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A/N: Here's the next chappie. Hope you enjoy it.

Matt's POV

The wind blew through my hair as Shane's car barreled down the highway at 95 miles per hour. Practiced had sucked once again and this was the only way to release some tension. Well, that and yelling the lyrics to some heavy metal at the top of our lungs. These past few weeks at practice had been horrible. Coach was pushing us harder than ever because the season was coming to a close and our hardest games were coming up.

The next day we were scheduled to play the Santa Barbara Bulldogs. I would like to say that this was an easy team, and we would beat them without having to think about it. But that would be a lie; the Bulldogs had absolutely no talent, but they were dirty. This is one of those games were you'd hate to be the guy who scored the goals, because you'd be the main target. And somehow we always manage to have bad referees for the games against them. It would be a big shock if no one got a red card tomorrow.

"What time did you tell Dom you'd be back?" Shane turned down the music and asked me.

"Nine." He checked the clock. We had half an hour before I was due at the hospital. He nodded and turned the music back up, and hit the gas again. A few minutes later we pulled into a Dairy Queen on the outskirts of town.

"I'm hungry." He told me and pulled through the drive-thru. "Do you want anything?" I shook my head no but he got me some kind of chocolate dessert anyways. After we got the food, he handed them to me and drove a little more to a deserted spot on a back road.

A few minutes passed in silence, as we ate. "Thanks for the food." I told him, he just nodded, deep in thought. He'd been like this for the past few days. "What's on your mind?" I asked being blunt about it.

"What's going on between you and Brian?" He blurted.

"What do you mean?" I was puzzled.

"You know exactly what I mean, over last couple of weeks you two have been buddy-buddy, hanging out at the hospital and just…I don't know…bonding?" He said it like he wasn't sure it was the right word to use.

"Oh, Well I've been meaning to talk to you about that." I took another bite of ice-cream. "You know how I'm not all God squad and everything, right" He nodded. "Well, I prayed and it came true."

"You lost me five seconds ago." He told me.

"I mean, you remember how bad it got a while ago, with Brian coming back and the big fight and me running off…"

He interrupted me. "My finger's hitting the fast forward button…" He meant get to the point.

"I saw someone that night, the night I ran off. I freaked out and cried and all that crap and I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I thought I saw someone messing with the car. I didn't say anything because I thought I was seeing things or something."

"Still lost over here," He told me with a confused look on his face.

"Well, after all of that happened and Mom got in the wreck, I prayed for a miracle. I made a deal with, well you know, the Big Guy, that if Mom wakes up I'd give Brian a second chance."

"And she woke up…" He finished for me.

"Yeah, I know it sounds stupid…"

"No. It doesn't, not at all; I just wanted to know why." He said and turned the key in the ignition. He gave me a smile and pulled the car back into the road. I knew if anyone would understand, it'd be Shane. He always understood.

We didn't speed on the way back because the tension was released. The music wasn't blaring either, which meant he still wanted to talk. That was the cool the thing about me and Shane. We were okay with just sitting there and enjoying each other's company or we could talk until kingdom come.

"So what do you think about that new guy and Sydney?" He asked.

"Oh, Carlos, he's okay I guess. He's more of the silent type." I shrugged. "He's only been at the house a couple of times, but hedoes the whole 'yes, ma'am- no, sir routine' but there's something about him that's different."

"You got that vibe too?" He said happily. "Good, now I know I'm not going whack shack or something." I laughed at him. "Sydney seems to like him a lot." I nodded at that comment.

"Every other word that comes out of her mouth is Carlos. But you know what?"

"What?" He took his eyes off the road for a second to look at me.

"I don't think there will ever be a guy good enough for Syd." He laughed at me. "I'm serious."

"Well, of course, you'd think that. She's you family; you two are more like brother and sister than cousins. But, what's going on between you and Tess?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, it's not the great secret of the world that you like her. And she likes you back too, don't tell me you don't see it!" I smirked, Shane knew that I liked her but the thought of Tess liking me back was a shock. "Dude! You really need to ask her out."

"You think?"

"YES! I'm the master of love here and you're still stuck on second base."

"Wait, I thought we agreed that I made it to third with Addie."

"No. You said it, not me. I didn't like her remember. I approve of Tess. Tess passes my hotness test and my cool test." We continued to joke as we pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"You coming up?" I asked as I pulled my bag out of the backseat.

