A/N: Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying this story and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too. Also want to thank Goatsplus for the help in this chapter and next chapter. Go check him out if you get the chance!

Humphrey's POV

Friday, at last. The final day of school for the week had arrived, and it just so happened to be Football try-outs today too. I was praying that we'd get a new Quarterback for this season, and today is the day we will get to see it. With our miserable win-lose percentage from last year shining a bright light on our school's sporting community, we were desperate for something new.

Although it was important, it was the least of my worries at the moment. I did still need to get ready for school and get my gear together. I dragged myself out of bed, rubbing the sleepiness out of my eyes. I looked up to find it was still dark outside, spotting it through the crack in the curtains. I looked at my alarm clock and it was indeed, only 4:30am. I would've gone back to sleep, but I wasn't feeling tired enough to even attempt to. It just wasn't worth the hassle.

I got up and searched through my drawers for some clean clothes so I could have a shower. Since I had a lot of time to kill I wasn't rushing myself, otherwise I'd probably run out of things to do. As I was rummaging through my drawers, I heard my phone vibrate from across the room. I expected it to just be a YouTube notification of some sort, but it was actually a message from Liam...

L: Hey man, you awake?

H: Hey, yeah I am. Can't sleep?

L: Nah, this is my usual time I wake up.

"What?" I confusedly asked myself, "What kind of teenager wakes up at 4:30am?"

H: Really? Can't say I expected that.

L: Yeah, I find if I get up early I'm able to get stuff done. I take you can't sleep?

H: Yep. I kinda had a shit sleep to be honest.

L: That must suck. I just texted to ask you what I might need for try-outs.

H: I recommend just bringing your usual PE clothes and any cleats you might have

L: OK Cool. Is that all I'll need?

H: Yeah that should be everything. Everything else you do need is provided by the school.

L: Cool, thanks man. Btw, the weather is looking kinda shitty this morning. Want a ride to school?

H: Sure man, I'll tell Charlotte when she wakes up. Thanks

Anyway, I gotta get ready. See ya

L: See ya

I set my phone back down on my bedside table, still baffled at Liam's wake up time. I never thought any teenager would purposely force themselves up this early. 'Each to their own I guess,' I thought to myself as I grabbed my small pile of clothes off my bed and walked out of my bedroom and to the bathroom. I moved as quietly as I could, being sure not to wake anyone up. I made my way into the bathroom and closed the door behind me, turning the light on and setting my clothes down on the counter. I turned the shower on, water spurting out onto the floor and down the drain.

A few hours later…

Charlotte's POV

I stared out of the window of the car in silence as Humphrey and Liam chatted. I didn't exactly understand the topic they were talking about. They were talking about a few things to do with football as Liam drove us to school. However, a lot of it came off as gibberish, as I had little understanding of the sport at hand. So I instead sat in silence, listening to what little I could hear coming from the radio.

I was quite surprised to wake up to have Humphrey tell me Liam would take us to school today, although I couldn't complain. The rain from yesterday was carrying over into the morning so it was definitely the better option over walking.

"You alright Charlotte?" I heard Liam ask from the front seat, looking into the rear-view mirror, "Look like you're a bit worried about something."

"Yeah I'm alright, thanks. Just zoned out a bit," I replied, to which he nodded and continued rambling on to Humphrey about positions in football. I wasn't paying much attention to their conversation, until Liam spoke up again.

"If you guys want, I can give you a ride home too. You'll just have to wait around for a bit after school since we have try-outs," Liam offered, directing that last sentence towards me.

"Yeah that'll be great," Humphrey said then looking back towards me in the back seat, "You happy to stick around?" I just nodded and Humphrey smiled and turned back to facing the front. I was actually quite curious to see how they run the try-outs. There were also the stands at the field that would usually be used for the games, so I didn't have to stay directly next to everything, luckily. As we continued driving, a song came on the radio. The song in question piqued Humphrey's interest as he reached for the volume dial.

"Oh, I love this song," Humphrey said, turning the volume up and reciting the lyrics along with Liam too, Liam however doing it quieter than Humphrey. "You have some really good songs on this CD," He added in between lyrics.

"Thanks. Just a heap of songs I listened to growing up mostly. I used to listen to this album all the time when I was younger," Liam replied. The song then finished as we closed in on the school entrance. I giggled a little bit as a thought hit me.

"What are you giggling about?" Humphrey said with an eyebrow raised.

"Liam is a far better singer than you," I said continuing to giggle, Humphrey scoffing jokingly, then evilly smiling.

"I think someone has a cruuusssh," Humphrey said, following it up with a chuckle. I must've went bright red because he started laughing more. Liam looked in the rear-view mirror and he was basically a tomato.

"N-no I d-don't," I said, trying to hide my embarrassment but it wasn't working at all.

"Yes you doooo," Humphrey said, sounding like a little girl in elementary school. Luckily, this was cut short by us arriving at the school parking lot. 'Thank god,' I thought to myself, letting out a sigh of relief as the car stopped in a parking spot. I exited the car and walked over to the entrance where a few of my friends from class were. Abby and Jess were there but Autumn was nowhere to be seen, which I found slightly curious, but there had been many occasions where she had been late so the thought didn't last very long.

"Hey Abby," I said with a slight wave, "Hi Jess."

"Hey Char," Abby said, "I couldn't help but notice the new kid, Liam. You seem to hang out with him a bit," 'Here it goes,' I thought, having a feeling I knew what she was gonna ask, "Is he your 'friend?'" she asked, emphasizing the word 'friend' in a way that suggests something more than a friend.

"Yes, but no," I said, getting confused looks from the both of them, "He is a friend of mine, but I'm not dating him."

"Well you seem to be into him," Abby said, Jess staying relatively quiet throughout the whole conversation.

"Abby!" I yelped out, shoving her shoulder, "You know it's not like that." I felt my face turning red like it did in the car, except not as bad.

"Well with a reaction like that, I suggest otherwise," Jess finally saying something, chuckling a bit in the process. After Jess said that, Autumn had arrived and made her way to our group.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Autumn said, entering the conversation.

"Just teasing Charlotte about her new 'friend,' Liam," Abby said, surprising me by actually saying my name instead of shortening it for once.

"Ah, makes sense. So, do you like this, 'Liam?'" Autumn asked, putting a hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know," I said sitting on the stairs and burying my face into my hands in embarrassment, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

"Okay, okay, no need to make a fuss, Charlotte," Jess said, "If you do, then go for it, he seems nice enough. If you don't then don't worry about it."

"Okay," I said, pulling my head from my hands.

"Just do what feels best, okay?" Jess said, looking me directly in the eyes until I nodded, to which she smiled and we just went back to chatting. As we exchanged common small talk, more and more people arrived to the building, and as expected, the bell soon came afterwards as well.