Sophia shuts her front door and heads down the path towards my car.

I check the time on my phone, and noticed I had a text from Jake. I was about to read it when Sophia opened the passenger door and hopped in.

'Hey!' she says as she buckles her seatbelt.

'Hey,' I reply as I start my car up, 'thanks again for coming with me.'

'No problem!' she replies cheerily, 'Besides, it gives me an excuse to see the game even though I'm still mad at Luke.'

'Have you guys talked?'

'No, actually we haven't talked since our fight last night,' she muttered.

'Are you ready to talk?'

'I don't know. I haven't figured out what I even want to say to him.'

'What would you want to say to him, no filter' I gesture to myself, 'pretend I'm him, and tell me whatever you want.'

'That's not a bad idea actually'

I roll my eyes, 'It's been known to happen from time to time.'

'That's not what I meant,' she says while laughing, 'Ok, so, no filter- I want to be with you and enjoy our time together as much as we can, but breakup before we both leave for college.'

She takes a breath, 'I don't want to go into freshman year in a relationship, I just think if we're meant to be, we'll come back to each other.'

'How do you feel?' I ask.

'I feel pretty good actually- that felt right.'

She takes another breath.

'Well, honestly, it wasn't that bad,' I assure her, 'Do you think you can say that to Luke?'

'I don't know.'

'Think about it. If it's what you want, you should be honest with him,' I say firmly.

She nods her head.

I take a right into the school entrance.

'If you see him tonight, are you going to be ok?' I ask.

'Yeah, I'll be fine, don't worry about me,' she says, trying to sound reassuring.

If I didn't know her as well as I did, I would have believed her. I looked at her briefly, trying to gauge the expression on her face.

'What's really bothering you Soph?'

'So many things Bella,' she replies, 'I'm scared of graduating, being away from you and Jake, breaking up with Luke.'

She inhales sharply as she says, 'What if I lose all the people in my life that I care about? What if I lose touch with everyone?'

I locate a parking spot and slip my car into the space. I put the car into park and pull on the handbrake.

I turn to look at her, 'Soph, you're never going to lose me as a friend. Unless you want to lose me. I'll always be here for you.'

Her eyes tear up, 'I'm just a little scared of everything I know just changing and what if I don't like where I'm going anymore?'

I grab her hand, 'If you don't like the life you have, then you change it. You transfer to NYU with me!'

She laughs, 'Thanks Bella, you make it sound so easy sometimes.'

'Well, it's not, but it's so much easier giving advice to other people. I'm a fucking mess,' I reply, exasperated.

'Dude, we're all a fucking mess,' she says reassuringly, and pulls me in for a hug.

I hug her tightly, as I feel the tension from her shoulders release slightly.

We break apart and she immediately pulls the visor down to inspect her reflection in the mirror.

'Oh my god, my mascara is all over my face!' she yells dramatically.

'But do you feel better?' I ask.

'Yeah, there's nothing better than having a good ol' fashioned cry.'

'No truer words have been spoken,' I state firmly.

I reach around to grab my backpack from the backseat. I open it up to check to make sure I have all my gear.

'Ok, I'm ready whenever you are,' I say to Sophia, who is now reapplying her mascara.

'I'll only be a few minutes,' she mutters, deep in concentration.

'Sounds good, I'll wait outside.'

I hop out of the car and walk around to sit on the back bumper.

I reach into my leather jacket for my phone, taking the opportunity to reply to the unread text from Jake.

I realize my pocket is empty.

Oh shit, I left my phone in the car.

I sprint to open the driver's door, but as soon as I do, I see that Sophia is holding my phone.

'Hey, your phone buzzed. What does Jake's text I'm expecting a treat later mean?'

Oh fuck. Think Bella, think fast.

'Oh! It's a joke, I was telling him we're too old to go trick or treating, but that I'd buy him some candy if they won the game tonight. You know- as a treat,' I respond hastily.

She lets out a sigh of relief, 'Oh man, THANK GOD! For a second, I thought you two were hooking up and I was about to lose my shit!'

She laughs, 'Now that would be insane.'

