Same Day, Football Field, 4:24 P.M...

The boys were in the middle of practice preparing for the big game later this week.

"Cash! Ziggler! We're gonna run that criss cross play again. It seems like that usually works in high pressure situations, and we're in the playoffs, meaning every situation is high pressure. Got it?" Coach Helmsley barked.

"Yes, coach!" The two receivers responded simultaneously.

Both of them, along with the rest of the team, got into formation. The same one from that fateful game when Shane stepped up after Kofi's unfortunate injury. Speaking of, Kofi was in attendance today, making his return after two months of recovery. Of course, he wasn't able to participate in any sort of physical activity. Instead, he stood on the sideline cheering for his teammates. He would essentially be an assistant coach, giving players advice on what they could do better. He was watching intently on this particular play since it was the one they ran before his accident. All of the boys got into formation and prepared to execute the plan.

"Hike!" Seth yelled, and the center, Bray Wyatt, snapped him the ball. Seth took a few steps back, faked like he was gonna throw to Dolph, and then threw the ball to Shane with all his strength. A perfect spiral. Dolph and Shane ran their correct routes, and Shane easily caught it. From there, he jogged into the end zone. He turned around and gave a little bow in celebration, causing his teammates to laugh. Even Coach cracked up a little.

"Good job boys! Go on, take a 5 minute water break." He said as a reward.

"Yes, coach!" The team yelled back.

Everyone went on the sideline and scrapped for a water bottle of their own. The Usos as usual were fighting over the last one. That is, until they decided on just sharing it, like normal brothers would. Shane was waiting for one when Kofi came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled.

"Hey, Kofi. What's up?"

Kofi returned a smile before explaining his reason for approaching him.

"Nothing much bro. I just came over to say thank you."

Shane was confused.

"Thank me? For what?"

"For holding the fort down when I went out. I've heard from Big E that you've been doing great as the starting receiver."

"Well, I've been trying my best. I owe that much to you guys. You let me in your family without any hesitation. I'm still the new kid after all."

Kofi laughed.

"I like you, bro. But, just know. When I'm cleared, I'm coming back for my spot. Be ready."

Shane grinned and stuck his fist out for a pound to which Kofi accepted.

"I welcome the challenge."

Kofi walked away to go talk to Big E, so Shane tried to come up with something to do for the rest of the break he had. He spotted Cody across the field talking up that one cheerleader.

"What was her name again?", He thought before remembering, "Oh yeah, Dakota."

He figured he'd go over and mess with Rhodes a little bit. Cody was bragging to the girl from New Zealand about how good he was at football, meanwhile she looked like she was only listening to be nice.

"Yo, Cody." Shane said, scaring the crap out of Cody, which made Dakota laugh.

"Good God man! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Rhodes said angrily.

Shane put his hands up.

"My bad, man. Was I interrupting something over here?"

"No, it's quite alright. I'm Dakota Kai, by the way. You're the funny guy who talks to us before every game right?" She asked with a smile.

Shane busted out the accent.

"Why yes, madame. That would be me. I'm Sir Shane Price. Nice to meet your acquaintance."

Dakota laughed, while Cody stood glaring at Shane with jealousy in his eyes.

"Hi, Shane. Is he always this funny?" She asked Cody.

Rhodes sighed and was about to answer her, but Shane spoke before he could say anything.

"If you think I'm funny, Cody's twice as funny as me. Seriously, dude's absolutely hilarious. If you asked anyone on the team who the funniest guy out of all of us was, most of them would say Cody. That's how hysterical this guy is."

"Oh really?"

"Yup, I'm like a bona fide stand up comedian." Rhodes said, piggybacking off of what Shane had told her about him.

"Price! Rhodes! Get your asses over here, now! Break's over!" Coach yelled from across the field.

"Welp, that's our cue. See ya around." Cody said before him and Shane ran back over to the rest of the team. On the way back, he thanked Shane for the endorsement.

"No problem. She's a nice one." Shane commented.

Meanwhile, back over with the cheerleaders, Bayley saw Dakota waving the boys away and decided to talk to her about it.

"Hey, Dakota. I see you've met Shane. I wish I would've noticed he was over here. I would've given him a hug."

"Yeah, he seems like a pretty cool guy."

"He's the coolest guy!", She exclaimed, "He's so nice to everyone and he's really nice to me. Every day him and Alexa walk me to the bus stop. Anytime I'm sad and he's around, he always tries to make me feel better. He even gave me a nickname! Smiles!"

Dakota chuckled.