"Yeah, Mom's working late and I haven't seen you guys in a few days." He put the car in park and got out with me.

Mom health was slowly getting better and soon she would be able to come home. We walked into the waiting room to find Uncle Dom talking to Dr. Mathews. Dr. Mathews recovered well from the run in we'd had a few weeks earlier.

"What's going on?" I asked as we approached them.

"Looks like your Mom will be going home earlier than we expected." The doctor said with a big smile.

"How soon?" I blurted out, excitedly.

"Maybe this weekend if her health is still progressing, you can go and see her if you'd like."

"Thank you." I said at Shane and I went to her room, leaving Uncle D to talk with the good doctor. He was smiling as big as I was and we walked into Mom's room to find V and Leon in there with her.

She smiled at the sight of us. Although I'm sure we were a sight, seeing how, practice had ended a short time ago and we hadn't showered.

"Hey, Mom." I gave her a hug, she didn't care that I was smelly.

"MOM!" Shane shouted from the door and ran to give her a hug, as if he hadn't seen her in years. He only did it to make her smile but the truth is, Shane was a fun person to be around, the room seemed to brighten up when he walked in.

"SON!" Mom yelped back to satisfy him. He sat on the bed and gave her a kiss on the hand. "So I take it you heard the news." We both nodded and smiled at the same time.

"Sadly, you will miss the fun boxing match tomorrow."

"I thought you played soccer." A voice came from the door and we turned to see Brian with an armful of drinks. Leon got up and took two from him.

"That's what he means; the team we're playing tomorrow plays dirty." I filled him in.

"Oh, so this'll be a good game to watch." He asked.

"If you're not squeamish." V corrected him.

"I look forward to this game every year." Leon took a drink of him coffee.

"Me too." Vince agreed.

"It's nice to know that you allfind it entertainingit see us in pain." I pretended to be hurt.

"Are you guys exaggerating?" Brian wasn't sure if we werejoking or not.

"No, they're not, and with any luck one of my fearless sons will be in the bed next to me tomorrow." Mom told him.

"Last year, I got a concussion and was sent to the hospital and Matt over here got two black eyes and a broken thumb." Shane reminisced. "AHH MEMORIES…"

We laughed at him. "How did you get a broken finger?" Brian asked.

"I got knocked down toward the end of the first half and two of the defenders 'accidentally' stepped on my hand." I emphasized the word accidentally.

"Jeez, I'm guessing it'll be pretty bloody tomorrow then."

"Yup, are you coming?" I asked him.

"I had planned on it. I mean if you want me to." He stumbled over the last sentence.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." I told him.

"Well, I'd better be off." Shane said after a second. He gave Mom a kiss on the cheek and turned to leave.

"Give someone a black eye for me." Mom called after him. He stopped and stuck his head back in the door.

"For you, Baby, I'd give everyone a black eye…and a bloody nose." I shook my head but laughed with everyone.

"V?"

He grunted to let me know he was listening. We were on our way home. Mom insisted that I go home because I had school and a game the next day. Yeah, she was definitely feeling better. Leon and Brian stayed with her while Vince went home with me. Uncle Dom was at the hospital as well.

"Are you mad at me?" I mumbled. He wouldn't look at me and he didn't answer right away. He'd taken to saying one word answers over the past week and wouldn't hang out at the house when Brian was there. I understand that they don't get along but it was to that point that he was pushing me away, and to be truthful it really hurt my feelings.

"A little bit, but mostly at the situation." He finally replied.

"Why?"

Once again he waited a while before answering. "Because I feel like you're letting him take my place." There was no reason to ask whohim was. I was shocked.

"Vince, Brian's not taking your place. He couldn't. I'm just giving him another try. I didn't really give him one in the first place."

"He didn't deserve one in the first place, Matt." He snarled, taking me by surprise.

"Why not?" I argued back at him. "Haven't you ever wondered what it'd be like if he hadn't left?"

"Is that what this is about? You think he can come in a make up for all the time he's lost with you?" He was in disbelief. I wasn't going to tell him the true reason but this had also factored into my decision.

"Maybe. Don't you think I deserve to have a Dad?" I shot back at him, really starting to get angry.

"Of course, I want you to be happy, but I don't want you to get hurt! You don't know anything about this guy, Matt! NOTHING! Everyone thought he was a great guy all those years ago but he let them down. I don't want that to happen to you. That's all I'm saying. For as long as I can remember, I've been the protector. YOUR protector." He lashed out and I was shocked by his words. I'd had no idea he felt this way. "I don't want to see you hurt, kid."