I laugh in response, 'Ha ha! Jake and I? I can't even imagine!'

'What a disaster that would be!' she continues, still giggling.

'Yeah, disaster!' I respond, but curiousity getting the best of me, I ask, 'Just curious, why do YOU think that would be a disaster?'

'I mean you two are just so different! You always have been. He is just so non-committal, and you are not someone you can casually date,' she replies, 'Also, not to mention, we're all best friends! I don't think I could emotionally handle a having to choose between my two best friends.'

She opens the passenger door and hops out.

'Right,' I nod to myself.

'Though, I always did think he had a crush on you,' she mentions as she pulls on her jean jacket.

'You did?' I ask, intrigued.

'Oh yeah, I haven't told you this before?'

'No, you never mentioned it,' I reply, probably too quickly.

'He's just always looked at you different- like since we were kids. He never looked at me the way he does when he looks at you.'

I stare back at her, a million memories flashing through my head.

'You good?' she asks concerned, 'This freaking you out or something?'

'Oh no, I'm good!' I reply, blinking rapidly.

'Don't get me wrong, the boy is hot, but I know I could never go there. I wouldn't want to lose what we all have together,' she says, 'not that I've ever gotten that vibe from him.'

'Yeah, right, no never,' I mutter in response.

She shuts the passenger door.

'You ready?' she asks me.

'Yep! Let's go!' I say, trying my best to re-focus.

We walked towards the gym and once inside, we found about half the team geared up in the lobby, the other half getting wrapped in the weight room.

I unzip my backpack and pull my camera out, throwing the strap over my shoulder.

'You mind carrying my backpack tonight?' I ask Sophia.

'Sure' she replies, absently, trying her best to disguise that she's searching for Luke in the crowd.

'Hey guys!' I hear Jake's deep voice over the surrounding chatter.

I look up to see him walking over to us, he has two black streaks across his cheeks, his wild hair is being pushed back by a black headband.

I smile up at him, 'Hey Jake, you ready for the game?'

'We all really want to beat this team,' he replies earnestly.

'You see Luke?' Sophia asks.

'Of course, did something happen with you two? He won't talk about it, but Coach made him do the drills twice this morning because he kept fucking them up.'

'Yeah, we got into a fight,' she replies, looking at her feet.

'Ah, I see, well, if he fucks up on the field tonight, he's going to get into a lot more fights,' Jake replies firmly.

'Are you serious?' Sophia asks annoyed.

'Not with me, but I can't speak for the team. This game is important for us, we need to win.'

'You wanna go check on him Soph?' I ask.

'Ugh, no, but maybe I should,' she replies.

'Anything to get his head in the game, but not if you're going to make it worse Soph,' Jake adds.

'I think it'll help,' she nods, 'I'll be right back.'

I nod, 'Just text me and I'll let you know where I'm at.'

She walks away, looking around for Luke.

Once she's out of earshot, I turn to Jake, 'Sophia saw your last text.'

'Oh shit! She did?' he replies concerned.

'Yeah, it's fine, I made up a story about getting you candy if you win tonight because we can't go trick or treating,' I inform him.

'Nice work,' he responds, 'Damn, I'm sorry.'

'It's fine, it wasn't a big deal until she went on and on about how relieved she was that we're not hooking up.'

'Well, that's no surprise,' Jake responds unphased.

'Why is that no surprise?' I ask.

'Bella, we're all best friends, we grew up together! Of course she wouldn't want to see two of her best friends date, it's the same reason why this almost never happened.'

'I guess, it just really brought all this shit back for me,' I whisper, 'Jake, what if we're making a really big mistake.'

He looks at me intently, then puts his pads down.

'Come with me,' he says, grabbing my hand.

We head out the doors of the gym and take sharp right, heading towards the back of the gym.

'Jake, we don't have time for this right now.'

We turn right again, and now that we're behind the gym, we're alone.

He lets go of my hand, 'Bella, we talked about this before this started. We wanted to see where it went.'

'I know Jake, it's just Sophia kept saying how we're opposites, how you can't commit and how I can't not commit to someone,' I respond anxiously.

