even close to never having a home, or his parents. "Richard, you could come live with me. I mean, we don't have much, but I'm not going to leave a teammate and a friend for the wolves to get." Gary laughed trying to lighten the mood. "Summer, there are no wolves here." Richard smiled at the comment, but couldn't help get past her offer. "You'd let me live there? What about your dad?" Summer smiled softly. "It's okay he said I should always do the right thing. We have plenty since it's only the two of us. Now it'll be the three of us." Richard smiled unable to say anything; the look he shared with Summer said it all. "Thank you." Gary smiled at the two of them and didn't say anything letting them have a moment of understanding. When the moment faded Summer laughed. "Why don't we get ice cream after school?"

Gary sat at the ice cream shop watching his girlfriend and his teammate eating ice cream. He had laughed more than once, Richard had convinced Summer to try to get her ice cream on Gary instead of eating it. Once their ice cream was gone, or rather melted, they decided to go back to Summer's house. Richard got out of the car a bit hesitant then looked at his new house. It seemed to possess more love than his home had. Gary noticed the look Richard had and put and arm around his shoulder. "Relax, Summer's dad is great. He'll be happy to have you here, it's already a second home to me." Richard smiled looking back between Summer and Gary, Ray had no idea the friendship he had thrown away. As they walked in the door Summer's dad welcome Richard into the house, then welcomed him home once everything was explained. It seemed too easy, but it was true.

Gary smiled at Summer as her dad showed Richard to a spare bedroom. "Go get dressed for dinner." Summer laughed and got dressed hurriedly and then they left for dinner. Gary drove her to his house and turned off the car in his driveway. He took a deep breath as Summer realized where they were. "Do they know you're bringing me to dinner?" Gary blushed for a moment. "I told them I was bringing a friend to dinner." Summer smiled and kissed Gary's cheek a moment before they got out of the car. The football was only a day away, yet that didn't seem their biggest challenge. If Gary could convince his parents to see Summer how he did, everything would be perfect for him. Gary opened the door to his house and hung up Summer's sweater. He called out to his parents that he was home then said a soft prayer that this worked out. Gently he wrapped his arm around Summer, who seemed for the first time just as nervous as he was.