"But what-if it's all a big mistake? What if he does deserve a second chance? Please, Vince, for me. Take this chance with me. If I'm wrong, I won't make the same mistake twice." I pleaded with him. His eyes turned from blazing angry to sympathy in a record time. "Sometimes you have to have faith in people, and take chances. Remember the saying you taught me? You can't be old and wise until you've been young and stupid. Maybe I'm wrong but I have to know if I'm missing out on something good. You can't hold back because you're afraid of being hurt."

By this time we were in the drivewayat the house. "Alright, kid, I'll give him a chance. But you can't cut me out again. Alright?"

"Ok. I'm sorry V. I didn't even realize I'd thrown you outta the loop."

"It's all good; just don't let it happen again." He added the last part with a smile.

Sydney's POV

That night was pretty quiet. I was watching TV when Matt and Vince came home from the hospital. Aunt Mia was going to get to come home soon, hopefully by the end of the weekend. That's when the phone rang.

Mom beat me to the phone. "Hello?" There was a pause. "We're doing good, thanks for asking Carlos. Hang on a second, here she is." She handed me the phone with a wink and left the room to give me privacy.

"Hello."

"Hey, Sydney, what's up?" His voice was so deep it made me grin.

"Ummm nothing, what are you doing?" I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well, I don't have long to talk but I wanted to tell you I'm throwing a party Saturday. So can you come?"

My heart skipped a beat, dear lord would I LOVE to go, but I had to play it cool.

"I'll have to talk it over with my parents but probably. Is it alright if Tess comes too?"

"Sure. Matt can come too if he wants."

"Alright, well I'll be at his game tomorrow so I'll give you a call sometime after that."

"Maybe I'll come and keep you company," He said slyly.

"Maybe I'd like that."

Matt's POV

The next day at school passed rather quickly and before I knew it the time had come for the game to start. Sitting in the locker room, a lot of the guys were nervous. I'll admit that I was a little tense but Shane cleared that up with his hyper ness and readiness to play. We stepped out onto the field a few minutes later, ready to play.

Brian's POV

The soccer field was a lot more crowed then I had expected. I guess this was the game of the season to watch. After a few minutes, I spotted the gang. Everyone was there but Mia. She had strictly ordered everyone to go and come back with the full details. Jesse was taping the game, so she could watch it later.

"So what do you think so far?" Letty asked. It was my first game.

"A lot of people." That's all I had to say. They laughed at me.

"The rest of the games will be like this." Sydney said just as the ref blew his whistle and both teams took the field. Matt jogged to the middle of the field and I saw Shane go past him to take his place on defense.

Within thirty seconds, I saw what everyone had been talking about the day before. In the first half, three people had been slide tackled, after the ball had left their feet, two people went off with bloodied noses and two red cards were given, to Matt's team. But we were winning.

Tess showed up at half-time, looking huffy. She and her father had just gotten into a fight and that's why she was late.

"What's the score?" She asked and took a seat between me and Sydney.

"Five, nothing" Jesse told her. A few minutes later the game started up again but this time Sydney had her yelling buddy and they were on a roll.

At some point Shane was taken out from behind, for the fourth time I might add, and was slow to get to his feet. At that point, Tess was so angry at the refs for not calling anything she stood up and yelled at the top of her lungs. "GET OFF YOUR KNEES REF YOU'RE BLOWING THE GAME!"

We all busted out laughing but she was so mad that she stayed standing. The game resumed but this time Shane had a grin on his face and the next time a player came down his way with the ball he took them out at the knees. The ref called a foul and gave him a yellow card. But he was smiling, he didn't care.

With five minutes left in the game and the score at 6-0, Matt got a break away, he dribbled around two people and was about to shoot when two guys went for him. The first hit his ankles, knocking his feet out from under him. The second came in late and hit him in the chest after he was on the ground.

There was a gasp from our fans and that was the breaking point. Matt wasn't moving and Shane walked straight up to the guy who came in late and punched him across the face. The one punch started a war on the field. Both teams stormed the field and WW III started. After several minutes, the coaches and refs restored order but Matt was still laying there.

And that's when I heard it. A parent from the other team shouted across the field. "Oh, get up, you're not hurt!" Our heads turned in the direction that it came from. Vince and I climbed out ofthe stands and went looking for the guy.