'Bells, I haven't hooked up with anyone else. I don't want to hook up with anyone else, I just want you,' he responds, 'I don't want to stop.'

'I don't want to stop either, I'm just scared of what happens if we get caught or what happens in the future.'

'Fuck the future,' Jake replies with a smirk.

'I know on paper we're terrible, but there's something special here,' I say, timidly, 'I feel like there's something special here.'

Jake exhales, 'I know what you mean.'

I pull him towards me, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

I smile as his hands wrap around my waist, pulling me closer.

My tongue grazes his lips, requesting access to his warm mouth. I drink him in, setting aside my mental bucket of concerns, and choosing to enjoy the moment instead.

10 minutes later…

Jake and I walk through the doors to the gym, and I scan the packed room for Sophia.

Jake picks up his pads and turns to me, 'I gotta go line up.'

'See ya, good luck tonight!' I reply with a smile.

He winks in response and walks over to his teammates, now forming two long lines by the front door.

I reach for my phone to text Sophia.

B: Hey, where are you?

S: I'm by the girl's locker room

B: Ok, want to meet me by the front door to the gym? I want to capture the team as they head out to the field.

S: Be right there

I put my phone in my pocket and head towards the front doors.

'Bella!' I hear someone yell my name, and I turn to look towards the voice.

I see Marcus waving me over towards him as he stands in the lineup.

'Hey Marcus, good luck tonight!' I say as I walk over.

'You going to Katie's thing later?'

'Yeah! I'll be there!' I reply with a smile.

'Sweet! I guess I'll see you there, let's make sure to grab a drink together.'

'Sure!' I reply, a little taken aback by his comment.

The line starts to move and I take advantage, 'I'll let you go, but I'll see you tonight and good luck!'

5 minutes later…

Sophia still hasn't shown up, I text her again.

B: You coming?

S: Yeah, sorry, 2 minutes

The team starts moving, 'Shit,' I say out loud.

I'll have to leave without her, otherwise I won't get this shot.

B: I gotta move with the team, come find me by the field

S: K, sorry

I toss my phone back in my pocket and take off after the team as they inch their way through the parking lot towards the field.

20 minutes later…

I was able to capture a lot of the team's energy as they hit the field tonight, and I'm feeling pretty happy with myself.

Damn, I'm fucking good at this.

'Hey,' I hear Sophia say behind me.

I turn to face her, 'You are the world's worst assistant.'

'I know, I know, I'm sorry!' she responds apologetically.

'What happened?' I asked.

'Well, I went to talk to Luke,' she responds, with a smirk, 'and we ended up having sex in the supply closet.'

'No, you didn't!' I playfully smack her arm.

'Yeah, well, we were going to talk, but we just fucked instead.'

I laugh, 'Of course you did.'

'To Jake's point, I'm not sure if that will help or hurt his game tonight,' Sophia says with a shrug.

I laugh again, 'I guess we'll find out.'

'He was definitely late though, I'm sure the coach did not love that,' she responds.

'Who cares,' I shake my head, and put my arm over her, 'you little hoe.'

She laughs, hiding her face in her faces.

Two and a half hours later and the final whistle blows. It had been a close game the whole night, but our team was able to get ahead in the last quarter.

It was a good game and I was able to get a lot of really good shots for the paper.

We were walking with the crowd off the field when we heard someone yell, 'Sophia!'

We turn around and see Luke jogging behind us.

'Hey! You want to wait for me?' he asks once he's caught up to us.

'I got a ride with Bella,' she replies.

'Oh, ok! Well, you want me to pick you up and we could go over to Katie's together?'

'Yeah, sure. Just text me,' she replies.

'Cool,' he responds, and turns to me, 'what's up Bella? You coming tonight?'

'Yeah, I'll be there.'

'You need a ride too?' he asks.

'No, I'm good, thanks though,' I respond, 'good game tonight!'

'Oh yeah, thanks! I just had to get in the ride mindset,' he replies, glancing at Sophia.

'It's all about getting your head right,' Sophia adds, a mischievous smirk across her face.

I try my best to not burst out laughing.

'Okkkk…well, I'm gunna go home now,' I say, 'Soph, you want a ride home?'

