I woke again early in the hopes to get to Brynn's stop before she was picked up. Hoping to steal a moment or two with her. I got to the bottom of the stairs but my mom is wating for me.

"Don't even think about running out the door young man with out some breakfast. No wonder you're getting sick."

I sigh and back myself up to enter the kitchen.

"I'm good really Mom. No need to worry. No fever. No aches or pains. I'm fit as a fiddle." I always wondered what that phrase meant. How can a fiddle be fit?

She gave me a hard look and I knew she would only delay me further as she was prepared to fight this morning. So I gave in and sat at the table, trying to quickly scarf down the eggs and toast she made me.

Once my plate was cleared. I stood and put my plate in the sink. Picked up my backpack and was about to head back out the door.

"Not that I don't love your new enthusiasm for school which I'm sure Brynn has nothing to do with, but aren't you forgetting something?" she asks.

I stop with my hand on the door. Was I forgetting something? I didn't think so. And then circled back and gave her a kiss on the cheek, figuring that must be it. And when she laughed at me, I figured I was wrong.

"Don't you want to know what your dad said about the car for your big date tonight?"

The date? The date with Brynn, that's right! It's tonight! She immediately had my full attention.

She handed me the spare set of keys. "We expect you home no later than 12."

I kiss her again. "Thanks Mom!"

"Insurance card and registration will be in the glove compartment. Be certain you have your license on you and don't forget to take an umbrella they are calling for rain."

Keys, card, reg., license ... I skip the umbrella. What teenage guy uses an umbrella?

"See you at the game, Mom." I say and get racing down the street.

A half a block away from Brynn's stop and I sigh... "not again."

My hope of seeing Brynn's smiling face are smashed to smithereens when I'm left with Mr. Sourpuss....

Yeah, you guessed it, Adam. Only this time he's looking in my direction and not towards Brynn's. This can't be good.

He scowl's at me the moment he recognizes my face. If he doesn't want to see me then why does he keep showing up here?

I slowly approach and stand next to him. Not saying a word.

He is boring a hole into my brain. I swear if he had heat vision I would have burst into flames by now.

"What?!" I finally say not being able to take the silence a moment longer.

"What happened to Brynn yesterday?" he asks.

I'm completely confused. "What do you mean?"

"She wasn't at crew. She's always at crew. She wouldn't just disappear without saying something. Especially when there is so much work to do and we are so close to opening day of the play."

"So you figure that has to be my fault?"

He just gives me a "No duh!" kind of look.

"I'll have you know it was not my fault it was the eight balls," I say proudly.

Okay, I did steal her away momentarily but I was not the reason she did not return after our talk.

This news seemed to upset Adam greatly. "She doesn't use the eight ball on important decisions."

He says this, more to himself than to me and I realize that he's taking this whole thing to have a way deeper meaning. Like she thinks crew isn't important and I know that's not true.

"You know Adam, I did pull her away because I needed her opinion on something but she was trying to decide if she should hang out with me or go back to crew, and well the eight ball picked me."

I thought this would give him some comfort as crew and me were on equal grounds, which either meant we were both equally as important or not important depending on how you looked at it.

"You suck!" he says and it begins to rain.

Adam pulls out his umbrella and puts it up. He is nice and dry and now back to looking around me for the school bus.

I put up my hoodie and am starting to feel the rain penetrate that first layer of clothing, a few more minutes and my clothes will be soaked through.

Why didn't I grab an umbrella again? Oh yeah that's right I'm too cool.

As the rain begins to get heavier, I frown.

Really...? I'm blaming little Eeyore over there. I swear it's raining harder here than anywhere else. Probably from the little black cloud that's always hovering just over his head.

Thankfully, I was saved by the school bus pulling up at that moment.

This time Adam pushes past me to get on the bus first. He really has some mental issues.

After being yelled at by our bus driver yet again for not being at our designated spots I slide into my assigned seat. Frowning at Brynn's emptied one. Maybe knowing what the weather was to be Gran decided to drive her to school today?

Look at me... calling her Gran with such ease already. I did really like Brynn's Grandmother. She was one shrewd lady. I still needed to find out what was behind callng me Loveface, but I figure all in good time.

Thinking of my date with Brynn I was able to shake off my soggy demeanor for something a little brighter.

I hoped it didn't continue to rain all day and night. Although I always wondered what it would be like to kiss a girl in the rain. They always make it look so sexy and romantic in all the chick flicks my Mom forces my Dad and I to watch. Someone really ought to find a way to delete the Hallmark Channel from existence.

We get to school and I look around for Ty only he's nowhere to be found either.

Is everyone abandoning me today?

Adam shoulders me as he walks past and I couldn't help but laugh.

Okay, everyone that counts anyway?

I get to my lockers but still no Ty. I hope he came to school as if he misses a class he won't be able to play in tonight's game.

The bell rings and I head off to English.

I see my best friend sitting in the back row. We have assigned seats so even if he wanted to he couldn't sit away from me but seeing the way he's looking at me right now I have a feeling if it was an option he would be clear across the room right now.

I'm guessing that either his talk with Sierra didn't go well or he still hasn't gotten to talk to her. Either way I know his mind is made up that it is somehow my fault entirely. I sit next to him.

"Hey."

Silence... Oh great we are back to the silent treatment.

The door opens and in walks a sub. Sh*t... this can't be good.

Tyler looks right at me like he wants me to drop dead, which is the second time I've gotten that look from somebody today and it isn't even noon. He groans and opens up his textbook to the page the substitute teacher asked us to.

I need to find a way for him to see reason, but fear it's too late.

I wait patiently for the class to be over and when the bell rings. Tyler practically sprints to the door and I'm left scrambling after him.

"Dude! Wait up will you?! I need to talk to you!"

His whole body looks tense and I still have his back but he stopped.

Then he whirls on me. "What could you possibly say that I would want to hear?"

"This is not my fault," I say.

He takes my arm and drags me into a unused bathroom.

"You keep saying that. I can't see how this isn't your fault. Everything was going great until you walked into the room," Tyler says fuming and finally lets go of my arm.

"She asked me to give her a copy of a poem. It not my fault you both don't have enough self-control not to jump one another while school is still in session." I fire back.

"You could have been a friend and reassured her that she was safe. That's all she was asking for, Finn. She knows, we both do, that we need to be more careful. All she wanted was a second chance and you had to get on your high horse and walk away making it all about you. Well F you dude! I ain't kissing your ass. A real friend would have backed me up. So, you are no friend of mine."

He pushes past me to storm out the door. Leaving me more confused than ever.

Was he right? Should I have just said everything was fine? That they had nothing to worry about?

But they did have to worry. Fate intervened, making it me that saw them. What if it were another student? Then what would they have done?

But on the flip side it wasn't another student it was me and should I have backed him up? I hated to admit he'd do it for me. I could have made Sierra feel better about the situation. Now she's taking a day off to probably rethink her career path or something.

Maybe Eeyore is right? Maybe I do suck.