"So, what is he? Your boyfriend?"

Bayley blushed at her question.

"Uh, no. Honestly, I don't think he'd date me anyway."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well... I kinda... kissed him out of nowhere without warning." She confessed.

"Really?! Wow, Bayley. I never thought you'd do something like that. But, wait. Why wouldn't he want to go out with you?" The Kiwi girl asked confused.

"At first I thought he'd be angry, but he wasn't which was good. He told me that he was glad he got to have his first kiss with someone he cares about. Which is also good, but he... I don't know. I could've told him that I wanted to be with him but I hesitated, cause I didn't know what I wanted. That might've been my only chance."

"Bayley, no. You can't just count yourself out like that. You're a cute girl, everyone likes you, and you said it yourself, he cares about you. Who says you can't get him?"

Bayley all of a sudden, formed a determined look.

"You know what, you're right. I can. Shane Price, you're gonna be mine!"

Dakota out her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Alright, calm down there tiger. Don't wanna scare him off, do ya?"

The bubbly girl immediately went back to her normal self and nervously giggled.

"Heh, yeah. Sorry."


2 Hours Later...

Another day of practice done, and Shane was feeling absolutely pooped. But, it would all be worth it when he helped his team win the championship. Now, he was waiting outside the school like usual for his two female companions. He was going to try and pretend like everything was normal between him and a certain petite princess.

"Yeah, I totally didn't have to hide a bother for most of homeroom, and she totally didn't flash sexy faces at me throughout the entire day. Totally bro." He thought to himself.

The girls eventually came out, again still in their cheerleading uniforms. Shane swore Alexa's skirt was rolled up a little, but he tried not to think about it. He greeted them both with a smile.

"Hey, guys. Now was your da- oh shit!"

Bayley had nearly tackled the boy in a hug, stopping him in mid greeting.

"Hi, Shane! I didn't get to hug you this morning, so here's an extra special one!"

Shane struggled to breath, but didn't show it, and patted her head.

"Thanks, Bayley. Nice to see you."

Alexa smirked at the scene in front of her.

"Hey, Price. Look, as much as I want to walk with you guys, I gotta go home to take care of some stuff. See you later Bayley... Bye, Price."

She waved and walked away, swinging her hips a little, which Shane took notice.

"She's trying to kill me." He thought.

Bayley got his attention back when she nuzzled her head into his chest, making a very happy noise. The boy couldn't help but grin and wrap his arms around her.

"Jeez, you're really happy to see me aren't you?" He remarked.

She looked up at him.

"I'm always happy to see you, Shane. You're my favorite guy!"

Price was genuinely taken aback by her words.

"For real? Wow, that... that's really sweet of you, Smiles. Thank you."

"No problem! Now, let's go!"

Like normal, Shane walked Bayley all the way to the bus stop, and she was beaming the whole way. That changed when they reached their destination. The bus wasn't there yet, so he waited with her. All of a sudden, Bayley looked at Shane with a nervous expression.

"Umm, Shane?"

"Yeah, what up?"

"Can... Can I.. kiss you again?"

Shane couldn't believe what she just said.

"...Huh?"

"I don't... I don't think it was right the first time, you know? You don't have to let me, if you don't w-want me to." Bayley stuttered.

"Right now?"

Bayley nodded. He looked at the girl and studied the look on her face. He could tell that she was really serious about this. He sighed and pinched her cheeks.

"Alright. Go for it."

The girl gasped.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. Why would I? In fact, come here."

He tipped up her chin with his fingers and softly kissed the hug enthusiast on the lips. At first, she was as stiff as a statue, but eventually she closed her eyes and molded into the kiss. When he pulled away, Bayley looked up at him with those doe like brown eyes of hers with her mouth still slightly parted. Breaking the silence, Shane smoothly asked, "How was that?"

Bayley couldn't respond with words, so she did what she always did and hugged him, but this one was different. It was a lot softer and more vulnerable than usual. She sniffed and Shane started to panic a little.

"Smiles? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Shane. I just cry sometimes when I'm really happy. You made me really happy. I love you."

As soon as those words left Bayley's mouth, Alexa popped into his mind, along with what happened over the weekend and guilt poured into his soul. Still, he had to suppress that guilt for Bayley's sake.

"I love you too, Smiles." He forced out.

Just then, the bus pulled up and it was time for her to leave. She saved cheerfully and then hopped on the bus, leaving Shane standing alone. He ran a hand through his hair in confusion and frustration.

"Shane, you fuckin idiot. You've really done it this time." He said aloud to himself.