'Sure,' she replies as she walks over to Luke, and pulls his pads towards her so she can plant a deep kiss on his mouth.

I stand uncomfortably, shifting from side to side as I can visibly see their tongues caressing each other.

I look over my shoulder and I see Marcus walking with some teammates, I wave at him, remembering our weird conversation earlier.

I scan the field for Jake, wanting to congratulate him on a good game.

I spot him leaning against the fence by the bleachers, talking to a group of cheerleaders huddled around him. He's laughing at something one of them said, and I feel my stomach tighten slightly at the sight.

I look away quickly. I need to get out of here.

I cautiously glance in Sophia and Luke's direction to see if they're done groping each other. Thankfully, they were.

As Sophia and I are walking back to my car, I ask, 'So are you going to have that talk with him?'

'Yeah, I think I will tonight. We have so much love for each other, I want to make sure we're both on the same page. I think I can make him see my side,' she replies confidently.

'Good.'

My phone buzzes, and before I can check it, Sophia grabs it.

I inhale sharply, fearing the worst.

'Oooh, Marccusssss!' she coos mockingly.

'What did he say?' I asked curiously.

'He said, You dressing up tonight?' she replies.

She puts the phone down, 'are you still talking to him?'

'Yes and no,' I reply, 'He kind of said something weird to me tonight, he said that we should make sure to get a drink together tonight.'

'Oh, he's really trying to get it isn't he,' she replies giddily.

'I thought I heard he hooked up with Claire?'

'Oh yeah, I think that was a brief thing,' she says dismissively, 'he's had his eyes on you since the day he got here.'

'I'm not really sure what to think of that,' I reply honestly.

'Well, when was the last time you go any action? Max?' she asks.

'Uh, yeah, I guess so,' I reply, looking away, preventing any eye contact.

'There's nothing wrong with a bit of fun, if that's what you want. Marcus is hot!'

'I know, I'm just not sure I'm interested,' I reply.

'That's fair, well I guess he's letting you know the door is open.'

I shrug, 'I guess.'

'You sure you don't want to ride with us to the party?'

'Yeah, I'm sure,' I reply.

'Ok, well, I'll see you there then!'

She hops out of the car and walks up the path to her house.

My phone buzzes. It's Jake.

J: Hey, I thought I'd see you after the game, where'd you go?

B: Got caught up in some Sophia and Luke drama

J: Oh no, I can only imagine

B: But I doubt you missed me that much, you seemed pretty occupied after the game

J: What are you talking about?

B: The circle of cheerleaders

J: Are you saying I'm not allowed to talk to cheerleaders?

B: No, I'm not, you can talk to whoever you want

J: But, you'll just get mad if it's cheerleaders?

B: I'm not mad

J: It seems like it

Fuck this. I tapped on his name and called him.

'Hey,' he answered.

'I'm not mad,' I stammered, 'I'm just, I'm just jealous.'

'Well that's obvious,' he replied, 'but why?'

'I don't know.'

'We had literally talked before the game, and I told you that I want only you. Do you not believe me?'

'No, I do, I just, I don't know,' I mutter.

'Look, I know Marcus wants to date you, and I have to deal with that. You're going to have to deal with me talking to other girls,' he replies, 'because we're not in the open, no one knows we're together.'

'You know about Marcus?' I asked.

'Of course I fucking do! We're on the same team, and guys say shit.'

'Oh,' I reply.

'Do you like him?' he asks quietly.

'No, I don't. I mean he's cute, but I want you,' I respond, 'I just can't tell anyone.'

'Yeah,' he responds.

'Well, you're going to pick me up?' I ask.

'Yeah, I can come grab you in an hour, if that works.'

'That's perfect,' I reply.

'Oh, and I remember you saying something about a treat if we won tonight?' he asks coyly.

'Oh shit! I'm so sorry! I didn't even tell you, you did great tonight!' I exclaim.

'Thanks Bells.'

'You really were awesome and yes, I haven't forgotten. Don't worry,' I respond.

'I'll try my best.'

'See you in a bit!' I reply.

'Bye.'