"V! Brian! Let it go!" Dom growled at us. He was mad too but wanted to check on Matt and make sure he was alright. The refs saw us going to look for the guy and ran the length of the field to stop us.

"What are you going to do about it?" A voice came from ahead of me and I looked to see a fat guy wobbling towards us.

"Did you say that?" Vince snarled.

"Yeah, I did. That kid'snot hurt. He's just being a pussy." He snarled and that's when I noticed a very butch looking women standing next to him.

"That's my kid you're talking about." I took a step forward and I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Letty. Everyone else had gone to see how Matt was doing.

"Come on Brian. He's not worth it." She tried to pull me away. But I saw the look in her eyes, she was dying to beat the crap outta that guy.

"Yeah, Brian, just go before you get hurt like your wimp kid." That was the woman who spoke up with time. Letty stopped this time and turned to size her up. She could that the woman on, and she knew it.

"You want to say that again?" Letty took a step toward them. The woman took a step also.

Matt's POV

Pain.

That's the only way to describe it. It took me a while to get my breath back. It didn't feel like I'd broken any ribs. I know what that feels like.

Before I knew it, everyone was around me. Shane crouched at my side sporting a cut lip; there was some blood on his hands and shirt.

"Thanks." I gasped, not having my full lung capacity. He nodded, knowing I meant thanks for sticking up for me. Coach was asking me all these kinds of questions, like did I black out and all that jazz, but I wasn't paying any attention to him. Soon he left to get our trainer. I looked up at Tess and Sydney. Their remarks from the stands were priceless.

"I loved the cheer squad today." I smiled at them and they smiled back.

"Just for you guys." Tess told me and ran a hand through my sweaty hair.

"Looks like Mom was right." That's when I noticed that not everyone was there. "Where are Brian, V, and Aunt Letty?" That's when I heard the shriek. We all turned to see Aunt Letty beating the crap outta someone. Brian and Vince were too busy taking on someone else to get her off of the woman. Uncle Dom, Leon, and Jesse ran to either stop them or join in the fight. I'm not real sure.

Sydney's POV

We got home from the hospital around eight o'clock. But this time it wasn't to visit Aunt Mia. I'm happy to say we walked away from that game without serious damage. Matt's ribs were bruised, Brian had bruised his knuckles, V had a black eye, and Mom walked away without a scratch. But she was still mad at Dad for pulling her off of that woman. Or man, I'm not real sure. Tess ended up staying the night. She didn't want to be near her Dad, but we had yet to talk about that. Shane was going to stay also but his Mom was worried about him and wanted to be with him.

I won't lie. I was disappointed thatCarlos hadn't shown upbut when he called later, I let him off the hook.

"Something came up." I defended him when Tess asked. She just raised her eyebrow. Not believing it for a second, and to be truthful I didn't either. I always lie to myself; I just wish I believed me.

Brian's POV

I checked on Matt before going to bed that night. His room was messy, but what else do you expect from a sixteen year old. I was real proud that he took that hit so well today. He didn't complain just said he need some painkillers and went to bed.

Mia was a wreck. First, she was worried about Matt, then me and Vince after finding out we'd been in a fight.(She wasn't worried about Letty.) But at that point, most of the people in the house were asleep, including Sydney and Tess. Matt had a thing for Tess. And she liked him too. It was so obvious. But he didn't believe that so what could be done?

But anyways, I walked in to find him tangled in his blankets, as if he'd been raging a war with them. I tried for a moment to shift his arms around and cover him up, but stopped, worried I'd wake him.

"He's out." A voice came from behind me. I turned to see Vince and hoped he wouldn't start anything. But instead he handed me the blanket in his hand and I gently dropped it on him, tucking the top under his chin.

We left the room and at that moment Vince and I came to an understanding. We shook hands and I said I was going back to my apartment.

"Why don't you just crash on the couch?" He said and I looked at him trying to figure out if he was serious or not. "Just offering." He said and walked toward a bedroom at the end of the hall.

Maybe I'd take him up on the offer, just in case Matt needed me.

A/N: WOW! That was really long…well I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks to my great reviewers. Please continue to r/r.

AnaDry-Don't worry there's a reason why he didn't come back. I'm glad you like it. Don't worry I'm going to go into their relationship. Thanks for the great review!