Sorry for the delay! It wouldn't let me upload the chapters. Thank you very much for reviewing! Here's Chapter 8!

Jason passed the ball to Troy, who shot for a three and missed. The team- all of whom had talked to Chad before practice- gave Troy encouraging words. Although, most of them felt bad for the star, there was one or two that enjoyed watching Troy miss and him being just one of the basketball players, instead of the star he was.

Zeke looked over at Coach Bolton who was shaking his head and then to Troy, who looked depressed and tired. He had asked Troy earlier that day when he thought the last time he had woken up was. Troy had replied, "seven o'clock yesterday morning."

Chad was getting nervous for Troy. He didn't want Troy to get sick again. Zeke, Jason, and Ryan all agreed with him, that after the practice Zeke, Jason, and himself would tell Coach Bolton about this, so Troy wouldn't get sick or hurt in anyway from lack of sleep. Chad was just about to grab the ball that was bouncing away from the team- none of them wanting to chase it- when he heard a large crashing noise. He turned around quickly and ran, the ball forgotten in his mind. Troy was on the ground, not moving and his eyes shut. The one thing going through Chad's mind was 'please, let him be breathing.'

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Mack took an extra long time at her locker and told her friends to leave without her. She had gotten a note at lunch time telling her to stay a little longer at her locker than usual from Calum. She smiled at the memory. She had all of her things ready to go and the halls were emptying fast. "Hey, how was school?"

Mack turned to look at Calum. She had to fight the urge to just lean up and kiss him. 'What if he doesn't like me like that,' she didn't want to ruin whatever they had going. "As good as school can get," she replied. Her rolled his eyes and she grabbed her backpack. "How did your parents feel about you skipping?"

"To be honest, they never found out."

"Really," Mack said surprised. "They called my house first and then the school to get contact with my dad."

"Probably because the office calls East High so often they know the number by heart, and they were too lazy to look up my parent's work numbers."

"Very good thinking skills, Mr. Boucher."

"I try," he smiled. 'His teeth are perfect,' Mack thought to herself.

"Shall we?" He held out his arm and she linked hers with his, and they walked out of the school. They walked down the sidewalk in silence for a few moments, neither of them knowing what to say. Mack finally broke the silence by saying, "you know you didn't have to do this. I know that your friends-"

"My friends? If they can't except this, then how can I call them my friends?" Calum said the words from his heart. He really meant what he said, "I'll just have to make new friends."

"But your brother-"

"I don't care about him. Well, I do... but you know. He can't control my life. I need to be free to do what I want with whom I want. I just wished I figured it out sooner, we could have been great friends."

'Or more,' they both added silently to themselves, neither knowing the other was thinking the same thing.

"There's your house," Calum pointed out, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Do you want to come in? My dad and Troy are at practice."

"What about you're mom?"

Mack smiled, for once she was glad her mom was away. "She's in Annapolis on business, she won't be back until tomorrow."

"Alright, if you want me to."

"I do," she smiled before grabbing his hand out of his pocket and pulling him up to the front door. She was happy he was behind her so he couldn't see her blush, but- had she been looking at him- he had turned a bright shade of red himself.

She unlocked the door and led him to the living room. "You seem tense."

"It's not everyday a guy gets to go into the house his brother's enemy lives. What if we get caught? Your brother could get home early...or my brother-"

"Calum! Stop worrying." She walked over to the door leading to the backyard, "we could go outside if you wanted." Without waiting for an answer, Mack opened the door and motioned for Calum to follow her, which he did. She sat down on the grass next to the court and he sat down next to her.

There was an awkward silence that Calum couldn't stand. "So...what do you usually do around here?"

"Usually," Mack said, "I play some stupid game with Troy and his friends."

"Like what?" Calum asked.

"Like tag- you're it," she leaned across him and tapped his arm playfully, before getting up and sprinting away from him as fast as she could. He jumped up and ran right after her. Once he was close enough, he dived at her, his arms circling around her waist, pulling them both down. They landed on the grass, Mack underneath Calum, their faces less than an inch apart. Calum stared into Mack's blue eyes and knew if he was ever going to get up the courage to kiss her, it was now. Mack shut her eyes as Calum leaned down, placing his lips gently on hers.

Calum broke the kiss almost immediately. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry-"

"That's okay Calum," she answered, opening her eyes so she could look into his brown eyes. "I liked it."

She brought her hand to his cheek and brushed her fingers against his warm skin. Bringing his hand to touch hers, he smiled at her reaction. "Mack, would you be my girlfriend?" He bit down on his lip, hoping he did the right thing. She smiled and nodded her head, making his last thought leave his mind. He was just about to kiss her again when he heard a frantic voice entering the yard. Calum rolled over and Mack sat up as Jason entered through the gate, not even noticing Calum's existence. "Mack! You've got to hurry! We're gonna have to run."

"Run where?" Mack asked, sharing a confused look with Calum.

"The hospital, Troy collapsed."

Hope you liked it! Mack and Calum's first kiss, aww! Well chapter 9 should be up soon. Review!